Eva Skewes
@evaskewes.bsky.social
Yale University Press. Former indie bookseller; loves tea, cider, photography, and sleep
Made a combined point turner and Hera marker today in my dad’s shop. He handled the bandsaw while I flailed about with spokeshaves, files, and other hand tools. Given that the only other thing I have made in his shop was a wooden cutting board out of a slab of walnut, I am pretty pleased.
December 28, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Made a combined point turner and Hera marker today in my dad’s shop. He handled the bandsaw while I flailed about with spokeshaves, files, and other hand tools. Given that the only other thing I have made in his shop was a wooden cutting board out of a slab of walnut, I am pretty pleased.
It’s just a perfect piece for me.
December 17, 2025 at 5:47 PM
It’s just a perfect piece for me.
Atrocious light for photographing walnut, but behold! One of a set of 2 chairs my dad made for me, now in its home. These are based on the Chandigarh chair and my dad figured out how to make the from photos alone.
November 30, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Atrocious light for photographing walnut, but behold! One of a set of 2 chairs my dad made for me, now in its home. These are based on the Chandigarh chair and my dad figured out how to make the from photos alone.
I am finally reading Not Without Peril and you really do have to read to believe all the insane things that have happened on Mt Washington.
November 24, 2025 at 7:21 PM
I am finally reading Not Without Peril and you really do have to read to believe all the insane things that have happened on Mt Washington.
My third quilt is done! I started this last year and leisurely hand-quilted it throughout 2025. I made the somewhat unorthodox decision of binding this halfway through quilting (March?) which meant there were months that passed where I didn’t work on it and just got to enjoy it nearly-complete.
November 9, 2025 at 7:49 PM
My third quilt is done! I started this last year and leisurely hand-quilted it throughout 2025. I made the somewhat unorthodox decision of binding this halfway through quilting (March?) which meant there were months that passed where I didn’t work on it and just got to enjoy it nearly-complete.
Back to where this thread began with changes and improvements that were fully worth it. In V1 the waistband was just the tweed folded over, but this is now faced with the cotton/silk voile backed by silk organza (to match the seams). Hidden within is petersham!
October 24, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Back to where this thread began with changes and improvements that were fully worth it. In V1 the waistband was just the tweed folded over, but this is now faced with the cotton/silk voile backed by silk organza (to match the seams). Hidden within is petersham!
Update: last night I did Hong Kong seams on all vertical seams in my skirt. I used leftover self-made bias binding from a dress I made this summer out of cotton/silk voile.
October 23, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Update: last night I did Hong Kong seams on all vertical seams in my skirt. I used leftover self-made bias binding from a dress I made this summer out of cotton/silk voile.
My dad finished making his pair of Chandigarh chairs! If you are in northern New England you should get a chance to see them in early November through the Guild of New Hampshire Woodworkers and their New England Woodworking Competition. They’ll technically be on loan from me!
October 22, 2025 at 4:57 PM
My dad finished making his pair of Chandigarh chairs! If you are in northern New England you should get a chance to see them in early November through the Guild of New Hampshire Woodworkers and their New England Woodworking Competition. They’ll technically be on loan from me!
It is not done (needs a hem facing) but here is the first skirt I’ve ever self-drafted based on my measurements. Made of green Harris tweed and flatlined in silk organza.
October 21, 2025 at 3:37 PM
It is not done (needs a hem facing) but here is the first skirt I’ve ever self-drafted based on my measurements. Made of green Harris tweed and flatlined in silk organza.
You’ll never guess who watched the quince picking at Yale University Press today.
October 7, 2025 at 6:36 PM
You’ll never guess who watched the quince picking at Yale University Press today.
This pastel by my grandmother used to hang in her bedroom and now it proudly sits in my apartment. A framer friend very generously put museum glass in it (at wholesale) and I can’t stop looking over at it. Unclear if these are Green or White mountains.
October 2, 2025 at 4:41 PM
This pastel by my grandmother used to hang in her bedroom and now it proudly sits in my apartment. A framer friend very generously put museum glass in it (at wholesale) and I can’t stop looking over at it. Unclear if these are Green or White mountains.
I finished the top of my banner. Now I need to make the backing and quilt it up! If you ever want to see this in person and also like aerials and a lovely and welcoming community in Connecticut . . . It will live there eventually.
September 21, 2025 at 12:41 AM
I finished the top of my banner. Now I need to make the backing and quilt it up! If you ever want to see this in person and also like aerials and a lovely and welcoming community in Connecticut . . . It will live there eventually.
Progress continues. This is going to be a banner for the aerial studio I go to, which is also one of the most welcoming places around.
September 15, 2025 at 12:12 AM
Progress continues. This is going to be a banner for the aerial studio I go to, which is also one of the most welcoming places around.
