Hey! I thought you said you were back!

As the old saying states, time flies when you're making tea towels. I have been a busy little bee getting ready for the pinnacle of my months of tests and labours. Next Thursday, December 3rd is the day of the Speakeasy craft sale and the debut of my tea towels!


Before I get into the specifics of the progress of my work I want to share with you the specifics of the two craft sales that I will be featuring my products. First, as mentioned above, is the Speakeasy holiday craft sale, at the Gladstone hotel. It starts at 8 and a donation is asked to enter the sale. See the flyer above for the rest of the info. If you're in the area please stop by- the sale features a TON of awesome work to oogle. The second sale is a last minute decision. It's happening on Sunday December 6th, with the Workshop Collective studio. The studio is located on the 2nd floor at 1380 Queen St West. Both sales will be fun and I hope to see you there!


So, the specifics! I have been working my bum off on the designs and construction of the tea towels, as well as packaging. I have come up with some great ways to save time. Using a rotary cutter and a hand made pattern has made fabric cutting a breeze! I'm also using an acetone/ carbon photo transfer technique to transfer the embroidery images to cut down on re-drawing the design every time. Without these quickeners I'd be in big trouble. I had my first silk screening at home experience just last week and am happy to say that it was a lot less messy than I thought it would be! I am finishing the printing tomorrow for the show towels- any fear of screening at home is long gone. My embroidery remains the most time consuming part of the process, although the more I embroider the quicker I get. I used print gocco to make the band label to keep the two towels together. They came out a bit distressed looking but I don't mind it so much. I've decided to price the pack at $35- one silk screened and one embroidered. I feel like I'm actually on the home stretch and know that I've got a great item to sell to the world. That makes me happy as heck.




I also decided to get some prints made of the alphabet poster I made for a friend in the spring. I really loved doing it and I have never made high quality prints of my work before. I went to my tried and trusted printer buddies Marco and Nadia at MarcorMedia to get them done and they turned out beautifully. I can't wait to debut them on thursday night. They will be $60 each. My main concern now is finding a way to package the prints without damaging them or my pocket book. Any ideas?

I'm also going to sell some home-goccoed greeting cards (I know, I know- I really am not getting any sleep at all) in a variety of themes.

I will be sure to fill you in on how everything goes at the sale. Of course, if you can come out and see it for yourself, all the better.

Until next week, ta ta!

Where the heck have I BEEN???

I am BACK!

I apologize for the lengthy hiatus on this lovely, yet way neglected blog. It's been a terribly busy month, and I won't go into the gory details of it all, but it started with my computer having the digital equivalent of a stroke. I was just getting ready to put up my (Canadian) thanksgiving blog post when the "left arm went numb". Here's the lovely illustration that would have greeted you way back when. Now you may apply it to American thanksgiving!


Anyhow, after weeks of trying to revive my second generation iMac G5 I officially called the time of death on Monday, November 2nd, at 5:45 PM. May it rest in peace.

I was able to go through the grieving process quite quickly, as two days later a new computer came into my home and filled the hole in my heart with all it's 27 inches. Oh, beautiful, beautiful, humongous iMac. How deep and hard I have fallen for you.

Although it seems all I've been doing is fretting about my computer woes, I actually had a very busy 4 weeks while away from the world of blogging. I figure that I'll split it into personal and professional over two posts as I don't want to overload your senses. So first, the personal.





Aside from Canadian thanksgiving, I celebrated the beginning of my last year of my 20's on the 14th of October. I was spoiled with lovely flowers, bellinis, bunny busts, and swimming gear. I also did some spoiling myself, as Ronaldo helped me make a big spread of homemade Italian dinner and appetizer fare for my nearest and dearests. All in all, a lovely way to ring in my 29th year.



My sister, Martha, came up a week later to take me to a lovely concert at Massey Hall. It was David Gray, who I am not all that familiar with, but loved all the same. In fact, I found my newest obsession that night- his opener, Lisa Hannigan! Her music was amazing- relaxing, sweet, adorable, and her voice is just lovely. Aside from some mega jerks who sat in front of us (David Gray had to stop the show to tell them to get off their phones because it was distracting!) our second row seats were mind blowing!

A week after THAT was Halloween!! It's one of my favourite holidays, and Ronaldo and I went all out.


He was Ash from the Evil Dead movies...


...and I was a flapper girl! We are too cool for matching costumes!




We went out to a 60's revival night with our friends Pat and Terrence (anyone seen the TV show Extras?) and had a blast. I was a big fan of Ronaldo's homemade hand chainsaw and particularly his shot gun!


The next day, as hung over as hell, we went to see this year's tour of Cirque De Soleil, Ovo. It was my birthday present from Ronaldo, and I was totally mesmerized the whole time. I have never seen anything like it! Even the tents were impressive!

So, that is half of the fun you missed while I was neglectful. Next post I will highlight the work I've done and what's happening in the world of tea towels.

Hope you enjoyed your weekend!