One Loopy Knitter

Where have I been??!?

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy) — Mon, 20 May 2013 19:34:00 +0000

View into the kitchen of Morimoto in Chelsea NYC.

Hi all, I meant to take a bit of a blog break, and that turned into weeks and then months- my apologies! With the new goal of knocking out a bunch of projects around the house, the honeymoon, then more house projects, getting the garden going (I'm starting from seed this year!), and a few larger sewing project commissions I've been beyond busy off line. I do intend to catch up with you all (not to mention catch up with your blogs as well) very soon. The above pic is one of my favorites from our NYC honeymoon- just look at our amazing table view!

But for now, I just wanted to share an auction going on right now to support the Maryland chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis chapter. I've been wanting to find a way to give back through crafting, and destash a bunch of my older shop items. A while back the organization held an MS walk in Baltimore and one of the participants (who also happens to have an etsy shop) is now holding an online handmade auction to raise a bit more cash for the cause. You can check out some great local Baltimore handmades up for grabs (including some of mine) and bid, donate, or just peek here.

As for me, I'll be diving into a few more projects this week, but promise to find the time to update you on our goings ons too. Stay tuned!

Friday Finds: Neon Edition.

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy) — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 14:00:00 +0000

Color Pops.

I made this treasury last week for my Etsy team, The Blogging Business Artisans, and thought it was particularly nice. I thought I'd share to brighten up this gloomy winter weather we've been having lately and give hope for pops of color as the spring emerges! Please stop by and comment if you like!

Have a great weekend all!

New York Calling.

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy) — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 14:00:00 +0000

By SacredandProfane

Well friends, I briefly mentioned that we FINALLY finalized honeymoon plans! We'd discussed many destinations from Nappa Valley to a Caribbean Cruise. While out to dinner one night last month, hubby and I sort of had an epiphany: throughout the whole process the main thing on our minds was planning around amazing food. That's become a big shared passion for us (both cooking & eating) and we though why not head to NYC, one of the best known restaurant capitals of the world? It just so happens to be a short train ride away which majorly reduces travel costs from our budget, opening up more cash flow to spend on food!

You may remember our trip to Prague last fall and how much we enjoyed wining and dining ourselves there. I'm still dreaming about it.

We've already made reservations at several of our "Must Eat At before We Die" restaurants. Train tickets are bought, the hotel room is booked, and I've got two tickets to see Book Of Mormon in my possession as we speak. We could not be more excited!!!!

By lauramiss

Certainly I'll disclose more photos and details, but I'd like to wait until after the trip of course, which is soon:)

What I've Been Up To Lately:

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy) — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 14:00:00 +0000

Printing like mad: Using my new stamps, I printed 100 business cards and product hang tags. I also preprinted my cotton tape rolls for sew in labels.

Making a mess on my desk: All of this was just in the name of gift wrapping a couple of gifts!

Purging: Before I painted the cabinets, we reorganized the kitchen some and donated a bunch of stuff we no longer need or have duplicates of since the wedding.

Quiet Kitty Moments: Watching a little Birdie-TV with Langley.

I love waking up on those grey mornings. The light is so soft and there's often seagulls circling above to keep my sleeping buddies around for a bit longer.

Ice Cream: We got an ice cream maker as a wedding gift and I just can't stop trying to perfect vanilla lately.

Question: What have you been up to lately?

Project Home Rennovation: Painting the Kitchen Cabinets.

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy) — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 14:00:00 +0000

Lately I've been a busy bee trying to push to get some of those pending house projects done. After I finished painting the kitchen light grey, I had it in my head that the cabinets were ugly and needed a brightening up. I knew I would paint them white, but I just wasn't sure what to use.

After a bit of online research I found out there were several products on the market that make painting shiny surfaces and laminate easy- no sanding! I chose Valspar Ultra Kitchen & Bath. It's a paint & primer in one, requires only cleaning the cabinets for prep, is scrubbable, and was $30 a gallon (sounds pricey, but is MUCH less than the Rust-Oleum kit. I just used 1/2 a gallon anyway). You have to be careful for 7 days after you're done- it may chip- but after that is good to go.

