Looks like we are doubling down...

At last, I heard back from the Grovedale AG regarding their Christmas market dates. It looks like it conflicts with the Christmas market at D-Coy which is on November 6/7, Friday & Saturday. 

I don't have the times yet, but as it stands, Lana is going to do the D-Coy market and I will attend the Grovedale market! So we will be doubling down that weekend!!

I will post further details once I know more. I am glad however that Grovedale moved their date up somewhat, as the last couple years the weather sure was not in our favour. So this is probably a good thing. 

Fall/Christmas market schedule is almost complete

 The fall and Christmas market schedule is pretty much finalized except for one. I will hopefully have some info for the Clairmont Christmas market just after their fall fair this Saturday.

I've changed it up a little this year; added a few new shows as well as some old favourites. The Legion dates conflicted so I won't be doing that one again this year. As for Grovedale market, unless it is on an open date, it won't be do-able either. 

New markets this year are at 55 North Community Center & NWP college which is one I've wanted to do for a few years now but it had always conflicted with others. So this year, the date opened up and it is now on the schedule. My market season is usually done by early December at the latest, but this year I opted to try out the "Last Minute Christmas" market on the Saturday right before Christmas, Dec 19th! That one is at the Anglican Church in GP, 10 am to 3 pm.

I will be at the Elks market again on my birthday lol. 

I haven't been to the markets at D-Coy Armouries the last couple years, but I'm doing both their fall and "Merry Little Christmas" markets this year. 

I will update just as soon as I know more about Clairmont Christmas market. It's one of my favs!  

The schedule is at the bottom of the page and here are a few of the event flyers listed below, so mark down the dates to come out to the markets! 

 

Schedule updates

 I've been busy applying for fall & Christmas markets. I have word that we are approved for Sexsmith Pumpkin so that one is confirmed. 

This year we will be changing it up slightly for Christmas time. I have applied for the NWP (Northwestern Polytechnic College) Christmas market rather than Sexsmith. It is much closer to home. At that time of year if memory serves, the last couple years had really crappy weather so I am not wanting to put us through a treacherous hour long drive each way to and from Sexsmith from Grovedale. 

We hope to do the Elks market again this year. It is usually as the end of October. I am awaiting the dates for Clairmont Christmas (it's a bit early yet) but we are booked for the fall fair on the 5th of Sept. 

I'm also checking out some other markets in G. P. to fill in the blanks so to speak, once my regular shows are booked. 

Clairmont Fall Fair

I just announced on my FB page about the Clairmont Fall Fair for this year. I missed last year because of our big house move and everything else going on health wise etc. But this year Lana and I will be there with bell on! We even have enough items to leave at our Sexsmith set up AND make a second set up in Clairmont! 

You should see the FB post on the bottom of the page here, but here is the info just in case: 

Date: Saturday Sept 5

Time: 9 am to 5 pm

Where: Clairmont Community Center

Link to event page on FB: https://www.facebook.com/share/1ABc5PGDiV/

This is on Labour Day weekend and I am sure there will be some vendors there with some great back to school items and ideas! I am also pretty sure they will have their concession open and hopefully their annual parade will be on too! 

I hope to enter an item in the sewing category of the fair too which is a lot of fun!

Full schedule of the day. Market starts at noon!

Just a little update

 I didn't get a chance to post before this week's Tuesday market, but we have been busy there doing a few things before meeting customers. Changing the layout of the tables was number one on the to do list. I wanted to make it flow a bit better and we think it is much better now. This is mainly because there has been a few new things added so we needed to make room. 

We also did a couple price changes.... lower! Scrunchie wristlets (reg.) are now $3 each or 2 for $5. The wristlets with secret pouch are $5 as well as the adjustable lanyards. Cup covers are $5 each and are reversible. 

I've got a couple new purses, one is already at the market and one will be posted online soon. The later is actually a wallet purse so to speak. I can be a small crossbody or cell bag as well. It has long strap or wrist strap options. I will try to get some pics posted tomorrow. 

Next week we hope to have some farm goods again. 

I'm back!

Despite still feeling not my best, (weakness mainly), I will be returning to the Sexsmith Farmers market tomorrow, July 7th! Just an FYI, I'll be using my walker as my balance is still not good, but I will be there with bells on! 

Coming with me, are more secret pouch items; scrunchies with zipper compartment and wristlets with a secret opening as well. 

