Sommer Designs

Workshop Overdrive

This past weekend was my last weekend off until about December 12, unless I decide to do a last minute Farmer's Market (not counting Thanksgiving weekend). Isn't that nuts? The holiday event season totally crept up on me. Or, rather, time is going by waaay too fast, and here it is, almost mid-November.

I wish I could say I took the weekend off, but I didn't. I did plenty of resting, but I did plenty of cutting, pressing and sewing also. [And a little bit of knitting too!]

I'm not in the mood for handbags lately. Inventory is fine with those anyway. I've been working on 'smalls'. Pouches of all sizes.

They're pretty easy, don't take much time, since there are so many different fabrics, I'm not getting bored. Much. Yet.

And little lavenders. It's keeping my interest level at just enough. Just enough to continue.

My posting might be a little sporadic for the next few weeks. I get a little crazed this time of year. The family is used to it, even the dogs know.  
 
 Also - don't forget - the website sale continues (that didn't give me a heart attack on Saturday!) 20% off everything, even marked down merch with code SWEET. *wink*
 

On the worktable

I have one of my largest craft fairs of the year this weekend, and as is typical of me, I'm scrambling around trying to finish projects and ideas that germinated months ago. Those voile flowers (which aspire to become pins) were started in July. J.U.L.Y. when Kelley & I took a little trip downtown and wandered around Michael Levine for an hour. Or so.

I was fondling the voile when she walked up with bolts of beautiful quilters cotton. "I think I'll make some poofy flowers" I said. "I'm making yo-yo's!" she said. I looked over and she had a big old grin on her face, "Knock yourself out" I said (I don't like making yo-yo's!). And then we tell each other how cute the other ones project will be. That's how we roll. I've made these flowers one step at a time, each step taking a month. If I can get the pin backs on them today, I'll break my record.

Packaging aprons doesn't take too much time, but I have to press them first and fold them pretty, and oh, these are new, so I'll need to get one of the Betty's to model them for a photo first too.

The magnetic snaps and purse feet I was waiting for last week finally arrived and these bags are ready to be sewn. There are only 4 here, but I'm thinking they will take the backseat to everything else that needs to be done. There's a lot of 'if, then' that goes on when I'm under the gun and I'm thinking that 'if' I can get those flowers finished, 'then' I'll try to crank out the bags.

On top of all that, the weather finally broke and it has been deliciously cool & overcast. Time to hunker down. I can do this.

Jamming.

After my post on Friday, I pretty much sat down and cranked out those pouches. I think that's what I needed, to put it out there. Once you were on to me, I had to finish. I'm guessing it's all about accountability with me. These are only about half of what I need to make. *sigh*

And from there, it took off. I moved on from pouches and throughout the weekend, I cut and pressed a bunch of smaller bags, variations of my Malaga bag, except with fabric handles instead of the bamboo. It wasn't so bad. Probably because I haven't made a Malaga bag in a while.

I realized I've been making a lot of one-of-a-kind things lately that I'm pretty sure won't make it to my main website. I usually save them for events. I'm wondering if that's the direction I'm heading these days. In any event, I'm all cut and pressed and ready to sew. And for Monday morning, that's a good place for me to be :)

Hope you had a great weekend!

Slow Going

Pouch production is going much slower than anticipated. It might have something to do with the fact that I've been waking up at 3:30 a.m. almost everyday this week and have been unable to fall back to sleep. This is not planned! Don't you hate that?

I'm usually okay through the morning, but have had a bunch of other things I've had to do, so I haven't been able to sit down to sew until at least noon. And that's when it catches up with me. It might be a seasonal thing. I think I wake up thinking of upcoming events and what I need to do.

But the thing is, for once, I'm ready. For once I have a pretty good amount of inventory. Of course, I'm still making, because who wants to run out of something? And surprisingly, I'm still adding events.

So, hopefully the pouch update that I said would happen last week will happen next week. I'm striving for weekend completion!

On another note, I might actually finish my second pair of socks very soon. Because when you're an insomniac at night, but can't nap for the life of you during the day, you knit. I'm just saying...

Loving...Gray & Yellow

After I finished some totes yesterday, I found a bunch of pouches already cut out, some of them even interfaced!! Don't you love it when that happens?

It's funny, to me, how certain colors creep into my wardrobe; colors I would have never imagined myself wearing. Like gray. I've never been a fan. Lately, I've noticed a lot of it in my recent choices. Then yellow showed up, next to gray, and I've decided that's my fall color scheme. The gray is classic, the yellow brightens it up. Together, lovely.

I've been saving all the fall catalogs and finally sat down over the weekend to go through them. My favorites right now (okay, always) are Anthropologie, Garnet Hill and Boden. I especially love reading the little model quotes in the Boden catalog, you know what I'm talking about, right? We all read them, and then roll our eyes.

