Woollybottoms

Fabric Addiction???

2008-07-25T15:04:00.000-07:00

So, I had this realization about myself yesterday as I was sitting there on ebay refreshing a listing as it counted down the final minutes. I NEEDED this fabric (well, not this one here in the photo, I haven't received the newby fabric just yet)... I would just die if I didn't get it. The lightbulb moment happened where I thought, get a grip Shannon! You are a knit fabric addict. So, I decided today to take an inventory and organize them all. Let's just say the camera battery had to be recharged and I didn't get them all done today. I am in the process of uploading them neatly in Flikr. It's not like I have yards and yards of each of these... some are just little pieces. That makes it OK doesn't it? :) I am guessing I have about 40 more to take photos of which I will tackle tomorrow. It feels good to organize a bit and now I can keep track of what I have and what I need :) I hope to offer some semi-custom-pick-your-footie-fabric slots in the future and this will make it a little easier as well. Whew, say pick-your-footie-fabrics 3 times fast :)

So, here ya go :) Fabric Addicts Unite!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28907304@N07/

We have babies!!!!

2008-07-12T15:15:00.001-07:00

Baby chicks that is. I am no chicken farmer by any means. We only had 1 lone rooster and 2 hens. We are quite attached to our pets and we enjoy yummy eggs most of the year (they take a break in the coldest months and lay eggs based on hours of daylight... that is the science lesson of the day) Our brown hen would not sit on eggs to save her life. I am not sure what kind of breed she is but if she thinks she is going to get to eat, that is where you will find her. She follows me in the yard and acts more like a dog than a chicken. Our white chicken though has tried to have babies for the last 2 years. The first year she was sitting on 1... yes 1 egg. It did hatch but something happened to the baby within about 2 weeks. Year #2 she was sitting on eggs and something managed to get them about half way through while she was setting on them. Goodness I felt sooooo sorry for her. This year she decided to set on 9 eggs and we watched her closely and checked her several times a day. Lo and behold every one of the eggs hatched and now she has 9 little babies. She was setting on eggs that she had laid and our brown chicken had laid and you can tell some of them are going to be brown and the others white. Our daughter, Sarah, gets up super early and runs outside to open the door to the roost and puts up a ramp so they can get in and out. We keep mom and babies inside the pen to try to make sure that all the babies will make it. They are soooo tiny and fluffy. They came out of the nest the very next day after they hatched. Sarah goes out and does a head count about 5 times a day to make sure none of them gets lost :)

Goodmama London Print & Woollybottoms Come Together

2008-07-01T08:45:00.000-07:00

I had such an incredibly fun time working with Suzanne creating footies to match some of the new 2008 Goodmama prints. This is the debut of the London print that is on auction today. http://http://hyenacart.com/prod_details_auction.php?id=55692&vid=844 There will be several more coming over the next few weeks.

A Busy Week!

2008-07-01T08:34:00.000-07:00

We have been running like crazy this week. Since we have had such heavy rains this year so far, going to the lake has been impossible. We invested in a $20 pool and it has been the best.thing.ever! The kids are living in it (along with tons of grass and dirt even after I told them to wipe clean before they got in it). I guess I was the only one as a kid that spent the whole time in the kiddie pool with a fish net scooping out ever single piece of debris. What can I say.... they are like their daddy. I took some time out to be Miss Domestic Super Woman yesterday and made up some cloth napkins. I found some fabric this weekend in cleaning out a closet and thought this would be great. We have not used paper towels in forever and were using dish rags which got the job done but were not too pretty. So I whipped up a dozen and they are great and the kids thought I was the coolest mom ever. Then I sewed buttons on 2 pairs of James' pants that had been popped off. I felt like I had accomplished something.

Then I had a complete website redesign. I had designed the original one myself and well.... you could tell. I can sew but don't have a clue when it comes to a professional web design so I left that up to the talented Cicily of August Afternoon(for design) and Michelle of Elemental Muse (for technical cart and hosting stuff). I am in love and should have done this from day 1.

A Little Tease.....

2008-06-11T15:28:00.001-07:00

of what is to come :) We are planning a fun set of collabs with someone special. There are a few more that did not make it into the photo that are still partying in my sewing building. But you can't see what is on the feet you say? Dang, I must have forgotten to take a pic of the really cool new prints. Oh, but wait!!! I did find JUST one here that I can share. Woohoo! I am not totally for sure when these will be available but I am guessing sometime later this month.