I have revamped my cup covers that are for helping to keep the bugs away from your drink while I was at it. I made them with button holes rather than gromments. I also added a second unopened buttonhole placed more to the side for use with pop cans and opening that are moreso on the side of the cup. Just snip it open if you opt to use it. I also made them slightly bigger. There are 50 available and will be selling for $5 each in a vast amount of colours. They are not waterproof, but they are machine washable.

See you all tomorrow! I have missed you all!

My absence of late

 Well I have to say that June has been a very long month for me. Shortly after Chautauqua day I became very ill with flu/cold/or some kind of virus sickness. 4 to 5 days of fever, tummy upsets and all that good stuff, no energy, I was pretty much bedridden for almost the entire month. I am not a nap type person but I have been sleeping quite a lot to over come this. 

I am sad to have missed opening day for Sexsmith Farmers market and the following weeks, but I am just not quite up to snuff just yet. Thankfully Lana and my husband Dan came to the rescue. They stepped up and took my place at the market. I can't thank them enough! 

Hopefully next week I will be back on solid food and more able to get around. I am heavily debating going tomorrow, but I know I am not quite strong enough yet. 

One good thing, through this I've lost about 15 lbs! lol. 

To the lady who asked about strawberry fabric items, scrunchies etc.

 Last market season a lady approached me asking if I had any scrunchies made with strawberries on the fabric. I didn't at the time, but during the winter I did happen to find some and made a few things.

So if you were the one who asked, I will have the new items with me at Sexsmith Chautauqua day tomorrow June 6th. My tables are at the front this year too by the way. 

Just about ready for Chautauqua day

 I've been hauling [butt] getting my last minute ideas into the works before the big day. 

On that note, something I just started doing this year is keeping track of things and how many of them there are etc. To date (drum roll please...) I have in my stock pile, 1128 items!! There was not much left after the winter markets closed, so I would wager a guess that I've made about 400 to 500 items just this year alone. 

My partner in crime, err, helper Lana will be attending again this year as mentioned before. We will be having a two table setup this year so there will be room for all the new stuff! 

There are a couple new things that I have not announced yet. I promise pics for those things will be posted in the coming days. 

Chautauqua is just about a week and a half away and the excitement is just about killing me lol. I can't wait to start the season!!

Stay tuned for more to come...

One more month

Just one more month to the day, and we will be back at it! Chautauqua day in Sexsmith is June 6th. It starts at 10 am and runs until 4 pm. It is a fun filled day for all!

I have obligated to the entire farmers market season again this year. So I will be there every Tuesday from 4 pm to 7 pm. I'm looking forward to seeing my fellow vendor friends there and meeting new ones. Lana (my son's MIL) will assist me again this year. I swear, she gets as excited about this as I do! 

We may now and then have a few new extra goodies on our tables such as farm fresh chicken eggs, and maybe even some preserves of kinds as my DIL is getting into it now a days. 

Myself, with our business of moving house finally over with, I was able to get back to sewing as it really helps alleviate the pain from the arthritis in my hands. Gotta keep 'em moving! I've got a bunch of new flat pouches which are a decent size for anything you want to put in them. 

One other new thing are "cup covers". I've probably mentioned them before, but they are in fun colours and help keep the bugs out of your drink when outside. They are not water proof; that is not their purpose, but they are easily washed. You can even just give them a quick rinse under the tap and sit to dry.

I was intially going to sell them in pairs, but opted to do a 4 pack instead. I think that having a set of 4 is more useful to people.

One last thing before I sign off, at Chautauqua day I will have a limited supply of what I call "bed sheet binders". They are those elastic things for the clipping the corners of your bed sheets so that they do not slip off the bed mattress. They are in a set of 4 and they are much wider than the ones you see in the stores. The elastic on these are double the width at 2 inches wide. Use the suspender clips on each end to position them and then to secure them to the bed sheet. You should not have to remove them to wash the sheet. As long as they are on securely, they should wash just fine while attached to the sheet.

Well, that is about it for now, I am getting more excited about market season as the time draws more near. 

What's new for April

Sheesh! I can't believe it is April already! I have heard it through the grapevine that vendors may hear back about our Sexsmith Farmers Market applications as early as this week. I hope so, I get so excited about the upcoming market season. 

In the meantime, I have been fiddling about with the website(s). Just some reorganizing and such. I like the ease of Blogger but I have found there are a few limitations. The area for inserting images does not work well so I am having to work around this which causes time delays and inconvenience. 

