Renegade Sneak Peek

Hi all and Happy September! August went so fast, I can't believe it's already turning into fall and Renegade is literally just around the corner. I've been slaving away in my little craft corner of the world every night after work but I thought I would give myself a brief respite and share a few sneak peeks with you.

I was super honored to be asked to participate in a little gallery show that the awesome folks at Renegade are putting together. The show is the "Hoot Show" and they tasked some super amazing artists with creating a unique owl themed piece to showcase. This is also a contest, the winner gets their booth fee refunded, woo hoo!

I sent my submission off yesterday and drat I didn't take a photo of it before it got packed up. The piece that will be displayed in the Spotlight Gallery is a super kitschy wall hanging that I made based on this design. I loved the way it turned out and I hope all you Chicago folks will stop into the Renegade Gallery and check it out! I'm super excited to see all of the other entries next weekend. I also printed up a super limited edition of the design on paper that will be available for purchase in my Renegade booth.

And here's a few other little designs that I've been working on that will also have their debut next weekend. Now... back to work!

1st Grade

I can't quite believe it but today was the first day of 1st grade for my big girl. The summer went by much too fast but I have to say it was by far one of the most fun in recent memory. We kept incredibly busy and soaked up every moment of sunshine that we could.

I've never seen a little girl so incredibly excited to go back to school. She loved her summer but I think was very ready to return to a less hectic pace and "normal" routine. I had hoped to finish sewing a back to school dress for her but all I managed was to finish her pretty new backpack.

I used this awesome pattern by Made by Rae here. The original pattern is for a toddler sized backpack and was just too stinking cute that I had to try to adjust it to fit a bigger kid. As suggested I used a heavier weight canvas that I ordered from Superbuzzy.com. Miss Brodi herself picked it out and I love it, it's so cute. I chose the contrasting blue piping to really make the colors pop. I enlarged the pattern by 130% and that seems to be the perfect size for an older kid, plenty big enough for a few 8.5x11 folders and a few books. Because it's bigger it's not quite at sturdy as the smaller version and looks a little more droopy. If I were to do it again I may add a lining to add a little more stability, although I think it looks great as is! If you make this backpack in a larger size you'll need slightly more than the 1/2 yard suggested in the original pattern and two packages of pipping instead of one. I think I spent a little more to make this than actually buying one but she's got a unique bag that no one else will have and she was pretty proud of that! It's definitely a more advanced pattern but it was a lot of fun to make. I'm sure I'll be making many more from this pattern in all sorts of sizes! I think I'd like to try to figure out how to add a front pocket in the future....

I love these pictures of my girl. I'm finding this age incredibly challenging. She's willful, obstinate and so opinionated. There are so, so many frustrating moments when I just have to stop and breathe deeply to calm my nerves. But looking at these photos I'm reminded of the sweet moments, of how incredibly funny and full of life she is. Happy 1st grade sweets!

Bad Blogger

I've been such a bad blogger as of late. I've been involved in several major projects with my full-time job that has kept me working around the clock for the last few weeks. The last of these crazy big projects will be presented tomorrow which will be a HUGE load off my shoulders. In what little down time I've had I've been sewing like a mad woman. I'll try to photograph some of the things to share with you next week. I'm so excited for the end of the week to arrive because I get to take my very first little vacation of the year! I'll be heading here for a long weekend...

Yup, smack dab in the middle of nowhere. And you'd never guess it but it's home to one of the biggest vintage car shows around. The Symco Shakedown. My rockabilly Mr. will be slapping his bass as one of the many entertainers for the show. All of the girls are tagging along to float in the river, sit around a campfire eating s'mores and laugh with great friends. The kids are staying home with Grandma so it promises to be an amazingly relaxing weekend. So, I'll be scarce until next week sometime. I hope you all have a great, great weekend!

August Desktop Calendar

Sorry this is a little late my friends! August is shaping up to be a very hectic yet fun month. No matter how much I'll miss it, it feels good to have my little shop closed for a bit. Mostly because I'm so excited to finally get some of the new things done I've been wanting to do. There's also lots of back-to-school sewing for my gong to be 1st grader that I've got to do. Hopefully I'll be able to share little sneak peeks of all of the projects I've got going on this month. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this new background!

*Edit: I've fixed the problem with the files so if you were having trouble installing the background re-download it. Thanks so much to everyone who kindly brought the issue to my attention!!

**Edit: Geesh Kayanna, get your stuff together! Ok really, I've fixed the files so re-download if you were having issues. I'm so sorry for the screw-ups today. Not sure where my head is at!

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One.

I really don't know how it's possible but my baby girl turned one yesterday! It seems like only weeks since we brought her home from the hospital and at the same time it feels like she's always been a part of our family. None of use could imagine life without her. She's got the most contagious smile that quite literally lights up every room she's in. She's always so happy and has everyone wrapped around her tiny little finger. I tried to get some good pics of her special day but the above was the best one out of the bunch. She's a quick little wiggle worm and getting a picture of her lately is next to impossible. Most of them turned out like this...

Maybe we'll try again when she's sleepy!

Vintage Patterns

I was always scared of sewing from vintage patterns. I think I had this perception that they would be like vintage knitting patterns and be completely impossible to understand and execute. Many modern patterns (like the great Oliver + S ones) share tips and tricks allowing you to learn along the way. This isn't the case with vintage patterns. So, it really helps to have some sewing knowledge before heading into a vintage pattern project because back then most women did know how to sew and there are a lot of assumptions made. That's really the only tricky part. Make sure to read through all the directions before starting so you can look up any techniques that aren't familiar. I've had a few successes lately with some vintage patterns so I've been snatching them up left and right to add to my collection. Here's a few that I've recently gotten my paws on. I'm so excited to sew some of these up! (There's even one for my rockabilly mister!)

Shop Update Part. 2

I've FINALLY listed the rest of the plushies in the shop. Sorry it took me so long, the heat around these parts has fried my motivation. Thankfully we're getting the air conditioning replaced next week so just a few more days to endure and we'll be cool as cucumbers and productivity will return. (I hope) There's a few more guitars, some LongDogs and a few Mini LongDogs. These are just a few of what's in the shop. This will be the last batch before my little shop vacation. I'll be back with more in September, along with some new exciting goodies! I'm hoping to share sneak peeks here along the way. I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!!