Bloggy Love

I'll admit it, I'm a lazy blog reader. I enjoy quite a few blogs and keep up with a hand full on a regular basis. But, if your blog isn't on blogger and I can't subscribe to it so that your updates pop up every time I log into my blogger account, a month or more could go by before I decide to spend my "I have time to kill online" time reading the non-blogger blogs I like. This was the fate of the Urban Threads blog. I love love love Urban Threads embroidery designs! Niamh, the master mind behind Urban Threads and her friend, Karline, run a great blog too. I like to stop by as often as I remember too, but alas, it's not a blogger blog sooooo it had been a few months. As I was reading through back posts low and behold:

That's my sugar skull ring sling, Yea!

Crafty Cupids

Happy Valentine's Day! For the second year running, the Florida Etsy Street Team (FEST) has given Valentine's cards to an organization in the community. Last year it was an Assisted Living Facility for the elderly, this year we picked All Children's Hospital. I volunteered again to collect and deliver the cards and although we didn't get to visit with the children (so as not to spread germs) it was a great opportunity to hopefully bring a smile to some little ones' faces and teach Elle about giving.

I made a really simple little card... just a word search of Valentiney words printed on white card stock, cut out, and the corners rounded (gotta love the Creative Memories corner rounder!).

Check out all these great Valentines other FESTers sent in... we're a talented bunch!


I didn't count them individually, but I'm pretty sure we had close to 75 handmade Valentine's to give. Thank you so much to those of you who contributed: Purple Cloud Studio, Wonderful Wire, The Crafty Hag, The Geloneck Family, Miele Melograno, Becky Sinn, 23rd Street Vintage, Kelley Love Designs, and Me - Elle Belle :)

It's the Small Things

On my list of "projects to tackle before we find out if we're having a boy or girl" was a cover for a lumbar support pillow thingie that I used at my day job and was a total life saver during my last pregnancy. I work in an office just 3 days a week, but I figured now that I know better (I didn't start sewing until just after Elle turned 1) why spend those three days looking at hideous blue polyester?!

This was my first attempt at a slip cover. I don't know if there's a technical way to do this, but this is what made sense to me. First, I decided I better not ruin the hideous blue polyester cover the support came with so that I can return it to the supply room post ginormous belly in the event that one of the drones in my office would actually prefer the synthetic, lint and hair trapping fibers over my stylish breathable cotton cover (as a side note, I don't think everyone I work with is a drone... only those that would shun my chic new cover). So, I seam ripped all the seams and just took it apart. I'm sure sewing it back together will take priority about 1 day before my return from maternity leave or when I get tired of having the blue pieces in the "quick projects" basket in my sewing room, whichever comes first. I made sure to mark where the pieces went on the back of the piece as I took it apart. I pinned the pieces to my fabric and because the original cover was stretchy polyester and my new cover is 100% not stretchy cotton I decided to cut most of the cotton pieces on the bias and also cut them about a quarter of an inch (my seam allowance) bigger than the original piece. From there, it was only a matter of pinning the pieces and stitching them together one at a time. Once the top was finished I fit it around the support pillow to see if it was a good fit before I stitched the back piece with the zipper on... it was, and waa laa... office style and comfort for the pregnant back!

Grow with you skirt (a.k.a. wrap skirt)

Since my pre-pregnancy clothes are getting pretty snug I decided this wrap skirt from the Sew What! book I got for Christmas would be the perfect project to work up for myself.

Clothing is not my favorite thing to sew. I don't love trying to get the fit just right and even though this is just a wrap skirt, it is supposed to be an a-line. The way the book instructs you to get the right pattern is to take your waist & your hip measurements, mark the waist measurement on the fabric and then mark your hip measurement the distance from you waist to your hip down from the waist measurement, then draw a line connecting the two and continue that angle to the hem line. The problem was that I didn't want to wear the skirt on my natural waist. My "where I want to wear the skirt" measurement and my hip measurement weren't that different, so it didn't create much of an a-line, it's pretty close to a straight skirt. I also changed the pattern a bit. In the book, it ties in the front with the overlap in the back, but I wanted the tie on the side and the overlap on the front side of the skirt, so I made one of the ties longer than the other and put a belt loop on the inside back of the skirt.

Over all I'm happy with how it turned out. I think I'll get some good use out of it during this pregnancy... now I just have to get a few more things done before we find out if we're having a boy or a girl and I start on my already a mile long "to make for the baby" list.

It Worked!

I'm super excited to announce a victory... at least for now... for the little guys vs. the CPSIA!

About a month ago I wrote a post regarding the new law that was passed that requires all items sold for use by children 12 years and younger to obtain expensive lead testing and product certification.

There was a large movement by the handmade community as well as small businesses to get the law revised to accommodate the small scale manufactures. I and so many others (some of you included, Thank you!) wrote to our representatives, signed petitions, and did out part to spread the word about what a devastational blow this would be to not only our livelihoods as business owners but also our choices as consumers.

Apparently, grass roots efforts are still a force to be reckoned with! The end of last week, the CPSIA announced that they would suspend the new law for one year while they work to revise the rules surrounding what items require testing, when they must be tested, how to obtain the testing, and how the regulations will be enforced. You can read all about it here.

I'll be anxiously watching for the revisions to the law to be announced and will keep you all posted!

Featured Etsy Seller: Rose Works Jewelry

The January featured Etsy Blogger is Rose Works Jewelry. Ruthiee is the creative genius behind Rose Works Jewelry. One look at her amazing bead work and I think you'll agree that genius is befitting. She has some fabulously intricate works for sale in her Etsy shop. My favorites are her hemp pieces though. I really like the pattern the knotted hemp takes on. It, in combination with the wood or glass beads, comes together for a simple and practical design... it especially appeals to the Florida girl in me!