USS Indianapolis Reunion Project

At the end of the month survivors and family members of the crew of the USS Indianapolis will meet in the city of the same name. One of the organizers of the event is a customer of my farmers' market booth. She designed red, white and blue tissue covers with a bead specific to the reunion to give out at one of the weekend's events. I appreciate the service and the sacrifice of the crew and families of the USS Indianapolis, and I wish them a satisfying reunion. (You can visit the reunion web site at http://ussindyreunion.com/)

Holiday Market 2013

The Lincoln Square Holiday Market opens this Saturday (8am-1pm) and runs for 7 weeks. Vendors of all types will sell gifts, food and plants. I will have these folded fabric ornaments along with pouches, baskets and do-dads for organizing, gift-giving and display. Come visit!

Weekend with Friends

A lady I met at the Market at the Square is preparing to enjoy a weekend away in New York City with friends, and she's bringing favors. A little piecing of fabric and a custom bead from the Community Fab Lab personalize small essentials bags to be filled with gum, a little lotion, hand sanitizer and whatnot needed for an early fall adventure. Have fun!

USS Indianapolis Reunion

One of my customers at Urbana's Market at the Square is organizing this year's reunion of the survivors and family of the World War II ship the USS Indianapolis. Among the get-together's events is a tea for survivor wives and widows. These red, white and blue pouches with zipper pull beads personalized at the Fab Lab are meant to be the favor. A basic strip of complementing fabric across the top of each pouch opened up mix-and-match fun. I enjoyed sewing a large number of pouches in a limited color scheme. I appreciate the opportunity to insert my crafts in this celebratory event to honor and thank the sailors and families of the Indianapolis. You can visit the reunion web site here http://ussindyreunion.com/

Moms Day Craft Fair

Meet me this Saturday at the U of I's Moms Day Craft Fair. From 10am to 5pm, over one hundred vendors will display their wares in the ballrooms of the Illini Union. Since it has been awhile since I had a booth at a craft fair or farmers' market, I stuck tape to the floor of my house in the appropriate dimensions and installed a mock booth. I still have a few tweaks to make to the booth, including new matching tablecloths, and then I can load up. I plan to have a good time Saturday.

Japanese Rainbow Glitter Unicorn Pouches

Yes, there is a perfect fabric for every pouch project. My niece is 6 today, and for her birthday party she is using these treat pouches. My sister didn't admit how long it took E to choose this Japanese rainbow glitter unicorn fabric, but I'm sure it was a deliberate process. The pouches are jazzed up with purple beads etched with unicorns. I made them at the Community Fab Lab in E's favorite color. Enjoy your big day,E!

Working in Bulk

It's quite possible that I am pursuing sewing right to the edge of obsessive hoarding. If I like a fabric, I'm tempted to buy it in all its color options; I order zippers 100 at a time. I feel productive storing away a finished pouch with tens or dozens of other pouches to be taken to the Holiday Market.
My friend G is a school social worker, and she designed and ordered pouches and canvas bags for her annual convention again this fall. The completed custom order was a satisfying outlay of a whole mess of zippers and rectangles of fabric.

Lincoln Square Village Holiday Market

The boxes are out, and I'm dusting off the display tables in the garage to prepare for the opening weekend of the Lincoln Square Village Holiday Market in Urbana. It begins this Saturday and runs Saturdays from 8am to 1pm through December 17th. I will have a booth there all 6 dates this year. I'll have a few holiday-themed fabric baskets, clips, and gift card pouches added to the "all season" pouches and bags I make for the outdoor farmers' market. All are invited!

Frivolous Owl

Recently, K and I sat down with 2 friends to make things. We went wild with fanciful acrylic beads from Delish Beads (check out www.delishbeads.myshopify.com), making rings and necklaces. This one is my favorite; the owl is huge, but I find the colors go with lots of outfits. Does this say more about the clothing in my daughter's and my closets, or the very cute owl?

Pac Man Playing

My kids love video games. New releases and "classics" hold the same appeal. I have never been interested in electronic games, but this Pac Man fabric called to me nonetheless. The ghost icon etched onto a bead cut at the Community Fab Lab finishes off the fun. I must resist the urge to make fabric-specific beads for every pattern I use, but maybe simple heart or flower or bike shapes would be cute on more than one fabric.

Market Approaches

K and I visited Urbana's Market at the Square this weekend in anticipation of my first market booth of the season next Saturday. I hope for weather as fine as this weekend, and plenty of people with pouch needs. K looks forward to kettle korn and the vanilla-chocolate swirl ice cream in a cup.
Farmers' market shoppers are purposeful and organized. They find food at the market to make into a meal that night, and buy flowers with which to decorate the table. They come with a reusable tote for their morning goodies. Maybe some of them will be interested in setting aside their market money in a designated pouch.

