Warm Fuzzy For The Day

Yes, I've been knitting.
"Knitting what?" you ask.
Socks, socks, socks!

I decided that my "Ben and Jerry socks" (posted about them previously) were a little too wide for me but they will fit my 18 year old son.  I am finally working on the toe decreases. Let me tell you, making socks to fit a male with size 12 shoes is quite a commitment!  I am going to figure out how many stitches are in these socks.  You will be astounded. I'll post about them soon.

I've also been sewing lots and lots of pillows. My Etsy sales were light and steady in January through May (not complaining... I was pretty burned out after the Christmas rush!), but my sales have doubled in June and July. Who knew? Maybe folks like to have dog bone shaped neck pillows in the summer when they take road trips or going camping? 

I am always tickled when an Etsy buyer takes the time to write to me to tell me how much they like the pillow they received.  I loved this message so much I decided to share it.

The other day... a lady from Canada wrote to say: 

Hi, 

I just wanted to drop you a line and say THANK YOU. I purchased this item a while back when I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and was facing thyroid surgery. I finally had the surgery last week and this pillow was a saving grace!!! It's perfect and comfortable and since I couldn't move my neck from side to side those first few days, it kept my neck stationary without hurting my ears like the U-shaped airline pillows. Also, the handle helped because I can't sit up quite on my own, so I grab the handle and use it to force my head and body upward. It's been a great help. 

Just so you know-- the Thyroid Cancer Society of Canada actually tells its patients to purchase a "dog bone neck pillow" for surgery and recovery. Since I couldn't find it anywhere in stores, it led me to your shop. I think you should definitely include this in your information! If you'd like I can email you the page from the book that recommends the dog bone pillow.

Again, THANK YOU so much for making this. It was so worth every penny I spent on it.

*******

A very nice warm fuzzy for my day!

What Do Ewe Think?

I recently finished up a sewing project for Pam.  She is my step-mother-in-law. She just bought a sheep named Destiny. Destiny will be in the Wisconsin State Fair soon and Pam wanted me to make six double-sided fabric panels for Destiny's pen at the fair. The panels are six feet wide and 15 inches long. 

Above: a finished panel. 

Above:  you can see there is a channel or casing where a wire can be inserted for hanging the panel. 

Super cute fabric right?

I used some blue painter's tape which is not too sticky to mark one inch and two inch intervals so I could stitch the casings. 

I used my Baby Lock machine "Molly" for this project and it worked great.  

This project was challenging for me just because of the volume of fabric and the size of the panels.  Pam sent 12 yards of fabric. The six foot panels were wider than my work table, too. 

I have some leftover scraps and I am looking forward to making something else with this fabric. Pam found this fabric on www.fabric.com. I think the fabric is called "Do Ewe Knit?"