My Weblog

Writer's Clutch

Over time many of my designs have gradually evolved and been improved and hopefully made more efficient for me to sew, which is imperative to my growth and survival as a business. I've been meaning to rework this for a while and even modified the pattern, but just hadn't gotten around to sewing one.  Then someone sent me a note on etsy asking me if I'd make her what I was calling the "Moleskine Clutch" (copyright concerns made me think I'd best not call it that anymore) and it inspired me to get it together and make one using the revised pattern.  Hence the new "Writer's Clutch", which is available in my shop. 

 

One of the great things about selling on the internet and being able to interact with the end customer is they often provide inspiration, ideas and the motivation to make new things or improve what you are already making.  I love my customers and appreciate every single person who stops by my shop, buys something, marks me as a favorite or for whatever reason gives me a reason to keep making all these things.  I really can't say THANK YOU enough to all my customers and admirers, but thank you so much for another great year on etsy! 

   

Handmade X-Mas

Well it's over again for another year.  This year was remarkably stress free for me.  I even managed to make three Christmas gifts without any last minute freak-outs and my presents were all wrapped and ready to go this morning.   

Here is one of the items handmade this year...this was a gift for my 3-year-old niece:

The "shell" is quilted with metallic silver thread for that extra bit of sparkle little kids dig.  My niece seemed to like it quite a bit though I think she'd received so many toys the novelty of gifts had worn thin.

The best thing about this was that I used a vintage pattern from 1967 that my mom used to make me the kitty pajama bag when I was but a wee tike.  I remember this bag well--it was made from a soft blue fabric and when they would send me to Grandma's for the night I put my little PJ's in it and and zip it up and be off. 

This pattern has seen some heavy use, as you can see by the terrible condition of the package.  About five years ago I made my other niece the pig in a cute pink print and she loved it. I've also made the frog in a miniature size for dog toys. Stick in a squeaker and it's one big time fun dog toy! They love to grab it by the crotch and run through the house.   

More pics of the turtle...

 

Imagine What I Can Do With This!

So yesterday was my birthday and being so close to Christmas I decided to just take Thursday and Friday off from work and have a nice, really long weekend.  In anticipation of having time off I'd been plotting what to do with all the free time and decided that buying a serger was at the top of the list.  I'd already decided the most important feature is self-threading.  My other requirements were one that would do a few tricks and last a good long while.  

I thought I'd spend more time looking but once I arrived at Montevilla Sewing Center a very nice lady helped me quickly narrow it down to the Baby Lock Imagine. 

I'm really excited about this thing, but also a bit intimidated.  The last time I used a serger was in high school, which was a long, long time ago.  Even though this is "self-threading" it still is much more complicated than a standard sewing machine.  My purchase does include classes but there aren't any scheduled until after the first of the year.

I also did a little Christmas shopping and bought this adorable picture for my seven year old niece:

It's difficult to see in the photo but it has some sparkle and is just so ethereal and magical. This is something I would have adored having in my room as a child. It has mermaids and glitter and is just completely fabulous. I hope she likes it.

This was found at a great store on SE Division called Portico where you can find all kinds of interesting and lovely things for your home.  This "Vintage Board" is made by a company called Moonlight and Roses that transforms vintage images into wall art.

Dryer Balls and Endless Packages

During the holidays I definitely spend waaaay more money on myself than on gifts.  Part of it is I have a very small family and no one really wants, needs or expects a lot in the gift department.  The other part is that the shopping urge just gets turned on full speed and there are some really great deals.  This year I also did well in my etsy shop so there was extra $$ to burn on etsy (will show off some of those purchases later). 

So lots of packages have arrived on my doorstep lately.  It's so great to come home to new things!  One of the items I bought this year was Dryer Balls.  These were highlighted in one of the Daily Candy emails I actually opened.  Yes, these sound so boring, but they really do seem to work.  I had a medium size load of towels dried in 30 minutes, which to me seems pretty darn quick.  In preparation for leaving my horrible day job this summer I'm trying to pay off debt, save money and just become more thrifty in general.  These Dryer Balls are part of my master scheme. 

I'm also waiting sort of impatiently for this to arrive from Anthropologie:

Mine will be the "slate" color though.  Maybe it will come tomorrow...

Could You Move Over There To New Hampshire?

After a few weeks of futzing with the heat all night long--I was either freezing or being cooked/choked by blowing hot air--I finally found the solution in a box...a vintage quilt.  I'm not sure if my grandmother or my great-grandmother made this quilt but it's been around for a while.  Originally I thought it was a 1931 pattern called 48 State Flowers by Ruby McKim, but the few images I've found of the embroidery patterns for this quilt don't look like my quilt.  The flowers might be the same but my quilt has banners with each state name.  Maybe it was modified.  Who knows...I'll ask Granny at Christmas what's up with this lovely quilt. 

I'm trying to keep Lila off it for the most part, but this morning I invited her up for a quick morning snuggle.  She's a real bed hog and often just lays right on top of me, so I tried to shove her over on New Hampshire. 

It's fun looking at all the states.  Oh look here's Oregon--where I live--down at the foot of the bed: