At it again

My work in progress hat. I'm getting there and so excited for my first crochet project to be complete.

Some owls for this Friday's craft fair. The multi-colored one is already sold. I made this same pair for the last craft fair and they sold. A cute young girl came by at the end and wanted one so I took down her info and will be delivering it today.


These owls are a custom order for my mom. She is my BEST customer. :)

This is a custom order for a friend. Just need the waist measurements and it's ready to go.


I also made towels with hoods for toddlers for the craft fair. My 4 year old still uses hers and both girls always fight over the brown and purple one that we have. It's so nice to dry their hair and keep them covered as they travel to their rooms for clothes. My husband calls them little hobbits when they wear them.

Little hobbit.

I'll write up a tutorial next month on the hooded towel.

Strictly Crafting?

When I was coming up with a blog name, it was hard to find something that no one else has used. I thought of Strictly Ballroom and then decided Strictly Sewing. I hoped people would get it. I have mentioned the name to a few friends and the response is ,"Oh, you really are into sewing." True, it is my passion at the present time but I also enjoy crafting which I figure any sewing blog entails crafting too, right? So don't let the name of my blog deter you if you aren't a sewer.

One thing that may not be known is that I know how to knit. However, my knitting is limited to squares and rectangles.

I have recently developed a desire to learn how to crochet. I have been fortunate to have my friends Andi and Kirsten give me a couple of lessons.


Here is the result from a lesson by Kirsten last night.
FUN! I can't wait to make a hat. I actually ordered a custom made newsboy hat from myworldview13. It should arrive next week and I will let you know what I think of her product. I was lured in by the price.

As for my friend Kirsten, she writes crochet patterns. Check out her blog and etsy shop called McKinley's Closet. I think the name of her shop is so cute. My goal is to make her Aunt Nennie Newsboy hat. I love the flower and cute hat design.

I know, I got a distracted from a custom order and a craft fair that is coming up. I'll get back into my sewing groove tonight. Promise.

Unexpected Weekend & Halloween Decor

My sweet friend invited me to join her in a craft fair booth this past Saturday. Fortunately, I had some items ready to go that I was planning to take to the craft fair I am participating on Oct. 29th. Her stuff is soo stinkin'cute!!! Beautiful flower clips and the cutest tutu's I've ever seen. I'm so upset that I forgot to take pictures.

Well, we both had some sales and learned a lot about business. Three words: Location, Location, Location meaning not in El Paso. I'm hoping to break even when I finish up with the next craft event.

I'm planning on buying some of my friends stuff because I can't resist the cuteness and I know how much work goes into crafting and I am plum tuckered out from my own projects.

Here is my Halloween decor made be me:






I stopped by my daughter's room to take peek Saturday night and found she had fallen asleep with her finger in her nose (got tired of digging for gold). It made my day.


Can't wait to use it as black mail when she becomes a crazy teenager.

The softest clothes on Earth

I once read a blog where a mom put a ton of spaghetti down her garbage disposal and it broke. I thought, "thanks for sharing I'll remember not to do that". So I felt I should share my Saturday mishap so that maybe you wouldn't make the same mistake but more than likely most you are less absentminded than I am.

So I've been potty training my youngest and we've had quite a few accidents this week. I rinse out the soiled panties and pants and set them on the dryer until I have a load ready. I was in such a hurry Saturday morning and there was a huge pile that I just swiped it all into the washer and started the load. When the washing machine was finished I took out the clothes and saw this.


Apparently, the entire box of dryer sheets was swiped along with the pile of clothes. Here is a pic of what the floor looked like when I shook out the clothes.


All the dryer sheets in the garbage.
So the lesson here is don't leave your box of dryer sheets on top of the dryer.

My to do list

#1 Purchase some dryer sheets

Bitten

Here is my fall decor that has to come down because Halloween will be here soon. Will show Halloween decor as Part 2 of this post.




Pattern from Pine Needles.




I'm so proud of this find. I saw this exact lantern in a Pottery Barn catalog last fall for $40. I went to Wal-mart and found these two lanterns in an abandoned shopping cart. They were all dusty and on clearance for $4.00!!! Click here and compare.
Got this owl from Hobby lobby. I'm really into cute owls right now.







I have finally been bitten by the sewing bug. I have been busy the past two weeks. I made my mom a fall runner with fabric she purchased a year ago (told you I'm behind on my list). It's a big one for her formal dining table. I still need to finish the binding.



Then, my sister informed me that my niece's school is hosting a fall festival. Mel talked me into trying to sell some of my homemade goods so I've been madly using my sewing machine in preparation for this event.

Here is a peek to what I've been up to.





I know, the house is a wreak. My hubby has been very patient with the clutter.

I'm nervous about this craft fair for a few reasons. I don't know if my stuff will sell here. I imagine craft fairs in other places go well because people love boutique, homemade goods and are willing to dish for them. El Pasoans, not so much. It's a border town where people buy knock off items really cheap in Mexico or downtown.

If you want to have a garage sale, El Paso is the place you want to be. People are knocking at your door 6:00 a.m. even when the ad posted says 7:00 a.m. It's great because people buy your knick knacks that you want to goodwill/D.I. anyway so you pocket some decent cash.

However, the problem is whether new or used, name brand or not they are only willing to pay little for anything and are notorious for bargaining. Hopefully, I will break even.

So....in honor of Jeff Foxworthy

You might be an El Pasoan if you think everything should be free or at the very most 25 cents.

You might be an El Pasoan if you think stop signs and stop lights are only for people who have time to wait on them.

You might be an El Pasoan if you think it's okay to drive 35 mph on the freeway and 50 mph through school zones.

You might be an El Pasoan if you think good customer service is overrated.

You might be an El Pasoan if you take your entire family, kids, cousins, uncles, aunts, & grandparents all at the same time to a trip to Wal-mart.

No matter what time of day or day of the week or even day of the year you go to Wal-mart and the parking lot is full like it's Chrismas Eve, you might live in El Paso!!!

These comments are all in good fun. Please do not take offense cuz I am an El Pasoan!!!:)

Winner for pattern

I used the True Random Number Generator on the internet and NUMBER 1 came up.

Joy said...

I love, love , love Pink Fig patterns also!!! I am ready to sew a Nie Nie skirt and want to also try the Mia top. They are all so fun and cute.

Joy, e-mail me your mailing info at strictlysewing@yahoo.com and your free pattern will be on its way.

Just out of curiosity, why weren't there more entries? Feedback is appreciated.