Skeleton Theatre

There is a long tradition of Halloween productions in my family beginning with my dad's Percy the Pumpkin Man, continuing with my husband's many creations. This year we're doing Skeleton Theatre again.

It's a massive undertaking so I'll be busy with that for a little while, feeding lots of volunteers, making sure no one gets electrocuted and providing first-aid amidst all the kidling-related Halloween minutiae I've volunteered for. I'll be back to the blog once Halloween has passed and I've recovered from the excitement.

Have a happy Halloween!

Photo-phobia

Hurray! I just listed this "new" Passport Wallet in my shop:


It's "new" because I actually finished it 2 weeks ago but had been putting off photographing it. I'd been suffering from a case of Photo-phobia because my application to the very cool design site, trunkt, was recently rejected and I fear it's because of my photos.

After moping about it for a bit, I went in search of some help and the following tutorials gave me some excellent photography and Photo Shop tips:

Taking Professional Looking Photos Without a Professional
-by Lindsay Landis of Lindsay Designs, from The Switchboards

How to take and edit professional looking photos of your craft products-a tutorial
-by Lisa Lam, from CraftBoom

A Photo Shop Tutorial-Back to the Basics
-a You Tube Tutorial found at Etsy's The Storque

I also spent some quality time with the instruction manual for my digital camera and learned a lot about all those mysterious letters and numbers and white balance and such.

So, I don't know if my photos are any better than they were but at least I feel more educated about the process! Do you have any photography tips or tutorials to share? Leave them in a comment and I'll try and do a follow-up post with your suggestions!

Catch-Up

I've been playing catch-up the past few days. Catching up on bills, some Etsy orders, neglected emails, dishes in the sink. Now it's time to do some blog catch-up!

First, thank you to everyone for your input about a strap-line! I loved hearing your strap-lines:

"Handmades with style"
-Plumm

"Hatching Inspiration; Moments in Flight"
-Freckled Nest

"Handcrafted Limited Edition Jewelry"
-A Pretty Rock

"Vintage Inspired Designs Made for Today"
-Vintage-At-Heart Designs

(I'm still working on mine.)

Second, thank you for all the lovely comments about my Flare Clutches. I wish I were better at responding to your kind comments in a written form instead of chatting at my monitor as if you could hear me!

Third, here's an update on my spinning adventures. I've been squeezing in a little bit of spinning between sewing projects. I find spinning to be very restful and meditative. Kind of like what sewing used to be before I started sewing "professionally."


This skein is "Sonoma" from Maine Woods Yarn. This was my first attempt to spin and ply a large-ish chunk of wool using only my drop spindle. It's a little slubbier than I like.


Here's my second attempt-"Hyacinth". I like that the yarn is more even. And I love the contrasting colors! The roving for this skein also came from Maine Woods Yarn.

I think I'm going to knit up some scarves for myself and the kidlings with these skeins. I'll let you know how it goes.

What have you been catching up on lately?

Tutorial: How to re-thread a zipper pull

I love all the tutorials floating around the web. I fully admit to late night googling, trying to find out how to make your own niddy-noddy. In the spirit of giving back, I now offer this small tutorial on re-threading a zipper pull:

***************************************************

One of the most vital products in my sewing studio is "Make-A-Zipper".


Economical and easy to use, I just measure the length of zipper I need and snip it off. One peril of using it, however, is over-zealously zipping the zipper pull off the zipper!



After much forehead slapping and abandoning perfectly good zippers, I came up with the following way to rethread a zipper pull.

1. Separate the zipper tapes

Just pull the tapes apart - they should separate fairly easily.

2. Get 2 strips of masking tape

I usually make mine around 2 to 2 1/2 inches long.

3. Make masking tape tabs

This is the important step. Carefully line up one side of the masking tape along the outside edges of the zipper teeth, making sure to leave about three-quarters of the tape hanging off the end. Then fold the masking tape back on itself to the other side of the zipper, creating a little tab. Now do the same to the other side of the zipper.

4. Thread one side of the zipper

Thread the zipper tape through one side of the zipper pull. You'll feel the teeth click as they enter the pull. I usually slide 2 or 3 teeth into the slide.

5. Thread the other side

The tab is helpful for this step. Tugging firmly but gently, thread 2 or 3 teeth through the other side of the pull.

6. Start zipping

This is where you'll see the tabs in action. Firmly hold both tabs in one hand and pull on the zipper pull with the other. You may have to change the angle of your zipping hand slightly to get the pull to move. Try wiggling your hand around and soon you'll start feeling the zipper pull zipping.

