On the Ironing Board

It's really hot here. Like over 100 degrees hot. Ok, today it's only in the 90s. We don't have air conditioning (no, we don't want it) so we do a lot of sweating. Things slow down a bit during weather like this. I'm working on quilts slowly. I've decided to work on my etsy inventory over the next year before I try to promote my shop. It seemed sort of silly to promote an empty shop. So I'm thinking long. There is also some sewing I want to do for me. The above photo shows the first project I want to work on. I love strawberries and have collected a few vintage pieces. I want to make a pennant banner for our sun room. I'm hoping to get to it sometime this week. Stay cool, folks.

Sew It Up

After selling a cute Fisher Price Merry Go Round I had to get out my Little People. I'm thinking of adding this baby to a business card.

 I've been doing quite a bit of thinking about my little (and I mean VERY little) sewing business. I don't have a ton of time to focus on too many options. There's the Building Character option.

Newest table runner quilt made from left over blocks.

 On the one hand I LOVE the idea of having my own space there. It is such a great spot on a great street in our fair city. I can just see my quilts hanging and draping and folded on a vintage table. Right now I have some items at a friend's space to "check it out."

I just love this red embroidery thread. On the spool it looks pink but with the red fabric it looks more red.

 Another option is my etsy shop. I've sold some things there in the past. I love etsy, too. It's conveniently located on my computer so I can go there at any hour of the day or night. Etsy is also overloaded with shops. That's good and bad. Good because you really can find some amazing things. Bad because my own things can get buried pretty quickly. On the other hand, etsy does work to help you build your business. They have video and chat and conferences galore. I like that.

I'm in love with this cherry backing fabric. I found it at Joanne Fabrics and ended up buying the end of the bolt. It cheers me up!

So, for now, I'm both places. I've got a few things at BC. It's enough to see if anything will sell. I'm not sure it is the place for my wares. The overhead is VERY steep. That's another good thing aboug etsy. It isn't too pricey. For example, I just sold a vintage toy for $45. Total taken by etsy was $1.78. If I had sold the same thing at BC the total cost taken by BC would have been $7-$9 depending if the person paid with cash or VISA. And that doesn't include your monthly rent. Of course, I wouldn't have the hassle of shipping or of storing items. So, what to do? 


For now, I'm staying the course. Keeping my options open. Seeing how things go. Speaking of go, I'd better get going to work.

Homemade Bread Recipe

I can't tell you how much I adore Saturdays. They remind me of who I am and what I do. Since going back to work, I've taken to using my Saturday to really dig into the things that make me me.


This morning I went out to garage sales with Nathan. If you look in my etsy shop you'll see my great find. Nathan found a Garfield glass that he didn't have and a Pokemon Monopoly game for Nolan. A good way to spend an hour of our morning.


After our garage sale extravaganza, the boys set about playing Monopoly and Mike was getting ready to play a wedding so I went to pick up our CSA share for the week. I'm excited about our little carrots.


I wanted to supplement our CSA share and have had a hankering for BLT's and fresh corn on the cob. So after lunch I headed out to Eastern Market and picked up some beef bacon and corn and peaches. Then I had a need to bake bread. I miss the kitchen.


I'll share my bread recipe. It's from a Taste of Home magazine from many years ago. I modified it to make it whole wheat instead of white.

Homemade Bread

1 package active dry yeast

2 cups warm water

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs, beaten

7-8 cups bread flour ***

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the sugar, butter, salt, eggs and 4 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Turn onto a floured surface. Divide into thirds. Shape into loaves and place in three greased 9x5x3 inch loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. Yield:  3 loaves.

***I used 4 cups of white flour and the rest whole wheat.

The boys and Mike are at Mass while I am working on dinner. Corn on the cob and BLT's from Lancaster county! Yum.

Hope your meal is as delicious as mine.

Life

isn't like the stories I've read in books. It isn't the same as the movies I've watched or the music I've listened to.


The challenges just don't come across the same way. I guess that's why we read and watch and listen. To lighten the load.


Garage sale-ing with the boys tomorrow. Never read a book about that but it is fun.

Modern Art Mini Quilt

This was a quickie quilt. I've had the top on my design board for probably a year. I have to say it is a favorite of mine. I love all the fabrics involved and love the ladder type piecing in the center. This will be going in my etsy shop shortly. I lost my light tonight when I was taking photos so this is the only decent one. The quilt measures about 15x18 inches and has a hanging pocket in the back. I have a hankering for some mini quilts. They are fun and fast and use up those pieces of batting that are too small for regular quilts but I refuse to part with. I have to work tomorrow night so I have the day at home. I think some weeding and sewing are in my future.

Rainbow Scrappy Quilt

I finished my latest quilt. This one was from my very fist quilting book. The book is Quick Quilts to Make in a Weekend by Rosemary Wilkinson. I bought the book so many years ago because it had a log cabin quilt pattern. I've made several quilts from the book but don't think the log cabin was one of them! It is a really informative quilting book with quite a few interesting quilts. When I first got into quilting it wasn't quite as "in style" as it is now and there weren't as many really cool books out there showcasing fabulous fabrics. I'm amazed at the number of sewing and quilting books that are being published right now. I have to really watch out or I start to want to buy them all. What I actually do is go to the bookstore and pull out all the books I think I'd like to buy, look through them and generally I'm satisfied.


Right now I'm itching to look through the book
Block Party--The Modern Quilting Bee: The Journey of 12 Women, 1 Blog & 12 improvisational projects. I used to read the blog as they were making the blocks for each other. Since each of the quilt block makers is a really talented sewer, crafter, quilter, it must have been amazing to be a part of that quilting bee. Last time I was at Borders they didn't have the book but I'm sure they will at some point over the summer. So many quilty ideas.

The above quilt is small sized like most of my quilts. It was made from my stash and backed with that awesome fabric I bought at Lancaster Creative Reuse. I'm always amazed at how little fabric is often used to make a quilt like the one above. It was just a small piece of each fabric but when brought together it makes such a delightful quilt. This will either go down to Building Character or in my etsy shop. Just in case you're interested!

Knuckles the Echidna.....cross stitch style.

After seeing Nathan's Mario and Luigi pillow case, Nolan requested Knuckles and Tails. I just finished Knucles and my eyes are bugging out from counting all those little squares. I informed Nolan that I needed to take a break before getting started on Tails. It may be Nolan's birthday (which is in December) before I can bear to start in on it.