As I wind down my two-year tenure as the Social Media and Communications Chairperson for the Chicago Modern Quilt Guild, I'm starting to focus more on my little Etsy business and my own blog and social media again.

Part of that has been actually finding the time again to post (and I have been having so much fun with that - I've missed it), part of it finding the time to sew and quilt again (again, missed!) and a lot of it has been trying to clean up and better organize my own social media accounts.

I'm groaning internally right now as I write this: I now have a Sew at Home Mummy Facebook page! (YAY?)

So - I'll be honest here. I love most social media. Heck, I'm a self-proclaimed Pinterest addict (I love Pinterest. I'm not going to lie). Twitter is pretty good. The election kept me pretty entertained on that forum. Instagram is fun (although I'm still hating the new algorithm). Etsy makes me happy - I prefer shopping there and supporting small business owners and makers whenever I can.

But Facebook. Oh, do I have a love hate with Facebook. But it was time. And I know a lot of people are very Facebook-centric (and that's awesome! that's why I've done this) so I am now on Facebook:



So, if you spend some time on the ol' FB, and you'd like to follow my page, feel free to click "Like". I'll be posting links to my blog, photos of the sewing space, the patterns I write, and destash items I'll be listing in my shop (very soon - I am doing a major purge right now).

And - if you happen to have a company Facebook page - and you can offer any tips on mine which you'd like to share, leave me a comment below or shoot me an email, I'd love to hear from you. (I'd love to hear from you even if you don't have a FB related tip; I'm chatty like that). Plus, I'd love to follow you.

As well: please be patient with me while I update my blog with links and buttons for Facebook, with the kids I have to work in spurts!

And, if you're interested in taking a peek at my other social media accounts, here they are (make sure to share your accounts in the comments so that I can follow you back!)

Happy weekend, everyone!


Follow @sewathomemummy

Every year I swear to myself that next year, I won't be hauling ass ('scuse my French) right before Christmas, trying to get gifts done.

Yet every year, I'm in the same mad rush to finish or get things off to longarmers or the post office. C'est la vie I suppose - tis' the season to be frantic!

This season I've been trying to finish quilt tops and work on Etsy orders for those gifting my handmade infant scale slings for the holidays. (...and a sale right now, 15% off with the code SALE15)

midwifery infant scale sling, by Sew at Home Mummy on Etsy 💕 Buy handmade 💕

One of the quilts I've been working on I can't show you - I'm bound and determined to write a pattern for it, so it's on the hush-hush right now. But, I'm just working on piecing the backing today so I can drop it at my friend Sarah's longarm (she's @sparklesaxdesigns on Instagram) so she can finish it off for me and get it ready for binding.

I've also been working on some other handmade gifts, one of which I'll give you a tiny sneak peek of (in case the recipient is reading...):


It's a thread catcher container, with the tutorial from The Sewing Chick. It's the first time I've tried using a stiff interfacing (Peltex 70*) - the pattern calls for duckcloth but I thought I'd kick up the stiffness a few hundred notches (go big or go home, no?) I tried cording for the first time with a thick leather cord I picked up for $5/100yards years back and never had a project I could figure out to use it on - I like the contrast of the navy against the orange.

I love it so much I've added it to my to-do-list for myself. And I think I'll need 2! Why not, I deserve it, right? I'm planning on making sewing machine covers from some Bonnie and Camille I've been hoarding for years, so I think I'll make matching thread catchers. And maybe pin cushions. Selfish sewing, right?

So! What are YOU madly sewing right now? Tick tock, tick tock! (I don't even want to think about how many days are left until Christmas...)



*this post contains affiliate links to Amazon at no additional cost to you. For more information, please visit my Disclosure Statement and Advertising Policies page. 

This week I finished up another commission project for a friend.

I have decided that 2016 (and 2017, for that matter) will be the year of saving. Saving for a longarm/midarm. I'm a woman on a mission.

So - I've been working hard at making money (I wrote up my 'techniques' on how I do that as a stay at home mom in this previous post) - offering my services to friends and relatives, plugging away at my Etsy shop, and squirreling away gift cards from doing online surveys (don't laugh - I make good coin at it...).

