I Survived BTSW

To celebrate making it through the horror that is Back to School Week, I'm having an Etsy tote sale. All totes in my Etsy shop are marked down 20%. Check it out.

Also, we're in Mega-Production Mode here at the R is R headquarters. (That's our official term for making a TON of stuff...BTSW also marks the return of retail season.) Lots of updated designs for the fall in a bunch of awesome fabrics, all destined for local shops. I'll be keeping aside a few choice items for the Etsy shop though, so be sure to check back soon for the newest items available.

MN Love Project

I decided my fall project is going to be a Minnesota series of designs. After this post, I was kind of hooked on quilting wool and flannel, so I'm building a whole series of cozies around the concept of being a Minnesotan. Fall and flannel and beer!

So far I've created two designs, and over the last couple of days have been playing around with mediums. Yesterday I came up with this:

I liked it, but I felt like it was missing something. Like kitsch. So I spent my Saturday morning coming up with this:

And also this:

The Antlers and Radiant MN designs are both embroidered in a chain stitch on repurposed fabrics, which I then sewed to quilted panels of wool, also repurposed, yes. The elastic tabs are adjustable and secure with a velcro closure. (You can read a cozy's list of functions here.)

Here's the set so far:

These two, as well as the first version of the Antler design, are available in my Etsy shop. I'll be posting more sets as they're finished, so check back for more designs and renditions in the series throughout the fall.

New Labels

Check the new labels. All official-looking and fancy...thanks again to TroyDesh for the design work!

Good Neighbors

There's not much that's more definitively Minnesotan than an insulated flannel. You could say the same thing about my neighbor: the kind of guy who plows the whole neighborhood's sidewalks on his mini John Deere just because he likes the snow, and has kept our favorite beers stocked in his garage fridge for whenever we might drop by. I made him this cozy for his own brand in honor of his birthday, and despite my transplant status, I gotta say, it's kind of got me wishing I was as dyed-in-the-wool as he is.

Handmade Labels...

More zips up on Etsy.

I was in between label suppliers there for a little while, and now I'm waiting for the new labels to arrive any day. In the meantime, I started playing around with making my own labels. Lots of fun, but definitely a little too labor intensive to make sense for most uses, though I thought these zips turned out looking pretty killer. All the same specs as the standard zip, just with a little more style on the front side.

MN Grown Dinner

We went the Mill City Farmer's Market last weekend. It was a rainy Saturday morning, but the market was busy anyway, and we loaded up on tons of beautiful local organic produce. Then I got kind of busy and only got around to making a fabulous meal out of it all yesterday, with some contributors from my backyard as well (both from the garden and from the chickens!). These are Spinach and Leek Mini Quiches with Goat Cheese and a Tomato Arugula Salad with Basil and Parsley. I forgot to line the muffin tins I made the quiches in, so they were kind of haggard by the time I got them plated, which made me pretty crabby (I want my food to be beautiful AND delicious), but regardless, everything tasted really great. I'll definitely be making this meal again, and also, hooray for leftovers.

Zip

Now in my Etsy shop. The perfect little pouch for whatever...wallet, toiletry case, pencil bag. The lightly padded and weatherproof nature of the recycled plastic material make this a good place to stow electronic gadgets inside your messenger or shoulder bag. Thumb loop allows for clipping the zip to something else so it's easy to keep track of.

Also available by custom order (bekah@recyclingisrad.com).