Last week, my husband and the kids went to New Orleans to attend his grandmother’s funeral, and it’s one of those things that makes you stop and think about just how short this life really is.
We’re all here for a little while and none of us get to know exactly how long that “little while” will be.
We might as well make the most of it.
The good days. The hard days. The ordinary Tuesday afternoons. The celebrations, the disappointments, the belly laughs, the tears, the mess, and all the stuff in between.
It’s all part of this one life we each get. I’m trying to enjoy more of it all. Not just the easy parts.
Here’s a little bit of what life looked like around here this week…
✨ CRAFTY GEMINI WORK
The kids came home from New Orleans sick so managing fevers, teas, soups, and chores has kept me busy around here. Everyone is better now and back to school.
I did manage to make a few garments this week. Trying out a few new patterns to see how they come together, how they fit and whether or not they are patterns I want to consider producing into a video course. So no pictures to share yet.
✨ WHATNOT SHOPPING SHOWS
I want to make room for new fabric bolts so I’ll be selling the last of my Art Gallery Fabrics and Andover Fabric prints in my next Whatnot fabric selling show!
I’m hosting another show Friday night, Sept. 25th at 8:00pm EDT.
To sign up (and get a $25 shopping credit) click here: https://www.whatnot.com/invite/craftygemini
Hope you can join us tomorrow night. Here is the direct link to the show: https://www.whatnot.com/s/wNiJLlkk
✨ COMMUNITY SERVICE
This week we taught the usual two afterschool kids craft classes and hosted one of our big events for the year!
This past Saturday we hosted our 2nd Annual Crafty Gemini Rising Stars Classic JV Girls Volleyball Tournament. 12 different teams came to our small town for a full day of volleyball games.
We love bringing our community together to support young local student athletes!
Learn more about the work we do at: Crafty Gemini Youth Development, Inc.
✨ IN THE GARDEN
Sunflowers are blooming big time! I’m enjoying having a fresh sunny bouquet on my kitchen counter every week! Nothing beats fresh picked flowers. My daughter is already snatching some up for teacher bouquets. So cute!
I’m also still harvesting peppers (duh! 😅) but now the sorrel (roselle hibiscus) is finally coming in, too! I am drying the calyxes for long term storage because I love having sorrel tea year round!
✨ This Week’s Favorite
This week my favorite thing is my JUKI Kirei NX7 sewing machine. It’s not new. I’ve actually had it since 2019 or 2020. But I haven’t sewn on it as much as I should have these past 6-7 years. You may be wondering why?
Well, most of the sewing I’ve done in the past 6 years has been on the smaller JUKI LB-5020 for several reasons:
- We sold the machines. So, obviously it makes sense to showcase it, make videos on it, etc.
- I filmed all my courses on the smaller machine to show students that you don’t need any fancy/expensive sewing machine to make the projects I teach.
- It’s lighter and easier to move around my worktable when I’m filming videos and when I was doing the live shows for WIP Wednesday.
Now, that I’m no longer doing the WIP Wednesday demos and we are not restocking the machines (the cost has continued increasing and doesn’t make financial sense for us to sell them anymore) I can now use my gorgeous Kirei! Y’all have no idea how much I have missed having my automatic thread cutter, built-in dual feed foot and so much more throat space. It has been a joy to sew on this week and don’t be surprised if you see me filming tutorials or courses on this machine in the near future. It’s a dream!
Chat with you again next week!
Find your next project in the Crafty Gemini Shop.
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Learn more about the work we do at: Crafty Gemini Youth Development, Inc.