I also have been playing around with my Square Online store that I still have but hadn't been using for a while other than for digital items. I was thinking it might be nice to add a few hand bags and things and just have it set for meet up delivery in G. P. I'm not interested in shipping stuff anymore unless it is absolutely necessary. The cost is just too much these days. And my husband heads to town at least 3 times a week so I am sure something can be arranged to move things along faster than mail. This way, a few things are available in the after market season as well as summer and fall.

(My little rant) The only glitch I have found with the Square online store is that there is an amount option on each item for buyers to select. This is fine and dandy for digital items but not for physical ones. Because they are custom, all physical items are one of a kind. There are, or rarely are, duplicates of an item. 

The number amounts shows up even though there is only one item listed! After a lot of fussing about, I finally got it to somewhat behave, it still shows on the item pages however. But at least if the customer tries to select more than one of the item, it stops during the checkout process finally stating that there is "not enough" items, and to reinsert the number amount to the correct amout, (which is 1). So perhaps, just keep in mind that if you are looking at a bag or something, please know that there is only one of that item unless otherwise specified in the description. (end rant lol)

Despite the glitches, for now, I think this will work out. I wanted to get away from Wordpress for a while (paid webhosting) and just use pre-set websites to save time and effort, and yes, cost. That way if I can keep my costs down, then I can pass them on to the customer by trying to keep my prices affordable. 

Right now, I have sort of split the old website into two, part of it being at Square Online, because they do provide a little website for free over there, with limitations of course. So I have put all the shopping oriented stuff there, policies, about page, etc. 

On Blogger here, I plan to keep the stuff of interest, such as the blog, my free tutorials section, free practice sheets for sewing practice, my museum of vintage sewing machines and just stuff to ramble on about. More community oriented stuff. I may add the Facebook heres here as well. 

I have been setting up links that go back and forth between the two sites so that they seam together as flawlessly as possible. If you end up at Square and want to come back here, just hit the "back to blog" link there. Also under that link you will find links for the Facebook page and the new Facebook group. In the Blogger menu, you have links for Smalls and Such and Seasonal for example that send you over to Square. The imaging is so much nicer there for those pages so I put them there. 

Anyway that is about it for now, I should get back to work making a few more things. I saw a video on a pie or casserole carrier that may need some investigation. Until next time, Happy Easter & tootle-loo!

 

My new "to me" baby!

 

I finally took the plunge and bought used a semi-industrial sewing machine! It is an older model, a Janome 1600P but after a couple tweaks, fixes and a real good cleaning and oiling, it runs like a champ! 

I have been wanting to upgrade for some time now. The new ones were way out of my price range. I liked the Janome HD9 but it is over $2000 new. The 1600P is it's predecessor and it is very much like the HD9. 

I had to get a new bobbin case for it as I was having issue with the original one. I could not get the tensions to settle in properly. So thinking that maybe it had become out of round or just plain worn out, I opted to get a new one. Sure enough, that did the trick. I adjusted the top tension to match the new case and off I went. 

I've made a few things on it now, just getting used to it and what it does. I don't get the jam up's in the corners now when making the jar openers. I would get stuck before on my Singer HD 6700C even with a teflon foot attached. I am keeping my Singer as it does all the fancy stitches and zigzags when I need it. It is nice to have one set up with one thread colour, and the other with another. That comes in handy when bag making and the lining is a lighter colour than the bag. 

When I purchased the Janome, I knew it was not going to fit easily in my sewing space. We had to move a few things around to accomodate it's size. We also found a nice sturdy table on marketplace to hold it with a good sized drawer to boot. I am height challenged, so my husband trimmed down the legs of the table for me so that I could use the knee lifter and reach the pedal etc. 

I am so happy to finally have a "tank" of a machine. Now I just have to get inspired to sew some new bags.... I am still waiting to find out if I need glasses any more or not. 

Time for a change, ain't it pretty?

I have decided to downsize and spruce up my website. I have used Wordpress on my paid webhost for many years now, but I feel it is now time for a change. I want to try switching to a different blogging platform for making posts and pages for a while and see how it goes. 

This one is called "Blogger" and is owned by Google I believe. So far, I kind of like it. It offers pages, and I can embed the codes to show my Facebook page like I have on my Wordpress site. The only downside so far, is function for placing images. Wordpress has a built in gallery system which lines up your photos nicely. Blogger does not. If I need to have photos sitting side by side, I will have to just code it myself which is something I am capable of, but I find it inconvenient lol.

I did like Wordpress, but once my website hosting comes up for renewal in October of 2028 I may not want to continue with paid webhosting that I have to manage myself... I would rather be sewing lol.  

