Inspirations

Sometimes I need a bit of inspiration to get going on my sewing. Here are some things that inspire me...

Nacho Libre.

The Ikea Catalogue.

Etsy Treasuries.

My Boys.

My Pandora.

"Nice Radio"

Glee. (i know it's cheesy)

I am so glad I wrote this post! I am sooo ready to get back to sewing!

A Day In The Life

Do you ever take a second to write down everything you do in a day?

I have to write an agenda for each day, or I will neglect half of the things that need to be done.

I was thinking yesterday that I should compile these lists and my journal entries and make some sort of book to leave for my children so that they can see what I went through to ensure that they lived the "good life". 

Then I thought of another use for the list... when my husband gets home from work, to a stressed out wife and asks, "so, what did you do today?" I can simply hand him the list. 

Does anyone else ever think like this? Am I being totally lame??? 

I may be, but here goes...

6:30am - alarm sounds, hit snooze

6:40am - get out of bed

             - wake my husband (who has somehow slept thru 2 alarms)

             - wake my 2 boys, by singing "good morning, good morning, the bird says good morning."

             - get out their clothes

             - make breakfast for everyone, but me

             - pack lunches

             - load backpacks

             - brush my boys' hair

7:20am - run to the car

             - check my morning emails while sitting in traffic

             - instruct the boys on how to have a great day at school

             - say a morning prayer as I am pulling up to their school

7:55am - run my boys to their classes

8:00am - volunteer in my sons class as Math helper

8:55am - head back home

9:10am - shove a Luna bar down my throat

9:15am - Zumba time at the gym

10:15am - Core Strengthening time at the gym

11:00am - back home again, walk the property

11:15am - property manager duties aka clean the pool, water the garden, pick up garbage

11:45am - answer emails

12 noon - submit all maintenance requests for the property

12:30pm - time to sew

2:00pm - leave to get my boys, realize I am starving

2:30pm - pick up my boys, ask about their days

3:00pm - homework time, for all of us. I study for my midterm while they study spelling words.

4:30pm - fix dinner

5:00pm - take the boys to their soccer games, play soccer mom, cheer and yell all the right things

6:00pm - pick up the hubby at the BART

6:15pm - dinner time as a family

6:30pm - bathe the boys

6:40pm - I leave for college

6:59pm - the boys are in bed, I call to say goodnight and give over-the-phone-kisses

7:00pm - my class starts

9:50pm - my class ends

10:15pm - home again, time to do the dinner dishes, talk to the hubs about his day, watch a little Housewives, do a little hand-stitching

12 midnight - bedtime... goodnight!

This is a day without any errands! What about grocery shopping, piano practices, therapy, or scouts?

Holy moly! 

Just going over all of that was so exhausting, I think I may need to pencil in a nap!

Broken Lens

I have been so busy sewing... I haven't had a chance to blog!
Aaaaaannnnd, my camera lens broke... well, I mean, I broke my lens!
So I was utilizing my cell phone camera, which totally sucks. (excuse my language)

Anyway, I am so happy to get a new lens!!! 
Especially because I got to capture this super adorable girly in my new wolf design.

Show Season

So today I have the pleasure of reading over 20 emails sent to me by show coordinators. I have to read all of the details, sort them by location, popularity, cost, size of booth, etc...

There are baby fairs, art-walks, expecting mom expos, gift shows, school craft fairs, farmers markets, indie shows and festivals.

How do I choose!?! Sometimes I wish that I was a traveling artist, that I could go show to show, live in an RV and sew with my husband at the wheel.

Two years ago, I vowed to do one show a month. It was so exhilarating! Sleep was unheard of, my stress level was through the roof, and I felt like my life was falling to pieces... but I did enjoy getting out there, meeting my fans, knowing what Small Threads customers want, hearing useful feedback, mingling with artists, being outdoors and feeling the rush when my tent would be swarming with people.

I will let you know what I decide. :]

It's Official!

Small Threads has a workspace!

It is not in my bedroom. It is not behind my couch in the living room. It is not exposed to fighting boys or flying toys. It is not shoved up against our bookshelf. It is not exposed to dining room accidents. It is not a part of the hallway. It is no longer experiencing intruders.

(see below)

I now have to leave my work chair to eat, catch a show on TV, talk to the kids and visit with the husband. It's nice. I didn't know what I was missing. I became so used to the way it was.

Here is a little segment called "from that to this".

from a corner of my dining space to an office

from a small computer table to a sewing table

from an old broken bookshelf, turned on it's side to a huge shelving unit

from an overcrowded desk to an organized office desk

from plastic bags to fabric bins

It's all coming together. I can't wait to share some photos!

