gifting

Sometimes things come together exactly as you would hope and this time it was with our gift wrap.  Last year I found bunches of fabric in my stash that were various 'holiday' prints (a very loose term in my mind, really anything that is colorful, bonus points if it's red, white or green). 

I took some time to sew up bags and was able to wrap most of our presents with that and some scrap yarn.  This year, I was able to pull out those bags to use again (the beauty of reuse!) and only had to make about 10 replacements/additions to complete our gift wrapping.  I found a stash of gift tags (thanks to some good clean up of my 'teaching cupboard' this fall), got a to/from stamp on sale at Joanne's, found tons of 50 cent real ribbon at Michael's and my wrapping was complete. 

I am so very in love with the way all the gifts come together under the tree and the ease with which all of us, even Jed :), can wrap a present with ease. 

And even better?  Folding up the bags, rolling up the ribbon and using them again next year!  I'm currently in the market for some fun ideas for the gift tags.  I have an idea of a wreath, with the tags circling around, flower side out...we'll see! 

projects in progress

I've found myself in a mini-flurry of creating lately.  A little for me, a little for others. 

I pre-ordered this sweet pattern book a couple months ago, completely forgetting about it after it was ordered.  When it arrived last week, it was just the thing to set my clothing making heart a-flutter.  Patiently working on a shirt for myself, oh so slowly, to avoid ripping out any seams. 

I have begun sewing the advent calendar.  I'm making one for Nate and one for my sister's family.  I am so beside myself with excitement about this one.  It deserves its own whole post once I'm closer to finishing it up.  December 1st is creeping up faster than I could have imagined!

A bag.  A friend asked me to design a bag for her.  And I came up with this one.  It speaks to me about her on so many different levels and reminds me that we are all the shelter of someone's heart- whether we know it or not.

Finally a hat.  As a knitter who makes gifts for people, I try not to post them here before I give them away because I don't want the spoil the surprise.  As this one has not been gifted yet, that's all I'll say- a hat :)

amazing art

 I realize now that my statement about music on Monday was too narrow- not only will I never experience all the amazing music out there in the world, I will never be able to experience all the great art in the world.  This man's creatures inspire me.  The sheer genius of his work humbles me.  All from pvc and plastic bottles and tubes.  Good.ness.

new bags

I got to spend a lovely (stormy!) Monday sewing...and these are what I came up with. It was magic to get to sit at my old machine, listening to it clack away, smelling freshly wet concrete and sage.  A perfect holiday in my book. 

zippered bags

I have been making zippered sandwich and snack bags for a little while now- giving them away to friends and family, enjoying how useful and easy to clean the bags are.  Well, at the insistence of everyone around me, I've decided to finally put them up for sale.  In keeping with the 'inspiration' theme, I've decided to hand-stitch little words or phrases to the bag to brighten up snack or mealtime when people are out and about.  They are lined with nylon and are hand or washing machine washable.

I've used these bags for just about everything in my house...food, wet suits, craft supplies, if you can fit it in a bag, then it'll probably end up in one :)

I currently have two sizes- snack (7x5) and sandwich (7x8) and am at work on a larger size (7x12).  Click the pictures below to see more info:

snack bag

sandwich bag

oh, did i mention

That I'm selling bags now?  Yep, it's true.  I decided to quietly and slowly set up a shop on etsy.  You can use the link found to the right, click on a picture below or click on the link found in 'my shop' in the tab up above.  Each bag is made to order with any of the images shown (new ones will be added as I make them), a word of choice to be stamped and your color preference.  They are made with an organic hemp/cotton fabric for the main bag, up-cycled fabric for the image and PUL water-resistant fabric for the lining.  There are two sizes: small (11x14) and large (17x18).

It is so very much fun to make these...sitting down to my grandma's machine with fabric and thread in hand is true meditation for me.  I love thinking of who I'm making the bag for, what the bag's journey may entail, the stories the bag may invoke, the inspiration that a simple thing like a bag can be.

So, that's that.  Browse around a bit.  If you are an etsy user, feel free to favorite.  If you're on facebook, feel free to link :)

I have more ideas for other items so don't forget to check back at the shop every now and then to see what I may come up with.

click on the images to visit my shop

another creation

As much as I try to fit my sewing into naptime (yes, my 4 year old still naps and yes, he's amazing) and bedtime openings, I'm bound to get caught up every now and then in a project that takes me over my self-allotted time slot.  I enjoy getting caught up in the flow of a project, watching something unfold from beginning to end, so sometimes I find it hard to move away from the machine when I hear Nate calling me.

Over time, I've learned the simplest way to avoid this dilemma is to throw in a project or two of his imagining into the mix.  As I've been on a bag kick, he decided he really wanted a bag of his own.  During bedtime, I made a quick and dirty version of something I thought he might enjoy and showed him in the morning.

His reaction?  "That's SO cool mommy!" (SoCal boy through and through.)  After a couple fabric choices (fireman and flames, of course) and some free time, his bag was made.  The best part about sewing for kids is you know right off the bat if you've made something awesome.  They either play with it, use it or wear it right then and there.  This bag was a clear success as it was used within moments and has been used almost every day since.  I call it the mini-adventure bag- he had me stamp NATE on it so he calls it the little Nate bag.  Either way, it works.

And that, folks, was a long preamble to introduce another item I'm  thinking to sell: the mini-adventure bag.  Not to be confused with the full-sized adventure bag that may be in the works in the (distant) future :)

what i've been working on

My machine has been a-humming and my thread has been unspooling.  I've been pondering the idea of selling things I make but at a loss as to what to make.  I realized that what bothered me most was the idea of just selling 'stuff' to sell it.  I also realized that the handmade goodness I'm most likely to purchase for myself is often inspirational or has a message for the world.  So, I started making bags, with a word to hold on to.  Something to remember as we go through our hum drum days, making the ordinary less ordinary.  These are my first tries- they have a waterproof lining- which I love as it can catch spilled water bottles, hold wet bathing suits or damp produce from the market.  I like the idea of having a story to go with each bag- a kind of- 'if i were a bag, this is what i would want to do with my life' kind of story.  Maybe that's what I'll spend nap time today doing.  In the meantime, without further fanfare...the bags.