Work, work, work!

I've been buzzing all over the place like a  little worker bee recently.   The pile of projects continues to grow, unlike the hours in a day but c'est la vie!  For the past week I've done some sewing in the form of a denim apron for my brother-in-law which is 90% completed (I'm too scared to cut a split in it), a block of stacked coins made from all the orange fabric in my stash, and a small amount of embroidery.  

Other than that I've been working on a bit of the electronic side of the wonderful world of crafting.  I finally bought myself an inkjet printer which means I'll be able to print designs directly on fabric, which also means I need to begin learning design programs in hopes to create my own embroidery designs or be super lazy and just print then sew. 

Also thanks to the new printer I was able to download some new sewing patterns and actually spent last night putting one together in hopes to make my own Halloween costume.  I've tried following patterns before (purse) and didn't do so great as I basically said "I got this" and sewed things together without following directions ... lesson learned as it still sits unfinished in my craft room.  But I'm planning on doing better this time around as the idea of looking like someone from Once Upon a Time that just stepped out of the enchanted forest  sounds delightful! Hopefully I'll get the first part finished soon so I can check the fit before finishing the costume up ... I should diy a dress form one of these days but with an ever changing body size I'd hate to make one then gain or lose weight.  Oy the life of a crafter and the desire to make everything with your own hands!

Set backs

I knew trying to find balance was going to take some effort but I never expected it would be this difficult!  Work, home, family, friends, holidays, crafts, and trying to have some what of a dating life is a juggling act to say the least.  The things I've managed to work on in the past week have been in preparation for the holiday season and due my bursa being inflamed it hasn't been much. Because of that I don't have a single craft to post about here and that is disheartening.  On top of all of that I now have to find time outside of work to post blogs with pictures due to blogger's recent update and the very old version of IE on my work computer not recognizing it.  If it doesn't kill you it will make you stronger so in the words of Annie you can "bet your bottom dollar" I'll find a way to make all of this work and hopefully soon.

the downside

I'm a crafter with a full time job that I absolutely love which means outside of work and sleeping I only get about about 64.5 hours a week to craft, have a social life, read, do housework, and buy groceries.  I know it sounds like a bunch of time, and maybe it is, but right now it just doesn't feel like it.  Basically this means I end up with nights like last night; nights where I lay in bed thinking of all the things I could make, things I would be proud to sale, things I would want to keep as my own because of how cute they are.  Last night's awake dreaming was brought on by the idea of embroidered pillows.  The color of fabric, the color of thread, the color of button, which colors look best together, should I make them coordinating, should I try to put them in groups and if so how many per group, do I want to repeat colors, do I let the buyer choose colors, and ending with "I really should be sleeping now."  I knew trying to get things up and running would be difficult, I knew I would have to learn how to manage my time better.  I believe the hardest part about this is going to end up being trying not to force myself to craft and to be able to maintain the passion and love for it which basically means I'll have to say no more often than I like.  I wonder how many other crafters out there have full time jobs and how they manage to maintain a balance without stressing too much.  A night of little sleep isn't the norm and I am used to the occassional one but I just don't want this to become a regular thing.  The past 2 quilt-a-thons I've done didn't stop my passion of quilting in the slightest but they both required a significant amount of downtime afterwards to recharge not only my spirit but to also heal ... quilting fingers are gnarley!

 

Just some of the color combos that kept me up last night ... no worries my embroidery skills are much better than my paint skills on a computer!

I planning on getting started on one of the quilts for my nieces this weekend which means tons of pictures for my first ever tutorial!  Y'all keep a look out next week ... things are going to get darn crafty in here!

babble

I was introduced into the local quilting community and let me just tell you I loved every second of it!  Not only did the lady at the shop give a very unexpected compliment but she took me by the hand and made me feel at home.  Don't get me wrong, I'm still totally cheesing over her asking if I designed clothing (in my head that means I dress nice and look pretty ... is that just me?) but the clapping and jumping she did when I responded that I actually quilt was so much more awesome.  Of course the fact that I quilt by hand almost caused her to say "bless your heart" but instead she decided to give me a complete tour of the quilting studio where I not only got to see beautiful quilts up close but I also got to see the long arm machines.  For those of you not in the quilting world long arm machines are the ones used to do very detailed machine quilting. Sew N Quilt Studio offers not only classes to learn how to make bags and other crafts but they also give lessons on how to use their long arm machines as well as rent out time for them.  They do offer more things than that but those got me the most excited!  Somehow an hour passed and my simple trip to drop off my machine to be cleaned turned into a renewal of passion ... not that I was lacking by any means.

Sometimes the mood to embroider just hits me out of no where.  Sometimes I will be sitting for hours sewing, not having a clue to how much time has passed only to look down and notice that my "ashtray" is overflowing with embroidery floss.  That happened recently as I decided to get started on my holiday crafting.  Why yes on top of my trying to get a business started I am also crafting for family which means I cannot post any of that stuff until well after the items have been given.  No bueno but hey that's just how it is.  At least all of the things I've made last year and the year before can be seen so you guys know I actually do stuff despite not being able to show any of my current holiday projects.  Thankfully my nieces are too young to care about blogs let alone read my blog so when I get started on their quilts in the very near future there will be something of worth to post ... totally not dirty ashtray quality. (PS I don't smoke in my home nor near my crafts)  Seriously, I washed the fabric for the quilts last night so you guys should expect posts in the near future of my up and coming craft projects!

Yesterday I began the process of setting up my own Etsy page.  Hopefully I will soon be able to post some things for sale on there and once I do I will be sure to post the link right here in this space to give you guys an idea of what all I can do.  Researching Etsy has pretty much been overwhelming, I will admit, because prices vary so much on pretty much the exact same items.  A baby quilt 40x50 all HSTs machine pieced and quilted $400 or you could get the same size quilt with WAY more detailed piecing on the front for $175.  Granted I know the name of the one who posted the $400 quilt and have been following their blog for a year now but still ... why the huge difference in expense?  I know how much quilts cost to make, how much fabric is used, how much time they take, and the skill needed to sew a straight line and yet $400 seems pricey for a baby quilt.  The baby quilt-a-thon I did last year took a total of 19 hours to complete it, that includes shopping for fabric, and I spent a total of $30 on fabric and batting ... if I had sold that quilt for $400 that would have been basically me making $19/hour of work.  To me that really is way over priced, especially when I know machine quilting is less time consuming than hand quilting and I don't even make $19/hour at my full time office job.  But that is Etsy, we are allowed to set our own prices and I don't doubt that someone out there will pay that much for a simple baby quilt but I do know I'm going to try to make my prices a little more affordable.  I mean when the Amish sale their baby quilts for $240 and I know those are 100% made by hands it is hard not to view $400 quilts as overpriced. (this is not how you make friends in the quilting world, snarking, I know but fairness is higher on the importance list than making friends at least to me.)