October really snuck up on me this year, I guess that a busy September kept me so distracted that I wasn’t quite ready!
I did take good care of myself, took time to get my check-up, the latest Covid booster and my first ever flu shot! I never had the flu before, but with every birthday the likelihood of weird things happening seems to increase, so I got both shots at once and spent the next day sleeping! That was very relaxing after another demo session, company and a fun restoration.
A friend had recommended I try 25 mg of hemp gummies to increase the chances of getting a better nights’ sleep. After checking with my physician and her blessings, I have been sleeping very well and given up solving complex problems and design challenges in the middle of the night! I feel so much better already with no tiredness during the day. It works well for some people and others not at all, but I did want to share what a blessing it is for me.
My marketing efforts in September were geared towards getting the word out about my Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair Workshops here in Asheville October 20th. to 23rd. Many of my regulars are already signed up; several take a different workshop every year, which is lots of fun!
I know I put this year’s workshop line-up in last month’s Musings, so if you are still undecided, please go to the Events Page on this website to check them out and use the link to register!
The fall colors will still be spectacular during SAFF week in October and it promises to be extra colorful this year, especially with lots of rain from hurricane Ian going over us the first few days of October, followed by abundant sunshine. So why not come and join us in Asheville for this year’s SAFF event. Check it out at www.saffsite.org
I did a quick fun restoration for a lady I met at the Folk Art Center in early September. She has an old Orlon blanket from her childhood days that was coming apart from being loved so much. My biggest challenge was to match the washed-out color shades. Inexpensive acrylic yarn has the best texture to match the old orlon thread – (they are similar synthetics) but a perfect color match was hard to find. I took some drastic measures and put several yards of the rough acrylic in the wash machine on hot water setting, and after several washings it blended nicely with the old orlon. Sometimes I am daring; here I had little to lose, so I went for it and it turned out perfect.
Just today I finished a much larger project, a lace tablecloth made from #20 bedspread cotton in a beautiful pattern of large and small medallions. There was a rather large hole in the center, probably from a disastrous attempt to use bleach to remove an ugly stain. I had to make the hole even larger to be able to reconnect to healthy cotton thread. I duplicated 2 large and 2 small medallions, inserted them into the hole and reconnected the designs. I love a bit of a challenge! Again, the original material was so much older and had been washed many times, so the newer thread has to be worked to blend in perfectly. That’s why I stop at garage sales and collect old thread balls!
Kaitlin and I are almost ready to open the new Heirloom Treasures Boutique site, hopefully in plenty of time for Christmas shopping and inspirations. Kaitlin is a great social media person and, like most younger people, she does all her work on a laptop. I use a PC with a very large monitor to be able to see details on requests for restoration estimates. The bigger the images, the easier it is for me to give a precise count of hours needed to do the work.
I have occasional challenges with the PC and I think it needs some attention. I also have Dave’s development computer with a mountain of software on it, which I will never be able to use. I remember that he had everything backed up in the clouds, but I am not sure how he did it. So I was checking on some technical help and asking lots of people lots of questions. I finally settled on joining Best Buy’s Geek Squad; they can take care of my 2 PC towers and my laptop for a reasonable annual fee and they are just around the corner from me.
I noticed that Walmart is in the process of putting out their Christmas decorations and holiday merchandise and realized that indeed it is time to start thinking about gift giving!
Let’s put our ideas and talents to work to come up with some lovely custom-made gifts especially designed for friends and family! Yes, the holidays are just around the corner………….
Have a fun October with colorful leaves, pumpkins, ghost and goblins but also wonderful ideas for your holiday gift giving!
“I do what I love and I love what I do”