Attack of the White Stuff

They said the snow would come.  I didn't believe it.  Why?  Well, if you live in the South long enough you begin to see a pattern.  Snow is predicted.  Everyone goes crazy and stocks up milk and bread.  The kids get excited.  The snow doesn't come.  This time, however, it looks like they were right on the prediction.  It started snowing yesterday morning and didn't stop until around 3 or 4 PM.  Then, it started again sometime this morning, and, as I type this at 10:30 AM, it is snowing pretty hard.  So, we are stuck inside, because as we know in the South the roads will be bad.  Also, most people here are not use to driving in the snow, because it rarely happens here.  So, inside we will stay.  Well, unless we get the urge to go have a snowball fight.  Hmmm...I wonder who will start that.  LOL!

While we are inside, I am trying to keep my hands busy on a new bishop.  I must admit that I had great plans for a cute green and white chevron bishop smocked dress.  After fighting with my pleater yesterday, I am not sure how it will look in the end.  I am not sure why, but sometimes my pleater has a mind of its own.  Actually, most of the time it is O.E.(operator error).  Despite all of my struggles, I managed to get the dress pleated.  The smocking will be flowers and the dress will be sized for a 2 year old.  The goal is for a 2 year old little girl to have something special to wear this Spring. 

What do you do to get ready for days inside?  Do you cut out a new pattern?  Do you get some yarn for crochet?  There are several things a "crafter" can do to avoid boredom.  Mine would include the smocking, sewing, and crochet.  So, when I get bored with my bishop pattern, I may find myself making a hat or scarf.  Who knows?  Post a comment below and let me know your favorite "snow day" activity. 

Also, before I forget, I am running a special in my shop for the month of February.  Here it is:

Easter is a long way off, but this dress takes some time to complete. Therefore, I am offering a deal. Pre-order the dress below by March and receive a $20 discount. Just enter the coupon code PREEASTER, when you purchase this dress in my shop. Hurry, the offer ends on March 1st.

Garden Tea Party Dress

Just click on the name of the dress and it will send you to my etsy shop.  You may purchase this dress there.  Are you not a big fan of white?  That is fine.  I can customize this dress to fit the colors you would like.  It would make a great Easter dress, Spring dress, or Flower Girl dress for a wedding.  Just send me a message via etsy and I can get started.  

Don't forget to post comments about what you like to do on a Snow Day.  Have a wonderful day and stay warm and inside, if you are near this storm. 

OH NO! I am LOST!

Ok, my husband and I have been discussing getting rid of our AT&T U-verse cable.  We really like the DVR thing, and being able to watch when we want.  The problem is, it is expensive.  We think we could save some money if we did things another way.  Our family is not a huge TV family.  We only have like 3 or 4 shows that we watch, and 2 that are favorites.  The others we most likely could get by not watching.  So, on to research.

We started by looking into Netflix.  We signed up for the one month free trial.  WOW!!!  The amount of shows that are available is amazing.  We found a bunch of old episodes of shows we watched as kids, and some new ones we had not seen.  We also tried Hulu Plus for a few days, but that was not much different than the Netflix.  Actually, Netflix gave us more options.  We are still in the process of trying to decide what to do, but for now the Netflix stays and the U-verse is on its way out. 

One of the new shows that we found is Dr. Who.  If you don't know, Dr. Who is a show from the BBC.  It is about a man that is a time traveler.  My kids loved it.  There are a few references to lifestyles that are questionable to us, but for the most part it is interesting.  Now, I told you my kids loved the show.  Me, on the other hand, became addicted.  I just keep watching.  I am totally lost in a huge time vortex.  OH NO!!!

Maybe I can get Dr. Who to come and save me.  LOL!!!

Seriously, I have spent time watching this show, but I have also been busy.  I did manage to complete one dress and started another.  Below is a picture of the first one.  The second one, began with a great idea, but it is not working out the way I had planned.

Bishop Smocked Dress

So, I decided to put the second one aside, and wait until I have had time to think about the finished product. 

Now, that I have put that one aside, I purchased some Green Chevron.  I have 2 ideas for 2 different bishop smocked dresses.  My plan is to have them ready by Spring.  Flowers and Flip Flops.  That is the idea that I have. 

So, if you ever get addicted to a show, make sure that you have something to work on while you are lost in the show.  By the way, the dress in the picture is available for sale on my Etsy shop.  It can be purchased there, or you can custom order one of my other outfits there. 

