Sew this is now.

I know it's been too long, but actually I have been busy making my studio grow. We have expanded to cover some craft classes and scrapbooking events, but the sewing, knitting and crocheting are still number one. Over the past few months we have added new shelving, equipment, and supplies. As you can see it's expanded to the point where storage is becoming an issue. Excess supplies are being stored in an extra bedroom/office and taken out as needed. I would like to say that we are proud to be keeping true to the fact that Craft Zone is still recycling and reusing what others need to get rid of, although I am taking full advantage of sales and coupons to build my inventory and equipment.

I have also taken time to go to craft events and crops to see what the craft industry is doing and to tell you the truth my head is spinning with everything new. I have done a lot of personal growing at the same time my company is. I have many ideas for the future of the Craft Zone. I have spent many hours researching and working on a business plan and learning as much as I can, and am getting ready to learn about the advertising industry to start placing ads. All of this keeps me very busy, but I wouldn't change anything at this point.

To all of my friends that I haven't seen in a while I hope that you can understand the work load and maybe come and spend some time playing with us at the Craft Zone. I could use some time to slow down and see what it has become and enjoy your company. To those interested in any use of the space including lessons and rental, feel free to contact me and we will make arrangements.

I hope the holiday season brings good cheer to all and I promise to be more diligent at keeping my blog updated.

Elaine

Fabric arrival

Once again I've obtained another supply of fabric for the Craft Zone. There's quite a combination of fabric including some wool, cottons, posh, and flannel. I have my friends Michelle and Jim to thank for saving it for me. I've already sorted it and moved things on to Craft Bits and Pieces as a donation. It feels good to share the wealth with such a great organization and to have the resource available to me for the odds and ends things that the Craft Zone needs. Last visit landed us a paper cutter. It works well and will come in handy for all the paper crafts we do and for office use. Thanks for checking in on the Craft Zone blog. Hope to see you soon.

Hello Spring

Hello everyone. I hope you're enjoying the blog. It looks like Spring has sprung. I hope you contact us at the Craft Zone to have some fun.

Carrots

What are rabbits supposed to eat more of than humans? Carrots of course. This fun table runner was spotted in a popular quilting magazine. It's a busy but simple afternoon project including making your own bias tape and hand stitching. I found it very relaxing and the result was great. We are working on ideas to take this simple sewing process to the next step. Our imaginations began running wild. We even created ideas for the left over pieces. Can you see the future use of this process in your home decorating?

Craft Zone; and "sew we grow"

The Craft Zone is a comfortable in home studio available to anyone interested in learning or upgrading a textile craft. Our main purpose is to keep up with the renewal of sewing, knitting and crocheting as a life skill. Whether or not you want to learn as a beginner or just have a place to relax and renew your skills, the Craft Zone is the place to be.

At the Craft Zone you will find that our emphasis is on finding new life in old things. We are more apt to have older machines, retro fabric and old fashioned events to duplicate the earlier times when women would socialize while working on projects. Events such as quilting bees, sitting on the front porch knitting or just sipping lemonade, or crocheting and watching the children.

Everything old is new again. To sew a retro tote bag, crochet an afghan or use retro fabrics and clothes to build a quilt, you will find it easy today to find vintage items to include in new projects. We at the Craft Zone believe that not filling land fills will help our environment and leave mother earth with a cleaner place to raise future generations. One man's junk is another man's treasure? You bet it is. To keep things from entering land fills we have created swaps so that we can exchange materials and other items for someone else to use. Of course this is crafting supplies. We don't do garage sale items because of course there are places to take those reusable items. What we have remaining from our swaps is freecycled or donated to our favorite locations.

New to the Craft Zone this summer will be a space in the garage for those projects that include heavy glues and paints. Hopefully a large work space will be built for this task. All materials are available and within the next month we'll see some progress. I believe that I've even lined up the help needed to accomplish this task.

It has always been our passion at the Craft Zone to inspire creativity and fun. It is also our passion to have space available to those who don't have it, to work on fun projects. As stated before we recycle and reuse many items. Donations are welcome although the majority of supplies are purchased at second hand and thrift stores. Sometimes it overwhelms us at the items we find that people don't want any more. We do however stay within a budget, but if we have something you would like to work with you are more than welcome to use what we have available. Fees are kept at a minimum and we have discovered that the fees include fun and socializing which are priceless.

As you can see by some of my earlier blogs that we have students and clients of all ages. We look forward to spending time with everyone, so give us a call and we'll have fun being creative together.

January Update

Welcome to what's new at the Craft Zone. Some of my student's have been very busy learning how to make tote bags and purses. One of the more unusual bags is this karate conceived bag which is so called because of the karate belt strap. Nannette, the owner and designer has decided to advance her designs as she advances her sewing skills. There will be more bags to come for sure because she is constantly trying new things and the next karate bag is in the works. Yes she is very much into karate.

I took a spin out to Craft bits and pieces to drop off some donations and did a little shopping. I purchased a few items to use at the Craft Zone and of course a few extras. It was slow out there, but the weather has kept people away and now that we've begun to get some snow, maybe the skiing has too.

Don't forget that if you're looking for a warm place to learn something new you can always contact us and make arrangements for lessons at the Craft Zone. Ask for Elaine and she will be happy to help you out.

Well we're off to a banner year and hopefully we can teach more people new things. I hope to see you all soon. Stay warm and take care until next time.

End of year update and you can too.

I would like to wish everyone a Happy New year and show you what the Craft Zone looked like at the end of 2006. It was a struggle, but we have it moving along at quite a pace and I believe that it will continue. Thanks to help from my friends I have achieved what I consider the most important goal of my life. A business of my own. I have nothing but positive vibes about this and although I am worn thin I know it is growing steadily and 2007 will be less stressful now that it is physically near completion. I hope everyone who has helped enjoys this update.

You can do it too. I was looking through a popular country catalog before Christmas and saw a granny square afghan listed for $95 plus tax and shipping and couldn't believe my eyes. I set out to do it for the most reasonable price that I could and believe it or not I did it for under six dollars. I got remnants of yarn from freecycle and Crafts Bits and Pieces in Fairport and combined them with what I had and sure enough I only needed to purchase one skein fo white yarn to complete the project. Sure I had to make it myself, but you can too and I will teach you. Please contact me if you are interested. It's not as hard as it looks.
P.S.
Ginger girl was the sewing project for the holidays. She had sewn on buttons, some embellishments and it was a great lesson in sewing around curves. The kids enjoyed the project and we are beginning to see much improvement in their hand stitching skills and machine stitching skills. You're never too old to have fun.