Making Everything But Money
For Context: I am finishing up my fourth month of being in the vocational wilderness. I’ve made a home here and I am actually very happy here, at least today. Today, liminal feels so nice. Liminal feels like freedom and space and today, at least, I can trust the fucking process.
Honestly, I felt some momentum after my yardbed post to just move forward with things, to do and try, even without clarity. I googled “how to make a website” and have been working on putting one of my dream ideas on a very homemade, homely looking website I am making on Canva. I am moving forward, not because it is my deepest desire (**I am still unsure what my deepest desire IS??), but because this is something I think I could do, I think I would like to do, and it seems like the most tangible way of making some income out of all my other ideas. I guess I am just going for it, let’s see if it sticks, let’s see if I can figure out how to make a logo and website and LLC (?) and domain name stuff and make an email and all those things. Ahhhhhhhh!
Being in this weird liminal wilderness has taught me how many things I can learn on my own, outside of a school or university or job setting. I have learned SO many things about sewing by watching free youtube videos this past year, and just chaotically doing it until I get it down. So, I am telling myself that I can also learn so many things about starting a business from watching youtube videos and chaotically doing it until I also get it down. It is taking some focus and slowing down to work on such detailed things, but I am grateful that I am finally moving in at least some direction!!
Anyways. Enough of the stuffy updates.
This May has been full of MAKING.
So much making. My favorite thing!
Making everything except money, that is. I haven’t been making money (aside from a side hustle as a real estate social media manager for one of my best friends! Shoutout Slagell Real Estate!!! So grateful.)
I seriously almost named this whole blog, “Making Everything But Money"—I think it is a clever and relevant name for my current situation—but, I don’t want to trap myself into the idea that I can EITHER make things or make money. I believe it is possible to do both!! Right?
ANYWAYS.
Here are some things I have been making this month!
1.) TABLE RUNNERS! I’ve never made a table runner before. I don’t use table runners, do you? I don’t know if they are still a thing, but my mom asked for one for Mother’s Day, so I made her one and my MIL one as well, and then one to keep. I may hang it on my wall instead of have it on my table. But, this size of project is SO FUN, it’s such good practice for binding and machine quilting. I figured out how to hand stitched the binding onto the back of all three of these and I love the look of it (from the front at least! haha). I want to make more of these!
2.) LIL STRAWBERRY JAMS! I’m going to be honest and admit that I did not do the laborious parts of this process: growing and harvesting the strawberries. They are from my parent’s patch, but I was in OK for the week and dad helped me make 24 little cuties jars of the most delicious strawberry jam to give as gifts throughout the year. We didn’t have enough lids so he found these adorable vintage ones in the basement from 1993—so cute!
3.) CUSHION COVERS! I finally covered our porch bench’s cushions! I had been waiting to find “the right” outdoor fabric to cover them, but outdoor fabric is expensive, and I remembered I had this canvasy fabric I purchased from Ikea last year! I covered the cushions and used a long needle to “tuft” them like a comforter. They look like a circus tent but I think it works, and is so much more the vibe than the previous cushions!
(The before pic below)
4.) POTHOLDERS!: When I am not sure what to sew, I sew my littlest scraps together and see what happens! And I’ve made a few little potholders I am trying out—I think I want to add more batting in them to make them thicker next time. These are beta potholders.
5.) DESIGN WALL!: My family spends lots time making comforters for Mennonite Central Committee (where I used to work!) I love that it is something I have in common with both of my parents and something we can work on together.
The process is: My dad cuts all the donated scraps they get from people at church into 3.5, 5.5, and 8.5 inch squares with our Accuquilt machine, I sort and make “kits” of the squares and then my sister or I lay them out in a nice design, and then my mom sews them together. My least favorite part has always been laying them out/designing the comforters, mostly because the 60 X 80 comforters are just a little too big to lay out on the bed, and laying them out on the floor is cumbersome. So this past week when I was at my parent’s house, I realized they have a HUGE blank hallway, and so I taped up a flannel sheet mom had, and made a design wall that could accommodate all of the blocks!! HONESTLY, how had I not thought of this before. I layed out 5 comforters for mom to sew together until the next time I am home. Who knew a design wall could be so easy!?!
GAME CHANGER!!
6.) ENGLISH PAPER PIECING! I bought a huge bag of fabric hexies from a woman at a sewing swap for $8 last month!! I’ve been playing around with them in the evenings and on road trips. I love a portable project, and it is kind of satisfying to stitch the pieces together. I don’t have anything in mind, I am just practicing at this point!
And oh yeah, on top of all these fun things, I am also (attempting) to make a website. Which is what I am going to make myself go work on right now! I’ll be honest, I’d rather be sewing, but, I guess I do want to be making everything AND money, soon—sheeesh. Haha.
Okay! Thanks for reading and listening and seeing my silly little makings!
Much love to you, wherever you are!!
Kate
Those cushion covers rock!
I love those porch cushion covers! They look so bright and modern! Best of luck getting the website up and running, that sounds like a huge undertaking. I'm with you, I want to make lots of things and make some money too, not always an easy thing.