Year End Review

Here we are at that cusp - getting ready to go from the old year to the new year - and all the crazy thoughts that seems to bring.

I thought I'd take a look at how 2012 has been for Sew Darn Simple.

I organized (and reorganized) my sewing space throughout the year.  Here we are and it's still a mess.

I wrote my first patterns and sold them both in my etsy shop and I also opened a Craftsy pattern shop.

I did two patterns in 2012 - the zipper wallet and the patchwork purse.  Hopefully I will do at least two in 2013 - although I'm not sure what they will be yet.

I spent a lot of time perfecting a zip around case for the kindle fire - and I did sell a few.  The issue I have with making cases for these items is that each one is a different size and every new one that comes out is different which means that the cases aren't always interchangeable.  So I'm not sure if I will continue down this path in 2013.  With a 'regular' job, I don't feel like I have time to commit to making a huge number of custom items.

Jennifer Paganelli from Sis Boom has become one of my great friends - she sent me a great bundle of fabrics from her Girls World Vibe line - I in turn made some items that I did a giveaway for.  I had the opportunity to meet her at the Country Living Fair in Columbus this fall - what a great weekend that was!

I did several craft shows this year - with varied success - we had such crazy weather this year - and that always plays into the show turnout.

As I reach the end of this year, I'm trying to determine where I want to take this business in 2013 - I have some craft show applications that I need to complete in January - so I need to get some new photos and potentially some new products in the works.

Stay tuned to see where 2013 takes us!

Happy Sewing,
Susan

More Christmas Gifts

You may recall that back in November I made that really cute patchwork backpack for my great niece.  So for Christmas I'm making one for her little brother.

I made her a box pouch to match and included a brush, compact, lipstick (lip smackers, actually) and nail polish.  Her brother confiscated the pouch for some of his little lego pieces - or some such.


So here is his pouch.  I'm not sure what I'll put it in - something though.




And so I'm going to make his backpack from the same fabric - pretty good for a a little boy, isn't it?

And if Mimi will let me, I'm going to work on it today!

Happy Sewing!

Susan

End of Season Show

I did my last show for this year this past weekend.  This is the first time I've done a 'table space' event in a long time.  I started using the gridwall setup a few years ago, and so I had to do a little more prep work than normal for this show.

For one thing, I didn't have a table cloth that I liked for the table.  I personally hate when you get that bunch of fabric at the corners - it tends to get stepped on a lot.  So I bought an inexpensive table cloth and put in some fitted corners.

Second, I've said for a long time that I needed to make some sort of banner.  So I did that last week.  it's a little larger than I needed.  So maybe I'll make another one that's smaller - sometime.

Lastly, I had to decide what I was going to take to the show since I couldn't get everything that I normally do in a 10x10 tent space in a 6 ft table space....

I think it turned out pretty good.

Happy Sewing!

Susan

Christmas Gifts

I had vacation days left that I took this week (Thanksgiving) and so I've been working on some Christmas gifts.

When I first started making purses/totes, I made some for friends for Christmas gifts.  That was about 7 years ago, I think.  One friend has apparently used hers - well - to death.

She made a comment one day that she was going to have to quit using it.  I'm sure it was a hint for Christmas.

So here it is!

I'm not a big orange fan, but I do love the cheerful look of this one.  I had a fat quarter bundle of 8 fabrics, I cut 4" squares and made a big piece of patchwork, then cut the tote out.  I have enough of the patchwork left to make a few small items, and I still have about half of the bundle left, to make other items at some point.

I used the twin needle for the quilting (you know I'm just a basic quilter - straight line is about the extent of what I feel good doing).  The thread I used was orange.

Happy Sewing!

Susan

Custom Orders

I've had a few custom orders come from friends and other local customers the last couple of weeks.

My neighbor asked me to make another cross body hipster purse for her niece for Christmas.  I made her one earlier this year for her birthday and she loved it.


A local customer who had me make a purse for her mother in law also this summer has asked me to make her a 'winter' one - for her 90th birthday!  She loved the first one, but it's a bright print, so she said she wished she had one for winter.

I have another friend that I'm making several items for, but I can't talk about them here.....

Happy Sewing!

Susan

Patricia Tunic

Months ago (yes, only months!) I got the Patricia Tunic pattern from Sis Boom. Every time I thought I was going to have time to make one, something else would come along.  Plus, I hadn't selected a fabric yet.

