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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Initial Love Pillow Covers

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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. 

The Holiday Rush Begins ...

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... and I haven't even started decorating for fall yet!  Hello, blogworld.  I miss you.  Two things keep me from spending time here:  1)  Studio and transcription work are steady, steady.  Thank the Lord!  2)  Due to #1, I am behind in my One Block Over blocks and just cannot allow myself the pleasure of blogging about anything until that commitment is fulfilled!  I'm really strict about those things, and I have to tow my own line!  I've only just finished June, so ...
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You can see my progress at my OBO Flickr set.  The ladies have had some fantastic ideas, the latest being the light/dark block for June. 

I do have so much to chat about, including going to The Country Living Fair in Atlanta last month.  Alas, that's nearly old news now, but it was so nice and fun to meet and greet folks we craft bloggers know from our little world.  LOVED the Earth Angels tent. 

Well, I must keep my promise and use my free time to sew blocks.  I nearly have Love in the Mist complete.  Straightening the half-square triangles is giving my eyes lots of exercise! 

Moving Right Along!

calicodaisy handmade

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September! It has started out well. The days of August to the present have been filled with so many varied events, I felt like I was going through the weeks in a fog. Not sure things have slowed down any this month; however, my girl is a freshman in college locally and we are sharing my car, so I have a bit of forced time management while being home bound a lot through the week, and that does me a lot of good.

Once again, all my transcription work is done at home now and just in time for car sharing. We’ve been moving rooms around and shuffling the extraneous items place to place while setting up new work and living areas. 
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Over Labor Day Weekend, I made the big choice to pull up the horrible, stinking, totally shameful carpet from the family room. It is better to live on the plain sublfoor than that mess. Once that was done, the fireplace was painted! It looks beautiful. Eight and a half years I wrestled with that choice, and I love it. Just the rest of the decisions to make now. That's just the primer you see in the photo.  The final color is Lowe's Valspar Cream Delight.  Will show soon.  We were just going to paint the subfloor as noted around the web until we could put down hardwoods (you must check out that link!), but this isn’t the first floor of the house, and the noise and echoing is pretty crazy. You can see what the room looks like in better days - nice and pretty on this set. 

A surprising discovery by my husband, though. As our home was custom built 33 years ago by the builder who lived here, the workmanship is pretty awesome and thoughtful. We knew the paneling is real wood, however, after taking a door frame off , Michael found that it is about 3/4” pine. We think we have discovered our very own, reclaimed hardwoods! Michael can taken the paneling down, cut up into various sized lengths, and lay the floor. Is that amazing? It certainly is to our budget. Now I can use that savings for furniture! First, though, when the paneling is removed, drywall must go up, and then color choices. My head hurts! My plan of action, though, is to just open a favorite magazine, find a look that I like, and copy. At least it gets done, and I can always make decorative changes later. 
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In the studio, things have been buzzing right along. Nothing very new to show, since sewing embroidered pillow covers has become my forte! I’m so pleased. Square items that I am familiar with makes the multiple orders go fast!   The pillow covers above are the largest I have made so far at 20".  They are living happy in their new home on pretty sofas.  Thankfully, my friend, Liz, is back this fall to help keep me organized and use her sewing and creative skills to move the orders along.  Oh, I have a coupon code to use in my calicodaisy etsy shop, as noted at the top of the post. It's received some usage already!  Please pass along to any interested parties you know.  Start thinking about holiday orders! I’m on a 3-week turnaround at this point, so if you hope to shop with calicodaisy for gifts, early is definitely better!   Especially with free shipping on orders of $50.00 or more. 
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My only time regret at this point is not keeping up with my One Block Over Bee squares. They are a forgiving group of ladies, but I don’t want to disappoint, especially because my blocks started off the year! I can’t allow myself to sign up next year, unless (hopefully they read this with good thoughts), they let me participate by being the coordinated embroidered block person. I could be the 13th on the team, I thought, creating a quilt label or embellished block that fits in to the chosen quilt design. We’ll see what their tolerance level for me is when the time comes.  The block above is the Maverick Star.  It was fun and works out great with not much precision required!  Anyway, I probably need to take a day off from ALL work and get those done.  I've completed through June, though.  The shame of it all is, once I get started, a block may take as little as an hour to put together. 

So, I have two kids in college now. I’ve also been in a bit of a funk realizing how fleeting life is, and my baby girl is now me -- 29 (??) years ago. I started university at 17!  Really, I did!  October birthdates will do that.  I’m feeling a bit old and worn out; only 47 next month, so not that old, but calculating "29 years ago" as starting college seems crazy! I feel more ill about that than dealing with the horrible carpet! I have plans to pull myself together, though, now that I’m not running kids around anymore. Time to pretend like I’m 19 again with my whole life ahead of me (but with all my hard-earned wisdom!) and pay attention, within reason, to my own self. That encompasses so many things, but obviously a healthy lifestyle plan (so I can allow myself to appear in photos), traveling -- that starts in October when BFF Lynda comes to visit and we go to Atlanta for the Country Living Fair, learning new things -- I want to take some classes on web design and graphic design so I can do a better job with my own website and maybe create some calicodaisy fabrics, and exchanging the time spent on the kids to time spent building calicodaisy handmade up a couple of notches -- just up far enough to sustain the budget and ensure good savings and investment for the future. So, all good things, right?

