HUGE GIVEAWAY!!

Check out this HUGE giveaway valued at $1750 in prizes!!

Wander over to Fabric Stache Facebook group to enter 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/fabricstache/

Why do I "hoard" fabric?

I am seriously asking myself this question right now as I rearrange the studio.

I have moved fabric from one floor of the house to another. From one side of the studio to the other. From one shelf unit to another and so the list goes on. In the process I have come across fabric that I have had for several years but not touched.

This phenomenon is not limited to just one type of fabric...it covers the spectrum. Wovens. Knits. PUL. Cotton velour. Sherpa. Prints. Solids. <oiye!>

Tonight I began the process of my goal for 2014. Using up the fabric! I have cotton velour prints that I have no idea why I bought other than the sheer fact that they were cute. They were never earmarked for anything, did not fit any of my product lines at the time, so I clearly must have been adding to a hoarding problem LOL

So I cut into it....for MY kids...you know the cobblers kids that wear rags ;) Tomorrow is pajama day at school and I have always made my daughter new ones for the event and this year there are two of them at school so I whipped up two pairs of cozy jammies. Izzy got Pink Ooga Booga with hot pink trims and Ben got Sock Monkey with burgundy trims. 

They will both be well covered and surely warm. Maybe a little wrinkled too! As soon as I made them each one put them on "to try" and refused to take them off.

There I said it! I am sending my kidlets to school in slept in clothing. What do you think? Do they look like cherubs or little orphans?


PS

I must admit, there was not fighting getting ready for school. It went smooth as silk...or is that cotton velour? ;)

PPS...There is a giveaway going on. Sign up for our newsletter at newsletter@nechakonotionary.com and on Jan 1 2014 one of the subscribers will be drawn and get a mug rug sent to them.

Winding Down the Year

It is hard to believe that it is December already! Every year seems to go by quicker and quicker.

Here in Northern BC we are well into winter. While it has been quite pleasant in our terms, things are about to change and the snow is going to really add up in the next week. I am ready though. We have had snow since the beginning of November, but not much of it. Soon the kids will be able to cross the road and toboggan down their personal snow hill that the snow removal guys make. It gets HUGE!

Temps in the minus 30s mean the fireplaces are going and somehow a mood gets set as soon as they are. A feeling of warmth not just from the fire, but of comfort and well being as well. These are perfect days to have a pot of coffee going and a leisurely project on the go. Bliss is the fire going, the dog laying in front of it, kids sipping a cup of hot chocolate, the Christmas lights on and watching the snow fall and take on the colors of the lights in the dark as the ground sparkles with billions of diamonds shimmering. Yes, I do enjoy many aspects of winter and look forward to the coming weeks.


After a busy season I welcome a bit of a lull to focus on family. Still there is much sewing...just for the family! Pajama Day is later this week so the kids will be getting new jammies ASAP!. I found a darling pattern that I want to sew up and surprise Izzy with and also do one of the reversible hoodies from Fishsticks Designs for her as well. Ben needs some pants to go with his cool hoodie that I made during the testing phase of the pattern. The whole family should have new jammies for Xmas Eve as well.

This year is coming to a close. But so much newness is on the horizon. New hope, new goals, new directions.

I have been tearing the studio apart the past few days. Several things need different organization. I need to build something to house all of my thread and need to deep clean behind shelves etc and make some decisions about what I am going to use various fabric types for and figure out a new layout for them as well. Some I need to make a difficult decision about and get rid of. I am already planning some packages for Boxing Day! Really...who needs 5 TOTES of scraps?? Yes, there will be a Boxing Day sale.

I am setting up a newsletter list to communicate better with customers. Facebook is finally admitting that fewer and fewer are seeing posts and are stating it is only going to get worse. I want to build a reliable tool to communicate specials, giveaways, sales and happenings to my customers. This seems the best option given the current climate. You can sign up by sending an email to newsletter@nechakonotionary.com . Please put Nechako Notionary in the subject line. If you would also like to get info on BB Butts Diapers our parent label, please put "both" in the subject line. You will only get one email which will then include information on both labels. Newsletters will never be more than once a week, and only during certain events. More often, you will receive one email a month containing our newsletter.

This month is about soothing the soul, setting up for the next year and getting things in place to make new goals and strive to achieve those goals.

I thank you all for being along for the ride as we built over the past few months. I look forward to a year of real growth. I wish you all the best of the season and hope you all build one special memory with your family in the coming weeks.

From my family to yours....

