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.

Gingerbread Contest 2008

I apologize for the lag in my posting these. Christmas was now nearly a week ago and I am just writing this blog now.

This year was the second annual MacDonald Family Gingerbread Contest. I don't want to call it a gingerbread house contest, since there was only 1 house built this year, so I'm leaving off any house reference.

The rules for this year's contest were simple.

1. You must use gingerbread in your entry.
2. All pieces of your entry must be edible. (Except the tray you build it on.)

*We decided after the contest to add a few more rules to next year's contest. They are still being considered, but some of them will probably make it into the "rule book" before next Christmas. Next year's rules could turn out to be something like this:

1. Everything (except the tray) in your entry must be edible. If you are willing to eat it, you can use it.
   
2. You must use gingerbread in your structure. It must be part of your main element.
   
3. You can work on it as long as you like, but all entries must be completed by dinner on the agreed upon date. Your entry must be able to stand throughout the meal without help to be in the judging.
4. When you say, "I'm done." You can't touch it anymore. It has to stand on its own.
   

The voting this year went like this. We each got a piece of paper. We lined up all the gingerbread structures on the dining room table and each was labeled A, B, C, D, or E. The categories we voted on were:

1. Overall favorite.
   
2. Creativity.
   
3. Craftsmanship. This is where it's good if your roof didn't split in half, your structure stood by itself, and you don't have excessive globs of icing.
   
4. Design elements. This was a new category this year. The design elements that we rated are a little more difficult to explain. I guess you could say that they are the parts of the entry that stand out to you and are worth noting. The way you would vote on them is Katie has 3 and mom has 8, so mom wins my first place vote.
   

• Take my Santa's Workshop for example. The design elements on my tray are my:
• trees
• curtains inside
• roof
• flower boxes
  

• The elements in Jason's Train Station would be his:
• floor
• train
• tracks
  

• In my mom's Barn, her design elements would include her:
• pig (that sadly I don't have a good picture of)
  
• farmer
  
• hay

• My dad's elements would be his:
• hockey players on the ice outside
• trees

• In Katie's Gingerpunzel's Tower, her elements would be her:
• tower
• people
• horse

The way we voted was we took our sheet of paper and for each category, we wrote down in order which entry we thought was the best for the category. For example, in the overall design category we may have WXYZ. We couldn't vote for our own. After we had voted, we assigned a point system to the votes. Each 1st place got 4 points, 2nd 3 points, etc. The person with the most points took first place.

I indeed was the winner. In a close second was my dad's little house. So, what do we do with these when we're finished? Well, we leave them out in the garden for various people to see and creatures to eat. Last year they caught multiple people checking them out from the alley.

Isn't that a fun way to get rid of them? Set them outside in the snow in a little village for the birds and neighbors to enjoy.

Toy Testing?

I found this article at Cool Mom Picks about how the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) is trying to pass a law to make all toys pass tests.

Yes, this probably isn't a big deal for all those big companies, but what about the little people? Handmade things are great options. This new law is there to protect the kids from harmful things, like lead paint and such, but shouldn't that be something for the toy maker should just do anyway?

If you can't sell a toy that isn't harmful to kids, what are you doing making toys? I think that selling healthy toys that aren't going to hurt a little person should just be something assumed. A parent shouldn't have to worry about whether or not a toy is safe for their child's mouth. When someone sells a product marketed for a certain demographic, it is my opinion that they should be positive it is safe for that demographic. Marketing roller skates to the elderly may not be the best plan. It's just not smart.

If China can’t handle producing something safe, then why did we send our product there to be made? It’s a simple concept really. If what you’re buying isn’t working for you, go elsewhere. If the big companies can’t get their act together to figure out how to make toys, go to Etsy and buy something that the lady down the street made. Chances are high that it’s better for your kid. If you went to a bad restaurant, you would probably go elsewhere next time. I don’t see why the government needs to step in and make it so much harder for small business owners to survive. Just think of all the other alternatives there are and what this law could do to them.