7. Hurray! Your zipper is happily re-threaded!

Now take a look at your re-threaded zipper. Your zipper tapes may be misaligned a little bit. If that's not a problem, then sew away! If this is a problem, start the process all over again. But you're a pro at this now, so it will only take a few seconds!


Note: I've only tried this method with nylon coil zippers. I'm not sure if it would work for zippers with molded plastic coils. This technique also applies only to zippers without a zipper stop.

Let me know if you have any questions or if this tutorial is helpful. I know I'm thrilled with my home-made niddy-noddy!

Flare vs. Flair

Yippee! I've moved out of the prototype stage to the production stage for my new handbag! Here they are...the first three from The Flare Clutch line:



I've gone back and forth in my geeky English Major way between calling it the Flare or Flair Clutch. I decided on "Flare" since it is more physically descriptive but I'll call in "Flair" in my head for my own amusement.

I'm excited about the pockets in this bag. There are two exterior pockets accessed from the same zipper that can hold lipstick, credit cards or slim flip phones. Inside is a slip pocket that is sized to fit cash.



I'm hoping to start carrying them in my shop this weekend!

I need a Strapline

One of my favorite blogs is Lisa Lam's U-handblog. The blog is related to her on-line shop, u-handbag.com which sells lots of great bag making accessories. U-handblog is chock full of useful stuff: sewing tutorials, tips on running your own business and inspirational photos of handmade bags [Editorial comment: my Retro Blue Dots on Brown Handbag Set is one of this month's U-Handbag's flickr Faves. Again: feeling a little like a rock star!]

Anyways, Lisa just started a new blog, CraftBoom, about running a craft business. Her latest post is "Ways to Market Yourself & Your Craft (on the cheap)" and has the following suggestion:

Get yourself a strapline (as defined by Wiki). A strap line is a useful bunch of words that serve to reinforce /inform (in a quick & simple way) just what your craft business is/provides. I’ve had my strapline “Love Bags, Make Bags” from the beginning and I hope that from reading it, it is obvious to the reader that my craft business is involved in handbags, and handbag making. When my strapline appears alongside my logo is serves to inform people of what my business is (in case you can’t tell from looking at the logo in isolation.

I need a catchy strapline. Do you all have any suggestions? Do you have a strapline?

My Favorite Things

At our house, the latest disc taking up permanent residence in the DVD player is "The Sound of Music." I've been struck anew at the hottie-ness of Captain Von Trapp and the girls have learned about the evil-ness of the Nazi Party. In honor of Maria and her charges, here are some of my latest "Favorite Things."


Aren't these magnets and buttons cute? I got them in a lovely little package from my good bloggie pal, Steph. She recently had a give-away on her blog and I was one of the winners. Yay! I'm particularly enamored with the Etsy pin. It will be going on my jacket momentarily. She also included one of her moo cards...those are so cute! I'm still trying to decide if I should invest in some but the long box of business cards I just received keeps holding me back.


Here is a ring I bought myself to celebrate my 1 year Etsy Anniversary. It's a Slinky Ring made by Horizonte. I love the textures and colors. It's also very light and doesn't snag so I can wear it while sewing. (I took some pictures of this lovely ring on my finger and immediately deleted them. I have singularly unattractive hands - great for sewing and creating, not so great for modeling. I get hand envy whenever I see Blissful's or JPAT's pretty hands in their listing photos!)


Finally, some of my desk companions. The blue puppy is a pencil sharpener we gave the oldest Kidling for Christmas that I have co-opted. His little ears flap when you sharpen a pencil with his tail/crank. He is also emptied in a surprisingly anatomically correct fashion that the youngest kidling likes to call, "Changing the puppy's diapers." Finally, there is my "Shakespeare Insult Mug." It holds lots of coffee and makes me laugh. I especially like "Not so much brain as ear wax."

Really, Captain Von Trapp is just yummy!

"That's a lot of cards, Mommy!"

So said my oldest kidling upon seeing my recently arrived box of one thousand business cards.


I have to say I agree with her. After ordering a hundred cards here and there, I did some cost analysis (ooooh, look at the business-y type words!) and realized I should just buy 1,000 at a time.

Of all the things I've done related to my Etsy shop, this one has given me the greatest pause. Looking at that dauntingly loooooooong box of cards makes me realize I'd better work hard so those little slips of cardboard have lots of places to go, either through marketing or sales (there I go again with the business talk!). Wish me luck!

Back To School!

I have to admit to having a certain wistful feeling on the first day of school for the past few years. While part of it was sending the oldest kidling off to another year of elementary school, a lot of my wistfulness was missing that sense of anticipation a new school year brings.