Guess What I Did This Week...

I would like to say that this week I worked very hard and accomplished a lot.  That is not the case.  I had great plans for this week.  I was going to finish an outfit and get it listed on Etsy.  I was going to get my meals planned and grocery shop for the week.  Then, on Tuesday, it happened. 

They predicted snow.  The whole town got so excited.  The kids, my kids, were anticipating the calling off of the school day.  We woke up.  Not a snowflake in sight.  At around 11 I got a text from my daughter saying that they were letting the kids out at 12.  Seriously???  Once again, not a snowflake in sight.  So, off I went to wait in car lines for kids.  We came home and relaxed.  Well, I took a nap.  LOL!  Still, no snow.  At around 3PMish, there were snow flurries coming down.  Well, I would really call it that.  You see, I am originally from Ohio.  This was more like micro snow flurries.  A friend of mine on Facebook described it well.  She said it looked like little gnats.  She was right.  However, it continued and was constant throughout the night. 

By Wednesday morning, we had snow dusted all over our back yard.  It was not that big of a deal, but the ice on the roads was serious.  See, in Ohio, they would have had salt trucks out as soon as the snow started falling.  In the south, they do not.  Why?  Well, it is because we do not get snow that often.  They do not use tax payer money to buy up a bunch of salt truck that may or may not be used.  That equals icy roads that do not thaw and people driving on them that are not experienced with driving on ice.  I was very thankful that they did send the kids home early.

Why?

Well, my sister and her family live south of us.  They were absolutely not ready for the storm they received.  They schools did not call off early enough.  The snow hit fast and hard.  They also do not have the snow/salt trucks there, because, once again, snow is rare.  She and her husband left for work and picking up the kids at around 11 in the morning.  At 5:45PM, I received a text from my sister that she and the kids were finally home.  There were also people and kids in other areas that did not make it home until 24 hours later.  WOW! 

So, I was thankful for my time at home and getting here safe.  We relaxed and I worked in spurts.  I did accomplish finishing up some smocking and back smocking of an outfit that is still in the making.  I hope today to get some work done on the sleeves and put the top together.  Be looking for this new outfit on my Etsy shop.  Also, if you are need of some custom made dresses or outfits for your little one, or if you need a baby shower gift, stop by Sewing Sweet Tracy or my Facebook Page.  We can get started making something special for you and your little one.

Happy 2014!!!  So, we celebrated the New Year the same way as always.  We watched the ball drop on Fox New channel.  It was pretty uneventful, but it was a blessing to watch with my family.  I pray that you were able to spend the New Year with your family.  I also pray that 2014 brings you a year full of blessings.

So, this is the first blog of the New Year.  Hmmm...What do blog about???  That is always the question.

Today, I am going to write about my creation yesterday.  For a while now, I have been making some Infinity Scarves, or Tube Scarves, or Endless Scarves.  They have so many different names.  When I make these, I notice that there is several inches of material left over.  Well, being me, I can't help but think, "You know there is something that can be made with that left over material"  For a long time, I had no ideas.  This Christmas, I was making some of these scarves for my mom and mother-in-law.  It finally hit me...HEADBANDS.  A headband is just simply a smaller infinity scarf.  WOW!  I seriously can't believe it took me this long.  So, yesterday, I began creating a headband.

It started out pretty simple.  Then, I tried the first one out.  Bummer!  The first one looks good, but I can barely get it over my head.  It is so very tight.  Well, maybe it is just my big head.  So, I gave it to my daughter to try out.  She couldn't even get it on at all.  So, back to the drawing board.

It seemed to be that the material stretched, but the stitching kept one side from stretching.  OH!  That is right.  I was using the wrong stitch.  DUH! A straight stitch doesn't stretch.  So, out comes the manual to the sewing machine.  Did you know that there is a stitch for stretchy material(LOL)?  Yes, I know dumb question.  I did know this, but I had forgotten.

After changing my stitch, I had better success.  The next 2 headbands turned out great.  One was still a little small, but would work great for a young girl.  The other one was good for an adult sized head.  I do still need to work with the size a little, but I have a good start.  Check out the pictures, and post a comment here about what you think.  Enjoy!

Other colors and styles to come.  The other big news of yesterday is that my daughter finished her first crocheted scarf.  She had decided a while ago that she wanted to learn to crochet.  We had some bumps in the road in the area of learning stitches, but she has got it down now.  Here are pictures of her first finished product.  I am a very proud momma.

