Work that doesn't seem like work

Last weekend I hosted a sewing birthday party at my shop for a group of 10 year old girls.  They made matching ruffled aprons for themselves and their American Girl Dolls.  Fun, but whew!  What a lot of ruffles!  Here are the dolls, all dolled up (I didn't ask the parents permission to post the girls' photos on my blog, so all you get are the dolls.  The kid aprons were identical, just much bigger.)

Yesterday I received the sweetest Thank You Card from the birthday girl.  I have it hanging on the bulletin board in the shop.

I've been a teeny bit stressed lately, just money worries, you know.  Like just about everyone these days.  I could be doing something else and making more money.  But would I be this happy going to work each day?  I seriously doubt it!  I had to take some work home with me last weekend to finish up.  At my last job, that meant piles of files to read.  In my current position, here's my "work at home" work, which I did while catching up on some shows on Netflix:

Little Avery sweater, made size 6-12 mos from Superwash Worsted Deluxe in Nitrox Blue. The person I made it for will pick out the buttons now that it is completed.

I may not be making a lot of money, but I think I might just have one of the best jobs in the world.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

Last week, a little Farm Store opened up between Lexington (where I work) and Buena Vista (the next town over).

The Farm Store, Rte 60 and Bares Wood Road between Lexington and Buena Vista, VA

It is a cute little place!

I stopped by to check it out because I love eating local foods when possible, and the Farmer's Markets here on Wednesday and Saturday mornings just aren't convenient for me.  I was delighted to see when I arrived that they also sell local CRAFTS! 

The wheels in my little ole brain started turning and I thought, "hey, maybe I can put some of MY stuff here..."  I'm pretty shy about this kind of thing, but as I was checking out with my fresh veggies, I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and asked how one becomes a vendor.  I'm so glad I asked!  She gave me an application, I completed it over the weekend and printed out some pages from my ETSY store so she could see my stuff, and took it by to her yesterday.  She approved me on the spot (YAY!) so I went by at lunch today to set up my spot.

My little spot, right under the window! (and beside the potatoes - hee, hee, hee!)

Crayon rolls (making these is like eating potato chips for me - can't make just one!), Scrabble tile earrings, upcycled denim bookmarks and business cards



Half aprons made from upcycled pillowcases and table scarves. I need to go back and take a photo of the orange apron with embroidery - it is one of my all-time favorites!

I didn't take much, just the stuff I've made lately that isn't in my ETSY shop - 3 aprons, 7 crayon rolls, 7 pairs of Scrabble tile earrings, a mini quilt and some bookmarks.  And business cards, of course.  I am so excited, and hope that someone who wanders in there likes my stuff, but even if I never make a sale, I am so proud of myself for getting over my fear of putting my creations out there (and possibly being critiqued or poorly received).  As the old adage goes, nothing ventured, nothing gained!

Auction and Etsy

There was a local auction today.  I missed most of it because I had to work all morning, but I did manage to get there for the last hour or so.  I had my kids and one of their friends with me, and I left them on the playground outside while I went in to see what was left.  I saw a box of linens (man, am I ever predictable!), so I got a number and took a seat.  It didn't take long for that lot to come up, and I won the bid.  All the vintage sheets quilts out there have me wanting to make one for myself, and there were 3 good sheets in there to add to my growing stash of sheets

along with some more pillowcases crying out to be made into shopping totes or aprons or something.

The rest of the linens didn't excite me, so they were dropped off at Goodwill on the way home.  Along with my other purchase...

When my kids came in to the auction room from outside, I waved at them so they would come over to me, forgetting at that instant where I was.  "SOLD!  To number...ma'am?  What's your number?"

CRAP!  In waving to my kids, I accidentally bought something!  Luckily, "my bid" was only $5.  It turns out, I bought a box of records.  Lovely.  I don't even have a record player.  Straight to Goodwill they went.

I also bought two old chairs with seats that are falling apart.  You know those chairs where the seat is made with neckties?

Why is this sideways??? Image borrowed from http://luciav.tripod.com/robyn/chairsforsale2.htm

I want to try that.  So I bought these two sad looking chairs.  Let this serve as the BEFORE picture.  Hopefully there will be an AFTER picture one of these days, although I know better than to give myself a goal completion date which I will fail to meet and then feel like a slacker loser.

