ten new ipod cases in the shop right now! these would make lovely (and inexpensive) holiday gifts for the electronically inclined. head on over to the shop to check them out!

on a side note, i realize there are so many exciting things coming up now that the holidays are beginning. on tuesday jesse and i are taking the train down to philadelphia for thanksgiving and will be there for about a week. we will be doing some of our favorite things, including eating some frozen yogurt and lots of walking - also we hope to go to the franklin institute and this restaurant for an amazing veggie burger. also, i'm so excited that i will be able to meet one of my favorite co-etsians, jenya of forevamore.

when we get back, one of my housemates is having a crepe party (and who doesn't love crepes?) which is then followed by the boston bazaar bizarre. i will not be a seller there (i'm kicking myself in the butt for this) but i will definitely apply for next year. it's still very fun to walk around though - last year they had a theremin player! the following weekend the will be a studio sale here with all of my favorite people there. i couldn't go to the last one so i am even more excited this time around - hopefully i will see my best friend the mociun space tie front tulip dress there. then, the day after that is my house's annual holiday party. wow, that's a lot of stuff! i'm getting pumped already!

When I got home Monday night there was a big welcome home sign Jesse made right above the fire place. It's nice to have something there, as we've never gotten around to hanging anything up there before. Right now I'm getting over a cold that hit me when I got back. It was probably caused by minimal sleep over the past twelve days plus feeling anxious about traveling. Yesterday I was in bed watching movies all day and today I'm back on my feet but still taking it slow. This morning I cleaned and reorganized our book shelves, and I ended up packing a few boxes of things I didn't think we'd need until after we move this spring.

Going through the clothes I own, it seems there many things I don't wear enough- for instance this gingham dress I got in Japan two years ago. The fabric is a really soft flannel, since I'm around the house today it seemed like a great cozy thing to wear. I just got a pair of red tights that are wool and very soft, I like how the two go together. I will be posting some of my clothes that I don't wear much on the laws of general economy over the next week, including a much beloved prairie underground dress. I'll let you know when I do incase there is anything you are interested in. This is a random post, but I think I can attribute it to my brain being fuzzy from the cold.

Whew! I can't tell you how good it feels to be home! Just got back from a ten day excursion throughout the Caribbean with my entire family. Unfortunately there was pretty limited internet access the entire time, and that which was available was very very expensive. The weather was extremely hot, and getting back to the nice cool New England air has made me very happy. It was a nice get away, and now I'm very tan and will probably stand out against all the cold weather we will soon have. One thing that impacted me was how little I knew about the Carribean / tourism. Whenever I go somewhere I have never been before, I have an image of what to expect. I wasn't aware of the poverty in some islands, specifically crumbling foundations and deteriorating houses. In many ways this has given me a lot to think about, the contrast between the wealth of tourists and the places they visit. I'm still catching up on a lack of sleep, so today is a unpacking and relaxing day. I'll see you soon though! I've re-added a few things to the shop and also put the anders necklaces on sale...more news coming soon!

sock love

Happy Socks at Happy Socks US

Hansel from Basel Mondrian Knee Hi at Hansel from Basel

Henrik Vibskov Tron Tights at Creatures of Comfort

Hansel from Basel Dots Tights at Hansel from Basel

Antipast Love Me High Socks at Space Moo

Tsumori Chisato Moon Socks at Forward Forward

I have a huge (and I mean HUGE) sock collection. I would love to add any of the above to it.

one more ballet clutch in the shop right now. I've also added this and this which can be made to order. enjoy! I'm going to be making one gretel and one annie today in the toffee leather with cream linings, and hopefully they will be up in the shop by tomorrow!

Also, I wanted to give a heads up that I am going to be out of the country from November 6-16. I am going to leave the shop open and well stocked, but orders placed during this time will not be shipped out until I get back. The last day I am shipping is this Thursday, orders placed after 4pm on Thursday will not be shipped until the 17th. From what I understand there will be internet where I am headed, and so I will try to answer your inquiries as best as possible during that time, there might just be a little more delay. I am also going to be taking out any "to be made items" as I won't be able to make them when I am not here. So, if have been deliberating on a purchase, the next few days would be the time to order unless you want to wait until mid-ish November to have something shipped. Whew, sorry, that was a mouthful of information!

