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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

Zeroara was a particularly good one, I think. The headpiece took several tries - three-dimensional pieces are hard!

A child models a hand-made Zeroara (Pokémon) costume made of yellow and black polar fleece and turquoise lamé, worn over black pajamas.

RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

Week 23 of ##SewAndTell is all about kids, and hence, in my wheelhouse. Early on, I stumbled on a formula of cotton pajamas + fleece accessories for comfortable, practical kid costumes. Here are a few that I laid out and photographed to sell or give away, but alas, no takers. DM me if you need one!

Fleece Yoda hat with spats and wristlets

Red, gold and black dragon wings, tail and mask

Felt t-rex mask, fleece feet and hands, and pre-fab dino tail

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 18/01/2026

Finally painted the kitchen the right shade to complement this photo a beloved friend took years ago in the market in Little Italy during a 7-hour stroll through Montreal. Every time I look at it, I'm reminded of that time-in-a-bottle day we spent catching up, sipping coffee, and people-watching.

A corner of a kitchen featuring a dish cabinet and a large photo, which shows a close-up of ripe red cherries in saturated green baskets. The walls are freshly painted in a shade that, while it reads as aqua, is actually a light shade of the green tones in the photo.

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

For week 21 of #SewAndTell, there's lots of blue in this bog coat I'm making out of upholstery fabric thrifted at the 757 Creative Reuse Center in Norfolk, VA. Just need to finish hand-stitching the collar and I'll be stomping around regally, in a Star Wars-y sort of way #sewsky #sewing

Simple long coat made of tapestry fabric in an abstract geometric print featuring cream, navy, gold and blush pink. The collar is still not stitched completely to the body of the coat

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 05/01/2026

Joy is Tula Pink fabric, and finally finishing this quilt top that celebrates it!

Detail from a quilt top featuring Dresden plates with characteristically vibrant Tula Pink fabrics from her "Curiouser and Curiouser" Alice in Wonderland collection.

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 05/01/2026

Well, it's clumsy AF and utter chaos, but it's DONE. I've been staring at it so long that perspective is impossible, and I learned plenty that, had I already known, would've made it so much better. I guess the good news is that topsy-turvy suits the aesthetic! #sewsky #quiltsky #tulapink

Quilt top featuring 9 Dresden plates with Alice in Wonderland themed fabrics in vibrant magentas, yellows, acid greens, reds and aquas, surrounded by black and white sashing and 16 smaller Dresden plates.

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

Well, I'll be damned. I can think of one circumstance and one only under which 2026 could fulfill this descriptor, so let's all keep our fingers crossed.

A post by Merriam Webster instructs us to screenshot a GIF that displays "YOUR word for 2026". Mine is 'joyous'.

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

For Week 18 of #SewAndTell (gifts), here is my 9yo sewing buddy's present for her mom. She made the star blocks, and I took over from there. Mom is the sort who's very sparing with praise, so it's a real feather in our cap that she teared up when she opened it.

A quilted wall hanging featuring six sawtooth star blocks in jewel tones. Each star has a fussy-cut center with a busy nutcracker motif.

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

My 9yo made a tiny snowman at school and, since we're traveling for Christmas, asked me to capture a memory of him before we left town

A tiny clay snowman in sunglasses and a top hat poses atop a leather ottoman in front of a Christmas tree

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

Oh man, if THIS prompt wasn't right up my street! I have several #upcycled items for this week's #SewAndTell, so I give you a Tale of Two Blankets, both scavenger at estate sales: a skirt and my first and only, though not last, blanket coat - which is cute if a bit too hobbit-y for my liking.

Short, white and yellow checked wool skirt with magenta top-stitching.

A skeptical-looking woman in glasses contemplates her work: in this case, a short, boxy hooded jacket made from a woven cotton blanket in harvest colors.

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 08/12/2025

The last 2 weeks' #SewAndTell prompts nudged me to start an overdue mending project, but I wound up swamped. I'll go back and do them, but in the meantime I'm grateful that this week's prompt is Home Decor, because I just finished this cute dopamine-infused bucket inspired by #SewCanShe. #sewsky

A fabric patchwork box made of four graphic and botanical prints in saturated pinks and yellows

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 22/11/2025

So glad that after years of abc's and 123's, my children finally have a proper Spanish teacher who can teach them the subtle art of el chisme

Child's homework reads "Mi Amigo es perezoso y gruñón". Translation: My Friend [sic] is lazy and grumpy"

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

#SewAndTell Week 13 - my everyday heroes are these nearly indestructible grocery bags, patterned off the usual plastic ones. I've made these countless times! Since they fold down flat into their own pockets, they're a great addition to a suitcase and come in handy for any number of things. #sewsky

Two cloth grocery carrier bags, one in a sushi print with a black pocket and the other in a large-scale, jewel-tone floral print with a contrasting pocket

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 16/11/2025

#SewAndTell Week 12 - okay, deep breaths! I bought a used serger and I'm irrationally terrified to use it, but my 9yo sewing protégée is on her way over and, god willing, today we're going to turn this adorable print we got from #califabrics into pajamas. Wish us luck!