It took a week and a half of work as I only did a few doors at a time. But, in the end, I think it makes the kitchen look so much brighter! I went ahead and installed hardware too. We didn't have any before and I was sick of that, so what a perfect time for it. (Kind of a pain, but I got through it!)

You may wonder why I left most of the upper cabinets untouched. Our eventual plan is to rip all of the unpainted cabinets down, install to-ceiling tile, a hood range over the stove, and then open shelving on either side. This is quite a pricey plan, so for now we'll make due with a partial job.

I'm enjoying my progress thus far though, and know that we'll get it all done eventually. As for now, I think I'm going to put a bookmark in the home projects and get back into sewing! Have a great weekend friends!

Made- Project Sewing 201: My First Women's Garment.

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy) — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 19:20:00 +0000

As part of my "Sophomore" year of learning to sew, I've launched Project Sewing 201. You can read more about my intentions for the year in the linked page, but this beauty marks my second project in the series and my very first stab at women's garments. Additionally, Edi of Memories For Life has chosen the fitting theme of Red for our Blogging Business Artisan's February challenge piece.
Considering I needed something nice to go out to dinner in on our upcoming NYC honeymoon (more on that later), I decided to mesh all three purposes together and hoped to create a red skirt for me!

I think it turned out quite nicely! Even though there are TONS of tiny little mistakes, hopefully there are none noticeable enough to actually ruin the wear of the skirt. It fits, looks nice, and will work nicely for formal occasions I believe, so I'm happy with it.

This was a pretty big challenge for me, so I'll sum up the skills I had to use and learn in list form:

Building Skills:
-Reading and working from a written pattern.
-Pleating
-Measuring my size & executing the pattern accordingly

New Skills:
-Installing an invisible zipper
-Gathering
-Draping
-Working with Taffeta fabric
-Garment hemline

I've found that some of the above mentioned skills were a bit tougher than anything I've learned before, so this skirt took me a full week to work through. I made PLENTY of mistakes and had to rework it in quite a few places, often several times. I only had to recut one piece, which is great. The hemline at the bottom is pretty questionable, and my gathering is far from pro, but overall I think the skirt turned out decent enough to actually wear, which was the real goal for me.

I do apologize for the above horrible bathroom mirror picture. We really do need to invest in a full length one of these days!

What's next? So many things! I've already got some lovely plum jersey fabric pre-washed and ready to go for a dress, I need to do "take 2" of my brother's ill fitting suit vest, and I need to get going on my new handbag instructional book I ordered. Lots more to come folks!

Rebranding.

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy) — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 14:00:00 +0000

Lately, as you may know, I've been busy changing my life/ business around. I decided to eradicate all social networking accounts as well as change my products. Thus, it's time to think about rebranding as I'm not only running out of my old business cards but they now have information that's no longer accurate on them.

I decided I wanted to keep the design simple and include only my business name, shop address, and email on the cards. I also wanted some kind of different design for product hangtags, but I wanted it to pull double duty with potential for labeling items going to friends, or work as sew in tags. I like the idea of stamps for this, since it's open ended: you can print it on fabric or paper by just changing inks, and you can also change the color of the ink or paper to easily coordinate with future rebranding ideas.

After looking through many etsy shops for custom stamps, I finally settled on A Hue of Duck Egg Blue. Her stamps are acrylic, which apparently print clearer and dosn't leave edge marks. The artist, Sarah, lives and works in Greece and uses olive wood as her stamp bases, which I just thought was absolutely striking. She also had a lot of really cute ready made designs that were pretty simple- just what I was looking for.

