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| Photo by Caroline Lohrey |
Thao Thai also understands us sewists! She is a sewist herself, and has written a number of articles about sewing and creativity for a variety of online publications.
At Literary Hub, there is a beautiful essay on "Sewing & Summoning Possibility", in which she says
The comparisons between writing and sewing are perhaps too obvious. Both are acts of creation, relying on pattern and ingenuity to produce a new thing in the world. A garment, a sentence, is composed of common elements rearranged in specific and fateful ways. Both require dedication and precision, and often, many, many instances of redrafting.
At the Bustle Book Club, she talks about elements of her creativity, including her writing desk:
half the time it’s a real writing desk, but another portion of the time I kind of set everything aside and have all my fabric and scissors laid out.
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| Photo by Jen Theodore on Unsplash |
At Seamwork she has shared a couple of essays of interest to sewists.
In "Reclaiming My Family’s Collective Sense of Creativity" she states "I came from a family of seamstresses—a whole country of them." and "My grandmother owned a fabric store in the market. She filled it with bolts of creamy satin, rainbow-bright silks for ao dais, lightweight cotton for sleepwear."
In "The Peculiar Grief of Sewing My Daughter’s Spring Dress" she shares the bittersweet feeling of sewing for a fast growing child and having to put clothes away when they're outgrown.
In her own substack she has shared thoughts on mending and how it can be a metaphor for life and art as well as just being itself:
But now I’m older and more tired. I don’t want to discard anymore. I want to mend where I can, lovingly and with reverence. The accumulation of time means more to me than it once did. A thirteen-year friendship is worth preserving. A beautiful dress is worth repairing.
And at Elle.com, she's written a brief essay on the traditional and modern Áo Dài -
My grandparents aren’t the first, or last, to hold cherished memories of the áo dài. This garment, translated as “long shirt,” has been a fixture in the cultural imagination of Việt Nam since 1744...
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| Photo by Kris Atomic on Unsplash |
I've shared some excerpts here but I encourage you to click through and read the full articles - they are lovely and so interesting for sewing readers!
If you are interested in more about Banyan Moon, including a recipe, you can find a Reader's Guide on her website. You can also find out more about Thao Thai on her socials
Awesome!! Thank you for sharing this!!
ReplyDeleteHi Melanie, Great author inspiration! I have looked through all the links. I loved the book, it was such a pleasure to read.
ReplyDeleteMy inspiration for sewing comes from page 2 with the description of Minh, .... '...She wore wide legged trousers in eggplant and a button down shirt that covered her arms entirely, except for a sliver of wrist, shaded exactly like sun-warmed hay. ' Instantly, I felt that could be me, with three generations of women, my daughter and grandaugher walking in the grass on the beach, which we do. I have not been able to get the image out of my head, so that will be my plan. Eggplant coloured Calder Pants by Cashmerette, and (hopefully) a dull yellow shirt. Except, I will do 3/4 pants and short sleeves.
My first thoughts on this book was a study of the complexities of relationships between mothers and daughters, different generations expectations and values and how we navigate this. But equally, the 'secrets' we all have, the bits we don't share with particular people. We are all somebody different to different people, which is why different people can see a person differently. But I have more to say, just need to put it in words.
Forgot to say, above comment is from Sara . I forgot to to put my name to it.
ReplyDelete