2nd Thoughts

I am having second thought about my sewing business.

1.)  I'm wondering if it's worth it anymore.  It's becoming work.  I mean, there are some days I hate the thought of sitting in front of the sewing machine.

Don't get me wrong, I love sewing and I love the look on peoples faces when they receive something handmade...but my house is a mess and I feel guilty for not spending every second with my kids.

I'm hoping this gets easier once pre-school starts in the fall.

2.)  I think my constant sewing is putting my health at risk.  My thumbs have been going numb lately.  I have carpel tunnel issues (thanks to my years of being a paralegal) and my little fingers and sometimes my ring fingers go numb at times, but now with my thumbs....I don't know.

3.)  I am beginning to wonder if there is still a market for what I do.  Why spend $15-$20 for something custom made when I can get something close that was mass produced for half the price?

4.)  I'm not really sure how to get market myself.  I have business cards and there is a magnet on the back of our truck and I ordered a canvas bag that I'll use as a diaper bag.  But I really don't know if there is anything else I can do.

Like I said, I'm having second thoughts.  But maybe that's a good thing?  Maybe that's what will help me succeed?

I don't know.

Happy sewing everyone!

VACATION...sorta

The kids and I will be away from Sunday, April 18th through Sunday, April 25th.

We are off to visit my family in another state.

Though I had planned on this being a relaxing vacation, I think I would go through withdrawal without my sewing machine...so it's coming along with us :0)

I hope to have tons of new pictures to post when we return.

Happy Sewing!

Like Mother, Like Daughter

The kids and I took a trip to the fabric store today.  The problem was we did it during my daughter's nap time.  Boy was she fussy.  She's 2 and totally lives up to her nickname of Diva!

Anyway, we were at the store and she was so fussy.  Hold me, don't hold me...want to sit in the cart, don't want to sit in the cart.  You get the picture :0)

I had to pick up some supplys for some projects I have going on, so I needed to get this shopping done.  I bribed her.  Yup, I told my little girl that she could pick out some fabric and I'll make her a dress out of it, but she needs to let me finish my shopping.

It worked.  She said, "Pin-cess Sin-a-rel-ra" (which translates into "Princess Cinderella").  This isn't a surprise, she is obssessed with Cinderella!  She spotted some pink fabric with Bell, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and, of course, Cinderella.  I had to wrestle it out of her hands to have it cut!

Yeah, I'm turning her into a fabric addict...and I couldn't be happier!! :0)

Taking some time off

I woke up with a nasty toothache...at 4 am :0(

So, I'm taking the next few days off so I can go see the dentist and recover from what may be a pulled tooth and an abscess.  Wish me luck!

I'll be posting some new projects in the next 7-ish days so check back soon!

Happy Sewing!

Mayberry 2010

Mayberry...you know, the town from The Andy Griffith Show (and according to Wikipedia also the home of  Mayberry R.F.D and Return to Mayberry).  Mom...well, Aunt Bea...cooking, Dad going off to work, kids running around, no one worrying about someone taking their kids.  *sigh*

I'm begining to think I was born in the wrong era.  I'm a stay at home mom (ok, well, kinda.  I'm trying to get my sewing business off the ground...but I'm still home with my 4 year old and 2 year old all day since they don't start pre-school till the fall), I bake, I cook, I sew...heck I'm even starting a garden and learning how to can jelly/jam/veggies/fruit!

I mentioned to my husband that I now have 3 people following my sewing blog.  I said, "there are three people out there, who I don't know!, who actually want to read what I have to say!!"  His response is what got me thingking about Mayberry.  He said, "You are an oddity.  You are a 21st century mom who stays home with her kids, who bakes...you make your own bread for heavens sake!...you sew.   There are so many people out there who don't know the stuff you do."

I've been thinking about it all day...and he's right, but I never really though of it that way.

