Friday, July 23, 2010

[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. 

2 comments:

  1. Maybe you should try to do custom work as opposed to selling to the masses. I don't know exactly how you would get started with that (other than make a few things to show and then tell people that you will do things for them on an individual basis. Plus have a website with this info.) Just a thought. I love your stuff and think that there are many people out there that buy the supplies to do this type of work and either get overwhelmed or don't have the time. You could finish their projects for them. Kinda like a handy-man but instead you are the crafty-woman!

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  2. Just blogging around this evening and found your blog. Shannon sounds like she has a good idea for you. Thank you for letting me visit.
    Susan
    http://amazingcouponanddiscountdeals.blogspot.com
    http://susan-livinghealthywithchallenges.blogspot.com

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