This Septmember, however, I've got something to be excited about: I've been busy in my studio making some new things for my Etsy shop! It's not quite the same as getting a box of 64 crayons with the built-in sharpener but pretty darn close. I'm especially excited about a new handbag design I've been working on. I'm still tweaking the design a bit but hopefully I'll have some ready in the next week or so.

I've also been making some new 3 Pocket Flip Wallets from my big stack of fabric. Here's a sneak peek:


Are you excited for Back-To-School season?

Mary Grayson

My latest crush: littleputbook's Studio Shot Tuesdays flickr group. I love to see everyone's creative workspaces and tools and such. My contribution today is a shot of my dressform/handbag model:


My husband and the kidlings named her "Mary Grayson" (due in large part, I think, to her gray covering). She's almost like a member of the family. I catch the kidlings hugging her all the time.

Mary is currently dressed in a kimono I got at a sale my friend, Emiko, had last week. Emiko just got back from Japan, bringing a suitcase full of lovely kimono pieces with her. This was one of the intact kimonos she had that she assumed would be taken apart and made into something else. The kimono is so beautiful, though, I can't bear to cut it up so now Mary has a new outfit.

Above Mary's head (or lack of head, I guess) is my shadow box of little things I've collected over the years. Here's a close up of some of my favorite tchotchkes:

The white buddha is a chop with my chinese name, the sandpainting is from a trip to New Mexico I took with my best pal Lori and the "bad dog" pin is a gift my husband bought from The Cambridge Artists Cooperative. I got the Terracotta Warrior on a trip to Xian and the little native american was a gift from my mom. The origins of everything else are lost in the sands of time.

It's all about me!

I finished making a knitting bag for myself the other day!



This is the first bag I've made expressly for my own little self in the longest time. Most of the bags and wallets I use are either prototypes or goof-ups. I'd seen so many cute knitting bags like this one on Etsy that I wanted one too. I adapted a commercial pattern to make it capacious enough and I used my serger, which has been sadly neglected of late. There are some things about this design I would tweak if I ever make this bag again (including the use of said serger) but on the whole I'm tickled pink.


Here's a peek inside with the latest example of my sock obsession. This yarn + this pattern = the coolest socks ever....blog post forthcoming.

And for some more me-centric news - the wonderful Dandelion Blu has tagged me a



I get called "rockin' " so infrequently in my current state of perpetual frumpiness that this tag is even sweeter. As a newly instated Rockin' Girl Blogger, I get to dub 5 of my own and I pick

Adornments and Distractions
freckled nest
Jenn Maruska's Blog
Mill Girl
rhembein

Thanks so much, Dandelion Blu!!

Studio Shot Tuesdays

I spent a lot of the weekend cleaning up my studio!


My studio isn't really pretty but it is practical - especially now that it is tidy! I'm quite pleased that my fabric has remained tamed and my notions are still neatly tucked into their drawer.

One thing missing from the above shot is my beautiful spool rack that my husband made for me a long time ago:



He used two different kinds of wood to create the diamond pattern. I have no idea how he drilled the holes for the spool dowels. This rack was my Christmas present the same year I surprised him with a hand-knitted sweater. He still has the sweater but my spool rack gets more use!

My cleaning frenzy coincided nicely with the advent of LittleputBook's new flickr group, Studio Shot Tuesdays. Go check out some other work spaces!

Sox-stravaganza

My latest obsession: knitting socks. It began innocently enough - I was browsing through one of Etsy's Saturday Night Specials forum threads (an excellent way to get extra cool stuff at extra special prices) and I ended up buying some beautiful hand-dyed sock yarn. I've done a lot of knitting in the past but deeply feared socks and their complicated shapes. This yarn, however, just called to me so I rustled around the net for a pattern and Joann's for some double pointed needles and sat down to knit with some practice yarn. It took me two or three (ok, SIX) tries to figure out what I was doing but I eventually untangled myself enough to get some knitting done. Here's what I've got so far:

<--This was my first pair of socks, knitted with some commercially made yarn using these instructions. I love how the self-striping yarn looks and it kept me entertained. The pattern itself is great. It is a wonderful road-map to the anatomy of a sock. I especially loved knitting the heel. It made me feel like my favorite literary heroine, Jo, from Little Women.

So after this pair I was hooked. Socks are such a portable project - perfect to work on while waiting for kids to finish swimming lessons, spouses to finish shopping at Frys or for very long car trips.

Here's another pair in more girly colors --->
These were knitted with commercially made yarn and a commercial pattern. I like the heel and toes for this pattern a little better than the above pattern - they are more tapered and elegant. Aren't the colors fun? I craved a neopolitan ice-cream cone the entire time I was knitting.

