Speedy Little Monkeys!!

This morning I sewed up a pair of these little newborn diapers to go along with the EtsyClothDiaper team's "It's a Jungle Out There" theme for March.
This afternoon I listed them in my shop.
Tonight they were sold, just like that (along with another diaper duo!)

Wow, I wish more items sold that fast!

I have a few other themed items in stock, and there are a dozen more on my sewing desk just waiting for me to finish them up and get them listed. Buy any item from the theme of the month section in my shop and get another item (equal or lessor value) for 25% off! The themes change monthly, so get them while the getting's hot! (click on the pictures below to see the listings)

Friday Feature: MopeyCantSwim

Last weekend in chat I met the owner of the darling little shop Mopey Can't Swim. Since I live literally within feet of the ocean, I was enchanted by the little plushie toys that fill this shop:

"What is a Mopey, you ask? A Mopey is a type a starfish! They are fuzzy, cute, and affectionate, but unfortunately they cannot swim. (That's where you come in!) Since this little guy can't stay in the ocean, he would love for you to share your home with him!"

MCS has recently discovered some other little monsters, and will soon be introducing Mopeys in other sizes as well. MCS blogs here. ☺

Vikings!

My husband is a viking at heart, so with him in mind, today it's a viking treasury!
(click photos to see item listings)

for baby vikings

for vikings who no longer put everything in their mouths
Thor's Hammer in cast pewter

for dirty vikings
Black celtic sandalwood soap (earthy, manly, and BLACK!)

for REALLY dirty vikings
Pine Tar Soap (the vikings used it for their ships, why not themselves?!)

for intellectual vikings
Norse Runes chessboard

for naked vikings
(cuz you know you want this t-shirt too!)

Knitting a Stretchy Bind-off

I recently finished knitting my first project that required a bind-off. Don't laugh, all my prior projects had been hats which just decrease away to nothing!! But I made a sweater for my toddler, and so I not only needed a bind-off, but I needed something that would be a bit stretchy. I googled around a bit and found this fabulous tutorial for a stretchy bind-off (I love WoolyWonder.com!) I found several sites that explained it, but this was the only one with pictures good enough that I could actually understand what was going on!!
And the sweater may be imperfect (it's my first one) but the bind-off came out great! And it is VERY stretchy! (My son loves the sweater, especially the pocket. He would wear it every day if I let him)

(yes, I swear he IS wearing a diaper in this photo, LOL!)

Tuesday Tip: Speedy Dropping for Entrecard

A couple of weeks ago I posted a tuesday tip about using entrecard to promote your blog (and therefore your shop). Today I want to revisit that topic by talking about some add-ons that can help you use entrecard efficiently.
Obviously it can be quite a slow process to open blog after blog and drop entrecards, even if you know which ones have the card! Here are a few tips that can speed things up.

(Thanks to this blog post for a lot of this help! And thanks to Unique Commodities for giving me the link in the first place!)

1) Use firefox. Download the 'no-script' add-on (which will block a lot of sidebar content and allow pages to load faster). You will need to configure noscript to enable entrecard content for this to work--see this page and this page for details on how to do this (it's not hard). This page also has some helpful screenshots.☺

2) When you visit a site that you want to drop on regularly, mark it as a favorite. (Click on the 'E' on their card and it will take you directly to their entrecard profile. On the right side of the profile is a box with options including "mark as favorite.") I mark fellow etsians because that is who I advertise, and usually who I place my ads with.

3) Look in your inbox (in your entrecard account) and see who is dropping on you. Return the favor and drop back on them! If you like the site, add them to your favorites.

4) If you join a ring, they usually have a homepage where you can click one button and it will open up a row of tabs with new sites...this is a nice way to find new favorites if you don't know where to start. Here are a few of those pages I have found/used: Arts/Crafts/Fashion/Hobbies links ~ LivingBotanical ~ The Entrecard Credit Generator (this one isn't choosy about site content like the others are, but it can get you a lot of drops)

5) Download the entrecard toolbar (which also requires firefox). Once it is up on your browser, you can login or switch between cards (if you have more than one) with one click. When you are ready to go dropping, you can select for it to open 10 pages (in tabs) selected from your favorites or from whichever category you choose. With many pages at once plus the no-script to help them load quickly, you can drop drop drop and be on your way!

6) Make sure you have good virus/malware blockers. A lot of them sneak in via scripts, so blocking scripts can help, but especially since you will be hopping around to lots of unfamiliar sites, it's important to have good protection! (That first blog post has some links to good free programs.)

A note about why you want to drop on the same pages over and over: because then you can be a top dropper, get listed on other peoples blogs, and get more traffic!!!
And you get credits for dropping. Lots and lots and lots of credits. Up to 300/day!

Where to buy diaper/pad materials

A while ago I posted about the various kinds of diaper/pad making materials, but didn't go much into where to get them. So today I'm going to remedy that!
(I will update this post if/when I find new sources)

There are two main sources for getting materials (unless you are ordering hundreds of yards and can afford to order directly from the manufacturer): online retail shops, and co-ops.

• Retail shops have things in stock, and will send it to you right away. Selection varies by shop, but I'm usually able to find one shop that has everything I need (although it's not always the same shop as last time). The downside is that they sell at retail prices. However, if you're just getting a few yards of something, I think this is the way to go.
• Online Co-ops are formed when groups of buyers get together to purchase fabrics in bulk at wholesale price (usually around 60% of retail). It is typical for an order to take 2-6months, depending on the size of the order and the efficiency of the co-op leader. Be aware that when ordering through a co-op, you will usually also pay cut fees (about $1/5 yards, to cover the leader’s time to sort/ship your fabric), as well as paying your portion shipping to the leader, and then shipping to you. I find that co-ops are cheaper if I want over 5 yards of fabric, and don’t mind waiting a while.

