Getting ready for a craft show

Mittens by Stitch 1 Stitch 2

I'm getting ready to do my first craft show in a few weeks.  I started looking at my shop and noticed I didn't have very much winter stuff.  This is Minnesota after all, where winter lasts for 6 months (or so it seems).  So I got to thinking, what could I make for winter wear that I could make several of in a short time.  The answer, fleece mittens.  I attempted mittens a few years ago, but the pattern and instructions were so confusing and resulted in lots of tears, frustration and only 2 pairs that didn't turn out all that great.  This time I went looking for a much simpler pattern and I found it at FleeceFun.com.  She offers free downloadable patterns in different sizes and easy to follow instructions.


I made a test pair out of some old fleece I had and was a little disappointed that it didn't seem true to size, but that was my mistake because I forgot to change the scale to 100% instead of scaled to fit.  I went back and downloaded the pattern again, this time correctly, and I figure I can use the first pattern for kid's mittens.  I've been very busy the last week and a half cutting, pinning and sewing mittens.

Chicken wire frame from knack.org

Also as I'm getting ready for the craft show, I started reading about craft show tips.  One thing that stuck out for me was displaying things at eye level to draw people in.  I started to think about how I could do that.  I have a table to set thing out on, but how was I going to be able to hang things so people could seem them from a distance?  Then I started looking on pintrest for display ideas and really liked these chicken wire frames.  I started to think about how I could put something like that together.  First I thought about a couple large picture frames hinged together, but I didn't think that would be big enough.  Then I thought about building something out of lumber, but (a) I'm not very mechanically inclined and neither is Hubby and (b) I really didn't want to spend a lot of money on it.

Repurposed closet door

Then one morning as I brainstorming ideas, I remembered the bi-fold closet door that used to be in my daughters room.  The hardware that held it in place broke and the door sat in the basement hallway for years waiting to be thrown out, but the basic frame was still in pretty good shape.  I removed the shutter slats and sanded it down.  I was going to paint it but I liked the distressed look the sanding gave it.  My daughter helped staple the chicken wire to the back of the frame and now I have what I think is a pretty cool looking free standing display all for under $5.

If I ever get my own sewing room this will be a permanent fixture, because I can think of so many other uses for it.

I only think I want a new sewing maching

Every so often for the last couple years, mostly when I see ads for sewing machines, I think I oh it would be so nice to have an automatic button hole, or look at all those fancy stitches just think of the decorative top stitching I could do, or like the one I looked at last year that pretty much did everything for you but cut the fabric.  And then I think about my sewing machine, we have a history together.

My sewing machine was built in the mid-70's.  There's no bells and whistles on it.  It does a straight stitch, a few zig-zag stitches, and a back stitch.   It's the sewing machine my mom bought when I was 3 or 4.  It's sewed lots of clothes for my sister and me, quite a few patches to my dad work pants, a few Halloween costumes, a couple stuffed toys, at least 2 baby blankets, other decor items and clothes for my own children.  Never in all these years have I or my mom ever needed 22 decorative stitches.

It's a real workhorse machine.  Solid metal body and parts, there's no plastic in there anywhere.  It's heavy, so it doesn't get moved around much and it powers though everything I put under the needle.

So yes while it would be nice to have a newer machine with lots of features, I'm not sure if I'd use them.  I think I want a new sewing machine, but I'm kind of attached to the one I have.  It would be like trying to replace an old friend.