Lately I’ve been decorating my non-existent studio. In my mind, it’s quite a darling space-high ceilings, white walls I can decorate with bold-colored posters and framed fabrics, huge windows that let in lots of natural light, and with enough room to decoratively display my growing collection of vintage sewing machines and typewriters. And though this space has yet to be discovered (by me, at least – let me know if you’ve seen it!), I’ve strangely been “gathering” items to go in it. A poster from the London Design Museum. A drafting table from a friend’s sidewalk sale. My pop-art Frida prints. The vintage globe from eBay. The mica lampshade from Florida (I love lamp?)…

Oh, a girl can dream…but for now, I make do using the floor of our small apartment, swapping out my laptop from our shared desk to make room for the sewing machine on the occasion that there’s a pair of pants to hem or a T-shirt to refashion!

What does your dream studio look like? And ooh, let’s make this desert-island-y: If you were stranded in your magnificent design/work studio, what three items would you have with you?

Let me preface this by saying that I first learned embroidery when I was seven–my mom taught me some basics and I stitched the outlines of a few white clouds on a sky-blue pillowcase. During my tween years, I laid down that thick embroidery needle to pursue embroidery floss in a new way: macramé friendship bracelets and hair wraps. It wasn’t until I took a class with Jenny Hart of Sublime Stitching a few years ago that I really got back in the game. I made a Day of the Dead sampler in the class and immediately set to embroidering two ties for my brother (with his band’s logo) and dad (with the golden ratio) for Christmas that year.

In any case, I’ve had to wait to post this, my most recent DIY project, so I didn’t spoil the surprise. Mr. T turned 30 today and I finally got to share the project that, with more than a few setbacks, took me more than a year to make. It started as a Christmas present, then was pushed to an anniversary present, then a (29th) birthday present, then a wedding present, then back to Christmas, anniversary, and finally…birthday! Mr. T loves to cook-he likes to chop and mix ingredients like I like to cut and sew. But he doesn’t have an apron…and you know I can’t settle for just a plain old apron. So I thought: What does an English-teaching food-lover need from such a garment (besides keeping his clothes splatter free)? Combining his love of syntax and symbolism with his love of sautéing and seasoning, I set out to find quotations from some of his favorite writers and chefs on the subject of food, eating, dining, cooking, and other related exploits, and freehand embroider them across the bottom of the apron. Whew, did I ever bite off more than I could chew! (So to speak.)

But here it is, already complete with some sauce splatters, and despite the blisters on my fingers, I’m quite proud!

My neighbor recently invited me to a “Panty Exchange Party” for Valentine’s Day–where every guest is secretly assigned to another guest in advance of the party, sizes are exchanged, underwear style preferences are shared (thong, brief, boyshort), and the rules are laid: each guest brings two pairs of underwear for their assignee, one “sassy” and one “sweet”. For sassy, I found a nice lacey pair to gift, for sweet, I bought a pair of plain cotton undies from American Apparel and embroidered her name on them! (Apologies for the bad lighting in the photo, the undies are pale yellow with eggplant embroidery floss for the cursive and avocado green for the flower.)

If you’re interested in throwing your own underwear exchange party (sorry, the word “panty” has the tendency to make me cringe a little), here’s how:

About two weeks in advance, email everyone (for comfort, start with ladies only!) who you’d like to participate to see who’s game. When they respond, make sure they include their underwear size and style preference . Once you have a complete list, invite a third party (someone who’s not participating) to act as the moderator: She draws the names and creates the secret matches (you should only know the name of the person you draw, not the person who draws you), then emails each party participant at least a week in advance so everyone has ample time to purchase, make, or decorate her two pairs of undies. On game day, wrap your two gifts with the recipient’s name on them. One person starts by opening her gift, and tries to guess who it’s from!