New stuff

First off, I really want to say thanks to everyone who commented and sent emails. Another "wow" for all of the sweetness and encouragement. It was really great to hear.

I wanted to post a quick update. Mainly there are now more reusable tea bags in both sizes in the shop and I added this:

It's a variety pack! You get one of each size, for the tea pot or sun tea pitcher and the tea cup!

Also, things are well underway for getting the Sampler together. It's my first one, so i'm a little anxious that everything goes well. I'm sending in 20 kits and 30 items from the Craft Leftover front and 50 yarn samples for Green Prairie Fibers.

Which bring me to another new thing. Samples are now available for Green Prairie Fibers, just send me an etsy message or email me and i will send one to you.

Once I'm all finished (I just have the tissue holders to make and then kits for the pencil clutch and tissue holders to put together and I will be finished) I'll post some pictures.

I also just started planning for the Renegade Craft Fair... and holy moly! I have so much to make. I'm going to get started this week. Try to get as much as I can cut so that way I can work on sewing it up while at Jason's. The list is ridiculous. Really. Like 720+ items and kits. If I can pull it off, it would be really great. I'm going to make 4 times as much as I need to break even, so that way, with that much variety, I will have a better chance of breaking even.

I guess, for me, this is the make or break kind of thing. I really want to make the Craft Leftover project my full time job and how well this goes off at the Renegade will be a good indicator as to if I should continue to try to pursue it full or part time. So go buy some tea bags and such because all that money will go towards application fees and getting me an ez tent, which are the two largest outright costs (except the kits which are still for the first print of the book).

Oh and on the front of full time, I just received a repeat wholesale order for the catnip pillows!

Well that short update turned into a long rant, so I'll go now and post pictures of the finished Sampler before I send it off. Have a good day!

Boo hoo!

So the sale is off, I just got an email about it today. I'm so disappointed. There was just a lack of vendor response, I understand, we can't just have an Ars Nova Art and Craft Sale with just 3 people... the president, the vice president, and one member. It's so annoying too because we had such a good response last semester... it's okay though... there will be more sales. And on top of that, I now have 34 catnip pillows made, 12 crocheted head wraps, fabric cut for 15 pencil clutches and 15 travel tissue holders, 10 dish cloths finished, and it's all going to go into the store once I get pictures taken. I'm still a little sad though, I was really looking forward to having a physical craft leftovers presence. Ahh... so it goes.

In other news, I have pictures up (finally) of the finished craft leftovers pattern for this past week. There are more pictures on the blog.
Oh, there won't be any pattern this week because of the Chicago performance I'm helping out with at Links Hall, I'll post pictures of the performance though on Saturday if I'm able to get any.

Have a good night!

Running at Full Throttle!

Gearing up for the Ars Nova Art and Craft Sale is in full swing! I have all of the small/child sized head wraps done and will start working on the med and larges today. I have also sew 34 cat nip pillows and am going to start filling them tonight. Right now it doesn't look like much, but it will when they are packed full of rice and catnip. I'm also going to cut the fabric for the pencil clutches today and if I have time some travel tissue holders too. I'm still trying to figure out display ideas. I want to try to make a step display made out of paper pulp from junk mail and paper scraps, but I have to make the form first which will be tricky for me.

I also have an old create that I'm going to fill with fabric and put the pencil clutches and tissue holders in. And then there is this swanky "take and Read" display I got a long time ago. I'm going to put kits for the pencil clutches and travel tissue holders along the bottom, pattern print out (they will be $1 ea) along the center, and then business cards and "about craft leftovers" pamphlets in the top. Perfect right. I love this little rack so much, I'm so glad I finally get to use it. Oh and then, I'm going to put the crocheted dishcloths in my dishdrain (which is bright red) and prop that up. I thought that would be kind of neat. I have a Styrofoam head that I will put one of the head wraps on, but I'm honestly not sure what to do with the rest of them. I'm sure I will get it figured out... Maybe that is what will go on the paper pulp stair form! Ha! Thanks for letting me chat this up with you all, because I think now I do know what I'm going to do for my display!

Now you may be wondering... how is she doing all this sewing if her machine is broke? Well, because of the generosity of others that's how. Thank you to everyone who donated, you have really made this little crafty lady happy! This is my new machine, isn't she beautiful?
It's a brother CE-4000 computer... she sews like a dream. If I would have known that sewing was so easy with a fulling working, not having to hold the foot control in your hand to make it go and only having one hand to guide things, no button hole function, bad tension, out of alignment, gets smelling like burning rubber when I use it machine, I would have bought one a long time ago.

And with that I'm going to head into the studio. Even though I have today completely off class, I have a lot to do... I'll show you what I've been up to in my studio at school in my next post.

Have a good day!

Ah, the spring... well break anyway.

I'm officially on Spring break, and it's actually going to be a break too! I'm not going anywhere, don't really have any homework, and I don't have any major projects due when I get back. It's going to be so nice. My friend Jill is coming to visit during the first half of break and then Jason is going to visit the second half! I'm spending this weekend cleaning like mad trying to make up for the lack of cleaning that has been going on around here since last semester! I just sorted the laundry and I have something like 10 loads worth. I've only been doing necessary loads this semester, so it will be nice to have everything clean and put away.

I've been knitting like a fiend again and finished another pair of socks this past week.
I also finished and turned in my tapestry for my weaving class on Thursday. It's inspired by the Anatolian weaving tradition. It's a "tree of life" motif.
It hasn't been blocked so its a little wonky. I'll fix it when I get it back.

Oh yeah, so the socks pictured above, they are this week's craft leftover pattern, you should go check it out. They knit up pretty quick and just about any fingering weight yarn can be used.

So goals for this break:
1. Clean clean clean
2. Learn how to silk screen
3. Dye more yarn (as soon as I get it, I honestly thought it would have been here by today)
4. Sleep sleep sleep
5. Finish some commissions I haven't had time for.
6. Read read read
7. Get rid of everything that I'm not crazy about that is taking up space in my apartment

I'll check back with you at the end of break and let you know how it's gone. In fact, I think I'm going to take a week off blogging, I'll post lots of pictures next weekend. If I do get that yarn, and it does get dyed before then, I will post an update to let you know that it's going in the shop.

Have a great week!