Barn Diving!

Just when I think I’m getting a handle on things……  Everything changes!

I will be very busy for the next several weeks.  If things go the way I think they will, I’ll be moving!DSC04026

Here’s the wacky story:

A year and a half ago my neighbor’s home was purchased.  Their property was much like ours: very old farmhouse, a barn and out buildings on a rather small lot.  The new owners tore everything down.  It wasn’t until about a year ago that we learned a restaurant was going up.  013

During the building phase we met the owners and it was a nice relationship.  We were a little worried about privacy issues but they assured us that they would respect that.

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But they didn’t.  We had to go to the Township Board of Supervisors to get help in getting a fence put up.  It was necessary.  They were angry and had been trying to intimidate us for quite a while now.  We considered moving but it just is not worth it now.

This past Sunday they approached my husband while he was cutting grass and offered to buy our home at our price because they need to make a bigger parking lot.  That’s what they told him.  I am almost certain that they will try to squeeze us.  We shall see.

This is a really interesting spot to be in!  I’m in manic mode trying to organize.  We have a barn that was rented by a flea market guy for over 20 years.  He abandoned his stuff over 2 years ago.  We did all we could to get him to pay his rent and get his stuff.  So we finally got inside the barn last November and were astonished with all the stuff.  Think hoarders.  I just started sorting last week for online antique sales and a humongous yard sale to come.  Now I have to move double time!  The way things sound, we might actually be moving in about 6 weeks!  11 years, a house and 2 barns is a recipe for accumulation!  Family is always asking us to store things.  Then the stuff we just seem to put out there because we can……  yikes!

So, I will be quiet for a while…  I’ll try to update when I can.  I’m going to miss the charm of this place…

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Studio Makeover

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The sewing side of the room

I spent the past couple of weeks working on my sewing room.  The room has seen many changes over the past 10 years.  It is a walk through room so we put up a wall to make it private for our son.  Winter came and the room was freezing so we moved the crib into our room for a while.  After we got the bedrooms situated the wall came down and we were going to make it into a family room.  I painted it a warm darker kind of brown anticipating a big comfy couch, TV and video games.

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The drawing, drafting, painting, office side of the room

While waiting for the time and money to make up the new family room, I had a few sewing projects.  I set up a tiny sewing station in the room.  Then came the ironing board….  then it started to grow into a larger operation when I learned quilt making.  My son, who is 11 now describes my taking over that room as a virus.

So, I finally got around to painting the walls a light neutral color.  I made a proper design wall, bulletin board, installed thread racks, made customized shelving for all of my paints, pens, brushes, ironing supplies, and stuff.

Painting done, materials for design wall ready to go

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bulletin board

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finished design wall and thread rack up

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getting the shelves ready

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A little messy because I was working on stuff.  It works so much better with all of this storage!

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The sewing side:  thread on the wall, storage for buttons, beads, needles, gadgets, tools, and all kinds of stuff!  The picture is a vintage Italian fabric weaving company poster.  It has spiders and webs.  So cool.

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The “table” is two cheap desks I got at Ikea. I cut out the opening for the sewing machine and installed a shelf underneath to make the machine flush

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The cutting mat stays there because there is no more wall space to try to hang it.  But if I need to work on a large quilt, I take it to the bedroom so the quilt can slide easily on the desk.  The white cart came from Ikea too.  I made a mini ironing mat for the top for when I use my ironing wand.

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The painting, drawing, drafting, office side:   Custom shelving for all that junk.  The top shelf is off center because I’m going to make a second one.  I just need to pick up the materials.  The long one I made first using recycled materials.  That’s when I knew I needed more!

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The ironing station has a box shelf for water, starch, basting spray and a container with all my scissors and rotary blades.  The rulers hang on the wall to keep them together. I added a narrow shelf made from recycled materials to display some inspiration.

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This shelf unit is still not organized yet.  I got this at Ikea.  It stands where the old wall used to be to make a little hallway to the laundry room (convenient!).  I like this because I get a lot of light from the window if I don’t stuff too much stuff in there.

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I hope you enjoyed the tour.  I took pictures during the whole process and will post it up in the tutorials section as soon as I can.  I’ll explain step by step how I made the design wall, the bulletin board, the custom shelves, Ironing board cover, and how I customized my desk for my sewing machine.

Tell me what you think!  Oh, but please ignore the floor…  I’m stuck with it for now.  I’m thinking of painting it.

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What I learned about Shipping!

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Anyone who depends on shipping to run a business knows that there are a million ways for things to go wrong.  Who wants to pay 3x more for shipping than the cost of the item?!!

