A First

I have never done a "craft" show before, and what I am doing the weekend really isn't a "craft" show, but rather my hubby's trade show.  Only this time, I get to take some of my wares, as the venue has some extra tables.  Another reason for attempting to sell my wares this weekend is the location of the show is the area.

I live in Oregon, and the trade show is in Eugene this weekend, which is home to University of Oregon and their team the Ducks.  If by chance you follow college teams, the Ducks is one of the nation's top favorite teams, especially so here in their home state.  The team fans also are some of the top spenders on anything made in Duck colors or fabric.  (FYI: both Oregon colleges, University of Oregon and Oregon State have their own team shops all around the state)

Moving on, as I am trying not to bore you.  I first started making items related to both colleges when to get my Etsy store off the ground.  I will say that I do sell more Ducks items rather than the Beavers, which is why I have more related Duck items than the other.  One of my best and biggest sellers is a baby fleece blanket with a crocheted edge around  it.

So, since we are going to be in the Ducks territory, I am taking some of these to see if I can sell them outside of my ETSY shop.  

When I got some success in selling the Oregon college blankets, I branched out some and started doing other specialties, such as camo related prints, NFL teams, Licensed fleece, and NBA teams.  If you are interested in seeing all of these different ones, then you can go to my ETSY shop by clicking here.  I will be taking all of these as well as the Ducks blankets just in case people have different likes and I might have it available.  I have been really busy this week getting my inventory beefed up, just in case I sell lots this weekend.

I'll be back on Monday to let you know how it went and how many I sold, if any.

Warmest...

College - Oregon Ducks - Key Fobs

I have seen these as projects floating out there in blog land and had ordered the supplies a couple of months ago. So I tried my hand at making them yesterday. Since I already had some scraps out from making the purse, I went ahead and made two! I used a longer length stitch to sew the fabric on the webbing similar to stitching done on leather. I really like the way they turned out! I also am hoping to sell them at my husband's next show.

Another 3 in 1 Purse

I have been busy these last two days! I tend to bury myself in my sewing room, imersed in projects. It is my place of comfort, a place of peace, a place free of stress. I've had a couple of serious things occur to two very close people in my life. Both are named David, one is my father and the other is my oldest son. My dad has been diagnosed with melanoma lung cancer and is scheduled for surgery to remove it next Thursday. I just learned my son is being sent on his fourth deployment within the next few weeks, and he will be back doing combat instead of work inside the camp perimiter. I imagine I will be in my sewing room a lot over the next few months.

Anyway, I made another one of these bags to have ready to sell at my husband's next show in April. His show is in the college town, Eugene, Oregon, home of the Oregon Ducks. This will be the first time I will be selling something at a show. All of my past sales have been custom orders. I tried to take pictures of all the different fabrics I used to give you an idea of how many changes / ways this purse can be done.

Rose Bowl Champions

This is a commission project from Christmas 2011. I made three for a co-worker's daughters, Of which 2 of them go to Oregon State University, home of the Oregon Ducks. And, of course after winning the Rose Bowl this year, anything "Ducks" has become extremely popular. And since these bags have hit campus, I have gotten a few inquiries. So, one of my first projects to be accomplished in the new sewing room will be making "Ducks" related items. We also have their rival team "the Beavers" here in Oregon, so I will be working on projects related to their team as well.

About this bag..... The pattern is 3 in 1 Tote Bag by "Bag2" by Lois. It is a simple concept that has a jacket that the main body of the purse sets in with buttons. Thats one look, the next look is to turn the jacket inside out and re-button, and the third look is without the jactet. With the jacket, there is lots of room with outside pockets, and on the inside thhere is an additional pocket made and a big roomy bucket compartment that zips up.

Super easy to sew, and so far loved by all!