Whoa Now, I made something!

It's been a while since I've had the chance to really sit down and sew. My social life and other responsibilities have been getting in the way. When living in Michigan sometimes you just have to put work off to the side and enjoy the beautiful weather when it comes your way! So I have. I spent a lovely weekend up near Petosky, a beautiful weekend in Frankfort, a few afternoons at the pool and many evenings playing ping-pong in a friend's garage. You can definetely tell this by looking at my house. Word to the wise... always do your dishes and take out your trash BEFORE you leave for the weekend. It will still be there when you get home and you will be sorry you left it that way. Took me 2 weekends to learn that. It took me roughly a week between getting back to work and my socializing to get this mess of a house cleaned up!


So yesterday, while sitting in my nice, clean house, I decided it was time to mess it up with some fabric and thread. I promised my best friend Bonnie a brown and green curtain for her youngest son's new monkey themed bedroom. So I forced myself to make a curtain. I find curtains to be tedious and boring. Straight lines straight lines straight lines. Plus, brown and green just aren't that pretty together. I couldn't get the tension right with this fabric to save my life either. I should've lined it and I think I will tonight. I'm hoping the weight of the curtain pulls the seams taut as well. Here's hoping! I'm such a perfectionist... I'm half tempted to start all over again. I really might do it over again tonight in a vertical colorblock instead of what I did here. There's a seam in both the greens and my OCD can't let that be. Maybe I'll wait and see what she says first. What do you think?

I also picked up some gorgeous orange and cream fabric, and some blue fabric with white "wheels" on it, on a whim. Impulse shopping at it's best. I should really only be allowed to carry cash into a fabric store because I can justify buying damn near anything there. I loved the combination of these 2 fabrics so ridiculously much that I made 2 identical pouches. I never do that!! But I just had to have one for me. I'm going to a wedding this weekend, I needed a new clutch of course! Not that it matches the dress I bought today AT ALL. Orange, blue, and plum... oh well. It's too fabulous, I might have to just go mis-matched. I could pretend I'm colorblind or something. Wouldn't you just to carry this?

I'm also entertaining the bad idea of dying the dress black tomorrow. I never checked the fabric content though. Maybe I'll just return it for something less purple and conservative. I don't think I was thinking clearly when shopping [with kids] this morning.

Pretty!

It has been a super long busy week! I've hardly been online, haven't made anything new for Etsy (a couple local and custom orders did get done at least), haven't finished cleaning my messy house, managed to lose 30+ Twitter followers, and I'm really not sure where my time has gone! If this is a taste of how life will be when the Big Dave goes to Korea next month I am in for it! I head up-north again this weekend, this time for a wedding! I'm looking forward to seeing my hubby again and party with some fun people! Cross your fingers that I get a little beach weather tomorrow morning!!

Found myself in this treasury today!! Thanks to Amy of Articulations for curating this lovely treasury! Some of the featured artists are from my Etsy West Michigan Team, and I must say, we sure are talented! And YAYY!! my little blue Slapdash Wallet is right next to yarn from Spazzy. I have a weakness for Spazzy yarns, I'm sure I've blogged about it before. It's so thick, scrumptious, and pretty! I have a skein that I got for Christmas last year. It's one of those too-pretty-to-use things and just sits at the top of my yarn stash. Hopefully I get more someday so maybe I can bring myself to use the first one!

A Big Fat F.U. from MI

Is it so much to ask to get a nice, hot weekend for the one vacation I get this year? I had to cancel the other one because of my Gpa's funeral, so I scheduled a new one. Went up to the gorgeous city of Petoskey and froze my ass off. In JULY! Now it's back to work with me and it's a nice, hot, beautiful day. Grrr. Hopefully we have time to get back up there with the boys before the summer is over. We were really looking forward to a lazy vacation of tanning and drinking though. Doesn't quite happen that way with kids around! Aside from the weather we had a great time!

I managed to get a picture of those pillows from a while back that I made for my friend Beth and her soon-to-be hubby John!

That's it for me today... I've got about a weeks worth of %$^* to catch up on today.

Mmmm Silk

I'm kind of a fabric freak. I've been eyeing this gorgeous printed silk at a local fabric store and finally broke down and bought it. Only a half yard since it's pricey, but it's finally mine!! It's been sitting here begging to be made into a bag for over a week and yesterday I FINALLY got around to it!



