Baby it's cold outside...

When I posted yesterday, I neglected to mention how my show on Saturday went. It went very well, and I think, in fact, it might have been my best PRFM yet. It was definitely better than the one where I sold a bunch of Jeremy's Cthulhu T-shirts and a bunch of pairs of old boots. :)

I was nearly out of arm warmers when I got done with the EtsyRain show two weeks ago, and I barely had time to restock them for PRFM. I think I managed to sell just about as many pairs as the new ones I had made, in fact. So I'm still low on arm warmers. I've also gotten three orders for stuff (none of which is needed until after the holidays, but I need to work on it now) and another request to let a friend know when my schedule lets up (so she can get her orders in), so the arm warmer stock will be remaining low for the time being. Ah well, only one more show before the end of the year. :)

I am glad, however, that I still have my non-striped arm warmers that I made quite some time ago, when I was first experimenting with the idea. After I sold the pair off my arms at the EtsyRain show, the prototype pair are the only ones that I own! And of course, I have decided that I like how they look with my winter coat so much that I might need a matching hat and scarf... as if I don't have 8 billion of those... :)

Suffice it to say, I think I'm going to be busy well into January... maybe February... :) So as much as I'd like it to warm up a wee bit, maybe it's a good thing that the weather in Seattle has turned cold. :)

It's that time of year again!

Time for another Punk Rock Flea Market. Number 7, in fact, and I've been a vendor at all but one. Assuming I get my usual spot, I'll be right at the bottom of the stairs when you come in. I'll have arm warmers (though the selection is a bit slim right now), cozies (ice cream and coffee), cat toys (eyeballs and fish), Decapitated Dollies, and cupcakes (lavender stuffed, plain, and geeky ones).

The hours for the Market itself are now 12-8 (instead of 10-6), and there are bands (and beer!) after 8 p.m. (Usually they start the beer a little before the bands come on, actually. :) ) I'm utterly thrilled because I know that Shea of Kung Fu Monkey Robot will be there, and she's bringing a plaid beanie with skull and crossbones on it, which matches gloves that I bought from her last year. I will likely be coming home with a new hat. :)

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In other news, we're doing character creation for my new Vampire game on Sunday afternoon. It's basically revised V:tM, but we're using Aspects from Spirit of the Century instead of merits and flaws. I think it's going to work out okay, but I'll report back on that once I know. :)

Fun stuff!

Just a heads up for the folks in Seattle who read my blog. If you're looking for fun stuff to do, and want to check out my crafty goodness in person, you have not one, but two opportunities to do so this week!

First up is the Art of Comedy on Thursday, June 4th. This is a craft show and comedy night all in one. You can arrive early in the evening to check out the craft sellers, and then stay late for the comedy show! (In case you can't make out the details on the poster, the craft show runs from 6 p.m.-9 p.m., and the location is The Comedy Underground, 109 South Washington Street (in Occidental Park), Seattle WA 98104.)

I'll be there with Decapitated Dollies, including some new ones that I've been saving just for this event! I will also have some of my cupcakes, random Cthulhu items, and my newest creations: fish shaped cat toys! (Yup, I finally got those worked out, and have been driving Jeremy's cats NUTS with the fact that I have catnip, and I'm not sharing. :) )

The second is the Punk Rock Flea Market, on Saturday, June 6th. This is the 6th Punk Rock Flea Market (I've been at all but one of them), and it's sure to be a blast. I'll be selling from 10 a.m. till somewhere between 5 and 6 p.m. I have to get out of there a little earlier than usual so I can go to a birthday party that night.

While I'm there, I'll have Decapitated Dollies, fish shaped cat toys, arm warmers (too warm for those!), upcycled aprons, and some Cthulhu themed T-shirts, courtesy of Jeremy. The T-shirts are great fun, and even if you're not into Cthulhu, if you like octopi, you should check the shirts out. They are awesome!

Short recaps post! :)

1) Punk Rock Flea Market went VERY well! I am almost sold out of armwarmers, and I even sold one pair when it was 10 minutes from being done. I asked the woman to go shop around and I'd have them ready for her before she left. :) So yeah, I need to restock those before I Heart Rummage, methinks!

2) I spent most of Sunday worn out from the previous day's exertions, and trying to get ready for my trip for work. As a result ...

3) I forgot to pack my hairbrush and my reading glasses. I also didn't pack my camera, because I somehow convinced myself that I didn't need it. Hello! We're staying right near the ocean, and I didn't need my camera? No, I don't know what I was thinking. Thus far, though, I am doing okay without of all of these items. I did go retrieve a comb, though, so my hair will be mostly managed. :)

4) Southern California looks much more like California is supposed to. I say supposed to totally based on movies and TV, because I'm a dork. But there really are palm trees everywhere. And surf shops across the road from Christmas tree lots. :)

Hurrah for Friday!

