monday mumblings

I feel a bit out of sorts. Not in the way I felt 2 weeks ago, but just a tad odd. My fabric designs are officially on their way to the mill... I believe they left last Friday, so now I just sit & wait. Sitting & waiting is not my specialty. Patience is not my virtue. So as you can imagine, I feel like an empty nester right now. I keep pacing around the house not quite knowing what to do with myself... with my extra time. I feel myself drawn to the computer thinking I need to work on something but it's all done... all gone. Weird.

This weekend I started cleaning my folders on my computer, ya know, organizing all my designs and pitching stuff I'm no longer using and I saw the date on my very first Andalucia design... a repeat pattern inspired by a picture I took of an authentic Moorish tile from Granada. Anyway, the date on that very first design was May 11, 2007 (!!!) That means that as of now I have been working on Andalucia for nearly 13 months. And by the time my strike-offs are approved and I receive my printed fabric, this baby will have had an 18-month gestational period! WHOA! No wonder I feel bloated!

I'm not complaining. These have been some amazing 18 months! Being able to stay home with my girls and still exercise my creative juices, do what I love and get paid for it is more than I could ever ask for, so I am extremely grateful for this opportunity.

But now I have to occupy my time with other things so I don't go completely batty waiting for my first strike offs, which I've been told could be any time in the 2nd, 3rd or 4th week in July. I was looking at my schedule today and wondering what kind of project I could start that I can just leave for a week when we go to FL. Do I want to start sewing again? Do a home project? Start a new fabric design collection? All of the above?? We leave for FL the first week of July so I really only have 3 more weeks here until I have to pack up & go. It's weird for me not to have a million things going at once... just weird.

So, I decided to make a few ready-made pieces to stock up my etsy store with. I am starting today... actually right as soon as I finish this post. I will make a few skirts and maybe some new yoga pants and some easy knit tops that I can list in my store as ready-made, ready-to-ship items. I figured, whatever doesn't sell between now & July 1st is going to FL in the girls' bags... instant Summer wardrobe! ;)

I have a few new knits that I haven't shown you guys yet, so I'm excited to get sewing. Oh, and I've been making headbands for myself to wear and wondering if this is something that others would be also interested in. They are simple, knit headbands... quite stretchy so they don't squeeze or hurt your head but perfect for keeping unruly bangs out of the way or even for exercising, gardening or working around the house. Any feedback is welcome... I can make these in kids-size and adult-size. :)

I think I will also start sketching for my next fabric collection. I just registered the girls into a Gymnastics Camp for the next couple of weeks, so I will be stuck in a noisy gym for 3 hours every M/W/F for 2 weeks. I can't think of a better way to pass the time than listening to some cool tunes on my iPhone and sketching away while the girls tumble.

Oh, I also took some time to clean out my iPhoto files. Check out these random funny photos I found... can't believe I never posted these before!!

This was the first picture I ever took with my iPhone... not too shabby, eh? Sydney went through a 2 week long period in which she wore her fairy wings 24/7... I miss those days:


Awwww, they make such a cute couple:


Yup, he has made-to-order ones:


What happens to Jon when he disobeys me ;) :


Good times.