Garden Update

2008-06-11T15:19:00.000-07:00

I have been pretty busy this past weekend and week getting caught up on several orders I had going so am running a little slow getting items stocked this week. The garden has been calling my name and I have been playing in it. I need to get some more stuff planted. It has been so nice and wet this season that I don't think I will have any problems with planting late. Here is the progress. The squash are doing really well now. I had a mystery squash plant pop up. I had been composting directly in one of the beds over the winter and it came up so I let it grow. I *think* it may be a spaghetti squash. I noticed though today that there may possibly be some worm damage. They bore into the base of the plant and take up residence inside the plant potentially killing it. I doused the base with poison (yeah, I know... not real organic), but the plant already has tiny squash on it and I REALLY want to see what they will be. I am in the process of re-mulching in between the beds hence the 2 colors. I also rolled out this big cool stump. The kids love it. I sit on it, they jump off of it or use it as a table. So, enjoy the photos.

A Pile of Soakers

2008-05-20T15:12:00.000-07:00

I was busy this past weekend dying wool for our newest retailer, Terra Tots in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The owner picked the colors and they really turned out great and make a wonderful gender neutral cover without being the traditional gender neutral mint green & baby yellow. I am hoping once I can get a predictable influx of wool fabric to begin to open the interlock line to other retailers as well.

Late Night Visitors

2008-05-18T18:40:00.000-07:00

I work 5 nights a week from about 9-12. I have a porch light on my work building that attracts all sorts of strange critters ranging from oversized mosquitos, beetles, moths, and the occasional frog. The next day I always have some of the visitors that decide to hang out. I thought these moths were especially unusual and beautiful. I am constantly amazed at God's handiwork. I have never seen any quite like these and may never see them again. I had to touch the white one to see exactly how a moth with wings so small could fly. I have also had a Mocking Bird that for the last several nights decides to start singing at 11 pm. It is kind of creepy almost and I am sure the other birds were probably a tad bit annoyed.

Garden Update #2

2008-05-14T07:44:00.000-07:00

It is a really slow start this year to the garden. I have had to deal with some pests already and some poor germination and weather. We have had the threat of tornados it seems like every few days so I would keep getting put off on the updates. We have strawberries that are ripening but due to the heavy rains we have had, many of them are cracking open, but there is still a good amount that are good. Our tomatos that we planted from seed are coming up really well and starting to take off. Almost all we planted have germinated. What is up with the squash? I had all of 2 plants come up and those are the easiest thing to grow. I think the seeds may have not been viable so I re-planted and dumped a bunch in the ground.... watch the ALL come up now :) I quit on green beans. Those danged rabbits eat them as soon as they pop up so I have all of maybe 5 plants. If I can get over my anger, I MAY replant and put some kind of fencing over that bed but am tempted to dig it all up and stick in some flowers or something. I had a bed of okra and cucumbers together and NOTHING came up and you know why? Tons of birds have decided that it is the best place to take dirt baths. I could not believe my eyes. They get in there and ruffle their bodies in the dirt. Lots of them and I think they may have killed the seedlings. I have never dealt with that before.... they are as destructive as our chickens.

A pair of special footies for a sweet little guy...

2008-05-08T11:27:00.000-07:00

I was contacted by a momma over the weekend whose little guy had suffered some pretty severe burns on his leg and foot. So, he has some pretty good sized bandages that keep him from being able to wear shoes and play outside (since everything needs to stay covered up especially during outdoor play). My son Caleb had been a victim of a pretty good burn himself so I can relate to that mess pretty well myself. So, we put our minds together to create something that could stretch over the leg and foot yet be tough enough to handle some play time outside. I hand dyed some 97/3 heavier weight interlock in a nice darker sage color and used recycled leather for a full foot bottom and toe coverage. Our original thought was to do a full leather foot top and bottom but that would not allow for the stretch needed on the foot area. So, here is the result and I am really pleased at how it turned out. Not only is it functional, but I think he will look pretty darn cute as well :)

Oh, and yes I know I am due for a garden update... I will grab some pics later today. I haven't forgotten :)

Follow the Garden Progress!

