No Crafting for Me :-(

This sucks, and it HURTS! It's totally putting a crimp in my plans too. I just received clothing donations from two friends and I was super excited to start playing. Then this happened.

I did not hit myself with a hammer or slam my hand in a door. It wasn't a bee sting either, although... maybe that would help make it better! Bee venom is a natural pain reliever. (Note to self- If I see a bee, piss it off)

What really happened is far less exciting but perhaps a bit scarier. I've been getting an IV treatment every week for the past five weeks. Something has gone wrong every time. The last two times, 12 hours after the IV push the area around the injection site has swelled up.

Yes, it is hot, pink and painful. Yes, my doctor knows. I am keeping him in the loop and he has me on some ABX for it. I also told him I think it is time to re-evaluate this particular treatment! I'm not interested in having swollen body parts after every injection.

To clarify the first 3 times I did not swell up. Something has gone wrong every time but it's only the last two times that it actually had anything physically to do with my body.

So I am stuck here another day not able to be crafty. My room is getting super messy too. I'm trying my best not to use my hand much, but it is my right hand.

Wish me luck and send me healing thoughts!

What is in a Name

I am sure I am not the only crafter who has found themself facing this question. Does my name still accurately describe my business?

This summer I had an idea to make pants into messenger bags. I was just starting to learn about upcycling and freecycling and I totally loved the concept. I wanted to get my business started online which meant I needed to decide on a name. I love Upcycled by Ash and all the graphics I have created to go along with it.

Almost everything I sew still has at least some upcycled and/or freecycled materials. I quickly learned that making appealing items out of completely upcycled materials wasn't so easy. New fabrics have so much more color and they make it much easier to pick out a color pallet with patterns that complement each other.

Freecycling helps for sure. Between my friend Ginger, Mom, Grandma, and the project that my sister and I started a few years back that never got off the ground, I have a pretty good supply of fun fabrics and other materials. It has never been enough though.

Now I've also discovered jewelry making and I love it. A lot of what I am making still has freecycled components, but it is getting less and less as I use up the supplies. The thing I am liking the most about the jewelry is that it doesn't consume as much time.

Items I sew take up a lot of time. I honestly don't make enough from the sales to really say it worth the effort. Jewelry on the other hand is worth the effort. Don't misunderstand, I don't intend to stop sewing but it would be nice to make enough money to cover the cost of the project and have a little left over to help with the bills.

So back to the title of this post. I would say that about 60% of the items I currently have for sale are made of at least some upcycled or freecycled parts. The rest are made from new materials that I bought specifically for the project. Six month ago when I chose the name for my blog and business, I had no intentions of starting to make jewelry or of buying fabric specifically for projects.

I have evolved. Have I evolved away from my original roots too far? Is calling myself Upcycled by Ash misleading? Am I now just Ash who does some upcycling as well? Do I need to separate the sewing and the jewelry since it is the jewelry that is really pulling me away from the upcycled theme? At the same time though, I have made some purely upcycled jewelry too.

I have all these questions now because I am about to open an Etsy store. I only want to open one but I have two completely different crafts. Neither is completely upcycled, but neither is completely new material based either.

Is it a realistic compromise to create an upcycled/frecycled icon to denote which items are in fact made with upcycled/freecycled components?

Little Imperfections = Donations

Opps, I stitched in the wrong place!

I am soooo not perfect. I botch things up all the time. Some are so bad I have to throw them out. Sometimes I can salvage pieces for another project. When I'm lucky I can salvage the entire thing, give it a few tweaks and call it good. The two mini wallets in this post are examples of a tweak and save.

On the green and blue wallet I lined up my pockets to the bottom of the wallet and sewed it together. Only after I had cut away all the extra seam allowance did I realize I lined the wrong pocket up! I took it apart and tried to sew it back together but there wasn't enough fabric in the pocket to fit in the seam. So I tweaked it. I zigzag stitched around the entire wallet to close the bottom seam. I actually really like the look! The wallet is now completely functional and the pockets are in the right place.

The pink wallet was the first mini wallet I made. Everything was finished and perfect until I tried to open the wallet. The snap was a little stiff and I was pulling pretty hard on the fabric. I decided that the front pockets were going to need some reinforcement. It was too late for this little guy but every mini wallet since has been made with a stronger pocket. There is nothing actually wrong with the pink wallet and the snap has since loosened up a bit.

