Colorful Rag Handbag

This tote will be my carry-it-all bag. It certainly is large enough. I think it would make a great beach bag because of the colorful fabrics that I have chosen.

BUT...my rag making days have come to an end. I just got this...

...and I cannot make myself put anything into it that causes a tremendous amount of lint.

I want to address several comments/questions that have been posed to me lately....

Carrie P. asked: "Do you ever sleep? You sure do make a lot."

Carrie, yes I do sleep. Sometimes more than I should. In fact, sometimes this old gal even takes a nap during the day. But, when I'm awake, I work diligently on creating product.

Netter asked: Whoa! How long does it take you to create a batch like that?"

Netter, it is true that I do believe in creating large batches. I always make a single prototype and if I like how it turns out, I create anywhere from 50 to 350 of that same item. I do everything in steps. I methodically do the same work on each piece before moving on to the next step. This saves me a lot of time and I recommend this method to anyone who needs to make more than one of anything. Please be aware that my method could make a sane person go crazy, though. Hehehe!

Sweetiepie commented: "I love your flowers. So many different patterns and colors. I would like to see your fabric stash sometime. I bet it is amazing and huge."

Joyce, my fabric stash isn't as huge as you imagine. I do love fabric and I do confess that I have quite a bit. At the moment, it is extremely unorganized and scattered everywhere. The busier I get, the messier my sewing room gets. I wouldn't think of burning your retina with such awful photos. Maybe sometime in the future when life returns to a slower pace and I have the time to organize it all.

Annemiek commented: "I so wish I could see you at a fair!! I picture you in some kind of colourboost. Please make pics and post them by that time!!

Annemiek, my craft booth needs a serious makeover. I do nothing fancy because I never have the time to be creative as all of my energy is put forth in making product. Believe it or not, I don't have a single photo of my booth at a craft fair. I promise to snap a few this time around.

I continually receive emails asking if it is okay to reproduce my items for personal use or for gift giving. The answer is Yes and Yes! And...you don't even have to ask me for permission to do so. The only restriction is that you DO NOT reproduce any of my items for sale.

On another note, I thought it was hilarious when someone did a google search for "yo yo quilting for dummies" the other day and landed at my blog. Too funny!

I'm still working at a feverish pace to get things done for my fairs. I'm beginning to think that I enjoy the adrenalin rush that this creates and I do admit that I am at my best when working toward a deadline.

Take care, everyone.

Aloha!

I'm Forever Making Flowers

I have a penchant for flowers. Fabric flowers, to be exact. Nothing wrong with the real ones but I'm not in charge of creating those. *grin* So....if you haven't already figured it out, I have an undeniable adoration for fabric flowers and they're popping up everywhere.

These are my Posie Handy Dandy Pincushions. The stem fits into the center of a spool of thread which makes a convenient spot to park your sewing needle.

Flowers of every color and hue.


Sending a shout out to all my bloggy friends. I miss you and I promise to visit soon. (((Hugs)))

Take care.

Aloha!

A Bevy of Handy Dandy Pincushions

Hi!!! I hope you are all doing well. Thank you for the get well wishes. It has been very comforting to know that you have been out there cheering me on. The good news is that I continue to do better and better each day with the help of maintenance medications and am looking forward to feeling at the top of my game very soon. Believe me, I will never take the simple act of breathing for granted again!

I am still as busy as a bee working on craft fair items but it has clearly become evident that I will not have as much inventory as I had planned. I guess I just need to accept that and roll with the punches. There will always be next year, right? LOL

I will leave you with several images of my Handy Dandy Pincushions...






Now I need to go put back and reorganize over a hundred spools of thread. Harumpf!

Have a lovely weekend!

Aloha!

Oh Tooth Fairy, I'm ready for you!

The forces are against me this year. I swear. With craft deadlines soon approaching, my health in shambles, I almost feel as if I'd rather find a cave and hibernate until Spring. I am on a bunch of new medications and have seen my doctor more than I care to (nothing personal, she's fabulous) and it's making my head spin. I might have asthma. I think that may be a good thing because this could also be something much worse. Time will tell. When I am on Prednisone, I do well. As soon as I am weaned off of it, my breathing problems reoccur. I am pushing aside many of my plans to create new products and am trying to finish some of the piles of WIPS that I have had hanging around for a long time. I guess that's a good thing, in a depressing sort of way. *smirk*

Get ready to welcome the Tooth Fairy in style with a heart shaped pillow. They have a loop for hanging on a bed post, a door knob, or a dresser pull. Glass seed beads and a sweet yo-yo posie add a little fru-fru and glitz that every little girl will love.









I can't wait to get back to regular posting and blog reading. I sorely miss it and I miss you all too. Take care and be well.

Aloha!

Fabric Yo-Yo Lollipops

Hello everyone! Hope you're all doing great. I just wanted to pop in to let you know that I'm still alive and kicking, sort of. Over the last week, I have been sick with a cold which ended in a terrible asthma attack. I am on Prednisone and Albuterol and am now on the mend. These problems have really cut into my sewing time and has upped the stress a notch or two. But...I will survive. I always do.

Thank you for all of the great comments and emails of support and encouragement. I'm so sorry that I cannot return comments or emails for a while due to the lack of time. I miss you all and hope to get back to regular blogging in the near future.

I'll leave you with several images of the lollipops that I have been working on. As you can see, I decided to omit the beading due to time constraints and because there are just too many of them to deal with. Sorry for the terrible pictures. I kinda just tossed the lollipops onto the table and snapped away. What ya see is what ya get. LOL







Take care and be well.

Aloha!

Crunch Time

Hello Mr. Crunch. Or should I call you Mr. Time? About this time every year, you rear your ugly head. As predictable as you are, you continue to defeat me year after year. Oh, don't get me wrong. I take full responsibility for your visit but I don't have to like it, do I?

Yes, my friends, I am now in the midst of my annual race for time. My craft shows are right around the corner. The majority of my work should have been done by the second third of the year and that didn't happen. To compensate for this shortfall, I have limited my computer access strictly to the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee and no more. Sorry that I have been so scarce, but times are a gettin' hard and it's only gonna get worse. Let's see, if everything goes as planned, I should have some
free time in early 2009. *Sigh*

Here are several pictures of my flower pins. Unfortunately, they aren't quite pins yet as they lack their felt and pin backings. Oh well, just consider them a work in progress, won't you.




I need to mention a couple of things. I have had several requests for patterns for my products. Unfortunately, because of time constraints, I haven't been able to
return individual comments and emails so I thought that I would address it here. At present, I do not sell my patterns and my products are only sold locally at craft fairs. I may consider changing that sometime in 2009. There are several things that I have been looking into that may make that possible. But for now, please be patient with me. Remember, I live in Hawaii, where the pace is much slower than the rest of the world. Well, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it. LOL

The second thing that I need to mention is that I didn't get to address the receipt of my Welcome To Fall Giveaway. As you all know, Lorraine of Paper Vernissage was the winner and has since received her items. It was a thrill for me to read her response after receiving the parcel of handmade goodies. I believe this is why giving makes me so happy.

Hopefully, I'll be back much sooner than 2009. I guess I'll be seeing you when I see you. Take care, everyone!

Aloha!