Knee Deep in Sequins, Pearls and Tulle

 

I am having so much fun!  May has certainly been busy here at the Stitchknit studio.  I had a few weddings in the works by the first of the month, and prom season started up with a flurry of fittings.  Gorgeous dresses………..there is no way to choose my favorite!

Lots of black for prom season and the bridesmade/mother of the bride dresses have covered the spectrum of colors.  The studio has been a mix of one beautiful dress after another.

The cost of some of the dresses does still take my breath away.  Cutting into them, or taking them apart gives me a bit of a pause……

Measure twice, cut once is an understatement here!  🙂

I Lost Track

Most certainly.  I have been trying to create  version of Mary Poppins black hat for……..oh, at least 5 years.  Lots of starts & stops.  Attempts and flops.  You name it….there were things that didn’t even resemble the infamous black hat with cherries & daisies. My bin of materials is a testament as to how many tries this project took, to get it out of my mind and translated into yarn.

This whole Poppins business started with a client asking if I could knit a scarf for her, to add to her Mary Poppins costume.  That was a cinch, just as soon as I checked the movie and Google!  (had never seen the movie)   Hardest part of that project was finding colors for the scarf that were close to the original.

Then, a client asked if I could make “the Hat”?   I mulled that one around for ages, again, looking up the original hat, and blowing up the screen so I could see details of the material. (and I watched the movie for the 2nd time)  I began searching for a base hat to just decorate……as well as starting a search for cherries!  Not as easy as the scarf, I thought.

I did find some black rafia, and thought I could get a hat that looked like a straw boater style hat.  Crocheted  a sample & was sorely disappointed.  That stuff wouldn’t stay where it was put.  The hat always looked like it was melting……….spreading out into a bumpy looking puddle.  Very un-hat-like!

After many more attempts, I have come to one I think is “practically perfect in every way” to quote Ms Poppins.

 

Crocheted black hat that can be scrunched up and pulled out of a carpet bag

A ribbon hat band

Daisies

AND cherries.

Listed in my shop here:  Ms Poppins Black Hat

My Gift for the Sewing Studio

No, not the sewing machine………..or the fabric…     But the brilliant light strip.   I saw this advertised last week and it arrived this weekend.  Easy to add on to my machine and I’m no longer checking to see if the light had burned out on this model.

I’d been working on  clients jobs, and at least 6 pieces last week were black.  Black thread on black.   I actually thought the machines light bulb was out as it was so dark.

This light is from Bonlux (no, I’m not getting paid for this…..just wanted to share as it’s the best thing I’ve bought for my sewing room in decades!)  Just a little LED strip, that you cut to fit your machine……then plug it in and be prepared for a daylight sort of light, right on your hands and the needle area of the machine.  Love it!

Now, I’m pretty sure I need one of these for each machine!  🙂

 

Fall Updates at Stitchknit

My favorite season!  Fall is so colorful and I love the cooler temperatures.  I don’t even mind the constant Seattle rain.  It’s the perfect season for knitting, crocheting and sewing.

I have been busy adding items to my Etsy shop as well as working full time in my local studio; offering design and alteration services.

Here’s a couple of the new listings…..

Gray Cowl, knit with a mohair, wool, acrylic blend.

 

Fuchsia Knit Scarf with Gold Flecks

Also, I’ve been adding to my yarn listings in the Etsy shop.  Many from Ice Yarns & at affordable prices!  See them here

As always, I love to hear what you have on your needles or hook!  Send me a note or connect on Facebook or Twitter.

Every Month is a Sewing Month

I celebrate National Sewing Month every month!  I love to sew, and I’m blessed to have a job that lets me sew all the time.  “Job” is the wrong word I think.  It feels like a have to sort of situation and my sewing is a get to gift.

With my new Stitchknit studio space getting occasional additions and work done, I’m even more content to spend hours and hours in there.  I now have a ductless heat pump in the newly remodeled space…..which is going to allow me to teach all winter.  Couldn’t teach the first few months, as there was no heat & asking students to bundle up to come to a sewing class seemed too odd…….even for me!

I love the flexibility of my schedule as well as the variety of my days.  Sewing on gorgeous clothing, altering things for people with some challenging situations and dreaming up solutions for clients wanting to get an item manufactured, are just some of the things that come my way.

Between teaching, having a local shop in addition to my Etsy shop……….I am in heaven!

 

In Time for Halloween

I think I’ve finally got a hat made to go with my Ms. Poppins scarf!  The scarf has become my most popular item in my Etsy shop & I’m often asked if I have the hat to go with it.

A My version of Mary Poppins scarf

After a couple tries with black raffia, I switched to black yarn instead.  The raffia just kept slipping and wouldn’t hold a “hat” shape no matter what.  So, then there were the cherries and daisies to source….not as easy as I was expecting!

