[Oh, what did you do?] Fabric binge

That's a LOST reference.  Desmond, with that crazed look on his face that we all grew to love, says to Jack..."Ohh, whatdidje duu?"  
Sigh.  I miss LOST. 

But ANYWAY...

What did I do?  I spent a bunch of money on fabric today.  It was MY money - haircutting & etc. - so I say go girl...Fabric.com had all kinds of super-really-cute stuff for like, ridiculously cheap...like Jo-Ann's cheap...(actually cheaper)...$2.49/yard???  And I used a coupon code so it all came out to $2.09/yd.  And free shipping!  I got 19 yards.  I know there are people out there - lots of people - people I aspire to be ONE of, someday - who routinely drop way more than I did on fabric and think nothing of it...and I'm sure 19 yards isn't a major amount of yardage to most sewers (sewists? people who sew?)...but it's a lot to me.  All at once, anyway.  But it was fun to pick out a bunch of different fabrics and just go to town.  I think I got about 14-15 different prints- just a yard or two of each. 

A smattering, if you will...(all images taken from fabric.com)

And I really could go on. 

Oh, and I wasn't even looking for cute fabric; I was looking for something to slipcover a chair with - dark brown cotton duck, to be exact.  But that's another story - one not fraught with so much inner conflict, thank goodness.

Here's the deal: I was going to jump in and start selling my stuff.  People are always telling me that I should; I just didn't really know where to start.  So I thought I'd be a vendor in an upcoming arts & crafts fair.  However, there are no more vendor spots open this year, which is actually a good thing because I really don't need the stress of sewing an entire inventory in 2 months.  But I still want to start.  Somewhere.  Not a clue where, but here we go.  All this fabric cost less than half what the vendor fee would have been, so...you know, it was just a good deal, period.  I don't need to justify it.  So there! 

But enough about fabric, let's talk about me: what the heck am I going to do?  I really, really, love to sew.  And I think my things are just really super cute.  I'm proud of MOST of them!  ha ha.  But you know what?  Have you looked on Etsy?  EVERYTHING on there is super cute.  And EVERYTHING has been done.  And the whole thing is just saturated with the same kind of things that I make.  I'm wondering if that's really a good place to start.  It's like an ocean of people like me, all competing.  I just don't know where else to go or what to do. 

I really want to get this going so that in a year (and thank goodness I have one more year with my little buddy!) when Nolan goes to kindergarten, I don't have to feel the pressure to get a job outside of the house.  I don't want to.  I don't want to have to deal with summer daycare, and after-school daycare and all that stuff.  I like being home and taking care of things here...not to mention I'm a really good cook and my poor family would be deprived and probably have to start eating Hot Pockets just to stay alive and I'd feel so guilty...

OK, I promise I haven't been drinking.  This post is getting a little weird.

What I'm trying to say is, there HAS to be a way to make a decent income doing what I do.  So many other people are doing it.  I am going to figure it out, too. 

Why I trash-pick

Well, not being one to stay off of bandwagons, I went ahead and re-did a chair last week....I wish I had a "before" pic of the cushion...it was super ugly and nasty.  When I tore it off, there was all kinds of mold - YUCK!!!  GROSS!!!  Well, here's what I do have:

I sanded it and got my favorite shorts all black and gross.  I didn't realize that would happen.  

Then I wood-glued the little curvy pieces back into place and clamped them down for a while.  

Then I primed & painted...with the only spraypaint I like, which is Rustoleum.  I used the "Painter's Touch" which is supposed to cover 2x the amount of a normal can.  I think it does, too.  It's really nice.  I used Heirloom White, which really is a perfect shade of creamy-off-white-almost-white-but-not-too-stark-white. 

primed.  looks better already!  I swear I think the stuff on it before was car primer or something. 

I went to Jo-Ann's and bought a foam thingy.  I could not believe how expensive the foam by the yard is!  How appalling!!!  So I got a little pre-cut square for $5, which I still think is too much.  Oh well.  I put it on the plywood, wrapped it in batting, then muslin...THEN this awesome Waverly damask that my mom gave me (thanks!!!!)...and here we go.....

What a pretty chair!  

And it was trash-picked...I found it on the side of the road...and I have 4 more down in my basement.

This one is going to be my new sewing chair.  I'm doing a big furniture switcheroo in my living room...soon.  I'm saving up for a nice couch.  One that does NOT look like it's been trampled by a herd of circus elephants.  Preferably leather, if I live that long.  But that's another story for a different day...in the meantime, admire my chair!  Admire it!

My crafty June recap

Just because I haven't been blogging, doesn't mean I haven't been doing stuff...lots of it!

I've been knitting...

(wait till you see what this is going to be!!!)

I've been sewing...

Spraypainting...

and messing up...

arrrr!  so annoying.  it's back to all white now.  I need to just suck it up and get vinyl.

Mod-Podging....

coasters that Greg didn't want to actually use as coasters

coasters we use

Can you tell which one is "real?"  Actually, so can I.  But it's pretty darn close!  Note to self: don't put water in the jar.  Lesson learned.

And yard sale-ing, much to the dismay of my kids...but I don't care because...

A few things about this photo:

1. 3 out of the 4 objects here have been thrifted or yard-saled.  Toot-toot!

2. One little kid I know has been messing with my camera settings.  But I prayed this morning that I wouldn't be grumpy or have a bad attitude with the kids.  So I will let it go...and gently remind him/her that Mommy's camera is not a toy.