In haste I have forgotten to mention where I am going! This is a trip that has been planned for about a year with my parents and some extended family, we are going to the Caribbean. There are parts that I feel pretty excited about, and parts that well, I'm not going to talk about on here, if you understand my meaning. In short, I'll say it will be interesting, and I am going to try my hardest to put on my "Gonzo" hat, and lay down my "Rizzo" hat. Plus, years of being obsessed with the Titanic (not the movie, the boat!) have left quite a fear in my gut. My brain is kind of like scrambled eggs in anticipation, so I'm thinking this week may not be as productive as I'd like.

happy halloween! and free shipping too....

happy halloween everyone! i hope you go and eat a lot of candy today- specifically a lot of reese's! because of this lovely holiday, there is free U.S. shipping on every item in the shop today through sunday night. one of the things that makes me happy in life is free shipping, and i hope it makes you happy too!

today we are going to a great thrift store and then out to lunch at our favorite well priced indian restaurant, then handing candy out this evening to trick r treaters. do you guys have any fun halloween plans?

a late submission, but this guy is in the shop now too... maybe some more small adds tomorrow as well!

sneak peaks for tonight...

in the shop tonight at 6pm...more pictures can be seen here.

•two sami bags in cherry red with an oatmeal linen blend lining

•two sami bags in black with an oatmeal linen blend lining

•two sami bags in waxy brandy brown with a orange and navy gingham lining

•two sami bags in deep raspberry with an oatmeal linen blend lining

•two sami bags in cobalt blue with red stitching and cream canvas lining

•one sami bag in snow white with a vintage blue and white stripe lining

•one gretel bag in purple with a navy and cream gingham lining

•one ballet clutch in plum with a cream canvas lining

•one ballet clutch in black with a green and black flannel gingham

thank you! please let me know if you have any questions.

shop update tomorrow!

there will be a shop update tomorrow at 6pm EST. There will be eleven sami bags and few random surprises. I'm crossing my fingers for some sun tomorrow, as I haven't photographed most of the bags yet!

a very nice and relaxing sunday spent on an apple orchard and the crane estate has made me jazzed up and inspired for a week of work.

colors

Here is a sneak peak of some leather swatches for some sami bags I will have in the shop next week. I already have two brandy bags made, two black, and one snow white. I hope to have the rest of these colors in time as well, but I am waiting for some blue thread to arrive for the cobalt leather (unless maybe I want to spice it up and use red thread? thoughts?) I thought posting all the colors I just got in would be helpful so folks will know what to expect ahead of time. I'm hoping to have all these sami's in the shop for next wednesday at 6 p.m, with two of each except for the snow white.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend! My friends and I are going apple picking this weekend, and then to the crane estate. I'm really looking forward to it!

I forgot to mention earlier that I added a little bar on the side where you can add yourself to the mailing list! No more having to send me an etsy convo or email me to do so - now it's easy-peasy!

i just got this amazing new lina rennell swimsuit in the mail today from totokaelo. it's really cute and was seventy-five percent off, score! i usually hate all swimsuits because they are pretty ugly, and i don't like how revealing they are. i don't think i have bought a new swimsuit for 6 years actually. this one seemed like a perfect match. some of the stitching is coming undone though, but i can easily fix that.

speaking of being able to easily fix that, i think my timing is all messed up on my ddl 555-4 machine, which isn't that bad when i think the last time it broke was only seven months ago. i have the worst luck. for the time being i suppose i could dig out my dinky husqavarna viking and see what it can do. but i have devised a plan to make all the leather parts of a bags now, and then i will sew the linings when the other one gets fixed. i want very badly to have a shop update next week. i just got a ton of gorgeous leather in today, including more of the cherry red, raspberry, black, golden brown, cobalt blue, and navy, and i am so excited to work with it, i only wish i could show completed projects sooner. c'est la vie...

new pouches, including the leather zipper pouch and the mini zoe zip pouch, are now in the shop. At least, half of them are, I'm working on uploading the other half as we speak. This should be a nice start to the beginning of restocking my shop. Thanks you so much to everyone for the positive emails and comments I received in regards to the daily candy article! I'm still trying to work my way through my inbox and etsy convos, so if you haven't heard back from me yet, you will shortly! Have a nice weekend everyone...

awesome! on the front page of the daily candy boston edition today! super excited about it! just what i needed this week - very encouraging. just for clarification, this is my blog, all bags and things can be purchased in my etsy shop HERE, not on this website. luckily my machine was fixed yesterday and i can get back to sewing right away for all the bag enthusiasts out there! i superly regret i don't have more in stock at the moment!