Though I'm busy as all get out, it's still nice that it's Friday. I'm slightly less busy when I don't spend 10 hours of the day out of my apartment. :)

Tomorrow is Punk Rock Flea Market, which will have me out of the apartment for... oh, something like 10-11 hours. Well, at least I'm home for a good chunk of Sunday. Thank goodness for the people I'm traveling with having a much longer flight and not wanting to leave too early. They leave at 4 something, and I don't take off till 7 p.m. :)

Back next Friday, and then we have parties to attend the next two nights. Then I think I have a week of normal with an actual Saturday, before I Heart Rummage on the 21st. Then I work 3 days, and then get something ridiculous like 11 days of vacation. Only spending 2 of them at our apartment, but ah well. :)

I will be a very happy person when January rolls around. I'm looking forward to being bored. :)

And End of the Work Week Wisdom:
"Period military is not the dress code of a straight man."
--Owen Harper, referring to Captain Jack Harkness, on Torchwood

Yes, I am obsessed. :) Though I do have to say that I like Captain Jack better when he's on Doctor Who. He's much more of comic relief there... he only gets one or two really funny lines on his own show. :)

Awesome show!

Last night, some of the Ballard area EtsyRain sellers had a small show at Canal Station, where Dale lives. It was a very cool idea to begin with (wine, cheese, and craft sellers), and turned out to be a really awesome show. In fact, it was the most profitable show that I've done since moving to Washington! (And honestly, the only shows I did better at in Illinois were multi-day shows.)

I also got to get Jerome's salsa bowls from Laura, and he loves them. :) She doesn't have any in her shop right now, but keep your eyes open for them. They'd also work great for other dips or small portions of whatever you want to eat in a bowl. :)

The only downside to the show is that I'm low on inventory for a couple of my best selling items, which means I need to buckle down and get some work done. The top priorities are finishing off more soap socks for Anne, and then finishing Peter's Christmas present. Then I get to work on lots of inventory for my next show, which is Punk Rock Flea Market, on December 6th. (Luckily, that show draws inventory from both of my shops, and I always have PLENTY of bottle cap belts. :) )

And then, if I have time, I have more Christmas presents to work on (supplementary, not required), or replenishing my inventory again, before I Heart Rummage on December 21st. My shop is TOTALLY going to be closed either on or right after that day, and will stay closed through New Years. I suspect that between those two shows and online Christmas shopping, it'll be slim pickings until I'm able to crank out more stuff after the holidays. :)

And another week begins...

I had a pretty good weekend, even if Saturday was very tiring. The Punk Rock Flea Market went super well, and I actually sold more at this one than I did before Christmas! I also talked to at least a couple of people about custom work, so hopefully that will come through. :) Need to work on how to better display the Decapitated Dollies, but I think between Jerome and I, we came up with a plan.

I think the main reason why Saturday was so tiring is because I was SO cold all day. Funny thing was that when we went outside to go home, I think it was warmer outside than it had been at my table all day!

Sunday I ended up staying at home and vegging (and crocheting) after a quick trip out to Ballard, where almost everything was closed. Silly Easter... I wanted more yarn!

Busy at work again, with one project theoretically taking up my whole week. It's interesting stuff, though, so that is good. :) Still no real definite word on when I'm traveling next, but I've already got people scheduling my time for next month, so that gets interesting...

And tomorrow is my birthday... yippie! Jerome works late on Tuesdays, so we are making cupcakes tonight so I can have those for breakfast tomorrow, and I'll probably make penne aribiatta (which I can't spell) for dinner, since I like it and he doesn't. (He eats dinner at work on Tuesdays.) And I suspect there will be cupcakes at work, though I have to pretend to be surprised if there are. :)

Yay Friday!

The weekend will be nice, even if it is going to be sheer insanity. I think we've given up on the idea of going to the roller derby bout tomorrow night, especially as it starts at 5:30 (Jerome is off work at 5 and I'm at PRFM till 6, with hopes that he can help me cart my stuff home after). Sunday is theoretically going to be tea and looking at cherry blossoms at UW, but I'm waiting to see what the weather looks like on Sunday first. If it's nasty cold and rainy, I'll probably just stay home and sew. :)

And so I leave you with End of the Work Week Wisdom from a popular source:
"Everything is catching, yes, everything is catching on fire."
--They Might Be Giants

Punk Rock and Fleas

In case you haven't seen the flyer, or wanted to know more about it, here ya go. :)

Every time I get the E-mail that they're having another Punk Rock Flea Market, I always get the application in the mail as fast as I can. One might think that this is a super awesome show that rakes in the big bucks for me. However, one might also be wrong in that case.

The first Punk Rock Flea Market was actually a total bust for me--I didn't sell a thing. I had a poorly lit spot that not a lot of people made it to. I was sharing the stage area with a record vendor and a political activist, and my display wasn't particularly flashy. I still signed up for the second one (which was considerably more profitable for me) immediately, and the current one is the third.

I do this show without fail for a couple of reasons, though. One is that it's for a good cause: the proceeds from the event go to the Low Income Housing Institute, which is a needed thing in a city like Seattle. Housing prices here are pretty well ridiculous, and only going up with every passing year. So providing options for those who need them is a good thing!

Another is that I really just like the whole feel of the show. It's held in the basement of an old punk venue, which is not the most appealing location in the world, but I like it. They also play music all day long, and it's great people watching as you see the mix of punks, former punks turned parents, and random residents of Belltown come through.

So yeah, if you're looking for something to do in Seattle on Saturday, stop by. It's a buck to get in, but it's worth it. :)