Autumn Leaves & Holly

I've been working on adding to my inventory for the Autumn Leaves & Holly show next weekend:

This is our third year putting this show on, and it has become a favorite of mine and my regular customers... lots of beautiful hand-crafted items from a variety of great crafters.  As usual, I wanted to have a good selection of Autumn-inspired items available, so here are a few of the bowls I will be offering:

This year, I decided to add some autumn leaves to the ones in back... I love autumn leaves, and use them a lot in my various crafts.  And of course, I have a selection of my autumn leaves batik shirts:

We have some new crafters in the show this year as well as some of our regulars... all very talented, offering some wonderful items for sale.  I hope  if you are in the Flagstaff area you will try to stop by!

Count down to the last show of the year

The flier says it all... and it's coming up next weekend!  I've been busy stockpiling scarves, bowls, short and long sleeve shirts... even finished crocheting a shawl:

I love how this came out, and ordered some more yarn so I can make more - yet another item to add to my list of products!

Hope to see you at the show if you are in the Flagstaff area 11/23-24!  

Coming soon!

I'm really excited!  I have been wanting to sell my coiled fabric bowls on-line for awhile now, but was concerned about how much shipping would cost.  Well... I did some research, and discovered I should be able to ship them for a reasonable amount, so I ordered some boxes.  I should have the bowls in my shop before the end of October... woo-hoo!  Here are some of my Autumn bowls:

I'm busy making some Christmas bowls now, then hope to get a few more non-holiday bowls this week.  I have a show on Friday and Saturday, so will get to see how the new ones sell.  Okay, back to the salt mines!

Busy week!

Last Saturday was the Artists' Coalition Spring Marketplace, and I had a good day:

I decided to add this shirt to my wardrobe...

A shot of my booth

My friend Cinde, showing off her purchase - a 'cairn' made by fellow ACF member Dudley Bacon.

Cinde and I both did well at the show.  Next, I got an order from a friend for a t-shirt with the 'Neon Graffiti' batik pattern I used for my mounted batiks... 

I'm still working on making a shirt board large enough so that I can stretch the shirt over and not need spring clamps to make it taut... probably will need to get some more foam board and cut larger than the ones I currently have.  But I did make some nice inserts for the sleeves this time, using regular corrugated cardboard. 

Finally, I made another coiled fabric bowl yesterday using some african batik print fabric I bought years ago in the downtown L.A. fabric district:

I should take a picture of the fabric as it is before I cut it out, so you can get an idea of the beautiful patterns, but even cut into 1 inch strips for the bowl, I love the rich variety combined with solid black and some hand dyed muslin in palomino gold.

This one is about 10" across by 3" high.  I'm starting to make them wider at the bottom, so I could make them higher and wider at the top, but this is a nice size for an accent piece... never get tired of making these!

Other than that, I've been watching my seedlings sprout in the greenhouse... no pictures yet, but I'm pleased with my progress so far.  I have lettuce, carrots, scallions and cucumbers sprouted, and  planted radishes and basil this week.  Still waiting for my bell peppers to poke through, and before you know it the weather will be warm enough for me to transfer them into the raised beds outside!  I promise to post pictures soon...

Mountain Campus Holiday Show - Day 1

The bowls were very popular yesterday at the first day of the Mountain Campus Holiday show... I sent several to new homes with happy buyers!

Here's my booth before the show opened... 

Here I am with my friend Cinde, who does gorgeous beaded jewelry.  She and I set up next to each other so we can chat during lulls between customers.  Today should be a good day... weather is supposed to be nice, and Saturday traditionally brings out a lot of shoppers to get started on their Holiday gift buying.  If you're in the Flagstaff area, try to make this show!  There are over 70 vendors with a huge selection of wonderful hand crafted items to choose from!  It's at Northern Arizona University, de Bois center from 9am-4pm.  I'm at booth 35, so if you attend I hope you'll stop and say 'hi'! 

Last show of the year!

I can't believe the last show of the year for me is this coming Friday and Saturday!  I have feverishly been cranking out coiled fiber bowls, have a large stash of hand dyed scarves as well as knit scarves, tie-dye and batik shirts,  Kindle Covers and hand dyed fabrics that will be available.  I will be at booth 35 if anyone plans to attend... hope to see you there!  Next week starts the big cleanup... time to catch up with chores that have been shoved to the back burner for so long!

A great show!

