Sling Time

  

Yesterday afternoon we had a fabulously fun Birdie Sling Class. It was a special class because it was also a birthday party. Happy Birthday Betsy!!!! (Nice bonus when my students bring treats and make me lunch!)

My favorite part is always seeing what fabric combinations everyone chooses and how they all turn out. The final reveal when the lining gets turned right side out is so exciting.

 

The finished bags were all so cute I may just have to make another one for myself!

Partnership

 

Yesterday was our 19th Anniversary!

It really doesn't seem like all that long but when I look at so many people around us I realize that it is a pretty big accomplishment in this day and age. We don't have a magic formula. It is really quite simple. Don't break up. I've quit and given up on a lot of things in my life, but our family and marriage isn't one of them. Not to say it has been a perfect, blissful, fairytale ride for 20 years. Far from it. We just made a promise to ourselves, each other, our children and our families and we stuck to our commitment and when the going got rough, we knuckled down and got through it.

If I had to make a list of the things that have helped us stick it out and overcome the rough spots it would be:
1) Maintain a sense of humor. Inside jokes, humbling teasing and many other forms of goofiness make life easier in general. Be sure to laugh at yourself most of all.
 
2) Make time for each other. Go on vacations or just out to dinner together. Sometimes all it takes is a cocktail and conversation at the end of the day to feel reconnected. This has gotten easier as the girls have gotten older. Back when they were little we still made the effort to get a sitter or send them to Grandma's or my sister's for a weekend so we could be together.

3) Make your family a priority. This one is similar to #2 but in this one we include the girls. We've always put a priority on family time. Sometimes it is a big family trip somewhere and others it is just a game of Scrabble or mutually agreed upon movie. We've made a point of teaching our girls that family comes first, friends may come and go, but you'll be sisters forever. It is much easier being a cohesive family unit when everyone is getting along. When the bitching and squabbling start, we know it is time for some forced family fun!

5) Make time to be alone. Personal time and space is just as important as time together. When the girls were little and I was with them 24/7 and Steve was on the road for work for days at a time, my need for alone time was tremendous. If I hadn't been able to get away to my craft room or go for a walk by myself regularly, I would've cracked. There were times that I did crack but Steve helped put the pieces back together and we learned this lesson.

5) Go to bed mad. I know this is counter to the old wives' tales but hear me out. Sometimes when you are tired and angry prolonging the argument and to continue to try to get your point across just isn't worth it. Most of the time, a good night's sleep and a fresh perspective is all that is needed. Just be sure to take the time when both parties are rested and calmed down to revisit the issue and resolve it or it will rear its ugly head at another time and in another form.

Life on the Streets

If you are a local reader you may already know about the big news here in the neighborhood (of the store). It has taken me 24 hours since I first heard the news to even begin to process it all. The story is HERE. Kind of scary and really sad. You never think that a major crime like this is going to occur literally in your front yard. (The main crime scene is two doors down from the store and the secondary scene is across the street, but the victim did pass right by here from one to the other.)

I can honestly say that other than this one house and its occupants, this is a good neighborhood and I've never felt in danger while here at work alone all day. I am very pissed off that this house with known drug offenders has been allowed to remain in operation across from two middle schools and within walking distance of an elementary and the local parochial school however. Now that all this has happened I find out that most of the neighbors and the police have been aware of these guys. I hope now at least something will be done about it.

This just in!

 
New Amy Butler Fabric!!!!
The gorgeously retro Daisy Chain line arrived today. It is just lovely.
   
I'm not sure I got the colors and styles that I ordered. There seems to be a few "orphan" bolts without coordinating styles/colors. I usually lay all the samples out and then order groupings in each color family. I'm not sure what happened this time. This was one of those lines that I just really wanted to just order one of each bolt. But space and budget constraints kept me from doing that. As it is right now, I've run out of room on my fabric displays for any more bolts and I'm pretty sure new Moda fabric for fall/winter is coming in soon too. Time to reorganize displays!

Quickie! Trim Your Towels.

 
Another quick project that is perfect for gift giving. This tutorial will guide you through adding a six inch fabric hem to cotton toweling. The toweling is 16" wide and is available by the yard. It is pre-hemmed on the long edges. (All photos in the following tutorial can be clicked on to make bigger.)

Materials for One Towel

1/2 yd. hemmed cotton toweling

1/2 yd. cotton fabric (enough for 3 finished towels) or a fabric remnant at least 18 x 14 inches

coordinating all-purpose thread

Step One:

Cut two (2) 7"x18" strips from the cotton print fabric.

Step Two:

 
 
Place toweling and fabric right sides together (RST) matching raw edges. The print fabric should be approximately 1 inch wider on each end.
Sew RST using 1/2" seam allowance.

Step Three:

 
Press seam allowance toward print fabric.
Press 1/2" along unfinished edge of print fabric.
 
Fold print fabric RST matching folded edge to seam.
Pin short ends.

Step Four:

Sew short ends using edge of toweling as seam guide.
 
Trim seam allowances and corners to reduce bulk.
Turn right side out and press.

Step Five:

 
Carefully topstitch 1/4" from seam line from the right side being sure to keep underside flat and straight.
Press and trim threads.

 

Forgive me Father

I've been a tad bit AWOL for the past month or so it seems. I wake up every morning with a To-do list and by about noon I'm usually so far off list I've forgotten that I even had a list.

I think the Mess Family is finally adjusted back to the school routine. But every year has different challenges and adjustments. This year has been a big one for us because we're now a Middle School and High School family. Earlier start times, E now riding a bus, S getting out much earlier and still having after school activities that get out mid-afternoon, etc. Not only have I gone from being a stay at home mom a year ago to a full-time working Mom, but we have joined that legion of families that is not home until almost 9p.m. every evening. It has been a struggle to juggle everyone's schedules. The other challenge I'm trying to figure out are those mid-afternoon activities of my girls. The high school S attends isn't within walking distance of either the store or home or any of our friends' homes. When she does after school clubs she gets done around 3:30. Students aren't allowed to "loiter" at the school once their activities are over so she can't wait in the library or elsewhere to do homework until I close at 5:00 and can come get her. Once she was able to score a ride with a friend who happened to stay after for another activity but mostly I've been closing for 20 minutes while I run up there and pick her up. This isn't the perfect solution but it'll have to do until I find a better one. I apologize upfront if anyone comes to the store around 3:30 and finds a post-it note on the door saying I'll be back in a few minutes. I promise if you'll be patient, I'll be right back.

The other thing that has had me busy in a very good way is my etsy shop. I finally got organized and started listing some of my fabrics there. It has been a great success! Every morning I come into the store a little earlier as to have time to get fabric cut, packaged and postage printed so I can get it in the mail. Kind of cool to be able to say I have customers in the UK, Norway and Australia as well as Montana, Utah, Georgia and Colorado. It has also started to pick up the slack of the slow days around here.

In my struggle to keep all the balls in the air I've unfortunately let some things slip through my fingers. Like my Dad's birthday. It was a month ago tomorrow. (I also didn't call or send a card for Father's Day so I'm really on the sh*t list!) I don't have a good excuse so I won't make one.

Instead I'll just say, "Happy Birthday from your little pumpkin!"
I love you dad.