Letting Go

When I make gifts for people or items for my shop I tend to be rather hard on myself if there are any flaws in the item.   I have really noticed this since I opened my shop and people began buying things.  Anytime I mailed something out I was nervous or had feelings of dread, hoping and praying that the recipient would like what they purchased.  It was awful and I had a terrible weight hanging on my shoulders.  The funny thing is that even when people responded positively to what they received I still had feelings of dread the next time.

Last week I read part of an interview on an Etsy blog and it freed me from being so hard on myself.

What does handmade mean to you?
Handmade means fun, creative, imperfect and created with love. There’s beauty in the imperfections. None of our cards are exactly the same. It’s so cheap, easy and fast to print digitally these days that we’re seeing a real resurgence in the artisan art community and an appreciation for the handmade process. The end product is often more tactile and personal. We think people respond to that, and there’s a connection made between the crafter and the recipient.

It made me realize that the people who were buying my things wanted something handmade.  If they didn't want a handmade item they would go to the nearest store and buy something with perfect stitches that a machine made.  That weight lifted off of my shoulders after reading that excerpt.

I am not saying that I have now freed myself to sloppily make things.  I still work hard to make things look nice.  That article allowed me to quit being so hard on myself, which is what I truly needed.  Sometimes no matter how hard I try or how many stitches I rip out and re-sew what I have made will never look perfect and that is okay.

Here is a peek at some of the things I have worked on in the past few weeks:

Valentine's themed diaper covers for a photo shoot.

This was a sample pillow case to see how it was made.

Pillow case #1 for a daycare.

Pillow case #2 for a daycare.

ID Holder without the wrist strap.

Pillow.  It is not quite finished, I ran out of stuffing.

My stock.  My sweet husband added shelves to a downstairs closet near my work area.  That way I can keep my merchandise protected while it is waiting to go to a new home.

This is usually what my work area looks like when I'm mid project.

Dear Ryan

Dear Ryan,

Today is your 36th birthday.  Time seems to go by much faster in adulthood, a little too fast.  I decided that I'll be 32 for awhile.  It seems like a good age.  I keep telling people I'll be 32 until I look 32 and then I'll move on to a different age.  The truth, well the truth is I can't face 34.  I know that is a year away but I thought about it and 33 didn't have the quite the same ring to me. If I'm going to be the same age for awhile I should like the sound of it, right?  Because of you I'm going to be 32 until I reach 35 and then I'll be my age again.  You would've laughed, but understood.

This year I knitted scarves for Rudy and Dad for their birthdays.  Rudy requested a manly scarf and kept dropping big hints on how nice it would be to have a knitted scarf.  I'm not sure he realized I might actually take him up on his request.  I taught myself through YouTube videos how to knit.  (It's amazing the kinds of teaching videos people post.  I'm not sure why they do it, but I was very thankful that someone did post the video.)  It was hard finishing the last scarf and not starting on yours next. 

I found some t-shirts you would've liked.  I smile thinking how much you would have enjoyed getting one for your birthday along with your scarf.

I remember the conversations we had about how unfair it was that they suddenly decided Pluto wasn't a planet.

Didn't you push Rudy into the street to "save" him from a spider?

So very true.  Some days when I miss you I buy a Carmel Macchiato and think of you.

You were the King of procrastination.  You had it down to a fine art.

Today Laura is going to come spend the day with me.  We're going to run errands, play with the kids, and I'll be thinking of you.  I have a bottle of your favorite wine to toast you with:

You would have gotten a huge kick out of how I obtained that wine for everyone.  Last summer when we were in Chicago I took the kids and drove to Monticello, IN for a liquor run.  That sales woman must have thought it was crazy that I bought three cases of Black Beauty wine, either that or I must have made her day because her sales stats looked pretty good.  I can see why you liked the place.  I might have stayed longer and poked around except it was raining cats and dogs and I had Aric and Kellyn who were a bit too fascinated with everything in the winery.  I spent the rest of the summer hauling wine around on our trips and delivering the cases.  We all have enough wine now to toast you for six years until someone needs to make another liquor run for more.  I call "not it"!

I think about you all of the time.  You were so loved and cherished and we all miss you terribly.  Kiss my babies and keep building those sand castles.

Happy Birthday, Ryan.

Things Heard Around Here

That's Kellyn.  She's my friend.  I'm her brother and she's my big girl.  And I can hug her all the time.

Translation:
It's good to hear them being nice to each other every once in awhile instead of fighting and arguing, which is usually the norm.  Although, I'm sure being hugged all of the time would cause some sort of argument to ensue.

To My Dad...

Happy Birthday.  I love you.

Kellyn's Favorite Hang Out

One of Kellyn's favorite toys to play with is the kitchen:

It seems fitting that my daughter enjoys it, because I played with that kitchen all of the time while growing up.  It holds some very special memories for me. 

Except I don't recall using it in quite the same way that Kellyn does:

Kellyn empties the kitchen, pulls the sink out and climbs inside, closing the door behind her.  Sometimes she sits in there singing and talking to herself.

Other times she acts goofy, repeatedly popping her head up, trying to get attention.

Regardless, I'm happy that it brings her so much joy, even if it is not quite in the same way as I enjoyed it.

My Week in Photos

It has been a rough week around here.  It started Monday with Kellyn getting sick and slowly went down hill.  By today, Kellyn is on the mend, Aric broke his fever, and Ryan and I have been up since 2am with bad congestion and a three year old snoring in our bed.  

Here are some photos from my phone that were taken over the week:

We began teaching Aric to spell and write words.  This week he learned: mommy, daddy, bird, pig, dog and cat.

I managed to get some sewing done and added more wristlets to my Etsy store.

Even while sick, Kellyn is mischievous.

I caught her sticking little animals into the cords on the blinds.

Good thing the blinds are sturdy, thus far.

The living room looked like this most of the week.  Daddy had to work late all week and Mommy was too tired to keep up.

Aric was hit by the bug and wiped out.

The usual conditions I find myself in while sewing.

 I thought my sewing area was bad until I turned around and saw this:

This work of art was done last night single- handedly by Kellyn, who was obviously on the mend.  Aric was playing his racing game while this happened.  I had been sewing and Daddy was stuck at work.

And those are the reasons I haven't kept up with my blog all week.

To My Brother...

Happy Birthday to my brother who is now officially an antique.  You make me feel old!