(I'm sorry all the socks look so misshapen but I didn't want to subject you to my hobbit shaped feet. I think I need to make some sock blockers.)

<---Here's the pair that I knitted with the hand-dyed yarn. It's from SeeJayneKnitYarns and it was a joy to knit.

I originally used another pattern I got off the web. It had a very simple heel and no gusset shaping. I ended up with an ill-fitting tube with a goofy protuberance for a heel. Perhaps that ugly sock is more a testament to my poor knitting than the pattern, but I unraveled that sock and used my original pattern.

Aren't the colors and shading beautiful? There is so much more subtlety and nuance with hand-dyed yarn! I think I'll be using hand-dyed yarn from here on out.

Now I'm off to make a little knitting bag!

Do you have any knitting adventures to share?

Crafting in Colorado

One of the stops on my big trip was a visit to my hometown of Boulder, Colorado. I got to spend time with my family, eat lots of my Mom's delicious cooking and see my best pal who recently returned from a Foreign Service tour in Sudan.

And I got to try something new! My mom, who is a crafter extraordinaire, had her spinning wheel out and I got to spend some time with it. (Do you know how hard it was to not type, "take it for a spin"?)

I've always been fascinated by spinning wheels. I remember watching Disney's Sleeping Beauty with rapt attention when she was inexorably drawn toward her slumbering fate but I was much more interested in the spinning wheel than the princess. And spinning wheels have such lovely anatomical names like "maidens" and "mother-of-all" and "the footman." So after finally figuring out the scotch tensioner, I sat down to spin. It was quite tricky and an awful lot like learning to drive a stick shift (although I didn't crash into a gas pump my first time out alone-TRUE STORY!)

Here's my results:


Definitely what on author diplomatically called "novelty yarn". I'm not sure it is knit-able but it was delightful to spin. I think I need to practice more with my drop spindle before my next trip to Colorado.

I'm Blushing

I love flickr. I started using it as a marketing tool but it rapidly became a daily treat to look at. It's a lovely way to catch glimpses into the lives and brains of other designers and artists. I am quite attached to the "Notes" feature where you can leave little messages on pictures - it's as if life is a comic strip and I can pen in little thought balloons.

But I digress. The other day rhembein found me on flickr and wrote this very flattering blog post about it (which is why I'm blushing). There were all sorts of harmonic convergences in our meeting, including the fact that the island where she lives is one I visited on my honeymoon!

Ooooh, she's an amazing designer:

photo originally uploaded by rhembein

You can see more of her gorgeous creations at her site. Hurry, go check them out!

Thanks so much for the the lovely blogpost, rhembein!

A Milestone

I set up my Etsy shop late last August with high hopes and low expectations. I got a convo about a custom order on my first day and after figuring out what a "convo" was, I've been trundling along with fairly regular sales. At the beginning of the summer I made some sales goals to meet before my one-year Etsy anniversary and this morning I met my milestone:

I never thought I'd be able to make 200 items, let alone sell that many! Etsy has been a grand adventure, allowing me to stretch my brain and develop my designing skills. It's provided a great excuse to go to fabric stores and helped me overcome my irrational fear of sewing zippers. I've met amazingly creative and kind people along the way. I think I'll have another cup of coffee to celebrate!

Have you met any milestones lately?

I'm Back with a Stack of Fabric

Whew! We've made it back home from our long summer trek. We drove from Seattle to San Diego and back with lots of stops in between. The kidlings were great sports throughout the trip, sleeping in 7 different beds in 4 different states.

Here are some things I learned on the trip:

1. You aren't allowed to trim your child's hair in line at Disneyland.

2. Today's TV needs more shows like the original Muppet Show with its irony, puppet-y mayhem and non-destructive explosions.

3. Nerds candy + a car seat + twisty highways = a parent's nightmare.

While some people collect commemorative silver spoons or postcards on vacation, I collected fabric. Here's my spoils:


I got to visit Denver Fabrics, Rosie's Calico Cupboard Quilt Shop, Michael Levine and The Stitchin' Post. I loved them all, although Rosie's was the most jaw-dropping, with rooms full of fabrics all coordinated by color. Thanks to my mom and my husband for taking care of the kidlings so I could frolic with amongst the fabric!

The Quest for Tidy Continues

I think I neglected to mention here that my Etsy shop will be taking a summer vacation. My sewing machine desperately needs a tune-up and I'm looking forward to spending time with my family, including my husband, Chris, who is finishing up a 2 1/2 month gig at the Old Globe Theatres in San Diego. I'll reopen my shop in July with a (hopefully) re-energized machine and brain.

