Lasso The Moon

Sprung

Hello, friends!  I am so sorry that I have been neglecting you.  I miss reading your comments!  Spring has sprung here in the upper midwest, and I have been busy with the "chores" that go along with the change in season.  Cleaning out the children's drawers, listing some of them on eBay, digging out the rose bushes from their winter mounds,  (They all survived!)  spreading the compost we've been faithfully accumulating all year...

And I came to a realization this week that I can't do it all.  No kidding, right?  I don't mean that I thought I was super-mom, but there are just some tasks that don't mix.  I find it very difficult during any change in season to keep up my creative energy.  There are so many cleaning, organizing, purging, activities that I feel disconnected if I leave them to "make a mess".  I'll get back to it shortly, I know.  And I have been doing little things here and there.  But for now I'm re-learning our spring routine. 

How has your routine changed now that spring has "sprung?"

Tired and Happy

We're back.  Our "road trip" was actually a top-secret family vacation to Texas.  I was super homesick, and my expectant sister was having a baby shower, so Donnie graciously drove us all 1000 miles back home for a visit.  (Check out the comment my sis left on my last post...she had no idea!  She was just joking!) 

Anyway, the visit was incredible, and we are exhausted but rejuvenated.  And just in time for our "busy season" to start at the church.  We have graduations, a church garage sale, VBS, and camp--just in the next two months!  I'll be back soon with the tutorial I promised, and more on the Sew U book...but now I have to get my home in order, bags unpacked, and laundry finished.  It's kinda like this every time we leave for a while.

Gocco fever

Well, as promised I am sharing the mess i just got into with my new Print Gocco.  This is so much fun!  Very different from my usual ventures with the sewing machine.  But I managed to sneak in some fiber to my gocco projects...

First, I made these quilted postcards. 

I think "scrappy fabric" is getting to be a signature with me.  These scraps are from bits and pieces of the vintage fabric I offer in the shop.  These are fully mailable, just as they are, with a letter-rate stamp.  The gocco-ed part is on the back.  The postcards I made last year were just written in with a pen.  I think these look more professional:

These were my first gocco project, so I started really simple.  And I saved the screen so I'll be able to make more. 

The second and third run are actually on paper.  Well, mostly.  I drew these with the carbon pen that comes with the set.  I wanted to use fabric with these, too so I cut out a little triangle of fabric for the bigger areas. I had to guess where to apply them to each card, since I wanted the screen print to be on top of the fabric.

I really like these guys.  The jumping girl is funny.  At first I was frustrated that the fabric wasn't lining up just right, but as I printed more, it kinda just worked and added to the screen-printing effect. 

I'll be adding a few of these to the shop today.  Along with these:

More woolly friends!  I'm going on a little road trip with the family tomorrow, but I'm going to leave the shop open while I'm gone.  Just remember that the shipping will be a little delayed.  See the shop announcement for more details...

Have a great Wednesday!  Next time, I'll actually show a tutorial on the gocco for those who have never seen it.  And coming soon: my adventure with this book! I can not sing the the praises of Wendy Mullin enough!
--Anna

Early Bedtime

Hello!  I've spent so much time in my basement dungeon workspace that I haven't been able to post here.  But the craft fair is over, and I am back! 

The fair was a success.  I think I'm getting the hang of talking about my work, but I'm sure I'll never find it easy.  It feels so vulnerable to share your creativity with someone face to face. 

I was able to do a lot of shmoozing with other vendors, and that was so much fun.  The fair was well-curated, so there was lots of variety, and not just the same old thing.  I got up really early this morning, packed everything up, and didn't realize I had forgotten my camera until I was almost there.  (Sorry, Mom!  I know you wanted to see the booth!)  Oh, well.  That was the only thing I forgot, so no big deal.  I sang the praises of Etsy so much that they should consider paying me a commission.  I think I talked three different vendors into opening shops!

I do have lots of new goodies to show you and add to the shop.  Like the little bunny girl, above...  And this:

I love banners and garlands, so this is just the first of many.  Made with some left-over vintage linens fabric.  I also started printing with my new gocco, and I have to say that I am smitten!  I'll share those when I get the chance to take some pictures. 

Thanks for all the love for my mom's chickens in the last post.  She was so surprised!  And she sold two of them over the weekend.  So if you had your eye on one, you'd better hurry!

Are you having a good weekend so far?  I hope so!
--Anna

I'm no chicken

The end of March came and went with almost no notice.  A couple of us were under the weather (again!) so we were just glad to survive the week!  But, since the challenge is over, and I can buy stuff again, I decided to start with a bang!  I ordered myself a print gocco!  It'll be here next week, so I'll report as soon as I get it.  I'm so excited!  I've been wanting one for over a year now and finally bit the bullet.

On the crafting front, I am working on some things, but don't have much to show today.  I'm  actually getting ready for another craft fair next Saturday (what am I thinking!?) so I'm busy making things for my booth.

