March already!

Just as I suspected, this blogging can be very time consuming. I have to decide whether I want to sew or blog or post items to my website. I have a full time job, so of course this has to be done after I get home at 5pm. I dream of working only part time at an office job and sewing full time, but for the time being, I am lucky to have a job in this economy! I do plan to take some time for myself this summer and use my vacation days sparingly, so I can take an extra day every week, thus having a 3 day weekend.
I just found out that I was accepted to be a permanent vendor this summer at out Missoula People's Market. This is a major coup for me, as last year my husband and I would dutifully get up, pack the truck with our canopy and wares, and drive downtown by 7:20 to pay $15 and hope to get a spot at the market. Then the big wait. Walking around, selecting the "best spot" for ourselves and hoping some of the regular vendors did not show up. At 8:00, if the "regulars" had not shown, their spots were in a lottery and names drawn at random. Of course, you wanted to be the first drawn, to select your favorite spot, but were always happy to just get drawn. On unlucky days, we would have to head back home with nothing to show for our efforts. Some days there would be 60 hopeful vendors and only 20 or so spots. It all depended on the weather and the luck of the draw. So this year, I can be the one to sleep in just a little later and still be sure to get my regular spot. YES!
Last year's market surprised me - mainly because I didn't think people would be buying hats when it was 80-90 degrees. Boy, was I surprised. I found that the best customers were the young moms buying for their babies and toddlers. The t shirt weight hats were just perfect to keep the sun off their tender heads, and lightweight enough so they would actually keep them on. Our booth was often crammed with moms and strollers. Then I also had my regular customers who would come each week to buy a new hat for themselves - Thanks, Jean!
After market was over at 1:00 we would pack everything up and come home to take a dip in our little pool - a few years ago we bought one of those adult sized pools - that has an inflatable rim and reminds me of a giant condom! It is 14 feet wide - just perfect for 2 air mattresses. That and s wine cooler, would make me very happy and cooled off! It is a good thing I have a pool boy, to take care of the filter and chemicals and all. I don't like to fuss with those things, so my husband dutifully is the pool boy.

Sweater Fairy

The sweater fairy came to my office today and dropped off a sweater to use for hats. I love it when this happens. This one is oh so soft and heather green. My earlier post was to show the stages of creating a hat, but I am too new to blogging to understand how to put my photos in order, so it doesn't make sense. Maybe one day I will fix this. People always ask me - how long does it take to make a hat? Well, the answer is - it varies. First, you have to gather the materials (like a hunting expidition) - I love, love, love to shop garage sales in the summer - definitly the best fodder for recycling and the prices are great! .25-.50 cents for a sweater generally compared to Goodwill which can run up to $10! My daughter and I love to get up early Sat mornings and shop garage sales - the thrill of the hunt. You NEVER know what you might find. Then of course, the sweaters need to get washed and the wools ones felted, so the washing machine runs quite alot, and always has a lot of sweater lint. When I get inspired, I pick out a few that I like together and cut until my fingers are bruised. I finally broke down and bought two new pairs of Ginger scissors after my husband pointed out that this is one of my main tools! They cut sweaters like butter. After I have stacks of cut pieces, I make piles and decide how to put them together for maximum cuteness.

I usually sit down at one of my sergers (I have 4 berninas now thanks to E-Bay!) all threaded in different colors, and I start to assemble the tops. When I have about 20 crowns sewn, I start to select bands. This consists of looking through piles of t-shirts looking for ones that co-ordinate and have maximum stretchyness. I cut strips and measure to the right lengths. Next comes the brims - add interfacing and a lining that looks great with the hat and sew this part and attach it to the hat. Last is the trim. I sew each hat with the JAX logo in embroidery thread or yarn in a color that pops - you want this to be seen. Buttons are last. All of my buttons are made by me from polymer clay.

I spend 2 whole evenings making buttons about once a month. I try to make a variety - at least 100 per batch in about 5 different colors which can match a lot of different sweaters. This is one of my favorite parts - the magic of clay. I use the pasta machine and make fantastic buttons which I bake in the oven. After these are done, I use a 2 part epoxy to finish them and give them a great shine and depth. The bad thing about this is that it is very toxic and I had a bad allergic reaction a few years ago and ended up going on steroids to get rid of it. I was careless and didn't wear gloves once - ONLY ONCE! 2 days of drying the epoxy and I drill the holes. Buttons are ready!

Last, I audition buttons on the hats - usually trying 2 or 3 before finding the perfect one!

OK this blogging thing reminds me of when I got a diary at Christmas at about age 12 and wrote in the front cover my promise to write in it evey day, but lost interest after about day 10. Iam hoping that I get more than 10 days into this!
It's another cold, crisp day in Western Mountana where the streets are dry of snow (thank goodness) but the mountains surrounding us glisten in white and tiny skiers can be seen with binoculars making their way down Snow Bowl.
I am shortly to head down to my studio (I use that term loosley, as my entire house is really my studio) and finish a batch of hats that I started yesterday. I was really wiped out after Christmas, so have been diligently trying to build up my stock of Jax Hats. I just counted in my day planner and I actually had 18 shows in from October through Christmas. I still had people calling me on Christmas eve and stopping by to pick up just one more hat! I love this addiction I have created! For those of you who haven't experienced the craving, Jax hats are made from recycled (Preloved) sweaters, t shirts and other fabulous finds that I discover in thrift stores. They fit and look good on almost everybody, and are made in infant through adult sizes. (jaxhats.com or jaxonsjazz.etsy.com)
When did this addiction start? Well, ever since I was very young, I have always wanted to create, so I would make doll clothes out of kleenex. Then there were the tons of kleenex carnations I learned to make, moving to fabric scraps wrapped aroung my dolls until my mom showed me how to use the sewing machine. The world was my oyster and the real craving for design began! Barbie soon had fabulous gowns (maybe not hemmed, but better than kleenex!) At age 8 I sewed my first dress for myself with a pattern. It was basically a shift with a circular cut collar which made it look akin to a clown suit. It was beautiful in a large floral print - I think I looked a bit like a clowinsh potted plant. All through high school I contiued to sew, declining to take home ec after I saw what my friends were producing - typically a basic apron that took them all semester and many tears to produce. My philosophy is to enjoy the process and say no to seam ripping! I find that I do better if I throw away the directions to a pattern and rely on common sense. Have you ever noticed how difficult they can make the directions? Say What?? I am sad that home ec is no longer offered in our schools, but for the most part I think it takes alot of joy out of the creative process and focuses on perfection. My own sister never sewed again after making that apron!