One Event Down, One To Go

Well, weeks of sewing and I've sent off 13 boxes to Pennsylvania for the Ren Faire out there. Pennsic War lasts 11 straight days, officially the merchants can start selling 4 days earlier now.  However shipments to the Coopers Lake Campground won't be accepted till a certain day so I had to wait till Thursday of last week to get it all out.

 

I have ROOM IN MY LIVING ROOM AGAIN!!!!!!  The cost for shipping everything was $178 though. Ouch.  Hopefully things sell well. Whatever doesn't will be sent back to me after the event is over.

 

This leaves me open to now make items for the Bristol Ren Faire here in the state.  I've got orders for bats, catnip toys, large griffens, baby griffens, and assorted odds and ends.  The ladies at that booth buy 'as needed' so it's more of an on demand sort of thing.  This event runs from the week of the 4th of July till I think the second weekend in September.  Only Saturday and Sunday of each week though, so it's 8 weekends, 16 or 17 days (opening week starts on Friday).  I'm crossing my fingers that they have good weather each weekend, not rain or tornado warnings as sometimes happens.

 

With more time, and with summer moving along, I also need to cut catnip - enough to last me all winter till the start of the next growing season.  It's past the first flowering at this point and the seeds are maturing. Harvesting it is like being sprinkled with black pepper 'beads', the stuff gets everywhere. And this includes down the cleavage.  Argh.

 

We have good stuff here though, the catnip is very strong smelling and with the heat and dry wind it's been dehydrating in around 24 hours on the tarps on the driveway this year!  That's phenomenally fast.  Usually it's a 4 or 5 day span till it reaches the 'Rice Krispies' stage but all this week it's been tooling along pretty fast. 

"Questionable" Mushrooms

The stuff I send down to Bristol Ren Faire is a wide mix of stuffed toys and catnip toys. This year I had a few new items for them.  Usually I tell them in advance (like the lavender bats) but I kept the new mushroom cat toys a secret. When they came to pick up I told them I had a new item, sort of a 'questionable mushroom, they're mottled, maybe not all that safe to eat, and they may be toxic' and brought out the ones I'd made with skull fabric.  They LOVED them.  Apparently their booth is right across from a mushroom and veggie selling food stand at the event. They want to taunt them with the 'questionable mushrooms'.  LOL

 

Here's the fabric I used. It's a flannel, and apparently is now a discontinued print after being at JoAnn Fabrics for only a year.  I did the mushroom stems in white.  The stem I cut in 3 1/2" by 2 1/2", fold in half and sew down the short side, turn and stuff.  The mushroom cap is a 6" circle I gather stitch, stuff and close, sewing the stem on at that point. 

http://www.joann.com/snuggle-flannel-fabric--packed-skulls/13457759.html

I tried dropping in the picture but it messed up somehow.  Sorry.

 

2,000 Toys And Counting

Official count on the catnip toys is now at 2,000+ so I think I reached my goal for July/August's events.  There's boxes piled 6 high in the living room. Soon they'll start shipping out to the different events and I'll get a paycheck coming in. 

Whew!  Lotta work, but it's paying off.