Boy, this is a hard entry to write. I guess there’s no easy way to announce this news, so I’m just going to jump in. As of July 25, 2010 Home Ec. will be closing the doors on our brick and mortar shop and moving exclusively online.

There are many reasons I came to this (hard and labored-over) decision. Of course the fact that we’re in the midst of The Great Depression Jr. isn’t helping anyone in retail nowadays, and we are no exception, but that’s not the whole story. We could probably hold on a while longer in our current location, maybe we’d ride out the financial storms, but if I’m being 100% honest with you, I’ve come to realize that my heart is not in it.

The last 12 months have probably been the hardest of my life. In late November of 2009, my mother died suddenly after a very short illness. Four and a half months later, her mother (my last remaining grandparent) died as well. It’s been incredibly hard to absorb these blows while keeping the shop running. Anyone who owns a retail shop will tell you it’s a 24/7 kind of proposition. Your shop doesn’t slow down to adapt to your life, it becomes your life. Which is great if you’re up for it, but I am feeling a very intense need to take a deep breath and reassess how I’m living and what I’m creating.

I’ve worked in the craft community for many years now, in various permutations. From running my own accessories business to putting on craft fairs, writing for blogs and writing my own sewing book. I dreamed about having a physical outpost for all the crafty stuff I loved, but the reality of being so deeply obligated to one thing has taken its toll and I’d like to get some of that old freedom back. Freedom to make my own schedule, and to tackle new challenges (writing a second book, exploring fabric design, etc.) without being so tied to the physical shop. We will remain open to the public through Sunday,  July 25 but the last week of the month will be spent packing and moving (barring one last nighttime class, part 3 of our Modern Baby Quilt class).

I want to make it clear that Home Ec. as an entity, however, is not going anywhere! We’re moving into an office space where my kick-ass helper gals will fill your orders for the fabrics, books, and craft kits we’ve always offered. Better yet, the lower overhead means we can carry a lot more of all that stuff. We’re even developing some fun new products of our own! We’ll be bringing in some guest bloggers with original projects and articles, and we’ve also got a Home Ec. podcast in the works, which will be debuting at the end of August. As bittersweet as closing our lovely space at 3815 W. Sunset Blvd. may feel, I’m re-energized and excited as all get out about what we can accomplish online. And I sincerely hope you will join us!

Last month’s bake sale for the Pasadena Humane Society + SPCA was great, and we’re using the several hundred bucks we brought in to purchase a wide variety of cute dog and cat collars for the animals in the shelter. Folks there told us it really helps the animals to get adopted when potential pet-parents can see how cute the animals look with their own special collars. It helps them visualize them as members of their household, and we’re happy to be a part of it!

This month we’re setting our sights on the recent disaster in the Gulf. The environmental repercussions of the oil spill are staggering! We’re raising money to help the Audubon Society in their efforts to help offset the impact on our natural world. We’re actively seeking volunteers to help sell treats, to bake treats, and to make donations. If any of the above applies to you, please get in touch! Hope to see you next Saturday, May 29 from 11am – 7pm.

Hope to see everyone this Saturday for our next fundraising  bake sale, which will benefit the Pasadena Humane Society & SPCA. This is an organization that is near and dear to my heart, since my three furry companions were adopted there!

Here’s our cat Kang, begrudgingly sporting one of my early crochet experiments. Think he resents me?

Here’s Kang’s brother Kodos catching a cat nap (har har) on a shelf in our bedroom. Kang and Kodos are true brothers, adopted from the same litter and are two of the most loving kitties my husband and I could have hoped for.

The most recent addition to our family is Dizzy, a chihuahua/terrier mix (we think?). The pic above is the two of us at the Pasadena Humane Society  just after we made the adoption official. She was a timid girl at first but has not left my side since. She’s been a fantastic addition to our home and I think the cats would even agree (though maybe not when she is chasing them around the house).

If you’re hoping to adopt a few friend, or just curious about ways you can help, check out the PHSSPCA’s website here. Or stop by on Saturday with treats and/or dollars in hand. Hope to see you there!

Lord knows we love our Heather Ross fabric around here, especially her color-saturated “Far Far Away” collection. So you shoulda seen my  jaw drop when I saw on my fave fabric blog, True Up, that Heather is offering customizable Keds featuring her gorgeous designs. I took a screenshot of the pair I’d love to snap up next time I’m feeling like splurging on myself. I switched the binding color from pink to orange, made the topstitching hot pink, and changed the gusset color to a nice cream. Check out all the designs (available in various prints, for grownups and kids alike) on Zazzle.

