This blogging thing!

I love blogs...I read them all the time. The whole knitting community is big on blogging so thats usually pretty interesting. What people are doing or working on...I love it...so why is it that I have the hardest time keeping up on my own? I'm going to be better I promise...

To catch up...
This summer was fun. We hung out at home mostly. This was our summer project...

This big beautiful Ash tree in our front yard was being killed by the Emerald Ash Borer. It was hanging precariously over our house. So we had to cut it down...We chipped up all the small stuff for mulch and this is what we did with the bigger pieces....
And thats not nearly all of it...firewood! Yay! So as sad as I was about losing that big beautiful tree, we managed to recycle every bit of it, makes me feel better.








My kiddos both had birthdays so they are now 5 and 8. Big kids.






My little business is still doing well. I was so excited when just last week my mailing list hit 100 members! I've been really loving Etsy lately. I haven't posted anything new there in a while but when i do its always good to me. There's some really amazing artists on there as well. I've started spinning again. I bought these batts from Loop...
Absolutely stunning. I'm deciding what to make out of the yarn I spin....maybe a hat or a scarf to go with the winter coat I'm making myself =)...




I'm trying to blend different fibers without a drum carder or hand cards...just by splitting the rovings...here's some of my latest...

The one on the left is blue face leichester in royal blue, light blue and seafoam green with splices of dark purple bamboo...

On the right is my FAVORITE! Its natural black alpaca with hand-dyed black bamboo with some undyed areas that turned silver. Its so heavy and soooo soft!


In clothing I've been trying some new designs... =). I have a couple new tops made out of hemp jersey that I left the exposed seams from the serger. I love the effect and they turned out really comfortable. The trick is how to make them really unique and not just another jersey top...its a work in progress...
I feel like this blog is so boring...thanks to all who sat through it :). I'll get there...pretty soon I'll be the MASTER BLOGGER!!! Ha, when i remember to write one....
You'll have to excuse my picture placement....I can't seem to get it right!

Mildly Distracted

I have so much sewing to do and I'm sitting here absently staring at my computer eating peanutbutter ice cream. I'm daydreaming about a new spinning wheel and a drum carder. Spinning?! I barely have time to sew and that is my income right now. Oh well, I'll do what I'm supposed to soon enough. I'm normally a very easy-going kinda girl but when I have to get stuff done, I get this rebellious streak going. Like "you can't tell me what to do!". I am making a mental wishlish for when I have some extra money (get stitchin', right?!).
1. Lendrum double treadle spinningwheel with jumbo plying head and bobbins
2. Drum carder, preferably Pat Green or Strauch (um $500 later...)
3. Bernina vintage sewing machine, I'd the Record 830 or that awesome Favorit that was lime green on ebay a while back..
I guess thats all for now...Ok I think I've got the rebellion out of my system. The joys of being home-based self-employed. And only an hour left before mom-taxi is back on duty...

So Super Busy!

I feel like I've been so outta touch lately. I haven't posted anything new to my website in weeks. Its not that I haven't been busy sewing though. I'm just finishing up a wonderful bunch of custom orders. Its so fun to take those. People come up with great ideas and its so fun to see how they end up... my new friend Sarah came up with the idea for this pretty skirt...

Camel color hemp jersey with dark brown accents and just a few dragonflies here and there. I almost couldnt let it go :).

My sewing machine now has all sorts of fun problems but my sweet grandma gave me hers to borrow. Talk about a life saver. Now I'm on the look out for a vintage Bernina..tis the season for gargage sale finds so who knows?!

Oh some more exciting news, my new friends Robyn and Jason have a cute little shop in Bloomington Indiana called Natural Elements. They have decided to start selling some of my clothing! We are both very excited about this. So if you live in the Bloomington area, please stop by and support their little family business! Our local natural food store, Foods for Living, is also carry a line of my tote bags, coin pouches and skirts...Like these...



So thats whats been going on here...oh and I have a new nephew! Cute baby pictures coming soon!

Some things about me....

Alpaca Granny tagged me! Ok now you get to learn 7 things about me....

1. I love sushi, especially the Green Dragon Roll (yummm eel and avocado)
2. the site of blood, or any wounds, makes me pass out (no doctor here!)
3. my husband and i are celebrating our 9 year wedding anniversary at the end of the month
4. I went to school for photography but sewing just keeps calling me back
5. I love tarot cards.
6. I'm a huge fabric snob...Hemp is the only way to go! (although I havent tried bamboo yet)
7. I make my own environmentally friendly soap, laundry powder and most recently automatic dishwashing soap...

Oh the Colors!

I got to dye some fabric today. It has to be one of my favorite thing to do. Not only is the result usually an awesome surprise but often the color combinations and textures are wonderful inspiration for a piece of clothing. Each part of the one piece of fabric are completely different. There may be one tiny part that is definitely texture and color for a moon, for instance.

I'm toying with the idea of doing an elements series. I always seem to end up with a hand-dyed piece that looks like water. Lately I've had a couple that are very jasper-like. Next I have to figure out air and fire...Here's the pieces I did today...


Sometimes I get little troll faces that come through...Like this blue guy above...he's super cute but maybe a little grumpy :)...

I also took pics around the yard today cause it was so nice!!!
My hostas are coming up....

This is my Mama Tree...She's the matriarch of our home...
Back to work now...tomorrow I'm gonna try to put 5 new pieces on the site and put the unsold pieces on ebay...

On the Nature of Selling and Kindness...

So my husband and I owned a vintage clothing store for 6 years and I worked there for 4 years before we bought it. I've done a lot of retail. We sold our store in December to try our hand at something new. Its really amazing to me how easily things fall into place when the right decisions are made. We've had a great transition. Our bodies and minds are healthier. My business is flourishing and thats mainly where this rambling is all going. So selling... I am making my own line of clothing and handspun yarns. I am selling to these people that continue to amaze me everyday. They are so NICE!!! I get compliments from strangers across the country (world sometimes) everyday. They are so kind and supportive. I am able to stay at home with my children and make stuff all day. I can be an active contributor to our family's income from my little sewing studio in the basement. Thats so awesome! Mostly this blog entry is a thank you to all those who have bought one of my pieces or have wanted to. To all those who visit my website or my auctions on ebay. For all those awesome mamas who bought yarn from my etsy store to make amazing creations from my creations and for my friends who told me to just sell your stuff ya big chicken. Thanks so much for all the kindness... I am one lucky girl.....
Here's some links for those who haven't had the chance to visit or want to come back...

On The Grateful Dead...

This is a pretty weird place to start but what the hell... I only started to listen to The Grateful Dead like 2 years ago. It all started when I was watching episode upon episode of Freak and Geeks. The last episode had a reference to American Beauty and the closing song was Ripple, which I'd heard a thousand times and never thought twice about it. But for some reason, it hit me how great it sounded. I mean in that deep breath, epiphany kind of way. So I got American Beauty and I understood. I understood the fascination. I've had some friends comment on how they listened to all the stuff in high school or talked about all the shows worth talking about long ago. I'm kinda glad I discovered them in my 30's. I can listen to the music for what it is, not as a stereotype hippie thing. I have since watched many live shows and listened to more. I know I like them best in the early 70's. I love Dark Star and Fire on the Mountain and tons more I can't ever remember the names of. Sugaree makes me smile all the time. Right now my hubby is sleeping on the couch watching GD in Europe in 1972 and the music fills my house and the vibe is so good....