But instead of tooting my own horn today (wow, yet another cliche!) I want to put the spotlight on my mom.  She started her own etsy shop, LittleBorrowers, a couple months ago, and has been doing very well.  She started by selling felted wool pieces and craft books, but she just came up with this incredible chicken sculpture that I am so impressed with:

They are mixed-media 3-dimensional  sculptures using paper, beads, felt, wire, wool, and more.  They stand up on their little wire legs, and they have the most hilarious expressions!

I am blown away by her creativity.  This is her own, completely original design!  The paper is reinforced and actually sewn together to form the chicken.  Wow.  Be sure to check out the rest of her creations here.  (And leave her a note if you have a minute.  She'd get a kick out of that!)  Way to go, Momma!

Never Trust a Quiet Baby

Gift Delivered

It took a couple days for the gift to get to my sister-in-law in Texas, but she has it, and now I can show it off!

I've been wanting to work with kids' art for a while now, but I had to wait for the right project to come along.  This is a drawing by her son, 7.  I resized it on the computer, printed it out, made a pattern, and appliqued it to the bag.  The details (like the tiny golf clubs) were hand-embroidered.
 

I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.  And since it's a tote bag, it won't be weird to carry a little golfer around on the outside.

Here's a picture of the inside.  No pockets, but I did french seams so the lining would lay flat against the brown twill.  Love French seams!

Easter Over Easy

Hello again!  I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend.  We certainly did.  We had the best kind of out-of-town guests....grandparents!  And we were so sad when they had to leave.  I got in some sewing time while the kids were occupied.

A sling gift for a baby shower.  Here's Ethan testing it out.

That's such a cool print, isn't it?   I'm thinking of making another with a green lining for the etsy shop.  I bought a little extra and used it in another gift, but it has not quite been delivered, so I'll show that one tomorrow probably. 

But here's a peek:

Makes a cool lining.

Fish in a bag

The packaged arrived with its new owner, so I can show the tshirt I made for the big sister at the pet shop party. 

Perhaps inspired a little by Heather Ross.  The eyelashes crack me up.  It'll probably be a little quiet here since we have company over the weekend.  Happy Easter!
Anna

Invasion

Coming today to the shop.

When Hamsters Attack

It's funny how one project inspires another, and that one leads to yet another.  I've come to the conclusion that that's how the best ideas are dreamed up.  Just keep doing.  Painting, writing, making, sewing, whatever, and eventually it will lead to that one great idea.  Okay, this is not that one great idea, but I think it's funny. 

These guys have been sitting in this bowl for a couple of days awaiting faces.  They remind me of the aliens in Toy Story.  OOoooOOOh. 

Pet Shop

I hinted a while ago about some overalls that I was doing as a custom order, and I have finally finished them!  These were so much fun to dream up and bring to life.  They are for a little one's 2nd birthday.

The front and back--doggie and cat condominium...

The hamster cage cracks me up.  I'm gonna have to put this on something else.  I used to fantasize about having a giant, spiraling cage for my own, but I never actually liked the hamsters themselves.  So stinky.  This little hanging cat inspired the cat in this painting.

The bunny cage was especially hard to photograph, since it wraps around the leg.  But there are four bunnies.  Actually, since the birthday girl is at a fun counting age, I made the whole thing like a game.  1 dog, 2 hamsters, 3 cats, and 4 bunnies.  Haha.  I forgot to mention that to the customer!  (Hi, Gina!) 

I really like making these now that I don't mass produce them.  I made her big sister a pet-shop themed tshirt, but I'll wait to post that until it has arrived at its destination.  It's kind of a surprise.

I'm still brain storming on the pattern idea.  If you are interested in patterns of my designs, be sure to let me know so I can contact you when I finally get this off the ground!  I think I'm going to start with some freebies until I get the hang of it,  so stay tuned.

Nothing Much

Not much to report, since most of my craft time is going to custom work this week.  But I did manage to finish a couple more "frenchies" for the shop:

To Sleep

Wind

Shelter, Cover

And I sold my first one!  So fun.

28

I'm twenty-eight today.  I am amazed every year how much life we cram into this decade.  I started my twenties as a silly kid, and I'm nearing the end as an old married woman (although still pretty silly!)

I thought I'd share a little something I've been working on.  A few weeks ago I came across this set of French vocabulary cards at Goodwill.  I thought they would be fun to look through, and see what kind of inspiration develops.  Plus, I love the packaging.

I've also been interested in trying my hand at watercolors.  I'm no artist, but I do like to doodle, and wanted to try some illustration-type paintings.  So I picked up a block of watercolor paper, some paints and brushes (all purchased in February!) and used the flashcards as idea-starters.

I am very pleased at how these first few turned out.  I'm still kind of finding my style, but I like the funny, kidish quality that is coming out.  I've decided to let these go, since I did have to drop some cash for the initial supplies, but I'm going to sell them cheap--kind of a learning-curve sale!  And they are tiny--4x6 inches.  But I think they would look cool matted in a kids room or play nook.  I'll have them added to the shop in the next day or so.

Hope your week is off to a great start!
Anna

Catching Up

I finally got a little caught up from last weekend's craziness, and was able to finish these little zip pouches that I started last fall~!

Embroidered linen with vintage cotton lining.  Now in the shop!