No pix today, just a great big "Thank you" to all who attended the Mountain Campus Holiday show this year! And a special "Thank You" to the volunteers who were there to help us unload to set up on Thursday, and came back yesterday to help us transport all of our stuff to our vehicles at the end of the show! I think we must have had half the football team out there... was a very welcome relief to know that we would have help! Just one more reason I love to do this show every year... the folks who put it together ROCK!! And another reason is it raised funds for the Northern Arizona United Way... win-win all around! Can you tell I'm amped?!!

Mountain Campus Holiday Show

Yesterday was the first day of this year's Mountain Campus Holiday show, held at Northern Arizona University. It's my last show of the year, and one of the 2 biggest shows I participate in.

Here I am with a set of my notecards, a new product I worked up for this year's show:

It was a long day yesterday... 9 hours! Sales were okay... hopefully the wind won't keep people from coming today! Here's a shot of my booth:

Funny how different things sell well one year, and not the next. I have had fabulous sales in the past with my silk and silk/rayon scarves, but only sold one yesterday!

My friend Cinde was set up next to me... she does beautiful beaded jewelry, and had a large supply of beaded snowflakes this year:

Good think, because she sold lots of them! Okay, time to get ready for today's show... I'll catch up on my rest tomorrow!

The verdict is in!

Well, after 2 days at the Mountain Campus Holiday show, the verdict is in... the scarves were the biggest seller of all! I sold 20 of them! I think maybe next year, I will leave most of the tie-dye at home and make lots more scarves! They have been good sellers for the past 3 years, but I made a lot more this year, and only have about a dozen left, so that's a sign! And of the 5 years I have participated in this show, this year's sales topped my best year, which was 2 years ago... maybe the economy is finally starting to come back!

Meanwhile, my friend Cinde who makes yummy beaded jewelry did better this year than a year ago, which was her first show ever, and that makes me really happy, since I practically shoved her into trying her hand at craft shows! She has been beading for about 20 years, but just kept what she made or gave them as gifts. Here are some closer shots of her booth:

My goal is to help her get an on-line store set up next year, so more people can enjoy her talents! Stay tuned...

Mtn Campus Holiday Show - day 1

Yesterday was the first of our annual 2-day show at No. Az. University. This is my fifth year participating in this show, and it's the biggest show I do each year in sales and attendance. As usual, Friday attendance is lighter, since it is a work-day, but I had my second-best Friday sales yesterday, topped only by my sales in 2008! My scarves flew off the rack, as I expected... sold 6 to one customer for gifts!

Here are pix of my booth, and my friend Cinde's... we are sharing 2 spaces.

This is Cinde's second year at this show, and she did pretty good yesterday as well. She makes beautiful hand-beaded jewelry, and people are very complimentary about her pieces... very labor-intensive, but real eye-catchers! I will try to get some close-ups today to post. Meanwhile, I need to get ready to go... the show starts at 9am today, and I look forward to a busy happy day of it!

Coming attractions

I have been busy making some new items for my shop, but they will not be available until later this month. Thought I would put out a 'teaser' to let you know I will be offering a new gift item soon!

These are based on a pattern by Beth Wheeler, and utilize some of my hand-dyed and/or embellished fabrics. The note pad is 5" x 8", with a pocket for pens and a velcro closure. I'm trying to get a bunch done for my upcoming show at our local University, which is my biggest show of the year, so I am hoarding these right now along with the scarves I have been dyeing. If you plan to be in Flagstaff November 19-20, I hope you will stop by! The show is at No. Arizona University, du Bois Center. Hours are: Friday, 11am-6pm, Saturday, 9am-4pm. Hope to see you there, but if not, I will let you know when these covered note pads are available in my shop!

Busy... busy... busy!!!

I feel like I'm a crafter on steroids these days! Ramping up for the big show of the year, and my studio looks like a tornado struck! I got a bunch more scarves dyed last week, and sold 7 to a friend from CA, so I ordered a bunch more to dye before the 19th. Good thing they dye quickly! Here are a few I did last week:

I also did some custom orders from my last show and dyed a shirt for another friend in CA which is ready to ship. Then yesterday, I made up the second of (hopefully) a bunch of note pad covers out of some hand-dyed and embellished fabric. I would like to get at least 6 more made up for the show later this month, and once I get the various fabrics cut out, they should go fairly quickly. So as I said in my title, 'Busy...busy...busy'!

Pinewood Farmers' Market

I was at Pinewood Farmers' Market in Munds Park yesterday, along with about 19 other vendors... some selling produce, others selling crafts. We had wonderful, sunny weather with just an occasional breeze! Here are a couple of pix of my booth:

I was limited to one rack, so only brought part of my collection. My hats and shirts sold well, and I got a couple of orders for custom dyes as well! All in all, a very good day, and I will be going back on July 3rd as well.