I received a couple of packages from India that didn’t exceed $11.  That made me start to do a little bit of digging…

It took my experience with Listia to broaden my postal horizons…….  Angels are singing in heaven……

I signed up with Stamps.com via  Listia and picked up 25oo credits!  I’m wracking the credits up!  I almost won a new Kenmore Sewing/ Embroidery machine yesterday!  Like a dork, I got busy and missed the end of the auction.  I so would’ve won!  Sigh…….   Anyway!  Off Topic!

First Class, Priority, or Flat Rate?

So, with Stamps.com I can make calculations quickly and easily and I can choose first class mail.  Using USPS click and ship only gives options for priority and express mail.  It does make good sense to compare prices for priority, first class and flat rate shipping.  Sometimes the results are kooky.  It actually made more sense to ship priority instead of first class on an international shipment once.  ? don’t get it.

I did try to figure out FedEx and UPS but never got past the prices…..  and the manuals are way too complicated.  I think I need to be a huge factory for it to make any sense.

How to make a shipping profile…

So, because of this I revamped my entire Etsy Shop shipping profile.  This has got to make a difference.  In this process I found a pretty awesome shipping calculator that doesn’t require addresses.  Just enter the country you want, the type of package, and weight.  For US cities, they will ask for a zip code.  There is another useful site for that.  One thing that I don’t like, and I have to find out more, is that insurance only works for U.S. and some Canadian shipments.  Again ??  don’t know…

Get your tabs in order and make a table:

Shipping Calculator:   http://ircalc.usps.com/Default.aspx?country=10105

Zip Code finder: https://tools.usps.com/go/ZipLookupAction!input.action?mode=0&refresh=true

  USA Canada Mexico European Union Everywhere Else
1 lb. 7 7 12 15 17.5
2 lb. 9.98 9.98 15.60 19.03 22.03
sm. triangle 11.15 34.25 etc…    
lg. triangle          
lg. envelope flat rate          
sm. envelope flat rate          

These are the general profiles I can use easily.  If I have an item that doesn’t fit these categories, I’ll make a new one specific to that item.  This just makes the listing process take about 5 minutes as opposed to an hour.

It took me about 2 + hours to compile my whole profile but it’s so worth it.  My rates are waaaayyyy lower now.  Remember to weigh the item with packing materials in the box to get an accurate number.  Winking smile

The triangle boxes are good for quilts that can’t be folded but can be rolled.  They are more expensive than a box but way cheaper than an actual cylinder containers. 

Decide what kinds of boxes or envelopes work best for you.  You can get Priority and Express boxes and envelopes for free from https://store.usps.com/store/browse/category.jsp?categoryId=catGetMailingShippingSupplies&categoryNavIds=catGetMailingShippingSupplies

I like to recycle boxes too.  I just wrap them in Kraft paper and tape well.

Please leave a comment with your thoughts on this.  Ideas or info I don’t know about? 

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Hand Quilting

Small wall quilt donation for Fashion Plates 6 

A fundraising dinner with door prizes and art auction on March 31, 2012.

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“Turn your face to the sun and the shadows follow behind you”

-Mayori Proverb

This quote inspired me along with this image I worked out using Photoshop Elements 9 and printed to fabric. 

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This small quilt (13.5” x 13.5”) is all hand quilted with embroidery details.  I worked on it in small bits of spare time so it took a few months to finish.  Maybe about 3 or 4 solid days.

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The back of the quilt has a split sleeve for easy hanging and the identifying label.

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Detail of the label.  I’ll probably give in and order a professional stamp of my winged heart with thread logo.

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and one more shot from another perspective.

157922_128615677258280_1585069452_n[1]  Click image to see Fashion Plates 6 on Facebook for more information.  Thanks!

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Summer Schedule

 

The Summer classes at The Gallery School are scheduled!

254 High Street, Pottstown, PA 19464

610-326-2506

For more information about the projects, dates, times and fees click Classes.

 

 

 

Beginner Adults:

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I picked some of my favorite go to projects for summer.  A concert t-shirt is so much better when it fits.  A simple summer skirt that can be made in an hour is perfect for last minute updates.  And who doesn’t love a  scrappy bag that goes over the shoulder for hands free flea marketing.


Kids Mini Camp

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3 days in a row, 10 to 3, lunch and snacks!

More info: classes

We have 5 sewing machines available for use- first come, first served.  Or bring your own sewing machine, in good working condition, and learn how to use it.

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Fuzzy Peeps!

….are cute little tiny fuzzy, fluffy, feathery baby birdies…..

fuzzy peeps 0001Easter is coming April 8. That’s only about 2 1/2 weeks!

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Today I’m finally kicking this virus that seems to be sweeping the area and I had to get to the Spring time stuff.

