ahhh... sweet productivity!

so i made another (and far more successful) attempt at the wallet. the denim one on the right was first tonight... then i realized that it was FAR TOO THICK for a wallet- that's why it looks like it's been stuffed. i then decided to make the outer cover part denim and make the inside patterned. this worked MUCH better... the denim makes for a good sturdy cover.

this is just a better picture of all the bows i made last night... how cute is some of that ribbon?
and i made a bunch more headbands tonight as well. i think these are the cutest things ever! if people at the indie market don't buy them, i will be rocking them like crazy!
other than that, i've been a bit crabby on this diet... i'm hoping for a better tomorrow. i had 2.5 points left today! that's nothing short of a miracle!!!

oh yeah, and i'm SUPER excited to go see my man jay-z and mary j blige at the hsbc arena tomorrow... you never know, maybe tomorrow i will be posting a pic of jay and i!!! :)

burnt finger tips and ugly fabric...

so i have had this pattern for wallets for quite some time now... missy (our jambo coordinator) gave it to me. she had told me that it was super easy, blah blah blah. i'm not sure why, but i thought it would be time consuming and a titch more difficult than it was. it actually only took me 25 minutes to make (including cut out time). i forgot to get velcro, so i had to sew on a snap. i think the next time i will either do the velcro, or perhaps a magnetic snap.

can you believe how hideous this fabric is? for some reason, in the store, i thought it was kind of cool. yeah, it's not. it's down right ugly. oh well, i didn't want to use good fabric in case i jacked it all up or anything. and the bow... again, didn't want to waste cute stuff... if you can look beyond the ugliness of the fabric and non-matching ribbon, it's a super cute wallet! i still can't believe how easy it was to make. i will be cranking these little suckers out now!

burnt finger tips? you may ask... well, tonight i continued to make ribbon barrettes. instead of the sticky dots i used yesterday (which i had to go over because they peeled), i decided to use my little hot glue gun. for those of you who have used one before you will completely understand... for those of you who may have never used a hot glue gun, you don't know what you're missing (in both a good and bad way)! it bonds just about ANYTHING together... but it also burns the fingerprints right off of your skin and leaves little glue strings EVERYWHERE! anyhoo, my finger tips are burnt to crap and i (as well as my room) are COVERED in glue strings. well worth it though, i think the barrettes turned out adorable!

one last thing... today is day 2 of weight watchers, i'm not gonna lie, i have had some SERIOUS hunger angst today. knowing that i have to watch what i'm eating is KILLING me! i'm an eater, what can i say? it's what i like to do. :) we will see how it goes. i'm hoping the hunger angst goes away REAL soon... even i can't stand my own crabbiness! :)

something new!

so today i decided to try something new. i used (ok, kind of stole) tina's barrette idea, but made them on "big girl" barrettes. then i decided to give some headbands a whirl... i sat in the living room, watching house (quite possibly one of the best shows on tv right now), glueing barrettes and headbands, and RAVING about how cute they are! gerry just rolls his eyes and repeatedly assures me that they really are SO cute (as he stares at the tv, waiting for house to go to a commercial so he can flip through the channels to watch bits and pieces of dirty jobs and ultimate fighting). he's not really too reassuring but...

i just thought that these coordinating ribbons were to die for... i might enjoy buying ribbon as much as i enjoy buying fabric! i know those are some strong words... i have SO much ribbon that i have bought with no purpose other than to look cute. i figured some day i would put them to good use! thank goodness that day has finally come.

then i realized that i was out of glue... how earth shattering! i was really getting into the groove of these things. but fear not my friends, i have 2 more coupons and will be stopping tomorrow on my way home from work to grab some more glue... and i'm thinking a few more headbands and barrettes!

so that's about it for now. today started my OFFICIAL first day of weight watchers... my mind told me all day that i was starving and would never make it through. actually though, it was a lot easier than i thought it would be... but ask me again in a few days! :)

i'm a slacker.

