Working

I get it now when people tell you to follow your passion when pursuing a career.  If you're doing something you love, work doesn't seem like work.  Actually, you can't wait to get back to it.  There are things to make, fabrics to find, inspiration to be had.  Working takes on a whole new meaning. 

Of course, it does need to pay the bills too.  But that has its own pleasures, trying to figure out how to make something you love to do pay for itself and then pay you.  It's a luxury too, I understand that.  Not many people get to follow their passion so completely and those people that manage to do so around a full-time job or raising a family or both have my complete admiration.   I have a very generous husband who is willing to sacrifice comforts to let me chase this idea instead of a second job with a steady paycheck.

There is the educational component to MiMBY that I haven't fully realized yet, and want to pursue.  That one causes some stumbling blocks for me as I work through the logistics of teaching kids to sew, to knit, to make stuff.  I don't want to turn anyone off making stuff - it's so rewarding and empowering - so I feel pressure to get it right the first time.  I should know better though, I can't think of anything I've ever made that didn't have a re-do spot, a seam that needed ripping or a sweater part that had to be partially torn out.  That's part of making things, learning on the fly and perfecting for the next round.

This leads to a rather funny moment when I discovered that the reason everyone at the MiMBY Girl's birthday party was struggling with the straps on the gym bag party favors was because I had put the straps in incorrectly!  Not actually ever having used a nylon gym bag and having skimmed over the instructions in the tutorial I used to draft out the patter, I didn't realize that the bag was supposed to easily cinch by pulling on the straps.  Yup, slap me on the forehead.  Good thing this issue cropped up before I sent off my 20 bags to Binkabox, who will be selling them on their website and including them in their monthly gift box!  If you read this and your kiddo has a party favor bag (you know who you are), bring it by and I'll do it right.

Meanwhile, I finish up my order this week and then get cracking on some new products.  Please save the date of November 15th if you're in the Ithaca area.  Some friends and I are holding our first Holiday Gift Market at my house that day.  It will be open house style and should have a good selection of handmade products that will serve as terrific gifts for family and friends.  My hope is the date is early enough for people who are organized and get their gift packages off in a timely fashion, but is late enough so that the rest of us don't feel that nauseating push of the holiday season too early.  Feedback always appreciated as we hope to make this an annual event.  My house is an old Greek revival, so even if you aren't shopping come say hi and check out the nice woodwork.

Check out the birthday party favor bags.  This was such a fun project and I plan to have both child and adult sized Blank Canvas bags for sale in the MiMBY shop so you can try it yourself.  Sharpie markers and rubbing alcohol are the medium.  The girls LOVED it, or appeared to since they spent a good 30 minutes on the project.