Review of Etsy Store ~ Southern Glory Goods Co

Southern Glory Goods Co is a store on Etsy (here) carrying vintage feedsack purses, totes, clutches, aprons, pillows, slow poured candles, potpourri, and soooo much more from North Carolina artist Lisa Vann.  I stumbled across her store while searching for a replacement of my faux leather Chinese production purse.  No hate here.  My China made purse has served me well, got loads of compliments and wore well considering the price paid, but it was time for a change.  I have never been happy with traditional purses, so it was time to turn to a talented fiber artist to make me happy.  And let me tell you, Lisa did NOT disappoint... And ask my family, I am crazy picky about handcrafted quality.  She combined my love of collecting vintage feed sacks (also her love too!) with a nice size purse/tote and kept it stylish.  Her sewing skills blew me away!  Just look...

My first love was obviously the feedsack / sturdy tote combo.  I always have dreamed of the perfect marriage of a purse with vintage muslin feedsacks.  Well, here is the answer to my wishes.   This wonderful snap closure tote showcases two feedsacks that double as pockets on the outside and inside... tons of storage!  This blue side was the first feedsack to win me over... not sure why... it just did.  (Although she has a blue tote with a sugar feedsack still calling to me. ;) Drat!! )

Here is the other side.  Painstakingly vintage patched feedsack.  It sings to my heart friends!  Since seeing it in person, I am now favoring this side.  Hmmm... Well, I can always flip it back and forth depending on the outfit. ;)

A peek at the inside.  Loads of small pockets with a snap closure.   Flawless!  :)

Can't buy a purse without a clutch!  This was purchased to keep my check book and smaller items in. 

Zipper closure, padded and lined!

Both sides are equally impressive!

Mr. Hollow was just as amazed as myself about Lisa's skills as a fashion designer and creator.  This purse/tote is expertly sewn and pieced together.  Well worth the money paid.  I commented to Mr. Hollow about my intentions of purchasing more in the future.  My hubby never argued.  Although he did mention this morning, about contacting her to make a DeKalb one for our area.  We could even locate a bag to send her... After the conversation, I got on Etsy and nearly fell over.  Look what Lisa listed today!!!  She must be able to read minds as well. LOL   I still love that darn blue sugar feedsack tote (still available in her store), but I had to purchase this one to represent the area.  Alas, the blue sugar tote will wait for another day... Unless another one catches my eye first! ;)

  
If you want a beautifully crafted tote with some vintage snazziness or some of Lisa's other eye catching creations, check out Southern Glory Goods Co..  Lisa Vann is living her dream, as I am sure destiny intended.  Her love and her God gifted talent lives in every detail of her creations.  Check out her charming store on Etsy here.

***  My reviews from the past to current have never been based on items gifted to me for review.  I simply believe in taking some of my hard earned money to make purchases from a wonderful world of talented artists and sharing with my friends those individuals who shine extra bright.  :)

Kitty Kickerz Cat Toys ~ Etsy Store Review

Such a busy time!  Farmerboy's shearer decided to arrive last Friday to kick off the weekend.  I have been frantically listing last year's fleece in an effort to make some Shetland space.  (Okay, I got rid of some of my hoarded stock purchases as well... only a little!)   Now, I have to get a game plan for this year's haul.  *Yikes!*

Then it occurred to me, Easter is right around the corner.  Luckily, I made a pact with a fellow coworker to give up packaged candy.  No reason to trot down the candy isle for me! ;)  I will eventually pick up something for the kids and something small for Mr. Hollow and myself.  But holy smokes, I almost forgot about the fur babies!   I decided to go to an Etsy store that is very popular with Gabby and Izzie:  Kitty Kickerz Cat Toys.   The shop is operated by a wonderful lady named Tara.  She creates an assortment of fabric cat toy Kickerz filled with organic catnip.  They were a huge hit with the little ladies at Christmas.  :) 

Santa brought each of them and their nephew Elliot a 12 inch kicker.
 

 

 

 

Here are the photos after they were wore out from playing.  I must congratulate Santa on being savvy enough NOT to put them under the tree!  LOL

 



The Kickerz are put up on a shelf in between plays.  The ladies know where they are at and call out their request looking fondly up at them.  These Kickerz have taken a beating and no rips yet!

