Popcorn Festival, Valparaiso

Living in Valpo, I've attended the Popcorn Festival many times, but this was the first time I had a booth there. It was just great! Fantastic weather, good crowds, great sales. And my sister traveled up from Indy to help out for the day....thanks Barb!Also thanks to the VCFE staff and volunteers, we appreciate your hard work.For all of you non-Valpo people: this is where Orville Redenbacher had his popcorn business, hence the annual festival.

Bags, Basketball and Back

The past two months for me have been busy with "B's": Bags.....making five new styles...Carrie, Cosmo, Stella, Bella, Montego, Marseilles...Basketball...my full time job is in fundraising for a university athletic department.....and Back...I've had some lower back strain issues to deal with. But is is March, spring is coming, and my mantra is "everything is great in my world."

Here are photos of my new designs!

To see all of my styles, go to my Flickr gallery http://www.flickr.com/photos/fabtwd/sets/

Yes, winter can be beautiful, but....

Even for the Midwest, this winter has been brutal....and not over yet. However, there are some beautiful moments, like looking at this gorgeous Victorian house in my neighborhood. Not where I live, but I tell people I have the best view in town!
People in warmer climes might wonder about the car that looks "plugged in" but those of us in the snow belt know he is just keeping his battery warm in the sub zero weather!
And I couln't resist taking a picture of this pile of snow that was built when the parking lot was plowed....hope it doesn't all melt too quickly.
I haven't been sewing for about a month...spending time organizing my studio space, throwing away/recycling things I don't need and doing those darned taxes. Making mental note to keep up with that task weekly in 2009.

I'm so grateful.....

I want to give special thanks to all my customers and new friends who visited me and made a purchase this summer at the Chesterton European Market! I am so grateful to you for your kind words and purchases....and I hope you continue to like the item or items you purchased from me.

Because this summer has been so successful, I really haven't had the time to add to the blog, or to post new items on Etsy....everything has been selling so quickly!

The next event I'll be doing will be the Celebration of the Arts show at the Schoolhouse Shop in Furnessville, just north and east of Chesterton. This is the 19th year for the annual show, and I'm honored to be part of it!

Yes, I'll have more wine

I'm on this mission to start a world-wide trend: to have everyone use a fabric wine bag when giving a gift of your favorite vino! Makes so much sense....much better presentation than a paper bag, adds a touch of elegance to your gift...and the bag is meant to be re-gifted!

At the markets this year, about one-fourth of my sales have been from wine bags. Aaahhh...trend is building. Last spring I shopped for fabrics that I thought would sell for this type of product. I found a couple of prints with wine bottles or glasses, a couple of spring/summer floral prints, some sports fabrics. Seems to be working...someone will come in to buy one with a fabric from their favorite team, end up buying four...or five...or six.

Tell your friends! Spread the word! Drink more wine!!

Buttons anyone?

For some time now, I've wanted to start a photo set on my Flickr page that features all the buttons used on my purses. When I first started making the purses, I used the buttons and a loop for the purse closure; now that I use zippers for closure, the buttons are just the best decoration...kind of like jewelry adornment for the purse.

A few of the buttons I've used are shown on this blog post; to see the whole set, visit my Flickr page, and click on Buttons!

Great Day at the Market!

I can't tell you how thrilling it is when someone purchases one of my products... it really gives me chills every time!

Featured here are some of the people who bought a purse, pouch or gift bag at the Chesterton European Market today....thanks to all of you!