Friday Fortius

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Time Bandit

I got up Monday morning with every intention of finishing the front of my Calypso dress skirt today. After just inches of one row of machine embroidery (with about 20 rows left to go), I remembered why I had set this project aside what seems like a million years ago. I DON'T HAVE TIME!!!

Machine embroidery is SO slow and so finnicky. Makes me wish I hadn't chosen to do fancy embroidery on every jelly roll seam. I may do the skirt back with just straight seams. By bedtime Monday, I did finish four seams, but it's going to take more than a week at that rate to finish just the skirt front.

I can't help but wonder if hand embroidery would be any faster...

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A Pending New Me

I cut this dress out more than two months ago. Because one of the students in my Sunday school class asked why I always wear the same dress. Because I do. Because very few of my dresses fit anymore. Because Lizard and I haven't been outdoors as much as we dream and want to be. And because chocolate is a comfort food...

I'm so sad I couldn't sit down for the hour and a half it would have taken to make this dress in one sitting. Mostly because I don't want to wake Lizard when he finally falls asleep, which usually happens during the day. And because sometimes I'm out like a light within seconds after he finally begins snoozing.

I'm typing this Wednesday night while waiting for the 10 p.m. alarm signaling Lizard's final meds of the evening. He's been sleeping much of the afternoon because we had a dental checkup first thing Wednesday morning. I got some work done in the yard Wednesday afternoon while he slept, but we've both been exhausted all day. I can't believe I'm doing this, but I'm going to bed instead of spending the next hour at the sewing machine to attach the skirt. There's probably half an hour's work left on the dress. I could have been wearing this dress on Thursday!!!

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Welcome to the Jungle

I wrote the blog post below long, long ago, before I finished all of the projects mentioned. Then I forgot I had written this post and wrote new ones as I finished projects. I almost deleted this when I stumbled upon it. I didn't have anything better to publish today, so I might as well take a fun and memorable step back in time!

Before I began piecing together the lime green batik remnants of my treasured bag, skirt and dress, my goal was to use up a good portion of my leftover stash. I've always had great difficulty throwing away pieces of fabric that might be big enough to make into something. Some day.

My remnants stash has overgrown its boundaries many times over. It was time to make a dent in it.

2011 green batik stash

2025 green batik stash and leftovers

As I began working on Welcome to the Jungle, I began running out of some of my favorite bright lime green batiks. I caved and bought two more yards because every quarter block has at least four different bright lime green batiks. As I began working on the French braid border (my first pieced border ever), I began running out of the darker and lighter green batiks.

Oh, was I tempted to buy more!

The day I began cutting the strips for the main squares, Lizard asked if I was making another dress. Oh, the inspiration that swirled through my entire core! I could make a dress of the strips! It would be beautiful!

Now I was running out of everything, and I wouldn't have enough left over to make yet one more dress.

I had to give myself a time out to prevent me from shopping for more lime green batik.

The purpose of Welcome to the Jungle was to use up remnants! To make them go away. To completely run out. To not have enough left over to make anything else.

After a bit of attitude adjustment, I realized I could do the strip dress from purple batiks. Or turquoise batiks. While making this quilt, I kept thinking how much fun it would be to do another one, different pattern, with purples. Or blues.

And yet, each week when I receive an email ad announcing new fabrics in stock, I find myself drawn to luscious new lime green batiks. Again, and again, and again. And again...

My next quilting project goal was to finish Leaf Me Alone, also inspired by dress remnants. My sister-in-law's admiration for the leaf quilt pushed me to finish it before Welcome to the Jungle.

Now, Welcome to the Jungle takes front and center. It must be finished in time for the Denver National Quilt Festival. (2025 Edit: Which ended about a decade ago...) Then comes fun. Then comes sewing and quilting without deadlines.

The next project I wanted to do after Welcome to the Jungle and Leaf me alone was a scrap happy quilt. To use up even more remnants. To make them go away. To completely run out. To not have enough left over to make anything else.

At which point, I can begin using stash fabric that had never been cut.

I have so much stash, I can make a new dress without buying a thing except maybe a zipper or button. By making a new dress, I might ignite new dress-remnant quilt inspirations. I might replenish my remnant stash. Without buying a thing.

Sigh. How much of this will actually get accomplished while bright lime green fabrics continue to call out to me so loudly?!?

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Goals

It feels a bit refreshing and yet sad to not engage upon a new year-long commitment tomorrow. I'm not tired of temperature quilts. I'm still quite thrilled by them. I still look forward to the day I can do a real fiber temperature quilt, either yarn or fabric. At this point, either would suffice. But I have to be realistic.