A lot of folks walk into the shop asking our advice on how to make two very basic home decor items: curtains and duvet covers. Both are wonderful beginner projects since they are simple shapes, and fairly quick to execute. Since we’d need to know the measurements of their windows and duvets to give them specific guidance, I usually end up referring them to Design Sponge, the great design/home blog that has been running a series of “Sewing 101″ posts by Brett Bara. These particular posts on sewing curtains and duvet covers are great jumping-off point for anyone wanting to expand their sewing repertoire and gussy up the joint at the same time. Check them out!

Just wanted to update everyone about the Book-It Bake Sale we held for Micheltorena Street Elementary School. We made right around $600, which will be used to donate a book display full of kid’s art and craft books. We’re happy to contribute to this worthy cause right here in our neighborhood and want to extend a big thank you to everyone who showed up to help out, whether you baked stuff or ate stuff. You rock!

See more pix from the sale in our Home Ec. Silverlake Flickr group. Don’t these Peeps cupcakes from Nichole Ramirez look amazing?

Ready to satiate your sweet tooth for a good cause? Come by Home Ec. tomorrow from 11am-7pm and help raise money for Micheltorena Street Elementary School, which is just a short walk down the street from our store. We’re holding this sale to raise money for their “Adopt-a-Library” fundraiser, which will help them to complete the new library at their school. We’re gonna have all kinds of delicious treats like homemade Pop-Tarts, Guinness Chocolate Cake, Cupcakes, Raspberry Puff Pastries and more! Hope to see you all there.

We all had such a good time at this weekend’s charity bake sale! We probably had twice as many baked goods this time around, everything from gingerbread mini-loaves and whoopie pies to fancy macarons and red velvet cake pops. We even had homemade dog treats!! I am thrilled as heck to annouce that we raised a whopping $1,843 for the Mutt Scouts dog rescue!! Nikki and Jeff and their crew of doggie foster parents do truly amazing things for abused and neglected pups and we’re thrilled to be able to help them with their cause!

The lesson I’m learning in all this is to never, ever doubt the power of Sugar + Flour = Community.

We would like to thank everyone who plunked down their cold, hard cash and contributed to the cause, and everyone who stayed up late baking delicious treats! Our volunteer bakers this month included myself and my employees Jess and Lauren, along with friends, teachers, and customers like Matt, Nichole, Jek, Kim, Lori, Dani, Polly, Elinor, Anna, Mel, Jenny, Hannah, Inger, Chris, Virginie, Bethany and Karen. (Please leave a comment if we inadvertently left you out!) Hope you can all join us next time…we’ll keep you posted on all the details.

To view more pix from our charity bake sales, click here. Become a fan of our bake sales on Facebook here.

I always love seeing what our students and customers do with the skills and products they pick up here at the shop. One of the most rewarding classes in this regard has been Elinor Nissley‘s Hand-Carved Stamps class.

One of our former students, Tracy, used her newfound stamp-carving skills to create these beautifully designed tee-shirts. The proceeds from each shirt go directly to non-profit organizations helping with the devastation in Haiti.

The shirts will be up for sale on Velvet soon, and Tracy promises to keep everyone posted. (Don’t you love that she stamped up some hangtags too?)

Please join us this Saturday for Round #2 of our new monthly bake sale initiative, entitled Bark at the Spoon! From 11am – 7pm we’ll be offering up all kinds of delicious home-baked treats, all to benefit The Mutt Scouts, a wonderful Los Angeles animal rescue organization. There were some truly tasty items available last month and it looks like this week’s sale will be just as amazing. We’ll have Nigella Lawson’s Chocolate-Guinness Cake available by the slice, The Barefoot Contessa’s PB+J bars, cupcakes of all kinds, cookies, and more. The sale lasts all day (or until we run out) so come on down!

If anyone reading this would like to volunteer to help at the sale, we could use folks to hang out and help price items and check people out. If this is you, leave a comment or send an e-mail letting us know when you’re available.

Feel free to re-post this info, or click here to print out a flyer to hang at your work or fave coffee shop. Thanks everyone!