I have my judyshandicrafts.ca domain pointing to the new Blogger location's homepage. Once you arrive, you will note that the address is judyshandicrafts.blogspot.com rather than judyshandicrafts.ca. The .ca address will get you there; perhaps add the blogspot.com address to your bookmarks if you desire. 

 I am finding it easy to transfer over older posts and I've made some changes simplifing posts and what is where. I have my little store on Square Online, which will stay. I use it for my digital downloads area, but I am thinking that I may add a few physical small items for when I am off season at the markets. This way some things can still be available without customers having to go out to the market. I live in the "sticks" but my husband goes to GP often so I am sure a meet up could easily be arranged for collecting a purchase. 

Anyway, I hope you like the new place. I do, so far. 

Eye Number 2 done and dusted!

 

At last, eye surgery is over! It felt like it went a bit faster this time. We had to arrive at the hospital at 6:30 AM.,, soo early for us lol! We were on time, and upon chatting with another patience in the waiting room, I found out we were distance cousins! Small world!

Now, I await my 2 week appointment for a check up at the eye doctor; and, keep doing the drops, finish the drops, then another check up. Then find out what sort of eye glasses I will need; readers or readers and distance.

In the meantime, I am sewing, very carefully so that I don’t run over an fingers or anything lol.

I am making a couple new things for this season’s market. I’m bringing back lanyards, but with a twist. They are adjustable! Also a few eye glass pouches with a lanyard, in a set, and a few very versatile clutch purses.

I also did a little decorating job on my table baskets, pouch and scrunchie bins making them all match! This year when I apply at Sexsmith Farmers Markst, I hope to have 2 tables. This means that I will not be requiring the floor stands that I usually bring and everything can just sit table top.

Soon as my eyes have healed, I will be back at it full force. I’ve got some new totes and handbags planned out for this year.

Panasonic Mini Cordless Iron review…sort of

 I am not one who does reviews of items at all, but I felt I should say a few words about this little cordless wonder I just purchased recently. I have no affiliation or sponsorship regarding this item. I just wish to share my opinion about it.

I am talking about this litle Panasonic iron that purchased online (at $20 less actually) during Boxing week sales. It’s model name is Panasonic Cordless NIQL300G if anyone is interested in the particulars. There is one on Amazon that is in the red colour as well.

At first I wasn’t too sure about the cordless idea, because these are in no way a battery operated iron. It has a ceramic plate which holds the heat surprisingly well. When it sits in it’s cradle, it reheats quite quickly I might add. When you first turn on the switch, it heats up within a couple minutes, even to the highest setting which is for cotton.

I generally never use an iron in steam mode. I am a bit old school that way. I just keep a spray bottle of water handy in case I need it. The iron has settings for both steam and dry. The settings are easy to use; it is kept simple which is great for people like me who don’t need a lot of complication with things.

Upon trying it out, I was happily shocked as to how well it fused my heavy weight interfacing to my cotton fabric. Usually it is a fight to get it to stick even with my heavier regular size iron.

The down sides are few in my eyes. I would say the one complaint I would have is that it is not easy to set it upright for a second, if you are needing to adjust your fabric before continuing to iron. It is clearly meant to just be sat into it’s cradle. However, the reality is, when I’m ironing, I like to sit it up for a sec, then adjust, then go on ironing. Then sit it back on the cradle to reheat.

The work around I have been doing for this is using my antique cast iron tray (if that’s what it’s called). In the old days, irons were heating on the fire then the lady of the house would sit it on the tray in between moving the garment or fabric around on the ironing board. The tray kept the iron from touching the surface below. It also so happens that the little iron fits perfect on the tray as well.

All in all, I do highly recomend this iron. I sew in a very tight space and was tired of getting caught up in the cord from my regular iron. With this, I can hide away the cord and just keep the cradle base close by for reheating.

 

Eyesight and other good stuff

 

Long story short, I have been waiting nearly a year for my cataracts to be dealt with. I was told it is generally 15 months from the time your surgery is booked to when it actually happens. So that would have put me into May or June of 2026 for this to get done. That would have been of course the start of market season for me… oh well it is what it is I thought.

Then, last Thursday, I got a phone call from the G.P. Hospital. They said there had been a cancellation, and would I like to take the spot…. TOMORROW! Oh wow I thought,… so not prepared for this, but excited that it wouldn’t mess up our travel plans anymore for May. I took the appointment. Nervousness just about got the best of me, but I made it through none the less. The nurses were concerned that my persistant post nasal “allergy” cough would ruin the surgery but a chat with the surgeon settled everyone down. By the way, I didn’t cough one time through the whole thing! So proud of myself for that.

