Here's a sneak peek of what I've been working on for the shop. It's snowing here and school has been canceled today. Most likely, it'll be canceled tomorrow, too. I was counting on sewing all day today and now, with my girls home, that's unlikely. I'm going to change the shop update from tomorrow to Friday, February 12th at 12:00 noon EST.
I'm also working on the after school snack cheat sheet. I hope to have that posted for downloading soon, too.
I love twinkle lights. And this year, I threw caution to the wind and loaded up the tree.
The shop update will be tomorrow at 11am EST. It's a smaller update than I had hoped for - only 17 camera straps in three colorways. I wish I had more to offer, but I am feeling pretty ill. It's just a cold, but it has wiped me out. If I am feeling better this weekend, I will probably sew up some more to offer next week. No promises, though.
Back to my chicken soup.
I hope those of you celebrating Thanksgiving had a wonderful holiday. Ours was lovely, but more on that in another post. Business first today.
Thank you for all the thoughtful comments on my last post. I am amazed at all of you and your generosity. If you are looking to be inspired in your giving, check out the comments. They are filled with wonderful examples of how we can help others. One that stuck with me was making donations in teachers' names instead of giving them a token gift. I think that is what we will do this year.
The winner of Color Your Cloth by Malka Dubrawsky is: #106, Lesley.
The winner of Quilting for Peace by Katherine Bell is: #95, Emily.
Lesly and Emily, please email me (hillroad at bellsouth dot net) your shipping address and I will get the books out to you.
After lots of thought, I have decided not to offer the notepads for sale in the shop at this time. I know that it will take me more time than I think (everything does!) and one thing that I am short on at this time of year is free time. I would rather spend those precious hours doing things with the girls or making gifts for my family. So for right now, no notepads.
But there will be camera straps! They will go in the shop on Monday, December 7 at a time to be determined. I will post the time here on the blog at some point in the next week. Sound good?
That's all the business. Hope you have a fantastic weekend.
I made these little notepads for Kate's birthday party favors. The second graders started learning cursive last week so I thought it would be fun to have a little practice pad. And stickers. And a gel pen. I mean, who doesn't like a gel pen?
Making these got me thinking about who else on my list could use some notepads. The teachers for sure. And I already whipped some up for the nephews who can write/scribble and some for Jane's friend that has a birthday today. They were fun and fast to make. I am thinking about putting some in the shop next week if there is any interest. They would be made to order because of the personalization and there would be choices for fonts, color ink and lines/no lines. Two or three sizes, too. They'd be available for a limited time so that I could ensure delivery before the holiday. What do you think?
And speaking of the shop, there will be some camera straps before the holidays. I haven't set a date yet, but it is looking like the first week of December due to Thanksgiving. I'll set the date and time next week and post it here.
All right then. I'm off to cook dinner. Later.
Just so you know, I just updated the shop with 35 camera straps - 7 of each of these colorways.
All right, now I am going to vacuum.
There hasn't been much happening around these parts except sewing and I like it that way. Of course, my family would probably love it if I would stop long enough to do the dishes or the laundry, maybe even vacuum.
Shop update will be Thursday, September 3rd at 1:00 p.m. EST (New York time).
Back to the sewing machine. Maybe back here tomorrow. Maybe not.
I've been stitching on this skirt slowly. I pick it up when I have a few minutes - in the carpool line and other times while I am waiting for the girls. It lives in this bag, with the Alabama Stitch book, thread, scissors and a pin cushion. It's a project that has a nice pace to it. Easy to pick up, and equally important, easy to put down. I'm a little more than half finished with the reverse applique so, fingers crossed, I will be wearing it some time this fall.
And not as slowly, but definitely as surely, I am making camera straps and some other goods to sell in the shop. As of right now, I plan on re-opening the shop on Thursday, September 3. I haven't set a time yet, but as soon as I do, I will let you know here. Sound good?
I'm itching to make something. Anything really. Well, anything except the one thing I am supposed to be working on. I should just sit down and get it finished, but I am at a bit of a standstill with it. I have a deadline and it's soon. I am trying to be better about my procrastination problem, but sometimes, it just seems easier to wait-until-the-last-moment. The problem is that when I get to the last-moment, I realize that I shouldn't have waited. Uh-huh. On the plus side, I sat down and paid the bills in full swoop yesterday without any procrastinating. And yes, it felt good.
