Kite & String: Moving On

This is Keira's rendition of what Christmas is going to be like:

I've been in a sort of time warp of late. Finding no time during the day for sewing or blogs or anything not related to the kids, and my nights filled with helping Ryan with homework till wee hours, I've been on a sewing and blogging hiatus. Yuck.

But I have have found a way to be able to work with fabrics I love at short intervals of time between meals and poops and naps, and that is my new fabric shop, Fabrixoup. Finding Etsy 3 years ago was heaven-sent, being able to sell my baby and mama wares on line. At my first Etsy shop's height, I was making more than $300 in one month, including Etsy and local orders. But I noticed in 2008 that more and more sellers started selling the same things I was, and at lower prices than my already-low prices. And now, the Etsy market for baby and mama merchandise is just waaaay too bloated. So I've decided to put Mebo to rest.

On the up side, after 3.5 years of sewing and selling, I've built up a stash of leftover and potential-project fabric that makes me both proud and overwhelmed. So, a few months ago, I decided to destash and start selling. My new shop only brings a couple of sales per week, just enough for me to not get sick of dragging the kids to the Post Office in the snow, and enough to keep me happy.

A pile for the shop

Sewing has this other dimension to it that I wasn't aware of till I got into sewing girls clothing, and that is fabric fetish. I have my favorites and I like to keep abreast of what's out there, even though I'm not a big fabric buyer. I've wanted to open a fabric shop for a while. I've interviewed a few Etsy fabric shop owners, and always got a green light from them. I just never had the money to buy wholesale shipment minimums or the guts to. So, I thought I'd start with what I got.

On that note, I want to share one of my all-time favorite fabrics. It is a Reproduction print, as they call 'em. Reproduction prints are those inspired by Civil War and other American time periods, ~1775 till mid-20th Century. I don't know what it is about this print that inspires me. Sometimes it looks like a subway map of a city. I like the geometric floral vibe, the colors, everything about it. It's not a "hot item" designer fabric that most people (fabric weirdos like me) are after. I cut out a square of it and put it in a fabric frame I found at Ikea's As-Is and hung it by my bed. I could stare at it for hours (if I had hours).