I contacted Sarah, and she was SO friendly, and worked with me on coordinating designs to look like they belong together but aren't matchy matchy by altering some of the listings in her shop. She let me pick the font, sent proofs, and worked very quickly to get my order completed, made, and shipped. The whole process from initial contact to me opening the package was a little over 2 weeks, and if you'll research on etsy, you'll be hard pressed to find a custom creation like this promising less than one month's delivery. Needless to say, I was very impressed.

I've since purchased some ink & paper, and got to work experimenting a bit with how I will use the stamps:

I just love craft paper with simple black ink. I thought a bit of colored vellum sewn on the front might give an interesting detail. On the back of my business cards I plan to print this return customer coupon code (for craft shows and special occasions). Otherwise, I can leave it blank or use the "handmade by Nancy Fallon" stamp.

I will use the "Handmade by..." stamp as my product tags and maybe print in the linings of larger bags or clothing if I am so inclined. I also picked up little script letter stamps, and I plan to print my initials on cotton tape to sew into smaller items.

What do you all think???

Project Home Rennovation: Master Bedroom DIY Painted Headboard.

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy) — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 14:00:00 +0000

Last week I finally put the petal to the metal and knocked out another big project around the house that's been hanging over my head: find a cheap headboard for our bedroom. Previously, I was thinking of constructing one similar to this. However, in my daily blog reading I came upon this photo:

...and thought, a painted headboard would be cheaper, easier, and just as smart looking, so why not? And from start to finish, it cost me exactly $6 (in paint, as we had all the other supplies).

What you'll need:

Painter's tape, measuring device, pencil, laser level with tripod, and not pictured, electrical tape if you plan to use any curved shapes.

And of course, your blank canvas, and inspiration photo to boot.

What You'll Do:

1. Tape off where the corners of the bed meet the wall. Set up laser level to project a vertical line 3 inches out from each side of the bed; tape this line from the baseboards up to about 18" above the horizontal tape marking the height of the bed.

2. Move the vertical laser line in 4 inches, mark, and then switch it to the horizontal setting to mark up 4 inches from your last mark. This will guide you to mark out the curved corner section of the design.

3. Mark 6 inches in from the laser line shown above. Add a vertical piece of tape to get a 90 degree angle here. Be sure to do the same on both sides of the bed as you progress.

4. Begin to draw your rounded top edge by sketching out a grid as follows: Find the exact middle between the uppermost corners that you've just marked out. Next, mark the middle of both sections to divide the space into quarters. Continue with this process until you have markings every 3-5 inches, however your space can be divided up.

5. Mark the arch: Place a ruler with the bottom edge lined up with the middle point on your grid. Mark 10 inches up. Move outward, point by point and descending an inch or two at a time (this will depend on your own space). Be sure to the mark the same measurement on points positioned in the same spot on opposite sides. Finally, connect your dots to create an arch.

6. Tape along straight edges. Use electrical tape around the main arch, as it is flexible enough to gently curve, and overlap the outer edges with painter's tape to extend the coverage and guarantee a stick.

7. Lap the edges with a brush, carefully free handing any untaped edges.

8. Use a roller to fill in the shape. Re-coat, removing tape immediately after you finish your final coat (I find the tape causes less damage this way). Finally, touch up any hairy edges and you're done!

This is a project that really only takes about a day off and on to complete from the shopping to the end. And I do have to say, for $6, it's well worth the work!

Valentine's Recap.

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy) — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 14:00:00 +0000

How was your Valentine's Day friends? My man was away all day into the night hard at work (as usual), so I decided to treat myself to a special day filled with little things that make me smile.

First, I gave myself a manicure. I went with red- only appropriate.

Secondly, I made a tall stack of the best pancakes I've ever eaten. I do love a good blueberry pancake, and we happened to have buttermilk in the fridge, so I followed this recipe. Not to a T though (of course). I didn't want raspberry of course, nor any syrup other than maple. But, what I found curious about this recipe is that it directs you to separate the eggs, beating the whites to stiff peaks and then gently folding them in. Not only were these mighty tasty, but they were the lightest, fluffiest pancakes I've ever had!

