still here, still sewing.

by Kaylah Stroup

A couple of days ago, on instagram, someone asked me if I had quit blogging…

Well, I guess I accidentally did. Crap. I do have a good excuse though – I have 100% been in mask making mode. Basically since the beginning of April, all of my work hours have been dedicated to sewing masks. I’ve blogged a couple of times since my first post on mask making but trying to carve out time for taking photos and blogging just hasn’t been my top priority.

I miss it though. I miss this space. I miss sharing photos and writing things about my life. I love browsing through my own archives just to see old photos and read about whatever silly little thing had me excited at the moment. I feel like I’m going to be a little bit bummed out when a huge chunk of time is missing from the blog.

Buuuut it’s not like I’ve been holding on to anything exciting. It’s basically been 24/7 masks over here. I eat, sleep, and breathe masks. Not too much else is going on. I sew a bunch then decompress by playing Zelda : Breath of the Wild late into the night. Oh, and I spend a lot of time caring for my plants. I’m basically living it up.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m loving it. I was really worried about what the pandemic would mean for my small business. I wasn’t sure if business would just come to a halt or what. Making masks has been a lot of fun. It forced me to work on my skills, spend time perfecting them, and of course, it’s kept my business alive. I’m thankful to have been able to adapt in such a way.

Over the past few months, I’ve switched from tie masks (which take so much time and fabric) to elastic and then to elastic with adjustable stoppers so they fit a larger variety of folks. I’m so happy with the evolution of it all. They aren’t just cute, they’re comfortable too.

I’ve been so consumed with masks, I hadn’t even had a chance to update the shop with some stuff I made right before the pandemic that I reeeally reeeeally love. Double zip wristlets and pouches!

I had them tucked away in a basket that I just rediscovered over the weekend. I decided it was finally time to get them listed. It’s been so long since I’ve made any type of bag that it was really exciting to see these again. I’m a huge fan of that dalmatian polka dot cork!

My latest big update which included everything in this post (masks + bags!) went live this morning. Right now though? The shop is looking pretty empty. At the time of this post going live, there are a couple of masks left and a handful of wristlets but that’s about all. Bags probably won’t be restocked for a while but more masks will definitely be hitting the shop this time next week. If you’re interested in staying in the loop, the best spot to find update details is in my instagram stories.

All that to say, I’m still here, I miss you and I’ll try to make a better effort to show up more often! ♥

shop The Dainty Squid on etsy!

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5 comments

Cherie Moore August 5, 2020 - 8:10 pm

I only follow you via your blog….so glad to see your post 🙂

Gabbi August 9, 2020 - 12:40 am

I have alerts on, but by the time I get there, everything is sold. It’s so frustrating! I really want a bag and a mask so I’m hoping I can catch one soon because they’re beautiful!!

Kaylah Stroup August 9, 2020 - 6:31 am

Feel free to shoot me a message on etsy and I can set you up a custom listing for a mask! 🙂

Sian August 18, 2020 - 8:47 am

It’s SO awesome to hear about your process – and that you have been able to adapt during this strange time. I’m a portrait photographer and haven’t been able to work since March which is really difficult, but seeing others change things up and keep their small biz’ thriving gives me hope that I can work something else out too! Sending all of the good vibes over to you x

Sam August 19, 2020 - 5:07 am

I think that everyone has kind of shifted gears because of this damn virus and I love that you’ve managed to roll with it and start making these amazing masks! If it wasn’t such a hassle to ship to the Uk I’d probably own a lot of your creations!! 😛

Just wanted to drop into the blogspace and and say hello!

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