So that's the auction - on to Etsy.  Some of my upcycled aprons have been selling, so I made some more to post.  First, why should the kids have all the fun with the denim aprons?  I made an adult sized one, but instead of making all that binding for the edges, I sewed one long 138" tie, fed it through channels sewn up each side of the torso, and then pinked the rest of the edges for a ragged edge look.  Two roomy, denim lined pockets made from the same pillowcase from which I made the ties, and I was done.  I love it!  Definitely gonna make more like this!

And that orange pillowcase still had more to give, so I paired it with a big floral pillowcase and made yet another half apron.  I was sure to make the pocket big enough to be functional this time, instead of just decorative.  I love orange - it makes me happy!

Enough with the little projects - I want to finish a quilt!  Time to pick up the needle and find a good movie on TV.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend, y'all!

I'm still here!

I've just been busy.  Unfortunately, I haven't been the kind of busy that produces pretty pictures.  I've been:

- playing basketball.  Yes, I am just 5 ft tall and no, I've never played basketball before, but I decided it was time the Hutchinson men cheered me on. So I put together an intramural basketball team of women faculty and staff, and we've been whupping up on the sorority girls half our age.  What fun!  We are three games in and undefeated.  I've scored in every game, and last night I even hit a 3 pointer!  I didn't even realize I could throw the ball that far!

- building a chicken tractor.  Have you ever heard that term before?  It is basically a moveable chicken coop.  My kids have been begging for chickens for over a year, and I'm partial to free range eggs, so this weekend I sketched out a plan and we got started.  There are a ton of different types of chicken tractors out there, but the one I sketched out (based on my limited abilities and the materials I had on hand) looks most like this one:

Hopefully we'll have half a dozen chicks by this time next week. 

- reading.  Well, re-reading actually.  I had forgotten how much I love Earlene Fowler's Benni Harper mysteries.  I started at the beginning, and I'm on book 5, Dove in the Window, right now.  Oh how I wish there were a new book in that series on the horizon!

- quilting.  I'm still hand quilting the Charm baby quilt, but the progress is slow, as usual, and I don't want to bore you with more photos of the same old thing.  The same goes for the lap quilt made from bits of my Great Great Grandmother's salvaged quilt - I have just two borders left to sew on, but you've seen that quilt so many times already.

- mining the thrift stores.  I seriously have a problem passing up pretty pillowcases when I see them.  I bought 6 more this weekend, and made myself an apron to wear at the two fairs/events where I'll have a booth this year.  I finished at midnight last night, so no photos now, but when you've seen one apron made from upcycled pillowcases, you've seen them all, right?

- leading my Cub Scouts (of course!).  This weekend was the Pinewood Derby at our Pack Meeting.  We Tigers lead the opening using Sign Language we had learned to ask everyone to join us in the Pledge of Allegiance.  Then, those wonderful little Tigers of mine sat still and behaved throughout the whole Pinewood Derby, bringing the Den of the Month honors home to us for the month.  They are such good little doobies!

So, I haven't been idle, but I haven't been doing anything that really warranted sharing, either.  I need to do something exciting so I can put some eye candy up on here.

Balking at borders

I don't know why I do this, but I always seem to cruise along making the blocks of a quilt and putting them together, but when it comes time to put on borders, I lose momentum. I love pieced borders, so that is probably why. After doing all that work making the center of a quilt, the work of making pieced borders is sometimes overwhelming. But with this little quilt, I really don't have an excuse. The pieces are already cut and just need to be sewn together and then sewn onto the quilt. What is taking me so long?

Part of the problem is my recent infatuation with making aprons from pillowcases.  My thrift store shopping spree last weekend yielded A LOT of pillowcases.  Last night I made 2 more.  First, this reversible children's full apron from a pillowcase and some green striped fabric that I had on hand.

 And then this half apron from a large cloth napkin that I found paired with the last bit of a Thimbleberries print..  I just LOVE the pom pom fringe at the bottom.

And lo and behold, I posted items in my Etsy shop last weekend, and had a sale in less than 12 hours.  Woo hoo!

She has no idea

Having a niece is SO MUCH FUN!  I struggle to think of things to make for my boys, but I can always find things to make for my niece.  She has no idea how much I appreciate having her to make things for. 

Her next package in the mail from me will be this little half apron, made from the leftovers of that pillowcase when I made the Creamsicle quilt top. 

