irene design

This Blog Has Moved

Irene — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 21:00:59 +0000

Thanks for stopping by Irene Design. The blog has now moved. If you would like to keep up with Irene Design, please visit us at

http://irenedesign.blogspot.com

“Monday” or “How I avoided my chores”

Irene — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 13:24:15 +0000

This weekend I avoided my chores with

Too little sleep
sunshine
antique shops
walking in the park
candy shopping
catching up with friends
sewing

here is a sneak peek at what I worked on in the sewing room

This Thursday, April 15 is the last day to find new Irene Design updates at this website. Please remember to switch your RSS feeds to http://irenedesign.blogspot.com

The Irene Design Blog Move

Irene — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 21:03:36 +0000

April 15 is fast approaching. Do you know what that means?

Your taxes are due. Well, they are, but I’m not really here to remind you of that.

April 15 is the day that Irene Design moves to its new home!

In an effort to streamline everything I am doing, I am moving my blog to a blogspot address. Between now and April 15, I will double post on both blogs (so they will be the same). However after April 15, I will only add new posts to the blogspot domain.

I thought long and hard about this because I do not want to add to anyone’s confusion, and I do not want to loose any readers. If you currently have my blog bookmarked in your internet browser, or if you subscribe to my blog with a feed reader (RSS, Google Reader, etc.) please replace my wordpress address with this one:

http://irenedesign.blogspot.com

I value each one of you readers and want to make sure I don’t loose you in the move!! However with my Real Food blog, and with the ease with which I can customize using blogger, this move in necessary.

I would love to know that you are following me over. Please check out my new blog (it’s got all new background, header, link icons, fonts, and all), and leave me a message letting me know you made it!

Almost-Wordless Wednesday

Irene — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 22:30:45 +0000

The weather has been too nice to permit sewing. It’s perfect for exploring though!

My camera and I did a little exploring as well.

Easter weekend wrap-up

Irene — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 18:30:10 +0000

Our weekend revolved not only around the Easter Celebration but also the celebration of a good friend’s wedding. Besides the obvious importance-of-marriage highlights, my top ones include

Taking lots of pictures (I love family photos!)

The band. Seriously, this bluegrass band was amazing. They led the party all night at the reception (we square danced!) then back at the Inn (yes, I laid in bed listening to them play until 2am), and then on Easter morning the cellist played right outside of our window to welcome the morning.
(that is a cello, right?!)

Sunrise on Easter Morning

Hiking at the Natural Bridge State Park in Eastern Kentucky

We really had a great weekend full of friends (we did go up for a wedding!), great food (our friends are farmers!), laughing, fresh mountain air, and enough dancing and hiking to make my calves ache again this morning.

To top it all off, we had an Easter morning celebration that included singing Down in the River to Pray and Amazing Grace, a message about the significance of the historical ressurrection of a man named Jesus, and reading a poem by Mary Karr. We sat out on picnic tables over-looking a cliff and had nothing but our voices–no instruments, microphones, slide projectors, anything. It was serene and beautiful, perfect to reflect on the significance of what we were celebrating.

Descending Theology: The Resurrection

by Mary Karr

From the far star points of his pinned extremities,

cold inched in—black ice and squid ink—

till the hung flesh was empty.

Lonely in that void even for pain,

he missed his splintered feet,

the human stare buried in his face.

He ached for two hands made of meat

he could reach to the end of.

In the corpse’s core, the stone fist

of his heart began to bang

on the stiff chest’s door, and breath spilled

back into that battered shape. Now

it’s your limbs he comes to fill, as warm water

shatters at birth, rivering every way.

Descending Theology: The Resurrection

by Mary Karr

From the far star points of his pinned extremities,

cold inched in—black ice and squid ink—

till the hung flesh was empty.

Lonely in that void even for pain,

he missed his splintered feet,

the human stare buried in his face.

He ached for two hands made of meat

he could reach to the end of.

In the corpse’s core, the stone fist

of his heart began to bang

on the stiff chest’s door, and breath spilled

back into that battered shape. Now

it’s your limbs he comes to fill, as warm water

shatters at birth, rivering every way.