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

Craft Fair Season

My poor, poor blog. It is so neglected. By now I am sure you have all realized along with myself, that I am not the blogger extraordinaire! I am the first to admit, I get focused on one task and other things fall to the wayside.

So what is it that I have been focused on? Craft fair season!

Yes, it has arrived, and is nearly over almost at the same time. The most intense month or so of the year for a small crafty/manufacturing business.

We have one more event to attend, the WL McLeod Craft Fair on Nov 30. Doors open at 930 to the public. I really enjoy this event as it is at my children's school. It is "the event" in my town and it is so close to home! Hubby can easily give me a hand for a few minutes to do the heavy lifting of set up and tear down. Most of all, I  get to connect with people of our community.

Being a small manufacturer, I spend countless hours down in my studio at the machines and cutting tables rather than socializing and going for coffee. For the most part, I am ok with that. I am an introvert at heart I think, but then again after I have done an event, I find I have really enjoyed all the contact with the customers.

Good laughs, catching up on current events both personal and community, seeing the children that have been wearing our products over the past 5 years grow, getting to see customers for what seems like "the yearly visit" and seeing and hearing appreciation for the items that we make. At the end of the day, that is exactly why I do this.

Today I am finishing off custom items that were ordered at our last event last weekend for delivery tomorrow back in Prince George. Let me finish off this morning by showing you just a few of our items that are available currently and will be at WL Mc Leod on the 30th...

Irons ~ A Sewing Geekery and Gagets Review

An iron is a pretty integral part of any sewing studio and most projects.

As I was gathering my supplies to go to Fabric Fest I read on one of my class lists "wooden iron". I immediately had panic...it would take up too much room in  my suitcase, add weight, would allow me to bring less back with me. I was visualizing some big, heavy, takes up lots of space item fashioned out of block of wood. Off to google to see if I could get away with not taking it and "improvise" something possibly from a hotel room. Silly me is all I will say now!!!

A "wooden iron" is a favorite tool of Eleanor Burns. For good reason too! This little teeny takes up next to no space little tool is THE BOMB!

I used it throughout my class with her for the Kylies Kits Quilt. Rather than hopping up to the ironing board set up, rub this nifty tool over your seam and you can move on to the next step. From the manufacturer... Excellent to press seams open or to one side or crease fabric instead of your fingernail or iron. Use for applique, paper piecing and quilting. Carry in your hand sewing kit. Set next to your sewing machine. This little tool is available in both a left and right handed version. I found mine on Amazon and they are in the $5- $6 range.


Now my "regular iron" has been giving me fits for AGES! There has been no steaming for I have no idea how long and the reservoir leaks so I had been keeping an eye open for months to see if I saw something suitable. In forums various names had floated around as "good" including Rowaneta and Shark. Up here my choices are limited so it was on my list to keep an eye out for while in Vegas if I had the opportunity to get some shopping in.

Then I saw her!!! Oh my LOVE at first sight! Let me introduce you to the Oliso TG1600 1800 watts Smart Pro Iron.

This is some poor random lady standing next to me :) We had fun!

Up and down! It has FEET!!

Ben crashing around in the basement proof!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this iron. Did I mention I LOVE it?

First the features that "work" for me.

• 12 foot cord. My iron plugs in under my sewing table bank and this cord length means I can move my board back away from my chair reducing the risk of injury while increasing my overall room to work in.
• the FEET. Seriously this is the BOMB! As soon as you lift your hand from this iron it raises up on a set of feet and your fabric and board cover are not at risk of scorching. It takes a little bit to get used to not "tipping your iron up" but believe me you do get used to it and it is an amazing feature.
• Extended Auto Shut Off. With the feature of the feet they have been able to allow for an extended period of heat. No longer do I need to "bump" my iron to turn it on again. It is fully hot like it was 5 minutes ago. It will shut off after a period of 30 minutes of inactivity.
• Board Stability. this has long been an issue in our home. With my sewing studio in the basement where the kids can also play, w have previously experienced a couple episodes of the iron got knocked over and turned on and melted/scorched...insert: fabric stack, ironing board, carpet. In fact, when I saw this iron my first consideration was that I could sell my hubby on approving the purchase with this one safety feature alone. It has been that much of a concern to him.
• Steam...it has OODLES and OODLES of nice hot steam and a wonderful glide on the fabric. NO LEAKING.

It is pricey but not insane when compared to a Rowaneta. Retailing for $200 US, one can often find it at a "show price" around $150. Mine also came with an additional year of free warranty through the show and they will honor the warranty even though the iron is now "Canadian" without issue. Believe me, I checked this fact out.

Super happy with my purchase and as much as I absolutely despised ironing before I enjoy it now.

