Saturday Stream of Consciousness

I'm sure it's not a good idea to blog ONLY when entering a contest, but perhaps that was just the incentive I needed.


Halloween wrap-up
This year I sewed:
*5 Ducks (Donald or Daisy)
*4 lions
*2 Dorothys
*2 Princess Tianas
*1 frog prince
*1 peacock
*1 tin man
*1 scarecrow
*1 Glinda
*1 colonial boy

Those are my boys and niece as the Wizard of Oz crew. Who can resist a 2 year old Dorothy travelling with her posse of devoted older cousins?

I really feel like there was more, but it's been a long time since Halloween and I've tried to put the memories of the related sewing mayhem out of my mind (I am STILL sweeping up duck fluff and lion mane fur!). I wish I could be as successful getting rid of all the lingering candy at my house, but eating it myself is not exactly working towards my goal of dropping a few pounds. Oh well, it's the holidays, right?

So once again, here I am with an excuse about why I haven't been sewing. Really, it just LOOKS like I haven't been sewing because I haven't listed a lot. I have actually beens sewing quite a bit.


My new obsession is aprons. I made my first one about a year ago, and intended to keep it for myself but it turned out so cute that I couldn't resist listing it (money > clean clothes while baking... that's a greater than sign up there. Yes, there is math in my Saturday blog. Don't sue me). I bought some adorable Pillow & Maxfield fabric for my birthday and intended to use it to make myself an apron, which I would for real keep this time. But, well, it turned out too cute (and I decided that the particular pattern that I enjoy making is not very flattering on me. And we all know that baking should be about looking good!) so I will be listing it as soon as I get pictures. But here is one that I made, love, AND took pictures of! You can love it, too, and buy it. I plan to go crazy with this particular pattern because A) it is adorable, and B) it is great for using up leftover scraps that I cannot bear to part with. To this day, I am still lacking my own apron. Maybe I should try making one with fabrics I don't like so I'll want to keep it. At any rate, keep your eyes on my store because I have lots more to add!

But the point of this blog was that I love fabric and I love free things and the fun & friendly Melanie from Above All Fabric has given me the opportunity to get fabric as a free thing! First of all, I have to say that I adore Melanie. No, I've never met her and now she's going to think that I'm some kind of weird cyber-stalker, but she really is amazing. Her fabric selection and customer service are perfection, and she always has some kind of great sale or promotion going on. Hands down, she's got the best online fabric shop around. Did you know she even has a wish list feature on her site? I am filling my list up since Christmas is just around the corner. Imagine a Christmas where all the packages were filled with fabric! It's a blissful thought, isn't it? So I'm telling you about the wish list, giving me the chance to win some free fabric. And if YOU blog about it, YOU can be in the free fabric contest, too (details here)! Yes, your entering the contest does decrease my chances of winning, but it's the giving time of year, so I'm giving you a chance to win, too (3 of us can win- let's make it be me and two of my friends. I just won't say who, and you can pretend I'm talking about you!)

Did you miss me?

Hi, my name is Carol, and I used to sew.

Here are some of the things I've been doing since you last heard from me:

Sewing costumes for Arts Alive's production of The Robe.

Coordinating summer programs for Elon University's Challenge Course.

Starting up a non-profit homeschool tutoring program- Archway Classes.

Being a single mom while my husband traveled for work all summer.

Vacationing at our parents' homes in Virginia Beach and South Carolina.

And reading- oh, reading! I used to read all the time and stopped when my oldest was born because I just didn't have (ie, make) the time for it. But this summer all of my boys can read and now I can read, too! My fare has mostly been tween & adolescent fiction (Mysterious Benedict Society, 39 Clues and Hunger Games series) and I love it!



Now that I am done with most of the above activities, I have time to sew again (HOORAY!) and my list is long! A quilt for a sweet little boy diagnosed with cancer, testing womens knitwear patterns for a friend of mine (I can't wait to show you the results!), and sewing LOTS of Halloween costumes are all on my list. And then I found my stash of Halloween fabric and I *really* want to make something with it now, too!