In October, Jennifer Paganelli and I were discussing on Twitter which fabric I should use.  She thought this Happy Land green would be great, so I bought the required amount.

 Yesterday, I finally decided it was time to get started on it.  I don't make many clothing items these days - sometimes I make something for one of my great nieces/nephews, but I haven't made anything for myself in ages.  I feel like it takes me forever to make something new.  I spent most of yesterday morning working on it - so maybe 4 hours.

And here's the final result.  It looks pretty good - the only thing I found was that I should have measured the slit in the front, because it's a little long for my short body - so I'm going to have to come up with something to close up the bottom part - otherwise I'll be exposing myself.

I do love the look of it!


Happy Sewing!
Susan

Birthday Backpack

As you may be aware, I took my sewing machine into the shop for annual service, so I was without it for a couple of weeks.  The timing was good, because I had a week where I seemed to have something every afternoon or evening, and then I had some family company for a few days (ok, a week).

The great nieces and nephews are always getting some of my items - usually the samples that I make when testing a new item, but something something they have asked for.

Several years ago I made one of my nieces a backpack, and they were using it when they came here.  It was a little worse for wear. So her daughter told me 'I need a new one'!

I had her pick fabric - she picked a pink paisley on pink and a purple floral on purple.  Hmmmm,

How am I going to make those work together?

On my shopping trip last weekend, I found this really adorable pony print.  Pink and purple.

Can't wait to get started on it this weekend!

Happy Sewing!
Susan

What? No Sewing?

I normally take my main sewing machine to have it cleaned, checked, serviced - about once a year.  The last time I took it was August of last year, so it's been more than a year.  Based on things that are going on the next couple of weeks, it looked like now was as good a time as any to get it to the shop.

So here is my empty sewing desk.  You can admire the lovely purple paint job (I have a friend who paints furniture), but it's really a scary sight for me!

If I have time, I may get some items cut and prepped, and if I really get the urge, I can pull out my backup machine, and of course, I still have my serger (although I'm looking at new ones, I think I've beat this one almost to death).

Mimi hasn't been up to see this yet - you know one of her favorite places to be is behind the machine - especially when I'm trying to use it!

I guess I'll survive - you might see me on Twitter a little bit more than usual!

Happy (no) sewing!

Susan

Unfinished Projects

You may recall (or maybe not!) that back in June I went to the quilt show here in Columbus, and came home all motivated to make a quilt.  So I started one.

I found a set of twelve fat quarters in my stash (imagine that!) and decided that they would make a pretty quilt.

I got 12 blocks made, drew out a plan for the rest of the layout, bought a couple more fabrics to be able to finish up, then got busy making items for my summer craft shows.

I think it's time to finish this one up!

So that's my plan for today - along with some boring laundry....

Happy Sewing!

Susan

Testing....

It's been a strange few weeks...last week I didn't sew at all - we had a garage sale on Saturday and I spent the entire week before sorting stuff to get rid of.

Oh, and I drove to Cincinnati to IKEA one afternoon to get new tables for my sewing room.  The old folding ones were starting to get seriously warped.  Do you know how hard it is to cut straight on a warped surface?

There are a couple of things that I've been testing - the first is a smaller size case for essential oils.  It will be about the size of the medium box pouch, but with built in pockets for the oil bottles.  I'd show a picture of my first attempt - it's really cute, but my pockets were a little small for even the small size of the bottles.  I'm not sure what I measured when I tried that one.

And the second item is kind of a re-make.  When I first started making cell phone cases, all the phones were small.  Not so much any more - so I had all these smaller cases, that are good for some of the small cameras, etc., but really I hadn't sold very many this year.  And I could reclaim my swivel hooks from them rather than buying more right now!

So I spent a couple of hours taking them apart.  Then I attempted to make a new case from the outside fabric of the cases - similar to my small zipper wallet, but instead of the outside zipper section, it will be an ID window.  And I think I'll use a split key ring rather than the swivel hook.

Stay tuned for these items to be available soon!

Happy Sewing!

Susan

New Purse

A few weeks ago, we were visiting the in-laws.  My mother-in-law and I went to a local quilt shop to check out what was new.  While there, I told her to pick out a fabric and I'd make her a new purse - the one she was using, which I made, was beginning to show some wear.