Bring on the Aprons! Fall is here.

Here it has been a couple of weeks since my last post. I REALLY need to figure out where the time sneaks off to!

Today it is dreary and rainy out. At just a few degrees above freezing it is a timely reminder that our long winter is just around the corner! It is time to break out the crock pot, turn on the fireplace and settle in for a winter of sewing and knitting.

The kids are now into a routine with school and the mornings are getting easier. All these long years I had awaited to have my "free time" and had hoped it would be like fireworks and heavy weight lifted from my shoulders. That is not how it has turned out though. Those first two day I was busily getting ready to leave for Vegas (I owe you all so very many posts about Vegas), then when I got back I combined some sort of desert bug, airliner bug and kindergarten boogers to make a new world plague that sapped me to bed for three days.  The next week the school decided to have it's first round of the 3 day stomach bug and so it went through our house ever so eagerly for the next 9 days. Suddenly it is OCTOBER!! HOW did that HAPPEN?!?

Nechako Notionary is now "officially" open. Not with the fanfare I had hope for nor the inventory but life has been happening and so will the inventory (eventually). IT will come and I have some great plans for stock for the Christmas buying season.

Next week I am doing a little bit of a "giving back" project. I have always been active (very) in my kids' school. While I am taking this year off of having "official roles" so that I can sort my adult life out now that there are no preschoolers home, I am still available to be involved in areas as needed.

A week ago I was asked if I had fabric I would donate to a program at the school that I was instrumental in starting. They wanted to make aprons for a couple of the students that worked in the Farm to School program as part of their life skills. I asked who/how they aprons were going to be made and the person said they would "try to put something together". I got an idea and told her to let me work on something and get back to her. I approached the principal and she was immediately on board. Soooo... next week I am going to spend a couple hours a day at the school with a small group of life skills students and we (THEY) are going to sew themselves some aprons. I am pretty excited to do this and allow the kids to explore something that would not normally be available to them skills-wise as well as see the pride that they will have in their finished product.

While looking at various patterns out there for aprons, I came across this blog post from Apronista which is pointing to Tip Junkie  featuring 24 FREE apron patterns. I hope to find just what the students will need and perhaps one for me too for baking now that the weather has turned. Perhaps you will find something cute and functional for you too?

Generosity

Generosity (also called largess or largesse) is the habit of giving without expecting anything in return. It can involve offering time, assets or talents to aid someone in need. Often equated with charity as a virtue, generosity is widely accepted in society as a desirable trait. ~ Wikipedia

I try to participate in various "giving acts" as they come up. The most recent was taking pillowcases to Riley Blake Fabric Fest for Conker Cancer. It feels good to give when I can, and is often not an imposition on me in the least.

But what of the recipients? How do they feel?

I was recently made privy to that immense experience. You see, I do have medical issues that are chronic. Sometimes very debilitating, but other times one would not know I was ill to look at me. I am very fortunate to have a team that looks after my needs, is willing to explore options and does their best to make my daily life the best it can be. I have ongoing treatments in our hospital's oncology unit to keep me "well".

There are fabulous groups in our community (like so many others as well) who support the Oncology unit. Recently I was gifted a comfort item to use during my stays. It was a fabulously beautiful quilt made by The Gospel Chapel E.F.C. Ladies using the Sweet Nothings line from Riley Blake.

A number of things stuck me... 1. the sheer number of quilts that came in that donation. I have been around the unit since its' inception and this was a massive donation. 2. The number of "manly" quilts. It is so lovely to see that the men are looked after in this donation. I have seen some pretty burley men in some rather dainty quilts from time to time. 3. The overall diversity of the quilts...for ladies, men, younger folk and even children. 4. The quality of both the workmanship and the fabrics. Every one of these quilts that I have seen has literally been a work of art.

As I was gifted mine, I was nearly brought to tears but at the same time had a huge smile on my face. It was a design that was bright and cheery with a fabric line that I love. I even have a couple of bolts from this line in my own fabric stash! It was a quilt that was "ME". That was a few months ago.

Today, I was again reminded of the generosity of this fabulous group as my quilt was brought out of the "quilt oven" and placed on me, tucking in my shivering, sick, aching body. It was a slice of heaven, of comfort and love.

To all of you who have participated in an act of generosity... THANK YOU...from the bottom of my heart, thank you. Your acts of kindness do not go unnoticed. They are appreciated. The love you put into your items is felt. I may have never met the donor of my quilt (or perhaps I have and it is someone I do know that is part of that group) but I do feel their love every time I have my quilt.