Time for more fun fabric! This time it's the Everything is Grey round from KNITorious fabric. I received a half yard of this fun Totoro/Ghibli inspired fabric in nylon repel, which was just barely enough to make the larger version of the Bodacious Bowler from ChrisW Designs.
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| The iridescent tags from Laser Llama were a fun way to add my brand to the bag |
The weather around here is giving me whiplash, we hit 80 one day and had snow the very next day! Now it's back to record highs followed by chilly days, but who knows when the next snowstorm will hit! This is doing a number on my sinuses and allergies -- even my dogs are having allergies. On top of that, there's been an increase in everyday chaos, so I lost the month of March! At this rate, it's going to be November in no time, so probably should get started on some inventory and new things.
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| Sneak peek of some new fabric coming soon! |
The newest pre-order round from Knitorious fabric is "What's on the Telly" and it has some gorgeous options! I think this one is probably the prettiest Supernatural inspired fabric I've ever seen!
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| Driver picks the music, ALWAYS! |
When I got the half yard of fabric for the 'What's on the Telly' round Knitorious to use for my strike, I was worried I wouldn't have enough to make 2 projects. I used less than half of that for the Aurora Sling, and then I needed to find something that would really show off the awesome design of the print, so I decided to make a simple tote bag. At the same time, a new test for a Zipper and Phone Slip Pocket from ChrisW came along and needed testing, and it was PERFECT to spice up the simple tote!
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| I think this is the front. It's the fanciest side at least |
I was trying to describe my Sewing Studio to someone, and I told them I was an "organized chaos goblin." I think that pretty much describes me. I like to see those bright and clean spaces with just a few shelves of tastefully arranged supplies and fancy rugs in the center, but I'm more of a collector (it's not hoarding if you use it...eventually) of fine supplies, and my room resembles a craft store that exploded. I actually do know where most of those supplies are, so that's why I say it's "organized" chaos. Anyone else might come into the room, pause in shock, and quickly back out before they disappear under an avalanche of fabric, but it's FINE.
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| Misleading pic of one small organized area of the craft studio... |
The latest pattern from The Styled Magnolia is the adorable Aurora Sling! It comes in 2 sizes and is a fun and fast pattern! I picked the smaller size, which doesn't have outside pockets, but that works great because I didn't want to hide any of the Oh So Pretty vinyl!
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| The print on this vinyl is so delicate looking! |
One of the great things about testing patterns is that I get to pick whatever supplies and accessories I feel like! The Armour Tote from the Styled Magnolia is a relatively quick bag with a lot of space to really show off a fun fabric, so I picked some Pac Man inspired water resistant canvas from Backstitch for the outside.
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| I love my shiny tags! |
I'm pretty sure I just blinked and lost February. It IS a short month, but not THAT short! Usually my orders slow down once I get past Christmas, but this year it seems like the etsy orders are picking up! Just small things like pony ears and mulan combs, but that gives my shop some good stats and helps with visibility. Maybe I should list up a bunch more purses soon since I'd LOVE to clear out my inventory.
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| I love glow in the dark glitter vinyl! |
Sometimes a fabric is too awesome to pass up, like these dinos on a gorgeous purple background from Knitorious fabrics!
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| I forgot to factor in the zipper flap when I cut the front, so the dinos almost lost their heads! |
I think this week I'll try catching up on this thing I've heard about...sleep. Maybe if I start going to bed before midnight, I'll have more energy after my day job. We'll see...or it will backfire and I'll wake up in the middle of the night and have trouble falling back asleep. While I'm figuring this out, orders are starting to come in a little faster, so I need to find that motivation to get all the things done!
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| Did making sleep masks inspire my sudden desire to sleep more, or is that just a coincidence? |
Dearest Gentle Reader,
Do you dream of an elegant handbag that shows off your love of romance and drama? If so, this bag is for you! Any Debutante carrying this stylish bag will be the talk of the Ton and sure to garner the eye of the season's most eligible catch!
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| Proclaim to one and all that YOU are the diamond of the season! |
For some reason, the Sydney messenger bag from Swoon is just a great bag for mash-ups! This one has 5 different fabrics used, and I think nearly all of the companies have since shut down! Pretty sure the fabrics came from Hapa, Ohana, Affordable Fabrics and More, Snowy Owl, and Joanns.
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| It's a bright and colorful, but also dark purse! |
Sometimes I have all the motivation and energy and get everything done, and sometimes I take my time and try to enjoy working on projects. Right now I have a little breathing room in my schedule, so I'm not rushing on orders. I try to always pay attention to details and make everything the best I can, but when I'm behind and rushing, I feel like I have to push things out right away, instead of letting them rest and then going back with fresh eyes to double check for things that I missed, like stray thread ends.
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| Teal solid lining - I usually go for textures and designs, but the solid does look nice! |
I had two patterns to test back to back at the end of last year, and one of them was the new Calista Wallet from The Styled Magnolia. The wallet was actually really fast to make, and came together so nice! I think if I had used a cutting machine, it would have been even faster...but digging out the machine and finding room to set it up in my disaster of a sewing studio would have taken longer than it took me to hand cut!
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| Sometimes you just need a fun vinyl print, with bright colors! |
The end of the year is always a void time, where I forget what day it is, where I need to be, or when I showered last (If you live on the couch and read books, do you NEED to shower??). Mostly kidding on the showering. I was able to take off almost 3 weeks from the day job and it was amazing! My goals were to organize my sewing studio and my walk in closet that also holds extra craft supplies, plus do some fun sewing, and catch up on orders. I did some organizing, some fun sewing, and some orders...but I think I need to keep the organizing goal for the whole month at least. Maybe just do one area of the room per month, it's a LOT of stuff.
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| She's so pretty! |