Tara is currently running a 10% sale off of purchases of $25.00.  I took full advantage of the discount and was surprised to find she had some play mats, too.  Of course, I had to get a few of them to try out.  If your cats are crazy for catnip like mine, these Kickers are a great deal at $7.95 a piece.   I am not going to lie.  I was skeptical about how well they would hold together.  My ladies still have their back claws and can bunny kick up a storm, but they seriously have withstood several play sessions. If you are looking for a last minute gift for your darling little feline, check out Tara's store KittyKickerzCatToys on Etsy.  Tara's creations definitely get a shining review from myself and the ladies, too... Well, once they get done with their afternoon nap anyways!  ;)

Spinning with the Schacht Matchless

One of the best purchases I made in 2016 was the Schacht Matchless spinning wheel.  I was a little worried this wheel would be technically above my skill level.  It has the potential to spin anything.  After considering the Schacht Ladybug, I decided to go all in on a wheel that could grow with my experience.  Maybe due to my newness, the learning curve felt less threatening.  There were no new techniques or operations to learn, since my experience with other wheels was virtually non existent.  I did decide to go with a double treadle this time and must say overall , "I am in love!"   Here she is...  

 

 

I started out practicing with some more combed top from Edgewood Garden Studios from Etsy.  At this point, I was still counting my treadling.  It made me kind of panicky causing thick and thin spots.  To be truthful, counting was taking all the fun out of spinning. :(

Then, I practiced making thinner singles to ply.  My singles started becoming more consistent.  :)

I decided to jump back to thicker singles to ply and let myself spin without counting treadles all the time.  What a difference!  I found that as long as there isn't any crazy music in playing in the background, my treadling has its own rhythm and my hands work naturally along with it.  Got a little crazy with my color.  Didn't I?  LOL

I now have it in my head to make some 3 ply sock yarn.  The singles need to be thin.  How is this for consistency?  No counting treadles, just spinning to my own rhythm.  I guess it should be called, " Letting go and trusting myself."  There are two bobbins down with one bobbin to go!

I have moved my fleece storage and spinning wheels into the new location of my studio area.  I cannot wait until my drafting table and sewing machines join them.  It will be so exciting to get back to drawing and quilting again!

Have a Safe and Happy Easter!

Sources for Dyed Wool ~ Etsy and Ebay Business Review

It has never been a secret from all of you that I absolutely LOVE wool.  What is it about this wonderful renewable resource that calls to me in its various forms?  I will never know. It has me under its spell, and I really do not care. :)   I mourn the days gone by... Does anyone remember the days of thick plush felt made from 100% wool, the norm in those days, that was easily found and not an expensive oddity?  My Mom made us all Christmas stockings from a current pattern (which at the time was the 1960's) and used felt to construct them.  She still has those stockings.  They of course would be considered vintage now! LOL  But the felt of the day was thick dense 100% wool.  It stood up through many Christmases that saw pounds of fruits and candies 'come and go'.  (Although one of my sister's still has a piece of candy melted in the toe of hers! ;) ) 

 

Where is the quality of yesteryear?  As I stated earlier, wool IS a renewable resource.  Why is it such a rarity?  Why does it cost over $22 dollars a yard to find quality wool by the yard to dye?  Let's not even discuss felt again... I mean the current quality of wool felt... you know that usually has 35% wool content, IF you are lucky.  I made myself and two of my sister's sets of stockings fashioned from the same pattern that my Mom used back in the 60's.  I searched high and low for 100% wool felt in the appropriate colors.  The finished products paled in comparison to the 1960's group.  They are thin, only trusted for display in my house and have felt embellishments that colors could not be found in 100% pure wool... :(   It really bugs me.  Sorry about the rant, but I just needed to throw a few questions out into the blogosphere.  It relieves my mind a little.  Now, onward to my post...

