A mini vaction from posting, now to the madness

And now time it has been way too long since I have reported to my blog. Really sometimes things just get away from you. I spent some of the time I neglected to post lost in a new book series. It's nice to still be able to spend a weekend reading. As many have pointed out it is probably best to do as much as I can now, because when Alan and I have kids, that time just won't be there any longer. But for now it's nice every now and again.

Last week I spent putting in every second of sewing I could. Leggings leggings and more leggings, but in all it payed off. There was a party locally on Saturday and over the weekend I sold about 20 pair of those leggings I was working so hard on. It's nice to work your tail off and feel like it actually payed off. I have had those times where I've worked my butt off and taken all the goods I worked so hard on and then..... nothing. It happens, it sucks but I have gotten pretty good at taking the good and the bad.

 Today I have my apprentice coming over, work through a pile of cut leggings I spent the weekend on. Also maybe a few plushrooms, they are still generating attention, but not the reaction I was hoping for at Things That Glow. I think it's because they are hidden on top of a shelf, but oh well, maybe in time I will be able to find a better home for them and get an angle on the market that best fits these cute little plushies.

Well time to finish getting ready for a super busy day. Apprentice over till about 3 when I have to leave to go teach a private lesson. When I'm done and home around 6pm I get to make dinner and then get ready for a consultation at about 8pm. I figure we will be working on his designs for the burn season till about 9 or 10. After all that time I get to settle down and go to bed. The joy is I get to follow up this crazy day at a long work day at the fabric store. I already can't wait for Thursday, no wait, I have a Dr. apt. Grrr this is just going to be one of those weeks.

Fuzzy Dreams

Spring Mind Cleaning

I've been very dusty and scattered. Just as I feel like I'm starting to clear up, I hit a bump and it all goes all over the place again. There are so many things that seem to be going good and going right, yet I can't  seem to clean up and organize so I can really attack spring and life head on. I have my Plushrooms which are great and seem to be picking up some interest and I have my coffee cozys that keep popping into my head. These are fun and multi-functional and I really need to get back to making them. Then there is my standard need to keep up on leggings and to add to it all, there is a very good chance that in the next few months, if all goes good, I will need to significantly increase my local stock for Things That Glow (info to follow when things either start to happen or not, don't want to get too excited)

So with all this going on I also have the desire to create a patchwork fur coat, expand and create more vests and hats and such, and burn season is looming. I expect to have many custom orders, getting ready for sales and bazzarrs and a peddle art car to create or at least decorate for Alan and I. I love Spring I really do the weather gets nice and I get more engery, but oh do I get busy.

The real fun is with Alan and my desire to start a family I need to try to remember to first stop relax and move. I want to have a garden and need to get moving more, but really is hard to leave the machine and the piles of projects I have going. So what do you do to remind yourself to take care of yourself? It is something I've never really been good at and when you work at home work is all around you. When you choose not to work it is there staring you in the face making you feel bad. Because  when I don't work there is no money coming in on my part. Even when I do work I struggle so I really don't feel like I can stop.

Well now, I got it all out. Now it is time for me to clean up, do some house work and soon Alan will be home and we will have to turn around and leave to go to a nifty work function for him. It really seems like it could be fun, but in many ways I still wish I could hide at home. What is it with me? I need to get out more, oh well, that is an issue for another day.

I will start ending posts with my favorite items in my stock up for sale.

This fabulous reversible black scaled fur coat has a greenish gold flame brocade and black shag hood and cuffs. As with all my coats it has 4 HUGE pockets and is made with love on my industrial sewing machine. I am asking $500 ($50 savings off of regular price, and by fur price necessity my prices on coats and other large items will have to go up soon).

Fuzzy Dreams

Back in the swing

Or rather trying to get back in the swing of things. As my mother reminded me earlier it has been a few days since I've posted and it's way over due. I've been very scattered. I'm always busy, but I have been busy and lacking focus. For whatever reason trying to work on a large pile of PLUSHROOMS (as my husband has now dubbed the fuzzy mushroom scented pin cushions), and also leggings as the party season starts up. I just have so much to do it's hard to sit down and do it. I've also been trying hard to keep my house clean enough to use.

Saturday I took a break from it all and went to a birthday party. I gifted my good friend Mayor a Plushroom and it seemed to be quite a hit. I believe these may just be that item. I hope this will be the item. That everyone loves and may be the item that allows me to make a living sewing alone.

Today I had a sewing lesson. I love teaching sewing. I now have 2 young students on alternating Tuesdays. It's quite nice because one is all about cute cloths and the other likes stuffed animals and fuzzy crafts. The lessons are a great break for me. Getting away from my fuzzy projects and getting to help someone else with their project.

Tonight is more or the same, plushrooms, dinner and more plushrooms. I have lunch with my Grandmother tomorrow so I need to get as much done as possible. They may be making a visit to a sewing/ fashion school soon and I really would like them to have a good showing.

Well for now.....
Fuzzy Dreams

Sometimes one just has to break down and clean

Weather it is your mind or your house, sometimes one just has to break down and clean. Today i got to spend my day cleaning.

The morning was spent finishing up the first batch of mushrooms and getting them ready for Etsy as well as hunting around for fur, unsuccessfully, and getting some yard tools. It was nice taking some time this morning to clean up my new project. To gather my thoughts and think about where to go next. Still not sure where I want to head next though. I believe my next project will be taking a break from new projects and work on stock piling leggings. Have some new furs coming in and still wishing the price of fur hadn't gone up so much. I really need to find a less expensive fur that is fun funky and of good quality. Not so easy to find. About every other week I spend 8 or so hours looking for new resources for fur. It's really hard because I don't have the monetary resources to buy whole sale, which would actually make the fur affordable. It is times like this I wish I had a benefactor who had money and was willing to support my art. The sad thing is that in time it would be worth the upfront cost.