Swatch of a knit print in cream, coral, red, olive and spruce greens showing little elven-looking girls in nature scenes, cute mushroom houses, coffee makers, butterflies and fireflies. Contrast swatch is a heathered knit in a soft red

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 15/11/2025

Saw The Lemonheads last night in a tiny venue and, phew, what a wild ride! I sometimes wonder whether Kurt Cobain would have mellowed into a wholesome dad rocker like Dave Grohl had he survived - but 2025 Evan Dando certainly reminded me there's a spectrum of potential outcomes. Nostalgia level 9000

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 08/11/2025

For #SewAndTell Week #11, Scraps is the name of the game. Here's my one and only attempt at a representational art quilt, made entirely of leftover batik strips. The recipient was quite happy with how it turned out, but somehow (?!) this process photo is the only one I have.

Unfinished quilt top made of batik strips depicting a sunset over mountains.

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 01/11/2025

My kids know that a hand-made Halloween is my love language. Sometimes I worry they're just humoring me, but year after year, they trust me to help them execute their dream costumes just as they envision them - and they seem to think I can do anything. I live for these yearly creative collabs!

Vaguely steam-punky wrist gauntlets and an assortment of random screws and bolts, all made of air-dry clay, wait for their paint to dry atop a Costco flier while a hot-glue gun stands at the ready to affix them to a costume.

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 22/10/2025

#SewAndTell Week 9 is all about purple, which I am typically *not* all about. But my sewing protégée is, and some of her square-in-square axolotl blocks definitely fit the bill! #sewsky #quiltsky #sewing

Two quilt blocks, one still in progress, featuring smiling watercolor-y axolotl framed in purple and aqua batik fabrics.

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 16/10/2025

#sewandtell Week 8: UFO's. As terrifying as an unfinished project can be, the scariest one is usually the one I haven't even started yet. The moment I cut into this treasured Liberty fabric, it will become *something*, so it'll lose the potential to be *anything*. Chilling, right?

Yardage of two contrasting, bright multicolored fabrics. One is a small botanical print, the other a very 1960s or 1970s inspired large-scale pattern of trees.

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

#sewandtell Week 7 - Scary [Ominous movie trailer voice]: This sewist thought she could freehand a witch hat without using a pattern. [Screechy violins] But she. Thought. WRONG. I mean, it's done. But if I were to make another, I'd splurge on a pattern to get the brim dimensions right. #sewsky

A smiling woman sporting a witch hat made with salvaged pillow shams; the brim is green velvet with a blue floral print and the top features a pattern designed to look like patchwork, in shades of blue, green, terra cotta and cream.

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 30/09/2025

From "The Lost Words" by Robert MacFarlane:

Book pages with nature illustration opposite a poem:

Cabinet-maker, could you craft me a conker?/Oil its wood, burnish its veneer, set it glowing from within?/Never. Not a chance. No hope at all./King, then, could you command me a conker?/Compel its green spikes to grow, its white plush to thicken? Impossible. Impractical. Inconceivable./Engineer, surely you could design me a conker?/Refine its form, mill its curves and edges?/Manufacture me that magic casket?/Unfeasible. Unworkable. Unimaginable./Realize this (said the Cabinet-maker, the King and the Engineer together), conker cannot be made, however you ask it, whatever word or tool you use, regardless of decree. Only one thing can conjure conker - and that thing is tree.

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 30/09/2025

For week 6 of #SewAndTell (Animal), here's my number one helperer, helpering me turn this blanket into a bog coat #sewing #sewsky #quiltsky #catsofbluesky

Grey and white cat sprawled self-importantly on a cotton blanket laid out for cutting, with fringe draped across his neck

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 22/09/2025

For #SewAndTell 's Cozy Week 5, I give you the pants that I reverse engineered from my favorite pajama bottoms, then sewed last night out of a SwissAir blanket I scored at the thrift store. Are they janky AF? Yes. Will I wear them to tatters, just like their predecessors? Also yes. #sewsky

Insomniac middle-aged lady showing off the dark gray plaid wide-leg trousers she stayed up too late making but that look pretty great with her black v-neck blouse, if I do say so myself

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 17/09/2025

For week 4 of #SewAndTell, here's a favorite make - faved bc it's one of few things I've made that still lives with me, I made a lot of memories while hand-piecing it, I tried so many new things in the process, and I adore the colorways of these batiks against the earthy linen. #quiltsky #sewsky

Quilt with brightly colored batik lozenge shapes hand-pieced and machine-appliquéd on a soft brown background

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

Some of the hexes are completely worn through, and enough of the other ones are so threadbare or stained that I worry about using this quilt on a bed. There are whole sections of it like this, so even if I mended it, I'd be worried about what would be next to go.