So she picked this great brown and green batik - I think it was actually a complementary fabric to another I'd had - at least it was the same colors.

She mostly liked the purse I'd made her before, but she wanted to add pockets to the side with some elastic at the top of them.


Here is a side view, I also added a strap with a swivel hook (which is hidden in the pocket) so she can attach her car keys.


 It has a set in zipper top, the straps are the length she requested, and inside is has a zipper pocket and a flap pocket, with a pen slot.

I like this fabric a lot.  I bought more than I needed for her purse, so you may see some other items show up in my etsy shop!

If you would like a custom purse, I'd be glad to work with you on the style, size and features.

Happy Sewing!

Susan

A New Pocket

Requests have been made, and yes, I've been listening!  I've been making these zip around kindle cases - great for travel because they have a firm foam layer to protect the e-reader. 

However, even though the intent of the outside pocket was to be able to store the charger, I didn't think about the size of that thing!  It has one of those super big plugs - and once the kindle is inside, then it's too tight of a fit to get the charger in the pocket.

But I like the zippered pocket.  So I've finally managed to add a gussetted pocket to the case in along with the zippered pocket.  As you can see from the photos (this is an in-process case, to test this theory out), the pocket is large enough for the charger, and I added a button flap for closure. 

So, I'm not sure if I should add the new pocket as a standard feature or continue to make some of the cases without it?

I guess I'll see how it goes!

Happy Sewing!

Susan

What a Blast!

This weekend is the Country Living Fair here in Columbus, Ohio.  Even though I live close, I've never been to the show, because I normally have been at a show out of town.  I decided to take a break from that show this year, so here I was, able to go to the Fair!

And the best news - Jennifer Paganelli of Sis Boom was going to be there again this year so I was finally going to meet her in person! 

I've been talking to Jen on Twitter for a while now, you may recall I did a giveaway a while back of a set of box pouches made from herGirls World Vibe line.

I think I could have just spent the day talking with Jen - we also went together to the Modern June booth, talked with Kelly (I bought her book Sewing With Oilcloth which she signed for me!) and Trish from Two Peas in a Pod.  What fun to meet everyone in person.

Jen did a presentation in the afternoon - talking about some of the great projects she has in both Girls World and Happy Home.  While talking with her, we met some other great people from all over the country.

I finally managed to drag myself away from Jen and check out the rest of the show.  Although looking at the map today, I'm pretty sure I didn't see everything!

Good thing I bought the weekend pass - I think I've convinced my husband to go back with me Sunday for a few hours!

Today - I'm sewing!

Susan

Produce and more....

Today is completely not about sewing.  I took a drive to the farm of my friend Kathy's brother.  It's tomato time!  There's nothing like a fresh garden tomato, and if you cook a lot, like I do, there's nothing like canned tomatoes that started with those garden fresh tomatoes!

So, today was the day (not that it was in my plan for this weekend, since I have a show tomorrow).  I left home a little after 9 am, picked loads of tomatoes, and he loaded me up with green beans, muskmelon, bell and hungarian peppers, some garlic, and a jar of popcorn.

So my kitchen is going to be canning central on Sunday - I hope the tomatoes are mostly still good - some of them were pretty ripe!

Here's a photo of just one of his gardens (he has three), and he has chickens, goats and calves with pigs coming in the future.

Susan

"Double" Zipper Wallet

I had a request to make a "double" zipper wallet - you know - put two of them together and add a wrist strap.

Sounds easy?  Actually, after mulling it a couple of days (I didn't have time to try anything until today anyway), I think I came up with a pretty good sample.

First - do you love the zebra stripe?

So I took the finished measurement needed for half (4 tall x 5 wide) and doubled the height (so 8x5), and added my seam allowances.

I cut the front pocket top the same as I always do - 2 1/2 x width (so I cut 2 of them) and then the fun begins on figuring out how big the middle needed to be.  I ended up at 13" with a 1/4" seam to make it a loop, but once I got the zippers on it was just a little too big, so next would be 12 3/4" instead.  It always depends on how evenly and close I sew the zipper. 

On one side, I added the split ring loops at the top placement and so those are what I use to attach the wrist strap with the hook.

