Making More Pennants!

When I first set up my Etsy shop, I was pretty sure only my friends would buy my quilts, pennants, and purses. But now that it’s been open a while, I’ve been surprised to find that I’m getting orders from people I don’t know! It’s a super exciting feeling to hear my Etsy app go cha-ching! when I make a sale.

Recently, I made two sets of pennants for two new clients. They are both moms, and both commissioned pennants for their new baby’s nursery (or, in the second case, babies! She’s having twins!). I think they turned out great!

The first nine-foot set was a fun combination of greens, reds, and yellow — going in an adorable jungle nursery.

Pennants Let's Eat Grandpa

Pennants Let's Eat Grandpa

Mom #2 commissioned two twelve-foot strands in girl shades of pink and purple — lots of fun, modern prints in this one!

Pennants Let's Eat Grandpa

Pennants Let's Eat Grandpa

I’m currently waiting on fabric to make a red, teal, and brown set for…another mom! Nurseries across the nation are getting more adorable while I write!

Want a set of your own? Visit my Etsy shop!

Let’s Get Organized: Trim Organization Round-Up!

Trim Organization Let's Eat Grandpa

Now that the Trim Trade is coming to a close, and I’ve written my own post about organizing my trim, I thought I’d share a bunch of great trim organization options I found. Take a look at all of these amazing ways to keep your trim in check!

Trim Organization Let's Eat Grandpa

Left to right:

Pretty Trim | The Sewing Loft
Doll Pin Ribbons | Vanilla Joy
Drapery Ring Ribbons | Just Something I Made
Rulers and Lace | Mamie Janes
Ribbon Boards | Let’s Eat Grandpa
Organizing with Sticks | Maya Made
Recycling Spools | Sew She Sews
Ribbon Tags | The Homes I Have Made

Trim Organization Let's Eat Grandpa

Left to right:

Vintage Suitcase Storage | Little Pink Studio
Sequin Storage | Torie Jayne
How to Store Sorted Buttons | This Blog is Not For You
Glass Jar Storage | Make it Cozee
Lace Spools | Raising Up Rubies
Spice Jar Buttons | The Crafty Mummy
Shabby Sewing Caddy | Shabby Art Boutique
Tic Tac Ribbon Storage | Prudent Baby

Trim Organization Let's Eat Grandpa

Left to right:

Clothing Button Organization | Simply Stated
Downloadable Spools | Hudson’s Holidays
Ribbons in Straw Jars | Shannon Wight
Ribbon on Tacks | Decor8
Wooden Sticks Ric Rac | Smashed Peas and Carrots
Trim Boards | The Cottage Home
Ribbon Jar Labels | Eighteen 25
Spools and More Spools | Craft and Creativity

Trim Organization Let's Eat Grandpa

Left to right:

Button Boxes | Paper Trey Ink
Closet Storage | Creating Keepsakes
Cookie Sheet Buttons | Dannie’s Designs
Popsicle Stick Storage | Kreative Jewels
Trim Tags | Fresh Vintage
Ribbon Organizer | Sew Incredibly Crafty
Ric Rac Drawers | Snappelina
DIY Trim Box | All Buttoned Up

Trim Organization Let's Eat Grandpa

Left to right:

Business Card Buttons | Storage and Glee
Ribbon Jars | Everything Fab
Ribbon Hanger | Bee Inspired
Button Jars | Elle’s Studio
Embroidery Floss | Heather J’s Life
Cupcake Holder Organization | Everything Etsy
Lace Cards | Todolwen
Towel Holder Ribbon Organizer | Creating Keepsakes

Now that you’re organized, check out Heather’s great post about what to do with all that trim!

Did I miss your awesome trim organization project? Leave me a link in the comments and I’ll feature it in an upcoming post!

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day is Here!!

Giveaway Day Let's Eat GrandpaIt is Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day! Twice a year, Sew Mama Sew does an enormous round-up of giveaways. It’s a great opportunity to win cool stuff and find new blogs to follow. Visit their blog to find more giveaways to enter!

If you found my blog on the Sew Mama Sew linky party, welcome! I hope you love what you find here!

