Wednesday 24 April 2013

Sewing Ideas

I do not have a Pinterest account. Sometimes I get directed to there when I'm searching for new patterns, but largely I like to dissect clothing I see in the Sears catalog. If you are new to sewing, or an expert, go through the catalog and see what you like - chances are it would be easy to sew. I get lots of inspiration from there. Some things I love to sew apart from clothing for me are: baby sunhats, ring slings, pajama pants, and pencil cases. All these items are for sale on my website Tina's Crafty Treasures - please support small/local businesses! On a completely different note, don't forget I will be giving a Dehydrating Fruit workshop on June 29th at 1:00 p.m. in the Strathclair Community Centre. Everyone in Westman is invited to this FREE workshop as part of Food Matters Manitoba.

Tuesday 2 April 2013

Manual Sewing

I am trying to reduce my dependence on technology. I'm not some "insane Prepper" who thinks there might be some world catastrophe, solar flare, or electromagnetic pulse that will destroy all electronic signals, but I do believe in getting back to our roots and reducing "screen time" and the need for electrical gadgets. The non-electrical ones require hard work, patience, and give a great workout. So I wanted to give you a challenge: every single thing you do throughout the day stop and think: Am I using a modern gadget or electricity to do this? Could I use an "old-fashioned" gadget to do it instead? For example a can opener - go buy a manual one. Your fancy electric one just won't do in a power outage! I am an avid sewer and thought that buying an old manual treadle machine would be costly, but there are hundreds of mini hand-powered "pocket" sewing machines on Ebay. Anything electronic stemmed from a non-electronic item. Take a look into the roots of all the gadgets you use and see if you can replace them and "down-power" your household.

Monday 1 April 2013

Etsy Shop

I would like to take the time to promote my Etsy shop. Please support small/local businesses and crafts-people! Rather than buy a product at a large international box-store, why not buy the same item from a mom & pop shop where you will get better service, personalized items, and know that you are supporting a family's livelihood rather than slave-labour in a third-world country. Yes, it will cost more, but not much, and it's worth the price. The more you buy, the more milk I can buy my toddler. If you buy from a large box-store, you only line the pockets of the CEO. So click on an item to see more pictures and the price. Thanks for browsing!