Monday, September 29, 2008

Strangefolk!

A million zillion thanks to everyone who came to Strangefolk, bought something from me, and have now found my blog.
(Alice, I need you to contact me.)

Some high points:

1. On Saturday, Matt and Maggie came along. They both had a nice nap, which was photographed by a roving photographer. Is there anything cuter than an aging punk rocker and an aging boxer/pit bull mix snoozing in the shade? Didn't think so.

2. Laurene sold a yeti!

3. Meeting people who knew my husband "when".

4. The totally perfect weather.

5. Chillin' with the Cranky Yellow boys.

6. Coffee frappes.

7. Having a booth in the shade.

8. Being able to now buy a new television. Our current one has a big yellowish blob on the screen. We're so used to it by now, but you know, the HD and all that.

9. Selling out of my Halloween pinup mitts. Mitts must be the wave of the future.

10. Matt helped me set up and take down. God bless the child!

11. Receiving bags of scraps from Curious Cat Clothing. Thanks for thinking of me! Your fabric rocks cocks!

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Squaresville Update

The sewing machine has been busy, busy, busy here in Squaresville!
Check this sweet pile out:

Those are all kickass potholders, including some Halloween ones!
Now for the trimming, the looping and the binding. Then, the tying together and the tagging and adding to my inventory spreadsheet. No rest for the wicked, eh?

I'm mildly panicking about not having enough ready in time. I still have to put oven mitts into production! Still, I'm excited about Strange Folk and hope it goes as well as I feel it will.

Today was spent going to Leftovers with Senora Muertos and Senorita Muertos. I scored a massive Christmas tin for storing birdseed (remember the squirrel invasion?), a bunch of plastic for the shrinky dink factory at Strange Folk, some sweet vintage and not vintage fabric and some ribbon for hanging loops. Oh, and 70 blue folders, chalk, and a mess of pencils for my real job. Senora Muertos also hit the jackpot and will have a unique display at Strange Folk.

Then, I came home to find Matt had brought my newly refinished desk up from the basement. He was trimming our bushes that had grown over into the Hoosiers' yard, and cut through TWO extension cords in the process. Poor Matt.
After much time spent rearranging my sewing room, everything is in its place and the room now smells like delicious varnish.

Check out the cool accents under the handles! I got the desk for $12 from Value Village, and have spent way more than that refinishing and buying the cool art deco handles. The top is totally beat up and scarred, but those marks are fascinating. What the heck happened to it? Was someone hammering grommets on top of it?
It was well worth it, though, especially when I found a juicy letter jammed in back of the middle drawer. It was written to someone who had really pissed the author off. I will try to scan it and post it. Lord knows I love some juicy gossip!

I really liked this project because it took me back to my youth....When I was growing up, my parents' friend Bob Kling had an antique restoration shop that Dan and I used to stop in at on our jaunts down to Carversville. The smell of varnish always reminds me of being in that wonderfully dusty and crowded shop. It had once been a nightclub of sorts, complete with a little stage for a band. Posters from Philly's classical music station adorned the stairway up to the shop. When I got older, my father would let me pick out one thing from Bob's shop for my birthday. We might have been a blue collar family, but I was surrounded with antiques and learned to appreciate them at an early age.

In other news, my famous oven mitt is now on its way to Canada! I wonder if the customer saw it in the Daily Sauce newsletter?

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Mystery Fabric Goodie Bags!

In a wonderful sewing marathon last weekend (Matt was in Chicago), I got like 50 new sets of potholders started. I also worked on an idea I'd been kicking around for a while: scrap bags!
They are A: a great way to destash, B: a great way to get new generations interested in sewing. It sure worked for me, C: sheer capitalism.
The bag is actually a piece of muslin that I printed instructions and suggested uses on. Thank god I haven't jammed my printer yet!

Here's what they look like:


I crammed as many scraps as I could into each roughly 11" by 7" bag, plus a spool of thread!
Look for more at Strangefolk Festival!