Elizabeth Ford

When we found out that James' brother's partner Lexie had experience with book-binding, James and I curated our favorite poems from our poetry collaboration, Couplets, and got them printed. Then, with help from Lexie and using cardboard, real leather, a needle and special thread, and SO much glue, we made a book!

A collaboration with James' mom, Becky, who is an accomplished sewist. We started making this teal dragon the night (and finished in the wee hours of the morning) before going to the Maryland Rennaissance Faire. Read the full story of Tealia's creation on my blog!

For Christmas 2022, I gave James the gift of a project - I bought him some fleece fabric with moons on it and taught him how to sew his own pajama pants! I also gave myself a gift - green fleece fabric with a knitted cables print - and made myself a pair as well. Apollo doesn't wear pajama pants, but that didn't stop him from getting involved in the project too.

My Grandma actually bought this fabric for me when I was a kid - the same summer she helped me make pajama pants for me and a tent and sleeping bags for my dolls. We didn't get around to using this fabric, so I kept it in my stash for... probably almost 20 years. Then, during a sewing phase, I finally made it into pajama shorts - fulfilling its original purpose.

For James, who dreams of being a cat. (Also our apartment gets so cold in the winter, it's helpful for keeping warm!)

For Lyn, for Secret Santa 2020

Got the fabric on sale - 2 yards for ~$4, if my memory is correct! There was one little rip (or maybe accidental cut?) which I arranged to be on the back, near the neckline, and which I simply handsewed closed. I went rogue on the sleeves, choosing to experiment to come up with 'flowy' sleeves rather than traditional short sleeves - I love the result.

Made this top out of the same old sheet I used to make my first Moneta dress.

The first article of clothing (aside from pajama pants and costume pieces) that I sewed for myself. I made this test dress out of an old sheet!

For Dan, for Secret Santa 2019. He liked the Windwaker PJ pants I made for James so much that I decided he should have a pair of his own - made out of fabric depicting his favorite Zelda game.

The fabric reminded me of how knitting looks, so I sewed a skirt out of it. It's mostly retired now, but I wore it a lot during the pandemic, whenever I needed a pop of color and whimsy!

Made for James, to hold the Switch and all of the game cartridges! It just so happened that when I went to get a zipper, the only one the store had that was the size I needed was red. I had already planned to make the rest of the case out of black and electric blue fabric (James' favorite colors) but the red zipper ended up accidentally fitting the color scheme of the Nintendo Switch itself!

Read about the process of making this bag on my blog.

Made in the last few days of summer before my second year of grad school.

For James (and me). I tried designing this blanket to take into account the fact that his feet are always cold and I frequently stick mine out from under blankets because I get too warm. The blanket is segmented, with 'buttons' made out of felt to open/close different aeration slits. It also has a sort of sleeping bag just for feet at the base. In all honesty, we've never ended up using it much, but I'm still glad I made it - out of the leftover fabric I still had after making him music note themed pajama pants.

Read about the story behind these bags on my blog

For James

For James - the first present I made him, for our first anniversary, after he'd introduced me to the world of The Legend of Zelda - specifically Windwaker.

Read all about the process of designing and making this bag on my blog.

Handcrafted replacement for a store-bought butterfly chair. The cushion part had been starting to rip at the seams, so on a whim I decided to make a new one, using the old one as a rough template. It turned out pretty well and allowed me to continue using the frame for a few more years.

When I joined Explorchestra, the club didn't have any kind of banner to display at performances and recruitment opportunities around campus. (My first year on Eboard, we used paper from the giant rolls in the RA office - but that was prone to ripping and curling up on itself.) So, during the summer between my sophomore and junior years, I made one! I used felt so that the letters wouldn't have raw edges and so the whole thing would be durable and low-maintenance (not prone to wrinkling!). And now, years after I graduated and even though no one in the club knows me personally, they still use the banner. In addition to being a composer and serving as music librarian and vice president, this banner is my legacy.

Made with the help and oversight and mentorship of Grandma Fran

First major sewing project with Grandma Fran where I got to do the actual cutting and sewing fabric parts, in addition to the picking out fabric part.