Friday, August 29, 2008

Yay for Cute Babies!

What have I been up to lately? Well, lots of fun, creative, crafty things actually. I finished and sent A Week of Baby Onesies for a swap at craftster. That was a blast! The hardest part was narrowing down my ideas to just five!

I was very happy with how they turned out, and it looks like the recipient is happy with them, too! Check out his mom's blog for pictures of the cutest, happiest little guy you may have ever seen! Not to mention, her blog is just plain fabulous! I am super excited because she's sent a package to Leith! It'll arrive in a few days. I can hardly wait!!

Want to see more super creative shirts? Here' s the gallery for AWoBO swap (round 1).....sounds like there's lots of interest for more rounds!!

Can you tell I'm loving me some links??

k

Monday, August 25, 2008

Tagged!

I’ve been tagged! Remember playing tag as a child…”You’re It.” Well I was “tagged” recently; maybe you will want to play too. Wait a minute. Maybe 'tagged' is more like the graffiti tags? Could be...she left it in a comment, where I didn't notice it for nearly two weeks! Either way, it sounds like fun.
I was tagged by chimeracrochet

Here are the rules:
1) Link to the person who tagged you (check)
2) Post the rules on your blog (this is what you are now reading, so, check)
3) Write 6 random things about yourself (see below, again, check)
4) Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them (This is only a game -- hmmm, do I even know six people who blog?)
5) Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog
6) Let the tagger know when your entry is up (and, check)

Random Things About Me:

1. I have three tattoos. Just ask and you can see two of them. ;-)

2. I can type about 95 wpm.

3. I would love to open a brick & mortar fabric store some day.

4. I've been a mom for more than half my life!

5. My favorite city in the world is Edinburgh, Scotland. *sigh*

6. My husband does all the cooking in our family...I can no longer even boil eggs (it's true. I recently left some on the stove for over two hours -- they were fried boiled.).



People I Am Tagging:

Here's the embarrassing part. I don't *know* six bloggers! Okay, I probably do, but most of them have been tagged very recently. So it appears I am on the bottom level of the pyramid scheme. ;-)

It's not really surprising, is it? I mean, I just noticed the tagging yesterday! It was left there almost two weeks ago! I'm old and this blogging stuff is still pretty new to me.....Guess I'll hold off for a while and start the tagging anew in a few weeks.

Sorry Lisa.

k

Back to Montessori

Today is Leith's first day back to Montessori! She's wearing a new mama-made top and using a new mama-made bag for school. The top is a little large. She's grown so much that the 86/92 is too small, and the 98/104 is just a little big. I really like making these as tops, instead of dresses. She seems to get a lot more wear from them.

This is made with the IKEA fabric we bought in Scotland, and some rescued fabric purchased from a thrift store sometime in the last year (I have six more yards of it!). The blue really sets off the red, and vice versa.

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Okay, so you can't actually *see* the IKEA fabric. It's there. Trust me. It's the back of the dress, and the applique on the front.

John thought I'd lost my mind, buying 'so much' of the same fabric -- six (6) metres each of red and green. But I sold some to a friend and am using the rest for things like this adorable Anna (farbenmix) and some will be used for toddler placemat and napkin sets for etsy and craft fairs.


The new tote bag is super cute, too, and uses the green hippo fabric for lining. The corduroy is Sandra Boynton "pigs in space" -- okay, I don't know if that's the name of the print, but there are pigs on it, and they are in space. Just for fun, I have the cords running East/West, instead of North/South, so that I could utilize the selvedges -- the white. Unfortunately they weren't the same height, but the bag is cute anyway.

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This thing is huge -- about 14" wide by 18" tall, plus handles and the gussets (making it about 2" deep). There's a package of disposable training pants, a gallon ziploc with a change of clothes, three diapers and a to-go packet of wipes in that bag, and it's not even close to being full!

I still need/want to move the handles. They're too far apart on each side, since I set them in from the edges instead of measuring between them. (insert eyeroll here) All in all it's a terribly cute bag and I'm very happy with it. Trying to move a little out of my comfort zone, as far as colors/styles. Normally wouldn't have used the bright green interior fabric with the deeper tones on the front, but the hippos tie it all together!

