Thursday, March 15, 2012

Hello? Hey, How Are You?

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Hello, Little Blog.  How’ve you been?  Me?  My goodness, constant movement from one task to another for months on end, which has really left me with no words!  I know.  Unbelievable but true.  Things have been moving right along in my dream of a working home studio, embroidery design projects, sewing up orders, new website and new product plans, and carrying on with the “real job” and family and homekeeping all at the same time.  If it wasn’t for Pinterest and quick blurbs on the calicodaisy FB page and the contacts there that keep sending my photos and links and comments around, I fear I would have fallen into social networking obscurity.  
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What have I been making in the studio?  Well, pretty much creating embroidered pillow covers directed by my customers’ great ideas and which turn out beautifully.  I certainly would never have traveled the road to large pillow shams without one gal’s request last year, and, since then, these have been such a popular item. 
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The absolute most popular item in the place has been the large font pillow covers originally requested by the ever-chic California Girl who found me last summer. 
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Lately, the large font applique covers have been requested, and this set of lettering is created with the same fabric the client used in her nursery.  Lovely! 
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Oh, yes, there have been other items created in the studio as well.  A “Down on the Farm” skirt for my little pageant friend.  Aren’t the farm animals darling?  I learned to use the ruffler, too!  I can’t believe I’ve owned that little piece of equipment for probably seven years and never learned to use it.  Thanks to a free ruffler tutorial from You CanMake This, I figured it out pretty quick.  Now it is just about practicing the methods and not forgetting how to use it.  
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And, when I have too much on the mind and become afraid of the schedule, I start a completely new, unrelated project, like the “I must crochet a baby sweater - NOW!” decision I made a few weeks back, and then I did thanks to a Ravelry pattern.  My calicodaisy Ravelry is here.  
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My new website and product line?  Yep.  I’ve been working on carrying a new line of already-manufactured-products-that-I-don’t-have-to-create-myself!  I’m a bit nervous about all that, retail license and everything, you know.  However, a business must march forward, and I just physically cannot make anything else with my current schedule.  
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Since the product line items aren’t handmade, it doesn’t really suit to have the website called “calicodaisy handmade” as I do right now.  Nope.  I have a new name for a new website that doesn’t really peg the shop into anything specific – you know, if, heaven forbid, personalized items aren’t so popular anymore down the road!  I plan to still blog here – hopefully, I will have words again, still be known as calicodaisy, and still keep my handmade items in the calicodaisy etsy shop.  I don’t want to confuse folks about what is what, and I certainly could never have accomplished the website presence I have on my own without etsy.  I love that place!  At this point, I think I’ll just put a button on the sidebar when the time comes, and just let things flow naturally.   

Oh, okay.  I have to go, too.  It’s Thursday, and one of my lovely shop assistants will be here soon helping me carry on and get out the orders.  Hope you have a good day.  Hope to see you here again soon.