Lately I've been posting about 50/50 friends locked/public entries. I add pretty much everyone who friends me so if you want to add me, add away!

Also, I would love it if you posted an intro comment on this post about yourself or where you found me. (comments are screened)

<3 Carly

Fewer and fewer reasons to stay in Chicago...

I'm so tired of feeling sad all the time.

Frankie magazine asked to include something I made in their next issue. They sent me a beautiful media kit that included a set of blank cards I cannot wait to use.



This just in: Kris and I swept the Instructables Quilting contest. This is my second sewing machine from Instructables and it brings my sewing machine army count to 5 machines.

I have done a terrible job at keep up with my friends list lately. All I want to do is lock myself in my apartment and make stuff. The idea of putting the effort together to leave my apartment is overwhelming.

For 7 years I have (in some form or another) made things to sell. A couple months ago, after I hit a "I'm just tired of all of it" breakdown of sorts, I decided to change directions and post tutorials on a blog and to sell patterns for download.

When I stopped worrying about making things I thought others would want to buy, I started coming up with things that people want to buy. At 28 years old, I was still trying to figure out who I was as a designer. In 2 weeks of making tutorials instead of products it became crystal clear what my design aesthetic is.

I have not had much luck in the past getting press for the products I created. Now that I am making tutorials of bizarre one-of-a-kind art-like pieces, I am getting almost too much press (too much because I don't have many projects posted yet and I've been very busy lately and not getting new projects posted as quickly as I would like).

I have decided to just ride the wave of people who are supportive and keep giving them what they want.

This brooch was included in a weekly roundup on Craftzine.com:

(I posted how to make this on howdidyoumakethis.com, too)

The people at Instructables have been wonderful to me (they even surprised us with food at Maker Faire when we were too busy to leave our booth). An hour after I posted my Applique Quilting a Map project on Instructables it was a featured project, they want to include it in an e-book they are compiling, and it was also featured on Craftzine.com

There is a lot going on and I am having a great time. I hope this is the tide changing to work in my favor.

"Maybe your first love is the one that sticks with you because it’s the only person who will ever receive all of you. After that you learn better. But, most of all, no matter what, a piece of you forever remains left behind in the heart of the one you loved – a piece no further person could ever get, no matter what. That piece holds innocence, the belief that love really can last forever. It holds friendship and pain, trial and error, that one kiss you’ll never forget, and that night under the stars you can never get back. It holds youth and everything you thought love would be, everything that was proven wrong."

Source

I would call our relationship complicated.

Ever since you said you "like lying to people," I really don't believe the things you say to me. Especially your excuses like "my phone just beeped to tell me I had a text message" when responding to me 3 hours after I sent the message.

It has been a while since I updated but the last few weeks have been crazy.

I have been working on 2 very different photo shoots. One happened on Friday and I am so happy with how the photos turned out. But I had no doubts about what Tasha (Redwall Photo) could do.

The second photo shoot (also with Tasha) is happening this Friday and I have a lot of work ahead of me to get the job done. But, it will get done. :) I am looking forward to this shoot. We have an interesting shoot planned for sure.

I went to an industry day that was part of Chicago Fashion Week and found myself facing several opportunities that I did not expect. These opportunities I would have killed for when I graduated from college. I gave up on ever getting to do these things and now, here they are. One is an internship. I think it would be very good for me to do an internship but there are a few things I am uncertain about. The other will allow me to do exactly what I am doing now but with support and mentoring. Why I was reluctant to apply for that opportunity, I'm not sure.

You know that thing they say about addiction where someone has to "hit bottom" or finally figure out for themselves that what they are missing is worth more than what they get from what they are addicted to? I think that also applies to negative behaviors like procrastination. Procrastination isn't exactly the right word. I was guilty of letting life pass by and assuming that if something was important for me to do it would happen. I knew that wan't really how life worked but it was the easy way out. I let so many opportunities pass by because I didn't pursue them or follow-up. I became aware of this a few weeks ago and started looking for these opportunities as they were happening so I wouldn't pass them by. Two days later I had something small but obvious happen that I missed which was my big wake up call that has spurred big changes.

It also helps to have an amazing friend talk you through your "I'm not worthy" freak out. ;)

I simply told you where I was going. I never asked if you wanted to come with but hey, thanks for inviting yourself along when you aren't wanted. It's really going to make my day better to have some tag along when I wanted to be by myself.