Vacation....

Sorry that i have not been posting...i'm on vacation but will be back in a couple of days.  i will show you the treasures i've uncovered and the pieces that i have made....yes, i work on vacation.  but i don't have my own computer so typing on a laptop is frustrating...not what my hands are meant to do.  Thanks for your patience and may peace be with you....

Girls, Girls, Girls....

Yes, girls. I have been gingerly (due to my fickle sewing machine) creating....yes....clothing for girls.  I have made two new girls' items - a top and a dress - and I am pretty pleased with them.  I can't wait to see how they are received at the market on Saturday.  I have more girls' clothing to make, but may not get to it this week...we'll see.
  I just wanted to share what i've been doing and some of the detail on this adorable girls' dress,  embellished with parts of a girls' everyday kimono..  It was such fun to have this piece unfold as I was pinning it together and trimming parts off, etc.
The front includes a pocket in the center; one side that comes flush to the side seam down to the waist; the other side goes up straight to the shoulder strap.  I left the embellishment's bottom hem loose (as in not connected to the dress), and completely covered the left shoulder strap from front to back.

I brought the fabric past the strap in the back and had it end in a semi-circle at bottom of strap, showing off the colorful fabric much more than it would have with just the strap being covered.  I then took the two tie straps off of the little kimono and centered them between the two waist seams, all the way across the back.  This little addition was really exactly what the dress needed as a finishing touch.
I can't wait to see it on its person, whenever she happens to come along.  Having sold a dress last Saturday, and watched its person put it on over her clothes and see that it was simply made just for her.  I think sometimes it is like when you go to the animal shelter and no matter what idea you have in your head upon entering the shelter, you are the person of one of the animals, and it will show that to you, that is your perfect fit, tailor-made just for you.  I know that a dress if not the same as a pet, but I see a similar thing happen when someone finds an item that is meant for them.  Sometimes they come back a few times before they take the plunge.
This is one of the reasons that I so enjoy about my work.  It is a great feeling to watch someone fall in love with something that I have made, a puzzle that I have solved for them.  Crazy, right?
I plan to continue and expand my "girls' clothing" line.   It is great fun for me and I think, just as with my Plus-Sized apparel, there is a void out there for custom or one-of-a-kind pieces for girls.  And there is a richness to it, when I think of a girl walking into school or a party with an Abercrombie & Fitch top (for example) that has been morphed into something original and something that has embellishments that are from another culture.  I like it....peace to you!...

Cross Your Fingers, Please...

Alright, it is just about noon here and I finally have the courage to see if that sewing machine of mine is with me or agin' me today....I do so want to sew....I will let you know how it goes....

Just so ya know....my sewing machine...it kind of works....i will baby it until my new one comes this week and i can put this one in the shop.  i think i can still get things done, just have to be careful....so keep the peaceful thoughts going as we all get ready for yet another hot summer week...stay cool, ya'll!

I Feel Like A Man Without A Country...

but really, i'm a sewing and upcycling artist without a working sewing machine...really not having a whole lot of fun...i just want to sew....all of that inspiration has been stuffed back in for now...it is not very comfortable for me...i like to work!  well, i will let you know what happens...my husband and myself have been and are attempting to repair the machines.  i am so disappointed that i can't type in capital letters...

Machines Are Not Inspired!

Oh yes, I got up this morning thinking I would get tons of sewing accomplished.  I have a studio full of things that want to be made into other things...not today.  My sewing machine has other plans.  I have been looking on google and youtube and ratings on amazon...the consensus is that the problem I'm having is very common and I may not be able to fix it.  I have babied it and finagled it into behaving most of the time...this has happened before, but I fixed it.  I will try to perform open-machine surgery in a little while...I'll let you know how it comes out.  Hopefully the operation will be a success and I can sew...because I really want to.  Trying to stay peaceful....

Inspired? Yeah....

Sometimes I just need to see the fruits of my labor to get me revved up to get to work...in this case, it is seeing the birthday girl in the blingy dress...she loves it, and it is her, headband and all!  Nothing feels better...I made that for her!  I love my job!
I have managed to get a little work done in between having a little socializing time (much needed and overdue).  One bag completed and another 90% complete.  A cool maternity top on my dress form!  A wall of clothes waiting for their transformation.  Tomorrow I have my work 'cut -out' for me...I also have a whole day to myself to lose myself in the work.
I will let you know what I manage to get done between now and the weekend.  I am brimming with ideas and inspiration....can't wait....peace to you...

Over-Inspired....

I had a good Saturday at the Durham Craft Market - sold a bag and two tops, on a day when everyone else was not selling - so I felt blessed.  Still feel blessed, always feel blessed, and right now I am overwhelmed with inspiration.  I want to make these awesome maternity tops, because every week I see a great number of pregnant women at the market, and I'd love to have something for them.  I want to make more plus-sized tops and need to make more small tops.  I want to make more girls' tops.  And the dresses - well, I almost shiver with desire at the thought of the dresses I want to make (or re-make, to be more precise) - all beautiful dresses.  This doesn't even take into consideration the bags.  I have bags, or the puzzle pieces that will become bags, ready to make....tote bags, duffle bags, grocery bags, handbags, gift bags, yoga mat bags, all the bags you could imagine.  Its all there waiting for me....along with the picture frames I'm trying to redo for SpecialHorses.org, to frame custom haikus that people purchase to raise money for the horses.  And I have horse bags to make and dog bags and cat bags, all to be fundraisers for charities that help our fellow creatures.  I even have an idea for a ladies' bag - a cute bag to donate to Pennies for Change, which is a thrift store whose proceeds go to run battered women's shelters.
So what should I do?  I know I will get in there and just do it....probably not today, but certainly in the morning.  Maybe tonight....I'll let you know what I decide to re-make - what will be first - and maybe some pictures, too.  Until then....practice kindness and peace.