New sale items, & crafting frugally with luxurious eco-friendly materials!
We've completely changed our sale items, and I know you'll want to see what marvelous goodies are on the Yard Sale Page now. There are some incredible fabrics (including the all-time favorite, Natural Hemp/Silk Charmeuse, which has been used for countless eco-friendly wedding dresses), a couple of very popular patterns, my favorite cozy alpaca set for adults (which would make an incredible present for a loved one), and more.
As it's getting colder out, I'm starting to regain my crafting moxie...and just in time for the holiday push. Like a lot of us this year, I have to do more with less so I've definitely got to get started! (As a totally unrelated side-note, I only used the word moxie, which means "vigor, verve, pep, or know-how," because I just learned that it is actually the name of a soft drink that at one time was said "to cure ailments ranging from softening of the brain to “loss of manhood.”" Moxie is the official soft drink of Maine, but I'd never heard of it and felt like sharing that information with any other people out there who also hadn't, just because.)
(Keep reading to see Clarity's glorious sheepdog...)
My current inspiration is this little sheepdog Clarity made out of our Luxurious Wool Pile. The photograph can't do it justice; it's so incredibly cozy when you hold it, and just the cutest thing imaginable! (How'd she make it? She folded the piece of wool pile over, held it with a couple of stitches, gave it the classic sheepdog topknot, added wooden bead eyes and nose, cut out and sewed on ears from grey fabric, and voila!)
Why would something made out of one of our more expensive fabrics be an inspiration when I'm talking about economizing? Simply because it was made from a scrap of the wool pile -- the piece was only a bit bigger than a swatch. Just estimating, you could make over a hundred sheepdogs from a yard (and probably have a bit left over). Or make a few sheepdogs and some gloriously warm muffs for loved ones. Or wrist rests for the high tech workers in your life, or cover one side of a pillowcase with the wool pile and the other side with a much plainer fabric... Even though the price point can be scary, it's amazing what can be done with a single yard when you plan it out well and utilize every single bit! (If you have small children who have dolls or stuffed animals that need accessories, there's a way to use even smaller pieces, and babies or toddlers often really appreciate texture blankets or pillows that are made up of many different types of fabric and yarn sewn together very securely.)
Oh, I just can't wait to start making things again! It was a long, long hot summer, and it's definitely time to get back into crafting.