when life hands you lemons...

you can make lemonade. OR, if you are like me...you can make the lemonade dress.

OR if neither tickle your fancy, go get you some retail therapy and buy you a lemonade dress. (well, not completely true...she isn't for sale just yet) isn't she fabulous?

oh i just love her. and i am so glad too since it took me an embarrassing amount of hours to perfect her. you may or may not have seen my post on facebook where poor sandra dee was looking like a voodoo doll. i knew i wanted something different (imagine that) that would define the dress as a BG Original. i think i did good, huh?

i find myself swooning over her angel sleeves, the sweet neckline with a button flap and military-style tab all the way down to the soft a-line shape of the skirt and the cute little opening slit in the back. my size, please!

the lemonade dress will debut on the dock of the bay line. however, not in these fabrics. i have to give a huge thank you to meagan of the mean princess for the awesome eye in picking out that amazing blue fabric. she did a fabulous dress out of it (if you haven't seen it, please go drool yourself over her taylor...it is amazing), and i knew i *needed* some too. on dock of the bay, lemonade dress will be just as fine...with a color combination that just might make you squeal for joy.

just a little teaser...before i shade out big time to finish the design-phase of dock of the bay. hope you likey. now to get to cleaning - showing in the house in a bit and i have learned that unfortunately a sewable sewing room does not equal a showable sewing room. fiddlesticks and gargamels.

oh what can it mean to a DAYDREAM BELIEVER

wow. the end of daydream. i am actually very sad to see it go. i said it from the beginning and i still mean it...by far my most fave line EVER. dock of the bay has some really, really big shoes to fill.

and i think you all loved it too, dare i say? i am having a hard time letting some of it go. and usually by the end of one of my seasons i am so far over the fabrics that i don't want to see them again...but not this time. i mean, i am ready for the challenge of new designs and finding fabrics - but i don't know if i can honestly say that if i ran across some of the fabric from daydream at a great price that i wouldn't jump again. yep, i am completely, certifiably nutso. love me or leave me.

anyways - what you really want to know is the info about the last upload. it is tomorrow. i know, i am getting to this blog late...but today, life happened in my house and even though i had a billion things to do BG-wise, i practiced what i am trying so hard to preach...i turned off the light in my sewing room and told it all to wait - i had life to attend to.

so, tomorrow, friday january 6 at 10 am CST the last of the daydream believer will be uploaded on the cartel. be there, or be square.

debuting this upload are the lola bells - both the limited edition and the 'regulars' (the lola is hardly ordinary) and the skyline tank. also up for grabs are some of the ever-popular sleepy jeans, plum hatties, rusty ninas and a few of the lucky star pants. and then it will be done. and for the first time in BG history, the girl behind BG is actually sad to see it go.

anyways - below is all the sizing info you will need for all of the new styles debuting. if you still need info on sizing for any of the other styles, you can click on the daydream believer tab up top and scroll down to see all the other information in posts past. all items will ship or be ready for pick-up on or before next wednesday, january 11th.

and for just a little teaser...i have more of the fabric that i did that sweet little katie top that is pictured in the lola bell photo. i have had many requests for that top...so i might just have to whip up a few of those to pair with your lolas. but i will let you know ahead of time, promise. i will also be working on getting the nelle pattern published and for sale in my etsy shop (yipppppppppeeeee). once all that is done...i will park myself under my shade tree for a while while i dive into the new designs and colorways that will become dock of the bay. this next line is inspired by a song, duh...of course, but also by things in my childhood. and just so you know, i had a pretty cool childhood - so get excited. :)

as always, keep on rocking the BG kiddos. you are awesome and i love everyone of you! i appreciate the snot out of my incredibly loyal customers that, in my opinion, have fantastic taste in children's clothing. okay...now i am just getting cheeky. but i mean it. thank you BG'ers!

xoxo - amy

the last of the sapphires

oh dear sapphire nelle...

you have by FAR been one of the biggest hits of the daydream believer line. and why not? your beautiful maize color paired with sapphire buttons and lace just make you irresistible. but as i sit to sew my very last sapphire nelle today (let's count them...19 yards of fabric for this beauty, phew) i hope that somewhere in there my sweet louisa has one since i just cannot stand how much i love this dress on her.

