I'm back

I'm so glad I made it past that craft show! I've been taking it easy this week catching up on the housework and getting things listed on Etsy (still working on that actually). The show went pretty well although not as good as last year. It was worth my while for sure and now my Etsy shop will be stocked up.

Last year, my big seller was baby quilts but this year I didn't sell ANY baby quilts! weird. So the big seller this year was Kindle covers. You just never know! that's what makes these shows so nerve-wracking. Anyway, I had a great time and I'm sure I'll do it again next year. :)


I did make one thing this week, a Divided Basket for my sister-in-law's baby shower on Saturday.

I love, love, love how it came out!!!

And I knit up a simple cozy hat for the new little one too.

I'll be back soon to share some more quilts that I didn't have time to post before the show.

teetering tower of table runners

I just had to pop in and share this feeling of accomplishment. Yesterday, I quilted and finished 9 table runners! Definitely feels good and now I'm not panicking quite as much. :)


Earlier in the week, on an impulse, I decided to make some mug rugs to sell at the craft show (I used this tutorial). Last year, the lowest cost item I was selling was Kindle covers at $25 (which I think was a bit too high). So this year I want to try to offer a few things in the $10-$15 range. We'll see how it goes.

New things!

Oh I'm starting to panic now. Less than 3 weeks until the craft show!

I'm trying to focus on new/smaller items this year like table runners. Love how this one came out! I'm calling it Tribal Chevrons Table Runner.

And Kindle/eReader covers. So fun!

Okay, gotta get back to it!

busy bee

I just got the promo cards for the Handmade Harvest craft show I'll be doing the first Saturday in November! Yay, I'm really excited about this!

This year I'm making Kindle covers and iPad covers in addition to quilts and table runners.

I've been feeling a little overwhelmed lately. Not with sewing but just creatively and feeling like I can never "keep up" with everyone. I mean, the way that some people really crank out all these great ideas, take perfect pictures, blog about them, have sponsors, respond to every comment, create patterns and just seem to have their hand in everything. It's really intimidating.
I just have to remember that I do this blog just for fun and as a creative outlet for myself. I just don't have time to keep up with blogs, Craftsy, Flickr, Instagram, Pinterest and who knows what else. Right now I limit myself to keeping up with a manageable number of blogs, Flickr and browsing Pinterest now and then. I already feel like I spend way too much time on the computer. Sometimes I just need to give myself a reality check and let go of the imagined pressure to be like others. Well, I feel better getting that off my chest. Please tell me I'm not the only one who feels this way sometimes. :)

hi

Happy Wednesday to everyone! I'm feeling chatty today. :) I had a random thought pop into my head today when I was making lunch. I started thinking about all my favorite Hugh Grant movies. Him and his British accent are so cute! My absolute favorites are, in no particular order, About A Boy, Music and Lyrics, Bridget Jones' Diary, Two Weeks Notice and Love Actually. It must be because it's a cloudy, cool day and that makes me want to watch movies (even though I rarely do). Also, with the holidays coming I like to plan some serious downtime. What are your favorite cozy up-downtime-happy feeling romantic comedies?

Hey look! I've been knitting!
After seeing Sarah's Avery I knew this was the project to get my knitting mojo back on track. I'm thoroughly enjoying it. The Tweed Katmandu Aran isn't the best at showing off the stitches but whatevs, it was what I had in my stash that I knew wouldn't scratch my neck too bad and the color will go with everything (I'd say it's a very dark charcoal gray with flecks of blue).

Also, I thought I'd share a mosaic of all the different quilts I've made over the past 2 months to prepare for the Etsy craft show.

This isn't actually everything but most of it. You can see bigger pics of each on Flickr.

whew!

I can breath again! Etsy Denton Handmade Harvest where I had my own booth selling my quilts was yesterday and now it's over! I'm really happy with how it went but for two months I sewed sewed like a crazy person to get ready for it and now I need a break.

I didn't sell a ton of stuff which I expected but I definitely did well enough and I'm pretty happy with how it went. Actually, I sold a little bit of everything: a couple of baby quilts, one lap quilt, several table runners and mini quilts and even a few patterns. The great thing about it is now I can list everything else in my Etsy shop where I know it will sell.
Of course, my hubby woke up that morning with a kidney stone so that added a bit of extra stress I hadn't counted on! Luckily it all worked out and there were plenty of family members to take care of him, help me set up and take care of Jack. My hubby has been doing fine but you know how those things go, not very fun!
I really hope to be back to weekly-ish blogging soon. Now that my shop is full (well, once I list it all) I feel like I can take a break and relax and focus on the upcoming holidays which I am so excited about!
In fact, after I post this I am going to go download Avery and start knitting it tonight!

MIA

Okay, sorry for the absence! I have a good reason. I'm working my butt off to get ready for a local Etsy craft show:

I am soooo nervous about it! will I have enough quilts? will I even sell any? ahhh, why am I doing this to myself?!

I have managed to sneak in a tiny bit of gift sewing. One for a dear friend moving out of town and the other for the sister-in-law's birthday.

These are little pouches I made using the method I learned from Denyse Schmidt at last year's Blueberry Hill Sewing Weekend. These were super fun and easy to make and a great diversion from all the quilts!

Someday, when I'm not spending every evening sewing bindings on, I want to knit this, this and this.