so after i finished my ill fitting dress earlier this week, i have accomplished nothing. i have been waiting for my d rings and magnetic snaps in the mail... well, the d rings came in. they are TINY!!! oh well, i will have to figure something out to do with them... any suggestions?
anyway, my next atempt for this weekend ( probably tonight as a matter of fact) is wallets. my fellow jambo girl missy gave me a pattern (yes, i know, a pattern...) for a cute wallet. i'm hoping to figure it out and whip out a bunch of them this weekend. here's hoping! let's enjoy the last weekend of summer-like weather for a while...

oh yeah, not that anyone cares but i'm now officially a weight watchers member. i did it online this morning. i just can not stand fitting into NOTHING i own any more... plus if one more student tells me i'm getting fat (or telling me i have a "pillow belly", or that i'm getting "thicker") again, i'm going to cry! wish me luck! :)

oh yeah again, and on my last post when i was begging for responses, i found out that there was a problem in the way i had my blog set up that made it next to impossible to leave a comment. andrew (tina's husband and my computer "mastermind") fixed it for me. thanks andrew! :)
so you know what that means??? comment away!!! :)

so it's not exactly figure flattering...

well, here it is folks... my first dress. *** (see footnote)
it is lined with muslin and i put ribbon details on the shoulders. now you must understand that the sizing here is a complete guessing game. since i made up the pattern of the dress, i had to also make up the sizing as well. i would try it on, pin it in various spots, hope i pinned it right, cut, sewed it back together, and tried it on again. then repeated and repeated and repeated these steps...
it started as a serious mumu. it's better now, but still a bit mumu-y. not ready for kasey's wedding yet, but we will see what happens... i may have to break down and actually buy a (gasp) pattern! i'm now stubbornly set on making my own dress for her wedding. luckily kasey (and my date laura) love me no matter how mumu-y my dress is! at least i hope! :)

*** ok, first of all the dress is NOT flattering. second, i have gained QUITE A BIT of weight lately. third, that picture was taken by me, (with the timer) after a REALLY long day both at work and at home with the kids. this is my very pathetic attempt at explaining why i look so icky in the picture.

ps- is anyone reading this blog? if you are giving me a few minutes of your time to read my blabbering, can you please leave me a comment? negative or positive... i don't care! i just want to know that someone other than tina is reading this! ;)

moving on... :)

so the curtains are FINALLY done! i finished them up last night... thank goodness!

so now i have started my new adventure...trying to create a pattern for a sundress. i have some super cute fabric to make my dress, but i am starting with muslin until i get it right. well, let's just say that the first attempt looked more like a mumu. i took it in a bit and it looked a titch less tent-ish, but it was still REALLY big.
i took it in one more time and went straight to bed. i have yet to try it on again, becuase i knew i would never go to sleep if it still didn't fit right. so, i really hope that when i go home today and try that sucker on that it fits. i REALLY want to get it done so that i can wear it while the weather is still beautiful.

then here is my REAL intention... i want to make myself a dress for my girl kasey's wedding. i have a few super cute silks that i would LOVE to tackle! we'll see what happens! ;)



oh yeah, and i need to get to work on more bags for the indie market! i am waiting for my d rings and magnetic snaps to get going!

nice weather= no sewing

so who can sit in the house and sew on such a beautiful weekend??? not this girl! I had every intention of finishing those damn curtains, but the sun was calling me outside! cooking out, having a few beers, and a bon fire was just far too tempting! but now, there is no choice but to git er done. my in law's house is going on the market thursday and the curtains are a necessity. have i mentioned how much i hate these curtains?

so last night i oiled my sewing machine for the first time. you must understand that ever since i got my machine for xmas, every time i use it, gerry asks me if i have oiled it yet. "the key to making a motor run properly, is to keep it well lubricated" is what i have heard for months now. so my stubbornness overwhelmed me and i never oiled it. well, last night i decided that it was time to oil my machine... i had NO idea what i was doing. i was dripping oil on whatever moved inside that thing. afterwards i began sewing (those curtains) again... when gerry walked in to see what i was doing, i told him that i had just finished oiling my machine. his response??? "i knew it sounded like it was running smoother". give me a break!

wow, could curtains be any more boring to make???

so with all that super cute fabric staring at me, just BEGGING me to make something great with them, i decided that i really need to get these curtains done so that i can get down to business!