(And if you are here to check out my round-up of trim organization ideas, check back tomorrow!)

For this Giveaway Day, I’m giving away a set of 6′ custom pennants in our choice of colors (as long as I can pull them from my extensive stash)! All you have to do is use Rafflecopter below the photo to enter. There are several ways to win! The giveaway begins today and ends May 10 at 5pm Pacific time. International entries are accepted!

Custom Pennants Let's Eat Grandpa

(If you don’t win but want a set of your own, visit my Etsy shop!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Bloomin’ Quilt-As-You-Go Pillow up for Auction!

If the price was too high for the pillow I made for the Newtown Auction earlier this year, I have another, similar Bloomin’ quilt-as-you-go pillow up for bid at author Brenda Novak’s Diabetes Research Auction! They are hoping to raise $2 million this year (yes, $2 million!) so I hope you’ll bid on the pillow and help support her wonderful cause. Right now the bidding is at a whopping $15, so it’s totally within your reach!

Bloomin' Quilt-As-You-Go Pillow Let's Eat Grandpa

The pillow measures 12″ x 12″ and is backed in orange dots. It has a bit of a literary bent — in the center of the flower is the start of a little story. Read more about it here!

And if you want to make one of your own, my tutorial can be found here.

Book Review #8 – Look Me in the Eye by John Elder Robison

Look me in the eyeLook Me in the Eye by John Elder Robison

Narrator:  John Elder Robison
Source
: Audible
Finished: 4/8/13
Rating: 8 out of 10
Publisher: Books on Tape
Length: 9 hours 16 minutes
Pages: 302
Published: 2007

Synopsis (from Publishers Weekly):  Robison’s thoughtful and thoroughly memorable account of living with Asperger’s syndrome is assured of media attention (and sales) due in part to his brother Augusten Burroughs’s brief but fascinating description of Robison in Running with Scissors. But Robison’s story is much more fully detailed in this moving memoir, beginning with his painful childhood, his abusive alcoholic father and his mentally disturbed mother. In the end, Robison succeeds in his goal of helping those who are struggling to grow up or live with Asperger’s to see how it is not a disease but a way of being that needs no cure except understanding and encouragement from others.

Overall Impression: Once again, a book has shown why memoir really is my favorite genre of writing. There’s just something about reading the personal journey of someone that makes me love, well, being human. We’re all so different and we all have our stories to tell. We are so lucky when people like Robison work up the courage and the time and energy to write out their stories — I learned so much from his memoir. Several people I’m close to (including my SIL and one of my bridesmaids) have worked with autistic children, so my interest in the autism spectrum was already piqued. I also read Born on a Blue Day a while back, which was fascinating. Look Me in the Eye just extended my curiosity, and definitely had me grinning — there were a lot of funny, touching moments in the book. It also made me look more deeply at the way I may treat people who I find, well, socially awkward. I think it gave me more grace.

Positives: This is an essential read for anyone with or anyone who knows someone with Asperger’s (which, if I recall, was removed as classification? I need to look more into it.). I think he gives a lot of credit to the “weird kids” out there, who don’t fit in with crowd very easily, and really pushes to let kids explore what interests them.

Negatives: I wish there had been some more explanation about what happened to his parents between the first part of his life and the latter. This may have been covered more in Running with Scissors, but I had a hard time connecting his early parents from the parents later in the book.

Narration: Like most authors who read their own memoirs, he nailed it. He knew exactly how he wanted to sound, and then sounded that way.

Other books I’ve read by John Elder Robison: none

Other books I’ve listened to narrated by John Elder Robison: none

Other blogger opinions:

My Books. My Life.: “I thought the book would focus mostly on Asperger’s and how it affected his life, but instead it was just a memoir about someone who happened to have Asperger’s.”

The Book Lady’s Blog: “It is a wonderful resource for anyone who knows, lives with, or works with someone who has an autism-spectrum disorder, and it is a great for those curious minds that just want to hear another perspective.”

The Almost Perfectionist: “…I’m so glad I read this book to understand this man better and hopefully use his life story (thus far) as a resource to understand my son.”