One of the projects I've been really lucky, and honored, to create was a commissioned set of pieced and quilted tie pillows for one of my friends from her dad's old ties. A way she and her siblings could remember him by.

It was fun to work with a different textile; and even more fun when she told me not to wash out the coffee stains and food remnants - all the more to remember her dad by.

Very cool.

Also very unnerving cutting into someone's memories. Oy.

But they turned out well; this set are 10x10; earlier in the summer I made another 4, almost double the size, and they turned out well too.

They are backed with a silk, chosen by the customer.

The recipient wanted me to cut the ties open, remove the interfacing, and cut the ties into smaller strips - unlike other tie pillow tutorials out there.

I used a QAYG (quilt as you go) method to assemble the fronts, stitching the cut tie strips onto a batting and Osnaburg foundation.




Sew at Home Mummy Tip:

Ties are cut on the bias - therefore very stretchy, and wriggly!
When using the QAYG technique use plenty of pins or a quick spray of quilt basting spray to keep the pieces from shifting as you piece.



I placed YYK zippers in a side seam on each of the pillows.

Sew at Home Mummy Tip:

For puffier pillows, make smaller covers.

Make your cover 1/2" - 1" smaller square than your form/insert. 

These covers are 9" square for a 10" form.


Pillows are off to be with their new owner(s) now! Today I'm linking up with Thank Goodness it's Finished Friday!

This week TGIFF is being hosted by M-R of Quilt Matters - head on over there and visit her linky-party, and check out what she and others have been up to!


**And, as a side note - check out my post {HERE} for a GIVEAWAY! for Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!!**

For a long time I've been meaning to write a series of posts on how I manage to fund my fabric and thread stash as a stay-at-home mom and as a single income family. I decided to put it all into one big whopping post. Stick with me - it's worth the read. Note that I've included affiliate and referral links for your reference and convenience.

And now, I have the dream of owning my own longarm quilting machine. I keep entering to win one, but alas, nothing yet. And I'm pretty sure longarm companies don't just give them away [although, if you know of one who'd like to sponsor a super awesome blogger like myself, let me know (hee hee hee)]. So, let the saving begin.

As my fellow quilters and crafters out there know, this is not a cheap hobby to have - so I've had to think outside the box a bit on how to fund my addiction I mean, favorite pass time.

I've been asked quite a bit about how I manage to afford to buy the fabrics and threads and notions I do - and here's how. These are my tips and tricks to keeping my hobby alive without working outside the home.

These tips apply to anyone who would like to make a little extra cash on the side to fund whatever your heart desires!

Tips are listed below in descending order for what I've found my earning potential to be. i.e.: I make the most money, top to bottom, at the below listed tips.









If you have something that you make really well, sell it. Open a little online shop (I use Etsy) and just start! Obviously, you'll have to weigh the cost-benefit of having said store, because, at the end of the day you need it to be self-sustaining and then some in order to have some extra coin in your pocket, but, for me, it's been worth it.

By selling on Etsy, I've managed to make enough to buy a newer, bigger, better sewing machine, periodically buy the fat quarter bundles I want, purchase the Aurifil I want (because I use it in my products!) and more.

It costs nothing to open a store on Etsy; they have a system where you spend $0.20USD to list an item for 3 months, and you pay a small flat fee if your item sells. You can choose to accept PayPal and/or Direct Checkout (credit cards), with funds you earn being deposited into your PayPal and/or bank account, respectively.

There's a learning curve to it, but they make it really easy. Maybe I'll write another post soon on what I've learned while being a seller on Etsy.

Plus, it's a tax write-off at the end of the year, which will save/earn you money as well.

Curious about what my store looks like? I'm SewatHomeMummy on Etsy.


This is a big one, and where I make a really big chunk of my extra funds. I estimate that annually I make up to $1,000USD in cash and gift cards by answering online surveys, shopping through affiliate links and watching suggested videos.

I've used a lot of online survey companies, and the best one I've come across, with the highest payouts, least amount of limitations, best customer service and most diverse gift card options has been SwagBucks.com.