I usually don't sell my tweaked items. Instead I donate my little imperfections to individuals who are fundraising for their Lyme disease treatment. I get a lot of requests for donations and I don't always have something to donate. So I put each persons name on a list with the date of their event. I send out the items as they 'happen' and in the order they were requested.

So far I have donated six items to six different Lyme patient benefits and auctions. Most of the auctions and benefits haven't taken place yet, and a few of the people don't even know that I have something for them since I only started making the mini wallets this past week.

If you are having and auction/benefit for yourself or another Lymie, I am happy to add you to the list, but understand I may not have anything for you in time for the event. If your event date passes, I remove your name from the list. Don't forget, I'm a disabled Lymie too and selling the items I make for Upcycled by Ash is my source of income. Sometimes it is hard for me to remember to put myself first when there are so many people I wish I could help.

Family Fun

How could you say no to this face???

I haven't been able to sew as much as I would like to lately. Not a good thing when I have three celebrity items in the works and a dwindling inventory! To top it off I'm on the road again, this time without my sewing machine.

It's all worth it though. I'm getting to spend a lot of time with family. All my in-laws are here from Australia. I haven't seen them for almost five years!!! My parents, sister and niece came to visit for the weekend too. It's been awesome, but I have to admit I'm exhausted!

Uncle, Darcey and Auntie

Auntie and Gabs Just Chillin'

We met our Australian niece Darcey for the first time. Don't you just love that red hair!!! Super cutie and polar opposite of the Gabster. Darcey is like a little porcelain doll and Gabby is a little tank.

It was so cute to see the two of them together. Darcey helped teach Gabs about sharing. Gabs isn't sure she likes the whole concept very much.

I lived with Gabby and my sister for the first year of Gabby's life. She screams her little head off whenever Auntie leaves. I have to admit it makes me feel special! I'm not sure my sister appreciates it quite so much. I hope we can keep that bond forever. I love her to pieces.

We did a little hiking too. I was thrilled that I managed with no problems. The old me is really trying to come back. I told Sander I want to go on an overnighter next!

Me with Eagle Lake in the background

Sander and Me

The fun isn't over yet. Everyone else has gone but my mother and father in-law are still here for another few weeks. We are hitting a few more hotspots in the next 10 days. Santa Cruz, Redding, Lake Almanor, and Ashland for the beach, sailing, hiking and Shakespeare. Oh and a Dr. appointment, it wouldn't be a real visit to see me without at least one of those!

I'm hoping to squeeze in a little stitchin' while we are at my parents place in Redding. It could happen...

Auntie, it's for you

 A cell phone already??? What is the world coming to? The cell phone is a toy but this little cutie has her own REAL iPad! Auntie doesn't even have one of those!!!

Design Dilemmas

I've had it in my head to make a smaller wallet for a while now. I want it to be a design that can work for men and women. Yesterday I had a go at it... OK, I had two goes at it.

I made the jean/striped one first. I LOVE the striped material, it looks great. I ran into a few problems though.

1. The zipper pulled out of the seam. BUMMER!
2. When I had my dad try it out he had a hard time getting it to close with all his cards in it. The problem was the space between the pockets wasn't big enough with the bulk all the stacked up cards created when the wallet was folded together.
3. I think the jeans are too thick for a wallet that should fit in someones pocket.  

Cards are too cramped

Zip pulled out

plenty of space for cards

  

Take 2-

I spent some time pondering and then got to work on the second wallet. The design is essentially the same just the measurements got a rework. I tried slacks instead of jeans for this one, I'm going to give that a fail. I don't think the material is durable enough to use for a wallet. I might be able to reinforce it, but that would add more bulk to a wallet that I am trying to make less bulky.

The construction of this attempt was much better.

• The zipper is secure.
• There is plenty of space between the card pockets.
• The wallet folds even when filled with cards.
• I added a new pocket.
• The bulk was cut down dramatically. 

The problems-

1. The slack material isn't very sturdy. I don't like that the seam allowances show through the fabric. 
2. I'm not sold on the placement of the zipper.

bill pocket and receipt pocket...

I would still like to alter the design so there is less bulk folded into the bottom seam of the wallet. On the larger wallets I make this isn't a problem. The two sides balance out, plus those wallets are designed to go in a purse. Maybe the design is altogether too big. I have to keep reminding myself that I am intentionally designing a 3 fold wallet. I can also make a 2 fold wallet that will be much less bulky.