i have 10 curtains in 3 different sizes to make. marcia bought 2 different fabrics... a plain blue polyester (it reminds me of the material that cheerleader briefs are made from... i was NOT a cheerleader, but my sister and best friend were), and another blue and lime green floral material that is kind of sheer. the blue polyester sews great... the floral stuff? that's another story. it twists, bunches, moves and grooves and will simply not allow a straight seam. now you are probably thinking, not a big deal right? in the "normal" part of my brain i know it ISN'T a big deal. they are curtains to cover some shelves in the basement of the house my in-laws are selling... they will probably be torn down as soon as the new people move in. but then there is the crazy OCD part of my brain that can not accept such inferior work. so how will i deal with it? i made 3 of the 10 tonight which i will take over to their house tomorrow to see (and hope) that they look ok when hung up in a dark basement. i'm trying to get over these things...



and finally, here she is... my good ole' cheap-o singer. she was on sale at target for $69 and sews like a dream! (i just said "sews like a dream"... wow.) then there is tina's machine... quite a bit more expensive and frankly, it's a lemon. am i right t? all i know is that i have been very happy with my little singer. i have yet to name her... although she is often referred to as some sort of expletive. if anyone has a suggestion, i'm all ears :)

where do i start???

so this is (a small part of) my fabric stash.

now here we are, done with our first indie market, with the next indie market looming in the not so distant future. you may be wondering what exactly i plan on doing with all that fabric huh? well i will tell you...



the 2 black and white fabrics & the green flowered, red flowered, and white flowered will become some fabulous purses- the turquoise with pink flowers will become some super cute grocery bags- that pink plaid is some amazing silk that i'm hoping will become a dress to wear to my girl kasey's wedding -the tan-ish with the white leaves is (hopefully) going to become a sundress for me, as well as the black, red, white and yellow stuff that you can barely see on the end. then there is some nice heavy denim in there that will become wallets, i have about 13 yards of fabric to make my mother in law some curtians for her cupboards in the basement, and i have a bag with fabric to make my aunt-in-law (if that is such a thing) a purse.



wow. i'm tired just from typing all of that, now imagine trying to make it all! i don't know where to start! well actually, the curtains are first... only because my in-law's house goes on the market next week and they need those curtains asap. after that? no clue! i want to make everything at once! i'm excited to get sewing again... since i have taken a break the past few days. no more breaks though...



so, in conclusion, i moved my "sewing center" back upstairs tonight. it was upstairs originally, then i wanted it in the basement in front of the big tv and near the iron. now i want to be back upstairs because i feel like a hermit down in the basement. yes it's nice to have peace and quiet to work in, but hey... i hate silence, it freaks me out! so, back upstairs i went. i had about 47 different bags/ ziplocs/ tupperware containers of things to move... no big deal. then i had to move the chair and table that i work on, again no big deal. THEN i had to move my big table where i do all my cutting out. let's just say that clay was trying to help, but even he looked skeptical in my abilities to move that table. he kept telling me "just wait til my dad gets home... he can move it just fine! he's so strong ya know!" which fueled my stubborn ass to move it myself and show him how strong i am. i did it! ok so i was grunting and struggling like crazy, but i did it! clay helped me move some of my fabric but then was "too tired" to do any more. clay fell asleep in my bed as i got my OCD "sewing center" all set up again.

*** oh yeah, fyi, i had a funny picture on here that i took of clay last night when i finally took him up to bed. he was completely passed out with his hand jammed down his pants (like all males do!) but alas, after some advisement, i decided to take the picture off my blog. there are WAY too many sickos out there. kinda sad that a silly picture could be taken in such a disgustingly disturbing way. my question is... WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE???

first indie market down...

date: saturday april 12, 2008
time: 10:45am
place: pearl street grill & brewery- buffalo indie market
so here we were... finally all set up... giggling like absolute nutballs! tina and i both giggle like crazy when we are nervous... let's just say we couldn't stop!






we borrowed a screen from tina's mom and covered it with some sheer curtains (that tina's mom got at a garage sale). we hung bags, dresses etc. from the screen and even from screws in the walls! tina's mom also hooked us up with some stand kind of things, not to mention she has given us about 47 million excellent ideas! i tip my hat to good ole' grace... what would we do without her? on that note, i must also tip my hat to tina's hubby andrew. he has helped us with just about everything since the day we decided to start sewing together... and he is very patient when tina and i talk 47 times a day!













