Beach Time

With summer on its way (and it being really hot here in Texas already) I thought I would try making a beach bag. This one I did by the pattern using Simplicity #2830 A. It has been quite a while since I used a pattern I didn't make so I had some seam ripping to do as well. (trial and error) I have not received my sewing equipment in the mail yet, but I did borrow a friend's machine and use some fabric my mother-in-law had shipped me. Here is how it came out:

 

I love that it has 6 pockets for sunblock, water bottle, ipod, keys, sunglasses, and what ever else you need, plus room in the main pocket for a towel and t-shirt. This bag and more are available on my website and facebook.

Galeo

The move has gone well so far. (although the moving of stuff is slow, hey less to clean up) We have come to enjoy the slow paced town and people here. New jobs are already lined up and we're looking at options for a place of our own. In the sadness of losing our dog Rhuarc, we decided to adopt a new puppy. 

Meet Galeo:

He will never take Rhuarc's place, but has new special place in my heart. (I mean come on look at that face) Galeo is a coffee term (espresso with milk) which is perfect since I spend most of my mornings at the coffee shop learning drinks and doing the baking. I'm excited to bring out some of the recipes I've recently learned and put them to good use. My sewing equipment and fabric should be in the mail soon so that I can fill all these orders and continue with tutorials.

Until next time,

-SL 

Its Not Just for Sewing

Trial and Error. Its not JUST for sewing or baking.Sometimes its about life. We try new things and hope that they come out great, and when they don't happen the way we had hoped we simply must learn from the experience and try again next time. Recently through the projects in this blog I started selling my own "Custom and Handmade Bags". Business was taking off faster than I could have ever hoped. Honestly I wasn't really even trying to start a small business, I was just trying to keep from getting bored in my little city apartment. Then out of the blue we had an emergency move. By emergency I mean it happened very fast and I never got the chance to go home and get all my belongings. Instead, a friend of mine packed the important things and sent the rest to Goodwill. We even had to have someone take our dog to the Humane Society (Yes, that cute lab-mix that "helped" with some of the projects) Now, I live on the other side of the country with nothing to my name but the dufflebag full of clothes I had brought with me on our vacation. Trial and Error. Sometimes we try to do something and it doesn't happen how we had thought it would, so we pick up the pieces and learn from what we did. Was it wrong? Should we have done it differently? Is this bad? No. Its just part of life. Its the beauty of life.

This isn't the end of my Handmade Bags or my blog. Those will continue in some way, just not the way I had originally thought. Perhaps they will become even better. So, roll with the punches; learn from experiences; and never let go of your dreams.

-Stacie Lee