Here’s a hat in progress, the daisies had gone missing here at the new studio.  I have seen them, but they were nowhere to be found for a picture!

Next will be actually attaching the cherries and the daisies.  Then I have to figure out how to ship this!  Thinking a flat rate box, so the hat won’t get crushed & the flowers stay put during shipping.  (I’m used to shipping knit hats folded up in a mailing envelope!)

My goal was to get this in the shop by September & I’m not going to be too far off.  In September…………of this year!  🙂

Back to work…..daisies to attach.

Catching Up With the Times

Finally, I have made the move to plastic.  Yes……….I decided which method,  what company and yes, even figured out how to do this all on my phone.

Easy, you say?   Not quite as simple as I had thought, when I first waded into the new-to-me technology.  My difficulty was the phone.  I had no reception at the old house & studio…….zip, none, ever!  I had to drive at least a mile, then the cell phone would work.

So, I waited and offered excuses as to why I didn’t have a charge/debit option for my Stitchknit clients.

Knowing I was going to move in January, I had a wish list for the new house/studio.  Cell phone reception was at the top of the list!

The move happened, the phone works and now….thanks to some very patient clients, I have learned how to process the orders through my brand new Square reader!  …………..feeling very accomplished!

 

New Studio Space: Progress!

I hate to quit sewing these days!  The new space is so light, I lose track of the passage of time!

Easy to keep clean, plenty of room to store supplies ……….I have trouble coming up with my favorite part of the new studio.

I’m far enough along in the renovation process to start scheduling and teaching classes.  Love spending my time helping people get excited about knitting, sewing, crocheting and the newest class on the schedule here…….cross-stitching.

There are still a few items on the TO DO list:

•  Get the furnace vented into the new space before fall/winter
•  Post signs outside, so clients can find the parking area and the entrance to the studio
•  Change out the 70’s carpet on the stairs inside
•  Hang a large mirror and curtains for a changing area
•  Art work on the walls

I am so grateful…………..

Settling in

Survived the move & have been enjoying a new pace here at the new home/studio.  Loving the idea of being able to “work” all day, with almost zero interruptions. Unheard of with my previous schedule.

Slow starts to the day are my new normal.  Coffee & breakfast………in the morning and time to drink the coffee while it is hot!  It’s the tiny things that have the biggest impact these days.

My moms dog has settled in too.  He was such a horrid mess all fall…………and truly hasn’t been himself til the last month or two.  He was so sad after mom died, he started off by laying in the driveway, waiting for her.  Then he began to chew on his front legs…….and finished off the months of frenzied behavior by pulling out mouthfuls of hair from his formerly gorgeous tail.   Besides the fairly odd looking tail………he is looking & feeling pretty good these days.

The remodel on the studio space hasn’t even started.  But, I’m working anyway.  Now that the weather is warming up, it isn’t bad at all.  (winter was a bit chilly)  There is a storage shed started in the back yard, so all the non sewing things that are in the garage (otherwise known as the sewing studio) will be moving to the shed soon.   I do believe I’m one of the few who have a chain saw in the sewing room!  🙂

Signs of life finding a new normal?              Our dining room has been converted to the baby chick nursery!  I couldn’t have chickens at my moms place…….but the new house is in an area where I can keep a small flock.  The babies are so fun to watch!

I can almost remember the new address & phone!

And, I’ve made my first BIG yarn purchase since moving!

Life continues……………..

New year, New house, New studio

 

I’m on day 6 at my new home/studio/classroom.  Still wading through boxes, bringing home take out for dinner and trying to find some missing items from the move.

Considering I only moved 8 miles from the other house, you’d think the chances for misplacing things would be slim.  Nope.  So far, I’ve had to purchase copy paper for the printer, twill tape for a couple recent sales in the etsy shop……..and we’re still looking for the loaves of bread we thought sure were tossed into the van at the last minute for sandwiches.

I apologize for just now getting to some messages here, life has been totally out of my control since August.  I had been caring for my mom in her house for the last 10 years.  She passed away in August, after a fall and a brief stay at a rehab center.

I’ve been busy, selling moms real estate and trying to manage closing her estate.  Whew!  What a round of meetings that translates to.  Bottom line, her house that we were both living in, sold and it closes this coming week.  I quickly started house hunting and found one just 8 miles away.  Put an offer in, it was accepted the next morning and closed 10 days later.

Whoosh…………   Everything is new & different.   I’m slowly getting used to life without the joys & responsibilities of living with my mom.

2016 is going to be a year of change for me!  I’m hoping to continue growing my Etsy shop as well as work in my local shop full time.

Thanks to those who reached out, knowing what this past fall/winter has been for me.