Thirdly, I bought a bottle of pink moscato, and enjoyed it paired with a brownie sunday (I had homemade ice cream and brownies in the freezer just for this occasion of course) after dinner.

And finally, I decided to skirt work in the afternoon and treat myself to a TV marathon of Once on netflix, a since canceled series about fairytales that's pretty interesting and worth a peek if you like that sort of thing.

Question: Did you do anything special for Valentine's Day?

Made: Project Sewing 101- Baby Blanket.

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy) — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 14:00:00 +0000

Over the past few posts I've been revealing and counting down the final chapter of my Project Sewing 101 learn to sew book. Today is a very special day, because this is the absolute last project I needed to complete in order to finish the book!

That means that I've sewn 34 projects total! I'm pretty excited about this step, and have vowed to continue my sewing education through 2013 in a more targeted way. More on that later, but now, on to today's project, a baby blanket:

There was nothing all that special or particularly hard about this project, so it was kind of a nice one to end on. It basically involved cutting out two rectangles of fabric, sewing them right sides together, flipping them inside out, ironing it flat, and then finishing it with the blanket embroidery stitch all the way around.

I really liked embroidering the edges. It was kind of therapeutic to sit down, watch two movies back to back with a glass of wine and knock it out in one night. Perhaps the most exciting part of this whole chapter was that now I get to carefully fold and pack away these three projects (blanket, burp cloth, and bib) for my own future offspring. Pretty neat!

What's next? I'll definitely outline my sewing goals and projects for the year soon, but just to give you a sneak peak: You may have noticed that I've launched Project Sewing 201, in the form of a new tab in the header of this blog. Click on the tab, or the link above to read a blurb about my plans and see my first already completed project in this series!

Made: Project Sewing 101- Baby Bib.

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy) — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 14:00:00 +0000

Last week I showed off my newly made baby receiving blanket. Today I'm revealing the matching "Sunshine Bib." Again, I have to say I just love the fabric and colors I found for these pieces! Neon and grey + that cityscape fabric is so cute!

I found this project to be a quick & easy one too. The only tricky part was stitching around so many tight corners, but I think I did an OK job of it.

The embroidery was pretty fun to do and I think it gives it a nice detailed touch on the solid color side. It also emphasizes the fact that it's handmade! Although, I know it's most likely very impractical for a messy baby, but at least for right now, that isn't the point of this project!

Made: Project Sewing 101- Receiving Blanket.

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy) — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 18:16:00 +0000

This week and into next I'll be revealing the last 3 projects in my learn to sew book, Project Sewing 101. This chapter, Baby, was quite fun to work through, and all three projects were really pretty straight forward and easy. The only added challenge, or new skill, was a bit of embroidery.

The first project in this chapter, a receiving blanket, required 3 lines of different types of embroidery stitches on one side (the running stitch, an inverted cross stitch, and a cross stitch). These were pretty straight forward, and while I could have spaced them out a bit more I think, they turned out pretty nicely.

I'm particularly fond of the fabric I found for this project. They're both flannel, one a solid grey, and the other that great aerial view of a cityscape in shades of blue, grey, and neon. How cute!

I really, really enjoyed this project and the others as well. Can't wait to show them off! Stay tuned.

Question: What have you been working on lately?

Living Room Redecorate Update.

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy) — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:00:00 +0000

Last week I revealed our messy, haphazard front room in various states of disarray:

I also mentioned how we decided to buckle down and finish this room to finally transform it into the functional entryway/ living room/ studio space that we've been envisioning for a few years. Well, in just a week, we've managed to finish a few key projects and take the room to near completion:

What's new?

Before:

After:

1. The Curtains. I finally got rid of those brown batik printed curtains that I made in as the hubby so lovingly calls, "my teenage years of sewing." That was back when I apparently didn't realize that you had to make the rectangle of fabric larger than the actual window so that it would function. Anyway, I found gorgeous grey and white satiny fabrics and paneled them out to make wide stripped to floor drapes. Much classier, wouldn't you say?

