Busy, busy, busy!

Maybe it was all those years that I worked in retail, when the pressure of the holiday season had everyone stressed out, but the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas seem to just fly by.

Now, with Christmas just a couple of weeks away, I still have gifties to make. I hope I can get them all done.

Also keeping me busy, aside from the usual laundry and dishes, etc. is Etsy! I decided to go for it and start an Etsy shop. http://www.mamasewsfun.etsy.com/ Slowly but surely, I am working on getting an inventory. I have even had a sale, yay! (although, it was from someone on a computer forum that has seen other things I have done; I asked her if she would go through Etsy for the exposure) And, another custom order might be in the works. Very exciting.

I am spending time on the Etsy forums, to try and learn more about the process, and pick up hints and tricks. Shipping can seem kind of complicated when you list an item, but from reading on the forums, I understand it better, so I will reevaluate my items and adjust the shipping.

As for our Christmas card picture....not that we are running late with it (refer to my comment about time between Turkey Day and Christmas) but we have an appointment at The Picture People coming up this week. We tried to go Saturday, but they were completely booked. It kind of stinks, because that company closed a ton of locations, our favorite one at the mall closest to us included, so there are only 4 studios within drivng distance, and the closest of those is going to be about 1/2 hour away. The others are at least an hour or more. So it could be completely hit or miss to get a 'fresh' picture of the kids after they have been travelling.... we'll see. I have a coupon, so it won't cost us anything but time.

The sweatshirt is one that I wore when I was pregnant with the girls. I actually used it as my winter coat...It was a good fit at the time, I was huge! And, I was plenty warm, given that I was carrying two little heaters inside!

Anyhow, Cassie and Maggie got a kick out of trying it on.I still wear it, it is good on cold nights when I have to get up with Nate..he doesn't like blankets....on anyone!

Gifties in Progress

An action shot of my Embroidery Machine. I am the very lucky owner of a Brother Innovis 4000D. It really is an amazing machine. I can use designs that are built in, download designs from the internet to a memory stick or use a design card. I am able to edit the pictures on the screen, press 3 buttons and sit back and watch. (One of those buttons automatically threads the needle!! Fabulous!) It is a sewing and embroidery machine, although I have yet to use it to just sew. I am a bit intimidated by it, and I love my first sewing machine, so I have been using both. That works out nicely sometimes, I can be sewing while embroidering.


The piece with the E directly in front of the machine: a mistake. It stitched out beautifully. Unfortunately, when I was cutting out all of the pieces, I somehow managed to cut 3 of my larger sections just a smidge short. And there isn't anyway to save it. I gave myself a headache trying to figure out the math. Luckily, I have more denim and am now calling that E a 'test stitch'.

I wound up switching the colors on the E. With the exception of the Cootie Bug, those piles of fabric will all become cute gifties for Christmas.

I have washed the jammie fabric. I was completely amazed at how long 8 yards of fabric really is, when I was trying to get it into the washing machine. It doesn't seem so long when it is folded nicely. I always prewash my fabrics in case they are going to shrink. I would hate to make an outfit for the girls and have it shrink after it is done.

The next part of the jammies is tracing out my patterns. That is usually fun, because I always have 'helpers'. Hopefully Nate will take a great nap today, and I can trace away.

(for some reason, I am having paragraph spacing issues right now, sorry....)