The burlap bags I made are some of the most popular photos in my Flickr photos, which made me think "What would I make with that same technique that I would use?" Here it is. The stockings are fully lined and have a really nice body to them. There is a ton of great Christmas fabric out there right now. The fabrics shown are all from Sew Easy Too which is a local fabric shop. Online, I found a shop in CT with a lot of choices, I just bought this nutcracker print from them to make Caleb's stocking. I am jamming to get this pattern out ASAP to give people plenty of time to make them. Our mantle is getting a makeover this year. I will have a few finished stockings to sell in my Etsy shop too.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
New Pattern Released Today
After waiting about 18 months or so - enough time to have 2 babies - not that I had any babies - the sewing pattern to make the zippered version of my compact travel changing pad bag is out! I think it was worth the wait because there is so much better about it as a product now than a year or two ago. There is a long adjustable strap option, so it can go from fanny pack to cross body and everything in between. The way the corners come together is innovative and I am pretty excited to show it off. I have included printable packaging too, so when you give this as a gift (or sell them - cottage licensing agreement also included,) you can include folding instructions and a little blurb that tells all about how to use it. I am just as excited about this pattern as I was when I originally invented the product in December of 2006. Obviously, I am too tied up to make a bunch of these for boutiques, but I think somebody should. I do have a small selection of baby shower gifts here for those of you who do not sew.
Next up is beautiful burlap Christmas stockings. Yes, I did say beautiful and burlap in the same sentence. I am working on them now. I have no natural light today, otherwise I would give you a preview. I was shooting for today on those, but it looks like Monday. Pray for some sunshine for me.
Inspired by Hoodwinked
For those of you who have not seen the movie, I will tell you Hoodwinked is the Red Riding Hood Story told from everyone's perspective - plus some twists. As I watched it with my daughter recently, I suggested Red's costume for Gabrielle this year. She enthusiastically agreed. An hour later, including the trip to the fabric store for a yard of red broadcloth, she was skipping around in this cape. My free tutorial showing how I made it will be posted today at the SewMamaSew Blog. If you sew, you will love that blog.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Half inch of Cuteness
This is a detail photo of a changing pad bag I sent off the other day. Releasing the pattern for how to make the zippered version of the compact travel change pad bag (maybe I need a more compact name for it?) this week. While I am at it, I am including instructions for how to make the long adjustable strap version too. This really is the coolest baby shower gift ever invented. I hope a lot of new moms are blessed with one this year. - But I don't want to make them all. Ha, Ha. That is why the pattern is releasing. As much as I love making these, I have to move on with my travel stuff. I leave November 4th for Israel, and I can't be caught carrying something I did not make myself.
Monday, October 4, 2010
1967 Buick Gran Sport Coupe
I was inspired by some of the gals at writers group who have written stories of their childhood or adolescence. Here is my contribution. A chapter from my own coming of age story:
Rob had curly hair and a prominent nose. He had a big smile too. I also remember his hands how huge and strong they felt when they threw me off the dock at the lake. You know that statue of David? He looked just like that only shorter...and tan. He had a great tan. For some adolescent reason, it was my pleasure to insult Rob. He must have been a glutton for punishment, because he asked me out on a date one Summer evening. Frankly, I was shocked. Out of that dangerous combination of confusion and boredom that comes with being 17, I said "yes."
Rob drove a 1967 Buick Gran Sport Coupe. It was a large, powerful car. Everyone called it the green machine. Inside the green machine, I felt very small. I slid into a kind of private panic. I knew I was in over my head. My banter was weak. The engine rumbled almost drowning the sound of the gravel as we prowled slowly though the drive-in in search of the perfect parking spot. I thought we were pretty far away from the screen, but I didn't say anything. I sat with the seat belt secured across my lap while he went for popcorn and soda. The movie had no discernible dialogue which made me wonder about Rob's IQ. It turns out he had not chosen the drive-in theater for what was playing, but rather for what he wanted to play. He put his arm around me and moved closer. I unbuckled so I could scootch to my right, pretending to be engrossed by Quest for Fire. He did it again. I did it again. Again. Again. Eventually, I was up against the door, his big nose was hard against mine. His teeth, which were so beautiful when he smiled, seemed hungry now just behind his lips. In a panic and unable to speak, I opened the door and fell
out of the car. He got out on his side, and ran over to help me up off of the gravel, asking if I was okay. His brown eyes were kind as they looked into mine. Then he took me home.
