a crafty affair...

I plunged into the craft fair world last fall {and it has only taken me months and months to find a minute to blog about it!} For the past two years our Young Life area has put on a craft fair to raise money - crafters pay a fee for their booth space and a table; in turn they keep all the money they make. I learned a few things about craft fair's along the way:

1. the web, blogs, and pinterest have tons of GREAT information - steal it, take in all the vast knowledge and previous experience of those who have gone before you in the craft fair world. Here is a board I particularly loved.

2. it's really hard to have exactly what people want. years working in a LQS taught me that. people ooh and ahhh over the samples and beg to buy them, but when the same thing is up with a price tag on it, they are suddenly not so sure. i sold a decent amount of items, but went home with a moderately full car. any advice out there? is that pretty normal?

 3. designing a booth and props is fun! part of the crafting process for me was to create a little awning out of pvc pipe and some stands for display. i think presentation makes a big difference in sales {people really wanted to buy my props... see item #2 above}

4. people might not come with alot of money to spend. it seemed like this - and other fairs i have visited - are often visited by the casual browser and NOT the big spender. perhaps the ease of online shopping has made bigger purchases a little easier to shop for. i could be wrong, but most people are in the market for smaller dollar items - not the hand pieced and quilted queen size quilt or the hand hooked 100% wool room sized rug. buyers tend to plan for those items rather than see, have to have, and buy them on the spot.

5. enjoy it. though some use craft fairs as a primary income source, i look at it as a little extra fabric money and a chance to visit and get to know other crafters. {i think i spent most of my income at other booths}

I have included a few photos of my craft fair items to break up the text and give you some color to look at. Check out my etsy {the online craft fair} if you are interested in acquiring any of them. If you see a 'must have' in the booth picture at the top but not in my etsy, email me and I may still have 1 or 2 :)

a pinnie for your thoughts {round 2}...

 Something new on my blog - I know, it's a shock! Life has a way of getting busy, complicated, and overwhelming. There has been alot going on in my little corner of the world, life has been full and there has even been some crafty adventures happening {including my first craft fair booth!} If you're reading this, thanks for sticking with me.

My latest project has been round 2 of the Fab Little Pincushion Swap. Last round I made this owl and received this amazing little dog. I've said it before; I have a love/hate relationship with swaps. I love thinking up ideas, I love getting something from a new crafty friend, I love getting to know other crafters. I hate deciding if what I am sending will be loved by my partner. So after several drawings and drafts, this is the pinnie I decided on.

A real combination of my partners likes and my current bunting obsession. This was the first time I have tried my hand at wonky/free form log cabin triangles. Lots of fun picking out what piece of fabric would be highlighted in the center. The pictures make it hard to see, but there is a quilted cloud outline in the background. I made a couple of bird pin toppers {seemed fitting for the clouds}

Hope to have another post soon!

it's a zoo + finish-a-long...

My name is Heidi and I love vintage kitsch. There is my confession. I enjoy my small, but lovingly currated, collection of vintage pyrex. When we cleared out my grandparent's farm before auction, I picked the items no one else wanted {furniture with "character", bits of old fabric, christmas ornaments in disrepair, rusty bits and bobs}. When I saw the Indygo Junction patterns for these little circus performers, I knew my shelves needed them!

The elephant came first... I think he is adorable with his little stick legs. That sparkly bauble is a button salvaged from my grandma's house.

This little piggy went to the circus. The elephant and piggy are similar in construction. I really enjoy the decorating and detail work on them - choosing that perfect trim or paper for their hats.

Mouse in the house. She is just adorable. What's cropped out in this picture is a little pink balloon made out of paperclay. Paperclay is a wonderful air-dry clay that is easy to work with and acrylic paint friendly. If anyone has some great suggestions on how to store paperclay long term, I would love to hear them. I don't use it often enough and it seems I am always throwing some dried-out bits away no matter how many ziploc bags I use.

Monkey see monkey do. I love this little juggler - again with the help of paperclay! In case you wondered what the rest of the monkey {& mouse} look like, here is a full photo. The legs are pipecleaners wrapped with floral tape and then painted - a new technique for me!

This post is two-fold: I wanted to show off my circus folks, but also share with you the Finish-A-Long happening over at Quilter in the Gap. I have long talked about my box of unfinished objects {UFOs}. Each quarter you share what you plan to finish, link up to her site, then add links to your finished projects at the end of 3 months. I'm excited to get to work + there are great prizes at the end of each round! Worst case scenario, I get some work done! So my first hope-to-finish is the last 2 circus animals that I want to make - a lion and a horse {possibly a unicorn}. I have all of the supplies out to make them - even little legs and arms all painted up for Mr. Lion. But these little guys are pretty time consuming with all their details.

