Good Things...

I guess only a perfectionist (not me) or a masochist (not me) or me would consider more work, considerably more work, than the original task a good thing.  I am working hard this week to get my etsy.com store and my website store up to date with my actual inventory, much of which has never made it past the craft market or my Facebook page. In this process I am measuring, describing, and photographing all of these items.  What a great time to go over each item and look for things that need a little repair here or there, or a little wash, or in some cases, a complete resewing (removing hand stitches and replacing with machine stitches (smoother and stronger).  A couple of items will just disappear, as the base garment has developed a major issue, making it wiser just to strip off the embellishments and find them a new home, and recycle the base garment into a bag lining or handle or whatever.
So I have my work cut out for me.  I have finished the pre-listing processes for all of the garments and will get the pics edited and all put on etsy today, tonight, tomorrow.  I will also start working on the repairs.  Hopefully will have it all ready to list on goodkharmarethreads.com by the end of the week, or Monday, at the latest.
I also have to do the same thing with the bags.  I will start on them tomorrow.  I'm sure I will find a few things that need fixing with the bags, too.  They are probably less likely to need much, since they are mostly newer and also made to be used...rough and tough...and pretty!  They are, unfortunately, much harder to photograph than clothing.  So capturing each bag and all of its unique features will be the booger here.  I'm in a good place with it all, though.  Felt resigned at first, but now just peaceful and grateful and glad to be taking this time out to do these not-so-fun but important labors of love.
I will let you know how it goes...and when you can see everything on line!!
Maybe I'll document the deconstruction and reconstruction of an item as I take it from its original hand-sewn place to the much neater and stronger machine-sewn condition.  Could be interesting....peace to you till then!

Hot Times in Durham...

Didn't know I hadn't published this posting.
Yesterday I did the Durham Craft Market.  The weather was sunny and humid and hot...oppressive.  This kind of weather doesn't agree with me...I feel like all of the air, water, energy, and motivation have been sucked out of me.  But I can't change the weather, can I?
Today I'll be back in Durham's Central Park at their Food Truck Rodeo.  I think it will be even hotter than yesterday, and we'll be there all afternoon instead of being finished at noon ala the Craft Market.  I guess what I'm saying is....send me some mojo of good cheer and cool breezes, clouds at least.  I have to remember it's just four hours of my life, and I'm taking fans (the electric kind).  I think I can make it....I just hope business is better than yesterday....sold one top.  I'm not complaining....it all evens out....but given the weather....you get my point, I'm sure.
I spent the past week making bags; I had spent the previous couple of weeks making clothes, and at the same time, people seemed to be buying bags left and right, so my supply on hand was getting a bit low.
To update, I had a small heat stroke at the Food Truck Rodeo.  I was ill for a couple of days and have had a hard time getting going, but I'm doing better.  I had decent sales....there was not a lot of buying, unless you're talking about the food...the people were there to eat!
Yesterday (one week later - Durham Craft Market - Saturday morning) was the first time that I didn't sell anything at the market.  I could live with that, but there was going to be a pig pickin' that afternoon and the 'cooks' started with their smoking and cooking of meat, which made me unhappy.  I moved across the sidewalk trying to get away from the smoke (hickory smoked garments - maybe not a good idea), which was a pain in the you know.  So not a very fun time overall.
Of course, we were the last ones to arrive and both spots we were in during the course of the morning sucked....our fault....next week we will be there early enough to pick the spot we want, even if I have to go there and sleep in the truck (not really!)

Slowing Down for Some Down Time....

I have made clothes and I have made bags.  I have a decent inventory and I have brought out my fall/winter things.  This week I plan to work determinedly to update my Etsy store and my website.  I will make something if I feel like it.  It will be hard for me not to sew; I'd much rather be doing that than the computer stuff (which is why it is so behind now), but the time has come to get it done, get it current and manage it from that point forward on a regular basis.
I will keep you posted on how this all plays out...it will be restful I hope...hard to say....stay smiling and I share with you much peace.

Okay, Enough Clothes....

I feel like I am a real fashion designer...hahaha!!! I have been remaking clothes for a couple of weeks, and hopefully I have enough for a couple of weeks, and for next weekend, when I'll be at the Durham Craft Market on Saturday morning, then be back to Central Park on Sunday as a vendor during their Food Truck Rally or Rodeo or whatever they call it.  There will be 45 food vendors and thousands of foodies....it is quite the rage and quite a show to watch. Check out the food truck rodeo info at:
Food Truck Rodeo at Central Park

So it will be a long weekend, and I will be working on bags all this week to have inventory for two days of vending.  I have sold a lot of bags lately, so my supply is low and I really need to concentrate my efforts on all kinds of bags.  I have tons (literally) of awesome 'raw materials' to choose from...I am getting myself excited thinking about it (which tells you a lot about me, I guess!). If you look at the background in this picture you can see a portion, just some, of my palette for bag-making.  I will try to make grocery bags, totes, gift bags, handbags, and hopefully a couple of weekenders (duffle bags).  If I have time I will even do a prototype for a diaper bag, something I've been rolling around in my mind for quite a while, just haven't gotten to it yet.  Oh, I can't forget a few yoga mat bags...bags, bags, bags!

