Selling Loakal

Just Sew Jana, in stores now! My roster is slowly expanding and I'm so excited to be welcomed into the Loakal Art Gallery & Boutique family. The Jack London Square store is selling some of my upcycled upholstery coin purses and clutches and I couldn't be prouder to be part of this artists' space.

Prints Charming

I did a crazy amount of sewing this weekend. Among the spoils: Some super cute little zipper bags made with some of my stash that I'd been neglecting, some truly charming prints with adorable giraffes and narwhals that I ran across when tidying up last week.

The bulk of the table at my upcoming craft fairs will still be devoted to my upcycled upholstery sample bags but I wanted to make sure I had some really colorful stuff to throw into the mix.

Take a Bow

My BWF Kate (that's Best Work Friend, for those of you not in the know) is crazy about bows. I made her a linen bow clutch a while back using this tutorial from Elm Street Life and she loved it. It's a great little bag but I haven't made any for sale because I'm a stickler for not copying others' work, especially for profit. Not that I am successful enough to really exploit anyone, but still.

Another thing Kate's crazy about is this guy Aaron, which is why they're getting married next week. She asked me if I would please make some fancy-schmancy bow clutches for her and her bridesmaids and of course I said yes! 

She got this really pretty silver silk dupioni and while I was nervous about working with silk, I was game to try. It turned out to be easy (the cut edges just fray A LOT  but I'm used to working with messy fabric) and the bags turned out really pretty. 

The inside is a lovely cotton with gray polka dots and Kate is also crazy about polka dots. Come to think of it, she's pretty crazy so that pretty much explains what she's doing hanging out with the likes of me. 

In any case, happy wedding Kate!

Is it Christmas Yet?

With almost four decades as a big sister under my belt, I've pretty much got annoying my younger sibling down to an art form. One of the best ways to torture my sister is by talking about Christmas early and bragging about how I've already finished my Christmas shopping. (I used to do this by Thanksgiving every year, although I've lagged the past few.) Anyway, just to get an early start on this (torturing not shopping), I texted these stockings to her last weekend.

Crazy thing is, in the craft fair world Christmas is fast approaching and applications for the holiday shows are being solicited already. So I figured I'd better start getting ready. These stockings are modern and cool, and just Christmassy enough without being traditionally boring. I think my favorite is the mid-century modern chairs but truly I'm in love with every one of them! Check them out in my Etsy shop here.

My New Favorite

 

I'll be honest, just about every time I make something it becomes my new favorite. The capricious nature of my favor cannot be denied. Every day is the best day ever and every bag I make is my favorite. So the title of this post is just a little tongue in cheek. But seriously: These are my new favorite. No really.

Little eco zip wallets are super fun to make. I get to use some of the gorgeous small uphostery fabric samples in modern prints that I'd been collecting for a while into super smart looking coin purses, IMHO. They'd also be great to keep your earbuds, business cards, medicine (herbal or otherwise), etc. Get two for everyone!

Can't Hardly Wait: Rockridge Out & About

Going into my second month of no craft fairs, the withdrawal symptoms are getting more intense: Night tremors, the sweats, you know the drill.

Luckily I've got a very busy October planned and lots of sewing to do! First up is the Rockridge Out & About on Oct. 6. I'll get to take my pop-up tent out for another spin and debut some of my new upcycled clutches and coin purses in the awesome three-tiered wire basket display I recently acquired.

I can't wait!