One thing I'm doing during my hiatus is my on-going quest to tidy my work space. I've seen so many inspiring studios on other blogs, including Jenn Maruska's recent studio updates, that I've been anxious to get mine in order. And yesterday, I got a terrific book, "Creating Your Perfect Quilting Space" by Lois Hallock from the library.

It is filled chock-a-block with ideas but one really stood out: "Keep all thread, machine feet, pins, and scissors nearby." By "nearby" she means within 16 inches when you are seated and I had my supplies strewn across my long sewing table. So last night, in a fit of mad organizing, I cleaned out the top drawer of a filing cabinet I use as a cutting station and filled it with my bag making supplies. Here's the result:

Everything at my finger-tips!

I wish I'd had the forethought to take a "Before" picture, but just imagine ugly stacks of random paper and unused hanging files and you'll have it. The beauty of this drawer is that it pulls out, making it so efficient to get stuff and then stow away.

I love this little area with my snap whackers (I use a quarter for an anvil since I think my original anvil ended up in a wristlet I sent to Michigan), wallet innards, marking tools, extra machine needles and my glassbeach labels by RohmCustom. On the right is a lovely bowl made of wire from Africa that my dear mother-in-law gave me years ago.

I'm seriously crushing over my new drawer. I'm very pleased with the improvements I've made in my studio so far. I haven't made anything prettier, yet, but I've made some things tidier!

ps. I posted the first pic on flickr with some more notes.

The Brains of Others

I've been buzzing around my studio finishing up some custom orders. I love how custom orders stretch my brain. Other people have ideas about fabrics that I mentally tagged for something else and, voilà, there is something new and unexpected! Here are some nifty ideas from the brains of others.

First, a fused shopping tote for my friend, Steph. This bag was inspired by the "One Small Change" series on Steph's blog. I used the Fusing Plastic Bags Tutorial from the Etsy Labs Blog. I was so excited to find bags with trees for the exterior!


Next is a Handbag/Passport Wallet in Spumoni that I sent off yesterday. It's so fun to see fabrics that I envisioned in a smaller medium get to spread out and be grand.

Do you have any nifty ideas from the brains of others?

Why My Dad Is Cool

Happy Father's Day!

In honor of my dad and my husband, I offer the following essay:

Why My Dad is Cool

1. His fertile imagination

My dad was always willing to tell my sister and me stories. We especially loved the on-going series of “Elfie and Elferina and the Ogre Who Could Not Count.” He also created a running cast of characters that would visit us, including “Mr. Figaro,” a strangely asian Norwegian man who would come and play the accordion at our birthday parties. The best, however, was “Percy the Pumpkin Man” who would visit our front porch every Halloween. My dad would rig up his old squirrel fur coat with gloves and fishing line and an archaic microphone system behind a pumpkin head. You had to chat with Percy before you could get any candy. Dad is a professional story-teller now, so lots of kids get to hear his stories.

2. His creativity

My dad is an amazing artist. Pictionary is an adventure with him because he likes to add shading to his drawings. He is also a master of the ditto, a sadly lost art. For those of you who remember dittos, my dad could do FOUR COLOR dittos!

3. His love of language

Dad just retired after 40 years as an English professor. He taught me about the nuance and intricacies of language for which I’ll always be grateful. He also tried his hardest to teach me to be a good speller, but, alas, spell-check is still my best friend. He’s one of the official judges for the National Spelling Bee, so he is on TV once a year! It’s a big deal at our house for the kidlings to watch for DoGoong (Chinese for maternal grandfather).

__________________________________________________________________

Why My Husband Is Cool
(as dictated by my daughters and annotated by me)

1. Because he builds.

Some of the birthday attractions my husband and his friends have built:

a 13’ pirate ship
a castle with a dungeon, waterfall, bridge and climbing wall
a working carousel

Some of the things for Halloween my husband and and his crew have created:
A scary Hell-Tube
A huge aquarium scene with an 8’ jellyfish
Skeleton Theatre

2. Because he makes things sound scary and makes things sound nice

Chris is a composer and sound designer for theatre and is the Resident Sound Designer for the Seattle Children’s Theatre-absolutely perfect for the kidlings. They get see the sets getting built, meet the actors and see some darn fine theatre.

3. He has a studio

We and the above-mentioned crew built a recording studio in the basement. The kidlings love to go and play around with equipment and all the instruments down there. I particularly like the isolation booth because I can send them there and get a little peace and quiet.

4. He hugs

(Sniff!)

So I feel quite blessed to have 2 such remarkable men in my life. Happy Father’s Day, Daddy and Chris!

Me and my dad taking a nap