I had to promise not to put my son's face in the photo...

I looked up a bunch of patterns and tutorials online, but none were exactly what I wanted, so here's my version.  I love the pleat in the middle - makes it kind of flirty and feminine, don't you think?

Pillowcase apron for my niece

I love the poiny ends!

And you know I have lots of thrift store pillowcases, right?  I used two coordinating ones to make two more half aprons - a "Mommy and Me" set.  I love my boys, but I think I'd have loved having a girl, too!

Mommy and Me Half Aprons from Pillowcases

I added the pocket on a whim - not sure how I feel about it

I think this is just the cutest little apron!



My tiny contribution for Japan

I had to hem my son's karate pants before our Pre-Black Belt test this coming Saturday. Hemming - ICK! I was avoiding the sewing room so I wouldn't have to do it. But then I saw that Beth is collecting blocks to make a quilt (or two? or three?) to send to Japan. That got me down into the sewing room in a jiffy. I've been a bit paralysed by the enormity of the troubles in Japan, and feeling a bit helpless to do anything about it besides send money. But a quilt block, that I can manage. Especially since it is a scrappy one that can be made from units that I already have pre-cut in my scrap tins. In no time at all, I had made FOUR blocks to send.

I wonder how she's going to lay them out - perhaps like this?

Thanks, Beth, for mobilizing me into some sort of action, no matter how small.

And check out what was in the mail for me when I got home:

Thank you, Nancy, for the lovely apron and the books. My friends are the greatest! I made a new chicken curry recipe last night with mango and raisins (pretty adventurouse for me) while wearing that apron and SUCCESS - NO LEFTOVERS! Even my 5-year-old ate some! It must have been the apron!

(Oh, and I DID hem the pants. Yay, me!)

Another present ready to wrap!

I should be sewing down binding, and I'm going to get to it in just a few moments. But first, look! I made my first apron!

This will be for my brother's girlfriend's daughter (can I just call her my niece?), who is 11. I remember her saying something this past year about liking to cook, so I bought her a cookbook, and made her this apron to wear while trying out all her new recipes. I'm trying to get the next generation to embrace aprons the way I do!

I'm proud of:

my first pocket, lined

and decorative stitching along the bottom

Hmmm, the closeups of those features make me think maybe I shouldn't be too proud. So they aren't perfect; I'm proud of myself for trying them!

I could have finished the ends of the ties that go around the waist better, but I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.

Wait! Did you just hear that? There is some binding calling to me...gotta go!

Happy Post - Wedding bells and Giveaway winnings!

My younger sister got married this past weekend. It was a wonderful, relaxing three-day affair. We rented out all of the Lydia Mountain Cabins for the 40 or so guests, and arrived Friday afternoon and didn't leave until Sunday afternoon. The weather, the food, the company, the activities - everything was great! What fun to happen upon a cabin to see this:

or to come across a pack of roaming kids enjoying the freedom this remote location afforded them:

or to come across a cluster of adults just relaxing and enjoying each others' company:

or fun times on the zip line:

(Um, Curtis, the zip line is for KIDS!)

It was an outdoor Quaker ceremony, which meant quite a bit of time sitting in quiet reflection. I was so proud of my boys for sitting quietly, but when I peeked over, I saw why they were so quiet - Donald had fallen asleep! Oh well, whatever works!

Once the ceremony was over and the band started to play, the kids danced the night away.

The beautiful couple!

Aren't her flowers gorgeous?

My mom, my sisters and me - so many cameras were flashing at once, we are all looking in different directions!

And not only did I come home with great memories, I came home with goodies from my sisters! Ericka brought me some bone china tea cups that she found in her new house that she is fixing up, and Kerry brought me some fabric remnants. Aren't sisters the best?

And when we got home today, there was a surprise in the mail. I won a giveaway from Rebecca at Our Busy Little Bunch in the Fall Into Fall Giveaway, and she sent aprons for my boys. Of course, they wanted to cook right away, so we scoured the cupboards and found the fixings for oatmeal raisin cookies, which we took to our Cub Scout Den meeting tonight. Thanks, Rebecca, the aprons are fantastic - I love the design, the durability, and the fabric!

As you can imagine, I am not only really far behind on reading blogs, but also pretty far behind on sleep. I promise to catch up with you all later - right now I'm off to catch some ZZZZZZs!