2008-04-28T16:33:00.000-07:00

Good grief! It has been 2 months since I have blogged. I didn't realize I had slacked that badly. I have been extremely busy with several new wholesale accounts and training our first employee.... Yeah! So, after last year's pitiful garden, I am making time this year to get my passion going again. I have always enjoyed gardening for as long as I can remember. When we first moved to this house, I loved the huge yard. However the dirt pretty much stinks. It is all weeds and little rocks and just sad dirt in general. I had James to work quickly and we started with 4 raised beds out in the middle of the yard. That of course wasn't enough and I had him add some more the next year and then get rid of the grass in between the beds. The little white picket fence was salvaged from my mom and makes a nice backdrop for the humongous Arapaho blackberries and raspberries. I should have taken a before picture. Everything was filled with weeds and took me a couple of weeks of hand labor. If you let neglect happen, the weeds take over in no time. Caleb has been out there pulling as well so now you see the result. I don't can vegetables so please don't ask me about that :) I don't have the time or the patience. I just pack a bunch of different things into the beds and we eat them as we pick them. Grilling veggies on the back deck is lots of fun. If it is freezable and we have extra, we "might" freeze them but pretty much it is a pick and eat fest. OK, so here is what we have planted. We have strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries that come back every year. In the middle is an herb bed with different herbs that come back as well. This year I planted a few snap peas (first time to try those) along the back fence, yellow squash, zuchinni squash, picnic watermelons (my favorite thing to grow!) green peppers, eggplants, cantaloupe (another first), okra, and cucumbers, green beans (I have failed on those the last 2 years thanks to bunnies) and tomatos. I think that is it. You really can get quite a bit into a small space and we only plant a few plants of each. There are a few things starting to pop up after a few days. My poor chickens have been banished to stay in the pen. Normally I let them stay out with me in the yard when I am out there but they tear up everything. Needless to say, they are not real happy and they pace at the door.

So, here are a few pictures and I will try and update weekly with the scoop. Our neighbors have cows next door in a field. I noticed some really great poop right across the fence. I may scoop it over and throw it in the beds. Cow poop is the best thing ever!

Blah!

2008-02-27T06:42:00.000-08:00

So about a month or so ago, I blogged about my miracle of grapefruit & Zicam. It has come through for me yet again. So Monday afternoon I started noticing that feeling you get right as you are starting to get sick. The flu has been going around horribly and I just knew that is what I was getting. All my energy was sucked out of me and I started feeling achy and nauseous. I immediately ate a grapefruit, crunched up the seeds and ate those too, sqeezed out the juice and drank that, and then Zicam up the nose and went to bed. Tuesday rolled around and I was feeling about the same, but no worse. I did the same thing in the morning and I was soooo tired. I could tell my body was actually trying to fight this thing but didn't know if it would win this time around. I pretty much rested and actually laid down and took a nap during the day. I repeated the grapefruit/Zicam thing right before bed. This morning I got up and I am still a little tired feeling, but the body aches are going away and my head is totally clear. In the past, I know I would be laid up in the bed with tissue inserted up my nose by this time. I had struggled for years with an immune system that didn't seem to fight off anything.... I was always sick. It is so nice to actually have it working doing what it is supposed to... of course watch me get it full blown by tomorrow LOL :)

A Day in the Life Continued...

2008-02-26T06:17:00.000-08:00

So of course my day didn't unfold as I had planned yesterday. You always have something come up and you have to change it all around. I feel like I am getting sick.... body aches and slugishness. Just plain blah. I have started back on my Zicam & grapefruit regimine but I don't know if I can hold this one back. I plan on taking it easy for the next few days and taking a nap today. Half of my face and head feel hot which is really weird. I am glad I cooked some chicken yesterday and saved the broth. I think I will make some warm chicken noodle soup later today.

So, if you are wondering about this critter here, this is a possum which is quite common here in Arkansas. I had come in the house at about midnight yesterday and was preparing my grapefruit (which I managed to squirt directly into my eye by the way) and I hear something outside the door. I always set the bag of trash out the door for James to do something with (which usually ends up being a few days so I don't know why I even bother sometimes). I peer out the window to see what it is. We have had a racoon in the past and a cat. I look out there and see this oversized possum that has made ever so neatly a tiny hole just big enough to dig his nose into. I open the door and bang on the glass storm door which is less than 2 feet away from this thing expecting it to run away in fear. It turns around, looks at me and actually comes right up to the door. If I opened the door, it seriously would have come in the house. So, I took the opportunity to go get the camera and snap a shot. By this time, my cat was at the door face to face with this thing and she was not a happy camper. She was hissing and growling. She was already irritated because she wanted me to go to bed since she likes to sleep in the same room as me (yes she is a cat that prefers a certain bed time at NIGHT!) The possum finished eating I think a can of tuna and then walked off ever so calmly. Now I know why I passed 2 dead ones on the way to school this morning. They are just not the smartest.

