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

#36

#37

#38
















#39
















#40















#41

#42

#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.

Patches

I have wanted to play with patching, or quilting, forever. I have always been intimidated by the work and patience involved. But I've been sewing a lot for the shop and I am trying to come up with interesting ideas. I recently finished this set, which consists of 3 cloth diapers, 12 flannel wipes, and a wet bag. It occurred to me that it might be interesting to have the wet bag match the flannel wipes and the diapers. So the inside of the wet bag is made from the same blue PUL waterproof fabric as the diapers are, and the wet bag has patches of fabric that match each of the 12 wipes! Although piecing IS a lot of work (ironing the little seams down is a chore....) the results are fun and a bit addicting. I've got plans to do more in the near future. =) 

Grocery/All Purpose Tote

This was made using a Keyka Lou sewing pattern. I love these bags. This is the 7th one I have made. Three for me, one for my son for school in September, two as gifts, and now one for the shop. It's fun to play with colors and patterns with these, and they're easy to put together. They're surprisingly durable - I have really put them to the test. I stuff one that I use every day for my wallet, diaper stuff, and all sorts of junk that I carry around for no reason. I also use them for library books and videos, beach stuff, and for groceries. After a year of using them, I have yet to see any wear and tear, which is amazing. They do get dirty, but are easy to clean in the washer and drier. Oh, and they're lined and reversible! So happy to get rid of the plastic bags, which are terrible for the environment.  These are bigger than the typical plastic grocery bag, and can be used a million times.

 These fold up small and a bunch can be squished into another one for easy toting or storage.







Reversed!

Girls Undies

I've got the bug again to try to make some money from my sewing. It's usually a short-lived bug, but it returns and returns. First thing I'm going to try this time is some girl's underwear. I've made this pattern before and they come out so cute. And that was before I had a serger. I'm making a pair, girl's size 6, in red, with Valentine-themed waist and leg bands. I think I'll try them on ebay instead of etsy, as in searches etsy shows the item most recently listed, and ebay shows the one with the least amount of time left. (though you can search with different criteria) I don't sew and list often enough to be competitive on etsy. At least not at the moment. Hopefully these will be done tonight, and listed. Fingers crossed. =) For the record, this is a TKD or "That*Darn*Kat" pattern, which can be found on etsy HERE.

 Well, they're done.













Unfortunately, my stitching is not pretty enough to offer these unders for sale. Sighs. I'll try again! I'm picking up serger tips along the way. For example, don't overlap your stitching where it will be seen! =( I think I need pink thread on the waist and leg bands, too.