Just a little Christmas in July...

So I never really got around to posting all the stuff I made for my shop last year.  I had a super busy and successful Holiday selling season in 2017.  Now that I'm starting to prep for Christmas 2018, I thought I might share a little bit of what I made last year and what my plans are for this year. 

Last year was most definitely the year of the Stockings for me, with Fabric Photo Books coming up as close second.  I'm hoping to have another successful stocking year this year, but it's really hard for me to predict what will take off and what won't!

Last year I made:
45 stockings (19 of which were custom made to match a customer's specific size/fabric request).  Most of these were ordered with blank cuffs, for customers to personalize themselves.  However, I did cross-stitch 4 stockings and appliqued a set of 12.  Whew!

I figured out that the trick to selling stockings last year was to offer them with blank cuffs for customers to add the cross-stitching themselves.  It turns out there aren't a lot of sellers online offering something like that!  I the past, I tried to sell my stockings WITH the custom cross-stitching, but as soon as I took that part out (and slashed the price to account for it), they sold like hot cakes.  Nobody wants to spend an extra $25 on something they could do themselves for a couple bucks.  ;P 

I spent a few months in the summer searching out sales on Christmas fabric and turning those into stockings so that they were mostly all ready to go by October.  Of course, these drew in quite a few custom orders, which were fun.  This year I've been collecting more Christmas fabrics and I probably have enough for... more stockings than I care to admit at the moment.  Lets just say that it's in the triple digits.  ;)  I want my customers to have options, and I'm pretty confident that I have a wide array of choices this year...

I also made:
8 fabric photo books (it felt like a lot more because these are so individualized and they were all ordered within a couple weeks of each other), plus a couple quiet books/rummy mats. 

I even made a bunch of bibs in preparation for the Holiday rush, but they didn't really sell.  I think I'm done making bibs for Etsy, but I might make a few more for a very small local trade show I want to do in September...

Now I'm off to see if I can make a dent in my newly(ish) acquired stack of Christmas fabrics!  Eeee!  I LOVE Christmas fabric!!!

Catching up!

Oh man, November and December were CRAZY!  My Etsy shop exploded, which is a good thing of course, but it kept me super busy trying to keep on top of all the orders.  Not to mention the commissioned quilts I started in October and finished in December (more on those later).  Whew!
But for now, here are a few quick photos of some of the things I made in November and December 2015.  :)

Korbin's Growth Chart
One of my long time/favorite customers on Etsy (who happens to be my sister-in-law's mother) ordered another growth chart for her newest grandson.  The mom requested red/orange/gray to match his brother's blue/green/gray growth chart.  I had fun trying to get some artsy shots of this awkward shaped object with my weaksauce camera and yellow walls and toddler helpers.  :)  But the best part about making this growth chart was getting to deliver it personally.  Korbin's grandma is one of the sweetest ladies I know.  :)

Starburst/strings pillow
I thought I had some pictures of this, but apparently I don't.  I've been using it for three months on my rocking chair, so I pulled it out for a quick photo just to prove I actually finished it.  ;)  More photos of it HERE.  I made this pillow as part of my guild's challenge to make something from scraps.  I pulled out my TINIEST scraps to make the two sides of this pillow.  I really want to make something bigger with my strings someday - I have a TON of them.




Noah's Stocking
Whew!  Now everyone in the family has a stocking.  I should have taken a picture of them all lined up.  It's a little embarrassing - you can definitely see the progression of my sewing skills over the years!


Camera Strap Cover
My sister is an avid Harry Potter fan and a self-proclaimed Ravenclaw, so I whipped up this blue and silver camera strap cover for her fancy new camera.   Tutorial HERE.

 I also made a whole bunch of these little tissue holders to give as gifts at a party.  I made a few extras for myself, of course.  Tutorial HERE.

Crayon Rolls
I made these for my boys' 4th birthday.  They LOVE these little notebooks, so I had to make a spot for them.  They are also obsessed with all things super hero lately.  (Although if you were to ask them now, they would say Darth Vader is their favorite...)

Lastly, Rummy mats!  I made 12 of these babies in 2 1/2 months.  Yikes!  Next year I'm going to make them ahead of time so I'm not completely swamped during the Holiday season.
I took this picture one day to show the difference between my very first Rummy mat and my 30th Rummy mat.  I would like to think that my skills have improved.  ;) 



 Wahoo!  These are finishes #2 (pillow), #4 (stocking), #11 (growth chart), and #12 (crayon rolls) from my Quarter 4 Finish-Along list.  Linking up!

