I was going to write about something else... I swear

Since my last post the dog fur has begun to inch up the walls here in LumpkinLand. Clearly I have not stopped Lumpkining just yet. Surely this weekend will be the time for that. {Yeah right, my family is like a tornado on weekends- I spend most Monday's in my PJ's clearing out the aftermath}. I really have no idea when the house will be clean again. And I hold out no hope, for now.

There is just too much excitement around this little factory here. My order from Spoonflower is shipped and will be here in a matter of days. Happy, Happy, Joy Joy!
Here's another little snippet from that order...


That will be used for a lovely little surprise I hope to reveal soon after my fabric arrives on my doorstep. ( I know, I know, my resident etiquette expert already informed me that the silverware is misplaced.
What can I say? Lumpkin's aren't fussy?)

Also on the front burner- I'm hoping to do some fabric dying this weekend for use in some updated Maezy dresses. Remember those?



The new version combines organic cotton knit with my batiked organic cotton. I'm planning on making them in micro batches of around 6 at a time. Hopefully I'll have more on that towards the end of next week {ahem, by year's end}

I really was going to write something different tonight. I was hoping to post a ridiculous tutorial about finishing tiny wooden apples. It's such a ridiculous tutorial, in fact, it almost a tutorial parody. And I wouldn't for the world want you to miss out on that {sarcasm}. So I'll post it on Monday.

In the meantime I'll leave you with this link to a video produced by the local PBS Network (WQED). It's a half hour all about my neighborhood here in the 'Burgh. Just in case you want to move here someday (you know who you are) or maybe you're just curious.

Shop Update

In an effort to make 2009- the year that I actually keep my etsy shop stocked with all of my wares- I'm proud to announce...

The first update of the year

Wednesday
January 21st 2009
8pm

here's a little preview...

And more...
plus some Valentine's Day items too!

See you there

www.littlelumpkin.com

Big Eco-Announcement!

For a long time I've had a problem. My name is Sarah and I hoard fabric. I know there are many crafters among us who have this problem. My fabric stash has been maxed out and overflowing for years. I guess I'm a collector now because I only use a fraction of the fabric that I've purchased. I love fabric and fiber in all forms there is just something about it that makes me feel so good when I feel it between my fingers. I suppose it's been that way from birth. I was definitely one of those kids who worn out the edge of her blankie rubbing it raw. I also had a thing for shoestrings which I think must translate into my accompanying yarn addiction. Ok, that's weird, moving on...

Despite my love for fabric, I've been having some ongoing inner turmoil over my consumer choices. And every time I go to the store for more I have a dirty feeling like I've done something I didn't need to do. I don't need to buy new fabric. There is already an endless supply of fabric rotting in junk shops and on the racks of my local thrift store. Enough is enough right? And I can truly make myself crazy trying to locate all of the hip and popular prints that are just reproductions of all the fabrics you can already find in the places I mentioned before.

So, I pledge that for the next year I will not purchase another piece of new fabric for my personal or business use. Why a year? Well, I don't like to be extreme, and I've never tried this before. Plus maybe there is some factor I haven't considered that will haunt me. Never say never right? Overall I anticipate this being a pretty simple change for me. It will force me to confront my stash and in the end it will make me feel like I'm making a positive change for my family, my business and the world at large.
One whole year. Starting from the date of my last binge September 12th 2007.
Heck, I already use old T's for my appliqued shirts. As an added bonus, relieving the pressure of finding cutting edge textiles has made me feel much more relaxed about my designs. Let it be known that Little Lumpkins is a getting more and more Eco-friendly everyday.

************
Well, before I go do a months worth of cleaning in my house, let me just share some of my Handmade Arcade progress. I know that this is supposed to be the "Week of the bike seat covers" but yesterday I finished the prototype of my new Sea monster Hood. I'd like to have five of these in assorted sizes for the craft show. It turned out even better than I imagined. I usually start out with a little sketch of my idea... and then I just start knitting. Sometimes it works out... sometimes it doesn't. This time it really did. I think I'll save them for the craft show, but whatever I have left I'll list in the Etsy shop

More updates soon! Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

New Look and Recipes Too

I've recently become annoyed with my banner in the Etsy shop

so I decided to make a new one this afternoon. Here's the one I'm currently trying out:

What do you think?
No, really... tell me...