I think it needs something on the other side to keep it together - I'll work on that for the next one.

Is this something that you would use?  I kind of like it!

Happy Sewing!  Susan

Hello? Anyone there?

I know, it's like I went missing.  It's not like I haven't been working on a lot of different things, but it's hard for me to sit down and write about it.

So here's what I haven't shared lately.

1. For my birthday last year (2011) I got this great Singer Steam Press.  The first time I used it, I had too many other things (mainly my regular iron) plugged in and I blew the breaker.  We had to have some electrical work done for something else, so they looked at the power into my sewing room, and told me 'deal with it'.  So I finally decided that I wanted to try it out.  I turned (most) everything else off and found that it was ok to use.  So I've been using it for fusing my interfacing and fusible fleece, AND I LOVE IT!

2. I've been making lots of box pouches - I make them in two sizes.  I think my most popular fabric is the cat faces, which is out of print, so once they are gone (and the one yard I have left), that's it.  I also sell several of the 'manly' fabrics - the houndstooth (available in several colors) - check out the new black and white - pretty cool, huh?  I made two sets this year for wedding parties.  I think they make pretty good groomsmen gifts.  I imagine they could be great for the bridesmaids too, but haven't had anyone request that.





3. I only had one show in August - it's usually such a hot month and miserable for shows - so of course this year, it was pretty pleasant since I didn't do any.  I have a pretty light schedule for the rest of this year - I have two in September and one in October and I'm done for the year.  I'm planning on concentrating on online sales during the fall and winter.

4. To that end, I've been working on pricing, shipping, description, tags, etc.  It's a lot of work when you have close to 400 listings.

So stay tuned and see what comes next!

Happy Sewing!

Susan

Push for Pink

For some reason when I picked fabrics to work with the other day - everything was pink!  I'm not a huge pink fan, but I do have to say, I've sold a lot of pink items, so someone out there really likes it!

So I had pink houndstooth - all I made were box pouches - 3 in each size.

I had pink with cat faces and flowers - I made cell cases, zipper wallets, wristlets and hipsters.

And I had pink and brown peace signs - same fabric but different colors than I've used before.

This photo is after the cutting and gathering stage - I have all the items, fleece and linings cut, along with all the hardware and price tags gathered.

I guess I'm a one-person assembly line!

I should be working on curtains.

Happy Sewing!

Susan

My Helper

I have a set of short pleated curtains to make.  I don't do pleated curtains or drapes very often.  Most of them require me to be able to measure a piece of fabric longer than my cutting space - which makes me very uncomfortable.

But these are short - 45" finished length, for a friend of a friend - you know how that is. 

So I got out my book that has the best instructions for calculating the measurements of the fabric and instructions for sewing them with the buckram heading.

As you can see, I have help.

I see my friend in a couple of weeks, so I was planning to get them done this week - I'll have to wait until my helper has done all the math before I get back to it!

Happy Sewing!

Susan

Perhaps - Not So Basic Black!

Yesterday I blogged about the basic black purse I made for my friend.

She has bought several of my purses in the past, and while she sews, she doesn't like to make bags, although she has done a couple.

She found a pattern and brought it to me, and then did some shopping in my 'fabric closet'. 

The purse is just basic black twill - the pattern had a flap with velcro/magnetic snap closure, but I put a zipper in the top instead.

The straps were kind of short - I know my friend like a longer strap for her shoulder, and to dress it up, I added the rectangular metal rings.

So, then the fun starts!  This isn't such a basic bag after all - those buttons are there for a reason!  The bag gets a cover that can be changed - and in this case is reversible! 

So on one side we have the bright colorful flowers and on the other side a basic black and white.

Now, think of the possibilities!

Happy Sewing!

Susan

Basic Black Purse?

A friend bought a purse pattern and asked me to make her one for the fall.

Looks pretty much like a basic black purse, doesn't it?

Well, the buttons and rectanguler rings on the handles dress it up a little bit.

The pattern was just a flap closure with a magnetic snap - I made it a zip top.

Happy Sewing!

Susan

Custom Order - Monogram Applique

I've been making the box pouch for a while.  It's a shaped pouch - much like a dopp kit - zipper across the top and down the two ends just a bit.

I added some 'manly' fabrics a while back - one of which ended up in an 'Etsy Finds' email and another on the Etsy front page not too long ago.

