On the Edge

I've been trying to create something new for each store, each day. I've been trying to post something on my blog every day. I'm trying to get pictures organized and on flickr. I had to get teacher gifts done for both kids. I got the teachers gifts done and delivered today. My daughter's last day of school is today. She has her musical celebration tonight. My son had his last day of school yesterday. His celebration is tomorrow morning. I think, tonight, I'm just going to go to bed. I have been averaging about 5 hours sleep a night for far too long.

I'll play with the kids, putter in the gardens, avoid housework at all costs...but instead of staying up til all hours sewing, photographing and listing, I'm just going to take a few days off, sew when I can and start fresh next week. It is a holiday weekend, after all.........

Indecisive

Usually, I come up with an idea and look through my fabric stash and create something unique...or I see some fabric and it inspires me to turn it into something wonderful. This one particular piece of fabric has been annoyingly silent since it arrived. I like it, but it doesn't offer any suggestions and it's been really bugging me.

Now, as most of you creative types are well aware, supplies can take over your entire house. My fabric is oozing out of my sewing room, across the hall and is getting alarmingly close to my daughter's bedroom door. I decided I need to start creating with what I have rather than continually buying more really neat fabric (and no, it's not working. At all)

So, I spent a week staring at this fabric, keeping it in a ziplock bag while out and about, just in case. Still nothing. Disgusted, I tossed the bag on the cutting, ahem, dining table and it zipped right across the table and fell into a tub of fabric. Right on top was the nylon fabric I use for waterproof lining. The colors of the fabric looked good against the black of the lining. I knew I had a beige zipper in my zipper box.....how about a waterpoof lined pouch? Or should I wait and dig through ALL of my fabric and make a tote with it, a beer quilt, coasters?

I got disgusted with my self and just started cutting. I created a lovely pouch. I'm still not sure if that's what the fabric was supposed to be, though.

Giving My Other Shop Some Attention

For the past 2 days, I've been blogging about my silly little descriptions in my etsy shop, pandys. I also have another shop, GriffinGear. That one is apparel for boys.....I don't like the boys clothes now...too casual, too much camoflage and too much writing and advertising on everything.

So, I've started with fleece and flannel last fall, now I'm working on T shirts, hats, shorts, lightweight pants and shorts, and boys bags. Stay tuned......

More New Things and Creative Writing

I made some coasters for the season....Flag Themed....and had this funny little story going through my head....read on for the adventures of Uncle Stuart....and my goal of blogging EVERY day.

She opened her mailbox and saw the package from Pandys of Lake Sunapee. Ripping the envelope open, she grabbed the coasters and practically hugged them. Yes, Yes, Yes, she said, then looked around quickly to make sure no one had heard her.

Uncle Stuart, she thought to herself as she shook her head. She knew everyone had an Uncle Stuart, and all of her friends thought he was hilarious. He was in his late 60's but was so proud of his "summer car", a black Trans Am with the gold bird on the hood, just like the one in Smokey and the Bandit...complete with 8 track player. Yes, the car WAS in pristine condition, however....add in the white shoes, the polyester shirt with the flag print (thank God he had started buttoning the top 3 buttons in the last few years) and the ever present Binaca breath spray in his shirt pocket, and, well.......

Last year, at the Memorial Day cookout, Uncle Stuart had had a few too many and thought tossing her marble coasters into the pool for the kids to dive for would be a great game. Somehow, a wine glass ended up in the pool, too. Then on the Fourth of July, it had rained and the party was inside. Uncle Stuart had managed to push his coaster across her new alder dining table so hard it took 3 hours of sanding and 4 coats of urethane to repair the damage.

This year, she was taking no chances....the listing said the coasters were unbreakable, scratch proof and relatively safe as flying objects...they were considered kid proof. She just hoped they were Uncle Stuart proof.

New Things

I'm going to try and start keeping this blog more updated. I've been creating new items for both shops, and in my pandys shop, my new thing is very creative descriptions. I had a great time thinking up the story for my Wild in the Street Market tote....

She glanced at her watch nervously. Come on, come on she mumbled under her breath at the cars on the street. Seeing an opening, she bolted across 2 lanes of traffic to the farmers market. Her new boyfriend was going to be at her apartment in 30 minutes. She was cooking him dinner for the first time...and was running VERY late.

She walked up and down the aisles, checking each vendor's wares. She picked up some romaine and red leaf lettuce, cucumbers, radishes, onions.....further down, she added a nice loaf of poppy seed bread, a large bunch of celery and some strawberries. Okay, she thought, I can get home before he gets there. Grabbing a fresh squeezed lemonade, she hurried home. Not thinking, she tossed her empty cup into her Market Tote by Pandys of Lake Sunapee. The lemonade was gone, but the bottom of the cup was full of ice.

She ran up the stairs, unlocked the door and put her bags on the counter. She pulled out the vegetables and fruit. As she pulled out the loaf of bread, she realized the bag had ripped. Crumbs and poppyseeds littered the bottom of the bag. She then saw the lemonade cup on its side, the now melted ice slowly seeping across the bottom of the bag.

The doorbell rang. He was here. What to do? She quickly grabbed a towel and wiped out the bottom of the bag. Crumbs and water disappeared instantly. Hanging the bag on the rack next to the door, she smoothed her hair, took a deep breath, and with a shaky hand, reached for the door knob............................

and now that it's sold, I need to make a different one and come up with Chapter 2. Feel free to check out my shop for more descriptions...if nothing else, they should make you smile.

Rainy Mondays....

after a week of beautiful weather...pretty much suck!!! I have lots of ideas for new products in both shops, however, due to my own brain cramp, am without a sewing machine. I forgot to have it serviced for 2 years. It really likes to be cleaned, oiled and adjusted on an annual basis. So, here I sit, with 2 bored kids, cooped up inside, a mountain of fabric pleading to be cut up and made into something super cool, a brain full of ideas...and only a few pieces cut. Why? well, I have a great idea but it needs a few incarnations before it's fit for public viewing. As I am unable to stitch something together to see how it works, I am reluctant to cut out a bunch of fabric. I don't want to have to throw it out when I find the final product bears no resemblance to what I started with. And, since I only purchase small amounts of fabrics (helps keep the One of A Kind, Unique and Handmade feel in my shop) I hate to waste anything!!!!!!

Hopefully my sewing machine will be back soon and you can check out both of my shops for new and exciting items by the end of the week.

They listened, but...................

Okay, so we all know my kids aren't exactly the sit around and wait for someone to tell them what to do type. They have been really good lately about listening and doing what they should (taking their favorite toys every time they didn't listen got their attention) and really fun. So, yesterday, we got new sand for the sandbox, today, the kids were playing in in. Sarah came in with the castle shaped bucket for water, she wanted to make a sand castle. I said no water in the sandbox.

A few minutes later, they came in for dinner. I was in the kitchen, they trooped in and headed straight for the first floor bathroom to wash their hands. They were in there a little longer than normal, but everything sounded normal and they came out with clean hands. We eat, do the normal nighttime routine, head upstairs for baths and bed. I am doing other things around the house, no biggie.

Around 11:00, I head for the shower. There is sand all over the bathroom floor. I sweep it up..then notice the sand castle on the toilet lid. I look around and the castle bucket is in the bathroom sink...floating. The water is all murky. I reach in and scoop out handful after handful of white sandbox sand. Since they couldn't put water in the sandbox, they brought the sand to the water. Very creative, I think. I'm torn..proud of the fact they did what I said, impressed with the creativity...but, I'm not looking forward to taking the elbow off and cleaning the sand out of the pipes. I tried the plunger already.....water did not go anywhere.