so, tonight is your last chance at a BG sapphire nelle. i will be uploading them to my big cartel store this evening around 8 pm CST.

need a refresher on the sizing info?

so, once again...the last of the sapphires going in the cartel tonight at 8 pm CST. be there.

oh, and for those of you out there that love to sew BG...you should be excited. i will be sewing my last sapphire with camera in-hand. what that means to you is that there WILL be a pattern to come soon. not in the next week though, as my head is currently spinning with all that needs to be sewn for daydream to get all the inventory out so i can play with my new fabrics. :)

and for those that may not grab a sapphire...no worries. the girl behind BG happens to love the nelle so much that she might end up a staple on the lines. :)

i have more daydream believer to come. stay tuned for more info. also, i wanted to give the option for those of you shopping tonight, if you want more of the daydream and don't mind waiting...you can shoot me an email to HOLD your order and ship it all at once so you don't have to pay shipping multiple times. or, if you are like me and tend to be an instant gratification kind of girl - it will be going out tomorrow. :)

my inner dorkiness

today i had to run to the fabric store as i had run out of thread for my current project in the wee hours last night. story of my life. and although that was ALL i needed, i still couldn't help myself from roaming around the rest of the store. i need more fabric kinda like i need a hole in my head, but you see - i have a slight problem when it comes to fabric. there isn't much self control to be had. (okay, we can be honest...what self control?) granted, i did leave with my thread purchase, plus some other fabric...BUT in my defense, it is all for either me or louisa - which we all know means it will probably sit on a surface in my sewing room while i work on all things brownie-goose and then get covered in the mess otherwise known as my creative-sewing-disasters and i will find it in about a year and wonder why i had bought it. sound familiar?

anyways, back to the point of my blog. while i was roaming i came across two girls that were looking at clearance fabric. i was probably looking scary as crizzidy since when i look at fabric i actually cross my eyes so that i can see it in a blur to know how i want to use it and how to match it. yep, sounds crazy as hell...but one of those methods to my madness. and somehow, even my crazy cross-eye-stare-trance didn't scare off the amateurs. one of the girls looked at me and asked if i minded answering a question. i told her of course not, but there were no guarantees that the answer would make sense (coming from the cross-eyed crazy lady). she laughed and then asked if i sewed. hehe, why yes. every now and then i like to dibble my hands in it. so, i tried to help.

and 30 minutes later, the two girls walked away to the check-out with all of their new purchases and grins from ear to ear. it turns out they both got sewing machines for christmas. one had a grandmother that sewed and the other just wanted to learn. i answered all of the questions they had (well, that i could...) about fabrics, threads, notions, buttons, patterns, etc. i am not sure how the girls didn't run away screaming since i was probably way more excited about the lesson than i should have been. but they didn't. instead, they listened, i could see the excitement in their eyes and i was beaming. not because i had helped them (for there is a mighty fine chance that i passed along some of my fondness of my way vs. the right way) but because...here we go:

sewing is cool again.

and somehow that single fact makes me happier than a clam. call me a dork, whatever...you can. but you are wrong. haha. but it is. and i think that is awesome. aside from these 2 girls, i know of 2 other people that got machines for christmas. sewing is the most fun. and the fact that people are catching on to this is awesome.

yes, kinda random i know. but exciting. now if only i can get those amateurs trained well and take them under my wing and open a workroom in my garage so i can get inventory out faster. haha. maybe i am getting ahead of myself here. :) or maybe i should have gotten their numbers.

anyways, speaking of inventory. i need to get back to my machines. you see, there are more sapphire nelles going up in the cartel at the end of this week (the LAST of them) and this is where they stand right now.

must get to work.