This new law could really put a damper on things for me. What if it does happen and I can't afford to sell baby things I made? If I have to pay $4000 for each toy I sell, that would put me out of business before I even start. My husband and I have been working towards financial freedom and an alternative lifestyle. Quitting my day job to stay home and make things that I enjoy is a major part of our plan. What happens when this law passes and I would now have to pay somebody else a lot of money to test my products for harmful things that won’t exist?

I'm all for keeping kids safe, but this doesn't seem fair. What if we alter this proposed law so that the large toy makers are the ones who have to have their toys tested? People who make one toy at a time are probably going to be able to focus on the quality of it a bit more than a company making thousands at once. I think we need to stand behind our small businesses and put our trust in them.


Click on the button below to go to the article I mentioned above and see what you can do to help.
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Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season. Jason and I should be in Omaha at my parents' house by the time this posts.

I made this ball out of a book called Last-Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson. I really liked the pattern. It was VERY forgiving and pretty easy to do once I could figure out what exactly I was shooting for.

We did our Christmas exchange with Josh, Mel, Ella & Lucas on Tuesday night. Lucas is at the perfect age for this ball. He is just starting to really grab onto things and play with toys. He chewed and slobbered all of this thing that night. It was awesome.

I'm glad he liked it. I was thinking this may be something I could alter the pattern and sell on etsy. If I did them assembly style, they'd be really quick and easy to make.

I love Christmas

This is the gift we made for all of Jason's siblings, my family, and friends. We personlized stationary for everyone.

This is a set we made for my friend, Tammy. She's getting into photography, so what would be more appropriate than cameras?

Jason's mom is into noses. I'm not sure exactly why, but last year we made her a nose calendar and she loved it.

We experimented with some Illstrator brushes. This one we did for both Jason's sister Julie and my sister, Katie.

Jason's dad and step-mom are into cycling. This is a totally original image Jason did in Illustrator.

Jason's brother-in-law, Kevin is studying to be an eye doctor. His name is spelled out in the letters in the "eye chart".

Jason's sister, Elle is a nurse.

All of the rest we did aren't original art. For my pregnant friend we did a pair of baby shoes. For my mom a sewing machine, my dad a hockey skate. For my friend with dual-citizenship we did the Union Jack. It was a fun project and so far it's gone over pretty well.

We did our Christmas with Jason's mom over the weekend. She loved her Superman cape.

Stay warm, enjoy the snow (if it fell where you are) and have a lovely Christmas.

Superman

I can check one more Christmas gift off the list. I finished this project tonight. It's the superman cape I mentioned a few posts back. I love how it turned out.

It's a hairdresser's cape for my mother-in-law. She does hair and we were talking about how fun it would be to have a superman cape for her to use at her salon. So, now she has a really fun cape to use.

I made it out of a really shiny taffeta type fabric so that the hair should slide or shake right off.

Sally, my duck tape stunt double is modeling for us tonight.

There is a crease down the middle of the fabric from when it was on the bolt, so tomorrow night I'll pull out my steamer and try to get that out.

All People Quilt Challenge

I have finally posted our pictures on the Challenge website. Go here to view our pictures.

I have a blog all written about our Chicago trip over the weekend, but haven't been able to add the photos yet. It will be up soon.

A weekend in the White City

Jason and I went to Chicago last weekend. I've been meaning to post some pictures, we've just been so busy. Sorry about that.

I've been working on building my quilt design inspiration bank. Here are the photos I took while out and about. Most of these images are from our visit to the Art Institute of Chicago, but some are from out and about.

I loved being in Chicago in the holiday season. Everyone seemed so cheery and busy. This was a photo I took while we were out wandering.

Elle (Jason's sister) made these awesome pancakes for breakfast one morning. We turned them into s'more pancakes. They were delicious! These are a few photos from our train ride there. It was an awesome experience and I can't wait to do it again.

One of our missions on this trip was to try a bunch of different foods. Here's one of the pizza places we stopped at. I love Chicago pizza!