Before:

After:

2. Coat Rack. We've been piling our coats over a table in here ever since I finished painting. It's been an annoying mess! Hubs had the brilliant idea to go to a salvage store in our neighborhood, find an old board to clean up, and pick up a couple of coat hooks to finally get something sturdy, our style, and as big as we needed up on the wall in our entryway. Isn't it gorgeous? He's so handy.

Before:

After:

3. Coffee Table Centerpiece. I really wanted to remove the old color scheme from this room entirely to move on to a black, white, and grey theme. We had a gift card to Pier 1, so I picked up this porcelain tray, these pudding glasses, and some votives thanks to someone else's bank account. (Don't you love that??) I surrounded the votives with coffee beans, a trick I saw somewhere online but can't quite remember where. They not only look amazing, but smell amazing too!

I think the final effect is pretty stunning. We're still in the market for a new black and white or grey and white graphic/ geometric print rug to replace old one. But, that fix doesn't come cheap, so it will have to wait. But for now, I'm really happy with the look of the room and all we were able to accomplish!

Made: Project Sewing 101- Bunny Softie

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy) — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 14:00:00 +0000

This marks the official last project in my Project Sewing 101 book, Ellen Luckett Baker's 1-2-3 Sew! Don't get too excited for me yet though; I've skipped one chapter because I hadn't bought the fabric for it yet, so there's still 3 projects left to go. But just 3!!!

This project challenged my cumulative skills: sewing curves, interfacing fabric, applique, sewing thick pieces & stuffed pieces, hand finishing, and embroider. Phew, that's a lot! For me it marks not just the (almost) end of the book, but a celebration of all of those skills I've built over this project!

A close up of my ladder stitch (by hand) to close the opening after stuffing.

Appliquéd heart on bunny's belly. I had trouble neatly folding over the rounded edges, but tried my best!

A close up of the bunny's embroidered face.

I really, really enjoyed making this stuffie! It was relatively easy & took about an hour and a half (after cutting), so I'm sure I'll make more in the future. Just like the hand puppets, it seems easy enough to modify just by changing the face & ears.

Project Home Renovation: Little By Little, Living Room.

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy) — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 14:00:00 +0000

At this point, it should really be called Project Redecorate in some rooms. That aside, I am challenging myself to get back into it, finally finishing the odds n' ends throughout the house that we just haven't gotten around to yet.

The first item on my list is to make a push to complete that last 20% or so left in our living room. This room is a bit multipurposed; it serves as our entry way & foyer, my studio, then into an actual seating & TV area, all open:

This is a shot of the room back when I had just finished painting.

So far we've come a pretty long way in this room including:

*The Paint Job- I transformed the walls from a warm tan to a cool grey & painted the ceilings too.
*Rearranged the Furnature- We flipped placement of everything in this room, creating a nicer, more functional & flowing space.
*Hung Art- I arranged & hung this gallery wall & we hung these large black & whites behind the couch.

However, paired with the modern look of the grey walls, once the art was hung it was obvious to me that I needed to redecorate- replace the old tan, brown, green & blue palette with something to coordinate with black, white, & grey. So, I've decided to keep the tan (since our couch isn't going anywhere anytime soon), kick out all brown, blue, & green and replace it with brighter pops of color throughout the room (mostly to tie into the gallery wall).

I thought I'd start with replacing the couch pillows & curtains since those are the easiest & cheapest changes that will make the most impact.

I just finished the pillows and am so happy with their immediate impact! Just this small change really helps me see the direction I want to take this room and helps me ignore all of the things I still can't stand- like those orange & cream candles, and that really unmatching rug.

Next on the list will be two things:

1. Get our entry way cleaned up and reorganized. Ideally I wanted to build a board and batton area to the right of the couch and add coat hooks & a shelf to it. However, we've been stalling for so long on this project that it's now winter and our coats are all over the place driving us nuts! So, we decided to forget about that elaborate plan and just get some simple coat hooks & a shoe rack. More on that soon!