"Maria (To prepare for a night out I: wash my hair)"
"Cintia (Favourite birthday present: having all the people I love with me)"
"Olga (My biggest gamble: becoming a model)" yawn.
"Maria (Sexiest man alive: Hugh Jackman)" Okay, I'll give her that one.

Just once, I'd love them to go out on a limb.

"Cintia (What gets me out of bed in the morning: my screaming 13 month old)"
"Janice (My biggest gamble: putting up my house for the bail bond)"

Good thing I like the clothes. My itchy clicky fingers are wanting these right now:

With jeans & boots. Unfortunately, if I buy them, I won't be able to wear them for a few months. That's because our summer just started. It happens every year - the catalogs come, the people in the eastern/midwest/pacific northwest blogsphere start talking about their changing leaves, and I'm shaking my fist in the air thinking, "damn you, Southern California gorgeous sunshine."

That's it. I'm going shopping.

Progress

Was this the never-ending weekend, or what? Not in a bad way, but it was looooong! Scott had Friday off and by Saturday, I was wondering what day it was. I know, weird. But in a good way. Because I worked, a lot.

And in between stuffing and rolling lavender liners, I sat on the couch knitting my Hedgerow Sock(which, by the way, I officially hate at this point, but just want to finish so I don't have to look at it) and watching the US Open. Did you see it? Tennis is really the only game I vaguely understand. How about that little girl? Oh my. I was sitting there, enthralled. And as much as I love Maria Sharapova, and love watching her move, so gracefully, so fluidly, so full of style in that hot summer sun, I wanted that little 17 year old to whup her pants. Just for the upset. Just to put someone new in the limelight and have the chance to soar. Go Melanie! You rock.

It was my own little game this weekend - in the workshop, out of the workshop. Assembly-line totes, then driven out when the garage heated up.

But it was all good. I got so much done! Today I'm starting another tote production and then will move on to pouches, which I am so behind on completing. I'm shooting for a website update on Wednesday or Thursday, I'll let you know, but we're in good shape! That means, yes, it will happen! My own little coup.

Final Summer Fling

We are back from our final summer trip! It was a doosy! Pismo Beach, a trip to Hearst Castle, wine tasting (of course), and the wedding of the year. I am going through 465 photos and hope to have something to show for it all soon!

In the meantime, school has started. Yesterday I discovered that I *lost* my knitting. Yes. My Deep Breath Sweater that I've been toiling over for the last 5 months was left in our hotel in Northern California. Luckily (for everyone in my family), it was found, together with my Juicy sunglasses & a bunch of cosmetics - which I found amusing, because I realized I could care less about the sunglasses, but was devastated over the knitting.

That speaks volumes.

Now, I have to get back in the groove...

Back in the studio

It's been a productive week. Finally. I am, finally, getting my groove back.

Not because I have to, or need to, but, luckily, because I want to and am feeling that spark again.

I still have a lot to do, but I think I'm on schedule.

If I can keep procrastination at bay, then I might even be able to get to some new things I've thought about that keep getting pushed to the side because I'm forever playing catch up. That would be a nice way to start fall, don't you think?

Monday Mosaic...and this and that

• As of today, we officially have 2 weeks left of summer.
• I'm just fine with that.
• Both big boys had their wisdom teeth extracted on Friday and they just weren't in enough pain (if you are a parent of teenagers, you will understand this and not think I am a masochist).
• I saw 'Julia & Julie' last night and liked it, but loved Stanley Tucci the most.
• I've read 3 books in the last 2 weeks, and have sworn off Jodi Picoult for the rest of my life.
• However, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was so good, I can't wait to read The Girl who Played with Fire, but I'll have to wait because I'm 15th on the library hold waiting list. (I'd just buy the damn book if it was available in paperback; I hate hardback books!)
• My dog is giving me the hairy eye right now; a signal that she would like breakfast. Right. Now.
• I'm sewing again.

And the winner is....

Thank you for all the comments/entries to my ApronFEST '09 Giveaway! I loved reading them and you are all so kind, it makes my heart swell!

Thanks to the Random Number Generator, we have winner!

 

Number 8 is Angie! Congratulations Angie - I have already contacted her and am waiting for her apron choice! Thanks everyone for playing along, giveaways are ALWAYS fun!

And just because it's a typical Monday, of course, my email is broken! Well, not broken, but because I've been so bad about deleting old mail, I have exceeded my disc space quota! I'm so embarrassed! So, if you have tried to email me and it has bounced back, I do apologize! I've submitted a help ticket to my host and am hoping to get it resolved shortly.

Plus, I really should be getting my workshop back in order - I had a fun time in Carlsbad and met a few online friends (love that!). Now I have put everything back together, get organized and input invoices. You know, real work. *sigh*