Catching up: Monday Edition

Irene — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 01:33:38 +0000

I am back, folks! After a busy week of dinner guests, going to an out of town wedding, and celebrating Easter, I feel like I can sit down and spend some time catching up.

I made a special trip to one of our local quilt shops to buy fabric for a placemat and napkin set. Do any of you shop locally for your fabrics? I wish I could do it more, but when the price is $9.90/yard and I can buy it online for $7.50 it is hard to do. With only one yard, the difference is not too bad, but with multiples, it adds up quickly!

Speaking of fabric, I have been seeing images of vintage sheets being used children’s clothing, pillows, and a whole host of other projects recently, and I am ready to get in on this! While I was at the quilt shop, I also stopped by a thrift shop. Of course they were in the process of sorting all of their “spring” items and all of the housewares were off the floor! My step mom will be here in two weeks, and she is the queen of thrift shops, so I’ll take her with me then. I’ll let you know what we find! I did find some skirts and a dress for the wedding which I will tell you about in another post…I’m still waiting for the files to load on the computer!

How did you spend your weekend?

by a thread

Irene — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 21:52:37 +0000

I was this close to not being able to finish the custom napkin set I was working on last night. I will tell you that I had taped the loose end of the thread to the spool and held my breath through the last two!

In honor of the Easter weekend, as well as the wedding celebrations, I will be offline the next few days. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

mini update

Irene — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 21:00:09 +0000

Hi Friends! It’s been a busy week around here with work, dinner guests, and of course Spring! It’s difficult to be motivated to sit in front of the computer when I could be soaking up some vitamin D.

This is what I want to be doing right now!

Pretty Birdie’s Tumeric Dress on Etsy

The busy-ness continues: dinner with a friend tonight, a custom order to finish, a ring bearer’s pillow to sew, a wedding to attend (I still need a dress!), dress shopping, and of course Resurrection Sunday (aka Easter) to celebrate. whew!

If you do not see much of me between now and Monday, please rest assured that I will make it up next week!

If you really miss me, head on over to Quest for Real Food and see some of the changes that are already taking place.

Sunny Day Delights

Irene — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 21:00:48 +0000

Some pretty finds from my Favorites List for you on this sunny Wednesday (at least it is sunny in my neck of the woods.)

Asymmetrical Blue and White Rose Necklace from Brittany Chavers Studio

Karen Skirt from ChariotsAfire

Pink Flower Stems by Gold Evening Light from Lilydove & Chou Chou

Enjoy the day, friends!

New Photo Preview

Irene — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 21:30:47 +0000

Whether reading through the Etsy Shop Makeover Series, or a list of tips on the Indie Biz 2.0 course, one of the most common pieces of advice given to sellers is

TAKE GOOD PHOTOS.

I will admit to using less than worthy pictures in my listings, but from here out, I am focusing on photos that would make me want to buy the product.

Remember when selling something online, the customer cannot actually pick up the item and see that “it is so much better than the pictures lets on.”

For me, this means photographing in the afternoon in my kitchen, backyard, or dining room. These are all places I get plenty of indirect natural light. It also means taking 20+ pictures of one item, using different backgrounds and various angles, to find a few that really work. I have some great pictures with horrible hues because I photographed at night in my sewing room rather than during the day when the sunlight is pouring in.

I then spend some time editing. I enhance the exposure, crop around the image, add backgrounds and even text, all to make sure that my photo shows how great the product is. I am not a professional photographer, but thanks to programs like iPhoto and Picnik, I can make some minor adjustments that can really show off the images. When I do not take the time to do this, it really shows via poor photo quality and no sales!

Once that is all said and done I’m ready to add the photos to a listing. That’s another story, or another post. For now I have lots of editing to do so I can get these items listed!

One of my goals for April is to photograph all of my unlisted and listed items to make sure they are really spectacular. By the end of April I hope to have no more “so-so” photos in my shop.

{Shameless} Plug: Today on Quest for Real Food: Tips for Buying Local Foods