Believe it or not, I've already completed most of the first item on the list. I'll be picking away at this list for some time I'm sure. I hope you all have a wonderful new year and I wish you luck for 2008!
(click the image to see it a little bigger, don't want to strain those eyes of yours)
That's my cool Christmas Tree in a Box that you may have seen on my Flickr page too. Also seen in this photo is my little monkey snowman made by my friend Sue a couple years ago. . .
I finally finished all of my custom monkeys too, here's what I sent to Sue this morning...along with a Santa Monkey purse! In the new year, Nick & I will redesign her website (I built the current one).
The fabric shop was just lovely. It's very small, but I described it to Nick as exactly what it would look like if I owned a fabric store. Very neatly organized, sock monkey on a shelf by the door, polka dots around the cutting table. It was very me and stocked with my type of fabric. Take a look at the website for some great photos of the shop. I'd love to sign up for a class there some day. The owner is super nice, she actually came by my booth at the market a while back. Of course I had to get something, so I picked out these 3 little remnant pieces to add to my collection. I see zipper pouches in my future.
ran in to Urban Outfitters to see what kind of bedspreads they've got these days. Those Birdie ones I got a few months ago made great totes, and they sold like crazy. I'm not especially hip, so Urban Outfitters is a great place for me to go to see what's cool. I got two bedspreads in teal and green. The colors are great! Owls and birds seem to be all the rage right now, so we'll see what the shoppers think when I can get some new totes made and into my shop.
It's very exciting when I feel like I had a good enough day at the market that Nick & I can afford to go out to dinner. hehe Wonder what I'll make tomorrow.....
I also picked up a few odds & ends for baby booties & bibs. Check out the cool cowgirl print on top. It's going to be adorable with the blue polka dots. Don't you think?
And the best part about that fabric is Ginny! How often do I see something with my name on it? Looks just like me too, uhh, sort of.
I've got a date with some monkeys and Harry Potter so I'll speak to y'all later. If you want to see some of my latest creations, look here and here. And for something fantastic that came in the mail this week, look here.
I've taken my own advice and canceled both of my farmer's markets this week. I feel so free now. I spent the whole morning unpacking Christmas decorations. Maybe we can get a tree soon. I love the way a Christmas tree smells, mmmmm.
got a great vintage look to it.
Too bad I don't actually have a Friday, hehe. Today I'd like to show you a couple things I recently purchased on Etsy. You may remember the great cupcake quest I was on back in September. I love cupcakes, especially white cake with buttercream frosting....yummmmm. The colored sprinkles are an absolute must! To remind myself of these yummies every day, I bought a photo card from creativeapples. I can't wait to frame it, and maybe buy a twin for it, in pink. Maybe I should just get a whole set of cupcake cards, I still have a corner of my sewing room with nothing on it! Yes! Sorry, I should also tell you there are lots of other great images to be had in this shop. The Star Wars cards are great too, and I love the robots! Go check it out, right now!
I'm also a sucker for giving someone their first sale. The best part about this one is that now she has 6 sales! Way to go! How cute are these little gift tags? All wrapped up in a fabric bag. Lovely presentation and tags. The shop is lilybirddesigns and she's new to Etsy, give her a little love and check out her shop. There are more gift tags, some cards and adorable earrings.
I'll just start by saying today was a pretty good day. First, I went to my weekly Weight Watchers meeting and discovered that I am now a lifetime member, I lost 21 pounds! Yay!!! Then, I went to Target for a few things and finally got these. They're still on my feet at this very moment. And then, I found some great yarn for a custom monkey scarf (kinda like the one you see here) I need to make. All is good.
Oh my gosh! I can't believe it's been over a week since my last post. I've been so busy lately, things are just plain crazy. My little monkeys were lucky enough to be part of an Etsy gift guide last week and since then the monkey business has been great! The Treasury that Etsy Labs created also landed on the homepage! And the best part was that I got to be featured along with my friend Lemon Cadet (she got a screenshot).
Chico had fun meeting Sue's snowmen. He's still really tired from playing with them. Hope you all have a great week, I've got to get to my sewing room!
And for all you crazy monkey fans, I will now be offering Nano Monkeys my Etsy shop. Little Errol will be listed tomorrow, soon he'll have some friends joining him.
And right next to them, a very large area of empty space with lots of sock monkey slippers price tags. I was strong though, I didn't cry. Instead I took my little mary janes and was on my way. To tell you the truth, I prefer this style anyway, and they're in one of my favorite color combos. I'm not saying I won't get the slippers when they're in stock, I'm just happy with what I have. And on a side note, after living in the UK for a year I feel like a real dork in white socks. I rarely wear them now. Funny, huh?
p.s. To answer Jenn's question in her comment. I received thanks and photos for the Star Trek costume from Heck today. Here's what it looked like. He seems happy to me. There are some things I'd do differently if I had to do it again, but I wouldn't do it again. Not for a million dollars.
