A quick review...

As I mentioned in a previous post, I took a few Fridays off in the month of January and have now extended it through the month of February. I did this to build my inventory to open an Etsy store in March. I wanted to post a little review of what I've been working on.

My first Friday off, I worked on some tissue packs and a baby hat. I absolutely love the baby hat, but it took quite a while to complete, so I don't think I'll be making another one soon. And if I do make one soon, it won't be to sell because for the amount of time it took, the price I would have to charge wouldn't be anywhere near reasonable.

My second Friday off didn't go quite as planned. Jason and I work together, so it really hasn't been a problem for us to share an office key in the past. On that Friday, we forgot to pass my key over to him, so I spent a good chunk of my day trying to get the key down him at the office. Usually, this wouldn't be a big issue, but that day it had snowed. There was an accident on the highway I usually take to the office, so it ended up taking a lot of weaving through town to get to him. So, it was lunch time before I made it back home and could start working.

I worked on some casserole covers. I started with the brown pair. I think they turned out pretty cute. They work awesome for keeping food warm when taking a dish to mom's house or wherever. They're quilted on the bottom (which wraps up the sides when you put a dish in and tie it closed) which creates little heat pockets.

Jason and his brother went up to Nebraska to pick up 1/2 a cow from one of the grandparents. I had all day Saturday (minus a chunk in the middle where I went to a salsa dance class) to work on stuff. I made the blue house pair of covers. I think they're adorable. Don't you think these would make a good house warming gift, casserole covers made with house fabric? *Only one of each pair is shown.

Last week I made some potholders. I'm not very happy with them, but I'll work on that.

I also made a few aprons recently. They match the potholders and casserole covers. I'm having fun working on things.

I can't rememeber exactly when I did these, but I think they're cute. They're burp cloths. The front is cotton and the back is a soft pink flannel.

So, that's what I've been working on my last few days off. I don't quite have a plan yet for this Friday.

The polls are open for Round 2!

It’s official. My mom and I won the All People Quilt’s 4th Quarterly Challenge!

We’re now entered into the next round which gets us each an embroidery machine and some other sewing supplies. Wish us luck!

You can help us win by voting at http://www.allpeoplequilt.com/quarterlychallenge/index.html. You can vote once per day per email address, so feel free to vote with all the email addresses you have every day. The voting continues until January 30, 2009.
Thanks for stopping by and don’t forget to vote!

We bought a new camera!

I'm so excited. Now I can actually take nice photographs to post! We've been waiting for BestBuy to put this on sale and finally they did. Yay!

We went with a Canon EOS Rebel XSi. I'm so excited! It's a huge upgrade from our other camera, so look forward to some awesome photos in the near future.

The polls are open

As I mentioned in a previous post, my mom and I entered a partner competition a few weeks ago. We have made it into round 2 and now we need your votes. The image for my entry looks like this... I'm not sure why, but my mom's ornament disappeared in this round and the only one we have to vote on is mine.

So, to help my mom and I win a new sewing machine (each!) go to this link to vote for our ornament. You can vote once a day, so don't hesitate to vote more than once.

Lucille (my machine) locked up last night and the wheel won't turn, so I could use a new machine right now. I'm breaking out the spare until she's fixed (luckily Lucille still has a warranty to cover her, but it's still an inconvenience).

We appreciate you helping us win this competition!

Sewbot's Laboratory: A Rough Plan

My goal with the lab is to supplement our income. This is not a long term goal. For the long term, I hope to not have to leave every morning for "the office." In the long run, I hope that both Jason and I can stay "home" to run the lab. I say "home" because someday it would be great if we could combine the "lab" with the "shop". I'd love to own a shop with fabric, beads, paper, and thread. I love supplies.

So, in the short term, I am going to work on my inventory for Sewbot's Laboratory. By March 1st, 2009, I will have a minimum of 21-24 items listed in my Etsy shop.

I have discovered that the only way this plan will ever work is if I try it; so that's exactly what I am going to do. I will be busy working on projects and improving the quality of life for my little family.

*I wrote this rough plan a few nights ago and it's really been pushing me to go for the things I want. I wanted to share it with you in hopes that it might get you thinking about all the things you can do.

An exciting step ...

Yesterday, I spoke with my boss about my plans for Sewbot.

I'm going to start in the month of January by taking Fridays off to work on Sewbot. I'm not starting tomorrow because I know with having today off for the holiday and spending probably half of my day with Jason's sister, I won't really work on anything today. So, tomorrow seemed like it would be an extension of the holiday and I would rather go be paid to work at the office than take it off and turn it into a holiday.

So, I'm really excited about this. I'm planning on getting up like I normally do, but just staying in the studio instead of heading to the office. I'm excited to see what I can accomplish in a day off.