2. Get those curtains made! Right now there's brown ones up, and I bought a shiny charcoal & white fabric. The plan is to create wide stripes with those two fabrics and make floor length drapes.

Once those two things are done, it'll be down to smaller details- mount the TV, get rid of unnecessary clutter & furniture in this room, start adding a few pops of color in the room that actually match, hang & frame a few smaller art pieces, and eventually put that rug somewhere else and get something black & white??

Yea...that's about 20%, right?? Haha. More soon!

Question- Do you have any unfinished rooms in your house driving you nuts?

Made: Project Sewing 101- Blockhead Puppets.

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy) — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 14:00:00 +0000

This project sewing 101 project was cute & so much fun to make! I know it'll be even more fun to give away, as it's destined for a 3 year old birthday gift! They're animal hand puppets; a mouse, a bunny, and a kitty.

Mouse Hand Puppet.

The toughest part was the little bit of hand work involved in making their hands accessible & open from the inside. I had to leave a gap in the side seams, and while the pupped was still inside out, insert the hand inside and sew around the edges several times by hand. This took a bit of time to do all 3 puppets, but it was worth it as they are so cute!

Kitty Hand Puppet

Bunny puppet in action.

The book suggests an easy way to modify these puppets as just coming up with new ear designs. That sounds easy enough if I ever want to recreate them in the future.

Made: Project Sewing 101- Mouse Cat Toy.

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 14:00:00 +0000

This week I started the final chapter in my Project Sewing 101 book, Blockhead Animals. The first project is supposed to be a mouse pincushion, teaching how to sew and stuff a basic pyramid form. I already have a pincushion I like, so I decided to stuff it with catnip and modify it into a cat toy.

This project seemed easy enough, but when I finished and flipped it inside out I realized I wasn't as precise as I had hoped; the face isn't quite positioned where I would have wanted and the head is a bit wonky where the seems meet at the top there.

However, It was a pretty good try, I think, and very cute.

Lucy doesn't seem to mind either;) As soon as I started stuffing the catnip & polyfill, she somehow knew and came immediately over to supervise.

Made: Project Sewing 101- Mix it Up Smock.

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy) — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 18:10:00 +0000

Back before the holidays, I interrupted Project Sewing 101, my journey to complete all of the projects in the book 1-2-3 Sew, in order to focus my attention on my etsy shop & craft show for the season. Now, I'm back in action, making it a priority to knock out the last 7 projects in the book in the next few weeks.

I left off in the "Reversible For Kids" chapter, where I completed a cape, a little girl's skirt, and went out of the book to create little man's suit vests. The final project in this chapter is the Mix it Up Smock, a smock for art on one side and for cooking on the other- what a great idea!

On the art side, I embroidered 2 paint brushes, and included a little pocket separated into slots to fit crayons, markers, pencils, or brushes.

The project also directed me to make and use double fold binding to finish off the neck area. I made single fold binding for my placemats project, but not since so there was a bit of a learning curve going on here! I think it turned out OK on the art side, but don't examine the cooking side too closely!

The cooking side also has appropriate embroidery, a two section pocket, and the whole thing is open on 3 sides with 2 velcro straps. I like this idea because it grows with your kid.

It feels great to finally finish this chapter! There are only 2 left to complete (just 6 projects): For Baby and Blockhead Animals. I'm trying to zoom through these projects, so most likely there will be a series of posts just highlighting these projects for a while until I finish up!

Ventures Into Menswear.

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy) — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 15:24:00 +0000

It's hard to believe that last year this time I had just received a new sewing machine and challenged myself to learn to use it with Project Sewing 101. I planned to work my way through the book 1-2-3 Sew by Ellen Luckett Baker. To date, I've completed 23 of the 33 projects, skipping 2 that looked way too unrelated to sewing, and adding in several of my own. That's a grand total of 27 different projects, not including repeats (many times I'd decide to produce a stack of one type of item just for practice).