Next up is this wreath. I had grand plans to get it finished in February for valentine's day. I want to make a variety of felt flowers just like I did for the Christmas wreath I made.

My last hope-to-finish is the binding on this queen sized quilt. I don't want to reveal too much until I am completely finished.

I hope you are enjoying Spring - it always seems like the best time of year for a fresh start!

months gone by [in the nittany block party]...

Yes, I am a little behind in SHOWING my blocks for the past many moons from the Nittany Block Party, but I am happily on time with FINISHING them :) I'm not sure why a whole month to sew one block always seems like a stretch. Given the right month, I could probably push out a whole bed sized quilt. For me, it seems like there is always a bit of anxiety that comes with making a block for someone else - if it is a creative task, there is always the question of the other persons taste; if it is a 'make this block' month, I am worried about the limited amount of fabric provided in the event of an oops moment. I feel quite accomplished to be getting my blocks on their merry way home on time and in the correct month. April's block for Tracy - using THIS tutorial. Great block, definitely testing my hst skillz. May's block for Freida - love how the coal kona sets off all of those little colorful prints! The hst inquisition continues. June's block for Amanda - using THIS tutorial. Beautiful, simple... and, yes, filled with hst's! July's block for Jessica - using THIS tutorial. Definitely a new one for me. I really enjoyed building this one [even if it did end up 1/4" off - seriously not sure how that happened, perhaps something to do with not having a 'true' 1/4" seam allowance and tons of seams] I was up in August and I cannot wait to show you more of that project :) Block swaps are wonderful ways to connect with fellow crafters and to learn new skills! If you haven't joined in on the action, I would suggest you check out this flickr group. Remember not to over-commit; start out with one bee and make sure that you can keep up with that one.

aaahh! not real monsters...

* no monsters were harmed in the making of these pillows :)
Following my last post, I am fairly certain my grandma never made any monster pillows.

I came up with these guys on my own - using the faux fur as inspiration. I can't figure out which one I like best - though the one with glasses bares a striking resemblance to my husband :)

I'm calling these guys book buddies [at least that's the name I have arrived at for now]. Great for old and young alike, the pocket in the back is the perfect stash for a newspaper, crafty inspiration book, or a favorite Little Golden Book. They are up for grabs in my etsy.

not your grandma's crafter...

Last week me and my friend Jordan went to see Death Cab for Cutie [and it was amazing!!]. I have seen Death Cab and Weezer in concert now, so I think I may just be good for the rest of my life. This is what I have been thinking this week...

My ipod is littered with the likes of Death Cab, Weezer, Mumford & Sons, Imogen Heap, MGMT, Edward Sharpe...
I get inspiration from indie [and indie-ish] films like Life Aquatic and Amelie...
My bff wears skinny jeans and has a feather in her hair...
I use words like bff, stellar, and occasionally epic...
I'm like this [picture middle finger crossed over index finger] with my imac...
Photoshop is my friend...
I have never met most of my quilty friends in real life, I know them through flickr and blogger...

In the words of my friend Wolf Boy 'this is me, this is who I am, this is real life!'


I like to watch Portlandia...
[and I like to put birds on things]

I am not my grandma's crafter, but it is cool to be connected through an art form to generations past.

spring has sprung...

Yep, spring sprung, and sprang out of here! I feel like my poor neglected blog missed a season. My sewing crafting space, however, was certainly active place to be. A combination inspiration and the need to save some pennies led to a few creations I sold through my etsy and my lqs. Pinnies have proven quite addictive. I found these egg cups and knew just what they were destined for.


It is always fun to dig through the scrap box and dig out the perfect little piece of leftover fabric and the button that adds a little extra.

Another find was this 9 compartment egg tray, it is still under construction :)

The spring line up doesn't stop there - I was looking through some vintage homemaker magazines and found this little applique pattern. Hubby doesn't quite get pink birds, but I enjoyed mixing up the colors.


I hope your spring was a memorable one - I have lots to show and tell!

owl be watching you...

Part of what has kept me off the grid is that much of my crafting energies were focused on top secret Christmas gifts. We had a spa/relaxation themed gift exchange for work. I whipped up this little owl sleeping mask. The inspiration for this mask came from a crochet version. Since the only thing I can do with yarn is knit a very simple scarf, I made my version using wool felt and backing it with terry cloth [from a washcloth].