Also, I keep getting emails asking about camera straps. I am making more! I promise I will let you know when they will be listed at least a few days before they go in the shop. I don't know when that will be. The girls go back to school in one month and I want to make the most of what is left of our summer. When I think about how fast time is slipping away from me, I get all worked up and when I get worked up, I really can't do anything at all. Not a thing. I am also feeling overwhelmed with stuff. I feel the need to purge, clean closets and trash out. The studio, in particular, is a huge mess. I will probably put together some fabric scrap bags for sale. Again, no time table. I'm just wondering if there is any interest in something like that.
We have a busy weekend ahead - school carnival and citywide swim meet. I think that is why I feel so overwhelmed. Normally, the weekend is my down time and this one is going to see me coming and going like a crazy person. If I see you out and about and I appear to be in a daze, take it easy on me. Next week, I'll find my sanity.
After I meet that deadline, of course.
Wow.
Really, that is about all I can say. Well, that and thank you to all of those who supported my shop. I am completely flabbergasted, humbled and just plain excited all at the same time. For those of you who have emailed asking if there will be more camera straps for sale, the answer is YES! I am not sure exactly when - at least a month, maybe two. I will keep you all posted via the blog. Again, thanks. You guys made my day!
I should be in bed seeing that I need to be up in about 5 hours to catch a flight. I'm still packing, too. Ahem.
I threw together some quilt blocks last night. I'm feeling so-so about at least 1/2, maybe 3/4 of them. If all things go as planned, I'll come back Monday with a better plan.
That's right. I'm going back. Hope you have a fantastic weekend!
Camera straps are in the shop!
This makes me extremely nervous. I hope it all goes well. But if anyone encounters problems, let me know via email - hillroad (at) bellsouth (dot) net.
Hi. How have you all been?
Life is busy at the moment. Really busy. There is so much going on that I don't even know where to start. Kid stuff, shop stuff, craft stuff, house stuff and on and on. I don't know what I was thinking when I chose this week to open the shop. Actually, I don't think I was thinking. Doesn't matter - the camera straps are all made. And tomorrow is still the day. I'll post here and on flickr as soon as the shop opens its virtual doors.
Yeah - I'm a total tease.
I promise that I'll have some different, meaning not camera strap related, and exciting things to share next week. Well, exciting if you like quilts and patchwork and stuff like that.
I'm also thinking about putting in some raised garden beds. If I can't build them until the 20th or so, is that too late? What do you gardening ladies think?
OK - back at it. I've still got work to do. Shop work and maybe a blog spruce up if there is time. Busy busy busy.
I finally made up my mind. The shop will open on Wednesday.
There will be 30 camera straps for sale - five different colorways, six of each colorway. No two straps in each colorway are *exactly* alike. They include the same fabrics, but different widths of each one, and in some cases, they are sewn together in a different order. I will show a photo of a finished strap in each colorway, but the one you may receive may be slightly different than the one pictured. They are all the same length and constructed the same way.
Does this make sense?
I am not going to commit to a specific time. Not having done this before, I am unsure how long it is going to take to get it all set up. When everything is up and running, I will post the opening here and on my flickr page.
All right. It's a big weekend here. I'm off to the races! See you next week.
Some Sewing Green,
stitching up camera straps,
and a small, on-the-go knitting project have been keeping me busy this week. It's been fun to sew by hand, with the machine and knit all in the same week. I haven't done that much multi-crafting in a long while!
I hoe you have a fantastic weekend. I am off to Chicago to reconnect with my high school friends at our 20th reunion. I'll be back next week with some shop news and to welcome Betz White when she stops by on Wednesday. See you then!
I know some of you are waiting for the shop announcement which I promised would be mid-April. It's about that time, isn't it? Yes, it is. I've been silently working on camera straps, getting them ready to sell. But I hate to tell you, I can't give you a date, yet. Production is right on schedule and all the other little bits are falling into place. That's not the problem. No, my problem is much bigger and beyond my control: Federal Jury Duty.
I've been on call for jury duty since the beginning of March and thought I was going to escape an actual summons. Until this past Friday when the letter came in the mail, that is. So it looks like next week, I'll be at the courthouse instead of here, at home, opening my little shop. I am not comfortable throwing the proverbial doors wide open and not being around my computer to handle any unforeseen problems. Additionally, the time I do have at home will be limited and I know my attention will be needed elsewhere. Something has got to give and this time it's the shop. Sorry.
I will let you know an actual date just as soon as I can. There is a slight chance I won't have to go in at all next week, but I am not counting on it. Regardless, I will give you two or three days notice before I put anything up for sale. Sound good?