Details: Ralph Lauren sweater (Poshmark), Club Monaco turtleneck (retail, old), CoH jeans, Oak & Fort coat, Office London shoes (all thrifted), Coach bag ( Poshmark)

Thoughts: Strap in for story time, friends. I posted the whole saga in extensive detail on Instagram, but I’ll give you the quick version here. See that amazing vintage RL sweater? I don’t know if you know this about me but I love ducks. Mallards, in particular. I also love vintage RL, but you definitely knew that. I found this sweater on Poshmark back in the summer of 2022 and got it for the amazing price of $30CAD. The same sweater currently sells for $250+ on eBay (and there is one listing for $800, smh). The listing disclosed a couple of holes, but they looked easy enough to fix. No problem. I get the sweater and while I am cleaning it, I find a couple of extra holes. And proceed to have a freak out. We don’t get moths here in Alberta, but they are common in other parts of the country. I have a lot of nice wool sweaters (and skirts) I can’t afford to ruin. My first reaction was to chuck the sweater, but my husband talked me off the ledge so we put the sweater in an airtight ziplock back instead. Put it aside. And then I forgot about it. For over a year and a half. Came across it again a few weeks ago. Put it outside in the -50 Celsius deep freeze for 72 hours. Put it in the dryer (while dry) for 2 hot spins. Steam cleaned it again. Washed it. Darned the holes. And finally: I wore it. And you know what? Totally worth it. I’m calling this a Bohemian outfit because the sweater is definitely shabby chic (it still has a small defect around the neckline which I don’t want to repair unless it starts to unravel more, because I loved the lived-in look of it).

(I also don’t actually know if there ever were any moths near that sweater. The ziplock back was clean when we opened it. But better safe than sorry, pals!)

Details: Line sweater, Jil Sander jacket, Cleo skirt (all thrifted), Rafael Canada necklace (secondhand)

Thoughts: This camel jacket looks fairly unassuming but it’s legit “stealth” luxe — it’s cashmere. There is something about a cashmere jacket; it’s so soft and thick and (dare I say it? I dare) yummy. Hahaha! I hate using that term for clothing but I think you know what I mean. I know Escada used to make cashmere blazers because I have a vintage one myself, so keep an eye out for that at the thrifts. Look for labels that say “by Margaretha Ley”. As a bonus, some of them will have a “made in W. Germany” tag, which is a neat little piece of historical reference. As for this jacket … well, Jil Sander is always a BOLO too, of course. Very high quality and beautiful construction. As for this outfit? It’s somewhere on the border of the Historian and the Bohemian, leaning more towards the former.

Details: Equipment shirt, Ralph Lauren vest, Ports International jacket, Fossil belt, Twik pants, J. Crew shoes (all secondhand)

Thoughts: Back on the RL train! I am loving the combo of green, navy and brown lately, so I am putting together different (Historian) outfits on that theme. This navy vest, as unassuming as it looks, is one of my favourites because it feels so classically RL, and this shade of navy works wonderfully with the colours in my wardrobe. And, of course, it’s 100% vintage cotton. The best.

Details: no name turtleneck, Tommy Hilfiger cardigan, Eddie Bauer belt (all thrifted), Ralph Lauren skirt (eBay)

Thoughts: Another side of RL, this time for the Trailblazer. This skirt is so great, and as soon as I spotted that green turtleneck at the thrifts, I immediately thought of it. I think the colours look great together. Added the white cardigan as a “grounding” neutral, as black felt like it would be too dark and heavy here. And threw on a big buckle belt because that’s been my mood lately.

Details: YAS blouse, Pendleton vest, Gap belt (all thrifted), Rafael Canada necklace (secondhand), Banana Republic jeans (retail)

Thoughts: The Trailblazer reimagined as a cowboy grandpa, hahahaha! I hadn’t had a chance to wear this wonderful vintage Pendleton vest since I bought it over a year ago (it went missing in action for a bit) so I wanted to experiment with it a bit. It’s a bit big on me so I decided to lean into the masc vibe with the outfit. Next time, I might switch things up and layer a thick sweater under it, and maybe try a skirt instead.