So I just relisted all of my ready-to-ship Halloween outfits in my etsy shop and am offering free shipping on them to anyone who tells me they read about it in this blog post.

104 days of summer vacation

If you haven't seen the TV show Phineas and Ferb on the Disney Channel, you should- it's hilarious. And it has catchy songs- trust me, we own the soundtrack. So when my boys decided that's what they wanted to be for Halloween, I gladly took on the challenge. The results aren't quite perfect, but considering that I didn't have a pattern to work from, I'm pretty pleased with the results.

In other crazy costume news, I was just asked today to make a whale costume for a teenager for a play. A whale, people! Seriously? I have no idea where I'd even begin...

I'm going to spend some time cleaning up my sewing room since it became quite disastrous in there during the costume frenzy last month and I'm also working on a few new patterns that will be perfect for the upcoming holiday season. While I take a break from new listings, be sure to check my etsy store more more destash items- I've got lots of fabric and patterns to get rid of, and who knows what else!

Almost done!

I'm almost finished with the boys' Halloween costumes. The theme this year is... drumroll, please... Phineas and Ferb! All four of them (including the biggest boy of them all, my husband) are HUGE fans of this Disney Channel show. Of course, there are no sewing patterns for Phineas and Ferb (or their pet platypus, Perry) so I had to construct everything myself. Perry is a mash-up of my animal and Donald Duck costumes that can be found in my etsy store. The hardest part has actually been locating a brown fedora in case he wants to shift into Agent P mode! We found a great black one at Target which I briefly considered spray painting, but then my middle guy started wearing it around the store and he looked so cool! I didn't want to ruin an awesome hat! So, Perry will be sporting a black fedora this year. Deal with it.

Phineas was easy- commercial patterns helped me crank out a striped t-shirt and cargo shorts in no time. My Ferb will be wearing a store-bought short sleeve button down shirt, and I was able to modify an overalls pattern to make his quirky high-waisted pants.

And then there are the heads...

I learned a lot last year when I used felt to make the Animal mask for our Muppets theme Halloween, so I decided to try my hand at designing my own mask patterns for Phineas and Ferb's heads. Phineas is so angular; it was pretty easy to assemble. Ferb's head mask awaits me tonight. I'm thinking it may end up with an oatmeal canister inside it. Wish me luck- I've got less than 24 hours left to pull everything together! I'll share pictures tomorrow when everything is done.

free at last, free at last!

Well, almost!

You see, I have been VERY busy with Halloween costumes since my last post. The grand total for the year is 13 so far: 3 Donald Ducks and 2 Daisy Ducks, a Mickey and Minnie brother & sister set, a polar bear, a black & white cat, 2 Felicity gowns and matching doll dresses, Piglet, and a blue dragon. Now it's time to make my kiddos' costumes, but I'm not quite ready to say yet what they're going to be. I'm doing most of my updating on Facebook and Twitter these days. My Facebook posts are mostly business related. Twitter, well, that can get pretty random. Leave me with a cell phone to publish my thoughts in 140 characters or less, and you never know what you're gonna get!

Okay, that's all. Just wanted to let you know I'm still alive. And show you my super cute little guy modeling the blue dragon, of course :o)

Technology & Texas

Howdy, Y'all! I'm goin' to Texas. Yee haw!

Those of you following me on Facebook or Twitter have already heard my excited and rambling posts about this. Tomorrow is my birthday and I'm taking a weekend trip to visit my favorite sister-in-law in San Antonio, as well as visiting some of my best boutique buddies including Goosie Girl, The Fab Store, and Living with Lindsay. I haven't seen them in almost 2 years, so I am *super* excited about this trip. Plus, I am getting away for a weekend without the boys and hubby. You know I adore them, but sometimes I just need a break!

