And then there were five

I've been struggling lately with what to do about my Etsy shop. I enjoy sewing and I enjoy having a bit of extra money, but the past few months or so I have not really enjoyed feeling like I need to keep up with the shop. My sewing mojo comes and goes (as I'm sure most people's does). So really that shouldn't be that big of a deal, but having a mostly neglected shop just nags at me and creates this sense of pressure... which does not help matters. I know that the shop won't be at all successful if I'm not listing regularly and promoting it well. The question I face is whether to just get over it and get back to business, or list as I feel like it and if I sell something great (and if not, no biggie), or do I just go back to crafting for just me and my friends and family and take etsy out of the equation. Making the last few custom orders I've done was like pulling teeth.  They were super nice customers and really good orders, but I just struggled. Before this little etsy crisis, I'd be stoked to get an order to work on.... now... eh. That's a problem for my shop as a good portion of my sales are custom orders for brides and bikes.

Was the desire to make a buck killing my creativity? Maybe I just need a new outlook on my shop? If I take a break by closing shop for a bit, will it be possible to make a successful comeback? Do I want to have a busy shop?

Stay tuned.....

A Quick Sewing Fix

I had a quick burst of creativity today, so I whipped up this little fabric basket. The outside is made out of a coffee bag that a friend of mine gave me. He works for Kona Cloud Coffee and hooked me up with some beautiful bags. 

If you are into coffee, you must try it.. A local doctor owns a coffee farm in Kona, ships it here, and it's roasted fresh in the back of the bike shop where my husband works.

For tutorials and inspiration for your own fabric basket, check out Sew,Mama,Sew.

Some DIY Goodness

This scary looking tool is my new favorite thing. It's a tufting needle and it is a must have if you have any button tufted furniture. I happen to have a lot....

We are in major home remodel/fix-up mode around here.  That orange sofa has had a button hanging by a thread for, oh, the past year or so and I finally decided to take care of it. I really did not want to have to pay an upholsterer to make a house call, so I turned to the google.... and found the tufting needle. 

It is super duper easy to use! You just thread your twine through the round hole in one of those little metal pieces, attach that thing to the needle (there's a square hole for that), push it into your furniture, twist, and pull it back out.  The metal piece stays in as an anchor, and you can then thread on your button and pull it tight.  Super easy! I couldn't find one of these locally, so I had to order it online. The tool cost about $21 plus shipping. Since the buttons on the sofas seem to be irresistible to little kids, I'm sure that this will be worth every penny.

My poor neglected blog....

I've been a busy gal lately, but I have found some time to pick up a new hobby. I've drooled over the lovely hand-spun yarns on etsy (ahem... WoolyHands, TheTwistedPurl) long enough without being able to do something with them. I picked up the book Stitch 'n Bitch a few weeks ago and got to work. Mostly, the instructions are pretty clear, but I still ended up having to go online and watch videos of hands in action.  I must say I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, but of course it has a few "first timer" bobbles. I don't think I quite grasped her method for bringing in a new ball of yarn... I don't have a beautifully seamless transition. 

I have yet to try anything more complicated than a scarf, but I can tell that I'm going to enjoy this. Of course, I take it up and finish my first project when it's 70 degrees outside. Ah well. 

I'm still here...

Wow. It's been a really long time since my last post! So what's been happening?..

Well, I've been really busy with the cycling advocacy group I'm starting. We're having our first meeting next Tuesday, and my oh my, it's getting overwhelming. So much to learn and so much I really want to get right. 

The little one had two firsts - her first ear infection and her first date. Yup, a date :)

Aren't they cute? The day before Valentine's Day, she and her buddy went to see Playhouse Disney Live, then had dinner, and a carriage ride (and everyone says "awwwww"). That wicked cute little green jumper she's wearing is from Brighton Early. I made her a pretty Valentine heart pin for the occasion. It's pinned down near the bottom of her dress. 

What else? Oh, yeah... the past week and a half, I've been working on another large jewelry roll order. Seven custom rolls for seven bridesmaids.  I finally got them finished up today. My sewing funk continues, though. It was like pulling teeth to get them finished. 

Ice Storm '09

Beautiful... yes. A pain in the neck and rather dangerous... even more so. These are the trees in front of my house in the early hours of the storm on Tuesday. All pretty and laced with ice. Later that night, though, all that ice compiled and that tree is now missing it's top half. This picture is from the next morning.

All night Tuesday, we listened to freezing rain, trees cracking, limbs falling, and transformers blowing. Our yard (and everyone else's) looks like it is covered in shards of glass. We were out of power from Tuesday night until Friday afternoon. Thankfully, we had hot water and a little gas log in the fireplace that we were able to huddle around and cook over. Nothing like camping in the living room! We took in my father-in-law whose house had no heat source at all and we all got some good quality time together.... just enough that we didn't kill each other. 

Anyway, I am really thankful for all the utility workers who got us up and running in what was really pretty quick considering that the entire city (the entire northern part of the state, actually) was out of electricity.  It is so good to be warm and back to normal!

Playin' with dolls

This is Ruby, and she is a special little surprise for Taylor's 5th birthday. 

You can find the pattern to make a Ruby doll from One Red Robin.