Details: Tabi sweater, H&M dress, Babaton skirt (all secondhand), Zara boots (retail)

Thoughts: This is definitely a Bohemian outfit, but an interesting one insofar as I haven’t been using a lot of black in my outfits recently. I enjoyed the layering with this one, and I also amused myself by pairing the polka dot patterns in reverse polarity. It’s like a little inside joke with myself. Clothing should always be fun, after all.

It’s been a while since we last caught up on my arts & crafts adventures, so with the benefit of a little perspective (it’s almost the middle of January already!) let’s look at how 2023 wrapped up. It was, in many ways, a “best of times, worst of times” situation. October and November were difficult months for me at a personal level, and that inevitably makes itself felt in my art life. It is what it is. I was at least able to prepare for my one big market of the year, which took place at the end of the November and ended up being one of the “best of times” moments. I got to meet a few new artists, talk to a lot of folks about my art, and sell quite a few pieces too. Financially, it was probably my most successful market to date. This surprised me a bit; I wasn’t sure how things would fare given the challenging economic times, but people are still buying art and for that I am very grateful. But the most rewarding aspect of the market was at a personal level.

I had a few friends come out to support me, which reminded me of how blessed I am to have wonderful people in my life. I spoke to a lot of people about art, and received many, many encouraging remarks and compliments which — let’s be honest — are always nice to get. It was especially lovely to see how many different people of different ages and backgrounds responded positively to embroidery. Maybe it really is having something of a renaissance. It was also gratifying to hear a lot of people say that my hoops were very reasonably priced or even priced too low. Pricing is something I’ve struggled with a lot in the past, and continue to struggle with. I have increased my prices a bit over the years — and I often worry whether this puts them outside the reach of people’s budget (or willingness to pay) — but it’s important to also acknowledge that they are not, strictly speaking, adequate compensation for my time, much less any talent or skill, in making the pieces.

I did the math once and if I were to charge local minimum wage for the time spent on an average hoop, it would cost around $450 in labour alone, never mind materials and other miscellaneous overhead (like market fees, for example).

Much as I sometimes think wistfully about the possibility of making art full-time, I know my particular niche doesn’t even rank as a lucrative side hustle. But, on the flip side, keeping it as a passion project (without the pressures of full monetization) has its advantages too. Although I enjoyed the market a great deal, part of that had to do with the fact that it was super low stakes for me; I was doing it mostly for fun, not money. Being a full-time artist is not an easy career path, especially in a society that still values commerce far more than art.

Anyway, enough ramblings from me. Here are the last hoops of 2023:

This hoop was inspired by an Art Deco style mural I saw at the McGill campus earlier in the year, when I was visiting my bestie in Montreal. I wanted to use a large hoop so I could have enough “canvas” to recreate the vibe of the original, but this always poses challenging when it comes to stitch selection. There is a sweet spot when it comes to the area that can be nicely covered using satin stitch (which is my fave stitch for creating a smooth, paint-like surface); satin stitch doesn’t sit as nice and tight once your area gets too big. So, for this hoop, I decided to go mixed media, and use felt in some parts of the design. Together with the French knots, it gave the surface more texture as well, which was a bonus.

I really enjoyed the last few floral still life hoops I made, so I decided to create one with orchids, one of my favourite flowers. I’m very happy with how this one turned out.

This was a William Morris-inspired mini floral hoop. Simple but sweet.

I loved my personal Matisse-inspired hoop I made earlier in the year, so I decided to make this pair for the market. These pieces did sell, albeit after the market (to one of my lovely blog readers, hello!)

This Monet-inspired design had been on my mind for a long time; I was very drawn to the soft pastel colour palette of the original painting — I love blues and pinks. Technically, it might have been my most challenging hoop to date. It is almost entirely long-and-short stitch which, over an 8 inch hoop, is a LOT of work (and a lot of yarn). Sky and water are always challenging subjects to “paint” with yarn anyway. But I like a challenge!