A Day in the Life...

2008-02-25T06:58:00.000-08:00

of being a work at home mom. So, in doing my morning computer routine, the idea was proposed of blogging a day in the working mom's life and I thought, what a great idea! It was spur of the moment, so I didn't have a chance to "prepare" and be super mom of the day and this would be totally unscripted. I didn't go to bed until 2am last night as I had a large rush order that I had to get done and finish washing everything. The new store is having their grand opening Saturday, so I HAD to work hard and fast. I crashed on the couch and then at 6:30, the day had began. I managed to get up (still wearing clothes from yesterday) and crawled back into bed hitting snooze every 7 minutes for the next half hour. Then I had 45 minutes to peel Sarah out of bed and tell her each step of the way to getting ready. She is 7, going on 8, yet I have to tell her to get up, get dressed, brush teeth, yadda yadda. The routine is the same every day but if I don't poke her along the way, she just stops and I find her sitting in front of the little heater in the bathroom. I brush my teeth and change into some fresh clothes and trudge along getting her ready for school. I usually let Caleb sleep until right before time to go but most of the time he gets up on his own at about 7:15 or so. Then he has to have all the lights off because they hurt his eyes when he first gets up and he may be cranky, or really happy. You just never know.... he is SO my child. We are out the door by 7:45 and we were out 2 minutes early today. How, I will never know. I pray I don't have to get out of my car as my hair was (is) scary and there is no make up on. I don't even want to drive through anywhere.... I am a mess. So we arrive back at home and I feed Caleb some breakfast. I usually skip it and drink a homemade cold frappucino that James gets up and makes every morning for both of us. I open the refrigerator and smile as it is lovingly waiting for me every morning. He is awesome.... they are better than Starbucks!

Now that we are settled in at home at about 8:30, I give in to the TV monster and let Caleb watch Noggin for about 30 minutes or so while I follow up on emails that came in over the weekend. Then I pay bills and pay for sweaters that arrived over the weekend and have to fight the urge to crawl back into bed. After that is taken care of, I will be crawling into the shower and will emerge as super mom and by this time it will be about 10am. Caleb and I will go out into the sewing building for a few hours and do a little work. I need to maintain my machines (which I do every week) by oiling and cleaning them up. Then I will sew a bit and by that time it will be lunch time. We will come in and eat then it will be time for a nap. I will snuggle up with Caleb and read a story (my favorite time of day!). Once he goes down, it is back to work for me. I will do the computer thing, package up a few orders and get them ready to ship, and straighten the house up. I have to do all this in about an hour and a half. James picks up Sarah from school and keeps her at work with him since school ends at 2.... right in the middle of nap time. By about 3:30, Caleb and I will head to town to the post office and stop by and see James. Once we come home, it is time to think about dinner. James really helps with this and makes dinner quite a bit.... he is REALLY good at it and enjoys it. The kids are bathed and in bed by 9pm and then I usually go back to sewing till midnight.

This is an average day in my crazy life. There is not much time left for anything else. Balance is such a hard thing to master. Sometimes I wonder what was I thinking... but I wouldn't have it any other way. Signing off to shower now :)

2008-02-02T13:12:00.000-08:00

I am taking a breather after yesterday's stocking. It was fun changing it up with a night time stocking and doing some differnt kinds of listings. I was on my way outside yesterday afternoon to take the final website pics and before I opened the back door, this little bluebird caught my eye. He was perched up on the clothesline enjoying the sun after the 2 inches of snow we got the day before. I had my camera around my neck and woolies in my hand. I took my camera and zoomed in on the little guy through my back door and was really pleased on how the picture came out. It was nice just to take a short break from busy life and enjoy the surroundings.

I am currently working on the Artisan Baby site this weekend. It is a ton of work getting products together and it is like a scavenger hunt rounding up all the wonderful products. I technically haven't opened it up yet but people have been completing sales. I am just glad it is all apprarently working like it is supposed to :) I hadn't had a chance to do a test sale.