Working on a new project with foundation paper piecing! You really have to pay attention with this stuff and almost think backwards.
September 13, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Working on a new project with foundation paper piecing! You really have to pay attention with this stuff and almost think backwards.
Spent most of the day completing this linen robe. I am tempted to swan around my apartment in it for the rest of the weekend.
September 6, 2025 at 11:10 PM
Spent most of the day completing this linen robe. I am tempted to swan around my apartment in it for the rest of the weekend.
My dad has been working on replicating (with some modifications) a Chandigarh chair and just oiled his test, which is made of ash. He figured this out from photos, a lifetime of woodworking knowledge (his first career was making Shaker furniture), and golden ratios.
August 5, 2025 at 2:46 PM
My dad has been working on replicating (with some modifications) a Chandigarh chair and just oiled his test, which is made of ash. He figured this out from photos, a lifetime of woodworking knowledge (his first career was making Shaker furniture), and golden ratios.
I’ve made a lot from mid-June to mid-July. I completed the ‘final version’ of a dress I tested in blue cotton voile, and made two versions of a trapeze pattern I modified (changed shoulder slope, lowered armscye, shortened). Also I made a tailor’s sausage to match my ham.
July 21, 2025 at 1:51 PM
I’ve made a lot from mid-June to mid-July. I completed the ‘final version’ of a dress I tested in blue cotton voile, and made two versions of a trapeze pattern I modified (changed shoulder slope, lowered armscye, shortened). Also I made a tailor’s sausage to match my ham.
If the squash seedlings get like this (a delicata), they seem to no longer be snackable. But I am greedy and want more than just a delicata.
June 25, 2025 at 12:09 AM
If the squash seedlings get like this (a delicata), they seem to no longer be snackable. But I am greedy and want more than just a delicata.
Something keeps eating my butternut seedlings (farmers market says this is common), so good wishes appreciated for the third round of planting. They appear to be less enticing when the leaves grow hairy.
I will cull, obviously, if all of these make it.
I will cull, obviously, if all of these make it.
June 25, 2025 at 12:06 AM
Something keeps eating my butternut seedlings (farmers market says this is common), so good wishes appreciated for the third round of planting. They appear to be less enticing when the leaves grow hairy.
I will cull, obviously, if all of these make it.
I will cull, obviously, if all of these make it.
My new couch arrived and it’s perfect. If anyone wants furniture you can have forever and also the loveliest customer service, my experience with Pompanoosuc Mills was just top tier at every stage.
June 5, 2025 at 4:02 PM
My new couch arrived and it’s perfect. If anyone wants furniture you can have forever and also the loveliest customer service, my experience with Pompanoosuc Mills was just top tier at every stage.
Took advantage of a long weekend and gray weather to finish a lot of garments I’ve been working on. I finished two tees and a dress from the Elizabeth Suzann Georgia Series (I’ve been taking a class with her) and one dress from Silversaga Patterns (Francesca). All of these have enclosed seams!
May 26, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Took advantage of a long weekend and gray weather to finish a lot of garments I’ve been working on. I finished two tees and a dress from the Elizabeth Suzann Georgia Series (I’ve been taking a class with her) and one dress from Silversaga Patterns (Francesca). All of these have enclosed seams!
We found bloodroot thriving by the side of the road at the edge of my parents’ field and transplanted a select to my mom’s woodland garden.
April 20, 2025 at 6:59 PM
We found bloodroot thriving by the side of the road at the edge of my parents’ field and transplanted a select to my mom’s woodland garden.
Made my voice heard at the New Haven HandsOff protest yesterday and sewed 15 buttons and buttonholes.
April 6, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Made my voice heard at the New Haven HandsOff protest yesterday and sewed 15 buttons and buttonholes.
I rebuilt my community garden plot! I used untreated fir and applied tung oil. The community garden manager cut the wood for me (one long board into the short ones and the 4x4 pole), and then it was just me, a drill, and an impact driver. The fence posts should enable vertical growth.
March 24, 2025 at 10:40 PM
I rebuilt my community garden plot! I used untreated fir and applied tung oil. The community garden manager cut the wood for me (one long board into the short ones and the 4x4 pole), and then it was just me, a drill, and an impact driver. The fence posts should enable vertical growth.
On Monday I finished my first shirt! This was technically a test (toile) and mistakes were made/ lessons were learned while making it. Pleased to have it in my closet though I do now need to make a camisole as cotton voile is sheer. Pattern is the Amelie blouse from Silversaga Patterns.
March 20, 2025 at 3:48 PM
On Monday I finished my first shirt! This was technically a test (toile) and mistakes were made/ lessons were learned while making it. Pleased to have it in my closet though I do now need to make a camisole as cotton voile is sheer. Pattern is the Amelie blouse from Silversaga Patterns.