I’ve Moved! (blogs, that is)
I’ve moved from this blog to my newer wordpress-based blog at www.sewfussy.com . It’s still kind of a work in progress, and slow going, but I’m working as fast as I can (which isn’t very fast, unfortunately.)
Wanna update your bookmarks and links? 
moonbeams package design
Cat at babyjewels on etsy has done it again! She developed some beautiful graphics for me a few months ago so I commissioned her again for a little product packaging design work.
Up until now, each pair of my Moonbeam nursing pads was coupled with a printed 4 x 5 info sheet and placed in a small plastic bag. Cat came up with this brilliant design below, which combines the two functions into one neat piece, using cut cardstock to hold each pair of pads. Also smart, there’s a place to punch a hole so that these can easily be hung in a brick and mortar store. Isn’t it perfect!?!
(She also worked up a fabulous design for the Moonbow cloth pads but I haven’t gotten to take any pictures of them yet. )
I’m always surprised at how fast she works, especially since it would have taken me ten times as long to finish this project on my own, if I finished at all. And anyone that can put up with my picky obsessiveness is a keeper.
Thank you Cat!!! I’m sure I’ll be back to request your services again, so ya better hide! ;P
Betsy Ross Raglan Top 011 (quickie)
I am so behind on this, but I had Bill take a fast picture of me in my wrinkly, unhemmed (cause that’s the way I like it) jersey knit raglan top made from the Betsy Ross pattern that I talked about a little while ago. I was also having him take some overdue sexy jean mono-butt shots to send to Kathleen, since I won the jeans contest she had back in April. These aren’t the jeans I won, by the way…
I finished this top and another one made from poplin and cotton shirting before we left for our trip, but I was so busy getting everything tied up I couldn’t post about it. Even now, all I can do is post a pic and run. Well no, I guess I can spend a few minutes typing.
Of the two versions (my jersey knit one above and the cotton woven one not pictured) I prefer the top above. I think the sleeves look better on me in the drapey, fluid fabric, and I also like my gray/black color combo better than the light blue/silver combo I used. It’s a cute shirt, and I’m sure it would look even better if I would take the time to finish the hems but I like it plenty as it is. I had trouble trying to hem the sleeves of the woven one because they are so bell-shaped, so I may just do a rolled hem or let it fray, which I also like – but not with this style of top. The only other thing i will note about this pattern is that the neck facing is super wide, which makes it easier to sew in, but annoying to wear because on my shirts the facings are always flopping up into my face and I have to adjust quite a bit when dressing. I think one could hand stitch the facing to the shirt all the way around or just through the raglan sleeve seams, or do like I did and cut it close to the topstitching once it’s all sewn in. And I didn’t read the BR pattern instructions much so it could address the facings in there somewhere!
See? Quickie!
candy wrapper recycling
During our cruise one of the ports of call was Cozumel, Mexico. I got to snorkel (for the first time ever!) in the beautifully clear waters but we also had enough time to shop the little touristy market shops clustered about the pedestrian path that leads to all of the cruise ships. I bought vanilla and some annoyingly functional wooden flutes for my girls – hand painted and only a dollar each – but the most interesting find was this little handbag made from recycled/rescued wrappers. The purse actually smells like candy, so I don’t know if I should be grossed out or if I should consider it a sign that it was meant to be mine, considering my unhealthy affair with sweets, but isn’t it interesting? I mean, I love the concept even if its implementation results in a piece that is mildly tacky looking. Maybe I mean “gaudy” and/or “kitschy” but I really don’t know.
It appears that the only non-wrapper piece within the bag is the zipper, as there’s no lining on the inside.
I don’t think I’ll ever actually use my bag, but when I saw it I just had to take it home with me. I paid $10 for this little gem, but you can find bags and accessories made using the same concept (albeit more expensive than my Mexican souvenir) at this site, which I happened to find a few days ago. I think I’m interested in one of these headbands (boring white is my pick.) Oh wait, I think you need hair to wear headbands, right? Foiled by boy hair…
playing catch-up
It’s been so long since I’ve posted, I wonder if anybody reads the blog anymore!
We are finally back home from family trip #1 and I’m trying to get myself into the groove. It’s always difficult to completely disconnect from daily life for a period of time and then come back and have things return to exactly the way they were before.
My family and I were out of town for over a week and I had exactly six minutes of internet time (most of which was spent loading pages on gmail over the slowest freaking connection on the seas.) Actually, it was surprisingly easy to be disconnected. I was worried because I am a serious workaholic – I love to make things and be productive and buzz around doing whatever I do- but a week of visiting with a large party ( 18 ) of immediate family members on a cruise ship was pretty sweet. I only wish that the weeks preceding and following the cruise didn’t have to be so stressful!
So I’m home and trying to gear up to sew for the biz, but I’ve been reluctant to turn my machines on. Sewing block? Whatever you call it, when it happens I must put business sewing on hold and make something for myself or the girls, so I spent July 4th making myself cute underwear! Doesn’t that sound thrilling? But it really was fun… and I now have some of my very own women’s-sized panty patterns that I’m totally excited about, so maybe I’ll offer fun panties for sale in the near future. Of course new ones, sillies!
