Knox Harvest Festival, August 2012

Between auditioning for Fashion Star, making wedding dresses, and other sewing projects, I also prepared for a Craft Show this summer!

At the end of August, I packed up my '95 Ford Explorer with doors, bins, and baskets, and drove half an hour to Plymouth, IN to meet up with my friend Kelly!

Kelly's booth & my booth

Kelly and I met a year ago through the Christian Artists' Street Team (CAST) on Etsy. How excited were we to learn that we live so close to each other?!

My skirts :)

When Kelly talked about being a vendor at the Knox Harvest Festival, and I asked how to do it too, she suggested that we share a double booth. And, boy, and I glad we did!

Doors are great for hanging!

The show itself was kinda disappointing: not many people, very high temperatures, annoying smokers (we were told they would be no smoking--wrong!). {We made back our booth fees and enough to cover our display supplies, at least.}

BUT, spending the weekend with Kelly was so much fun!!!

Kelly & me, when we met up last year

We decided that this festival was practice for us: setting up displays, making inventory, etc. Because we're doing several more shows together this fall!!!

Upcoming Shows:

Shipshewana Fall Crafter's Fair - Shipshewana, IN - Oct 4-6

Trinity Ladies' Night - South Bend, IN - October 18 (ok, this one is just me--at my home church)

I <3 Handmade - Chambersburg, PA - November 10

Hoosier Artisan Boutique - Noblesville, IN - November 24


If you happen to be near us/me during those dates, please stop by and say hello!

So . . . Many . . . Aprons!

Ahhhhh! Aprons have taken over my living room!!!!

Well, not quite. But there are quite a few, especially for our little one-bedroom apartment to hold! As I write this, 27 aprons are cut and pressed, ready to sew!

I spent last weekend with my family at my childhood home in the countryside, 45 minutes from where I live now. My mother and I have a booth in a craft show just after Thanksgiving, so we needed to stock up on fabric! Everyone seamstress needs a reason to stock up on fabric!!!!

Listing here

We went to my favorite fabric store: Calico Point. It's run by sweet Amish ladies and has the best quality cotton fabrics and the cheapest lace/bias tape/elastic I've ever seen! This is a quilter's paradise, I think. I absolutely adore it!!!

And what are good quality cotton fabrics good for? Aprons, of course!

How much fabric did I buy? My husband would say, "Too much!" Ha ha. I think it ends up being 20 yards, but from 11 different fabrics! That makes 40 adult-size aprons and 28 child-size aprons! WOW!!! And each adult aprons needs 3 yards of bias tape for ties (each child apron needs 1.5), so you do the math on that! I was so glad to find bias tape for $.50/yard!

Fabrics still to be cut!

Years ago, when I was in junior high and my grandmother was still alive and going to craft shows every year, my simple aprons were a big hit! Though I love making skirts and dresses, I know aprons are good Christmas gifts, so I'm focusing on those for now. If I finish all of these with weeks to spare (as I intend to), I will make up other clothing items or doll clothes to the craft show, as well.


When we went to craft shows in the past, we used to sell the aprons for $7.50, I think, which barely covered the price of fabric and bias tape. My grandma would buy the materials for me AND let me have the money from the sales! So generous!

Now that I'm buying materials (which are more expensive, now) and making them, I need to set the price higher in order to pay for my labor plus fees from Etsy & PayPal (when sold online). So, on Esty, I think I'll sell an adult-size apron for $14 and a child-size apron for $6 (and maybe a matching set for $18). At craft shows, where I don't have 12% extra fees, and so people will buy them on the spot (that's the point of a craft show, after all), they will be $10 and $5.

Yellow child-size apron, along with cut aprons: carrots, coffee cups, coffee beans, gingerbread men,  & turquoise and brown flowers on ivory.

Check out the super long ties!

Needless to say, my husband is struggling with all of this. We haven't been together very long, and we haven't done a craft show in a long time anyway, so he hasn't seen results of buying so much. He was quite the trooper, though, and had a great attitude! I need to sell a few on Etsy before he is convinced, though, I think. Anyone want to buy an apron? Ha ha.



The pictured finished apron (black w/ autumn leaves) is listed here:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/82209998/autumn-leaves-essential-apron-one-size