Sunday, November 29, 2009

Snow!

We had a nice snow last night... not a huge amount, but enough to cover the ground and make for a nice picture!


This was taken from our front door looking out at the Olive tree, which had a nice dusting of snow. I might just put some lights on that tree this year! Just have to figure a way to keep from tripping over the cord since it would be crossing the path to the garage.... details! Meanwhile, it's just nice to get some moisture... we have had a very dry year, and the water tables really need to be replenished.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Mountain Campus Holiday Show report

Friday and Saturday, I was selling my wares at the annual Mountain Campus Holiday show, along with my friend Cinde who was selling her fabulous beaded necklaces, amulet bags and other beaded jewelry. This was Cinde's very first experience selling at a craft show, and she was a great success! I'm posting a couple of pictures here so you can see what a great talent she is:



If you want to see more of her work, you can contact her at cindal@aol.com. She doesn't have an on-line shop or website yet, but I'm sure she could send you pictures of items she has currently in her inventory.
Meanwhile, I debuted a few new products this year:

I sold several checkbook covers and bookmarks, but none of the keychains! Guess I'll just keep putting them out there for awhile to see if they sell...
Overall, it was a great show! We had over 80 vendors with wonderful products, our new facility is very attractive, and we had a great turnout both days. My sales were down a little from last year -- my silk scarves were the biggest seller -- but I'm pleased that I did so well considering the state of the economy, and Cinde sold her sox off! Most other vendors I spoke with also had good sales, so maybe the economy is starting to come back... one can always hope!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Learning a new craft

For any of you out there who have been knitting since birth, this may be a bit of a bore... forgive me! I have had a block over knitting as big as the blocks I have over putting in zippers or button holes... it just never seemed like I could get it right, no matter what I did! Enter the computer age, and youtube. My problem has always been that I never had a human to teach me how to knit, and looking at illustrations just didn't do it. But this time of year, I do like to work on warm things, so knitting has been one of those "gee... I wish I knew how!" things. Well, I have at least learned the garter stitch:

I took a couple of suggestions from my friend Wendy, who apparently was born with knitting needles in her tiny hands: first, I got wooden needles. I was attempting to learn using long, metal size 11 needles, and they are really cumbersome. I have been focusing on just the garter stitch for several days now, just picking up the needles and stitching a row here, a row there, then stopping if I get tired. I have no ambitions beyond getting completely comfortable with the motions for now. Then after Thanksgiving, Wendy is going to give me a hands-on lesson, which will introduce me to purling, among other things. I'm thrilled that I have gotten this far, and can't wait to go even further! Stay tuned for more breaking news!

Saturday, November 7, 2009

New Product debuts

I have just added a brand new item to my shop - a medical scrub top! I have had a number of requests for them over the past few years, and decided to add them to my line this year. I only have one made up so far, but I plan to get busy after the Mountain Campus Holiday show Nov. 20-21. That is my last show for this year, and I will have time to sew the scrubs, then start dyeing. Here is my prototype, dyed ala Ice Dyeing:
I'm sure some of my regular visitors think I'm stuck in the Orchid/Lilac/Avocado spectrum, based on my recent posts, but I hate to waste perfectly good dyes, so.....
Also, soon to be added to my shop are 3 new products just in time for holiday shopping:
Bookmarks, Key chains and Checkbook Holders. I posted pix of the Checkbook holders here , and will post pix of the other two items as soon as I have pictures taken. Also still in the works are medical caps, doo-rags and chemo caps... my friend Dede is sewing them for me, and I hope to have them in the shop by early spring. Never a dull moment!

Thursday, November 5, 2009

In print...

As publicity for my month-long exhibit at Mountain Oasis Int'l Restaurant, a picture of "Autumn Leaves at Sunset" is printed on the back cover of 'The Noise', the arts & news magazine of Flagstaff:

I'm really thrilled to be finally getting myself out there, taking risks, living the dream of a lifetime! That's what it's all about...

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

New product in the works

I am bound and determined to reduce my overflowing fabric stash! So I've come up with a couple of new gift items to offer this year. One of them is a checkbook cover:
I used my own cover as a pattern and made a couple of modifications to simplify the design. So far, I'm pleased with how they look, feel, and go together. Let me know what you think! I'm hoping to crank out 25-35 before the Mountain Campus Holiday show coming up Nov. 20-21, my last show of the year. Then I'll add them to my artfire shop as an ongoing gift item. Always something!


Monday, November 2, 2009

Ice dyeing - first attempt

Well, I have tried yet another method of dyeing fabric, and I'm totally in love with the results! I came across this blog post over a year ago and added it to my faves with the idea I would get around to trying it eventually. Well, eventually came today:
I just wish I could get better pictures of the markings and color variations... you'll just have to use your imagination. And if you be a dyer like me, if you haven't tried this yet, you have to! It is sooooo easy! I even had to put the scrunched fabric and it's bucket in the freezer for awhile this morning, 'cause wouldn't you know? It didn't freeze last nite! Basically, after pre-soaking with soda ash solution, I scrunched the fabric (1/2 yard of muslin), put it in a small bucket and put it on the deck overnite. When I discovered that it wasn't frozen this morning, I put it in the freezer for an hour. Then it was stiff, so I took it out and poured on Orchid, Lilac and Avocado dyes and let it sit about 6 hours. Then I did the normal rinse and wash. Could I just dye fabric from now on? I'm ready! But of course, I do have to try this on a shirt next, so look for future posts about ice dyeing clothing as well!