Last month I had the idea that I’d sew during the week and upload my completed items to the website. I also thought I’d write a post a week telling you all what I’ve been up to. Then the schedule filled up – So. Very. Full.
The kids – Sophie and Silas are dancing with their new studio and are loving every minute. They auditioned for the studio’s Nutcracker performances and Sophie will be the Dew Drop Fairy and will dance in the snow scene. Silas will be the Nutcracker prince for 3 of the 6 performances and will be a mouse and in the Russian Dance for the other 3 performances. Emma passed her driver’s license test in September and has been driving herself to and from dance classes with the other studio. She will be dancing in that studio’s Nutcracker performances as a Harlequin Doll, in the snow scene, and in the Waltz of the Flowers. Emma, Sophie, and Silas all take class 4 days a week, plus have rehearsals one (Emma) or two (Sophie and Silas) days a week, so dance is a huge part of our lives. Our adult children are also performing with the same studio as Emma – Zach as the father, the Nutcracker, and in the Russian dance; Maddie as the mother, in the snow scene, and in Waltz of the Flowers. Their studio has nine performances, Sophie and Silas’ studio has six performances. December will be all about Nutcracker! 🙂
My work sewing has been incredibly slow this year and last, so I decided to start making some of my own items for sale. The first is a beautiful assortment of autumn themed tea towels. I hesitated for a bit – would anyone else want to buy tea towels that I sew? What if I don’t sell any of them at all? I talked myself into and out of making these so many times that I finally just took a deep breath and ordered the fabric to make a small batch of towels to put out into the world of this website and on social media. The tea towels really are lovely! They’re available here and all prices include free shipping. (It did take me a little while to figure out how to actually offer free shipping but I think it’s working now.) And I even created a coupon for a 5% discount on three or more towels! Because who can choose only one or two? Use coupon code ‘5offthree’ if you want that discount.
In other sewing news – the studio Sophie and Silas dance with asked me if I’d be interested in making new costumes for the dancers in the Waltz of the Flowers scene. YES, please!! I’ve been browsing all the online fabric stores, purchasing yards and yards of tulle, bodice fabric, overlay fabric, linings, etc., learning about boning options in a ballet tutu, and watching videos from experienced makers. My shipments start arriving tomorrow and I’m rather giddy about sewing so many beautiful things.
Our sheep were sheared in late September. Their fleeces are just beautiful! I’d love to show you what I’ve made with their fleeces so far, but they’re all still sitting in bags waiting for me to have the time to process them. I hope to at least get them all washed before very cold weather arrives, but I don’t know if that’s going to happen. I have ideas to use some of the slightly felted fleece to make a rug, and then spin the rest into yarn. I also thought about using some to make doll hair, because I’ve missed making dolls and I’d love to try to make some with wool locks for hair. So many ideas, so little time.
And finally, Autumn is arriving much more beautifully than I had expected. We had such a dry summer and are still in drought conditions so I thought the leaves would lack the normal vibrancy since the trees are all stressed. I’m so happy to be wrong. There are some places we drive through that have glowing red and orange leaves on either side of the road. Just this morning I stopped along the way home from an early appointment to snap a quick picture. So, so beautiful! Are the leaves changing yet where you live?