While I still plan to finish up the book (just 7 projects to go!), I've found myself sidetracked for a while as I build my sewing skills I find myself wandering down different paths seeking projects that are closer to what I'd eventually like to be making.

One of those paths is leading me into menswear:

My brother mentioned wanting a brown suit vest, and that he'd been having trouble finding an affordable one that he liked in stores. Since I'd just made little boy suit vests, I thought, how hard can it be, and offered to make him one.

So, I went to the store, picked out a pattern & fabric (for the first time!!) and worked through it. It was rough going at times, but in the end I was able to hide all of my mistakes on the inside and come up with a pretty smart look! It's a bit ill fitting though; I followed the pattern for his size, but he's got a very skinny long torso, so needs added inches in length and subtracted inches in width. I'll most likely take this one in, but also make another one to try and perfect it:)

Curious about some of my other sewing goals for the year? Well, I'd like to:

* Finish the 7 projects in 1-2-3 Sew
* Continue exploring menswear by creating a few more vests, and attempting a man's dress shirt
* Experiment with sewing leather
* Come up with a few purse designs of my own (just for friends & me, not for sale)

I'm so excited for what this year will bring!

Up and Down.

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy) — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 01:02:00 +0000

January always brings renewed hopes for business success in the new year, but this particular year I find myself faced with many cut backs and one tough decision.

September saw the end of social media for me, as I deleted my facebook, twitter, and pinterest accounts. On Monday, I had to say goodbye to A Little Etsy Love, a blog I've been a part of for two years. That leaves for me this blog and my etsy shop.

Although I've just started to list new items into the shop, and plan to continue, I've decided that I'm no longer happy with running N. Fallon Design Studio as a business. To be frank, it's been a money suck. I know we in the crafty business are trained to persevere no matter what, but after 5 years of being in the red, I need to grasp the reality that what I do is a hobby and not a business, and I will act accordingly this year.

Lately I've really enjoyed building a new skill set in learning to sew, and plan to continue doing so. I'll finish the instruction book I'm currently working through, and go on to other tutorials, patterns, and books as well. But I'm no longer planning to look at what I make in terms of etsy or even in terms of what will sell or what I want to sell. Everything I make from today forward will be for me.

As for this blog? I really love blogging. I love the community I've built, I appreciate my readers, and I enjoy reading the blogs that I regularly visit and discovering new ones. But for now, I don't want to commit to a specific schedule of posting. I don't want to run this blog like a business. I want to stir in a bit of leisure, and come to find what I loved so much about it again. I'll be posting when I have something to say or to show you. And I'll be visiting blogs when I'm in the mood to read- much like reading a good book. I don't want to be so rigid about it; I want instead to enjoy it again. So that's what I'll do.

I hope you understand this change, dear readers, and why it's necessary for my mental health.

Gray Day.

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy) — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 15:16:00 +0000

Fog on Golden Ponds

Feeling a bit somber today.

I don't know if it's the gray weather, the death of a beloved blog, or just my natural mood today. Feeling silent.

Back To Life, Back To Reality & A Shop Update.

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy) — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 18:27:00 +0000

Hi all! I trust that your holiday was lovely??

Ours was great! We took a luxurious two weeks off to just hang out at home and have a staycation. We usually travel at some point during the holidays, so it was nice to get to just relax here and not have to worry about traffic or weather or anything like that. One of our favorite things to do when we snag ourselves a staycation (next to cooking) is catching up on shows or movies we've been wanting to watch. Sounds boring, I know, but to me, there's nothing better than holiday left overs to rely on for simple reheats, a glass of wine, and a marathon of our newest favorite. This time it was Breaking Bad- we're finally caught up, and man, what an exciting show!

Come this past Monday, I was slapped in the face with the reality that our house is a disaster. I'd been neglecting errands & housework, so took two days to get caught up there. I'm finally feeling like my head is above water again, so it's back to work for me.

