One More Big Weekend

One more car load-up for a BIG holiday show this weekend.



This will be the largest event I've done, with 135 vendors.  I'm really excited, and I hope it's really fun!

In other quilting news, I finished my latest T shirt quilt:

It will go under the recipient's Christmas tree.

Lots of pretty fabrics plus a bright golden yellow on the back really helped to jazz up a rather ho-hum shirt collection.

A Big Weekend!

The first of two big weekends for me has arrived!


Tomorrow:
Holizaar 6!  This is my third year as a vendor at this event, and I'm just thrilled to be back.  This is a small show, about 20 vendors in one big gallery room.





















Then, tomorrow night:

A performance of Mahler Symphony #1 with The Florida Orchestra.  Luckily, it's near the Holizaar venue, so I'll just pack up after the show and head over to the performance, plus there will be time for a snack and a car nap in between.


Then, on Sunday:




Market Day, and a repeat performance of the Mahler symphony in the evening, this time in Clearwater.

I'm hoping for a really fun weekend!

A Busy Day

It's the day before Thanksgiving and I feel poised on the edge of the Annual Holiday Madness.  I'm sure a lot of people feel this way today too!

It's the time of year that I start worrying about upcoming holiday craft shows.  I don't worry about the shows themselves-- they're always really fun.  But it's always the endless worry over having enough merchandise, and the right merchandise, that sort of thing. So I've been compulsively sewing, hoping I'll feel more confident with more merchandise!
Here are a few new items:



Both of these new placemat sets also have matching table runners. I'm currently in love with poppies, in case you hadn't noticed.

I've made a LOT of these sunglass cases, they're always a popular item.

And how about some new ornaments?  These are a fun, no-sew project that uses up scraps (what's not to love?)  The tutorial is here and it's super easy!



The first holiday show is Holizaar 6 on December 7, followed by the Seminole Heights Market on December 8,  then my vendor debut at Atomic Holiday Bazaar in Sarasota December 14-15. Phew!  I'm excited about all of these events.


But before all that, first things first.

Happy Hanukkah to all those who celebrate!  And Happy Thanksgivakkuh tomorrow, truly an historic event!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Market Season Begins

Yesterday was the opening day of the Seminole Heights Market, right here in my own neighborhood!

This is my 3rd year as a vendor there, so it really feels like a gathering of friends, both from the vendors and my regular customers.  It's always a warm and friendly event.

No big changes to my setup for this season-- I think I've finally worked out all of the kinks.

The new poppy quilt made it's Market Debut, and got a lot of nice comments.

Look at that blue sky behind the garden quilt-- you can see that it was a beautiful day.

Also making their Market Debut-- the coffee cozies! I'm hoping that these will be a popular choice in the upcoming months when folks start thinking about holiday gifts.

Load em' up!

I'm getting ready for a BIG craft show tomorrow:




There are going to be about 50 vendors, which is a lot for an indoor show.  And it's all handmade and vintage items only-- no new mass produced merchandise allowed.  Their Facebook page reported a few days ago that they have sold over 1000 pairs of advance admission tickets through a Living Social offer, which is a good sign that customers are planning on attending. And it's a very, very interesting mix of vendors offering a wide variety of products (the vendor list is here if you want to take a look).  I'm hoping for a really fun day there!

Well,  the venue is about 95 miles away from my home, so it will be an early start for me tomorrow morning.  A little car loading today will save time tomorrow morning.

I'm starting to get this Indoor Show Setup operation down to a Science!

If I load all of the display pieces (grid walls, a ladder for holding quilts, and my chair) to the left, I will be able to easily slide in large bins of merchandise on the right side.

The arrow is pointing to a Craft Show Must Have:







 My tall director's chair enables me to sit and still interact with customers at eye level.  Most indoor shows provide vendors with a metal folding chair.  But I have found that they're not all that useful-- you end up jumping up and down all day, or just end up standing all day.  I'm too old for either of those.  So my chair goes with me to all events.  (I bought it from Hayneedle)

Also a necessity at an indoor event:  some sort of transport system to get your gear from the parking lot to your space inside.

Many vendors have this folding wagon from Sam's Club.  It's compact and lightweight.

I love how it fits in the space between the passenger seat and the back seat (which is folded down)

For safety's sake, I'll load up the bins of merchandise tomorrow morning, just before I leave.  In the (unlikely) event of something happening to my car overnight, the display pieces can be easily replaced; my quilted items, not so much.

