Studio Revamp

I've been telling you about redoing my studio. I have some pics of the update thus far. Now, keep in mind, I'm not done as I'm using an old sheet to cover up a table until I make something. 

So, I sold the fancy Viking machine. Using my old boat anchor Singer 15-91 and my old serger until I find the best industrial model for making the purses, bags, jeans, etc. In keeping with my simplifying motto, I got rid of my $1 desks that I got at the university surplus sale a couple of years back. They were great but used up too much room and I needed a less cluttered and packed looking space. I cannot and will not show you my closet at the moment though! LOLLL. It's BAAAAD. Excuse the sheep pun, but hey, it's all about sheep around here most of the time. 
I did finish my cutting/work table idea. Got 2 Wally World $15 bookshelves and put them back to back under the 36" tall and 36" square thrift/vintage shop table I got for $75 with 2 stools. It's a really cute table and if I ever hit the Powerball winning numbers and buy some fancy schmancy setup, I will still enjoy this table possibly by the front door near a window to play chess at or do puzzles. Doesn't that sound quaint?

Anyhow, thought I'd show you some pictures and a vintage sheep poster from the American Sheep Industry years ago. I imagine not many people have this poster anymore so I'm proud to have it. 

So far, I've recovered a lamp shade and that's about it. Just rearranged furniture and tables I had, got rid of a bunch of stash and trash and got the new table. Oh yea, put up a white board that is magnetic as well and I love that puppy! I can do "note to self" all i want. Even the pens are magnetic and stick to the board. I bought some magazine holders that are cardboard and covered them with fabric and labels using heat'n'bond ultra too. Handy stuff. Even painted my trash cans! Yes, they make a nice aerosol paint that covers plastic, Rustoleum brand. 

Happy trails....

Busy Saturday

Whoa, slow down Saturday! DH started out the day butchering a lamb for us as the freezer is empty. He ran it up to the meat locker to age and get cut and wrapped. That was one of those chores that just had to get done before the weather warms up.


Secondly, Leroy, an almost yearling ram, got picked up today by his new owner and is on his way to Idaho. He is a real nice boy and will sire some nice crossbred Texel meat lambs. So, 2 less sheep mouths to feed. That's a good thing.


My fellow shepherd friends are beginning to think about shearing so been selling a few wool sacks from the bundle I got from Will at Utah Wool Marketing. And of course, when we shepherds get together, we've got to take some time to talk sheep.


Sold a sewing machine I had listed on craigslist today too. More visitors. 


Usually I don't see any humans besides DH and the gal in the mirror over the weekends but today was a revolving door. I need a cup of tea and a nap. : )


Daisy the Boston Terrier would agree. She gets excited when I sit down on the couch....and if I get the blanket, she's in doggie heaven cuddling up so close I can't move. 


Been working on redoing my studio as well. I am trying to prioritize and focus more on my studio business and get things setup for more production oriented sewing. I am getting rid of a ton of stash...everywhere through the house. That was one of my resolutions at the beginning of the year was to simplify and prioritize...make my time count on the stuff that I need and want to do and let the rest gooooooo for a long ride somewhere and not return. 


Hoping all is well with my traveling friends and my recovering from surgery friends and in particular with my friend whose mother-in-law is dealing with end-stage cancer. Can it be that mom has been gone 2 months already? Yeppers, it can be and it is. My heart breaks for my friend going through this. If I could take it from her I would. 


Hey, I'm going to post pics of my studio re-do next week. Got a couple of fun projects to show you in the kitchen too....one is going to blow your socks off! 


Happy trails. 

Fake Fur Laptop Case. Purrrfect!

Boy howdy, was this a project. First, I had decided that I needed a case for my laptop which was a Christmas present from my DH. I love the new laptop as it can go with me into the studio and I can be techno girl and sew at the same time! 