Other news of note: June is looking like a good month to catch up around the house! I have my gradation dyeing class scheduled for June 26, and will have anywhere from 6-20 attending... good thing we will be dyeing in the yard under canopies! My husband will be hiding out in the house for the day, I'm sure!

Flagstaff Open Studios is fast approaching... I need to get cracking! I haven't made one Art Quilt since last fall, and I want to have a new one for the Art Center Exhibit which opens August 7th!

I still want to make some more dyeing videos... I made one and posted it on my other blog hippiewear.blogspot.com for those who want to try their hand at dyeing patterns... I have several other patterns in mind I would like to demonstrate, so that's still on my 'to do' board.

Meanwhile, the other night at Quilters' Guild, we had a supply sale and live auction to raise funds for the guild... I came home with a bag full of goodies and... AND a loom for making rag rugs and placemats! Just what I need... another fiber addiction! But I can use up some of my stash, so that makes it all worthwhile, right? Just as soon as I can find the time... sigh!

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!

Sedona Craft Show 2009

Yesterday was the Sedona Historical Society's annual Arts & Crafts show and bake sale. I participated for the first time last year, and even though I didn't have great sales then, I decided to do the show again this year. What a difference! My sales were great, and I took several special orders as well.

Here's a picture of me with my friend Joyce, who I first met in 2003 at my first craft show in Flagstaff:

I had a great location on the lawn outside the museum:

If you are unfamiliar with Sedona, it is a community built among beautiful red rocks... very scenic and warmer than Flagstaff, which is a mountain community north of Sedona. We had great weather in the high 70's, clear skies... just the perfect conditions for a craft show. The crowds were great, and they were in a buying mood, at least at my booth. Thanks to all who stopped by!

Woo-hoo! It's show time!

Wow! I just got an e-mail that I will be given the opportunity to show my art quilts in November at the Mountain Oasis International Restaurant in Flagstaff. I just ate there last Friday for the first time, and their menu is fabulous, and the restaurant is lovely! I'm soooooo jazzed! That gives me plenty of time to finish a bunch more work... they prefer to have at least 10 pieces for the show, and I'm at 7 right now. Two of the 7 are pretty small, so I would like to have 10 about the same size range... 21" X 29" is the average. I'm a happy camper!

So far, so good!

Yesterday was the first of a 2-day show I have been selling at for 3 years now. What with the economy in a major world of hurt, I really wasn't expecting to have a great day yesterday, and my major hope was to a) make rent, and b) hopefully make enough to put a dent in my business' credit card debt. Well.... let's hear it for the buying public in Flagstaff! I made double my rent, and then some yesterday! And Saturday is usually the big sales day of this event, so I am looking forward to a brisk business today (oops! Shouldn't count my chickens before they hatch!). At any rate, the big sellers so far have been my silk/rayon Devore scarves from Dharm Trading... they dye up beautifully, as you can see - the Aqua one on the right is the 'Water' pattern. Other scarves are chiffon that I dyed last year:



And here's a shot of my booth:

I have a really nice ez-up canopy, but it's a @#!*? to put up, so I drug out the cheapie and washed and repaired my gauze cover... much easier to deal with! My neighbor Linda came and helped me set up, and promises to come this afternoon for take-down. I think I owe her a shirt, don't you?
I'll let you know tomorrow how the show goes today...

Sedona Craft Show

Yesterday I was in Sedona for a craft show at the Sedona Historical Museum. What a beautiful setting! And the weather was beautiful, although a little warmer than I'm used to these days. This is my booth, which was situated on a side porch to the museum:

This is a picture of the red rocks behind the museum:

I could look at these all day and never get tired of them!

There is a lovely garden surrounding the museum, and I'm a sucker for cacti:

I can see some sketches, and maybe art quilts coming from the 2 images above, can't you?

This is a picture of Anne Marston, who had her booth next to mine:

Among her many artistic accomplishments, Anne is a weaver, and also spins her own yarn. She had this fabulous electric spinning wheel with her, and was spinning 'pencil roving' into delicious variegated yarn! She had beautiful hand woven scarves, many made from hand-dyed yarns. We had a great time chatting, although we both ended up a little warm when the sun hit our side of the Museum!

Finally, here I am by my booth:

Sales were a little slow, but we had a nice crowd, and I hope to hear back from some with custom orders!