Basically, this is how it works:

Generate an account at Swagbucks.com. On their site, they have several ways in which you can earn what they call "Swag Bucks" - which are basically points you earn towards redemption on hundreds of different gift card options for a ton of different companies (like Amazon, eBay, Target, Walmart, Visa, PayPal, Home Depot, and more!). What I love is that, unlike with other survey companies:

1. each gift card company has multiple options for denominations which you can cash in on - all the way from $5 cards up to $100+.
2. You can cash in anytime - and there are no limits or caps on how many times you can cash your points in in a period - because, there are no periods.
3. Want cash, and not gift cards? Easy. Cash in on a PayPal gift card which is automatically deposited to your PayPal account, then transfer the money to your bank account attached to your PayPal. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.
4. They have multiple ways you can earn points, it's not just through doing surveys. You can: (*fastest way to earn points)
1. *answer surveys
2. search the web through their site and earn points
3. *shop at major retailers by using their "Shop and Earn" links - for instance, want to shop at Old Navy this Black Friday? Go to your swagbucks account page first, click shop and earn, find Old Navy on their site and earn 8SB/$1 spent at Old Navy. Booking a trip or vacation? click through to Priceline via your Swagbucks account and earn 8SB/$1 spent. Making a purchase on Amazon? click through from Swagbucks and earn 4SB/$1 spent...and so on...
4. watch videos and advertisements - if I'm sewing or cooking, I have the videos on in the background, earning points while I do other things.
5. play games/download apps/special offers/and more!

Now, I don't make a ton of money monetizing my blog, but it'll buy me a few bundles and some thread every year. There are two ways to monetize your blog: to sell advertising space and to use affiliate advertising. Here I'll cover the affiliate advertising option.

Personally, I use shareasale.com* on my blog. They are one of the biggest affiliate companies out there, their interface is easy to use, and they deal with craft companies I know, have used, and I trust.

Taking on affiliate advertising* is easy to do, but requires a bit of...finesse. You don't want to risk alienating your readership with a bombardment of advertising, both in posts and on your sidebar, but at the same time, everyone has to make a living, right?

Some things to note/my suggestions on the subject:

• take on advertising from affiliates that you know and trust - and that you've actually used. The ones you see in my sidebar (Craftsy*, Amazon*, etc.) I personally own or use on a regular basis and have products or services that are applicable to my readership.
• make sure that you follow the legal disclosure guidelines for your country when advertising affiliates and their sales/products (for example, in the US, you must by law disclose when there are affiliate links on your blog or in a post - note my disclosure at the bottom of this post, at the bottom of this blog, and, in the sidebar affiliate advertising is separately denoted by the heading "affiliates")

Here's where social media can really be your friend. When you make something fabulous, post it on all of your social media accounts - share it with all of your friends and family. Let everyone who follows you know that you make spectacular things, and your items are for sale. 

Also, let people know that you will create custom orders or items for people which are in your scope of practice - or offer your services out to friends and family who may also sew or quilt if they need help with projects they're doing. 


As a side note - if you do start up an Etsy shop, make sure to promote the items you make on all of your social media accounts - it's free advertising!

Click {here} to shop at Sew at Home Mummy for midwifery infant scale slings, and thank you for your continued support of my little shop! :)

A (long!) while back a friend asked me to make her an apron using this tutorial out of an old pair of her jeans.

With the move to the new house, and then the water seeping through our basement walls and into my sewing space this Spring/Summer, I hate to admit it but her project got put to the side.

Well, it's FINALLY done. And I think it looks great! I hope she loves it.

recycled jeans apron with Lotta Jansdotter trim

The cotton trim is a Lotta Jansdotter print, chosen by the recipient.

It was a lot of fun to do something non-quilty for a few hours!

Linking up with Thank Goodness it's Finished Friday (hosted by Quilt Matters today), Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Crazy Mom Quilts today!

I've been really lucky this year to be a bit busier than last year (my first year) on Etsy. I've just finished updating my swatch catalog, and I thought I'd (shamelessly!) self promote my little store for a minute or two.