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Rob had curly hair and a prominent nose. He had a big smile too. I also remember his hands how huge and strong they felt when they threw me off the dock at the lake. You know that statue of David? He looked just like that only shorter...and tan. He had a great tan. For some adolescent reason, it was my pleasure to insult Rob. He must have been a glutton for punishment, because he asked me out on a date one Summer evening. Frankly, I was shocked. Out of that dangerous combination of confusion and boredom that comes with being 17, I said "yes."
Rob drove a 1967 Buick Gran Sport Coupe. It was a large, powerful car. Everyone called it the green machine. Inside the green machine, I felt very small. I slid into a kind of private panic. I knew I was in over my head. My banter was weak. The engine rumbled almost drowning the sound of the gravel as we prowled slowly though the drive-in in search of the perfect parking spot. I thought we were pretty far away from the screen, but I didn't say anything. I sat with the seat belt secured across my lap while he went for popcorn and soda. The movie had no discernible dialogue which made me wonder about Rob's IQ. It turns out he had not chosen the drive-in theater for what was playing, but rather for what he wanted to play. He put his arm around me and moved closer. I unbuckled so I could scootch to my right, pretending to be engrossed by Quest for Fire. He did it again. I did it again. Again. Again. Eventually, I was up against the door, his big nose was hard against mine. His teeth, which were so beautiful when he smiled, seemed hungry now just behind his lips. In a panic and unable to speak, I opened the door and fell
out of the car. He got out on his side, and ran over to help me up off of the gravel, asking if I was okay. His brown eyes were kind as they looked into mine. Then he took me home.
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Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Antique Dealer Video Portrait
Every once in a while there is a sweet video portrait posted on Etsy's blog that I turn around and share here. Watching a video like this, I am mindful of the day a filmmaker will show up and make my life look fascinating. This is for my friends who love to treasure hunt. You know who you are. Enjoy!
Monday, September 27, 2010
When I had nothing original to say...
...and it had a refreshing effect. Just because I have not written doesn't mean I would miss a single meeting of the minds at writers group. On one such occasion, I brought some quotes to read which were passed on to me by Etsy's new blog editor, Juliet Gorman. I believe these are words that have the power to inspire and revive you as they have done for me and my friends. When you start to feel a little overwhelmed, read them again. Here you go:
"I understand [hope] above all as a state of mind, not a state of the world… Hope, in this deep and powerful sense, is not the same as joy that things are going well, or willingness to invest in enterprises that are obviously headed for early success, but, rather, an ability to work for something because it is good, not just because it stands a chance to succeed… Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out."
- Vaclav Havel
"There is a sense in which every time you choose to do something new you are going to be reborn. And if you do this well, each time up, every time you do a new story, and even if it's just going down to do the parade, or talk to the mayor, or whatever... each time up, small or large, is a little challenge. And it asks you to look and listen very, very closely, and find the thing that you pick out, that you notice, that bounces out of the situation and hits your heart or your head or makes you angry or makes you sad or makes you suspicious, and everything then becomes very personal. And if you do this well, even if you are working in an organization which doesn't want you to be personal, and wants you sounds like "the others," the secret thing you do is you sound "sort of" like the others, but you put in a little bit of your heart somewhere in there. Just a little. And if it's there, it's like a marker. It's the IOU to your soul. And sometimes they let you sing loudly, and sometimes you have to sing soft. But you keep singing, you never, ever stop."
- Robert Krulwich
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"I understand [hope] above all as a state of mind, not a state of the world… Hope, in this deep and powerful sense, is not the same as joy that things are going well, or willingness to invest in enterprises that are obviously headed for early success, but, rather, an ability to work for something because it is good, not just because it stands a chance to succeed… Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out."
- Vaclav Havel
"There is a sense in which every time you choose to do something new you are going to be reborn. And if you do this well, each time up, every time you do a new story, and even if it's just going down to do the parade, or talk to the mayor, or whatever... each time up, small or large, is a little challenge. And it asks you to look and listen very, very closely, and find the thing that you pick out, that you notice, that bounces out of the situation and hits your heart or your head or makes you angry or makes you sad or makes you suspicious, and everything then becomes very personal. And if you do this well, even if you are working in an organization which doesn't want you to be personal, and wants you sounds like "the others," the secret thing you do is you sound "sort of" like the others, but you put in a little bit of your heart somewhere in there. Just a little. And if it's there, it's like a marker. It's the IOU to your soul. And sometimes they let you sing loudly, and sometimes you have to sing soft. But you keep singing, you never, ever stop."
- Robert Krulwich
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