I was so productive... for a couple of days.

So husband and M went out of town for the July 4th weekend to be at husband's brother's wedding. The thing I was really sad to miss was seeing M as ring bearer in his suit and tie and all. And it turned out that there was a second ring bearer who was only 2 years old and they walked down the isle holding hands. That had to be unbearably cute. I hope someone got good pics.

As soon as I got home from dropping them off at the airport, I started dyeing fabric and sewing up blankets and I had a really good time doing it for about 3 1/2 days. I did a few dyes that I just fell in love with, and the blankets turned out gorgeous. It seems that I do have a hard time actually finishing blankets, though. I think I've finished three, maybe. I have several more that need just a few minutes each and then lots of blankets at other stages in the making. I also have around 300 squares cut for the patchwork tops. So, I do feel like I'm getting stuff going, which is nice. Otoh, at 3 1/2 days I hit a wall. lol I was just ready for them to come home and didn't feel like being here alone, busy or not. So I took a day off and spent it watching dvds and eating chips and salsa. I picked them up at the airport yesterday and Baby A and I came back to life. :)

And then today I am still having a hard time motivating myself. I'm a little down because I got my period today. A's not quite five months old. It's no fair. I was hoping for a much longer run. So, I don't know if I'm down because of the hormonal stuff or if it's just because I feel like I'm moving onto another era. My tubes are tied, so there is no upside in this for me. And obviously, I know I'm not having another. And somehow getting my period feels like the official end to the whole pregnancy/birth/post-partum phase of life. So, blah. Not pushing myself too hard today.

I did, though, decide that I should at least shoot a few pics of my partly done blankets to see how far I have to go with that, and I do have far to go, as it turns out. A couple of my favorite dye jobs just didn't photograph well at all. One that I am not as fond of, though, turned out beautifully. Go figure. But I think I will have to finally finish some of them and lug them to a nice green grassy area next week and see if that goes better. I also think that they might look nice hung by the corner, maybe with a clothespin on something, or maybe hanging on a wrought iron fence post with a pointy top. It's also possible that my camera just sucks. So, we'll see...

But here are a few pics, just so I can say "look how far I've come" later. :)

I actually like this pic. It's the only close-up I took. Next time I'll have to do more. I really like how these two dyes compliment each other. The darker one has alot of purple in it but it's so dark that the purple is pretty mellow.



This is one of my favorite blankets, but I don't think it comes across here very well. I may have to sell this one to someone who can see it up close and in real life. The lighter blue is looking very grey here, but it's not. And there's not really any pinkish natural in there, like it looks to be in the picture. You'll just have to believe me.



Here's another try of the same blanket with the back dog-eared so you can see it: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3512/3698894119_e73b8b6942_o.jpg

And here's one of my patchwork topped blankets. And it's actually finished. Woot! I made this one thinking that it would be more "normal" than my usual taste, for my more normal customers, but I actually really love it. The colors are so refreshing somehow. I was definately thinking of pink lemonade alot while I sewed this up. The back is a deeper shade of orange.

Here I go!

I'm making a go of it! For a couple of years now, I've been having this fantasy about starting my own business. Specifically some sort of sewing business, so I can play with fabric and call it work. So, I'm jumping in. I do feel a little bit like a kid who was standing on the edge of the pool and didn't mean to jump in, though. I was pushed. But I'm just as happy for it.

I met a woman at a five year old's birthday party who said that she needed some sewing help and in return, she could get me, free of charge, a table at the Kids Expo in September. So, woot! I bought myself a roll of bamboo velour ASAP, because it would have been disasterous, of course, to have to wait out a coop for one. And now this phantom woman is no where to be found!!! I am starting to wonder if she was one of my other personalities or something. So, gameplan is this, if the Kids Expo table pans out for me I'll sew up as many blankets as humanly possible between now and September. If she doesn't re-materialize, I would like to start getting my blankets out there -- I'm thinking etsy and local shops and/or a farmer's market table -- by late August or early September. If the Kids Expo thing doesn't happen I won't need an inventory of blankets and that's good because it looks to me like I could put in an awful lot of time setting up an etsy shop, figuring out how to get good pictures with my not so great camera, getting cards and hang tags, promoting, etc. Either way I think it's going to be fun. I just hope that I'm not the only one who loves my blankets.