Making Time for Mine

As Halloween grows closer, I am finishing up all of the costumes for other girls, boys, Mama's and Dad's. Every time my boy's hear "the machine" they come running, "Is it ours?", they yell.

"No, not yet." I explain.

"This one is going to New York".

They run and grab their US puzzle and run their fingers around until they find New York.

"Here it is! Right Mom?"

"Those kids are lucky Mom. When do we get our costumes?"

I have secretly began working on their costumes. I have dyed the white ghost fabric an eerie blue, I have began stitching the felt guts to the tee for my anatomical man. The boys will get their costumes, of course they will and they will be amazing!

I thought I would give you a look at their costumes over the years...

BACK IN SESSION!

I never knew that I would be one of "those" Mom's.

You know, the Mom's who can't wait until summer is over?

Yeah, those Mom's...

I think EVERY Mom with school age kids IS one of "those" Mom's.

My six year old son and I function so much better with the structure of a school day.

He loves school and comes home quite exhausted, it's great!

I love working during the day, playing with my four year old one on one and spending a higher quality of time with him when he returns from school.

Anyway, it starts tomorrow and I am ready for a little more of this...

NO MORE B O N E S !!!

I am still stitching costumes, 2 MORE TO GO! Next year I am planning on having a progress calendar available to my customers. It has been nerve-racking for all of us. I can't wait to get started on my own children's costumes. My 3 year old will be a spooky tree and my 5 year old will be Frankenstein. Thanks to family and friends for all of the help and support through this busy time.

Meet Frankie.

I am almost through with stitching this Halloween's Bony costumes. I have been at my machine for about a month now. Drawing bones, cutting bones, placing bones, sewing bones, etc... It was a huge relief to create this custom little Frankie. He is now part of the Small Threads family.

Technological

I have finally taken the huge step and joined TWITTER.

I heard the word "Twibe", thought that my friend had a speech impediment and then realized that I was completely "out of it" technologically, so I joined. 

Follow me, www.twitter.com/smallthreads

My Inspirations

I was feeling uninspired as of this morning. I was thinking, what inspires me? I stepped outside, I glanced around, I went back inside, I couldn't find a thing. Once inside I noticed my boys play sword fighting. They were hollering and giggling... Eureka! I found it once again. The imagination of a child is remarkably electrifying. 

So, I'm back to work!

No Sleep Till...

the dyeing is done! Some people wonder how I do it... take care of my kiddos, the home, the complex, my obligations and still get my orders done. Well, the answer is, I don't even know how I do it. It is not an easy task, I would not recommend it... I sacrifice sleep. Sometimes, too often this time of year, it requires all nighters. But at least I am not alone!

My American Hero

I am feeling extremely patriotic this Labor Day weekend because my HUGE American Apparel order has arrived! I absolutely LoVe when I get a knock at the door and it's the UPS man holding a box from my favorite vertically manufactured clothing company. 

my son is 47" tall, so you get the idea 

Thanks American Apparel, these boxer briefs will make great Skivvies for our bigger fans. They even come dyed, the same color that I hand-dye, so they'll save me a step. WOO HOO!

Please excuse his "junk".

I suppose that I should have some sort of sale soon, to clear out some of my blanks. I will keep you posted!

Home Grown

I prepared the most exciting meal the other day...

Everything on our dinner plate was from the Farmer's Market.

-handmade zucchini ravioli

-handmade tomato basil pasta sauce

-home grown veggies of all sorts

-hand made garlic bread

If you have not visited your local Farmer's Market, you really should. You can feel and taste the pride that the local vendors put into their products.

Small Threads Sweatshop

Small Threads was born September of 2006.

It has been through many changes.

My family and I have endured some outrageous trials during the last, almost, two years.

We look back daily and are amazed by our progress.

Two weeks ago the orders were piling up.

My husband has a Bachelors degree in Media Arts and he majored in HD Film. He has been wanting to focus more on his career path, but we knew that he needed a "9 to 5" job to support the family.

Carrying on with his job has been debilitating to his ultimate career goal because any time that he is asked to be a part in a project, he has to work. So as a family we decided that after 8 YEARS, he would quit his job and we would pursue our dreams.

I am excited to announce that both my husband and I are full time Small Threads stitchers and stay at home parents. 

We want to sincerely thank all of our fantastic fans for spreading the word about our clothing. We are blessed to be loved by so many people. Thank you for supporting our small business. Here at Small Threads, we love our customers.