2024 ranks right up there with 2020 to me. There are so many blessings, and we've come so far. But this was a really hard year, and quite frankly, I'm grateful it's almost gone. Don't let the door slap ya on the behind on your way out.

So, what are my goals for 2025?

I haven't even thought about it yet. I guess I want to read scriptures to Lizard daily. I want to keep up on his speech therapy. I want to keep up on his physical therapy. I'd like him to start coloring again. I'd like him to start blogging again. We've started walking daily again, and I want with all my heart to stick to the calendar on that. I'd like both of us to get back on our bikes, even if only around the block. But more frequently than once every two months or three months.

I was never anti-resolutions, and I don't think I am now. But I'm afraid to set any personal goals right now other than these because Lizard is my priority. When it comes right down to it, none of the yarn, fabric, photos or computer keystrokes mean diddly squat if it means redirecting my attention away from him. So I guess that's my resolution for 2025. I'm going to be there for him when he needs me. And for now, that's enough.

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Dream On

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Disappointment

(affiliate links to my designs)

I dipped my toes into another craft fair, same one I did two years ago. I'm so grateful I went back and looked at my blog post from that event after this year's so I could end my night on a positive note. It was SO cool to see I tried to emphasize the silver linings. It helped me shrug off this year's experience.

I took another chance because the event is right in the little village where I live, and it's only two hours. I thought it might be okay to leave Lizard alone for just three hours. (It was!) I had a better table location within the venue this time. I took far less stuff, made fewer trips to my car setting up, and I stuck with mostly low-priced items.

Low-priced items I thought would be a huge hit.

There were approximately 30 vendors, and I think there were quite a few disappointed crafters. We didn't get very much traffic, and very few people were spending money. They were sure diving into the free drinks and treats, though!

One of my friends has a college-age daughter who is crafty like me. She has been participating in farmers' markets to earn spending money (she's on a full scholarship), and she's been selling out of soft plushies every single weekend. Particularly owls, octopuses and chickens. She doesn't make fidget toys, but she says they are tremendously popular at her school. Vendors can't keep enough stock on hand.

I'd made several fidget toys for my Sunday school class, and they were so popular, many of the kids from other classes would rush to my class at the end of church to find out if I had any extras to share.

I didn't expect to make a ton of money at my craft fair, but I did think I might sell out of my fidget toys, which I thought were adorable.

I sold two fidget toys and one hedgehog. I made $11.

Big sellers, again, were dog treats. 3D-printed fidget toys were selling well, but the gorgeous 3D-printed dragons in the same booth didn't sell. Cookie trays did fairly well, even though free treats were provided. One woman with a box of handmade knitted hats attracted a lot of attention, even though she didn't have an attractive display. Another woman with a gorgeous display of beautiful crocheted and embellished headbands got no sales. The wreath vendor at the off-the-beaten-path table I had in 2022 sold one wreath. The two high school girls next to me sold a few sugar scrubs to their friends and neighbors who came specifically to buy from them. The three jewelry makers in my area didn't get much traffic, and I don't think they made any sales.

If I try to focus on the positive, several children handled my fidget toys and looked up at their moms with longing eyes, only to be told no.

Three people told me I'm incredibly talented. Two people told me my steering wheel covers are brilliant.

Several people said my vases made of recycled jars were such a cute idea.

Three people picked up and handled my adorable mini chickens, and two even cuddled them close to their faces, oohing and aahing about how much they love chickens. But not a single chicken sold.

A few people handled several of my fidget toys, then looked at me quizically and asked the purpose. A few shoppers handled the only fidget cloth I made (because I didn't expect it to sell) and played with it quite a bit. I assume the price was too high. Or they got all the fidgeting out of their systems very quickly.

One of my crafy friends keeps telling me I need to get a booth in a miniature-themed craft fair. She is constantly telling me how well my miniatures would sell.

Lizard and I have been discussing the possibility of buying a booth (and the tent and display racks that would be necessary) to try our hands at farmers' markets next year. Not every weekend, but maybe once a month. Lizard really wants to get back into his man-quilting, and he does some marvelous doodling, too. We foolishly entertained the idea of crafting our own unique style of Medicare supplements. :)

I worried how he'd handle being stuck in a booth that might actually get crowded, and how he'd do being stuck at an open air farmers' market for several hours.

My table at this year's craft fair cost $30. So I paid $19 for an important education. I think I'll just re-open my Etsy shop. I despise the postage aspect, but perhaps Etsying could turn crafting fun again!

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