byrd & belle {studio notes}

front page

I had quite an interesting few hours.  I noticed on my etsy page that I was getting quite a few view (nearly 1000) and also about 100 new hearts.  For those of you non-etsians, a "heart" is sort of like a bookmark.  It's a way to mark a particular seller or a specific item as a favorite.

With a little more investigation, I found out that a made the Front Page of Etsy....not once, but TWICE.  Both the cup cozies and the card holder were featured on two different pages with a few hours of each other.  When it rains it pours.

My card holder is first from the left in the 3rd row.  This great collection was put together by Chicalessia from Mexico.  It is very well edited and I love the greys and orange/reds.

My cup cozies which have made the rounds lately are in the bottom left corner.  This collection was put together by an Etsy Administrator.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by the shop today!

Bees knees

When I was in architecture school, I often though about the style of house I would someday choose to live in.  Granted single-family housing is an four letter word when you're a 3rd year architecture student but still....I pondered.  There seemed to be a 50/50 split.  On the one hand, there is modern (and mid-century) architecture with it's hard surfaces, shades of grey, and lines and surfaces that seem to align with gleeful intent with every other functional line and surface in the joint.  The other option is the classic bungalow cottage in all of it's quarter-sawn glory.  Green lindcrusta wallpaper, oil-rubbed bronze hardware and organic viney goodness.

I seem to still be having the same stylistic dilema all be it on a different scale.  I had a thought today....bees.  Beige bees.  Delicate printed bees on linen.

 Huh?  Where did this come from?  I mean, it's lovely but so completely different from the primitively stitched orange warning of a HOT beverage.  Is it the pending springtime that brought this little pest my way?  (Sigh).  Well, if there is one thing I've learned it is to follow my gut.  Perhaps I should devote a little time to my wing-ed friend and whatever he inspires.  I swear though....if I end up going soft and start making earrings from paper doilies...someone slap me.

magnets

Posting Day!  New magnets in the shop.

Midwest Home Magazine

Byrd & Belle was recently featured on the Home Dish section of Midwest Home Magazine's website.  Special thanks to Alyssa Ford for her great writing and for getting in touch with us.

See it here!

monday

It's Monday!  Posting Day!  Check out my Etsy shop for 8 new items.

fuzz

I suffered from a from a rash of ugly stitches this morning from the Brother SE-350.  This is actually the first time I've ever had any problems with the new machine so I was initially baffled.  After numerous tests on different cloth, different settings, I gave up and called my mom (who knows everything about everything craft).  Before I knew it, she had me opening up my machine to discover it was over flowing with dreaded fluff.

So I'm waiting patiently for my Dyson to charge so I can suck it up.  By the way, the Dyson was the best birthday present ever (thank you D).  Although I am in no way a neat and tidy person, I love to vacuum.  I love it...I can't get enough....I think the best thing ever is when they started making the canister clear so you could see how much dirt you suck.  

Anyway, hopefully this will clear up my issues and I can get back to it.

pinning

When I was first learning how to sew, my Aunt Donna would pass by me at her sewing machine and scold me because I was constantly sewing together seams without pinning.  I hated pinning and I still kinda of do but sometimes...you have to.  So I think Aunt Donna would be proud of this...

I have used every pin in my Ewesful Pincushion to pin together a new laptop sleeve I'm building.  It is coming together nicely and will be posted on Monday.

new project

I was reminded all the way from Barcelona this morning that I have not posted for nearly a week.  In my defense, I've been caught up in a whirl of stitching and sewing, sometimes into the wee hours of the night.

A host of new items are on their way to Etsy on Monday.  Lunch Sacks, cup cozies, business card holders, pouches, coffee press warmers, hot pads.  I also have a new design for a laptop sleeve and bag that are cut and ready to be constructed.

As you can see, I've been working a lot with linen which is starting to rival wool as my favorite fabric.

I've got to get back to it!

a little help from my friends

I've been busy with 12 new items that will be posted soon but I wanted to thank Ralph for his excellent help with sewing in a few zippers.  Thanks buddy.