Sneak Peek!

Had SO much fun breaking into all my glorious new bolts of fabric today and creating with it. And had fun realizing that my little girl is a lot easier to work with for pictures! No more crawling away, no more screaming at me, no more wandering off. My tactic of, "hey! Look over there! It's something amazing!" actually worked. She'll wisen up again though :)

Today I also got 5 dresses/outfits cut out and will be ready to bang out some orders tonight - and maybe sneak in more more item for my Fall/Winter line. Probably a boy thing, I have so many ideas that I need to make into reality.

Today I ALSO found myself annoyed at my poor children for asking for drinks. But it's like a wash, rinse, repeat kind of cycle that could go on all day. And then when I realized my head hurt and I had eye fuzzies (do you ever get those white dancey things in your vision??) that I had absolutely NOTHING to drink since my morning cup of coffee. This realization occurred just as I was refilling the 20th sippy cup of the day and so I chugged my own sippy cup of water. With three kids, you kinda need to do everything at once so you get a break. Like with dinner...I don't serve any food until I have all food, drink, and utensils on their high chair trays. If not, the second I sit down to take a bite (or wash dishes) someone says, "more dis" or "down!" or "dink!!". Well, they do that anyway, it just buys me 2 minutes of stuffing my face and "enjoying" my food (wait, what did I just eat?)

Color Pallette

I've had to go back to the drawing board a few times on my fabric choices, but that's okay because I love nothing better than looking at fabric!!!

So, here's what my shop will look like when I stock it back up in September:









Yummy chocolates, peaches, greens, blues, ORANGE! My faves. Can't wait to get this stuff :)

Ch-ch-ch-changes...

Some of you might have noticed that my shop is pretty empty. This has been a big decision for me, and it's based on several different things.

1) I have decided to create "lines" in my business. My first line, Fall/Winter 2010, will debut in September 2010. This will limit the choices a lot as far as fabric color but I am pouring over all my options to pick the most amazing color and design schemes that I think will appeal to everyone. It will create a more put together look for my shop/name and I think is altogether more professional and easier to maintain.

2) I realize that 2-3 weeks is a long time to wait for something, coming from someone who believes immensely in instant gratification :) However, when you consider the time and energy that is put into making an article of clothing from a bolt of fabric into something made specifically for one very special little girl or boy, it's really not a lot of time. And I am on the verge of having to bump my turnaround time up to 4-5 weeks, and I really don't want to go there. But my "timeframe" has become something I think about constantly. In fact, I dreamt about it the other night. It reminds me of when I was a waitress in college and on busy nights when you would get triple or quadruple sat and could hardly keep up - and would then go home and dream about serving chicken wings and beer all night. No rest for the weary ;) I am "in the weeds" my friends. So it's time to catch up, get organized, and find different ways to maximize my resources. In the meantime (until my Fall/Winter line debut) I will be adding things periodically in one of a kind sizes. I do, afterall, have massive amounts of gorgeous fabric that needs to make way for the new stuff! I will be a busy bee making new products, and making many of them to allow for a shorter turnaround time. I am VERY excited about Fall/Winter 2010!

3) I am a candidate for one of these reality TV shows about organization. Don't think "hoarders". I am NOT a hoarder. I am generally a purger. Except when it comes to fabric. So, I need some down time to make use of the 7 foot tall cabinet I have full of different fabric. I absolutely cannot wait to go picking through there and come up with some new things. Also? I have two friends about to have babies and I need to get cracking on some baby projects! Crib sheets/skirt, nursing cover, big brother shirts, and CLOTH DIAPERS!! I have a love hate relationship with cloth diapering and my twins (currently *love*), but overall really think it's a great thing and I am very excited to try my hands at some diapers for tiny baby Ari.

Anyway, just thought I should mention the sudden departure of PRODUCTS from my store!! I already have a one-of-a-kind knot dress to list. Trying to decide if it should be called Sugar and Spice or Cotton Candy. It's that sweet.

Giveaways for my Facebook Fans!

(I realize I neglect my poor blog. Vacation coming up means more time for Internet funsies!)

When I first started selling products online, I had a shop on eBay and I strictly sold embroidered T-shirts, onesies, blankets, etc. I am a self-proclaimed "craft-it-all". Meaning, I have turned into my mother :) She used to tell me "oh, I can make that" to anything and everything. And she literally could...I am sure I get alot of my skillz from her, but she's even more broad in her talents. She paints, draws, sculpts, sews, crochets, knits, and is absolutely talented on a scroll saw.