And here comes 2014!!!

So, while I am thinking about the New Year and my business, I am thinking about some changes.  My etsy.com shop has seen little to no business in a while.  My husband and my dear sister-in-law continue to suggest that I blog.  Well, since I am not so great at this blog thing, I have not posted anything in a very long time.  Also, it is all so very confusing to me, and I seriously have not taken the time to get into this whole blog area.  I guess that I am trying to start out the New Year with a more consistent "blogging" habit.  Is that what you call it???  So, here goes.

The following are questions that I always have when blogging. "What do I blog about???"  I mean what can I tell you that you would want to read or hear?  Do people really want to hear about the projects that are currently in the mix?  Do people want to hear new techniques?  I hope not, because I don't have any.  Do people want to read about the show or movies that I watch while smocking or sewing?  Do I blog about  blogging?  Can you do that? 

After I go through several minutes, hours, days, etc. of this, I end up blogging about my outfits or my sales.  The other result is, I just stop and don't blog.  Why?  Well honestly, sometimes I feel it is a waste of time.  I don't see much traffic here, and I have other things to do.  Also, I go back and read it several days later.  BIG MISTAKE!  The re-reading leads me to question all that was written.  So, once again, I give up. 

So, here is the plan for the New Year...

1. I will post a blog entry once a week.  No more, and, hopefully, no less.
2. I will blog about what I want to blog about.  If it is not a great blog, then I will just try to blog something better the next week.
3. I will try not to get discouraged.  Seriously, no one wants to read a blog that is filled with frustration.


So, there it is.  If you follow this blog, and I would be surprised if you did, I ask you to keep me accountable.  Let me know when I have missed a week.  Keep me up to date on the things you are interested in hearing.  Comment.  PLEASE, comment.  That is the only way I can improve this blog. 

As I close, I pray that all of you have had a wonderful Christmas and God will bless you and your family in the New Year.  Happy 2014!

Winding Down The Summer

Well, this week has been lazy and busy.  Our mornings around here have been a little on the lazy side.  Sometimes it is nice to just do nothing, and my kids LOVE that option.  All of the sports practices moved from in the morning hours to the afternoon.  Also, we are getting ready for school to start.  So that means, pick up schedules, make sure we have supplies, and figure out teachers.  I have my first kid going off to High School this year.  I really thought I would be more nervous, but he is ready.  My second kid will be in 7th grade, so it is no big deal.  Also, kid #2 LOVES school.  Yep, that's right, it is my daughter.  They both do very well in school and are learning so much.

Since that has been the schedule this week, I have not done a lot of creating.  Last weekend I did make a little boy romper that turned out very cute.  I had plans to start a smocked Christmas dress, but that has not happened, yet.  As I sit here typing, I hear rain coming down.  That means, no running for me.  I guess instead I will start on that dress.  The material is in the sewing room just waiting on me to get my act together.

On the up side, I sold my Back to School Apple outfit this week.  I am so excited for the little girl who will have this to wear on the first day of school.  This has always been one of my favorite outfits.  I just love how it screams "FALL".

I also delivered my first "Books of the Bible" bag to my nephew.  He was so fun to watch.  I think he liked the bag better than the books of the Bible tiles.  His mom, my sister, helped him pour all of the tiles out and try to put them in order.  That was fun to watch.  Soon he will be reciting those books like he has known them all his life.

Today my promotion is a clearance item.  This is a great Spring or Summer outfit.  I know, Spring and Summer are over.  However, this could be bought on clearance and worn next year.  This outfit features some very cute flowers with smiling faces and a few Spring critters.  The pants have a matching ruffle at the bottom.  I am selling it on clearance to make room for some Fall and Winter items in my shop.  The original cost was $50, and it is priced now for $25.  That is HALF OFF.  WOW!  Follow the link to my Etsy shop listing in order to purchase.

Girls Pink/Blue/Green Smocked Flower Pant Set Size 4- CLEARANCE 

While you are there, check out my other items that are for sale.  There are some very cute dresses and a few items for baby boys.

As I finish up, I want to give a shout out to the Etsy Amazing Etsians team.  They invited me to their team this week and WOW has the traffic to my etsy shop increased.  This group is so very encouraging and has been a great help.  Also, the EtsyKids Team has been helpful, so shout out to them as well.