I started photographing and listing all of the items left over from my holiday show which is actually quite a lot since what I sold there was mostly deeply discounted older inventory. I'll be working on this a little each day most likely through next week, but you can peek at some of my new items here:

Organize It Kits

I've added a section of Organize It Kits, my combo pack of coordinated items to organize your purse including a coin purse, a tissue case, and a keychain. Some even have a free gift- one of my knit heart brooches.

Organize It Kit in Avocado & Spots

Organize It Kit in Hot Pink & Zebra Print

Keychain Sets

I've also added a section of keychain sets. I'm selling them in sets of 3 since shipping & selling separately won't be economical enough for me. I may chance my mind on this: we'll see what kind of feedback I get.

Keychain Set in Chevron & Southwest Prints.

Keychain Set in Blue & Spots

Have A Magical Holiday Break!

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy) — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 14:00:00 +0000

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Dear readers:

I hope you have a very lovely holiday break filled with much love from family and friends! I will return in the new year with many, many more stories to share!

Holiday Gift Making Factory. (Too bad I don't have elves...)

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy) — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 14:43:00 +0000

Lately I've been a bad blogger. Very, very bad!! I'm afraid I've been busying my hands knitting and sewing away trying to race the clock and complete my handmade Christmas before the big day (or at least, before I see each person next).

With each stitch, I feel my insanity growing. Why did I commit to this??? It's all worth it of course, but if you are a knitter, you know how many hours are invested in just one lovely, soft gift. Just how many gifts am I making this year? Well, here are the totals:

6 kids= 4 boys are getting suit vests, ties, and suspenders; 2 girls are getting newsboy hats, along with a matching scarf (below) or skirt.

6 adults= receiving a myriad of gifts ranging from some of my new handbags to cowls & these lovely fingerless gloves.

This lovely pair went off to my niece. See the use of my new name labels there??? I decided to line the scarf & band around the hat with fleece for extra warmth, which allowed a great surface to attach my labels too:) I hope she loves them!

The gloves pattern comes from Chrissy over at Whimsical Poppysmic. They are so, so amazing. I can knit a pair in just a few movies (OK maybe 3-4) which means that depending on how long I've got each day to devote to knitting they are easy enough to whip out pretty quickly.

I've chosen to work with a silk/ bamboo blend, so they are warm, so, so soft, and practically melt in your hands. I'm just thrilled with the way these are coming out!! The count?? 2 pairs sent off; 2 others in the wrapping queue; 1 on the needles; and 1 left to go after that! And then of course, I must make some for me too.....

Question: What's keeping you busy these days???

Last Chance Holiday Show: How it Went.

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy) — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 20:50:00 +0000

Saturday was my only holiday craft show for the year. I didn't have all that high of expectations for it since it's a smaller show and it's only in its second year. However, I ended up setting a few small goals (hopes) for the outcome and I ended up reaching all of them so I'm satisfied.

Goal 1: I wanted to double my booth fee. I actually quadrupled it, making just shy of $300. So I'd say I did pretty well.

Goal 2: I set up a 60% off rack in the back right of my table hoping to get rid of a lot of my older stock: knitted purses, clutches, and coin purses. It worked! Slap a sale sign on something and the people shop!! I only have about 18 items left which really blew my expectations out of the water. What's left is currently posted at 60% off in my shop, so browse if you like!

Goal 3: I wanted to sell at least one of my new purses. I sold exactly one, so goal met! Many seemed to be impressed with them though, so that's a great thing.

I was also really happy with my booth location: right in front! I snapped a photo from behind my table to show my proximity to the main entrance of the show. It definitely helped that there was only one other purse maker there (who makes only totes) so my items were pretty unique.

What's next? Well, I do plan to list these new items in my shop just as soon as I can get some decent photos (it's rainy and dark here today!). Additionally, I'll be working on some new purse patterns, adding more colors and fabrics, and working on some gadget covers as well. Most likely this will be a long, slow process for me though as I still need to continue my sewing education and skill building too.