Update: Where the *%&@! am I?

Right here, I swear! You don't believe me do you. I probably wouldn't either, if I were you. My last post in (cough, cough) August I talked about how I was going to be back in the blogging/sewing saddle. Such lies, apparently ;)

So what the bleep have I been doing all this time??

This:

And this:

Are you shocked? I am.

Let me give you the full rundown.

You may have noticed (or maybe you haven't. either way.) over the past year that I have been slowly collecting a crazy amount of vintage patterns, fabrics and notions. Actually I don't know how forthcoming I was with some of those details, since it was actually getting out of hand. I *might* have been a tiny bit ashamed. I had so many items that I knew I would never use them all. Then this summer, my good friend Laurel had a vintage show she was doing down the street from my house. Not literally down the street, but the next town over, so about 8 minutes from my house. How could I say no? It was just too tempting. She let me have a small table in the corner and sell some of my vintage fabric, buttons and notions. I made a little money and I had a great time.

She was like my drug dealer. I was hooked.

Along came another show. A bigger show. This time I decided I would rent an entire booth for myself. Crazy, crazy girl. I did well again, not rolling in cash, but enough to make me feel like what I had was good and the response from customers was hopeful. Then came the big city: Cambridge, Massachusetts. I did their Open Market on a Friday on the Harvard campus and even though the market just started this season it was still very encouraging. Very encouraging.

Now I am here. Where is here?

Here: I have actual store "inventory". A word I thought would only ever be related to cheese in my life. An Etsy shop, that I am slowly filling. I opened it in August, but only had a few items in it (can you believe I slacked off?!? Haha!) and I had my first sale last week! Baby steps, right? I have my "Booth Tote" ready for the next show season. I have a Facebook page*. Friends, I have business cards!

a shot of my button display

All this public admission on the internets is actually very liberating. I have been doing this on the side for a few months, but never really talked about it with anyone other than close friends and family. Which is kind of crazy, since who better to share this with then my sewing community! People that would appreciate these items as much as I do!

vintage buttons for my Kelly skirt

I have still been sewing, I promise, but not as much as I would have liked. I sewed a Kelly skirt for the Fall into Cotton Challenge, but never gave you any pictures. Not so much as even a sentence to tell you I was still at my machine! I really am hoping to remedy that soon.

Also, having our condo on the market was a serious obstacle for any major sewing. I brought in small desk to sew on, but it was just too small and actually more of a challenge than help. Our condo came off the market this past weekend, and my sewing table and all of my patterns will finally return home tomorrow or Wednesday. We tried to sell for six months and will try again in the spring. I am just excited to get back into my sewing groove with all my tools at my fingertips! To prove I am not a complete liar, here is a small glimpse of my finished Kelly skirt:

a real finished project! I swear!

I know it isn't much to see, but I am hoping to take better photos than I posted during the challenge. Worse case scenario, I will share those with you. Pinky swear.

All in all, I have been really busy with such exciting events, but I miss being here and at my machine. Now that you know what has been going on with me, what has been happening with you all??? Are you all still out there? What is on your sewing table? Talk to me! :)

*I have an actual website and blog for this new adventure, but it is just as desolate as this blog lately which is why it is not in my list. Heh. At least you know that I wasn't just neglecting you guys and this blog the whole time! ;)