If you haven't checked out my little store and would like to, you can click {here} to see it.

I sell midwife infant scale slings to midwives and expectant moms all over the world, and it really warms my heart to sew and create these custom baby items. (If you don't know what these are, they're fabric slings used to hold babies in while they're weighed during a midwife post-partum exam; the d-rings hook onto a scale and the baby is suspended in the sling while being weighed).

I put a lot of thought into the thread choice to pair it just right with the fabrics, and I have a ton of fun sewing them and shopping for fabrics for the shop.

It's definitely an art to try and stock designer fabrics you think that others (of whom you don't know!) might like, and it's a learning process, but I love every minute of it.

Whenever I can, I go out of my way to locally source as much of my stock and supplies as possible - I believe in supporting local small businesses (like myself!)

I will most definitely never be a millionaire plugging away at this little shop, and I do plan to add more custom and made to order items to my virtual shelves at some point, but I have a lot of fun doing it. And that, my friends, is what matters!

It gives me something different to do, and the thought of each sling holding numerous newborn babies over its lifetime just makes me smile.

If you're interested in having me make you a custom, made to order midwife infant scale sling, you can contact me {here} through email or through Etsy {here}.

current swatch availability (subject to change, current as of March 6 2015)

If you'd like a custom order of some other nature, feel free to contact me, I'm always up for the challenge!

Oh. My. Goodness.

Well, 2014 went out with a BANG!

We spent the 4 days over the Thanksgiving weekend haggling over this beaut with its sellers:

Don't you love that door??? Although, the yellow may need to go... our 1960 midcentury modern house. WOOT!

...and then spent the next few weeks with inspections and lawyers and contractors.

We close on the house at the end of this month, so I've been busy scheduling movers and permits and moving boxes (yes! moving boxes! check these out: The Chicago Green Box) and all the rest of the stuff that goes with moving.

On top of that, December was my busiest month for Etsy sales, which I'm really happy about. I'm never going to be a millionaire, but it keeps me busy and makes me happy!

As well, we were SO lucky to have my parents fly the entire family down to Mexico to spend the holidays in the 85F weather (oh man, it was nice!). We had an absolute blast, and Audrey was in her absolute glory:

A photo posted by Erin Davis (@sewathomemummy) on Jan 1, 2015 at 4:24am PST

...we spent every day on the beach or at the pool, and the kids had a blast. Ewan was a bit fussy for the whole trip, but what can you expect from a 1 year old?

So!

I'll be busy with house-y stuff for the next month or so while my husband and I make some improvements to it before we all move in in mid-February. I get to bust out my DIY skillz I've been squelching for the last 4 years whilst we rented.

Boo ya.

Look out.

Might have to rename the blog "DIY & Sew at Home Mummy"

I jest.

Oh my goodness. I have been up to some shenanigans here.

Before I get to that, here's an update on the Moonlit Round of the C+S Swap here at Sew at Home Mummy!

I have received fabrics from the following people (in alphabetical order):

AS 29483
ED 60202
ES 26180
FK 14517
IJ (Int'l)
ME 22172
SE 82070

Please check in on the weekend for another update on packages received if yours is in the mail and you don't see your name above!

Also, remember that the next round, the Basics Round, starts on August 25! Every print in the basics line for Cotton + Steel will be swapped - you can sign up for swapping fat eighths, charms squares, or both! More information on the swap can be found {here}.

Now!

Onto the shenanigans.

I've been working day and night on this project - it still involved quilting!:
I've been helping my friend {Elizabeth} out with this project; they are harness support vests patients will wear while undergoing physiotherapy for learning to walk again.
I used my Singer 201 for the entire project, and it was awesome. Sewing through thick, dense layers of foam, strapping and nylon was no problem for the machine. I love it!

The vests turned out really well, and they've been already delivered to the company which ordered them. I was so happy to be able to help {Elizabeth} out with this project, it was too cool.

I've also been busy working on infant scale slings for the Sew at Home Mummy Etsy Shop:
I'm excited to get back started on some (more traditional!) quilty projects!

Linking up to Freshly Pieced's WIP Wednesday!