I am all crafted out and that's why I haven't blogged for a bit!!
Chrissy & I managed to do 7 craft fairs this season and that is ALOT!! Plus factor in that my oldest daughter got married on Oct 31st in Puerto Vallarta and that this is the busiest season at work -- it's no wonder I haven't blogged since early October!
We had a great time at the majority of our fairs -- we had some goods one and some ...well ..not quite good.
But we enjoyed it and saw and met quite a few folks -- it's always fun ...and it is hard work!!
I must say for anyone who thinks making handmade items is a cheap and fast way of making money -- you have no clue!! I would challenge anyone to follow us for a week and see the preparation that goes into signing up for one! It's work, work, work! Plus the set up, the actual craft fair itself and breaking down all of your displays and carting it home again. But we do enjoy it or we would not continue doing it!!
That being said -- I figure we have about 2 weeks of being able to pleasure sew and then we need to take stock of what we have and what we need. We are planning on trying to get in to The Festival of Crafts that is put on at the Round Up Centre at our Calgary Exhibition & Stampede Grounds.
It is a 4 day event and you have to be juried in -- so we need to get all of our ducks in a row and work on our application. The booth is quite expensive but the foot traffic is incredible so it might be the only one we do for the 2012 year -- it's hard to say. Will let everyone know if we get accepted!
For now -- I must go -- it is almost dinner time and we are headed to my best friends place for supper with the crew and looking forward to a lovely meal, lovely time with our friends & cake!! :)
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
My Goodies Arrived!
As some of you know -- I was participating in a quilting swap -- my first ever -- and I had a lot of fun. In fact my very first blog post was about the swap.
Well, I received my goodies in the mail -- on the same day no less! It was such a great way to finish off a really icky day that I had at work!! I rushed home and you would have thought it was Christmas!!
One parcel was from Ontario and the other one was from the U.K. I ripped into them like a school girl!!
And such nice goodies and mug rugs -- they are absolutely FAB!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE them!! But which to use first ....what a quandry.
So without further ado -- here are pictures of my goodies and mug rugs -- ladies -- you out did yourselves -- they are beautiful!!
My first package was from Leslie in Ontario -- and it had the most fabulous little pin cushion -- I don't have any pincushions ...so I will definitely use it.
My other goodies in the package was this adorable little travel sewing pouch -- it will be super for my stuff that currently resides in a ziplock bag when I take a quilting class ....and maybe I will be able to keep all of my scissors and needles together! Also was a fat quarter of the little stars on red -- I am thinking of making it into a little gadget bag -- 'cause I can't have enough bags!
Now for mug rug -- a big beautiful batik butterfly that was fussy cut and surrounded by greens and pinks! It is lovely!! And I can't wait to use it!!
My next parcel was from Fiona from the U.K. Again my breath was taken away -- my package of goodies was so pretty!
I've never had pin cushions and now I have two really sweet pincushions! Fiona's was rectangular & scrappy and embroidered and I figure it can sit on my cutting table.
She also included 2 pieces of fabric that she used in the mug rug and I really like them -- not sure what I will do with them ...but a quilter can always use fabric!!
The mug rug was darling --it has an embroidered tea cup or mug of coffee -- and it done up scrappy -- I really love it!!
This was such a fun swap -- I had some anxiety when I started because it was new territory for me but I am glad that I did -- I have some beautiful hand made gifts and met some new friends on line -- a win win situation for me!
So a very heartfelt thank you to both Leslie & Fiona -- ladies -- the packages were beautiful and really made an icky day into a great day!!
Well, I received my goodies in the mail -- on the same day no less! It was such a great way to finish off a really icky day that I had at work!! I rushed home and you would have thought it was Christmas!!
One parcel was from Ontario and the other one was from the U.K. I ripped into them like a school girl!!
And such nice goodies and mug rugs -- they are absolutely FAB!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE them!! But which to use first ....what a quandry.
So without further ado -- here are pictures of my goodies and mug rugs -- ladies -- you out did yourselves -- they are beautiful!!
My first package was from Leslie in Ontario -- and it had the most fabulous little pin cushion -- I don't have any pincushions ...so I will definitely use it.
My other goodies in the package was this adorable little travel sewing pouch -- it will be super for my stuff that currently resides in a ziplock bag when I take a quilting class ....and maybe I will be able to keep all of my scissors and needles together! Also was a fat quarter of the little stars on red -- I am thinking of making it into a little gadget bag -- 'cause I can't have enough bags!
