The problem with getting amazing pricing...

...Is not the co-ops, the sales, or the de-stashing of other artists themselves that is the problem, it's the possibilities that are presented to me in all these fabulous new things, when I have fabulous things to use already. What can I say? I adore, adore, adore making things using unusual print and color combinations. And I find that the newer items I purchase often match a fabric from my stash. Yarn I buy for inspiration, knitting a specific pattern, or to dye myself. These items do not include the dyes I've purchased for the Dharma Trading Co. clothing blanks and yarn I will be dying shortly. It's astonishing. It is nice, though, that through amazing cooperative purchases, I am able to spend the same amount of money, and generally get twice as much in materials.

Amy Butler "Lotus" fabric prints - 8 yards ordered

Kaffe Fasset fabric prints - 10 yards ordered

Free Spirit Jumprope fabric prints - 4 yards ordered

Alexander Henry fabric prints - 10 yards ordered

Wooly Wonders by Nada - 8oz ordered in Wild Strawberry in Blackberry Ridge Merino

Organic Cotton yarn by Pakucho in natural and dark chocolate ordered

Metal Swift by Royal in Japan ordered

Belladonna Designs
3 skeins of fingering weight yarn in superwash merino/nylon in Caribbean ordered

1 skein of of fingering superwash nylon merino in spring rainbow


Annnnddd 3 skeins of worsted superwash in black gradient - but with pink instead of blue. The photo next to it is how the gradient knits up. Mich, the woman who is Belladonna Designs, is genius.



These colors and patterns and materials are gorgeous! Just wait to see what comes of them... not to mention how I become inspired to make my own things!

Sewing: Custom curtains - FINISHED!

And boy oh boy, what a pain in the ass. Not all of it. Just parts. And for good reason. The "big" curtains I am extraordinarily pleased with. Lovely, lovely, lovely.

First off, the pain in the ass. These are vintage pieces of material that I was just resizing for their new home. However, the fabric content included fiberglass. How does one know? Ahh - the itchy hands that turn red and start to swell and hurt. I didn't do a perfect job, but I couldn't handle them much longer either. She completely understood. The print is lovely and the green, the apple green color, completely plays off the last curtains shown here.

Next up are the curtains for her son - which are lined, and which also have two edges with "gentle" curves (yes, again, I'm rolling my eyes here). The fabric is a wonderful Michael Miller (if I recall correctly) navy with star print. It's lined with muslin. I finished sewing these after finishing the fiberglass icks and when I rush, I'm not perfect. It makes me sad, but thankfully they are hung to gather and the curves will be lost. I did a lovely star/diamond decorative stitch along the edge where the curtains fold over to insert the rod. Tee hee, looks cute up close!

And finally, the piece de resistance, which, for the record, I am in love with! The two fabrics comprising these curtains are JoAnn's line of Christopher Lowell in apple green - a polyester that does an amazing imitation of shantung, and a sheer with, get this, velvet chenille dots. They need to be gently steamed, but this is what one can do with 2.5 yards of each:

Sewing: Did the count!

And I am actually at 51 pieces cut, with 12 left on the pile. I figure if I'm already this far along, might as well go the distance!! Tonight I should be done as 5 pieces are for my daughter, 2 are the same dress, different material, 4 are miscellaneous, and the last 1 is a set of curtains for a friend - which of course, will be the very first thing I sew. I'm trading for childcare. Fabulous trade, that. Just have to have them done by Friday, Saturday at the latest.

Sewing: Still cutting...

In regards to my Sewing With a Purpose project, I am still getting these things cut. And I did a recount... Since I counted a few patterns as doubled where I'd only cut singly, I think I'm off by about a dozen, meaning I had some 20-odd more pieces to cut. I'm afraid to do a real count... my hash marks evidently aren't correct, can't fathom why at 2 in the morning. I'm afraid to do a real count. But I have the last pile on the cutting table, and well, it's all I'm going to do. I have gotten 8 pieces (6 bags and 2 dresses for my daughter) cut already. So it's time to get moving. I think I can have this crap done tonight.