Well, time to get back to the homekeeping part of healthy living. I allow myself to lose hours in the laptop!   Music by Pandora hypnotizes me as well, I think.  Must clean the kitchen and get to the studio for sewing. 

A New Chapter Begins

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Today is the first day in 18 years that I don't have a child ready for the first day of school!  I need a new hobby now to fill the time.  Well, I just have to get through the paying of the tuition and books and all that goes with kids in college, and then I can see what's left over! 

First up, though, in October, one of my BFFs will come in from Memphis to visit for a week.  We plan to have a little sewing retreat together here and then head over to Atlanta for the Country Living Fair!  So excited to actually go to the fair I've read about for years and to go with Lynda!  Two more BFFs and a favorite SIL live in the Atlanta area, so I will be reveling in lots of sisterly and gal-pal love for a few days!  Maybe I'll meet some blog friends, too.  Let me know if you're going. 

There have been a lot of embroidered pillow covers flying out of the studio.  Did I tell you that I finally learned to use the six needle machine?  Maybe I did, but it deserves to be mentioned again.  It's like having an employee.  The machine is sewing out designs while I'm sewing up the piping and pillow covers at the same time. 

A client request came for a large-scale embroidered monogram.  After about a month of searching out quality large-scale fonts, we both fell for the one pictured at the top.  The design is very lush and substantial.  Thanks to Mallory there is a new product for the calicodaisy shop. 

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Links to the Serena & Lily Kate bedding and requests for matching pillow covers have been coming my way.  Pink and limey green damask.  So serene and lovely, and I'm glad to accommodate! 

The One Where calicodaisy Goes Toddlers and Tiaras!

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Now that I can post again, I have a few months of catching up to do!  There are a number of things to show and tell, but the most darling of all is the custom dress that went to the Lollipop pageant last month.  The mama of the little 3-year-old darling sent me a photo a few months ago, and we created our own version of the dress. 

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Not that I want to get all caught up in this, but, I have to say, when it was over and I received a photo of the Little Miss all sassy in her dress and pink rubber boots (!), I'm pretty pleased.  Going down to the studio now to sew up two more outfits for this weekend's pageant.  The little one above and her friend will be the prize presenters, and their mamas have requested matching outfits in a casual boutique style.  Nothing like waiting to the last minute, but there was no way around it with the schedule.   

Free At Last!

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Can't stay signed into blogger.  Cannot comment on blogger. 

Sign In / Sign Out loop.  

Phrases above for those who google them.  Thank goodness, I think I am out of the blogger loop sign-in / sign-out nightmare!  I haven't been able to comment for months since Blogger had the glitch in the spring.  I've barely been able to stay signed in to post or make changes on the blog.  I have been so upset, I even began a wordpress blog just in case, but, really, I don't have the brains to figure that out right now!  Later.  

Anyway, if you googled yourself here, this is what I did:  After reading a post on Blog Guidebook yesterday as well as countless other things I don't understand, a little thought came to mind to google "enabling third party cookies."  I found these instructions on Feedjit, followed them, and it seems to have done the trick!  I have commented and am now posting without signing in, signing out.  It's a good day!  A banner day! 

Okay, I don't know anything else about it, so don't ask me.  I only hope I have truly left this loop of despair!       

Summer Stitchin'

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Lots of this going on since last we spoke.  Drum roll, please:  I finally learned to use the 6-needle embroidery machine!  Such a burden off the shoulders!  It's marvelous and very fast.  Must keep fingers out of the way.  New shelving is up in the crazy, messy sewing room, which is actually less crazy and messy. 
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Here is a fun block I sewed today for the One Block Over Bee, the Japanese x / + block.  Jump to the description and tutorial on this post.  You'll love it. 
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.Can you believe this little confection?  A custom dress for a 3-year-old princess to wear in a pageant last weekend.  If you click over to the calicodaisy FB page, you can see the dress in action -- all dressed up with pink rubber boots! 
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A number of these have gone out through the shop in the last couple of months.  It's so much fun to be part of clients' home dec designs.  This set flew off to NYC last week.  The "k" is made to match the Serena and Lily Kate bedding set.  So pretty! 

To cap off the summer, my boy is on his way home from his year in Germany!  If all flights arrive on time, I'll have both my chicks under one roof on Friday.  Of course, the year flew by, and it's hard to believe that this time last year, we were wondering how we were going to manage getting him everything he needed to live abroad.  Now he is just a world traveler.  Hoping my turn is next!