Now for mug rug -- a big beautiful batik butterfly that was fussy cut and surrounded by greens and pinks! It is lovely!! And I can't wait to use it!!
My next parcel was from Fiona from the U.K. Again my breath was taken away -- my package of goodies was so pretty!
I've never had pin cushions and now I have two really sweet pincushions! Fiona's was rectangular & scrappy and embroidered and I figure it can sit on my cutting table.
She also included 2 pieces of fabric that she used in the mug rug and I really like them -- not sure what I will do with them ...but a quilter can always use fabric!!
The mug rug was darling --it has an embroidered tea cup or mug of coffee -- and it done up scrappy -- I really love it!!
This was such a fun swap -- I had some anxiety when I started because it was new territory for me but I am glad that I did -- I have some beautiful hand made gifts and met some new friends on line -- a win win situation for me!
So a very heartfelt thank you to both Leslie & Fiona -- ladies -- the packages were beautiful and really made an icky day into a great day!!
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Zippity Doo Dah ....
Well, tonight I learned that I am not quite the Diva that I think!
Grab a coffee or bevy of your choice and listen to my story and I think you will agree with me -- perhaps I should slow down a bit before diving into a new project.
So -- after dinner this evening -- I headed down to the Diva Dome -- flush with the knowledge that I had several hours of guilt free sewing ahead of me -- after a hard's day at work -- I needed the relaxation that the Diva Dome provides. And frankly with all of the stuff going on in the house in the past few weeks -- I felt I deserved it.
DH & D3 were going to be watching hockey tonight, Chrissy was in her room with her cats watching TV and I was happily going to play in my fabric.
I was unsure as to what I wanted to sew -- let's forget that we have a major craft fair coming up in October and we would like to make some tote bags for our trip for D1's wedding in Puerto Vallarta at the end of October -- so I thought something simple.
I pull out my big wicker basket of patterns -- and I mean BIG -- I could probably go to Bag Pattern Anonymous because of this basket. But I digress -- so after much dithering and procrastination -- it took me at least a half an hour to pick a pattern.
What was on my agenda this fair evening? A Little Scraps from This & That pattern called the Clutter Bug -- I had purchased this pattern when SewShannon & I went on our Quilting Shop Hop on September 10th.
I look after the instructions -- looks okay for an evening's work ...so I get started.
Choosing the fabric was fairly easy -- into the trusty bin of 2.5 jelly roll strips we have cut from our scraps and I decide to liberate some light & dark Asian prints. I iron them and cut the 24 rectangles I need and then I commence to sewing.
Things are going pretty well -- it's like a well orchestrated play -- everythings falling into place -- I have gotten the strips sewn and attached to my batting. I know I am going to make some modifications because the pattern calls for what I call unfinished seams -- you just serge them -- did I mention that I dislike unfinished seams?? Well, I do -- so I know I am going to have to deviate a bit from the pattern.
So I do a little quilting -- in the ditch -- on the outside of my fabric and iron nicely. Then I have Chrissy help me choose the fabric for the lining -- a nice beige -- it's okay because this is my prototype -- I've learned not to waste good fabric but I can be a klutz when it comes to new patterns.
So while I have Chrissy -- I decide to ask her if she can tell me where the zippers are -- I know I am going to need one so I will get her help -- after all -- we are Partners!! LOL
So this is where I run into a bit of a snafu -- we have a BAG of zippers -- a rainbow colored large ziplock so it should be easy. NOPE -- I need a 12 inch zipper -- do we have 12 inch -- nope -- we have everything under the sun ....
Zippity Zilch -- so now what? I am effectively stopped in my tracks -- this bag needs a zipper but I don't have the right size. And if I run to FL now at 8 o'clock at night -- well -- it's a distraction that I don't need. I have been known to go to a fabric store for one reason and come out with $50 dollars of NOT what I needed.
So -- I do what any self respecting Diva does .... I sashay over to the computer to effectively ignore that once again I have gone rushing into something totally unprepared. Will I finish the Clutter Bag? I hope so but I am not going to hold my breath.
I guess I should do one really important thing before getting all gung ho in my Diva Dome -- read the supply list and make sure I have everything!!
Oh well -- tomorrow is another day!
Grab a coffee or bevy of your choice and listen to my story and I think you will agree with me -- perhaps I should slow down a bit before diving into a new project.
So -- after dinner this evening -- I headed down to the Diva Dome -- flush with the knowledge that I had several hours of guilt free sewing ahead of me -- after a hard's day at work -- I needed the relaxation that the Diva Dome provides. And frankly with all of the stuff going on in the house in the past few weeks -- I felt I deserved it.