I love anything with lime green and buttons. I also needed a non-messenger bag since that's pretty much all I own. I made it sort-of hobo style with antiqued brass hardware, 5 fabric buttons, and a great knotted strap! It's lined (expertly I must say, since I have a habit of screwing that part up) with natural colored cotton canvas. The outer fabric is 100% silk, but it feels like cotton canvas. That left me wondering if I'm really getting ripped off, but it was still too cool to pass up. I know a lot about fabrics, but this is the first time I've ever found a silk that feels like this. Either way, it turned out exactly like I pictured it in my head and that almost never happens. I'm going to attempt to make another soon.

I also found a new addiction. Fabric buttons! Like I need another crafty obsession. I bought a couple packs of these last week and they were so simple and quick that I immediately went back to the fabric store to buy more. Then I got home, made them all, and went on Etsy and bought even more. Tonight after work I plan to get back to the store and get MORE since I can't wait till my Etsy shipment arrives. I don't know what I will do with them all, but they sure are pretty! They are like the heroin of my craft world at the moment. There's nothing I like better than instant gratification.

Overheard in the Mall

Oh the mall. I used to LOVE it. Used to beg my Dad to take my friends and I there and then beg him to disappear because OMG, we can't be seen with our DAD in the mall- what dorks! *eye roll*

That's about the last thing I want to do these days. Now I find myself researching what I want online, find the store that has it, go to only that store, hit up Aunt Annie's, and I'm outta there.

I'd still go with my Dad if he wanted to go shopping and I'd even let him walk next to me. Come to think of it, he's pretty tall, used to get a death-grip on my hand, and skip while singing his "Laner McBainer, the Wild Animal Trainer" song (A Lainie's Dad Original) much too loudly. He might still have to walk a few paces behind...

My 4yo son and I went to the mall today to go swimsuit shopping since mine got ruined this week in an unfortunate wet-bag-hot-car-runny-dye incident. It got to the point that he was holding my skirt and saying "Oh Mom, please no more" and trying to stop me from going back into that fitting room, again. Too bad Bucko, I wasn't leaving without a new suit! I was armed with pretzels and fruit snacks since I knew this would take forever. I finally found 2 swimsuits, BOTH on clearance, under $10 each piece, and all in less than 2 hours (Poor kid!).

We also got some great people watching in. For example, there's this massage booth thing in the middle of the mall. You look down on it when sitting at the Aunt Annie's tables on the level above. It was called Happy Hands or Magic Hands or Only Wanna Rub Hot Chicks Hands, I forget. This little older fella and his super hands got to work on a middle aged guy. As Mr. SuperHands is massaging, he is stopping constantly and waving over pretty women for massages. (Not one took him up on this offer.) If I were Mr. Face-Stuck-In-Massage-Chair I'd have told Mr. SuperHands to pay attention to the paying customer and get to it. Mr. Face-In-Chair kept texting and I was imagining he was tweeting all of this and laughing to myself. I watched this for a long time as it takes roughly a decade for my son to eat half a pretzel.

Even better than just people watching... is eavesdropping.

"SHE's probably the one spreading the STD's everywhere! Crabs and the Clap!" -- I caught part of this lovely conversation between 2 employees while I was RIGHT there. Ew. I left before I caught something.

"That's what kids do these days. They go on dates and they have sex. What else is there to do?" -- This was between 2 boys that couldn't have been older than 13. It was disturbing. I wanted to eavesdrop longer but David wouldn't walk fast enough.

"Shit girl. I woke up in his bed and I don't think the sheets have been washed in a year. No I'm not drinking tonight." -- Again, EWW. Do people not realize that just because they are alone in their little fitting room that we can still hear their cell conversations?

"I saw your butttt! I saw a ninnieeee! Does Dad have ninnies? Does Grandma have ninnies? Does Grandpa have ninnies? Does Aunt ____ have ninnies? Does Kristin have ninnies? Does ________ (x 100) have ninnies? Look! I have ninnies!" -- this one was my very own son, in the fitting room. He's way interested in nipples lately. I wonder if someone's blogging about our conversation right now.

Holy Freakin Cuteness!

Ok, tell me she's not the cutest little thing ever. Really. Try it. I wouldn't believe ya for a second even if it were possible to speak such lies. :) Now, as many of you know, I'm a mom to a boy and happy to be. I've said many times that I'd like another boy someday. The more adorable stuff I make for Ali-cat the more that changes ever so slightly. Anytime I show up at her house in anything other than jeans she MUST have one in her size. You better believe that everyday last week she asked daily where her 'blue dress' was! I had to wear my blue skirt that I whipped up last week and royally screwed up the hem on, so I had to add a petticoat that I don't like much. So now we are all matchy-matchy for the day and look kinda dorky. I promised them they could use their free pizza coupons from the library today as well, so I have to go out in public dressed like a 2 yr old. At least I don't have to cook!