In actual sewing news, I'm not the only one with a birthday this month; these two lucky little girls got to go to Disneyland for their birthdays and I was honored to be able to make these darling princess Farbenmix Feliz dresses for them. Their mom tells me they constantly had people stopping them to ooh and aah over their dresses, and even Princess Aurora herself commented that the dresses were nicer than the ones her fairy godmother made!

I'm staying very busy in my studio working on Halloween costumes. So far, Donald Duck has been the big hit of the year with three ordered so far! I'm also working on a Daisy Duck, a Mickey and Minnie Mouse brother/sister set, and a lovely lavender Felicity gown. There is still time to order costumes- check out what I have listed in my etsy store, and don't forget that I love to take custom orders, too!

86 days til Halloween... are you ready?

I know most of you are thinking Back to School right now, but I've got to think ahead to Halloween. It's my busiest time of year when people are shopping for costumes!

And since my studio is nice & clean (okay, not *quite* as clean as it was a few weeks ago, but still very workable!) I had some time to make a few new Halloween outfits: this fun Halloween skirt made with my Peek-a-Boo Pleats pattern, and also a vibrantly decorated Vida jumper. You can find them, and more to come, in the Spooky Wear 4 Halloween section of my etsy shop.

Also, check out the new Destash category in my shop- I'm loading it up, slowly but surely, with a wide variety of fabric, patterns, beads and more at great prices. Let's get it out of my sewing room and into yours!

I encourage you to order your costume(s) early because I am only committing to 3 costumes every 2 weeks thru October 11. That means only 15 lucky customers will have a Monkey Doodle original costume this year (and I just got my first order before I could even post this, so I'm down to 14)! I can do just about anything you can dream up, so don't be limited by what you see listed in my Costume Shoppe category. Convo me with your ideas, and I'll quote you a price. No word yet on what the Monkey Doodle boys are planning to be this year, but I'll share pictures once they decide.

Cole's stuffed "animal"

Going to the fabric store with 3 boys in tow is an unfortunate reality for me. Because we homeschool, I am rarely without them. Some fabric store trips are better than others; we've had some pretty good ones lately because I have learned that offering a Krispy Kreme donut as a reward for good behavior works wonders. Sometimes, they are happy to help me locate a fabric if I give them a swatch and say, "find me something this color." Pattern books are usually a big hit; I can usually get away with a good 10 or 15 minutes while they look at the Halloween costume section, and now I can give the older boys an assignment and ask them to find a particular pattern in the drawer for me.

During our time in pattern land this week, Cole discovered a pattern that he *had* to have. And when they're on sale for a dollar, I generally appease such a request. The last such request resulted in me making this parrot for Finn. So this time, Cole got his pattern and 1/2 yard of fabric-of-his-choosing. After 24 hours of unrelenting begging, I helped him make his creature last night. Here is the chronicle of his "animal."



Here are the fabric and pattern he chose.



The pattern gives several options for which body, ears, arms, and legs to combine; here is his combination after I addeed the felt mouth with hand-stitched teeth and button eyes.



After I stitched the body together, Cole dutifully stuffed his little guy for nearly 10 minutes before he got bored. I finished the stuffing & sewed him up, resulting in...


A happy Cole, and his "animal" named Crazy.

Halloween... a whole lot late!

Life is finally settling back into a normal routine after all of our holiday celebrations & travel, and post-holiday clean up. With the CPSIA legislation becoming effective on February 9 and no loopholes in sight for Monkey Doodle Designs (or other homemade clothing & crafts), I've had to seriously consider what direction my business is heading in.

While I took a diversion for a few weeks of making bibs for my niece (for sale on my new etsy account, *bibidi*), I received several costume requests from local and online customers. And that made me remember- I love making costumes! Part of what is really important in the world of custom boutique sewing is creating your niche... something that I have not been very good at previously. I love to make EVERYTHING- new Euro patterns for girls, purses, boys tee and shorts sets, applique, jewelry, etc. So while I don't plan to stop dabbling in clothing altogether, I will be changing my focus for Monkey Doodle Designs to a stock of costumes that I can keep stocked in my store, and add special OOAK seasonal clothing as I have time and desire. I currently have 3 in my etsy store, with 2 amazing girls Narnia costumes underway.