I was a working mom and I planned on being a working mom.  I worked as a paralegal before I got pregnant with my son...and I went back to work after he was born.  When I was pregnant with my daughter, I had planned on going back to work after her birth.  I had to quit my job because she got RSV at 4 weeks old and the doctors strongly suggested that we keep her out of day car for the first year of her life.  When she was 10 months old, I started looking for another job.  The economy is the reason I am a stay at home mom again...I went back to work for 6 months before being laid off.

I'm rambleing, but that's how my thoughts are now :0)

I enjoy getting up in the morning to my happy kids.  I enjoy planning dinner, cooking my kids their breakfast and lunch, making treats for my family (there were 2 pans of brownies and a double batch of banana cake Saturday), I even like baking bread (I also made oatmeal loaf on Saturday).

I enjoy mending my husbands pants.  I like making my house a home.  I like making my kids clothing.

I have never experienced the "simpler time" people talk about when they speak of that "Mayberry" time, so I can't say that I miss the simpler time...but I really think I would have fit in :0)

I don't know my neighbors.  Really, I have never met them, and we have lived here for 2 years.  Any my mother-in-law lived here before us for over 5 years...and she doesn't know them!!!  I know most of the people who live on the road my grandmother lives on for heavens sake!

Why have I never met them?  I never see them outside, really.  I know my nextdoor neighbors have kids because I see the toys outside, but I never see people.

I want to know my neighbors...I want to offer them cookies when I bake too many.  I want them to come over and ask if I can sew a button back on their pants. 

I'm rambeling again, I'm sorry.  Yeah, this isn't much of a sewing post, but it was you, my followers, who inspired my thoughts today.

Ironing

I hate ironing and will avoid it at all costs.  But.....I had made a dress for my daughter that had a nasty fold line down the front. 

I tried washing and drying it, but it didn't help.

So, I dug out the ironing board and the iron.  Then, remembering a tip my grandmother taught me, I grabbed the spray bottle I use to wet hair, it has just plain old tap water in it.

I set up the ironing board and let the iron heat up while I positioned the dress on the ironing board.  Then I sprayed the dress a few times with water from the spray bottle.  Then I pressed the iron onto the wet dress...steam!

I steamed the fold line out of it like a pro!

Yeah, I know, most irons have a steam function.  But I don't think it works as well as the water from a spray bottle method.

Give it a try next time you need to press out a fold line or a nice pressed seam (like down the front of dress pants...I do this for my husband and son's pants from time to time).

Before:

After:

I have 3 Followers!

I'm very excited that you 3 have decided to follow my blog and I just want to say WELCOME!!

Are there any topics you would like to hear about?

Bonanzle.com

This is a great site!  I stumbled across it last week...and spent a few hours just looking through it.  I really liked what I saw so I joined and opened a booth.

The best way to describe this site is "Craigslist and Etsy had a baby".  You can post new thing, custom things, used things...I just love it!

And the people are so friendly!  I was working on setting up my booth and was getting tons of "WELCOME!" messages.

This site is very user friendly.  I have not had much trouble setting everything up...and for the stuff I had questions on?  I was able to find the answers I needed in the forum.

You can post your listings on craigslist and Twitter with just a few clicks!

And you can have your friends or past clients leave personal endorsements.  How great is that?  I love this feature!

Fees are very reasonable and straight forward.

Here is the link to my booth.

Happy shopping and selling!!

Beautiful Weather....

The warm weather is here, for now!  The problem is, the warmer the weather gets...the less I want to sew.

I want to be outside playing with the kids, not sitting in front of the sewing machine.  I am so behind on my sewing it's not funny.  I may not have enough to do the craft fair I was planning on selling at at the end of the month. 

It's hard enough to keep up on the custom orders (they always come first) when the outdoors is calling me!  Today it was 74 and sunny.  Tomorrow it will be 83 and Wednesday is supposed to be 86!!!!  Maybe I'll be able to catch up on Thursday?  It's supposed to rain :0)

How do you get motivated when it's nice out?