In other news, I created a new salad dressing that i wanted to share.
M2 loved it because she saw me putting peanut butter in it, she eats at least 2 extra servings of salad every time I use this dressing. I think that's pretty good for a 3 year old.
I actually think it reminds her of the sauce they give with the spring rolls at our favorite Vietnamese restaurant . She would drink that stuff if I let her.

Asian Peanut Dressing
first mix the following ingredients together:
1 T. Peanut butter
1 T. soy sauce(tamari)
1t. maple syrup
1/2 t. toasted sesame oil
1 small clove chopped garlic
1/2 t. mirin (optional)
1/8c. rice wine vinegar
then slowly pour in
1/3 c. oil(safflower, flax, olive)
mixing vigorously as you add oil

You can substitute different sweetners or vinegars,
but make sure to keep the
peanut butter, garlic and sesame oil
that's what makes the recipe!

add water if you like it thinner
salt and pepper to your taste.


MMMMMMmmmmmm It's so good!
That was our dinner last night, with the tiny taters, patty pans I picked up at Eastern Market salad w/the new dressing and Boca vegan chicken patties. (I had the fake meat hankerin')

I'm also working on a new vegan chocolate chunk cookie recipe, I just want to try it out one more time before taking it public. So far it's the best.

Well, that's all for now, have a nice day everyone.

Go East, Young Market Goers

This weekend I was a vendor at the Eastern Market on King St. and it was very fun. I didn't sell a single thing mind you, but it was really fun nonetheless. I chose to believe that that's because not many people seem to know about the Market yet. I did manage to get some nice shots of my booth finally. I can't really complain because I never went to the market last year. So, allow me to take this opportunity to praise the wonder and glory that IS the EASTERN MARKET. I actually love the concept of the market and the atmosphere they've created there. Little cafe tables, music, veggies...it's great great great. The only thing missing is...YOU! Go check out the market people, because if you don't use it you'll lose it. Things like that can't survive without the communities support. I promise you won't be disappointed if you give it a try. So if your market day happens to fall on a Saturday, skip the Central Market and head East to the Eastern Market, cause that other market has Tuesdays and Fridays right?

Also I want to unveil my new sketch for the first piece from the Lumpkin Clothing line tentatively called "Mabbles & Maezy". This design is called the "Maezy" dress. I've actually finished the bulk of the work for the prototype and the last few details should be completed by tomorrow. I love this dress. I'm so proud of the fit and the style and everything about it. Tomorrow I'll take a shot of the finished product for show and tell...

LOTR- Update

(Edgar the fat cat not included)

No, there's no breaking news from the Shire, but there are some exciting happenings regarding my little LOTR (aka Lumpkin On The Run) case. I mentioned it in one of my first blogs, and it arrived at my door this weekend in multiple pieces care of big-bro-Lo. The case itself is made out of particle board and heavy cardboard, made sturdier with a metal frame. All of this was put together with little metal rivets. To get it to it's current state he had lots of work to do. All of the rivets and the metal frame had to be removed. The hardware was then polished and buffed, see that shine? The original covering over the outside of the case was vinyl, but I want to use fabric to cover my case, so I bought some of this iron-on vinyl to coat the fabric of my choosing before covering the case. I got the Lustre finish, because that's all they had at the Joann's I went to, but perhaps I should hold out for the matte finish. Hmm? I'll have to do a test. Little shiny suitcase? I'm not so sure about that. I also have to design the best way to customize the inside of the case. I'll add pockets and tabs and this and that to make it really special. I hope to keep the little gabby girl from the original vinyl on the case, but add a little lumpkin element to that side. More to come...

Lumpkin on the run

I've had this cute little vintage suitcase that Alicia at Mommalicious on Queen St. here in Lancaster, gave me a great deal on. That was months ago. I intended to transform it into the most lovely little traveling sales case the world has ever seen. Well, today marks day one of the transformation. I took some before shots and i am about to start dismantling the loose pieces of paper. It is very old and the metal parts that hold it together are still in working order, as is the basic body. Its made out of a heavy cardboard type of material that's covered with some kind of vinyl-ish wallpapery stuff. the little girl on the front is very sweet so I'm going to try and incorporate her into the design. I'd like to cover it with fabric, but I'll see how it goes. First, for some demo work. Assistant, my sledge hammer please...