With all of that out of the way, let's talk about Halloween, LOL! My new computer is set up and fully operational and the missing photo editing software has been returned and installed. So without further ado, I would like to share my very, very belated Halloween photos with you. Meet the Muppets (and a cute little tuxedo cat)!

Been a long time

Yes, I am still around, and still sewing! In the past month and half, I have been busy with Halloween costumes and custom orders, and have LOTS of pictures on my camera to prove it! Unfortunately, I haven't been able to upload them due to my computer problem.

But... my new computer should be arriving on Monday! It has been a long and at times very annoying wait, but hopefully it will all be worth it. In honor of my new computer and Cyber Monday, I will be having a special sale in my etsy shop

In a new, special category, you will find lots of Christmasy clothing, jewelry, and more! Most of it is ready-to-ship so you can wear it all December long! And if you like something you see but it's not the size or style you need, I'll be happy to talk to you about creating a special item just for you! Check back often; I plan to add new items as fast as I can get them sewn!

And to REALLY make things special, I am offering FREE shipping on all purchases (even custom orders!) during the month of December.

This sale is part of the Adagio Bleu Studios Designers' Street Team Promotion, Search ABSD in tags/titles for all of our team members sales!

a post without a name

Hello, bloggy friends! Have you missed me? I have missed you! It's been a sad two weeks, computer-wise, here in Monkey Doodle land. You see, my computer crashed and burned a few weeks ago. Well, only the fan did. Everything else could be salvaged, so DH dutifully took it to the Geek Squad at Best Buy to clean everything iside the box (I am oh-so-technical about all things computer, LOL!) and replace the fan. That was the plan, anyway.

The reality was, they called us a day later to say that while they were cleaning it some statich charge built up and fried the motherboard. Yikes! As you may have guessed, I really don't know much about what is inside that big computer box. And don't even consider telling me ram and gig numbers. My eyes will glaze over faster than a Krispy Kreme donut. Computer numbers are like a foreign language to me, and my semi-fluency only extends bits and pieces of Latin, Spanish, French, and Zulu (that's a story for another day, my friends).

A fried motherboard, to me, sounds like a REALLY bad thing, but I have been reassurred repeatedly that my pictures and files are all still "alive" and somewhere in there, but for all intents and purposes, the box is dead.

Luckily, my boys have a computer that is also connected to the internet.

Unluckily, it sucks, which is why it is theirs and not mine. It's very temperamental and freezes up at the most inopportune times, like when I'm in the middle of a long post (I've got my fingers crossed that this one is going to make it!) and I have to restart it seeminly 20 times an hour. Not a happy Monkey am I.

Nor a very rich Monkey, otherwise I would have impulsively bought that cool new touch-screen computer I saw at Best Buy last weekend. So here I sit, and wait, and type on the old crappy computer.

It has cut down on my internet usage significantly, which is a good thing because I have been doing a LOT of sewing. Halloween time is here, and I have been working on costumes out the wazoo. I'd show you, but, well, that would hurt the brain of this very sensitive computer. Someday soon (I hope!), there will be a post overflowing with pictures of the many lovelies I've created lately. But until then, just imagine a tuxedo cat for a 2 year old boy, and Animal from the Muppets for my 8 year old son (with Gonzo & Kermit joining him soon).

Resells and a relist for Halloween and Christmas!

The holidays are upon us in boutique-land, which runs about 3 months ahead of the rest of the world's calendar! After taking a few months off from eBay, I am joining up with my friends at Avalon Boutique for their "A Caroling We Will Go" launch. This reversible Farbenmix Anna jumper with a snowman theme was part of my Holiday 2007 collection, but I liked it so much and it was such a prefect fit for the launch that I had to bring it back for one last hurrah. So, here is FROSTY, available in sizes 2-8, only on eBay this week!


