Right now it is gorgeous out! Sunny and lovely.
I can even hear our neighbors outside with a radio on,
so it must be nice.

That’s not to say that things won’t change. And they usually do, very quickly.
But for the moment I am thoroughly loving all this “rain” that we’re having : )

My random number generator (aka my husband, Josh) is at work today,
so I went online and found a comparable, but not as fun, substitute.
And the lucky winner of my 200th blog post give-away is:

** Mandi **

Congratulations, Mandi!
You can go to my profile and send me an email with your address
and I’ll pack up a fun goody package for you : )

And thanks to everyone who dropped by and celebrated with me!

*******************************************************************

I’ve been able to get alot of sewing work done this past week.
Due in part to the kitties recovering. They’ve been on soft food only for the past week, so we weren’t able to just fill their food bowl and take off. I’ve been feeding them soft food 3 or 4 times a day and staying close to home.

Here are some things I’ve finished recently:

My two little squirrel quilts - all done!

I made five of these needlebooks using some beautiful Pendleton wool
(it looks very blue, but it actually leans towards “peacock”, it’s really gorgeous.)

**************************************************************************************

The other day I was reading an interesting article about the recession that so many people are talking about. Some people say we are already in one, others are predicting that it’s on the horizon and some folks think it’s not going to happen at all.

To be honest, the last couple weeks have been kind of emotional and upsetting around here, and I’ve been treating myself to a bit of retail therapy. (I’ll show you my little indulgences in an upcoming blog post.) Shopping isn’t something that I do alot of, and now that things are looking a little sunnier here (even despite all this “rain”), I’m going back to being frugal again.

The article I was reading was about how the rising cost of gasoline may actually “fuel” online sales, if shoppers decide to stay in and shop online and not drive if they don’t have to. The article gave some tips on how online sellers can survive this turn in the economy. One way is to make sure that you have a wide range of prices in your inventory and to offer lower priced items if you don’t already.

I thought this part of the article was very interesting:
that a person may walk into a gallery (for example) and not buy a large expensive piece of artwork, but they often do purchase smaller, less expensive items (such as prints) because “they want a piece of the experience”. That phrase has been rattling around in my head for the past two days. Because it’s so true. I’ve shopped that way. As a buyer it’s a way to say “Hey, I enjoy this, and I’m a part of it and I appreciate what this is just as much as the guy who can pay more for it. I’m part of this, too.”

Of course the article not only made me think about how I shop, but also how I sell. And, even though my shop isn’t filled with wallet busting things, I think I could have more “piece of the experience” items, too. So last night I worked on some new needlebooks that all have my Jenn Maruska style embroidery, but are smaller and can be priced on the lower end of the scale.

There are three designs: a flower, a spool of thread and a little owl
(he’s still just a sketch there at the top).

So, what do you think of all this recession talk?

Are you changing the way you shop?

*************************************************************************

Poe is yowling at me - so I think it may be time for some kitty food.

Then I’ll be embroidering some little owls.

Next on the list is making a new bath mitt prototype. I want to be absolutely sure that the finishing on the seams will hold together through many, many uses. I may throw this one into the wash and dry a few times and see how he fares. I got feedback from my two little bath mitt testers (funny story - one is a little girl, 5 years old, and the first thing that she did with the bath mitt was use it as a little purse!) I’ve got a stack of blue and green towels in my studio - just waiting to become bath monsters.

(Don’t worry N, they’re coming!)

Have a great day!