The DydeeDaze Challenge

Being a seller on Etsy is challenging. There are so many, many sellers, and a whole lot of them make and sell baby stuff! It is easy to get swallowed up by it all. Listings are buried in an hour. No one finds you unless you make something utterly unique, or you list constantly. Big sellers also seem to have large inventories. I have decided to hike up my inventory fast by giving myself a challenge.

I want to try to have 100 listings in my shop by June 1st. Now to someone who has time each day to work and list, that would not be much of a challenge. But my sewing time is extremely limited. I have to cut pieces while the kids are watching a tv program. I have to sew when hubby takes them outside for 20 minutes. You get the idea. I have no set sewing time, so I take it where I can. So things get done slowly, some days nothing is done, and I can't really predict what and when I can get stuff done. But I feel the strong need to get in there and compete, so I'm going to push myself to the limit.

In order to motivate myself, I've created this challenge. I am going to boost every shop section I have by making 10 of each item I currently have offered in the shop. No new stuff until I have 10 of each current item. So I've made myself a typed list, and I will create and cross off as I go. (I have already made one amendment to this, as I accidentally discovered a cute item while making another cute item.... more on that later) I am breaking the numbers down by month, and then by week. If I get ahead of myself, I can choose to use the extra time to make stuff for the kids/house/friends/etc. Or I can use it to continue to make progress on the challenge.

At the start of the challenge, I had 34 listings. I will post each new listing as I go. So basically I figure I need to make 6 listings in March. (I have 5 more days to accomplish this...) 30 listings in April. 30 listings in May. That's a lot. Here goes nothing!

#35

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#38
















#39
















#40















#41

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#43

Burp cloths are done for now. On to bibs. Today (3/31) I didn't feel like sewing. I felt exhausted and unmotivated. But then my children like to take over my computer, and that happened this afternoon. I didn't know what to do with myself, so I sewed! And that's how it goes! So 6 bibs are in the works... Considering I thought it was a bit of a stretch to finish and list 6 items by the last day of March, I am very pleased with the 9 that are listed, and the 6 that aren't far from being done. Very pleased indeed!

April Sewing:

#44

 I listed this bib and the next in the shop yesterday. I am more drawn to the one below, with the sweet kitten prints prancing all over it, but the etsy shopping population is far more interested in the sports theme on this bib. It's a good reminder to keep fabrics in stock that are not necessarily my first choice.













#45

Meow. =)


















#46

 Velour. I made my daughter a shirt out of this once and she loved it. It got lots of compliments, too. Nice.

















#47

#48

 Dora the Explorer


















#49

Dinos. And the bibs are done. On to cloth diaper inserts.

















#50

 I love this fabric line.


















#51

Working with organic hemp fleece, which I just love, and fun cotton wovens makes me want to make other stuff, such as moon pads. I have been thinking a lot about that. I love when one projects inspires me to move into another area.













#52

Three-tiered skirt from One Yard Wonders.












#53

I love how this skirt came out. I broke my serger trying to neaten the inside seam, but still.












#54

Variation. =)














#55

Keyka Lou pattern
I love these totes and have made quite a few of them. I did one with butterflies and have received many compliments on it, so I thought I'd try another like it for the shop. These totes are great for everything.













#56

I made this a while back and retired it from the shop for a while. I've put it back on now. It just fits the theme of the shop so well at the moment.
















#57

Trying the tiered skirts with different colors/patterns.

Meanwhile...

So I'm taking a few days off from sewing for the shop. The kids need warm-weather pjs, I need to sew for the giveaway this weekend, and I owe my father a birthday present. So here's what's happening at my sewing machine at the moment:

It's been a while since I've sewn with knits. Tracing and cutting pattern pieces is NOT my favorite part of sewing. That's as far as I got yesterday. But today I started cutting the fabric, and that's ok.

 What the heck did I cut from this last time? What an edge!

 I've made pants from the KS pattern a million times. I don't even need to look at the book.

 Er..... then again.......

 Hopefully the elastic will fix everything.

Loads better, but still, is the hip area supposed to be wide enough for an elephant to fit in? I want them loose, but this is ridiculous. And the crotch seam seems a bit snug....

Darling daughter didn't want her photo taken, but she says they feel fine. Hm. I think I might just sit down with that KS book and read the directions!

Oh, DD likes the ruffled edge, so I added that. Scalloped, I believe it's called. Cute.

Going to read the book..... Ok, what I think might have gone wrong is that.... I think I might have sewn the pants pieces upside down! Really! I'm not positive about that, but the pieces look very similar both ways. Of course I am going to have to sew another pair to see if that was the problem. Ugh. If there are mistakes to be made..... I will make them. At least once.

 Ok, so the next pair is going to be day time short. I need to know if I stitched the last pair upside down. First let me say that my daughter has been in the wonky shorts ever since I gave them to her! She worn them for the rest of the day yesterday, and slept in them last night. She was agreeable to taking them off this morning so I could wash them! Best mistake ever!

 But first, take a look at this picture and the next, and tell me. Which was is waist-up?

 I asked my husband to see if he could tell. He guessed that the first picture was top side up. As I did with the "hearts" pj shorts. Nope. It's this one.

 So this pair is going to be purple velvet. DD approved. So far, anyhow.

 The waist looks a lot better on this pair. More what I would have expected. =)













 Done! Once again, DD asked for scalloped edges on the legs. This fabric isn't as stretchy as the knit was, so it made a gentle scallop. I like it a lot. DD tried them on and declared them "loose" though the waist and measurements are exactly the same as the pair above. So more knit pairs are in her future. =)

 On to little boy. He wants this top to be ALL alphabet fabric. Ok...