It was the weirdest thing I have ever experienced. No pain, just a lot of “look at the light” statements from the doctor and the nurse letting me know what is to happen next…. bit of pressure here or water irrigation there… Then there was the robot thing that also would state what was happening… this or that extracted, vise versa. etc. All totalled, I was in and out in about 20 minutes.

We went home with my right eye covered and shielded. I have to sleep that way for 2 weeks, just without the padding in there which is a bit difficult fitting the shield around my bi-pap mask. So far I’m making it work.

Then there is the drops. Because there was such short notice, I was not able to do the routine of drops 3 days prior to surgery. We managed to get 3 sessions in beforehand, then now afterwards, we are doing the drops religiously. All is well, we are day 3 post surgery now. I am still having a few issues with brightness… the snow is blinding lol. So wearing sunglassess is the thing to do right now. I haven’t worn sunglasses in the house since I was a child with the measles! My husband is going to pop out the lens on my glasses (as we were told) so that I can at least see with my left eye and not bugger up my “new” eye on the right.

The pic is from a day or so ago. My husband calls it my “Roy Orbison” look lol. Sorry about my hair do… didn’t fix it up beforehand lol.

Anyway, I’m on the mend. The left eye gets done Jan 22, 2026. Good thing I’m am on hiatus from sewing. I hope to be back at it in February. For the Christmas markets, I made some new jar openers I had brought in to market during late summer. These have an extension added to the main piece which is useful for hanging on to a slippery jar or bottle.

Thanks for a great season!

 

Thank you everyone for your support through this market season. I wish you all the best in the Christmas season and into the coming new year. I hope to see you all again next June in Sexsmith at the Curling Arena.

Last one of the season!

 

The time has come, the last market of the season for me is here this weekend. The Grovedale market is on tomorrow, Friday Dec 5, from 6 pm to 9 pm and all day on Saturday Dec 6, from 10 am to 5 pm.

Joining me again is my side kick Lana, my daughter in law’s mom. This time, Lana will be selling daughter Sandie’s baking and fancy chocolates. We will also have “reindeer food” to help Santa find his way to your house, and “Puppy Chow” chex treats. These items are just $5 each.

Sandie’s boxed items will have a mix of home made chocolates, YES, chocolates, as well as other fancy sweets and treats. This is why we dubbed her section of our table “Sandie’s Sweets n’ Treats”. Believe me, her chocolates are melt in your mouth fantastic! Sandie’s mixed boxes will be selling for $20 each and have several different treats in each box.

Come on out and support local markets! The big GP Farmer market is on as well. Show your support and visit their temporary location at Tara Center. Make a day of it, and put our Grovedale market on your schedule too! If you are at the Grovedale arena for a game, pop over to check us out during intermission.

Next stop, the old neighbourhood!

 

My next market is one of my favs! Friday, Nov 7th & Saturday Nov 8th, we head back to the old neighbourhood in Clairmont for their Christmas market. Times are 4 to 8 pm on Friday and 10 am to 4 pm on Saturday. The concession will be open both days. Lots of vendors and activity! Located at 9819 100 Ave.

I will be bringing a small supply of my Fabric Rag Christmas Garlands this year. I had one for my table display and it was surprisingly quite popular. In addition to the ready made garlands, I have written a tutorial on how to make them yourself if you would prefer to use your own colours and fabric scraps. For only $5.00, I have a paper copy that will be available at the market table which includes a 15 ft length of cord to get you started. If you would rather just have a digital copy of the tutorial, it is available through my Square Online store https://judyshandicrafts.square.site/ for just $2.50.

Hope to see you in Clairmont!

Upcoming Elks Christmas market

 

The Elks market will soon be here. With all the moving going on I withheld purchasing new fabric for making new things until we were done with it all. Last week, at last, I visited my fav fabric store and came home with a new batch of fabric (see pic – found some really nice stuff!). My sewing area is just about ready to roll so very soon I will get back into the swing of things and get some new hand bags and totes made.

While staying in our motorhome, I put together some new patchwork designs, all ready to be put together into whatever they are destined to become. They are a bit different than what I’ve done before. They have contrasting zigzag topstitching and are put together in a layered manner rather than sewn side to side, top to bottom. It is technically a “quilt as you go” style but with the zigzag topstitching added for effect.

The Elks market is on Friday October 24th (my birthday) from 2 pm to 8 pm. Then open again on Saturday October 25th from 10 am to 4 pm. I hope to see you all there!