I'm currently working on an order for six - I'm assuming they are for a wedding - there was a request to monogram them.  I don't have an embroidery machine - and have no plans to get one - so I found a decent block letter set and tested out an applique monogram.  Not too hard.

Here's what the first one looks like.

I'm pretty pleased with how this turned out - although I'm sure I would not want to have to make a living on applique.

Happy Sewing!

Susan

Tales of a 'Steamy' Festival (part 2)

I meant to get this written sooner - I've been a little busy since the show.

I wanted to share some of the interesting things that people say to me at shows.  I wish I got a dollar for each time I hear one of these!

Sew Darn Simple - there's nothing simple about it.
Sure - 'You' think it's simple.
I love everything here.

Your stuff is so cute.

Do you make ALL of this yourself?

Those are just a few of the fun things I hear.

After the show, I spent most of the first day getting my etsy shop back open - since I don't keep a separate inventory for shows and online, I have to go through and make sure I don't keep any items in my shop that I either don't have made, or especially, don't have more fabric for.

My niece and her family came later that week for this past weekend, so I had to organize my inventory and clean it off all the beds, so they had placed to sleep, go to the grocery and generally gear myself up for the visit.

While they were here, I made this cute skirt for my great-niece. She picked out the fabric because she liked the 'sparklies'.  Of course, you can't see that from this picture, but there is silver around the cats.

And my niece wanted some new throw pillows and a cover for her ottoman, so we went and found fabric for that.  Hope we got enough - had to guess, since we didn't have ottoman measurements.

I have a few other projects going on, so it's busy as usual.

Happy sewing!

Susan

Tales of a 'Steamy' Festival (part 1)

If you know anything about me, you know I'm not much on the great outdoors - especially when the weather is - well - anything except perfect.  So having a 3-day craft show in 95-100+ degree weather - not my most favorite activity.

I was accepted this year to the St Johns Medical Center Festival of the Arts in Westlake Ohio (more about this later).  It's a Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday show.  I'm usually not even a fan of the 2-day format, but a lot of them I set up Friday anyway, so I figured it wasn't that much more time involved.

You know we've been having a heat wave here in Ohio (and much of the rest of the US) - so boy, it was a fun weekend. (are you sensing the sarcasm?!?)

Luckily, my helper for the weekend was my husband - I'm pretty sure I would have given up about 5 minutes into unloading.

We were in a lovely park-like setting at the hospital - my booth was at the top of the hill, by the main road - and there was a little slope and some really uneven ground.  So the booth setup had to change to accommodate.

Believe it or not (it's true!) while I went to check in at the hotel, Jamie put all the product out and arranged it.  Really, he did a great job!

Stay tuned for some additional tales of the weekend!

Happy Sewing!
Susan

Quilt Show - Inspriation or Intimidation?

The National Quilt Association (NQA) holds their annual quilt show here in Columbus, Ohio each year.  I don't know how long it's been here - I can remember going at least 7 or 8 years ago for the first time. 

I love seeing the quilts - it's amazing to me the variety of both skill level and types, sizes of quilts all in one place.

I'm not really a quilter although I have made some quilts.  I made a quilt for my niece when she graduated from high school - that might have been the first one.  I can't remember now if it was a queen or king size - but it was big and I machine pieced and quilted it myself. 

One year for Christmas, I made all the little boys in the family at that time, a small quilt.  There were four of them at that time, and no girls.  I've made several other quilts since,  but it's not something that I do a lot of.

So, going to the quilt show - is it inspiration or intimidation?  I guess it must be a little bit more inspiration since today I've been cutting out and piecing - well - something....I'm not sure yet what it's going to be.

I picked a pretty pink, green and white fat quarter bundle from my stash - I'm not sure how long I've had this fabric - the selvage says it's a Michael Miller collection. 

So far I've made 6 blocks - they are 10" finished size blocks.  I think they would look great with some white sashing - so how many blocks will I make and what will it become?

 Happy Sewing!

Susan

New Chair

I may have told that several months back, my dear husband committed me to making several (10) sets of bags for the cornhole game for a friend of his.  In payment for making the bags, the friend made my husband a set of boards and we kept one set of bags.  You see how I didn't actually get anything in this deal?