The centers got it the worst. But you can see the tearing g getting ready to happen elsewhere, too.

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

Not my work, but for week 3 of #SewAndTell, here's a closeup of a #patchwork quilt I inherited and I'm trying to revive. She's so delicate! It's hard to cut her up, but even repairing her seems impractical as the parts that aren't outright damaged seem so vulnerable. Ideas?

Detail of an antique patchwork quilt, stitched by hand out of tiny hexagons of 1940s and 1950s clothing scraps

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 08/09/2025

My bread doesn't always turn out this goofy, but as of today it also doesn't always turn out NOT this goofy

Weird bubbly loaf of home-baked bread with hippo features doodled on it

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 01/09/2025

Now and again when I take my kids to the library children's room, a book sticks to me instead. This one has a premise I'd never encountered before: a 12-year-old daughter and her mother escape a cult and begin to rebuild their future. I enjoyed this at Because of Winn-Dixie levels.

Book cover of The Wrong Way Home by Kate O'Shaughnessy, a silver Newbery Honor recipient

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 25/08/2025

Okay, for this first #sewandtell, focused on "firsts", here's my first row of the first quilt I've ever made for me. As in mine. Not someone else's. Three years in fits and starts, and today it was finally ready to start coming together. Deep breaths! #sewsky

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 21/07/2025

Made four of these bucket hats for my kids/niblings! It was fun watching them pick out their favorite fabrics, and I got to talk to each one at length while we cut them out.

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 03/06/2025

Made a little tee out of vintage fabric just in time for Pride Month! Free Agustina tee pattern is from Fabric Store and hence designed for linen, but I was pleasantly surprised how well it worked in jersey. #sewing

Cheeky middle-aged lady in a boxy, rainbow-striped t-shirt and jeans

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 17/05/2025

This little bag has some secrets: 1. It's got two compartments, one just for stinky cleats. 2. I freestyled it out of stuff I found at yard sales, using techniques I've picked up recently. And 3. I'm pretty sure I ripped out every seam on it at least once #sewing #handmade #craftiverse

Handmade drawstring backpack made of white mesh and a colorful soccer ball print

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 10/05/2025

Tell me your kid was raised by teachers w/o telling me. Shall I go first? If you insist: 10-yo made this template for 8-yo to help him write some cards for his teachers today. We've given 10-yo templates like these for thank-you notes and apology letters in the past; this one was all him, though

Child-written note that reads "Dear Mrs./Ms. [blank]. Positive thing about [blank]. Happy Teacher Appreciation Day. Your friend, [blank]

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

Not usually a big garment-maker, but I've scored some fun vintage fabrics at estate sales recently and this one wanted to be a wrap skirt. #memademay #upcycle #sewingsky

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 05/05/2025

My helperer has arrived to do the helpering #craftsky #sewsky

My grey and white cat posts up on my vintage fabric, defying me to resume my project

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 16/03/2025

I don't like it either, but we are going to need a plan for the swelling ranks of the faceless beyond "let them wander the desert ceaselessly for what they've done to us."

Cartoon where leopard reads sign reading "MAGA country" and says, "oh good. I'm famished"

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 12/03/2025

Post a photo you took to bring some Zen to the timeline.

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 23/02/2025

One down, 15 to go, and I'll be done with the hand applique phase of this project after only 2 years! #quiltsky

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

Only a couple days late for my valentine! Foundation paper pieced love letters courtesy of etsy, some scrappy hearts, and the trendiest bit of raw edge applique. #quiltsky

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 25/01/2025

Amazing how doing something with my hands can be so deeply calming and centering. When I look at this, what I see is equal parts whimsical handmade item and successfully processed anxiety; anyway, coming right along on both

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

And finally, unconscious competence, when you are so good at the thing that you do it unthinkingly - placing you at risk of complacency and forgetting that you still have things left to learn.

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

Third, conscious competence, when you begin to notice yourself doing the new thing right for a change

Luke Skywalker confidently wielding his light saber

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

Second, conscious incompetence, when you know just enough about something to notice how bad you are at it and how much you have left to learn

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RoughestDrafts @roughdraftjess.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

First, unconscious incompetence, when you're so inexperienced at something that you don't even know how much you don't know about it

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