People always tell me after I make something, that I should make a thousand and sell them. In theory it's a great idea and if I did, perhaps I could turn a nice profit. The problem is that I don't want to make a thousand. I don't want to mass produce. I want to make something unique to the person I'm making it for and then move on to something else.
Yesterday was sweet little Madison's sixth birthday and we wanted to make her something special. With summer right around the corner the girls thought a beach towel was the perfect gift.
I found super cute rainbow colored beach towels at Sears, but the only color the towels didn't have in them was pink. I can't give girl a gift without any pink in it, that is just crazy! In the dollar section of Target a while back they had really thin pink beach towels. I scooped one up last summer and I used it for the material for the applique letters. I was going to make the straps for the bag out of the leftover towel fabric, but I ran out of time and improvised with wide grosgrain ribbon. I think I like the ribbon better. I'm not entirely sure how the ribbon will stand up, but if it doesn't, Josie (Madison's mom) if you are reading his, let me know and I will change the straps.
In true Sheila form, I was sewing the towel right up until the moment we needed to leave for the party. One of my neighbors called while I was frantically sewing and as we started to shoot the breeze I simply had to tell her I had to blow her off. I didn't mince words, just a simple "I'm blowing you off right now". Luckily she understood!
I've made these personalized towels for many people and boy are they a big hit. They have evolved from the first two I made. Those were for Mikayla and Julia for Easter a few years back. Which... I spelled Julia's name wrong! Haaa! I didn't notice it until she pulled it out of her Easter basket and Mike started laughing. I got so caught up in making the towels I didn't pay attention to the order in which I was placing the letters. It's true, you can't see the forest through the trees.
When I first began making these towels they started out with crazy patterned cotton fabric for the letters. I loved mixing the patterns and the vibrant colors of the cotton fabric were fantastic. Unfortunately, over time the cotton letters faded faster than the towel and the brilliant colors just went away. I've decided that using a solid color towel as the fabric for the applique letters made much more sense and it makes the letters pop out better.
So this is what sweet little Madison got for her birthday. The letters in the pictures look red, but they are actually a really pretty vibrant pink.
I am really happy with the way Madison's towel turned out, I hope she likes it too.
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Happy Birthday sweet little girl!
~Sheila
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