We've played the game a couple of times - and the last time, I apparently got a little too enthusiastic and pulled a muscle (or two) in my back.  After a few days of whining around, I scheduled a massage to work the rest of the stiffness out, and decided that maybe I needed a new chair for sewing.

I've been using an old straightback kitchen chair for years, and with this 'injury' I decided it was maybe a little to harsh for as much sewing as I do.

So a trip to the office store and I came home with an economical chair, cushioned seat, and somewhat more supportive back.  The only drawback is that, of course, the wheels don't work very well on the carpet, so switching between the sewing machine and serger, isn't much different than before.

So my next inventment will either be a floor mat, or replace the carpet - which do you think will happen?

Happy Sewing!

Susan

PS - Mimi had to check the chair out also.  She didn't stay too long, so I'm not sure if that's good or bad.

Consignment Continues

I've been writing the last couple of weeks about the new shop where I've consigned some of my items.  I wanted to share the cute ad that was in the local paper.

Now, if you saw this ad, wouldn't you go and check the shop out?

I'll be busy adding new items on a regular basis, along with the inventory that I need for my shows in July.

Happy Sewing (and shopping)!

Susan

Consignment

A couple of weeks ago I posted that I am now consigning some items to a new local shop - Sweet Salvage Shoppe.  In the first couple of weeks I had a few sales - and I took more items over on Saturday to create a larger display of my items. 

One idea that I had, is Father's Day is coming up soon - so I took a selection of my 'manly' box pouches over and she was going to do a sign and gather a few other items to put with them. 

She is also working on a more cohesive display of my items - I meant to stop by this afternoon to see what she's changed, but I forgot.  So this is a picture from last week - several of my purses are on top of the stack of luggage.

I'm pretty excited about this venture - when I first started my business I rented space in a craft mall - it didn't work out very well, and that particular shop ended up closing not too long after I got out of it. 

I was a little leary of going down this path again, but this is a local shop (about 3 miles from my house) and the owner is a person that I've known for a while, and consider a friend.   So for her, and myself, here's hoping that business booms!

Along with my purses and accessories, I also have some pillows and window treatments that will be there. 

And I'm thinking about Halloween and Christmas - maybe this year will be the one where I use up the stash of holiday fabric I've been accumulating!

Happy Sewing!

Susan

Box Pouch Bounty

I recently worked out the details for a custom order that was for 14 small box pouches for a wedding party.  I usually make 2-3 box pouches at a time, so decided that the best way to approach this project was to break it up into parts and do some other work in between.

The long holiday weekend also helped with this - the picture shows the final result.  These will be going out in the mail this week. 

Happy Sewing!

Susan

Shows and Sales

I've had two shows this month and both made me feel good about my show season, as they were successes.  Here is a photo of my booth from the Delaware Arts Festival which was May 19-20 in the downtown streets of Delaware Ohio.  The weather was great and loads of people were out and about.

My biggest sellers were the zippered cell phone cases, regular sized zipper wallets and my hipster purses.   

I've done the Delaware show for several years and it's fun to go there and have repeat customers come in and show you what they are still using from previous years and buy new items.

You may have also seem me mention that I'm putting some of my items for consignmnet in a local shop.  The shop officially opened on May 15 and I've stopped by a couple of times to see how things are going.  A few of my items sold this week, so along with show inventory, I also need to get some new items made and added there.  Below is the ad that ran in the local paper for the shop!  It's pretty exciting!

I have one show in June (back to the North Market on June 3) and three in July, so I'll be busy the next few weeks getting inventory built up for this and my Etsy shop.

Happy Sewing!

Susan

Custom Purse

I just completed a purse as a custom order - the woman is giving it to her 80-something mother-in-law for Mother's Day - so I completed it just in time!

I happened to have a purse made from this fabric combination hanging on my sewing room door the day she came over to pick her fabrics for some other items, and we discussed size, etc for the purse for her mother-in-law and this is the result!

She wanted it to have a zip top, so I took the opportunity to do it in a style I'd not done before.    I think it turned out pretty well.

I'll give her a call this evening to make arrangements for her to get her items.

I'm always open to making an item to your specifications.

Happy Sewing!

Susan

A walk around the house

I noticed yesterday that the flowers around the house are almost all in bloom.  So here's a trip around the house.

Happy Sewing!

Susan