 The body.

Seems a bit wide. I might trim the sides a bit next time. But it is intended for sleeping, so loose is good. He tried it on, and took it off a minute later. We'll see if he sleeps in it tonight. Although he wants bottoms in this fabric, too, I think I might make some in navy. Or maybe both.

Later today I'll know what tomorrow's project will be. I'll probably have to go shopping for that one. =)

 This weekend I'm sewing for my DydeeDaze shop giveaway. The winner requested a baby item and is pregnant with a little girl.

Butterfly bib.

Two-layer flannel receiving blanket.














 The tote that will hold the giveaway loot. =)

 The other side.

 Long straps to easily sling the tote over the shoulder.

Fillin' it up with some baby loot!













Ok, I just had to add one more thing to the "goody bag." A baby burp cloth that goes over the shoulder comfortably and doesn't slip! This one has sparkly stars, which I think is cooool. =) Now I can mail the giveaway winner her loot!

I made one for the shop, too. Now on to the DydeeDaze challenge!

DydeeDaze GIVEAWAY

Today the DydeeDaze Facebook page reached 50 "likes." Because of that I am hosting a GIVEAWAY! I will be giving one winner, chosen at random, a choice of either a KEYKA LOU GROCERY TOTE, (I'll share a photo soon) a "GOODY BAG BABY" (you can see an example of this HERE - follow the link above) or an ANIMAL (dog/cat) ITEM of my choice.

TO ENTER: Leave a comment HERE, with your choice of prize. I will randomly select a name and announce the winner on SATURDAY, MARCH 24th.

Feel free to spread the word. Thanks! And good luck! =)

DydeeDaze On Facebook "likes" GiveAway

I am trying to increase my followers for my shop on Facebook to help increase awareness of my shop. Etsy is very competetive and it's a challenge to get yourself known. I have decided to offer a giveaway (who doesn't love a giveaway?) if I reach 50 likes on the DydeeDaze Facebook page. If you are interested, please follow this link and click "like." Once I reach 50 likes, I will announce information about the giveaway through my FB page.

What will I give away? Well, I haven't decided yet. Not everyone I'm connected with needs baby stuff. (I sell baby stuff on DydeeDaze) So I guess I will have a couple of options for the winner to choose from. I will announce the options once I have figured them out. =)

If you know anyone who might be interested in this, please share!

Thanks!

Goody Bag For Baby

I am sewing a lot for the shop these days, with the hopes of helping to send my kids to the school that we love for the next school year. I am focusing on baby stuff, and it's fun to make things for little people. I thought I would blog about the process of this current work-in-progress. I have a basic idea of what I want it to be, but the end result will be a surprise to us all. =)

 Part 1: A tote bag. I want this to be smaller than the others I've made. I want it to hold baby stuff. Easy for a parent to carry around and carry a few necessities. I decided to base this tote on the excellent KeykaLou grocery tote pattern. This one will be smaller, with longer straps. I have some fabric that I like, and a coordinating lining fabric, left over from another project. I will see what I can do with what's left of these fabrics. Here I'm cutting out straps.

 Sewing the straps...

 Making the tote lining...

 Shell is done, straps are sewn on.

 The tote is done. I love how it came out. The size is just what I was hoping for, and the straps are just right, too.

The lining. I'm very pleased with Part 1 of this project. =) On to Part 2.

 I am playing with the idea of a strap to attach to the tote. Something to hold a paci, or a toy. Something to keep baby happy while being changed, or as needed. I decided to put both fabrics in the strap.

 Oops. Forgot to crop this one! I sewed a small bit of the lining fabric on each end of the strap piece.

 All done. Just needs a way to attach to the tote. I waffled between velcro and snaps, but I decided to go with snaps.












Here it is, waiting for a toy. =)

 This is the only hanging toy left in my house! No more babies around here, so nothing to use as props! But this will do. You get the idea.

I like that the strap can hang outside of the bag or inside.

So Part 2 is done! On to part 3!

 Starting Part 3. I have ideas in my head of what I want to make, but I wing it when the time comes regarding sizes and shapes. I held my hands out in front of me with about the size I wanted this part to be, and measured that against my yard stick. I came up with 15" x 25". This photo is horrible. It does not show the right colors at all. But here I am using one fabric piece to cut out another the same size.

 I brought a swatch of fabric with me to JoAnn's earlier today to get some good coordinates. This was made from flannel, brown and light green, to match the tote.











It's a changing mat! It's designed to basically cover the changing tables in public restrooms, to keep baby away from the icky table. But obviously it could be used anywhere.

 Pretty good match, right?

 Starting to stuff the goody bag! =)

 Now I'm making a diaper/accessory pouch to go with the set. I wanted to coordinate, but it can be hard to find coordinating fabric to match something you've had in your stash for a while. I found this dot fabric at JoAnn's. It matches perfectly. I might have preferred something other than the off-white/yellowish color for the background, but beggars can't be choosers. This is from the same fabric line, and it's the best I'm going to do. So, dots for the outside, brown for the lining.

 A little interfacing will give the pouch some body.

 I'm in a snappy kinda mood these days. Vecro is nice, but snaps are fun! =) Pale green matches the tote.

 One of the instructions in the KeyKaLou grocery tote pattern is to double stitch the top of bag to reinforce. I love that, and use it often in my sewing.
























 Looking good so far. But we need one more thing to go along with the tote, the strap, the changing pad and the diaper/accessory pouch.

Flannel wipes! I used the same flannel that I used for the changing mat. I don't coordinate my outfits this well! Yikes. Anyhow, now this set feels complete! Ready for baby. =)