jcaroline

Chicago

Mary Louise and I are sitting at O'Hare Airport in Chicago waiting to return home (to my home anyway- M.L. returns to her home on Wednesday).  We had a fab time in "the city".   On Sunday we wandered downtown hitting Millenium Park.  The park is home to the pavilion designed by Frank Gehry (lots of stainless steel in interesting forms).   It also houses "Cloud Gate" by Anish Kapoor-- 110 tons of polished stainless steel, referred to by Chicagoans as "the bean" (thank goodness for tourist info).

Then a stroll down Michigan Avenue yielded some fun and much needed clothing finds.  I don't like to shop, but I had an enthusiastic college student with me.  I must be in a better mood when I visit stores in another city, because I actually found things that I liked.

The Craft & Hobby Association Show was good-  a few new ribbons, some new beads, some new papers, but most importantly, some Amy Butler  bags!  They are from K&Company and are called "scrap booking totes", but don't think they are limited to that purpose.  They are just big totes with dozens of pockets available in the two fabrics shown.  I already claimed one as a diaper bag and Mary Louise has claimed one as a book bag.  They will retail for $35!  Delicious!  I assume we'll be seeing those in 3 to 4 weeks. 

American Crafts^TM was launching their gift wrap line at the show, which we had already ordered, so it should start arriving any day.  It is everything you like about American Crafts paper and ribbon in gift wrap-  chinese take out boxes, collapsible boxes, wrapping paper, tags, etc.

The funniest thing (I guess) was the EK Success  (predominately a scrap booking company) booth that is launching the Martha Stewart Crafts^TM line.  They devoted approximately 25% of their booth to a huge display of the craft line, which is a combination of paper crafts, paper tools, food packaging (like cupcake papers, cookie boxes) and some seasonal items.  They are all in classic Martha style- very simple and elegant.  I knew they were launching the line exclusively in Michaels last January, but assumed that since they were at a trade show with such a large display, it was available for purchase.  Nope.  The sales rep stammered and stuttered around until I finally said "Are you trying to say you can't sell this to me?".  Well, yes, that is what she was trying to say.  It will be available to independent retailers at some undefined point in the future.  So please ignore the three 25-foot displays that you nearly tripped over when you came into the booth!  The products will be available for me to sell once they are approximately 18 months old.  Oh well- I'll just keep my eyes open for something else cute and clever!  (Just frees up money for more cute fabric and ribbon, right?)

On Friday night, the keynote speaker at the show was Genevieve Gorder of Trading Spaces and she was wonderful!  She was so enthusiastic (just plain bubbly) and had some great table setting and decorating ideas.  Her approach is very practical and she really encourages you to use your own creativity and judgment to create something great that you enjoy.  How can you argue with that?

Of course, M.L. and I got in some eating, sleeping and general lolly-gagging around.  Running into the "Nightmare on Elm Street" convention including the movie's star was certainly an interesting side note.  I've never seen the movie, yet he is very recognizable.  The crowd of people following him in various horror costumes is also a big giveaway!  Certainly an interesting trip.  Now back to the real world. 

Creative Frenzy!

That's Mary Louise diligently working on our Nigella color boards.  I decided that my old color boards were too small (17" x 23") to contain the genius, so I devoted a wall to them.  That led to an explosion of fabric, ribbon and trims.  Yummy!   Mary Louise and I have very different working styles (read: hers are wrong), but her creativity was very helpful.  The boards should be on the web in a few days, but I was pleased with the trims and ribbons that matched that you would never think of.  So if Mary Louise listens to the creative director (me), we'll get pictures today.

And no, the picture was not taken with a special lens (note the out of focus at the top).  We discovered that the lens was broken after Mary Louise shot hundreds of pictures of the boards.  Oh well- it's only digital, so no film was wasted.  Never mind that we are already using a backup camera because the main digital, a Canon D60, died last week. (Coincidence?)  I am establishing a personal relationship with the Canon Service Center.

Then we are off on Friday to the Craft & Hobby Show in  Rosemont, IL (basically O'Hare Airport in Chicago).  Mary Louise says she will research things we can do in the Windy City.  Do you think a 21-year-old and a 40-year-old have different takes on what we should be do?  Fortunately, Mary Louise likes to sleep as much as I do, so there will be sleeping in and naps.  And in-between, bursts of creativity.

Blog Slowdown

My Google RSS feed page of craft blogs has not changed in days!  Lots of bloggers on summer vacation and not writing!  However, I haven't written in days and I have no legitimate excuse.  Lots going on at jcaroline-  we got in Amy Butler's Nigella fabric, which I was told we wouldn't get even one piece until September and we got almost all the pieces last week.  I did get it on the web and I am going to create some color boards (where we show you combinations of fabric, trim and ribbons) with the gorgeous stuff this week.  I have to apologize for my color boards- I did a few over a year ago. I think they are a great idea and people even commented about how much they enjoyed them, but I didn't keep it up.  I will be better about it!

My niece, Mary Louise, is in town for two weeks and being the creative photography type that she is, she already helped me get a ton of new trims on the web (that have been sitting waiting to be photographed for six weeks now?) and will help me with color boards this week. 

Last week my new Sewist 521 sewing machine and MyLock 204D serger from Janome arrived.  I will be doing some sewing projects for their new website, so I'll let you know when the first one will be up.  There is nothing better than a new machine to improve your sewing!  I have only spent a couple of hours with the sewing machine, but I already love the top-loading bobbin with the clear cover (you can see when your bobbin is running low), love the buttonholder (very easy), and that your "default" settings (stitch length, stitch width) aren't reset when the machine is turned off.  (Especially important since my old machine would come unplugged unexpectedly and it reset your current stitch settings.)  I have also never had a machine where you could drop the feed dogs, so I'm most excited to use that feature.

We also got in a bunch of cool buttons last week.  Those will be on the web shortly (courtesy of Mary Louise).  And some 100% wool felt.  And some new Alexander Henry.

I Bought a Bodkin!

Thanks to Amy Karol's Bend-The-Rules Sewing (posted here), I discovered the bodkin and I like it!  In her discussion of tools, she talks about a bodkin which allows you to pull elastic through casings- basically tweezers that clamp together.  I had always used a safety pin (my mother's idea), but used a bodkin today and it made life much easier.  So I sent my mother one as well.  I had never heard of nor seen one, but I added them to our site today.

And I finished a project today (hurray)!  I made a top and pants for my daughter out of Chocolate Lollipop fabric.  I copied a top she had from the Gap that I liked and that fit.  The pants are the standard elastic waist pattern (thus the bodkin) that I've used before. I am going to put these patterns on the web.  I have no idea how to size them for anyone else (she's wearing 18-24 months), but they will give you a starting point.  And check out the flower buttons!

(7/25/07:  The top and pants pattern and instructions are finally on the web.  Hurrah!)