mmmm ... hippies

I'm in the process of making another batch of SWAK blankets, this time using some rather unusual fabric I found on sale a few months ago. Unexpectedly, when I iron it it smells exactly like the hippie clothing store in Blacksburg, Virginia ... or at least, what the store used to smell like when I graduated way too long ago. Yum - patchouli-scented swaddling blankets!

I may have to post a warning for these: "Excessive exposure to this blanket may cause a lack of ambition, a tendency to wear peasant skirts with jingly bells on the hem, and a wicked case of the munchies."

Very excited!

I got an order today to sell some of my SWAK swaddling blankets/nursing covers in a "lactation boutique" in a hospital in Georgia. Basically, it's a shop inside the hospital that focuses on things new mothers (especially those who breastfeed) might need. What a great idea! I wish I had had access to something similar when my daughter was first born ... we had a rough go of it at first, and a little extra support would have been appreciated.

Hospitals are a retail avenue I've been hoping to break into, but most don't have such a specialized shop. I'm not sure my blankets would sell next to the standard hospital gift shop "flowers and a get well card" fare, so I haven't investigated it too much.

Now I need to get off my butt and look for similar boutiques in other hospitals. Hurray for new business opportunities!

The shop update is complete!

For once, I'm early with something big!

The shop has been updated with a ridiculous number of new SWAK swaddling blankets, plus some quilts and the Linking Rings pattern. I probably won't be doing another big shop update until after Easter, so now is a great time to buy. Go check it out (and buy something)!

Whetting your whistle for the March 10th shop update

Six new SWAK fabrics! New craft patterns! New quilts for tummy time! It's gonna be a party on Monday! I'm going to end every sentence with an exclamation point whether it needs it or not!

It was all going so well

After a weekend of frantic sewing and cleaning, my studio looked like this:

And then I realized how low my stock of SWAK blankets was, and I was out of suitable material for new ones, so I bought fabric. It was on clearance. I might have gotten a little carried away.

That's a 7-inch-thick stack of fabric, in case anyone's counting. Gonna be a lot of ironing and hemming in my future for the next couple of weeks ...

SWAK customer feedback

Actual message from a customer regarding the lightweight Swaddled With A Kiss blanket she bought earlier this year:

Hi there, just wanted to let you know I received this -- and have gotten compliments on it the two times I've used it as a nursing shawl so far. I love how lightweight it is; the fabric is really pretty. Thank you!

Thanks for the feedback, and I hope you continue to enjoy it!

Readers, if you're interested in purchasing one for yourself, you can find a selection of lightweight swaddling blankets in my etsy shop in the Baby Gifts section.

Because I haven't hawked my stuff here for a while

New SWAK blankets are up in the shop, including one I love so much I'm tempted to keep it, even though I have no earthly need for another baby blanket ...

Oh, and can we stop for a moment and savor the wonderful light I managed to catch this morning while LazyToddler was parked in front of a DVD from the library? Light like this in January in Cleveland is a godsend ... and I'm loving how the new color in my living room photographs. Shame that once the renovation is done, I'm going to have to move the couch in order to get to this wall.