January slump…I mean progress

January is flying by and I feel like I’ve been in a crafting slump. I’ve been busy doing work for others in my free time. Mostly hemming, but there were also some fun superhero capes for a birthday party. I almost forgot photos, so excuse the lack of display…these were snapped virtually last second.

As you can see on the blue version above, I stabilized the satin neck opening with felt. The cape is closed with velcro, so I figured a little extra support would be good.

My sewing machine conked out as I was finishing the last item in my last pile of hemming. I have a Janome Memory Craft 6600, and I love it most of the time. But it has a habit of leaving me hanging by breaking down at the most inconvenient times. It’s only three years old (maybe less) and has had to be repaired three times so far (not including maintenance). Not impressed. I have two other straight stitch only machines, so I could do some sewing if I wanted to, but I feel too discouraged to bother. January blahs, I guess.

On a brighter note, one of my New Year’s resolutions was to inject some life into my little Etsy shop. I sell a lot of things locally, so my poor shop has been neglected, with only a few items listed. I am determined to remedy this situation (in spite of my sewing hiatus). So here’s a little peek at the newest item in the shop:

So far, they’re available in black and light grey, black and dark grey, and black and forest green. Definitely subdued tones, but oh-so-cozy and warm. I have plans to try some in a dark solid with bright multicoloured NORO yarn for the windows. Think that’d be fabulous…maybe so much so that I’d want to keep them for myself!