I was inspired by a bunch of creative blogs I browsed yesterday. I worked on fiber bowls that were started 2 months ago and weren’t working out. One is a teeny tiny one that looks like a miniature nest and somehow I ended up making these tiny little peeps.

I just love these!

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It feels good to get some things wrapped up. Finally! I’ll announce when I have listings up at my shop.

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Sculpture Stand

After multiple searches for leads on sculpture stands and mounts I got the idea, again, to try twigs.

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I’ve been working with several different set ups.  Not loving it yet.  The problem is that sculpture is made of thread.  It’s full of holes and very light weight.  It constantly shifts into awkward positions. 

I’m using wire to secure the figure to the branches at strategic places.  I tried hanging but I need to find the right kind of branch to make it balance right.

I think I need to re-do the sculpture again to make it more graceful.  Even though I padded the wood model at the joints, there are still odd fat and skinny sections that look strange.  I think that I might remove some of the neck and stitch it closed to make it thinner.

All of those negatives aside, I still feel excited about getting this right……eventually.

Hmmm…  idea!

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Just tried this.   Thinking of making tiny aluminum blossoms.  I think I want to paint all of the wood.  It looks kind of swampy…  I need to find more vines and sticks in just the right shape to get this right. 

?

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Silk from India

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This is the coolest package I ever received!

  The sender sewed the package closed!  I love details like this.  Fabulous.

These are the silk saris that I won on EBay:

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The amazing part is that they were very economical.  All of the saris , except the pink one, are 5 yards by about 42”, which is the same width of commercial fabric off the bolt.   The pink sari is only one yard of silk.  All of the saris I won were under $10 and shipping was $9 and $11.  So I spent a little over $60 all together.  16 yards of silk @ $3.75 /yd.  Not bad! 

Oh!  And the shipping time was about 3 weeks.  Worth it.

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This pink one is my favorite, but only one yard.

I got it into my head to look for the saris because of the commercial fabric being called “sari fabric” at a sewing chain store.  It’s actually brocade, not silk sari fabric.  I got some and made this skirt as one of the sample applications.   This fabric, shown below, was selling for $12.99 /yd.  And, it seems, that they aren’t selling it anymore anyway. I’ll be listing these as custom made items in my Etsy shop.  I just need to take some photos on a model.

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Skirt made from brocade fabric advertised as “sari” fabric.  I hand washed the fabric to remove the sizing and make it look a little softer.

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Patchwork handbag sample using brocade scraps.

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Little girl’s Spinnny Skirt sample with butterfly beads, ribbons, and buttons.

The Indian sari silk is much finer and softer and I worry a little bit about the fabric being too delicate. However I do have a skirt that is made of vintage sari silk and it feels amazing in spring and summer.

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70 degrees and perfect weather for skirts! 

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Sew a Valentine

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Happy Valentines

day!

I made this to go on a pillow or quilt to stash a message or treasure.

I hoped to finish for my Valentines Day inventory for my shop. I ran out of time so I thought I’d share it here.

Enjoy!

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New Tutorials Added

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It’s been busy around here!  First:  My schedule idea is working.  I’m staying focused and on track.  This is great!

The Tutorials list is growing

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Sunflower Multi-dimensional Wall Art, Woven Pillow, and Quilt Sleeve Options and instructions were just added.

The Sunflower is printed on organza and there are many layers of texture.  This is quick and easy for the intermediate sewer.

The Woven Pillow is made using strips of scrap fabrics.  It’s embellished with stamps, markers, and fused applique.  Beginner.

The Quilt Sleeve Options explains some of the options I use depending on the hanging requirements.  It covers traditional and convenient options with explanations.

If you hover over “Tutorials” above in the black bar, all of the tutorials are listed in a drop down menu.

Getting Ready For Summer

I finished samples and wrote up the instructions for the Kids Sewing Club Summer session.  skull pillow0007We will be making:

  • Woven Pillow
  • Stripy Shoulder Bag
  • Simple Skirt
  • Multi-dimensional Wall Art

Kids Sewing Club runs 4 weeks: One 2 hour session per week.

For Adults

These are stand alone classes.

  • Beginner: Stripy Shoulder Bag
  • Intermediate: Sunflower Multi-dimensional Wall Art

Both are generally the same as in the kids classes depending on the comfort level of the participants.

We have 3 sewing machines for student use.

Classes are held at The Gallery School of Pottstown.  Summer scheduling is not up yet.

Silk!

I’m so excited!  I won some auctions on silk saris from India on eBay.  Gorgeous pinks, turquoise, dusty green, printed and woven with metallic threads.  They should arrive in early to mid march.  I’m so excited to work with them!

I’ll show them off when they get here! Smile

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