2017 Year in Review

2017 has been quite the year. I graduated from college in June and hit the ground (literally - I'm a gardener) working full time. My time off was suddenly my own. It didn't belong to homework; I could nap without regrets. So nap I did. I would come home from work and just sleep, get up long enough to have dinner and do barn chores, then back to bed. Suddenly, starting in September, every weekend and all my time off had something scheduled, and things were usually back-to-back. 

Honestly, I'm surprised that I got much crafting done at all. I didn't realize how much I managed to squeeze in with everything going on until I started going through pictures for this post. :P  

I started the year without much in the way of any grand project planning - just a few things that were stash-busting projects. All I knew is that I needed to whittle down my fabric stash. My rule was to only use materials that I already had on hand unless it was a notion or thread. That's it. For the most part, I was able to stick to that pretty well. :pats self on the back:

Starting in January, we had a ton of snow, freezing rain, or some sort of combo of the two. That left plenty of time for making things because I couldn't get to work or classes due to road conditions. Stressful for that reason alone. But I was able to get quite a bit of knitting and sewing in. ;) 

  Somehow I managed to squeeze in the red poppy dress in February. I've got some altering plans for this. I'm finding that I don't wear it all that much because it is harder to wear as a full dress. Maybe I'll just chop off the bodice and keep the skirt; that way, I can have more outfit options with it. We'll see what actually happens. 

 And that was it for a long time. I was playing catch-up with my classes. I didn't really sew anything until April with the tiny foxes dress. 

 To continue the stash-busting theme, I did a strawberry dress for my sister in July. This is part 2 of 3 for my fruit dress collection. There was the lemon dress for one sister, this dress for the other sister. Next up, is a blueberry dress for myself. It was started, but there were kinks in the pattern that I needed to work out. I ran out of berry dress steam, and it was thrown into the UFO pile. 

 The next big project that I managed to squeeze in was my first cosplay - the Chewbacca circle skirt. I had plans to get the rest of the ensemble put together for comic con, but I just didn't have the time. All I cared about was that it was easy to wear and a subtle enough reference that people had to be paying attention to catch it. ;) 

  After comic con, I wanted to make a new dress for a dance that was less than 2 weeks later. Somehow a Regency dress was finished in that time. There's some things I want to add to the dress, but it was wearable for the event. 

The same weekend of comic con marked the beginning of the craft fair season. This year, I was able to fit in 4. I learned quite a bit at these events - the biggest being what to look for when scoping out potential markets and making sure that they are well publicized.

 For the first few markets that I did, I was able to get by with what I already had in stock. By the last market, I realized that I needed to have some more Christmas-y things as well, so I threw together what I could in time for the event. I was literally putting in the last stitch during a lull while I was sitting in my booth. 

After the last bazaar, I was able to dive back into paper piecing with a tote for a friend! 

 After the bag came the Christmas sewing craziness. No matter how much I try, I always end up sewing things on Christmas Adam and Eve. Everyone gets pj's. They know that. The surprise is the print. I get the fabric on Black Friday with the intention of working on it through the month, but that never happens. :P 

  After the Christmas craziness, comes the apparently annual tradition with my friend. We wander through a cute downtown (because it's middle ground for us and there's a fabric shop). I've decided that it was my annual trip there, so it was time to stock up. I have no self-control. Maybe a year of fabric-purchasing restraint was a good thing. Now I should be well set for a long while. Since I'm done with school, I have free time (well, sort of), and I have a list of things to sew before the spring planting craze. And I'm desperately needing to restock my inventory for the next bazaar season. 

Until next time! 

SG

Wibbly Wobbly Book Bag

Well, this is a deviation from a normal project for me, that's for sure. 

I haven't done paper piecing in a long while, but it felt good to be back in the saddle. 

A friend of mine just finished her masters, and I was wracking my brain trying to figure out what to get her. Suddenly, out of the (TARDIS) blue, the idea struck me - what about a book bag? :D 

It even has pocketsesss.

 The last thing I made that utilized paper piecing was a Star Wars quilt. The pieces of that paper piecing was :much: larger and therefore easier. This TARDIS has many teeny, tiny pieces. Maybe I should have jumped back on the band wagon with an easier pattern, but that's not how I roll at all. 

Not perfectly lined up... 

I got the pattern for the block at Fandom in Stitches. They have tons of geeky quilt blocks that are available for FREE! But read the tiny print though - because they feature licensed characters, products made from the patterns are not to be sold. Please don't abuse this precious resource; I'm rather fond of them. 

I added a border around the block, attached a back, some straps, and an interlining and lining. 

Voila! A bag. The block took longer than the rest of the project :P 

Project Specs

Pattern:

block

bag is my own pattern 

Fabric:

TARDIS is made from scraps 

The main fabric is from Joann's 

Until next time!

SG

My Addiction

It suddenly dawned on me recently - I've made a lot of doll dresses over the years. 

 They go together with relative ease. They're so cute. I can put as much or as little detail into them as I want. I can play with quirky prints that wouldn't really work anywhere else. I can use small pieces of fabric, scraps even, and make something with it. I can buy remnants at a deeply discounted price and still have plenty of material to finish a project with. 

I have a problem, and I can't stop.

Want to know what started this entire mess?