Coffee Talk

For the markets and craft shows that I do throughout the year, the best sellers are what I call The Little Things.

tissue covers

ID lanyards

selvage ornaments

eyeglass case

  All of these items are priced at $10 (for the eyeglass case) or less, which seems to be an Important Retail Threshold-- the price that generates impulse, or non-planned, purchases.  They're also everyday items elevated into something special-- if you have to wear an ID badge at work, why not hang it on a pretty lanyard?  And lastly, they're things that I can produce quickly that help me use up scraps of fabric and batting, and let me offer a wide range of pricing.

Here's a new Little Thing that I will be introducing this season:

Every live event that I've done there's been a coffee vendor, with customers toting around their cups and those ugly cardboard sleeves.  This cup cozy looks much better!

There are a lot of tutorials available.  I used Jeni's (here), which includes a handy printable template.

  All you'll need to make these, besides fabric and batting, are hair elastics and buttons.












They'll be making their debut next month at this big event!

Off the Cuff

Goodness what a mess!

I spent some time today digging into a new and somewhat messy project, one that has caught me a little by surprise.










You'll recall from this post that I have a version of the Scrappy Trip Along quilt in progress, one that is being made as a custom order from men's striped shirts.

Well, of course the first thing I had to do to start the project was break down the shirts into big pieces of fabric that could then be cut into strips.  That involved cutting off the "button" portions of the shirts-- the collar, the button row going up the front of the shirt, and the cuffs.

As I was cutting the cuffs off of one of the shirts, I thought maybe I would make a little cuff bracelet for myself, just for fun.

I randomly piled on stuff I already had lying around my sewing area-- yo-yos, buttons, trim, beads.

This was a no-sew project, I just attached everything with hot glue.

I wore it to the last Seminole Heights Market, where there was such commotion over it from my customers and other vendors that it seemed like An Opportunity.  I'm always on the lookout for fun new projects!

There are probably a million different ways to make these and I would imagine my process will evolve over time if I end up making a lot of these.  But this is how I'm approaching it now:

Cut the cuff off of a men's long sleeve dress shirt.

I added lace at the edges.  I attached this with fabric glue (hot glue would have burned my fingers through that lace), then trimmed the edges of the lace flush with the edges of the cuff.

How about a yo-yo, and some buttons?  You get the idea-- just pile stuff on.

Don't forget Linda's Rule of Embellishment:
"If Some is Good, More Must be Better"

Now you can see why my sewing area was so messy in that top picture!

These will be making their debut at a "Christmas in July" craft show that I'm doing next month.

Let's Cruise!

The same market customers who had ordered the Labyrinth placemats a few weeks ago (see this post)  were so pleased with how those came out they decided to have a set made for their daughter, who's birthday is coming up.

How cute is that fabric for someone who's a bicycle enthusiast?

It's "Cruzin' Bicycles" from Henry Glass fabrics.  I ordered it from Fabric.com.

All that was needed was a little loopy quilting

 and a pretty fabric from my stash for the back.

 Luckily, I ordered enough fabric to make something for myself!

This and That

Lots going on, with the Florida Orchestra season in it's last couple of weeks it feels a little bit like a race to the finish line!

A few quilting finishes to report:

   The Spur-of-the-Moment triangle table runner from my last post (here) is finished and listed in my Etsy store.

 I quilted it with orange thread in the pieced portion, and did wavy lines in a matching dark teal thread on the border.

I like it, and I am newly in love with half square triangles.  I definitely want to do a really random, scrappy one of these next.

A new Office Lunch Set, just to fill out my selection a little bit (I'll be making lots more of these over the summer!)

That butterfly fabric is pretty!












This Sunday:



The final market of the season!  It's been a ton of fun at the market this year.


















And tonight:

ROCK SERIES

Part of The Florida Orchestra’s new 3-concert Rock series.

Brent Havens, guest conductor
Randy Jackson, vocals

Saluting the raw energy, edgy lyrics and often wild stage presence of this ground-breaking iconic group, the lead singer of the rock band Zebra, Randy Jackson, is the featured vocal soloist with The Florida Orchestra in this sizzling tribute concert featuring 21 hits by The Doors, including Touch Me, Riders on the Storm, Roadhouse Blues and Light My Fire.

Not exactly A Regular Day at the Office!  This should be fun!  

(More info about this concert and The Florida Orchestra here)

The Week in Placemats

I've sold several sets of placemats in the last couple of weeks, both at the Seminole Heights Market and in my Etsy store, so I've made a few sets to catch up.

I've had that black and white print for quite a few years but I don't think there's anything frumpy or dated about it.

That print puts me in the mood for a picnic!
Also:

I'm trying to decide which is prettier:  the coffee pot print or the rick-rack print!

Also completed:  The Labyrinth Placemats:

You'll recall from this post that these were a custom order from market customers, who are going to give them to a friend who's a member of The Labyrinth Society.  I used the pattern from my Easy Placemat Tutorial.