A Good Day

It was a good day. I got up early --well, I guess 5:27 is pretty early! The coffee wasn't even done yet (we have the automatic coffeepot set to make the coffee at 5:30). I had checked my Etsy shop before I went to bed last night and saw that I had sold a few things that I needed to get packaged up and mailed out this morning. I enjoy sending stuff out. Really. I hand make little boxes for the items and make a pretty little stamped hang tag to match the box, I even like to stamp the address label to match the tag! It's a fun way to start the day and get in a crafty mood. I had one of my favorite customers request a custom order for 4 more of the felty, old fashion hearts, so I got started on those too! The kids had the day off of school today (semester change), so Linds and I went shopping. Not the rush and get the needed stuff shopping, but the leisurely, "hey, look at this!" kind. It's nice to spend time with Linds like that, just the 2 of us. She is 13 now, and busy with friends and school and all that. Then we stopped at the video store and got the movie "RV" with Robin Williams--have you seen that? We went home and made cocoa and popcorn and watched it---and laughed! Man, that is a funny, silly movie! Go rent it! Oh, and Daisy watched with us too, after all, she is one of the girls too! There you have it, a simple yet lovely day--which I need to end now, after all, I've been up since 5:27!! Good night.

Mrs. Little goes to Market

Mrs. Little goes to Market
Originally uploaded by misseskwittys.

Hello Readers. As many of you know, I enjoy working with retro fabrics, particularly the styles from the 30's and 40's--the repro feedsack fabrics. I'm always on the hunt for them. We live in a medium size city (around 85,000 ppl) and there are only 3 quilt shops in town and a Hancock Fabrics for me to find fabric. So far, I have bought some retro fabric in ALL the lines that they carry (which isn't much) LOL!! Thank God for the internet!! Yeah!

I signed up to do the Fabric Shop Hop last year, which is where you sign up and then are given a listing of all the participating shops and you just go and check them all out! Fun. You also get the scoop on special sales and a chance to win bigger prizes for completing the hop. This is a good way to find shops that carry what you are looking for. I found my favorite online fabric shop that way---Wish Upon a Quilt. A nice little shop, with good prices, and they run some good sales too! I urge you to check it out. There is also the ReproDepot--another great find if you like the repro styles.

So, any shops you would like to share? Where do you find those little treasures that make you smile?

Old Fashioned Valentine close-up

Close up shot of the Valentine
Originally uploaded by misseskwittys.

Hello Readers. I made an old fashioned Valentine. I haven't made something like this for a good many years. It is very victorian feeling, which is not my usual style, but it is a style that I enjoy. I got a sheet of vintage images printed out on fabric from Leslie at Alpha Stamps (a great shop, btw, you should really stop by and check it out!), and I just got the urge to make something pretty and pink! I think it turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself *lol*. I have it listed in my Etsy shop if anyone is interested.

I'm teetering on the brink of switching over to the new layout on this blogger--it has all the cool features that are supposed to make editting so much easier. BUT I just read that it will erase all the changes that I've already made to my blog. That is such a drag! So, I'm still debating on whether or not I want to go and switch and then try and re-submit all the sidebar goodies.....hmmm... Has anyone else done this yet? I would appreciate a little discussion on this issue, if you would care to share your thoughts. Pretty Please??

Cherry-OH Wristlet

Cherry-OH Wristlet
Originally uploaded by misseskwittys.

Hello Readers. A gray and dreary day here in MN--perfect for staying inside and crafting and playing on the computer!

I took a little time off from the crafting, just a little "after Christmas veg out"! LOL But, I had a fun swap with Curious Zoo (who I met through Flickr) and she sent me this beautiful cherries fabric and a bunch of other goodies in return for some of my handcrafted items. The fabric was just what I needed to incite me to go and do a little new crafting. I have made a couple new little wristlets, including the cherries one pictured here. There is also one I call "Groovy Chick" which features a funky retro mod floral fabric or two and a little chick applique. I really like them both!! You can check them out (and even purchase them if they strike your fancy--you know my prices are very reasonable!) in my Etsy shop. I made a little cherries card wallet to match the wristlet and that is being offered as a package deal with the wristlet. I also made a little padded pouch with the cherries fabric (see, told you--it incited me to action!) which would be perfect for an MP3, cellphone, camera, sunglasses, etc...).

Well, I need to go visit some of my favorite blogs and see what they have been up to---thanks for stopping by!

Here's My Heart Bunny Pull Toy

Here's My Heart Bunny Pull Toy
Originally uploaded by misseskwittys.

Hello Readers! It is way past my bedtime right now but I wanted to show you all my new little bunny pull toy that I just got posted in my Etsy shop tonight--isn't he a sweety? He's all hand stitched, he has a lovely wooden decoupaged valentine, and he stands on a wooden base that has a pretty vintagey floral paper applied and I added little wooden wheels and a ribbon to pull it along! Yeah! If you would like to see larger pictures and shots from different angles, please HOP on over to my ETSY shop and have a look around. Thanks for stopping by and have a great night!

Happy New Year and I've been Tagged!

Hello Readers. I'm back, after a rather long break! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas this year. I made it through, lol! Just kidding, it was wonderful and I am very blessed.

I just got over a terrible little bout with an eye infection! Man, don't get one of those if you can help it! I had one eye that was all swollen and very painful, and I couldn't see out of it at all. I seem to be on the mend finally. Today is the first day in a week that I can see out of it decently and it feels good to be able to get back on the computer and visit all my favorite sites and blogs again. I've missed you all!

