New to my inventory

I've been wanting to find a pattern for a shoulder bag for the longest time!  Well, the bug bit me again yesterday, and I did some searching online.  I found 2 tutorials, and actually combined parts of each to create a bag from some of my tie-dye fabric:

Since I can't take a picture with it on my shoulder, this will have to do.

Here's a little better shot.  I couldn't find a button, so ended up making a covered one with some of the leftover fabric. 

I like plenty of storage, so I added pockets on each side of the lining to hold small items.

Finished size: 16 3/4" wide, 12" high; strap 13" long, 4" wide.  I hope to have a few of these in the shop by the middle of June... don't know what the price will be yet, but they are quick to make, so that should keep them affordable!  Stay tuned...

Winding down for the holidays

Well, the grandkids' presents are in the mail, most of the Christmas cards are on their way, Cookies are ready to be dropped at various locations, reservations made for Christmas Day dinner... yes, for the first time ever, we are going out for Christmas dinner! The weather outside is frightful (windy, cold, but no rain/snow yet!)... and I'm ready to take a little break! I started knitting a new pattern yesterday for a triangle kerchief... slowly adding a new stitch to my repertoire (kbf to increase), and I have opened up a new website for wholesale buyers! I have a few new items I created:

This is the rope-wrap shibori I usually do in cool colors... I call this one 'Fire'.

This is the 'Bamboo' pattern in camel and black... I also have two other color combos for this one.

I'm hoping to get back to my 'latest' Art Quilt over the next few days... I haven't had time to work on it for awhile, and would really like to finish it up over the holidays!

So to all who read this, I hope you have a wonderful holiday season, and may 2011 bring us all hope, peace of mind, joy, love and laughter!

Newby!

I am getting ready for a show on the 29th, and wanted some more summer items to add to my inventory. I got a screamin' deal on Bucket Hats, and thought they would be great for summer vacations:

I just put the first one up in my shop, and have about a dozen more to dye.... too cute, huh?

Life in the fast lane...

Whew! Where has the time gone? I have been busy getting ready for this weekend's Open Studios Tour, that's where! And one of the nice things is, I was the subject of an article in our local paper on Wednesday! You can check it out here. And if you're in the Flagstaff area, I hope you stop by and see me!

On another note, I am collaborating on a project with a friend of mine to create some new items for my shop, and dyed 15 yards of fabric for her to sew. I am thinking of adding dyed fabrics to my inventory next year, and this was a great opportunity for me to test dyeing lengths of fabric. Here are pix of 2 of the pieces:

I broke the fabric down to 2 1/2 yard pieces for this project, but I'm thinking I could dye as much as 5 yards at a time with larger bins. This is sooooo easy, and I'm really delighted with my results! I used low water immersion... and I mean very low water. The piece on the left too 4 cups of liquid... 3 of dye and one of plain water, plus 2 cups of soda ash solution. The others only needed 2 cups of dye and one of plain water plus the soda ash. I'm used to dyeing t-shirts, which are very thirsty and require more dye. This was awesome! Can't wait to do more.

Stay tuned, I will post pix next week of my Open Studios setup. I'm sharing space with another artist at her home, and get the garage all to myself!