DH & D3 were going to be watching hockey tonight, Chrissy was in her room with her cats watching TV and I was happily going to play in my fabric.
I was unsure as to what I wanted to sew -- let's forget that we have a major craft fair coming up in October and we would like to make some tote bags for our trip for D1's wedding in Puerto Vallarta at the end of October -- so I thought something simple.
I pull out my big wicker basket of patterns -- and I mean BIG -- I could probably go to Bag Pattern Anonymous because of this basket. But I digress -- so after much dithering and procrastination -- it took me at least a half an hour to pick a pattern.
What was on my agenda this fair evening? A Little Scraps from This & That pattern called the Clutter Bug -- I had purchased this pattern when SewShannon & I went on our Quilting Shop Hop on September 10th.
I look after the instructions -- looks okay for an evening's work ...so I get started.
Choosing the fabric was fairly easy -- into the trusty bin of 2.5 jelly roll strips we have cut from our scraps and I decide to liberate some light & dark Asian prints. I iron them and cut the 24 rectangles I need and then I commence to sewing.
Things are going pretty well -- it's like a well orchestrated play -- everythings falling into place -- I have gotten the strips sewn and attached to my batting. I know I am going to make some modifications because the pattern calls for what I call unfinished seams -- you just serge them -- did I mention that I dislike unfinished seams?? Well, I do -- so I know I am going to have to deviate a bit from the pattern.
So I do a little quilting -- in the ditch -- on the outside of my fabric and iron nicely. Then I have Chrissy help me choose the fabric for the lining -- a nice beige -- it's okay because this is my prototype -- I've learned not to waste good fabric but I can be a klutz when it comes to new patterns.
So while I have Chrissy -- I decide to ask her if she can tell me where the zippers are -- I know I am going to need one so I will get her help -- after all -- we are Partners!! LOL
So this is where I run into a bit of a snafu -- we have a BAG of zippers -- a rainbow colored large ziplock so it should be easy. NOPE -- I need a 12 inch zipper -- do we have 12 inch -- nope -- we have everything under the sun ....
Zippity Zilch -- so now what? I am effectively stopped in my tracks -- this bag needs a zipper but I don't have the right size. And if I run to FL now at 8 o'clock at night -- well -- it's a distraction that I don't need. I have been known to go to a fabric store for one reason and come out with $50 dollars of NOT what I needed.
So -- I do what any self respecting Diva does .... I sashay over to the computer to effectively ignore that once again I have gone rushing into something totally unprepared. Will I finish the Clutter Bag? I hope so but I am not going to hold my breath.
I guess I should do one really important thing before getting all gung ho in my Diva Dome -- read the supply list and make sure I have everything!!
Oh well -- tomorrow is another day!
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Mug Rug and Goodies Swap 2011
Well, today off I went to the post office to mail off the fruits of my sewing!
I joined a really neat quilting swap -- it was hosted by Cindy over at http://fluffysheepquilting.blogspot.com/.
The idea was to make a mug rug and a goodie for two partners -- it was a secret swap and my partners were a lady in the US and one in Great Britain.
Now this was a real stretch out of my comfort zone -- I don't mind sewing for my family -- but this was totally different! But I did it and enjoyed it. I know -- those of you who now me knows that Chrissy & I have our own small business sewing therapy bags, aprons and bags ....but this was different.
Instead of sewing with things I liked -- I had to take into consideration my two partners likes and styles ....and that was a bit mind boggling! It was kinda funny -- the one partner I thought would be really easy to do ...but WOW it was hard.
I've never used Flickr before and I am learning -- some parts -- really easy and other parts -- well that is a work in progress.
It doesn't help that life on the homefront was super crazy but the thing is -- I did it and am even contemplating doing another one!
I joined a really neat quilting swap -- it was hosted by Cindy over at http://fluffysheepquilting.blogspot.com/.
The idea was to make a mug rug and a goodie for two partners -- it was a secret swap and my partners were a lady in the US and one in Great Britain.
Now this was a real stretch out of my comfort zone -- I don't mind sewing for my family -- but this was totally different! But I did it and enjoyed it. I know -- those of you who now me knows that Chrissy & I have our own small business sewing therapy bags, aprons and bags ....but this was different.
Instead of sewing with things I liked -- I had to take into consideration my two partners likes and styles ....and that was a bit mind boggling! It was kinda funny -- the one partner I thought would be really easy to do ...but WOW it was hard.
I've never used Flickr before and I am learning -- some parts -- really easy and other parts -- well that is a work in progress.
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