I love the challenge of designing a new item. It's fun, exciting and at times so freaking frustrating I want to give up and throw it all in the trash. The good, the bad, and the ugly, it's all part of the story.

bulky bottom edge

seam allowance shows through

Lyme Green Bikini

 

Lyme Girl to the Rescue!

I've been working on a pattern for a bikini. I really want a lime green one because it is fun, in your face and I am always looking for ways to spread Lyme disease awareness. Unless I figure out how to transport myself back to the 80's I don't think I will find anything as day glo bright as the swimming suit I am after. 

I found the perfect fabric at Joann Fabric last week! So I made a prototype. It still needs a lot of tweaking, but I promised all my friends I would share my progress. I know they are going to love it!

On twitter I promised to find a hot model for the photos... That didn't happen. I do feel self-conscious posting photos of myself in a bikini top on the internet for everyone to see in a context that is supposed to be something like an advertisement. 

Why? Because society and culture has told me that I am not good enough. I'm too old, not thin enough, don't have perfect skin, my boobs are too small, my lips aren't full enough, my waist isn't small enough, I'm not 100% symmetrical, the list goes on. 

I did a paper in college about the media's depiction of women because I had a serious issue with it. I still do. Why do we let "them" do this to us? There is nothing wrong with the way I look. In fact I am 33 years-old, 5'8" tall, 125 pounds and my husband thinks I am the most beautiful woman on the planet. To top it off, I swear a guy at least 10 years younger than me was totally checking me out the other day at the grocery store. Maybe he thought I was a MILF!

We are all beautiful even with out the help of a makeup artist and photoshop guru. So here I am, flaws and all modeling for you and everyone else on the the internet my "Lyme" Green Bikini Top!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

@upcycledbyash and @VictoriousVixen, green girls down to the wrapping!
Recycling paper, fabric and other materials to wrap up the items we sell.

Make no mistake, we are not perfect, but whenever we can we are making our choices count. Casting our vote through our actions and purchases as to what is and what isn't acceptable. Because actions speak louder than words. 

I choose grass fed beef and free range organic chicken. I won't buy feedlot meat. I don't believe it is humane or good for my health. I go for local when I can too, but lets face it, that isn't always an option.

Most of my family and friends think it is too much of a hassle to eat organic, drive a more environmentally friendly car, forgo shopping sprees for clothes they don't need, buy energy saving light bulbs, turn off the tap when brushing their teeth, turn off the TV and lights when they aren't in a room or even to keep the front door shut to keep the heat in or out.

It is that attitude of apathy that ensures the rich will continue to get richer, the health of corporations will remain more important than the health of people and the guilty will never be held accountable for anything.

I may only be one person and my individual contribution may not seem like much to the big picture, but it is. I believe that one person can make a difference. If we all do something small, something big will happen. Do your part, make your actions and purchases represent what you believe in. 

Victorious Vixen is my good friend and another crafter who does a lot of upcycling and craftivism for a cause. Visit her blog- http://victoriousvixen.blogspot.com/

Ah... What Are You Making?

So, I do have pictures, I really do. I will post them too. Hopefully tomorrow. Today my memory card broke! How does that happen? I spent over an hour taking pictures of my bags and wallets. It all went well on the camera. Not so good when I tried to put them on the computer.

That is when I noticed one of the dohiggilys on the memory card was not really in the right place. I was bummed, but to be honest I wasn't thrilled with the pics. Now I have the chance to get some better ones. I will drag my husband out tomorrow to help me.

Of course first I will have to drag myself out of bed. Not much chance of that happening very early. Do you see what time it is I am posting this! Yeah, I have insomnia. It sucks.

Just Getting Started

So I had to start another blog. I guess it is fitting since my other blog is changing from a blog to a website. I need to have someplace of my own right?

My blog is changing ans so is my life. I'm not so sick anymore. I knew I wouldn't blog about Lyme disease forever. And, right now putting those words on "paper" feels pretty good.

So what is the deal with this blog? A necessity. Somehow I keep finding myself in the middle of projects that need social media space. I like this one though, it was chosen by me not forced upon me in desperation.

Wow, this blog might actually change my life and perspective. Interesting.