Figured a case doesn't have to be boring and black and I didn't need anything too secure as I don't plan on flying with this or anything. Remember, I'm a homebody sort of girl or got my truck with me wherever I go. Anyhoooo, I used up some fabric we got at the Pacific Fabrics Outlet store on 4th Avenue in Seattle. That's a fun store right there! Used fleece scraps for the inside so as to not scratch the computer and to use some of my stash. I love to use it up! (So I can buy more? Nawwwww.)

It has a snap closure and a front pocket to store the mouse and power cord and that's all I wanted. Store-bought handles connected with some vinyl scraps sewn to the bag finish off the bag. Those vinyl scraps I bought at Pacific Fabrics have been really useful. I made the gusset around the bag with this same brown vinyl as well.



I guess you might not think a fur-look would be my style but I like it. Now I have to go vacuum my sewing room. The fur went flying when I did any cutting on it. *Giggles*

So, I am thinking of making a few of these to put in my Etsy shop. What do you think? Happy trails until next time.

How to Fix a Felt Purse Handle

So, you've made a handmade purse for your sister-in-law for a Christmas gift. She looooves the purse and tells you she gets lots of compliments on it. Makes you very happy, right? One problem, she's a shorter stature type of person and the handle stretches out and pretty soon the purse is hanging past her hip.


I say, hmmm, send it back...I'll figure out something.  
So, I cut the handle off...ouch that hurt after spending so much time knitting it and then felting it. But, I took some O-rings (made for purses, not for car repairs) out of my stash and cut the handle length down to fit my SIL and sewed the short ends around the O-ring. Now, how would I keep the handle from stretching in the future? Got some 'pleather' out of my stash (aren't stashes great?) and sewed it to the bottom side of the center piece, sewed that whole thing back to the other sides of the O-rings. Well, here you can see what I mean. It's a good fix and think it will work and it's kind of a cute design with the rings splitting up the felt. I think I might do it on the next one I make. Where there's a will, there's a way...and now you see why I need an industrial sewing machine. I only broke one needle sewing through all of the layers on my boat anchor Singer, a #18 needle! 

Happy trails until next time. 

Lamb Coats ready and waiting

lambcoats_1
Originally uploaded by cookecreeksheep

I spent Saturday sewing on some fleece lamb coats from scraps. I made 11 in all to add to my arsenal from last year. These are super simple to make and I think they do a nice job of keeping the lambs warmed up for the first couple of days of life during our cold springs. I at first did think it was rather hokey for lambs to wear coats but I was also pretty happy with how warm they felt underneath them last year so I'm making more! This shepherdess is happy to learn a new trick! They wash up nicely. There is one seam and 2 cuts for the legs on the double-thickness of fabric with a rotary cutter. A super quick project.

Aren't they cute wearing them?  

Remember I told you I would tell you about photo editing in Flickr? Well, here's an example of what I have done so far with my freebie account. You can round the edges, add "stickers" and borders and bling and then text. I am going to be testing it out more here soon when I get some new decent pictures. Right now it's not so pretty outside and the sheep are dirty and horses are hairy with some mud. Anyhow, go have fun with this if you want to try it. When you open one of your photos after creating a free account and uploading them, it opens up Picnik for editing. It's pretty fun.

Felted Purse

I have been working on this purse for an order. I used some different weight yarns and this is what happened....it turned out with a cinched up "waist" portion instead of the round shape of the pattern. Kind of funky but I kinda like it too. Well, heck, what other choice do I have? Once it's felted, it's a done deal. She's a jeans and T-shirt or turtleneck (this time of year) type of gal and loves loves loves wool. These are the clients a shepherdess loves!  It's almost time to shear again and I still have some wool in the garage to get processed. Now that I'm getting back into the saddle, it's time to get moving on some projects and that wool.

UnfeltedFelted

This morning I saw 4 bald eagles in the same pasture on my way home from town. One flew right over the top of my truck and I got a close-up view. They are cool birds for sure. So, I need to get to work. Enjoy your weekend and happy trails until next time.