it pretty much looked like a fabric explosion at our table! the people to our left had fancy lit up displays with cool rocks and chunks of wood. the ladies to our right had all kinds of stands etc. as well to showcase their stuff. we on the other hand... we rocked the fabric explosion!







so, all in all, it was a success. once we got over our nervousness, we had a blast! a few delicious blue-eyed blueberry blondes (aka the most DELICIOUS beer i have ever tasted!) from the bar, not to mention their killer loaded pub fries and we were happy campers! we sold a bunch of our things, learned a LOT about the craft selling life, and most importantly... had a great time! we are looking forward to next month's market... i have SO MUCH WORK TO DO!!!!! but don't let me fool you, i love it! :)

i think we are market ready!

so... i had a REALLY cute sign all painted up tonight. clay stood by my side oohing and ahhing as i painted the sign for our table. it looked fabulous! then i ran outside to grab myself a celebratory beer from the garage. when i came back inside, there were mysterious smears across the canvas that i had just finished painting. when i asked clay if he had touched my painting, he said "maybe... but you can just paint over that stuff with white mom!" if only it were that easy! so now, the sign for our table tomorrow looks like this... crap.







and then come the new "supplies" needed for the market. cute bags, tissue paper, a cute pink sparkly thing to keep money in, a cool little dish to display my cards in, and most importantly... NEW PENS! i don't know about anyone else, but i thoroughly enjoy new pens. they give me a feeling of pride, newness, and excitement. i think it's a reminiscence for me of starting off the school year with fresh school supplies. each september you would have new supplies and a new outlook on your educational career... and then november hits, and your organization kick and new supplies are all used up. but by golly, for that first month or two, you are feeling good, feeling organized, and LOVING your new, fresh notebooks, folders, and pens!











lastly, here is most of the stock of stuff i will be taking with me to the market tomorrow. a gazillion bags! every shape, every size, every fabric. no two are exactly alike! what you get from me is genuine one of a kind bags... probably because every time i make something i am trying something new! :) well, wish us luck! tina and i will be ready to rock by 11am when the market opens... hope to see you there!

it's crunch time!!!

ok, the buffalo indie market is tomorrow morning... i still have a LOT to do! i'm not gonna lie, i'm starting to seriously panic! i have so much stuff to do to get ready for tomorrow and i don't know where to start! i have procrastinated all week long. i have done NOTHING for the show... but i have a new blog set up. i have been playing (and i'm sorry to brag, but beating) tina's husband at online mastermind. i have been watching a lot of tv... what is wrong with me? every night i talk to tina and she is doing things, getting ready... and what am i doing? NOTHING productive! i guess i'm up for a busy night tonight! well, hope to see people there... cherry wheat beer, here i come! :)

a little better...

ok, so my blog already looks so much better (andrew the computer wizard even said so!) i had a few problems with the template that tina had to help me with, but then i did the rest all by myself like a big girl!

i'm excited to have my own space to ramble on about things... i will try my hardest to keep this blog relating to sewing, but i have to warn you that i tend to go off on tangents and random trains of thought sometimes.

like this morning, i was thinking... i think that the most fullfilling part of being a truck driver has to be the excitement you see in the faces of kids in passing busses (or even family mini-vans) pumping their arms waiting to hear the truck honk. if i were a truck driver i would scan every vehicle i drove past to check and see if there are any arms pumping for honks... i bet a lot of truckers do do this even though they may not admit it!

well folks (that is if anyone other than tina and andrew are actually reading this) i'm bouncing... there is a LOT to do before the buffalo indie market saturday (this is the shirt i kind of made up to wear for the show)... i hate being a procrastinator!

Let's get it started...

ok... i'm trying really hard to get this whole thing set up. tina and i shared our gigglepigs blog (which will continue to entertain everyone with our witty comments). her husband andrew is the computer guy and set everything up for us. well, without his computer wizardry, i am not so fancy... yet! i promise to work on it and make this fantastic asap!