Two years ago, this month, I took my first trip ever to the UK. It was my third date with Nick, I stayed a week. I guess that worked out pretty well in the end. :)
And if I'd never gone to Nova Scotia, I wouldn't even have met Nick. Thank goodness I decided to stay at Knightswood B & B in Dartmouth the first time I went. Thanks Bill & Norma! I took this picture at a place called the Lookoff (for obvious reasons) in November 3 years ago. Sigh. I'm gonna go cuddle my kitties now. Have a great weekend!
Yesterday I started a new bag design from some old April Cornell fabrics I got before I moved to the UK. I had planned a quilted tote with these fabrics, but then decided against it. Turns out that the new bag pretty much is a quilted tote. I was going to box the bottom, but I think it works better like this. I don't really like the result, but I think with a few alterations it could be a nice bag. I used a slightly different technique for this one than I'm used to. I made the lining and outer bag as one complete piece before putting it together. That means it was basically a quilted place mat that I added pockets & handles to. The side seams on the inside are not great, but I have an idea for that. Anyway, it's kind of nice to work on something new for a change, I'm sure you know what I mean. And I got a chance to use some pretty fabrics that have been feeling very left out. Not a total loss.
And last but not least, another huge dud. I saw Kayla's post yesterday about the sweet little ball she'd made for a friend's child. She'd posted a link to a tutorial so I thought I'd whip one up for kicks. Again, I pulled out some fabrics from my 30's repro stash and made one in pinks, green & yellow. It turned out terrible because I didn't mark the points. I knew I should have. Ugh. What a mess. It's not even round, gosh sakes. LOL, at least the bibs are okay.
p.s. Good news about baby Mark. He's had a very rough time since his surgery on Thursday, but it sounds like he might be going home soon. Thanks again for all the well wishes. Hopefully I'll get to see him next weekend when Nick & I go to OC for a quick weekend.
Here I am at the computer at 7:00 o'clock at night & it only feels like 10:00. What's up with that time change thing anyway? I'll admit it was a lot nicer setting up for the farmer's market in daylight, but man it's been a long day. The market started out kinda bad today, but ended well. That new quilt I made is gone, all the new bibs and an old item from my website too. Not too shabby. Luckily I snapped a photo of the quilt early on so I have something to show you. It's not a great shot, but you get the idea. Those Look and Learn fabrics are so great, I'm going to order more and make another quilt.
This week wasn't a total wash, I did manage to get a few new things online and add some new yarn colors to the Custom Gadget Monkey choices. Just in time for that big order. I'll have busy little hands at the market tomorrow.
Remember this little guy? My cousin's baby Mark? I told you about him a few weeks ago. He had his heart repair surgery yesterday and is in critical condition at the moment. I just wanted to solicit some bloggy love for him. His right ventricle is not adjusting to the surgery as the doctors had hoped, so he needs your hugs today. (I know you can't resist that face). I'll keep you posted.
As you may have guessed, I'm having one of these experiences now. I am currently working on a Star Trek costume for a friend. It's the worst pattern I've ever used, the worst instructions, and I thought I was only making a jacket when I agreed 6 months ago. No, I'm making a jacket, pants and a belt. Thank goodness they didn't bother sending the pattern for the tunic or I'd be making that too. I got the so-called instruction booklet on Monday night and this costume needs to be mailed and received by Tuesday. I spent all of yesterday cutting it out, what a nightmare. I could go on & on about how bad this project is. I'll just stop while I'm ahead. I just wanted to give you a little piece of advice, just say NO!
Nick & I just got back from our little weekend away. I made some progress on the wedding and got a new monkey made. This is what things are looking like right now where the wedding will take place. Julie & I went out for a walk this morning and I took this shot in front of the house. It's very brown, but you can still see a bit of Autumn in there. Just beautiful. It's been raining off & on, there's even water in the creek!
That's about all I have to report right now. I'm so tired from driving and I still have to unpack. Hope you all had a great weekend and are ready for Halloween.
Nick & I are off to Oakhurst today for our friends' annual Halloween party. I think I've got our costumes sorted out enough, I hope so anyway. I'll be Ginny and Nick will be Harry Potter. Our neckties are being FedEx'd to the house this afternoon (fingers crossed). If I don't look too hideous in the wig, I'll post a picture next week, lol.
This "dork" pouch is my latest Etsy acquisition, and do I ever love it. The shop is FriedOkra and she makes the most unique pouches I've seen. Hand embroidered lettering, rick rack, monkeys...what more could you ask for? Please do yourself a favor and check her out. (The sock monkeys are great too.)
Sometimes I just don't feel like brewing coffee, but I want a tasty hot drink. It takes 4 teaspoons of powder to make this, but it's got a lovely smell and it really does taste good for instant fake coffee. Give it a try and tell me what you think.
Well, last night I made my 150th sale on Etsy, a monkey of course. I'm so excited about hitting this milestone. I feel very blessed to have come across Etsy and been able to sell my little creations there. I've made so many great friends and learned a lot. What a treat it is to do what I love every day as well. It's a lot more work than a "regular" job, but a lot more fulfilling. Thanks for all the support on my blog and in my shop too. Thank goodness I came up with those Gadget Monkeys, lol.