On a bitchy side note, some patterns are simply atrocious to cut. The better the fit, the more to cut. Also, the more tired I get, the more I second-guess some of my print and fabric choices ::rolling eyes here:: I chalk it up to the fatigue. It is cute, but I'm getting beyond sick of cutting. And I'm almost out of pins - all 850 of them.

So now I begin!

Dahara Dreaming is my love-child idea for a company that offers handmade goodies by mostly stay-at-home (SAH), work-at-home (WAH), or work-outside-the-home (WOH) mamas. I'm in the WAHM category for the most part, though I view being the SAHM the more important aspect.

I've got a fantastic mama, Lissi D., a WAHM herself, and her husband working on the website, http://www.daharadreaming.com/ (of course!), so that I can begin selling the amazing goods that I and other mamas have created. I mainly work in jewelry, sterling silver and gold filled (THE next best thing to a gold product), as well as knitting, dyeing yarns, and sewing. I like to keep busy and I like to share in the income contribution so I combined my love of the creative (see above) and my modest business sense, and I'm following it where it leads!

In the meantime, while I wait for the website to come along, I will begin chronicalling the frenetic quantity of projects I am currently working on. It's what I do. When the site is up and running and selling the goods of other mamas, they too will be doing their own blog as they so choose - both for DaharaDreaming and for themselves.

Currently in the works:

(1) Sewing with a purpose
My challenge to myself to cut and sew 50+ items for myself, my daughter, my spouse, and whatever else has been requested. Since I hate pinning and cutting, I decided to do ALL of that first. It has been a first rate pain in the ass. But I look fondly at the pile growing before me and know that soon I will be using my lovely serger and sewing machine, and it keeps me going. I am currently about to begin cutting peice #41 - YES folks, only 10 more to go and out comes the machines. Thanks goes to my friend Rachel B. who gave a name to my mad method, one I will repeat, but in slightly smaller quantities.

(2) For Dyeing
My first "official" foray into the dyeing world. This is complicated - these projects are for my grandparents. Matching hats and scarves. One of which will be mailed to them for Grandparents Day (Sept. 9), the matching component for Christmas. What I did was take 3 skeins of Worsted Weight Superwash from Knitpicks, unwind them, and then wind them into one VERY LARGE skein so that I could dye with greater gradation control. I have done this three, count them, THREE times. It is very time consuming with no swift, but grants a decent amount of exercise. I have also done it a fourth time with 3 skeins of Knitpicks' Bulky Weight. I love fondling such a large quantity! Photos of the dying will be posted as soon as I get my bottom to the thrift store for some very large pots.

(3) Knitting
3.a -- A tank top from Knitty.com, "Soliel". My lovely friend Janessa did hers in a gorgeous dark lilac cotton, and it was very flattering, so here I go. I am lengthening it a few inches so that should it fit, it will look more appropriate proportionately. Done in Navy with Plymouth Yarn's Dreambaby D.K, 50% acrylic, 50% microfiber. Very soft. The yarn was extraordinarily cheap, having purchased it at a yarn shop that was closing. Also, since this was my first foray into an actual item of clothing, I feel assured that if it doesn't fit, I won't care much. At which point I will then I happily sell it with some gorgeous beading around the hemline.

3.b -- A pair of socks for my brother. He was in the Air Force Reserves, so I am knitting him a pair of very warm house socks in Peace Fleece Blue, Peace Fleece Red, and Knitpicks Wool of the Andes (WOA) in Cloud. There will be a somewhat matching set for his lovely wife, and their son. Cheesy, eh! I got the yarn at coop prices and most pleased with it, having never used Peace Fleece before.

3.c -- "Nebula Spiral" wrapo for me in a gorgeous Pure Wool extra super bulky weight yarn that I ended up having no use for, as I sincerely understeimated the extent of "bulky". It will be so very warm, and I think it will be nice. This too I was able to purchase at coop prices, so am pleased that it will find some use, and be quite beautiful in the process.

That's all I have now. I'll be doing some new jewelry pieces in about 2 weeks and will post on that as well. I'm trying some new exciting things. Insomnia doth have its benefits.