long dark blues

warning, long story! so i've mentioned this shop i have on etsy... it hasn't gotten much business really because i dont have a whole lot of time to put things up. maybe a handful of things. anyhow... this total stranger messages me and says she likes my bags and wants to know if i'd be interested in some custom orders. i say okay, and over a few conversations she asks me to make her a few different items. we politely chitchat over messages getting item details and colors and sizes and what not, and through all of this she casually mentions that she's in Pennsylvania but from Portland, and her in-laws live in Goshen (sidebar: i used to spend a ton of time in Goshen; my old best friends Sara and Erica were from Goshen). well, Sara had another good friend named Dave Moral, who moved from Goshen to Portland to Pennsylvania, so i think to myself, hmm, who do i know that has attachments to portland, goshen, and pennsylvania? wouldn't it be funny/ironic if this girl w...

after a three day weekend, i did not really want to go back to work today. but alas, i did. and it was not so bad. i finally have a "greenfield" friend, and it is nice to have someone call me up and say, "hey, let's go to the coffeehouse and paint pottery" and then go. i wish i could be more bold in the social arena. "i'm working on it." also, i got my first custom order on etsy! i'm pretty excited. i like being challenged to do new things and explore new skills. things are moving along nicely.

1) just went to goodwill and purchased a bunch of vintage sheets, curtains, and tablecloths to upcycle for the shop and 2) won a scholarship!!! so psyched! i'll be in mexico in a little over a month! that's CRAZY. GOD'S RAD.

i think my whole "etsy endeavor" has taken a turn for the awesome. to explain, i've always thought that God speaks to people in their own special languages and in ways that only they can really appreciate, and lately i can back this up wholeheartedly. first, i received an awesome book in the mail on saturday and i've been crazy inspired because of it. that same day, my friend allie bought a bag from me, and when i tried to just give her the bag instead of letting her pay for it, she insisted on paying, stating that she likes to encourage people in their dreams (i really love that girl!) in any way she can. she and her husband mike took some cards i'd had printed up and said they'd help distribute them and that i could probably sell some of my stuff at mike's shows (he plays guitar). super encouraging. later in the conversation, we were talking about how my job isn't guaranteed when i come back from mexico and that i may need to start looking for...

i tend to get fussy when things dont go as planned. it's silly, i know, but something about me kind of 'freaks out' when i plan for this or that to happen on a given day and then everything changes, on that day. i guess i feel kind of out-of-control in a sense. anyhow, today i had planned to do nothing but relax, do some sewing and get more things into the shop, and just hang out by myself (i'm a homebody for sure). well, as of yesterday, all of that changed. normally i dont like when other people make my plans for me or tell me what to do with my time, but today i'm actually finding it enjoyable. so far, i have made two batches of muffins and fruit salad to take to my friend allie who just gave birth last tuesday. i'm also planning on making a dinner to take to her and her husband later. eventually i will go grocery shopping for grandma and also to get the things i need to make allie and mike's dinner. earlier today i checked my etsy shop (now stocked...

a few weeks ago i tried to buy fusible ("iron-on") interfacing. i even asked the lady at the shop to sell me a yard of the "iron-on" kind, to be sure. after many failed atempts, i came to the realization that the lady sold me the sew-on kind, because today i bought a small package of pellon interfacing and it worked exactly the way the directions said it would. i'm even sort of excited to use it again! here's what i made with it- my brother and i are treating my mom to a spree at the clinique counter for mother's day, so i made her a new makeup bag: here's the detail of the bird applique and the stitch exterior and lining with green zigzag stitch. i'm pretty pleased with it, and i really think the interfacing made a nice difference. hope mom likes it!

today i made my first etsy sale! to my friend amelinda in milwaukee! SO EXCITED.

today, for the first time ever, i voted. ...i also got gipped on etsy!! (did i spell that right?) God's probably trying to tell me to chill out on the online shoppery.

what a busy weekend. friday was first friday and eric, alex, jason, and i went to watch our friend emily walk down a runway in a dress made of teabags. then some of us ate a glorious meal of steak n shake. saturday was julie's baby shower, which despite being windy was very fun. please disregard my "skater" look. i promise i'm not in high school anymore. sunday was awesome. i got up early and began sewing a new bag for myself, then ange, mark, and laura picked me up and we drove north to michelle's baby shower, which was probably the most awesome baby shower i ever went to. (michelle's mother-in-law, michelle's mom, michelle, some guests) please note that we are outside and that there is a teepee in the background. a real one. it was awesome. michelle got some really amazing handmade gifts; i was blown away by all the creativity that was present. we also got to design either a bib or a onesy for her and the baby. after the baby shower we headed over ...