Catching Up

I knew it was time for another post, but I didn't realize just how long it had been since my last post till I sat down to write this new one.  I guess I have been busy.

Most of my creative time has been spent on Free Lace Scarves.  The last time I wrote, I was pondering possible alternative names for those scarves.  I had been wondering whether I could figure out something better to call them that would help me get traffic when I got them up on Etsy.  Somehow that issue has fallen by the wayside as I have not managed to produce enough to get them up on Etsy.  It is not that I haven't been producing them; it's just that all the ones that I've made have gone to bricks-and-mortar stores.  Since that last post, two more stores near me have started carrying them.  Woo hoo!

Yesterday, I delivered scarves, pillows and jackets to a store in Newport News - Pop-Shop by Jo Louise.  For 13 years now, three friends--Jo Louise, Chrys, and Joelle--have set up a seasonal gift store in an empty store front during the holiday season.  It is open for the months of November and December carrying the work of approximately 100 artists.  I learned about it at the first marketplace event I participated in since moving to Williamsburg.  The woman next to me had been participating for several years and thought it would be a good venue for me.    I sent them an email with a link to our website and it went from there.

When I brought my work in yesterday, they made me feel like an old friend.  Yesterday was the first day that they were accepting work.  It was clear that they'd already spent a great deal of time getting ready, painting walls and display furniture, arranging furniture, etc.  Even at this early stage it was clear that they have a flair for display.  Their opening reception happens in less than two weeks.  I can hardly wait to see the transformation.  I'll take pictures to share in my next post.

In the meantime I am continuing to create new scarves.  I have a huge stash of fabrics, yarns, fibers and scraps that call to me and suggest new ways of combining them.  For my last scarf I (finally) decided to incorporate some of the throwsters waste that I've ignored for years now.   I was so pleased that I'm going to do a few more with it.  I just love the way you can take a pile of scrap and create something truly beautiful from it.  Here's the before and after.

This finished scarf is now at the Pop-Shop.  I've started another one today.  I'm getting ready for the holiday Small Works show at the Williamsburg Contemporary Art Center that opens November 14.  Better keep sewing.  I still hope to put some scarves on Etsy soon too.