 

Penny rugs are one of the most creative and unique forms of hand stitched decorations.   Spanning back to pioneering days, it was a great way to protect tables that were not sealed from candles that could run.  Plus, they were just simple decorations that played in well to having pieces of fabric that were not big enough for any one item.  With circles being a primary motif,  the tiniest pieces could be cut into circles drawn from using coins as templates... Pennies included... Hence the name. ;)   I especially love it, because it is a kind of "anything goes" craft, involving artistic imagination and hand needle crafting.  How can you top that?  The little rugs feed well into my love of salvaging wool from thrift store items as well.  :) 

 

There has been a Halloween drawing in my sketch book that begs to be turned into a modern day penny rug.  After much thought, I decided the main piece of wool should be dyed.  (A hobby I have not tried... yet. ;) )  This is where Etsy and EBay come in.   Thanks to some very talented fiber artists, I have the beginnings of a gorgeous dyed stash, created with Dorr wool.  The first two colors are courtesy of Gina from Across Generations.  (Click on her name to visit her Etsy store.)  I marvel over the various colors that emerge in such a copacetic way on her fabric... breathtaking!  Then the next two pieces are from Frances at Sun and Wind Farm.  (Click on her name to visit her website.  She also has an Etsy store.)  The depth in this ladies colors is nothing short of spectacular.  The range of her colors is extraordinary.  I hope that I live to see her full span of colors folded in stacks inside one of my hutches.  *sigh*   The last four colors are from Petit Violet.   (Click on her name to visit her EBay item page.)  The colors literally spring from the wool.  They are based on a more basic one color application, so they are "jump off the wool" vibrant.

 



 

 

 

Each store packaged their wool attractively and shipped in a timely matter.  I was very impressed.  Their shipping was fair, as well as pricing.  One must keep in mind the size of the wool that is being purchased.   It seems that their main customers are rug hookers, but the sizes are equally as friendly to penny rug creators.  As far as appearance, it is simply a matter of design.  Pricing might give some new wool purchasers an enlightening moment; but when you consider that Dorr wool can sell upwards to $22.00 a yard retail and these are hand dyed "ready to use for that special project", I think their prices are more than fair.  Plus keep an eye out,  I hesitated and missed a wonderful sale at Sun and Wind Farm.  I am hoping to catch it the next time around! :)

Black Cats, Fall Mix and Etsy

Halloween is getting a little more festive at the Hollow thanks to the great Etsy Stores of Harvest Moon Prims and Olde Annie Primitives.  I have made a vow to not only sell through this great site but take advantage of the opportunity to buy wonderful handcrafted items from my fellow Artisans.  Here are a few of my most recent purchases: 

The first spooky bag contains three black cats with backs arched, tails up, and all grunged with the scent of the season.  They are from Annie at Olde Annie Primitives .  Her enchanting store has a wide variety of primitive bowl fillers, candle mats, tree skirts, centerpieces and sooo much more.  (Check out her tiger striped and multi colored kitties... too cute!)  My new scaredy cats are a great addition to my fall decor and fit in perfectly with my plan to collect black cats (in honor of my cat Mew). ;)    The quality of these handcrafted bowl fillers are nothing short of perfection.  Annie definitely strives to have return customers!  I can only guess that some of her inspiration for these darling kittys came from her own black cat Harley.  So if you have the time, check out Harley's page and Annie's primitive creations at her wonderful blog here.  If you love prims like me, you will not be disappointed! :)

My second purchase was from Marilyn at  Harvest Moon Prims.   As you can see, those cats will be displayed proudly with some of Marilyn's scented pudka pods, hips and acorn melts.  (I wish this blog had smellavision... Mmmmm...)   The mix has such a wonderful depth of color that complements my new cats purrfectly! ;)  Oh... and Marilyn does not only sell some fantastic fall mix filler, she also has sewn prim creations, soap, melts, grubby candles... too much to list here! ;)  I will definitely be going back for some more items in the future.  If your interested in visiting Marilyn at her blog,  she can be found here.  :)

Now my wooden bowl is filled and in its place of honor.  The smells of fall are drifting throughout my front room.  As you can see, I added some cinnamon sticks to match the spicy brown rub on my cats.  It is such a wonderful display.   My next addition to this area will be a fall inspired wool mat... Creating it will give me something to stitch on during these chilly October nights! :)