I have pretty much always known how to use a sewing machine but admit I never had much fun with it until I had a baby girl to act as my muse. I can't draw, paint, or use a saw. I have tried knitting and crocheting, but I am simply not patient enough for that. But, when I see something made out of fabric, my thoughts are always, "I can make that". Totally unrelated, but my husband is the same way. Because he thinks we have more time than money (not true, 3 under 4 makes for precious little time), we have about 2 pages worth of household projects waiting to be done. And, bless his heart, he can do anything. But then he has to deal with the wrath of a wife who doesn't want to be the car/basement/water softener/insert project here-widow. It's a lose-lose situation :)

Anyway, all this to say that I prefer to make my own clothes now than order blank shirts and embroider them. I'm sticking to the basics - white T-shirts and onesies are the only thing I stock anymore. But I have TRIED AND TRIED for years to get rid of the stuff that I do have. It bugs me to have my humongous storage cabinet full of stuff that I don't even sell, when I could be stacking my beautiful bolts of fabric in there.

So, I had the BRILLIANT idea to start some giveaways for my facebook fans. A little reward. Starting tonight I will be doing random giveaways of one of the items (blue/pink T-shirts, T-shirt dresses, bloomers) I am trying to destash. I will pick the item and announce on my facebook page the steps required to win it. The winner will simply have to pay postage and will receive their very own cust om embroidered clothing (for kids, of course). Here's a link in case you aren't already a fan:
http://www.facebook.com/leaveyouinstitches
The first random giveaway will be tonight! Stay tuned!!

Mother's Day Items, Sale, New Sewing Machine --> Rambling

Couldn't pin down a title for a rambling sort of blog post.

First of all, I am having a SALE on some of my ready to ship items! Check it out!


Second of all, my sewing machine broke (did I already mention that?) and I had to search for a new one. Meanwhile I've been using one that I am glad will not be my forever machine. I went and tried some out at a couple different places around here. I really was in for some sticker shock, who knew that *quality* sewing machines were so expensive? Anyway, I found my dream machine in a Viking Sapphire. There is actually a sewing machine that will trim your threads for you? And sew through 5 layers of fabric? I thought I had to do that stuff manually. Anyway, I ended up finding it for a substantially less amount on eBay, hope I don't live to regret that. 3-8 days baby! This purchase may or may not have lead to the sale on ready to ship items, heh.

Lastly, I had a customer mention how she would love the white linen peasant shirt I make in an adult size (she had ordered one for her daughter already). I jumped right on that offer, as this was on my to do list. And, having a paid order for one jumps it way up on my to do list. Turns out that she is the same size as I am, so I just cut out and made 2 of them as I went. I *love* this shirt. Seriously. No more Target T-shirts for me, I am making my own from now on. I added these ones to my shop, in time for Mother's Day and hope to add more soon. The husband took this photo, if it were me, I would have used an artistic face chop on me. I don't love looking at myself as many times as I open up my etsy shop per day :)

Giveaway Winner!

I used Random.org to generate my giveaway winner - and the winner is Renee! My fellow mom of a 3 year old boy and twin 1.5 year olds. Get me your address Renee, and I'll ship your new key fob wallet ASAP! I will do another giveaway in April, so stay tuned for more chances to win!

And, as soon as I get my act together a little I will post the promised tutorial on how to make your own ID holder. I was too embarassed by the shape of my hands currently to take photos of myself sewing something. Baby girl and I had a mini manicure, and I only got through 3 of my fingers. So, I am left with 3 chipped, bright red painted nails and 7 others that are badly in need of some love. What can I say? I was never one for manicured hands. So I opted to take pics of the tutorial without my lovely hands. To be uploaded later ;)

My Sewing Room (in all it's put together glory)

Phew. I can't believe how long it took me to clean this room up. And I can't believe how messy I let it get. To be fair, when I am busy with orders, I am more concerned with getting them done and out in a timely manner than with putting fabric back where it belongs. Or to be bothered with throwing my thread snips in the garbage as opposed to on the floor. So I took some pics while it's like this, because knowing me, it won't last. Or maybe it will, because I've been super conscientious about putting things back, loving the way my room feels right now. Peaceful. The absence of chaos (in the form of a well organized room and the lack of children in this space) makes this a really nice place to escape to.

Did I mention my husband built this room from scratch? Well, from a completely unfinished basement space that is.





And this? My pile of small quantity fabric that I need to make one of a kind pants, dresses, skirts, etc. out of. Lots of it is already cut into the final product, I just need to sew them up. Stay tuned :)