This little creation right here. 

My literature teacher saw that I had made a doll dress using scraps from a costume I had made for my sister's doll. That little dress was haphazard to say the least, and yet, she trusted me enough to commission a doll dress for her granddaughter. I was so stressed to make sure that I made it right; my heart was racing when I took the dress to her. Then she loved it. :phew: That was in '09.  

After that, I didn't stop. 

I've played with ethnic dresses

 I've parked in different fashion eras

And all of them are made with either scraps or remnants

Some have a lot of detail put in

Others are simpler.

These ones were all made using the left overs from my pillowcase making spree. 

I've even done matching sets

All that to say, I honestly didn't realize how long I've been making doll dresses or how many I've made over the years, and this is just a small sampling! 

Sure there were breaks in the doll dress sewing craziness and other projects thrown into the mix, but I keep coming back to doll dresses for some reason or another.  

And I don't intend on stopping anytime soon. ;) 

Until next time!

SG

What to Not Say When Shopping at a Show

...ESPECIALLY IF THE ARTIST IS RIGHT THERE!

-or-

Things observed at markets and craft fairs because even though I'm running the booth, people treat me like I'm invisible and deaf.

So, while you're browsing through a booth at any sort of fair, show, bazaar, or market, I have a couple things that you absolutely CANNOT say. You might not realize what you're implying by saying them.

1) I can make that!

2) You can buy that at Walmart!

Let me break this down a bit to give you an idea of what you are saying when those words are uttered. 

1) "I can make that" is a slap to the creativity of the maker (who is more likely than not standing right there). They have taken the time, effort, and money to create something. Yes, you probably could go home and make it right now, but will you? My personal rule of thumb when I think that is to seriously consider buying it for the inspiration. In a sense, you're giving credit where credit is due. Obviously, I like what you made. Creativity begets creativity. Thank the artist for giving you the idea by purchasing their product. You will most likely never get around to making it anyway, and you're supporting small business. 

2) If "I can make that" is a slap, then "You can buy that at Walmart" is a punch to the gut. 

I'm going to park here for a while, so please bear with me. 

We have  become so materialistic, such a throw-away society, that we no longer value the skill that goes into making ANYTHING. Electronics, clothing, toys, furniture, you name it, we have traded quality for quantity. We are buying cr-p at mega-stores, and when it breaks in 2 weeks, we go buy the newest upgrade. Yes, you can buy something similar to what I make at just about any store, but mine are unique and made to last. I can guarantee the durability of what I make because I use test them out myself. What you get at the box store will be made with the cheapest materials possible, using the fastest assembly methods available, short-cuts taken everywhere, and is not made to last. Why? They want you to buy more from them, and we've been whipped into shape thinking that this is okay. 

Look at your clothes. The  thread is barely holding on to the seams because it's so thin (corner-cutting #1). The fabric used to make the garment is thin. Just a few times through the wash and it will pill, break, and tear. (corner-cutting #2). Finally, look at how the fabric lays when you are wearing it - to save money, factories will throw the pattern pieces on the fabric in such a way as to maximize the space on the bolt. I get that. BUT. They are sacrificing how the piece of clothing will actually fit. The drape (or bias) will be all wonky and skewed when you wear it, tugging every which way. (corner cutting #3). Fast fashion is just part of the picture I'm painting here. I could keep going, but you get my point.  

My final point on this - lately, I've been seeing a discouraging trend at craft stores: supplies are becoming cheaper in quality. 

Example #1: Go to Joann's with someone who has worked with fabric for a long while so they can guide you through this experience. Feel the fabric. Yes, feel it. Run you hand across the weave. Note the texture, the softness or stiffness, how it holds its shape. Now, go to a specialty fabric shop and feel their fabric. You can't stop touching the fabric, can you? Working with good materials makes all the difference on a project. Materials of that caliber are a dream to work with, and they cooperate with you if you know how they work. This is what it takes to make those masterpieces that you see at state fairs, on display, and at competitions. Those artists know how to speak the language of their media. Same goes for yarn, paper, paint, etc. 

Example #2: I have to check the selvages on the fabric now because they are saying that making a double-width fabric with fabric stiffener sloshed down the middle, and then cut in half is still a selvage. Is nothing safe from corner-cutting? No. A thousand times, NO. I would never use that to quilt, let alone make a garment. My straight line in a sea of fabric is gone. I can't ensure that things won't tug at seams wrong then break and fray or lay weird when you're wearing it. This is just part of the process that I have to do to make sure that what I'm selling you is the best I can offer. This doesn't even include measuring, securing, pinning, measuring again, etc. etc. etc. This is just part of the cost that you see on that price tag - it's because I care.  

I know face-to-face, human interaction for your shopping experience is becoming more and more scarce when it comes to knowing who made the product, but I'm there presenting my best effort, and you just verbally slapped me. What you're looking at when you glance at my booth is hours of dedication to a craft, investment in the supplies, and planning, scheduling, and carving out time to be there to offer what I have. 

This became quite the bee in my bonnet after this last weekend, so thank you for listening to my ranting.

Now that I'm done with shows for the season, I have to step-to and get Christmas sewing finished. I  have the supplies buried underneath all of the mess that I created getting ready for this last weekend. ;)

Until next time!

SG