Afterwards, though, I needed a “break” so I went back to one of my fave themes: Klimt florals. I had one of these in my personal collection before, but ended up trading it (for a vintage Coach bag!) this past fall. I don’t regret that decision, but I did find myself missing the piece. So I made a new one! It’s not exactly the same as the previous one, of course; with the exception of the blue Matisse figure, all of my designs are one-of-a-kind. But I love it, and I love knowing that its “sister” is somewhere out there making someone else happy.

The last hoop was actually an old hoop, revisited. I made this pansy design sometime in 2021 or 2022 (I forget) but it never felt quite finished. I prefer designs that cover the entire hoop, and this one didn’t. Then I got the idea to add some more “foliage” around the edges via French knots and, voila, it’s perfect now.

Although I had a somewhat wobbly end of year, I am now looking forward with new energy at the possibilities of 2024. Here’s to new art, new friends, and new horizons!

Details: Ralph Lauren shirt, vest & skirt, vintage belt (all thrifted), J. Crew shoes (retail, old)

Thoughts: This shirt/vest combo is one of my faves; I’ve worn it before with pants, but I like it even more with this skirt. The brown makes the blue really pop. This skirt was one of my luckiest thrift finds — vintage RL stuff is becoming increasingly rare at the thrifts, especially nicer pieces like this wool skirt. The silhouette is one of my faves (full, ankle-length skirts being the other). If we are going to try to keep track of these things, I would consider this a Historian outfit.

Details: H&M shirt, Frame blazer, vintage belt (all thrifted), Maeve skirt (Poshmark), J. Crew shoes (retail, old)

Thoughts: I am obsessed with this outfit formula: full skirt, shirt, blazer, and statement belt. It’s inspired by (what else) a Ralph Lauren runway look from the early 80s. I just love the juxtaposition of dressy blazer and cottagecore-y skirt, and plan to play around with it a fair bit. A statement belt is the perfect finishing touch. Trailblazer vibes all the way!

Details: J. Crew shirt & vest, Gap blazer, H&M pants, J. Crew shoes (all secondhand)

Thoughts: This outfit was all about the subtle pattern mix created by the blazer/vest combo. I love those two patterns together, and built the rest of the outfit around the same colour pattern. Otherwise, the formula is one of my go-tos: shirt, vest, blazer, pants. Standard Historian template!

Details: Ralph Lauren turtleneck and sweater, Nine West jacket, Cotton Ginny belt (all thrifted), Banana Republic jeans (retail)

Thoughts: This is a pretty basic outfit but I looooved the way the jacket and patterned sweater looked together. So while this might have been a basic formula, it was not a boring outfit. This jacket and this pair of jeans have been real wardrobe workhorses for me this season; I find myself constantly reaching for them which feels very satisfying. I want my whole closet to give me that feeling (and it’s close!). Putting this look into the Trailblazer category.

Details: Oak & Fort turtleneck (swap), Jacob cardigan, Babaton pants, Oak & Fort coat, Asos boots (all thrifted), Ralph Lauren belt (Poshmark), Coach bag (trade)

Thoughts: I like this vintage cardigan a lot, but I’ve been struggling with the length and resulting silhouette. I tend to wear either short, cropped cardigans or really long ones (past the hip). This length is tricky to me because I’m not used to it. So I decided to try something different and belt it. The result wasn’t too bad, if I say so myself. It has a bit of a Bohemian vibe which is neat, because I tend to associate that avatar with dresses and skirts.

Details: Jacob vest, Marc Cain skirt, Barbara Bui jacket, Chie Mihara shoes (all thrifted)

Thoughts: One more Historian outfit for you, this one with a slight “dark romance” vibe to it. I wanted to pick up the golden accents from the vest, so I chose this jacket because of the cool collar detail and cuffs. To be honest, I probably should have worn this with the Ralph Lauren skirt from the first outfit above — the silhouette would have been more “me” — but my first instinct is always to pair a long jacket with a short skirt. Blame Cake! Added these sheer black tights to try something different (aka not my usual opaque ones) and I’m not sure I love the look with a skirt this short, but maybe it’s something I need more time to adjust to.