I made a little net bag to hold some goodies from Bath & Body Works. I hope my exchange partner enjoys it!

Even Sophia likes to be a little night owl...

falling off the face of the earth...

I'm still around - even if my online persona has been mia for quite a while now! Again real life has taken me away from my computer. Between the holidays, pre-classwork, a masters level course intensive, and being stuck in Georgia any spare moment has been filled. Rest assured, my crafting addiction has not taken a holiday. I have projects to complete, pictures to upload and edit, and lots to post about and share in the coming days. Above is the final block for the Block Swap I was a part of in 2010. I joined in on the Nittany Block Party and my first fabrics have arrived - can't wait to get back into the swing of things!

How do you keep up with posting when life gets crazy?

hemishperes quilt...

I added another one to the needs-quilted pile! I started this quilt months ago, but lost a little momentum along the way. Following this tutorial over on cluck cluck sew, I used my handy dandy circle ruler with my rotary cutter.

This block goes together pretty quickly - there is alot of waste left over from trimming the excess fabric off the back of the quadrants. I'm not sure what to do with a million or so [not uniform] triangles.

I used up nearly all of my coveted bubbles in gray by Kaffe Fassett. I wanted to add on a border but couldn't find any additional yardage [that wasn't $20+/yard].

When I finished the individual blocks I was just not thrilled with the way they looked right next to one another. I am not sure if it was the fabrics I chose or what, it just looked too dark. Then a serendipitous moment, when I layed the blocks out on my sewing table I loved the off-white of the table separating the blocks. Enter Kona in bone... Sashing proved to be the perfect solution.

I would love to have it quilted with swirls in the circles and some kind of grid quilting or pebbles in the sashing. I have still not had any luck finding a machine quilter. Many of the quilters I have contacted don't do the free hand work and some I have emailed haven't responded at all! Do you have any recommendations for a quality quilter at a reasonable price??

of benedryl & pillows...

Oh the agony of sick days... If I were to be forced to take nearly a week off of life, I would have preferred to be able to function! I mean how much fun is a week off where you can't manage to even sew?! [I think missing my sewing machine may even have made me sicker] But I am back in action [mostly]. I wanted to show you the latest addition to my pillow obsession. Meet the crabby pillow!

Inspired by the Caribbean. We have many grand adventures while cruising, some more comical than others. At one of the beaches, they had these collapsible 'tents' for shade. So we picked one up and when we did the tiniest, and daintiest of crabs wandered out. Surely, as a lover of nature and crabs, I lept for joy and scooched in for a closer look.... umm no, I squealed fearing certain death if it came near.

This crabby pillow is much more cuddly. I am very proud of my original design. He was a time consuming little number. I made about a billion half square triangles to make up the zig-zag wave. It was lots of fun to use up a bunch of scraps: Summer in the City, Amy Butler, Flights of Fancy, and MoMo coupled with kona in bone. Then the million lines of zig-zag quilting :)

I was disappointed to have to miss out on this round of the Pillow Talk Swap... Just too many other life commitments this time of year. But if my crabby pillow has peaked your interest, and you are looking for more pillows - check out the flickr group!

berni's work wear...

With my craft space all decked out, Berni [my Bernina 1008] has a new home sitting flush with the my sewing table. This means that the on-the-go cover that I made is now too long. What can a girl do but stitch up a fab new cover?

This one is kind of special. The patchwork is actually a little quilt top that was rescued from the trash before my grandma's farm was auctioned. I just added a few more strips of fabric to make it the appropriate length. It is so fun to look at some of the colors and patterns and see how modern they look. I layered it with a warm and natural scrap and a fun repro print, quilted it, then bound it and used some twill tape/rug binding to make ties.

Don't look too close, this is my first time using a walking foot - I felt like this should be soooo simple, but tackling the walking foot is a bit of a challenge to me. Some stitches are super tight while others are really long. A skill in process for sure!

One of the great things about it is it fits over the back of my chair when I am working in there. Handy - one less thing on my sewing table is ALWAYS a good thing :)

I woke up to a white lawn this morning! Last night I did some baking and couldn't resist putting on some Christmas music; there must have been something in the air!

btw: I am still in need of a couple of pattern testers for Berni's New Digs sewing pattern... Let me know if you are interested and I will send you the pattern!