Homemade Beads

The Fab Lab on campus hosts a laser cutter perfect for making my own beads. Any cutting pattern I design on the computer can be translated by the machine into precise slices or etchings. The process is much more cost-effective than buying beads and having them mailed to me. I like the ability to make beads of the exact size and number I imagine I require. Even the kids are mildly intrigued by the lure of designing something out of colored acrylic and then watching the laser do their bidding. M informs me the cost of such a unit makes a home set-up impractical; it's a pity.

Fab Lab Magic

We recently discovered the Fab Lab, located on the U of I campus. It houses various pieces of interesting machinery that's open for public use, including an Epilog laser cutter. What crafting possibilities!
I'm now playing with acrylic sheets to cut my own beads for pouches and purses. I can design a shape on the computer and etch initials or messages on a rainbow of transparent and translucent colors. Fabulous!

This Saturday - 7am to Noon

I'm anticipating a hot, but sunny Saturday for my first showing this year at Urbana's Market at the Square. I have been sewing all winter and spring to build up a supply of pouches and bags to tempt folks browsing through the crafts after loading up on produce. Last year I watched a guy with an entire pick-up truck full of sweet corn sell his load 8 or 10 ears at a time until the bed was nearly empty. It's too early for corn, but maybe a spot near the sweet aromas of a baker or by a fabulous flower vendor would bring me extra customers.

Kapow!!!!

I am thrilled with a new wall of red cabinets for my sewing supplies. Unnecessary and excessive, they are also fabulous. Sure, M and I had a conversation in the store about how even red cabinets could always be used elsewhere in our house someday; the truth is I have acquired the 40-plus-year-old's version of a musical jewelry box with a tiny ballerina who spins when you open the lid. I have stashed my fabric treasures inside my new cabinets where I will enjoy them even on days when I don't sew.

Prime Supplier

I have a good memory for fabric. While I can go to the grocery store with a list in my hand and still come home without items I meant to buy, I don't have trouble thinking of one special scrap of fabric purchased 10 years ago and folded amongst probably hundreds of other pieces. I seem to have a reaction to fabric I like (and buy) that helps me connect to what it looks like, even if I don't know what I'll make with it yet.
All the fabric in this photo is by one designer, Amy Butler. She is wildly popular among folks who buy fabric, and seems to have a style that marks something as her design even without seeing her logo on the selvage. Today I finally googled her. I learned she lives in the Midwest, has a very clean workspace and collects vintage fabric. You might think someone who invents the colors and patterns on her own many lines of textiles wouldn't need to buy other people's old fabric, but I know for a fact she can afford it. Money from me alone can keep her in craft supplies to a pretty comfortable standard.

Zinnia Collection

I wasn't sure I would find convincing use for this zinnia print fabric. I like the colors and the shapes of the repeating flower heads, but the white background makes the fabric less appealing for a project that will see use and show dirt. Now that I've made a few things out of the print, I really like it. Even though it's a large print, the small key chain is still graphic. Several colors of zipper will work with it; several types of beads coordinate as well. I ordered just a little more of this fabric, so now I'm sure not to run out.

Pouch Family

I have in mind to redesign parts of my commercial web site. Instead of a colorful banner of my sewing supplies across the top of the web page, some grid of product photos would serve as both a graphic welcome and a preview of items available. I often sew multiple items made of the same fabric at the same time to maximize the thread color in the sewing machine. Recently, this blue and black geometric fabric was calling to me, so I made pouches of all descriptions out of it and a key fob to boot.

Another Bag

A fresh messenger bag for spring combines the ideas I like (fabric on the flap, inside zippered pocket, back-of-bag accent fabric stripe) and eliminates awkward steps. Wide webbing off the bolt makes a sturdy and quick handle without the work of pressing 45-plus inches of fabric to make my own handle. I would be willing to put the handle construction effort into making my own binding for the lid of the purse. Then I could have one more patterned accent on the project. I have a marvelous set of bias tape makers through which I can feed strips of fabric while ironing completed binding. For me, the way to go is to to cut an entire yard of fabric into bias strips, make binding and then use it on multiple projects. Now, to find a neutral, but exciting pattern to use.

Party Favors

My niece was recently baptized, and the party that followed needed favors. Starting with the colors of the party, I made pouches with a silk-screened message to mark the big day. I think personalizing the pouches makes them more fun, and I hope the party guests will find treasures to store inside their gift.