~Shannon~

I feel like a kid!

2008-01-24T06:07:00.000-08:00

Woohoo! I am running on about 4 hours of sleep. I started sewing last night and then had this huge burst of energy (no caffeine involved LOL) and didn't go to sleep until about 2am. Despite all these weird hours I run nowadays, I am feeling great! I absolutely love what I do and feel blessed to be able to work full time at home with my kids. This year is starting off fresh and fun. I have recently come into the world of applique and it is SO fun! When I feel like bursting out of the normal and predictable pair of relaxed leg longies, I start to cutting free-handed an applique and pop it onto the wool. It is like a kid with a coloring book and really lets me relax and have fun. The kiddos are all feeling much better after several weeks of everyone being sick. I managed to avoid getting it and that was a total miracle. I have been eating 2 grapefruits a day. No, I am not on some nutty diet, but after years of my immune system letting me down, I was desparate and I have finally found something that I can actually see the results from. I eat the grapefruit and then even eat a few of the big seeds. James just cringes when he sees me chomping away on those seeds :) When a person is getting colds constantly for years, you are willing to try ANYTHING! After I am done, I squeeze the juice into a cup, add water, then add one of those Airborne tablets. Then if people are sick or I can feel I am coming down with it, I do the Zicam thing as well. I have been doing this for about a month and I notice my grocery store is having a hard time keeping their grapefruits in stock now :)

The other day I stood on my head, body propped up against a wall of course. Talk about the kids being shocked and amazed. Then finished it off with some backwards somersaults. I think James and the kids were picking their jaws up off the floor thinking that I had totally lost my mind or something. Had I been sniffing the lanolin too much or maybe ingested some wool fibers? I don't know what it is, but I feel great. Maybe it is the magic grapefruit seeds LOL :)

I suppose I better get back to work. There are several more items I need to get listed to stock today and then start tagging and packaging everything in preparation to ship out.

:) Shannon

2008-01-21T12:21:00.000-08:00

So, I have been working non-stop to get some organizing done around here. I just finished revamping the website to have a fresh new look. I hope it doesn't look as "home-made" as the one before. I had been putting it off forever and am really glad it is done. I think it turned out pretty good considering I have NO skills when it comes to html. I decided to leave web design to the pros though for my new website, artisanbaby.com. It is almost finished. It has taken longer than expected but Michelle of Elemental Muse is on the final stretch and I think the design just needs to be uploaded and then I can start plugging in items. I have been gathering some really awesome items. Basically it is going to allow me to do some non-wool related items and will be a collection of other artisan made items that I have come across and think would be a great fit. It won't be your typical big name items so I am really excited to bring everything together.

Caleb has been sick... like REALLY sick. The poor guy fell asleep last week sitting at the table waiting for his lunch. He is getting better but all around his nose and mouth is really red and chapped. He is napping right now so I hope he gets lots of rest. I had to grab the camera and take a picture of him alsleep. Then, this is what he looked like when he heard the camera and "woke up". Sarah had been sick almost the whole week before and missed school. I had to finally break down and take her to the doctor. I absolutely detest going there. It is full of a bunch of sick kids that their parents take them in for anything and everything. I am not saying this is true of everyone, but it sure is the majority. I mean why not? Most people have insurance or state assisted programs so they want to feel like they are getting something back. We are one of the in-between families that of course makes too much for any assistance, but we don't have enough to pay for health insurance. I feel like germs are jumping on me and we find a quiet kid-free corner and instruct the kids don't touch anything. You can just feel the germs. Did I mention I hate going there? :) Sarah had a fever for 5 days straight and the doctor said she had brochitis and maybe a touch of pneumonia. So, we took our predictable antibiotic prescription and he said she was not contagious. Right. Hello! she had a fever and of course Caleb now has the EXACT same thing.

I suppose I had better get some footies cut out and ready to sew. I expect footie season is still on go through this month and into Feb. I love making them and will be kind of sad when it is time to take a break for warmer weather. Although, I am really loving the creative outlet that applique work is providing and look forward to doing more of that kind of work when possible.

~Shannon~

2008-01-14T17:24:00.000-08:00

Woollybottoms is happy to now have an official blog. This blog will contain more details than our yahoo group announcements and more random thoughts and ideas right here :)