For the past fifteen or so years, Woolie Sparrow has been my cozy corner of creativity, a name chosen on a whim, stitched together with knitting, sewing, slow-living, and quiet joy. It gave me comfort, and for a long time, it fit. But as is the human condition, I’ve grown and shifted. Lately, I tried to return to it: I relaunched the blog, dabbled again on Instagram. But it didn’t jibe. The cottagecore aesthetic, while lovely, felt like wearing someone else’s embroidered blouse. Pretty, poetic… but borrowed on a very short-term lease.
Yes, I adore a good ruffle and a floaty fabric. But when I listened closely, the cadence of my true creative spirit sounded more like the Everly Brothers and Dean Martin. During the pandemic, when life slowed and shrank to four walls and familiar rhythms, I fell deep into the world of vintage patterns, especially those radiant pieces from the 1950s and 1960s. Easy-going skimmer dresses and twirl-worthy circle skirts swung back into my imagination. Sweater girl sets winked at me from books and old pattern covers. I pulled out 1950s home ec dressmaking books and tracing paper like relics from a past I never abandoned.
It wasn’t nostalgia, it was recognition. Rediscovering the joy of high-waisted pants that meant business, reading through my Granny’s Vincent Price cookbook with his movies on in the background, and the dignity of domestic design. I remembered how my younger self used to daydream about an atomic-era home, Fiestaware in the kitchen, beatnik poetry tucked into apron pockets. These weren’t fleeting trends, they were lifelong companions.
So, I’m reemerging. Reclaiming. Rebuilding. Stitch-O-Rama Susie is the next chapter, a revival of intentional creativity, featuring vintage or vintage-adjacent knitting and sewing projects, as well as bold homemaking with weeknight casseroles and Jell-O mold salads. Its cats curled beside sewing baskets. It’s mid-century sparkle and heartfelt making, without apology.
If you’re returning to old joys or redefining what suits you, welcome. Pull up a kitchen chair, pour a cup of joe, and let’s sew our way home.
Susie
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