Whew this week flew by!

It sure has been a fast week and certainly busy! My husband and I were treated to a night away in San Diego and Wine Tasting Tour to celebrate our 29 year wedding anniversary.  All compliments of my Mom and Dad.  This was our first time and it was interesting as well as totally fun. We had a great time.

Sitting among the grape vines. They aren't producing right now.

We took some really great pictures and of course it helped that the day was beautiful and so were the images.

Don't even need a caption for this.

It was really an interesting process. I didn't realize how much work was involved.

I was able to finally get a little sewing in towards the end of the week, even though my straight stitch machine decided to pop a part.  I know that doesn't sound very technical but  seriously, i do not know what this little piece was that came off my presser foot. I will take it in for service and luckily my Mom's machine was here and I exchanged it out in no time.

I had my 2nd sale in my shop this week!!  One of my half aprons.  It's so fun to wrap up your item and prepare it for shipping.  I just love the whole process from start to finish.
TIP FOR THE WEEK:
I've had it on my mind to keep everything organized, no matter how big or small this is.  I bought this cute 3 ring flowered notebook to hold all things important.  I've printed out an extra copy of the invoices from my sold items and put them into a clear paper protector holder.  The invoice has a description of my item along with a picture.  I stapled a small swatch of fabric in the lower corner and on the back I attached the receipts involved in the product. (like the shipping receipt , etc)  These items will go under my first tab.  Under the next tab will be the items I purchase.  So far, not too much but I have bought zippers and buttons, seam binding and ribbon.  Supply stuff... all really cute!  I think I will put my blog and website and twitter info under the other tabs, maybe even an inventory tab, too.  All this is so easy now since my shop is new and I've only sold a couple things.  This will be easy to keep up and at the end, if taxes are involved, I'll have all the info at my fingertips.  This is the master plan, anyway!
I added a few things to the shop.  One is the knitted scarf I talked about last time.  I had this grand idea of embellishing it with ribbon and beads. It looked so good in my mind but not so much in the sewing room.  Plain it is.... just the yarn I knitted it with.  Sometimes that happens and maybe it was just this scarf that it didn't turn out well. Maybe another type will be just fine with ribbon and beads.
I also finished a Valentine apron.  I found some wonderful linen and decided to line it with that.  It was a bit difficult just because the threads are not as tight as the main cotton fabric I was using.  I couldn't believe how much stretching was going on, even after I washed in really warm water and dried it bone dry. Even ironing at each stage of construction didn't keep it under control.  It took a little longer than normal but I like how it turned out,  I even got to use a button I purchased from a fellow Etsy shop owner. The linen sure makes it feel like a sturdy apron!  Check it out.

Front side

Back side - yep, that linen is just screaming to be ironed again!

Close up of front pocket and little button embellishment

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Well, that's about all for now.  I just noticed the time and it's already morning.  The week flew by, The day flew by and in a few days, it will be February.

Until next time, stay sparkling!