15% off sale!

All leather goods in the shop right now will be 15% off until this upcoming friday night. This excludes the gilbert skirt or other clothing that might be added in the meantime. Enjoy! Please email me if you have any questions!

UPDATE: WOW! You guys wiped me out! The fall sale is now over. Hope to have more items in the shop shortly!

I've been working on a custom order for the past few weeks for nine ballet clutches for an autumn wedding. This past week, I finished them and I am so happy with how they turned out. I don't think I've made nine of the exact same thing before, it was a nice feeling to have that many of one thing in front of me at the same time.

With that said, I'm glad I finished them in time before my machine decided it was time to give me trouble again. I was excited to have a pouch update at the beginning of this week, but when I got to the sixth pouch, the bobbin got all tangled and I heard a huge "cla-chunk" noise. I took the thread out and removed the tiny little screws around the bobbin case, and then when I reassembled it, the needle thread would not pick up the bobbin thread at all. Additionally there seemed to be trouble with the feed - but I don't know if that was just because of the lack of the stitch being picked up. I swear this thing is going to be the end of me. So, instead of a large pouch update you might just see a small pouch update with two marsh green, one plum, and two gloss black mini zoe pouches. This also puts on hold all the bags I planned to make this week until I can get it fixed - I really can't tell you how frustrated this makes me feel. On the other hand, it will give me time to make some more jona shirts, which a few people have been asking about.

some etsy love

irish landscape with wee wool sheep


Hand stitched Simple Leather Bag by Asaborake


Lemurian Seed Necklace

some friday favorites while browsing through etsy. Enjoy!

a science interlude

I mean, I can't talk about bags and sewing all the time. (But maybe most of the time.)

Before you watch the below, please let me warn you and give you some background info as to why I am posting this. I think deep down inside we really all have a thing for dinosaurs, I mean who doesn't like dinosaurs? Maybe for me this love has never quite dissipated. Anyways, I have been watching nova re-runs over the past month and we watched an episode which really caught our attention, a subject which I have to say I was embarrassed that I didn't know anything about. I knew about ideas and theories behind evolution, and that the idea was that at some point life may have come from the sea, but scientists were having trouble identifying an exact point of departure from sea to land. Enter, the Coelacanth, a fish that has barely changed over time and was thought extinct for millions of years, until it was discovered off the coast of Africa in 1938. This fish looks like something that could walk (literally?) out of an H.P. Lovecraft story - it just looks that ancient. My initial reaction was how could a species barely change during that amount of time? Sure there are some small changes, but nothing major - isn't the ocean just awesome?

So, I found this video while looking for footage of these fish in action. It seemed too awful and good at the same time to not share it. In fact, it really is horrible, I mean the music is just awful, but since they are singing about a coelacanth, I'll cut them a break. So if you don't feel like reading the wikipedia article about this awesome fish you could instead watch this educational sing along. If you don't like me anymore after this I'll understand.



Jesse and I are seriously considering being Coelacanths for Halloween.

In sewing world, I have been very busy this week finishing up a large custom order of ballet clutches that will be used as bridesmaids gifts for a halloween wedding - how cool is that? I've never done such a large order before, It's been really fun! I'd also like to give some thank yous to some lovely writes ups that can be seen here, here, and here. All this lovely feedback makes me all happy inside and keeps me going along each day!

kaari pullover

I was in total hibernation mode last week. I even went back home to conduct my hibernation outside of the busy city, and came back with a finished sweater! This pattern (the kaari sweater in nora gaughan volume 1) was really easy, it just took a lot of patience to complete it, as it was a ton of st st., but I am so happy with how it turned out. The only problem I encountered was picking up stitches along on the neckline, as it said to pick up 112, but I could only locate 100, so in the end I ended up fudging the missing 12 and picking up in between a few stitches. I knew the sweater would be a bit baggy, but was surprised at how big it turned out to be - jesse can even fit in it. I love the pockets, they are great for my wallet and phone. I think it's a really good beginners sweater, and it was a good second sweater for me to make. Now I'm eagerly looking for a new knitting project.

But, there will be no more knitting for this week, I really need to get back to work and get on track again as I took most of last week off, and I'm excited to have more things in the shop for October, I just need to make it happen.

I'm almost done with my sweater! I think I'm going to finish it today and I'm so excited to wear it. It is raining really hard here so it will be a perfect knitting day. More pictures of a completed sweater coming soon! Then, back to work!