Yay for practical creativeness! and YAY for back to Montessori!

k

Thursday, August 14, 2008

etsy excitement!

Just listed a super cute reconned bag in my etsy shop. I'm completely annoyed that the photos didn't translate very well. They look terrific in thumbnail size, but click on them and they were digitized and distorted. ugh! Finally got that straightened out.

Here's a funny story: while trying to fix the pictures, I thought someone had bought the bag!! I told John I thought it was sold. He gave me a high five -- my first etsy sale!! But something wasn't right...looking carefully, I saw that it was considered "unlisted" and had been removed from my shop. What?!? Turns out, I hadn't 'finished' my edit and it timed out. *sigh* Oh well, we'll open the champagne when it really does sell.

At least I'm laughing about it!

k

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

DISO my sewjo

Seems like it's been ages since I've felt like and have had uninterrupted time to sew. I did, however, get two things listed on etsy! Small things, but hey, you gotta start somewhere!

Lots of inspiration on line...skirts, skirts, skirts. I am really looking forward to cutting out a bunch of skirts and then getting to sew them up. Leith will be starting back to Montessori on the 25th (12 days, not that I'm counting)

Time for bed. Will post links to some terrific tutes in the morning.

k

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Procrastinators Unite! (Tomorrow)

There's some sort of mental block for me lately. I get excited about a project, but it gets put off because we have three rental units that are or will be vacant by the end of the month! So, those projects take precedence....by the time I get to the sewing room, all my inspiration/motivation is *gone* - ugh.

It's not all hard work; there are fun things, too. Today we went to Des Moines to a wedding reception. My cousin's son got married yesterday (08/08/08) and had their reception this afternoon. It was a gorgeous day, easy drive and we got to see quite a few relatives.

I'm hoping that by posting the following, I'll actually get to it! "I will finish photographing the bags and things I have ready for etsy, will finish organizing my sewing room (at least a little more), and will stop whining about all the things I have to do and all the things I "can't" do yet."

k

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Distractions....

I am supposed to be clearing out and cleaning out my sewing room. Got a pretty good start, then uncovered several fun fabrics that were set aside for particular projects.

Since my cutting table was nearly clear, I decided to reward myself by working on one of the projects. Then realized that I'd need to sort my box of bias tape/rick rack, so worked on that for a while. Moved the project to sort the box. Found the ribbon I'd been looking for and pulled out the project for that. It's now set on the cutting table, too. Decided that no, I would not be distracted from my initial goal this morning (cleaning. remember?).

Then J and L came home. He brought the printout of a new pattern I need to test. Out came the fabrics for that project. L went down for a nap. I auditioned other fabrics for the test pattern. All those fabrics are out on the table. Had to look for my Swedish tracing paper so I could trace the pattern and get it cut out this afternoon. Can't find it. L woke up from her nap.

We head downstairs for a snack. Napping on a hot day can really make a gal hungry! A couple of wheatabix and a glass of milk later, we head upstairs to the attic for some puppies. No, we don't have a dog, she wants to watch 101 Dalmatians. So. Here I am, logged on to the computer while the Disney classic entertains my tyke. Since the sewing room's on another floor, I'm sort of trapped here, listening to a movie I've seen/heard at least a hundred times. *sigh*

Oh well, J will be relieving me in about half an hour...then I'll head back to the sewing room to....what was it again? Oh yeah, get distracted by something pretty.

k

Friday, August 1, 2008

Why do I do that?

Seriously, we spent three weeks in Scotland and do you think I used this (or any) blog for posting memories of the fabulous time we had? No. gah. Oh well, guess it will have to do to say "We had a terrific time."

Now that we're home, though, I am really going to move on the etsy stuff and get back to sewing with a vengeance. (Hey, that'd be a cool shop name!) My assistants (sewing machine and serger) will be back today from their little holiday, too. Took them in for maintenance just before we left, so I can pick them up today and get started immediately! Yay!!

Instead of being on line, I should be busy tidying my sewing room. Instead of just lamenting about that, I think I will go do it. TTFN!!

k