Some abbreviations:
DC = Diaper cut (enough fabric to make one diaper). Usually about 20x20 inches. Please note that not all diaper patterns will quite fit on this size of cut!
FOE = fold over elastic
MM = maldon mills (the best microfleece and fleece)
PUL = polyurithane laminate. It's made by fabrite and they require a minimum order of 50 yards per color. (There is an off-brand PUL with fewer and slightly different colors but it seems to be equal quality and is cheaper.)
OBV = organic bamboo velour

Types of elastic:
polybraid = traditional looking white elastic (hereafter referred to as 'elastic')
lastin = clear plastic elastic, commonly seen in swimwear--popular because it's supposed to last a long time
FOE = used to elasticize and bind in one step. There are two types--one is narrow, one is wider and soft ('plush') The wider one costs a little more but is much better. Available in many colors and even prints.

Types of closures:
touchtape = hook/loop ('velcro'), available in many colors, very strong, inexpensive, a little stiff
aplix = another hook/loop option, softer and more expensive than touchtape, available only in white.
resin snaps = these come in two forms, and require a press or special snap pliers to apply. There are two types "KAM" and something else that's not KAM. KAM is more widely available. Both types look about the same, but it's generally agreed that they are not compatible.

Shop	Fabric	Notions
Kids in the Garden http://kidsinthegarden.com/shop/ monthly sales on selected items	1ml PUL (by the yard, inch, or DC) in prints and solids, microfleece, microfiber, suedecloth, organic hemp, organic bamboo	touchtape, FOE, elastic, size tags, threads, needles, patterns
Very Baby http://verybaby.com/	1ml PUL (yard), flannel, birdseye, terry, jersey, cotton velour, hemp knit, microfiber, wool jersey & interlock, some organics	touchtape, aplix, FOE, elastic, lastin, threads, needles, size tags, snap press & snaps (non-KAM), patterns
Celtic Cloths http://www.celticclothswholesale.com offers full rolls at discount	2 ml PUL (yard or DC), hemp, bamboo, cotton, suedecloth, organics, microfiber	touchtape, aplix, elastic, FOE (all by the inch) size tags
Sew Many Diapers http://sewmanydiapers.com/ seems to be sold out of many items	Sandwich PUL, cotton velour, flannel, sherpa, birdseye, microfiber, hemp fleece, bamboo fleece & velour	FOE, elastic, lasting, KAM snaps, size labels, some touchtape, thread, patterns
FOE Your Diaper http://www.foeyourdiaper.com	FOE (wide variety of colors/prints, the good soft stuff)	FOE (solid or print), matching thread
WAHM Supply http://wahmsupply.com/shop/	Suedecloth, PUL (yard or DC)	touchtape
Wazoodle http://www.wazoodle.com/ very user friendly site very good prices	Everything I’ve ever heard of, both regular and organics, in lots of colors and prints including camo!	Here again, everything (snaps are KAM brand)
Sew Shoppe http://www.sewshoppe.com/	1 and 2ml PUL, flannel, french terry, cotton velour & interlock, bamboo velour & fleece, sherpa, wool, minkee, MM fleece,	Patterns, wool wash, rotary cutters
SewZanne’s Fabrics http://www.sewzannesfabrics.com/	1 & 2ml PUL, hemp fleece & jersey, cotton velour, flannel, Lots of NON-diaper stuff too.	FOE, elastic, lasting, aplix, needles, non-snap-press snaps (may not be good for dipes)
The Fabric Fairy http://www.thefabricfairy.com/	Organics, bamboo, hemp, fleece, sherpa, velour (lots of NON diaper fabric too though) Also DCs	Size tags (this elastic is not appropriate for diapers)

Co-op	Items offered (varies)	Notes
Cloth Thoughts http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ClothThoughts/	Sherpa, cotton velour, MM microfleece, lastin, touchtape	Speed is the goal—4-6wk turnaround maximum LOVE IT
PUL Purchase Power http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PULPurchasePower/	1ml and 2ml PUL (5-6 colors at a time, rotating each month)	Fine (some delays if colors don’t fill)
Fantastic Flannels http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fantasticflannels/	Cotton velour, microfleece, flannel, PUL, maxilock thread	Good
This-End-Up http://groups.yahoo.com/group/This-End-Up/	Velour, hemp, FOE, sherpa, terry, bamboo, PUL, elastics, wools, designer fabrics, etc	I’ve found this one to be very slow and pricy on shipping
Notion Supply http://groups.yahoo.com/group/notionsupply/	KAM snap presses, KAM snaps, size labels, some other notions	Ships from china, but is GREAT
Crazee Creations http://groups.yahoo.com/group/crazee_creations/	Variety of fabrics	No personal experience
Diaper Fabrics Coop http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Diaperfabricscoop/	MM microfleece, aplix, elastic, PUL, organic cotton, gutterman thread, organic velour, scissors/cutters,	no personal experience
Stork Preorders http://groups.yahoo.com/group/storkpreorders	Hemp, other diaper making supplies (not specific in announcement)	no personal experience
Momufactured Deals http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MomufacturedDeals/	Killington flannel, OBV, etc	no personal experience

Guest posting on Eco Etsy Blog today

I wrote a guest post "eco tip" for Team Eco Etsy about cloth diapering, and they posted it this morning.

When I was a kid my mom used cloth diapers. They were huge things that had to be folded, pinned, and covered with plastic pants. After they were used they had to be dunked and swished in the toilet, then put into a pail with water and bleach...the whole process was disgusting, and I swore I would be using disposables when I had children of my own.

But there have been some remarkable advancements in cloth diapers since then...

Click here to read the rest of the post.