But I'll share with you a few pictures, some of my latest clothing creations.  The dress in the above picture is a medium linen embellished with parts from a lovely Indian tunic and a lovely matching scarf/sari. The second picture shows off the back of the dress; I covered the straps and  used the green and gold fabric around the bottom and framing the back slit of the dress.  It is really pretty, and I enjoyed making it so much; I had no idea what I was going to do with it past the front piece when I started. It is always like that for me....I have one part that I know, usually, at least, and the rest unfolds as I go.  Lots of pinning and repinning goes on, believe me.
This is a girls' size 8 top, a coral color embellished with light yellow
 Oriental fabric from a top and a cream silk sash that ties in back.  It turned out to be really cute...I don't think it will be around too long!  I had several little girls ogling it this morning...I can't wait till it gets tried on so that I can see it on a body!
The last two pictures are of plus-sized tops - the yellow is a 2X and the brown is a 4X.  They are each unique and designed to flatter!  I am so happy to offer plus-sized clothes; I have found that there is a great need for larger sizes that offer more than looking like some kind of tent....and I  know that the stores like Lane Bryant offer larger sizes, but there is nothing unique and nothing reasonably priced, that's for sure.  So I will continue to offer an alternative to the

usual fare, and also try to stay creative and make features that flatter the fuller figure.
Well, I have a lot of work to do and I will be getting busy starting tomorrow; also have picture frames to re-make tomorrow, but I can do both!  I will let you know how things are going sometime next week.  Until then...peace to you...and pass it on!

.....and Exhale!

There are times when I catch myself holding my breath.  Yesterday, when a customer walked into my market booth to see the dress I had made for her, what one of those times.  She had picked out the base dress last weekend, and left me to the rest.  Of all the dresses she had to choose from, she picked the one that I had nothing to match in my vast closet of ethnic fashions.  So on my way home I went by a thrift store that I can usually count on in the ethnic clothing department.  And yes, I found something to match.
Matching is fine, too, but that doesn't mean that the customer will like what I do, what I envision, and how I turn that into something unique (but not scary) to wear.  So I put the dress on my dress form and threw the Indonesian robe over it, so that I could look at it while I was working on other things, and see what kind of inspiration came to me as far as putting this puzzle together.
After a couple of days, I started cutting and pinning, thinking all the while about the customer - what items she was drawn to in my shop, her build and general way of dressing, her attitude.  I don't know her on a personal level, so I was going on impressions, and trying my best to channel a little of her spirit.  And I put the puzzle together, put it on a hanger, and took it to the market yesterday.
When she walked in the booth, I was definitely holding my breath, as she had to step around a display rack to see the dress.  She took one look at the front and was so happy, excited, in love....that I knew when I showed her the back of the dress, she would really flip, as it was the true 'big feature' of the dress.  She love, love, loved it...and was not going to try it on till she returned home.  So there was a chance that it wouldn't fit, as she had never tried even the un-embellished dress for fit.
After a long day yesterday - up at 5 a.m., market till noon, errands and rain and not home till about 5 p.m. - I eventually turned on the computer to check my emails, etc., and there was an email from her.  It would have to be opened for me to know the verdict, however, so more breath-holding...well, she loves it, it fits perfectly, she's so very pleased.  And after a long day of holding my breath....I sighed, smiled, and exhaled....and with that, I bid you peace...

Modern Technology Sucks....

...bet you already knew that, huh?  I took some pictures while on vacation, some of the sewing and some of the attempted glass blowing (we learned all about what not to do).  it was great fun, either way, since the worst thing that happened was my burned finger from picking up some hot glass.  I no longer have a fingerprint on my right index finger, needless to say!  Anyway, the pictures were taken on my phone and for some reason they simply won't load onto the computer.  I hate it because I wanted to share them with you, especially in the event that you were considering glass-blowing anytime soon!
Its good to be home, though, and I had a great day at the market on Saturday.  I keep meeting the most wonderful and interesting people.  I just love what I do, and being able to get out and share what I do with others.
The young lady that bought my first 'girls'' creation last weekend came running up to me to tell me that she had worn her new top and how much everyone liked it, how special it was to her.   That made my day right there....I'm grinning right now, just remembering!                                                                                        

I have been hard at work and will be this entire week.  I took some pictures of my studio....the first is, well, just four or five projects deep beneath the front hangers....tops on the left and dresses on the right, plus other projects on the 'ends'!

Then if you look at what all I have hanging on the curtain rod...all tops, some special orders and some just waiting for their turns.  I guess it would be an understatement to say I will never run out of work...I mean, we're just concentrating on the clothes....I sold six bags in the past week, so I have a few of them to make as well.

In light of all of this work, which I love so much and am in no way complaining...I will show you my latest finished dress and the one I will complete today - still pinned at this point! Both will be lovely inventory!
And of course, I can't ever figure out how to get the pictures laid out here, and when I finish and it is a finalized blog post, it looks nothing like what I have tried to do in process.  Technology....I don't know, it has its good points and its bad, and my biggest problem is that my learning curve is arrow straight!  Hahaha!!  That's why, with all of the fancy digital computerized interfacing sewing machines out there, I keep buying the "mechanical" models.  I would have to take a class if I had one of those fancy ones.
I will stay 'low-tech' as long as I can get away with.  I like the results of my 'mechanical' labors just fine.
Until next time, practice patience and practice peace....

Home Sweet Home and Market Sweet Market

So i got home thursday afternoon, and for the rest of the day i felt like i was still rolling (from the driving).  i was stressing about having things ready for the craft market on saturday, which translates to 'i made a mess of everything i tried to make!!', but luckily i have really awesome customers - humans that respect the fact that i am one, too.  and, despite all of my unpreparedness, the market was delightful and worth the trip, so to speak.  this coming week i have several projects, including a couple of custom orders that will be picked up at the market next saturday.  i am running low on gazzoggs of things, too.  i will try and get some pictures downloaded later and i will share with you some of my vacation creations.  hope you are having a wonderful weekend...i'm off now to start sewing....i arranged and cleaned up my studio last night so i'm ready to get down to it....practice peace and compassion...the world seems to be in short supply!