The Year of the Stockings and the Rummy Mats

So I've already dumped a bunch of new finishes on you (see my last post), but I decided to save these for a post of their own, since so much of my December was devoted to them.  :)

Like I mentioned, my Etsy shop exploded with big, time consuming orders around mid-November this year.  Most of these orders were for Rummy mats and stockings, which is awesome.  The hubby is proud because these are the things he convinced me to list because they are so unique. 

So, here are some more of the things I finished in December 2014:

First up, Rummy mats.  I actually made two of these (not counting the three I made before December - I can't believe people like these as much as I do!), plus sold one that was already made.  This one was ordered by a little family in Australia, which is cool.  They were nice enough to send me a photo of the mat being used on Christmas morning, along with a super nice thank you email.  SO AWESOME. 

And then there were the stockings. 

We got a new nephew in November and since their family already has tons and tons of quilts, Braden's mom requested that I make a stocking to match the rest of the family's.
So I started with a simple cross stitched cuff in the same font, with a border to match Daddy's stocking (since Connor's cuff matches Mama's).  

Then I attached it to a stocking made from flannel houndstooth, to match brother's stocking.  

Here are the two brothers together.  :)

Next, I had a lady order four stockings from me (only three are pictured) with plain cuffs because she wanted to cross stitch them herself.  It was a little tricky, but I figured it out!  The cuffs in the front are not backed completely (just along the edges), so that she would be able to reach her hand back there and work her stitches into the already finished cuff.

 She requested snowman fabrics and I added some fun custom quilting (sorry it is so hard to see).  Snowflakes for the black one,

Bubbles for the blue one,

And cross-hatching for the green one.

This next set of stockings were fun to do.  The Mom sent me a picture of her childhood stocking and asked if I could make two more to match it.  So I altered the cuffs a little and tried to copy the font on the original stocking as best I could.  I think they turned out pretty cute!

Whew!  Is it too early to start thinking about a stocking for the little one due in May?

Since Braden's stocking was on my Quarter 4 Finish Along list (#3), I get to link up here:

Rummy Royal IV

I made another Rummy Royal mat.  This one is #4.  You can see #2 and #3 HERE.  #1 is HERE.

 I was talking with the hubby awhile ago about how it's hard to sell quilts on Etsy because there are just so. freaking. many of them out there.  You really have to have a unique product in order to be successful on Etsy.  Hence the reason I get tons and tons of views on my quiet books every day (well, maybe not TONS), but hardly any on my quilts or quilted growth charts!

He very ingeniously suggested that I sell my Rummy Royal mats.  They are definitely unique, wouldn't you say? The design is completely my own (are ya'll interested in a pattern/tutorial?) and I've never seen anything like it before.  Can you believe that my first Rummy Royal post is the fifth most viewed post of all time on my blog?  (1-4 are giveaways and bloggers quilt festival posts.)

 So I made another one, this time in more traditional black and red fabrics with a totally awesome card print on the back.  What do you think?  I even printed the official rules and sewed them into the backing!  Plus, (at hubby's suggestion - isn't he great?) I added some ribbon so that it can be rolled up and tied for easier storage and transportation.  :)

It's listed in my Etsy shop HERE.

Also, the hubby suggested I list the stockings I've been making for our family.  I have always loved to cross-stitch and created these individualized stockings for us.  We'll see if anyone else likes them as much as he does.  :)  They can be found HERE.

Insert Clever Title Here

I'm a little embarrassed - everyone else finished posting their Christmas stuff months ago.  Maybe I should just consider myself 10 months early instead of 2 months late.
I have been able to get in little snippets of sewing time during those rare moments when both boys are sleeping at the same time and the dishes/laundry are all done.
Here are their finished stockings!

A couple notes for myself to remember next time:
-Quilting the pieces before cutting out the stocking shape is a good idea - just make sure to quilt far enough past the outside edges of the stocking shape.
-Make the cuffs a little wider so they have room to fold over.
-DON'T FORGET THE HOOK NEXT TIME!  Sheesh!  You'd think I'd figure that one out the third time.

The Story of My Sewing Beginnings... in Pictures

The 90s:
(insert picture of first cross stitching experience here)
(apologize about the lack of style in clothing when I was 10)



2002:
(insert picture of bookmarks made for a YW project)



2006:
When I got married,  I realized I wanted to sew stuff for some reason.  Maybe I wanted to feel more domestic.

2007:  I graduated from college and got a job as a third grade teacher.  Of course, I had to make this for my classroom.  (I made one for our couch too, but it was even uglier...)




2008:

2009:

*Note: I didn't actually MAKE these dresses.  I am not nearly that talented.  However, I DID add the lace to the bottom to make them longer.  An accomplishment for me.

2010:  (The summer I broke down and bought a new SEWING MACHINE :) :) :) :) )