I see that my friend Joni, in her very cool blog "My Piece of Heaven", has tagged me with a 6 weird things thingee. Here are the details:

The Rules:Each player of this game starts with "6 weird things about you". Each person who gets tagged needs to write a blog post of their own 6 weird things as well as clearly state this rule. After you state your 6 weird things, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says "you're tagged" in their comments and tell them to read your blog for information as to what it means.

So, I have to pick 6 things out of the seemingly limitless weird things about myself, lol.

1) I didn't learn to drive until I was 31.

2) I listen to really loud music and sing loudly when I craft (that way the crafting just flows without too much thinking on my part!)

3) I moved around so much when I was a kid that I never spent more than 5 months at any one school until I got into the 9th grade.

4) I was holding my Mom in my arms when she died.

5) 9 times out of 10 I can tell who is on the phone when it rings.

6) I make really, really good soup which I am pretty famous for around here...and my brother, Will, will always show up at my house after I make some--even though no one told him!! We have a psychic soup connection! lol

There, that's that. Now you know all my secrets. Now, who will I tag with this....hmmm......

Winter Wonderland

Winter Wonderland
Originally uploaded by misseskwittys.

Merry Christmas!!!

I just want to wish you all a very blessed and joyful Christmas!!

Little Gray Kitty

LIttle Gray Kitty
Originally uploaded by misseskwittys.

Hello Readers. Are we all ready for Christmas yet? lol...getting there. I have to admit, I get a little wrapped up in the craft business and, if I'm not careful, the home stuff gets pushed to the background. I'm terribly late with my Christmas cards! Lindsey has offered to help me with them (God, I love that girl!) so I thought we would make a pot of hot chocolate and some cookies--official card writing necessities--and work on them after church tomorrow.

I have met a gal, Leslie, who is the owner of a business called Alpha Stamps (check out her webstore--you're gonna love it!) who bought a little stuffed bunny of mine. She then asked if I would make her a kitty. The one pictured above is the final result of that. I tell you, I had such a good time designing and making the kitty. Years ago I used to make a lot of dolls, both cloth baby dolls and stuffed animal dolls. I had to put them on the back burner because of the time involved. Making the dolls takes a lot of time because I start with just an idea in my head, design the patterns, and then I stitch them entirely by hand. It is such fun, creative work! The sad part is that it is not cost effective because of the time involved--and people can go to a store and buy a machine made one for an eighth of what I need to charge for them. So, I rarely make them anymore. I have been thinking about trying out offering the patterns for a couple of them and seeing how that goes...I'll have to give that some more thought.

Well, I think things in my Etsy shop are starting to wind down a little. I've decided to offer a FREE SHIPPING UPGRADE on all orders over $25 from now until December 20th--you pay for First Class Shipping, which is stated in my listing, but I will upgrade your postage to Priority mail automatically! I am really good about getting things in the mail quickly so there is still time if you have something from my shop that you had your eye on for Christmas!

Thanks a lot to all my wonderful customers...you are all GREAT!! Hugs!!

Sunbonnet Sue and Teddy too!

Sunbonnet Sue and Teddy too!
Originally uploaded by misseskwittys.

Hello Readers! Is everyone swept up in the holiday spirit yet? I am happy to say that I am! I've been so busy with the craft fairs and the crafting and Etsy. I just passed a milestone in my Etsy shop--over 100 items sold! YEAH! And no complaints! which is really nice. I want to thank all of you who supported me and bought items from me in this new adventure!! You all ROCK!! Hugs all around!

This is all new to me, you know, having a web shop along with all the usual holiday stuff-and it's keeping me hopping. A real learning experience. I hadn't really thought that much about the limitations imposed on the online shopping due to the shipping times and I am really feeling the deadline dread! lol But, trying not to get anxious, if a person doesn't mind spending an extra buck or two, priority shipping only takes 2 to 3 days, right? ! Whew...I think I will be OK for another day or two before that deadline dread starts setting back in again, lol.

Here is my newest listing, this adorable Sunbonnet Sue and Teddy too bagkeeper. I cannot get over how fast the bagkeepers are getting snatched up! lol Yeah! If you want one of these, you better hurry on over to my ETSY shop and get it before its gone!! Take a few minutes to look around while you are there, you just might find the perfect thing you were looking for for Christmas too! Thanks so much and have a great day!

Long Tall Sally

Long Tall Sally
Originally uploaded by misseskwittys.

Hello Readers. The holiday crafting season is in FULL swing! Busy, busy, busy...Yeah!! Business is good and I am very grateful. I would like to send out a special thank-you to all the lovely people who are supporting me with their purchases and their encouraging words--I really, really, really appreciate it!

I have a craft fair this weekend, which should be fun, but I really don't have that much product to bring, lol. I am glad that I am sharing a booth with my friend so we will have a full display. The fair is at a new location, they have never had one there before, so there is no way of telling if we will get a lot of traffic or not. But-I just found out that another friend is getting a table there too, right by ours-so even if the traffic is slow, we will have fun anyways! I just love my craft friends so much--I don't really have very many of them locally, and only one other person in our family likes to craft, but she is pretty much a loner- so it is a real treat to get to spend some time with some people who "speak my language"!

This newest creation is named Long Tall Sally-she is almost a full yard long! Made from a white glitter felt and handstitched onto a rich blue felt strewn with handstitched snowflakes with button centers. I love the snowflaky, swirly blue fabric I found for her bow and scarf and matching borders. Wouldn't she look pretty hanging in your home through the winter months? She is available in my Etsy shop--please stop in and check her out and all the other new items. Have a great day!!