We're cleaning out the Halloween bins here in Monkey Doodle land and have decided to list the costumes I made for the boys last year. All three are available: the leopard is size 7/8, the tiger is a 5/6, and the little lion is a 3T(all the details are in the listings). We only wore them for trick-or-treating last year, and they are in like-new condition. These are also great for everyday dress up and school plays! You can click here to see all of my eBay listings this week!

Cinderella and the Cat

Not a new fairy tale. The first of my Halloween costumes for the year.

Please excuse the icky pictures. I was in a hurry to get the package in the mail and didn't bother to play with the settings on my camera.

The cat is super soft & fuzzy, and my whole studio is now covered with faux fur crumbs!








This is the truest representation of the color. Shiny satin is hard to photograph!

mid-September update

I've had family in town for the past week and since my sewing room is also the guest bedroom, I had to stash all of my stuff in boxes and bins and now have the dreaded task of unpacking and reorganizing things. Remember this day? Let's just say that's a FAR cry from what things look like now.

In the midst of all the mess, I have been working on some etsy Alchemy orders which I should be able to post by the end of the weekend. I am reconstructing a dress into a hoodie for one customer, and the other project is costumes for twin girls- they are going to be Cinderella and a cat for their 6th birthday party and Halloween!

Speaking of birthdays, mine is next week so I've treated myself to an early present!


My old phone was SO old-- it was a replacement for one I lost 3 months into my new contract, so I had to buy a "cheap" one which is never very cheap when you're not buying a 2 year contract with it. It was one of those old "candy bar" phones without a camera, games, ringtone, texting... all the good stuff. Kinda like this one. I love my cute, cool new phone!!!!

Boo! on etsy

I just listed this set (size 5/6) on etsy. I love the fun & vibrant colors :o) Find it here.

There's lots of sewing going on in my studio right now; it's a wonder I can keep it all straight. I am working on 3 Vida dresses for one customer, a new Studio Tantrum/Fledge Feliz dress just because I want to :o), a halloween dress inspired by this summer's Narnia movie, and I have an alchemy order waiting on construction! It's nice to have a different project to move on to if the current one isn't going so well! New pictures when (if!) I finish something :o)

2 more for etsy

I've decided to make etsy my headquarters from now on. Life on eBay just ain't as grand as it used to be :o( I'm enjoying learning all the ins & outs of etsy, and am adding new things to my store on a daily basis. My new obsession is reading the alchemy page where people request to have items made for them. I've already put in 3 bids for projects... wish me luck!

So, newly listed in my etsy shop are these ready-to-ship Halloween cuties. The first one is a sample skirt that I made 2 years ago. It's size 24 months/2T and priced to MOVE! No bidding & waiting... just go over & buy it!


This one is a 3 piece set full of yummy appliques, size 5

Halloween is coming to esty!

I have decided to list my Halloween items on etsy this year. No bidding, no waiting... you want it, you buy it! There is a link to my store over there on the right.

Here are my 2 newest additions:
Ready-to-ship spider guy set, size 3T. This one is so cool; the black fabric has glow-in-the dark spiders printed on it, and I have topstitched the pants and shirt with glow in the dark thread. Your little man will endlessly be rushing into dark closets to see himself glow!

Two years ago, my kids decided they wanted the whole family to dress up as Disney characters. Mickey was easy enough to find for my little guy, and I bought Goofy for my husband (how appropriate!)at the Disney store. I, the boys insisted, HAD to be Minnie Mouse (if you insist, boys...) so I made that costume for myself. My oldest wanted to be Pluto, but a Pluto costume was nowhere to be found, so I had to invent that pattern. My middle guy, always the one to choose a complicated costume) insisted on being Donald Duck. I found an out-of-print pattern, and this is what I accomplished!

It was intimidating at first, but I love how it turned out! This one is listed on etsy as a custom- you pick size 3-10, and I'll have it in the mail to you within 3 weeks! Daisy Duck listing and more Halloween clothing coming soon!