Next on the agenda: clear out my “fussy folder” by stocking some of these pads. Just looking at the entire contents of the folder is overwhelming, but when I get to the photos at the end I’m reminded of exactly why I do what I do. I really am fortunate to be able to work from home and hang out with the family as much as I do. (*insert lots of love*)
Enjoy the (partial) contents of the “fussy folder!” Hopefully you’ll see most of these things on my website this week. I wonder, how much I should charge for the two girlies?
Li loves me, Li loves me not
Last week I got the most exciting package from my friend Li, who lives in Malaysia and runs Tiny Tapir (formerly Fem Choices.) She had seen my post about Bill’s candy offerings after his trip to Mongolia + Korea and was thoughtful enough to send me my favorites from that batch, plus new ones that she thought I might like based on my preferences. (You are AWESOME, Li!) She was spot on with her guesses, too… I think I love the new ones she picked out even more than my previous favorites.
After spending a few days with this treasure chest of temptation (sent in a recycled, previously used USPS box, y’all) I can’t help but wonder if she secretly wanted to fatten me up or send me to the dentist… but hey, one or two less teeth just means that I won’t be able to eat as much and therefore won’t keep the weight on for long. The evil plan has been foiled!
One of the things that I appreciate about Asian candy in general is the packaging, but in this case even the candy itself is… interesting… to say the least.
The little trees that resemble mushrooms came from the tree-decorated bag below (in a most awesome color scheme, I have to add.) They taste just like a twix without the caramel. I wish I hadn’t finished them so quickly. Check out the tree stumps in the bottom picture – hilarious!
Everything is delicious – it all honestly tastes as good as it looks. I lustfully dream about the day the next shipment will arrive… in fact, I’m about to drown in a pool of drool and tears. We went through this batch in about three days and I’m so sad. (Now, now, we have plenty left. I’m only trying to give Li a shock, I’m not quite *that* much of a piggy! Close, though…)
almost 500 of these things
I promise it would have been more impressive if I could have taken a single shot of every single pad that I’ve made in the past few weeks, but they wouldn’t all fit in the frame. There are over 300 in the shots below, even though it doesn’t look to be that many. All that are missing from the shots below are around 80 more waiting to have snaps applied, 100 in envelopes heading across the country and even across the ocean, and a few dozen that I sent out earlier in the week.
Now I’ve just got to do a little bit of finish work on these before catching up on diaper orders!
Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I will be stocking at Necessitae this Thursday, May 15. I have a collaboration or two in the works with OBB Diapers and another one with Morwenna at Mosaic Moon, and later in the month I’ll be listing an unbelievably sweet girly knit top from Kimberly R paired with Fussybutt organic wool bloomers. Ack, I have a lot of work to do before Thursday…
time out? wishful thinking.
I just have to state, for the record, that I have never been so busy as I am right now. I don’t even want to get into specifics, because it’s bedtime here and if I start actually listing all of the things I have to get done in the next week I won’t be able to sleep (and I already have serious insomnia issues). Just trust me when I say it’s lots of stuffies.
I finally got my repaired serger back after a week, but they couldn’t fix the good sewing machine so I had to drive across town and drop it at a different dealer. Meanwhile, I’m sewing boatloads of pads with a machine that is less than half as fast as what I’m used to. I guess I’m a bit spoiled, it’s hard to be without the speed!
But because I’m sitting behind my snail-speed machine doing tons of mindless stitching I have plenty of time to dream about all of the things I want to work on when I clear my unwritten task list. A dress for Zella, more pants for Anya, pajamas for both, panties for myself (reowr! just kidding, not sexy ones!), adult-sized skirts, plain tees for my summer wardrobe which I desperately need, and so on.
I will have to restrain myself but in the meantime I can look forward to receiving a purchase I just made today. Awww yeah, keep reading.
Any regular reader of my blog probably realizes I am a big fan of Betsy Ross patterns. I’ve previously reviewed the Girlie Dress and the Retro Coat (which now appears to be called “Cropped Coat” – I assume that means the longer coat option has been removed from the pattern pieces. Aimee? How come?) and have been patiently waiting for her new Raglan Blouse #011 pattern to be listed. Now my wait is over! But to my surprise, there were two new patterns listed, not just the one I was expecting.
Apparently , the “It’s a Cinch” sundress #013 is a breeze to make because there are no zippers or fasteners to fuss with. Doesn’t it look comfortable? I wanted to get both patterns but I held myself back and just got the raglan blouse, specifically because I love the sleeves and it looks like something I would wear often.
The dress pattern can be found here, the blouse pattern here. I can’t wait to get mine in the mail and try it out. I don’t suppose anyone is up for a little sew-along?
bubble
A few weeks ago Bill got a balloon sample for his Korean Pavilion project (which we’re still not sure that they will build or not due to budget issues). I guess I didn’t realize there was such a thing as five foot balloons! Unfortunately, the sucker popped after full a night outside.
The pictures here are of said balloon with a colored LED inserted. It was impossible to get pictures since we don’t have a tripod, but these are the best ones.
(view from inside the family room)
