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

Deal of the Day - Day 3

This is so much fun! 

Today's deal of the day is 25% off zipper wallets.  The zipper wallets come in two sizes, the larger size is big enough for an iPhone, iPod touch, droid, etc. 

This is one of my most popular items at craft shows, so this is a great deal!

The price is already adjusted, so no coupon code or refunds needed.

Happy shopping!

Susan

New Item - Zip Around Kindle Case

Month ago, I started making the zip around cases for iPods, cell phones, etc., and planned to make then for both Kindles and iPads.  It's a little difficult to make cases for these items when you don't actually own one.

I made the first prototype for the Kindle case and bummed a test from a friend who owns one.  While the Kindle fit, when it was zipped it was pretty tight.  So I needed to make it just a little larger.  Then I got busy and didn't get around to making another one.  And I didn't get around to making one for the iPad yet.

Recently, a great customer asked me to make one that would hold two kindles, along with the charger/cords.  So back to the drawing board I went.

I knew for there to be room for two Kindles, that I needed to add a little depth to the case, as well as expanding the size so the zipper would move more easily.

The first prototype was ok, just a few minor tweaks, and here it is completed:

The outside has a zippered pocket that will hold the charges and cords.  The case has a hipster style strap - adjustable and detachable.  The zipper goes around three sides of the case. The inside has two lightly padded insert slots - which will house the kindles. Along with the slots being padded, the outside has two layers of padding for protection.

Since this was a special request, I don't know if I will make any more with this particular configuration, but it was good to be able to get back to a project that I'd set aside.

Happy Sewing!

Susan 





Backwards Weekend?

Just a short recap of my weekend show. I was in Chagrin Falls OH, for Art by the Falls. It's a lovely town with a real artsy feel. I did this show several years ago and it was an awesome show for me then.

Of course, I kept checking the weather forecast (as if that's ever right!) for the few days before the show. Scattered thunderstorms for Friday (setup) and Saturday - the first day of the show. Cooler and sunny on Sunday.

Most of the times, shows are busier on Saturday, than Sunday. Not so with this show this year - Saturday the crowds were much sparcer than I recalled or expected - I thought maybe that 'scattered thunderstorms' prediction was keeping them away. Sunday was a much larger crowd, at least early in the day.

Credit card sales - do most other people experience this? Normally, my Saturday credit cards runs 20-30% of the total sales, and on Sunday it can creep up closer to 50%. I'm not sure what was going on this weekend - but my Saturday credit cards were 60% of my total - crazy! Sunday was about 30%.

So - as I say - it was a backwards weekend!

By the way, the storms on Saturday never happened where we were. It sprinkled just as we were closing down for the day. And Sunday - well, the sun didn't appear until we were leaving - and cooler - you bet - I don't think it got above 62 or 63 degrees. Glad I took a pair of jeans and a jacket along!



Until next time!
Susan

Ending the year with something new

I'm always trying to think of new things to make or new ways to make the same old things. We all have our cell phones, ipods, cameras, or other gadgets and this week I finally had a chance to try out a new case I've been thinking about.

You may know I like to use zippers - and usually two when possible! So this new case is a zip-around closure with a zippered pocket on the outside.

I put a tab with a small split ring on it, and I made a wristlet strap, although I see I forgot to attach it for the photo shoot!




The inside has a 'netting' pocket on each side, although it could easily be made with a set of cards holders on one side instead. My original thought was for an iPod and ear buds...


I'm pretty pleased with the outcome for a first try, and will continue to perfect it, along with decide on alternate sizes (maybe one large enough for a kindle?)

I'd love to know what you think!

Until next year,

Susan

Catchin' up with myself

So much for blogging once a week - more like every other week! Well, it has been busy. My a/c went on the fritz - problems for 5 days before I ended up getting a new one - yikes! That wasn't in the budget, as you can imagine.


During that time, I was working on chair covers. There are eight of them. I have the sewing all done, but ended up getting the foam from the foam place, custom cut (it's got those funky corners on the back where the back attaches to the seat), so I won't get them finished until early next week. These aren't for me, by the way...I sew for an interior decorator, and these are for one of her customers.

I also attended my high school class reunion. We won't talk about what year it was for. Then my Mom's birthday was the day after that, so we went to visit with her. I was exhausted on Monday!

And then the Olympics are going on. So I have to stay up late and watch some of that. Last night I just couldn't stay up - I fell asleep on the couch. I'm not sure what I missed, but I guess I didn't die from missing it, so that's ok.

I have a 2 day show this weekend. It's one I've done for the past two years, and it's been pretty successful for me, so I'm hoping this weekend will be good too. I feel like I don't have that much new stuff - but I lose track when I have a full month or more between shows. I do have some new items that I'm working on. Kind of a cross between a cell phone case, a wallet and a change purse. I have several variations that I'm working on, but I think I've narrowed it down to two. So I'll test that out this weekend, and see what the response is.

I also had feedback from one of my etsy customers who purchased a cell phone case from me. She likes the case, but when she sits down with the case attached to her belt loop, her phone has slipped out a couple of times. So I'm testing a new addition to my cell phone cases - I'll keep you apprised of how that goes.

I think that's about it for now. Hope to get back before the end of the month - but I don't make any promises!

Have a great day!