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!

Finished!... Almost!

Okay, well, two things. One is finished, the other is almost.

First up is the weaving project. I finished, in time, and everything was perfect, and than it was not... for whatever reason at some point between Sunday night and this morning I switched times and thought that our final critique started at 11 (normal class time) instead of 10. I'm just hoping that my project kicked so much butt that it won't affect (or is it effect?) my grade too much and I will still get an A. I got 100% on my first project, so i'm hoping for the same on this one. So here are a few pictures:



You can see more of it before being burnt and while being burnt here.

And then there is the other project, you might remember when I started cleaning out that suitcase inside I got back in March. Well, it's clean now, and I starting making the lining for it:

The liner is actually an old vintage skirt that my friend in Indiana gave to me last time I visited. Thanks Deb! You rock to a super neat beat!

Here is the front image again that the artist Brett Whitacre painted:


I think I was stressing out too much about making the liner perfect, so now I'm just jumping in feet first and it's actually working out really well! Yea!

I think I am going to get some quilting batting so I can quilt the bottom and top sections of the suitcase. I'm also going to make some pockets with the elastic tops like they usually have in vintage suitcases. Oh to have a quilting machine, I could do some super cool things.

Oh and an update:
Here is the information on the performance piece I will be participating in Friday night/Saturday morning:

"Sleepless Labor
Installation/performance
177 North State Street, Corner of State and Lake
8-12 labor practitioners will participate
Performance is 14 hours – the duration of Looptopia event

Commemorating Chicago's history of garment production and recognizing
the sleepless night shift worker, I propose a 14-hour performance that
will occupy a display or storefront window. Becoming a garment
production facility for three laborers, working a rotating three-hour
shift for 14 hours. The laborers are participants from the
Synchronized Sewing Squad, a volunteer community from Chicago of
unskilled and skilled textile workers who perform garment production
in public space. During the 14 hours of production the squad will
construct uniforms symbolic of the night shift worker. As each
garment is completed it will be displayed in the empty windows."

My shift will be from 11pm - 2am... then some sleep in the back room until the trains start running, then class at 9:30 in naperville... there will be some train sleeping going on that morning. I'm going to be getting around the area at 8pmish to check out everything that is going on before my shift. The whole looptopia chicago event is going to be really great. Lots of art, lots of shops, lots of food, all open for 24 hours! Woo! Hopefully my body will be able to handle all of the over stimulation. Art Chicago about did me in.

Oh I am making progress on my knit/crochet tank, but I will show you pictures once I hit the 8 inch mark, it's coming up soon though!

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!