The afternoon was spent cleaning the house. Working on the constant issue of dishes, getting my coffee maker working again, and even getting in some front yard time. As the weather has gotten nicer I have had the desire to get the house clean, yard and all. Spring is coming, Alan and I are getting ready to start a family and I feel like I am already getting into a nesting faze. First though I really want to feel like I can give myself the time to clean out the office and arrange the basement so I can move stuff down and keep it all functional.

The evening was spent getting my mind to slow down and slowly just do some more cleaning. Enjoying a cup of coffee as well as doing some more dishes. Cooking dinner and watching some shows with my husband. Made for a really nice day. All and all. And now to sleep. And a lovely birthday party  for a good friend tomorrow. Should be nice to get out of the house for a while.

Fuzzy Dreams

A thought on creativity, productivity, and livability

Today I have spent most of my day working on my new mushrooms. I took a break around 11:30 to bring leggings and a few of the mushrooms to Things That Glow, a great little rave shop that sells my fuzzy wears on consignment. I was thrilled to see that 7 items and the last of my top hats had sold. I really do need to get back to my pile of half finished fuzzy top hats and get some more up and going. People really do like them.

As I'm working on my new pet project I come to think of the ones that have come before and those that I have ahead of me but also those I need to go back to and see if they can make me money. I do love my fuzzy cup cozys that double as wrist cuffs, the wonderful fuzzy eye masks ( a favorite of Liese), my puff ball tribbles, and of course the top hats, not mention the piles of project people have given me as "wouldn't it be great if you made me this, and you could market it and sell it". Sometimes it's just so hard to keep up on these wonderful new ideas. See the thing is when I work on any of these wonderful new projects I must stop production for some period of time on my money maker, the wonderful leggings that pay more of my bills then my part-time "day job". Don't get me wrong I love the break from the every day project of leggings. There are always leggings that must be made.

So when your mind is running a million miles a minute and in a thousand different directions how do you quiet it down, focus, and really most importantly, make money. After all one does need to pay their bills and eat. I'm still working hard every day to figure these things out, but for now I must get back to the mushrooms so I can get pictures taken and the mushrooms up on Etsy. Looks like they will be priced at $20.

Fuzzy Dreams

The end of the day

The end of the day has come and now I take a moment to stop and relax before going to bed.

Today was a good day. I got a good amount of sewing done, though never really enough, and I worked on new projects. In addition to all that I had a sewing lesson with a wonderful 9 year old. One of the best things about teaching a young girl to sew is knowing that you are passing a valuable skill and just a piece of your passion. I even brought her the extra gift of one of my new fuzzy mushroom pin cushions and she's obsessed, she loves it. Especially adores the fact that I put in great vanilla scent with the fiber fill. She's not even using it as a pin cushion but rather wants it in her bedroom because it looks cool. I think these new fuzzy mushrooms my just have a market. Fuzzy Functional and above all Cute. Now all I have to do is make several more, get a good stock and get them up on Esty.

For the rest of the night I will lay and rest and feel good about what I was able to achieve today. Though when it is your living it never feels like enough I am learning that one can only do so much and much take everything she can as a small victory. I'm not sure I will ever feel like I have done enough with my day, but at least today I fell accomplished and appreciated

.And my student loved her gift!

A day in the life.......

Today is a snap shot of my life as it is now.

I woke up around 8am with my husband. As he got ready to leave for work I got dressed and made my morning coffee and sat down for a bit of the today show. As Alan left the house around 8:45 I got moving on my to do list for the day, checked my emails and began pinning some patchwork scoodies I have in my to do upstairs tub. Now at 10am I'm taking a quick break to begin writing my blog for the day. Now to go downstairs and commune with my sewing machine. ( One thing I have found while building my business is that my Mitsubishi industrial sewing machine is invaluable. I spent $500 on it about 3 or 4 years ago and it has more then paid for it's self. When working with as much faux fur as I do day to day I have found that my machine is my life, without it none of what I have would have been possible.)

And now taking a break again to continue the flow of my day. From  10 till about noon I worked on the machine sewing the mushroom pin cousins, assembling the patchwork for the scoodies and finishing up some leggings. I then came upstairs to feed the cats and myself. I usually don't take much time for lunch and often keep working through it. I hand finished 3 of the mushroom pin cousins and cut out the scoodies from the patchwork, now ready to finish. Lots more to work on. So back to pinning and sewing. Looks like Alan's coming home late tonight from work so try to get as much done before then.

And so now it's after 6pm. As usual I didn't get as much done today as I would want, but it's time to take a break and clean the kitchen. Once the kitchen is cleaned up I have to cook dinner for Alan and I. Hopefully Alan will be home soon. After cooking, cleaning and eating I will probably spend the rest of my night on the couch, pinning leggings and scoodies and reading my new favorite book Creative Girl: The ultimate guide for turning talent and creativity into a real career by Katharine Sise. In short this lovely book is helping me quiet my mind and focus on what I need to do to shape my future in the manner I want it.

And so as I get ready to post this blog I sit and quiet my mind. Tonight I will commit to myself  a few good quiet moments to  remember why I struggle everyday. Why I work every spare moment of my waking hours to barely scrap by, well not even that really. I desire nothing more then to support me and my family while doing what I love. I want to create, I live to create, and my greatest hope is that I will be able to live by creating, that my art will come to pay my bills.

Fuzzy Dreams