I also *finally* finished this great Slapdash Messenger Bag for a custom order. I'm almost embarrassed how long it took me to finish with all of last weeks drama, and show preparation taking up most of my other time, but it is DONE! I know I say this a lot, but I don't like pink. Then I made this and I almost have to like pink. It turned out so nice!! This is at least the 4th pink bag that I've wanted to keep. What are you people doin to me?! I even bought pink fabric for a skirt yesterday. Ahhhh the horror! It's actually quite beautiful, with white, yellow, and silver in it too. I can't wait to show it off! I have to finish up the crocheted waistband and then I'm ready to sew! Now if only I could find some burnt orange cotton gauze...

I was really hoping to update with a picture from this post but then I gave my friend Beth the AWESOME pillows I had made her and never got a picture of them! Boooo! So my apologies to anyone that really wanted to see them. I pinky-promise they were fabulous. I'm hoping to make one for me, I'll show that one off then! It's on my mile-long list of things I want that I don't have time to make. Someday...

Lifesavers

Have you ever had someone in your life that is just always there at the perfect time, exactly when you need them, without even having to call? I do. I met her nearly 3 years ago and I'm blessed to spend a few days of every week with her family, keeping them safe, sound, happy, and fed. Her and I do most of our "hanging out" through the phone, when she calls to check on the kids, plus our 20 minutes in the morning before she rushes off to work. A few weeks ago she showed up at my FSAM show. She was shopping with her mom and the kids, but she took over my booth for 15 minutes so I could meet some of my Etsy West Michigan Team that was at the show. In that 15 minutes I was able to meet some amazing artists, spend some money on cool stuff, and come back to find out she was selling things like crazy! Then last night, at my Grandpa's funeral, she appeared again. Like an angel she showed up as I was dragging my screaming child out of the funeral parlor, tears streaming down my face, and my husband following behind us with a "kid, quit doing this to your mother" look on his face. She had come to pay her condolences to my dad, which she quickly did, then whisked away my kid so fast to spend some time at her house. WHY did I take a 4 year old to a funeral? Who the hell knows. Lesson learned. Don't do it. And if you do, don't be so overwhelmed with the situation that you don't think to bring ANYTHING to occupy him. Somehow in my moment of grief I thought that a small ziploc of cheerios was going to keep my kid busy for hours. Ha. Haven't I ever met this kid? I know better than that. He gladly left with Ami, I think he's either sick of seeing, or just plain confused, why Mommy keeps crying this week. She was truly a lifesaver by taking him off my hands for a couple hours so I could grieve with my family like I needed to. My Grandpa was such a special man, we're all going to miss him dearly. I don't know how Ami does it, but she always shows up when I need her most. I must be doing something right to have people in my life like her! Thanks Ami!

On a sidenote... I will be at FSAM again this Sunday! (Fulton Street Artisans Market) It is located in Grand Rapids on Fulton and Fuller. My twin sis has offered to help me out with my booth too! We'll be there from 11-3 so come on down and see us! I'll be taking custom orders for Ninja Pants, and I'll have everything from my Etsy site, along with a few other things that have yet to be listed! Last time I was at FSAM I learned that I'm becoming known as 'The Pants Lady' so come on down and order a pair! Mention this blog and I'll give you $5 off or free shipping! Hope to see you there!

Saying Goodbye

This week my family lost a wonderful man. After 2 years of sickness and continous hospital visits and nursing home stays, my Grandpa King has passed away. He was an amazing man and we will all miss him dearly. It's been a long time coming, but that doesn't make it any easier. I'm just glad every one of us had a chance to go see him before he passed. My family is too great. We didn't just sit in his hospital room and cry. We shared memories, stories, laughs, and tears. We celebrated the time we've had with him and got to say goodbye. It was his choice not to be resusitated, and we respected that even though it is so hard to let someone go. They took him off dialysis and kept him comfortable and out of pain. He was surrounded by people that love him when he went. It has been a very long week for us all. I want to thank everyone that sent prayers, thoughts, and condolences to me through this blog, Twitter, Etsy, Facebook, Myspace, and everywhere else. It's a great feeling to know he's touched so many lives through the years, I'm very lucky to have had him in my life for 28 yrs! I had planned to write a much more heartfelt blog about this, but I'm just too cried-out and exhausted to do that now.

Again thank you to everyone for your friendship and support. *huge bear hugs to you all*

I wonder if he's got all the angels in heaven eating fruitcake toast?