Testing, testing...

Several years ago, when we were both new to the boutique sewing world (on eBay, back in those days...) I "met" Patty Young of modkid fame when we were both members of Adagio Bleu Studios. It has been amazing to watch her career take off since then- if you haven't seen her fabric lines or patterns, you are really missing out. They are amazing!

I was lucky enough to be chosen as a tester for her newest line of patterns, and just before Christmas I received a box full of fabric from her latest collection, Flora & Fauna, along with the rough draft pattern for the dolly-sized modkid dress bag! Her pattern books are so beautiful and easy to use- full of colorful pictures, helpful tips, and easy-to-follow steps. While this was a more complicated project (it involves zippers, grommets, and gussets, oh my!) the conversational tone of her clear instructions helped me create a gorgeous garment bag. Wanna see it? It's the turquoise hummingbird one on the inspiration gallery page.



What about you? Want to try it?

Like I said, this is not a pattern for beginners, but if you are an experienced seamstress you should give it a try. I am going to give away one copy of the modkid dress bags pattern which includes instructions for both the dolly size bag I made and the larger girly bag (shhh... I'm not a girly girl but I may have to make one of these for myself!) If you'd like to win a copy of this pattern, just leave me a comment telling me where you would like to travel with this garment bag. If you'd like to promote this giveaway on your social media of choice (twitter, facebook, etc.), feel free to do so! I'll be randomly choosing a winner on the night of my son's 10th birthday (this Thursday, January 28).

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!

Pixie hoodie

Last week I mentioned that I have been working on a pixie hoodie. I won an alchemy bid on etsy for a customer who wanted a hoodie made out of a Hanna Andersen dress she found at the Goodwill store. The dress had some minor flaws that made it unwearable, but the knit fabric was perfect to cut into for sleeves & a hood. It is such a bright & whimsical print, so we decided to go with a pixie applique on the front. I am thrilled with how it turned out, and this project has also given me new ideas about where to shop for fabrics!

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!!!!