Betsy's Dress Upload

here ye, here ye.

haha, not really. but the nerd in me took over my blog for a sec. okay - the fabulous betsy's dress. so cute and so adorable that it even got it's very OWN page in the South Magazine. can you even believe it? do you wanty? well, here is the skinny on how to get.

i know i said that i would have one more upload in december with everything, and then i changed my mind. imagine that. i started to work on the betsys and realized that christmas is coming a LOT quicker than i am prepared for it to, and i need to go ahead and get inventory out and available to all of you as quick as i can.

so, these dresses will either SHIP ON FRIDAY or be ready for local pick-up on friday. ready to ship i think is the fancy word for that.

i also think that the upload may not be as crazy with christmas being so close. i may be wrong...but if there is any leftover inventory, i will be putting up in my etsy shop.

enough talk. here is the info. tomorrow, THURSDAY DECEMBER 8 @ 10 AM CST this dress will be available for purchase in my big cartel store. here is the direct link.

for the rest of the uploads, i will work as quick as i can to get things up in a timely manner. i have petals to the medal and am busting it whenever i can. i have had some people ask if there will be other opportunities for more daydream after all the uploads, and the answer is yes...well, kinda. the pieces that i have fabric left over will be made up into designs and placed for sale when i make them in my etsy store for those that aren't ready yet, need to wait for some christmas funds, or whatever the reason. hope this helps!

once again...if you must have a betsy's dress (and you really must, trust me) go to my big cartel store tomorrow at 10 am CST to snag one!

thanks again kiddos - keep on rocking the daydream believer!

welcome, welcome

hello to all the new faces from the south magazine!!! i am so glad you stopped by brownie-goose and hope you love it all as much as i do!

and for those that have the condition that i suffer from as well and may be thinking right now, "hmmmm...what did i miss?" no worries. it happens to the best of us, PLUS facebook is being super crazy now-a-days and hiding all sorts of posts from BG so you cannot see me. grrrrrrr. methinks facebook might be a BG hater.

anyways - i was EXTREMELY honored to be asked by a designer who is working as a stylist (who is also a project runway designer, i was slightly star-struck on the phone and was glad when he quickly realized how dorky but cool i can be and tried not to be too mortified when i asked certain questions, haaa - mitchell, ONE day i will laugh about it all) if he could pull some things brownie-goose for a photo shoot for the south magazine. ummmm, HELLS TO THE YEAH. i was super excited, but also very nervous. and so i got quiet and shady. and we all know by now that i am super obvious and when i get quiet - i am most likely up to something. :)

and so i sent lots of BG goodies to savannah and to my absolute shock and surprise, i saw yesterday when the issue hit the stands that MY DRESS MADE THE COVER. oh my word. when i saw it, i immediately thought i was gonna cry. and then i laughed, and kinda did a half cry in which i had a small snort with tears coming from my eyes. then my ears got all hot and i felt dizzy. and then i giggled again, and then the tears came. you see, this is HUGE for itty-bitty old me. i put so much into brownie-goose and pour every single bit of my heart into it, and to see a dress that i designed staring back at me on a cover - simply took my breath away. to me, at that moment...it had all paid off. this was me. this was my brownie-goose. this was my heart and soul of design. whether i decided the next day to quit it all (i am kidding here folks) or go big-time, i DID it. i am not one to pat myself on the back too often, but i did. yay me. and now i am chomping at the bit to see the rest of the magazine! and for those that are wondering...that dress on the front - well, that is a small sneak of what is to come on my next line, dock of the bay. just so you know, i LOVE teasers and sneak peeks.

so, now on to what i sat down to write about in the first place. you see, for all of you that are new to BG (what i lovingly nick-named brownie-goose) - i am a very wordy person. when i blog, you are lucky if you actually see a sentence that is pertaining to what i sat down with in mind the first time. my mind runs wild. you can read more about that here. but just to warn you. :)

if you want to purchase some of the frocks you saw in the magazine, this is how it goes. i am the only girl sewing and my demand outweighs my supply something crazy. and until i figure out how to fix that silly issue, this is how i roll. i sell my collection in uploads. i have already had 2 for my latest line daydream believer. i have one more that i want to do that will have bits and pieces of the entire collection in it. i ALWAYS post to my blog/website in advance of an upload sizing information, time, place, etc. for the past 2 uploads, i have used big cartel. i *may* and *may not* use it again, i may just use my etsy store for organizational purposes to make the control freak in me happy. so, in essence....stay tuned on here and also on facebook and you will be informed. promise!

so thanks again for loving brownie-goose, welcome and glad to see you! stay tuned and i will keep you posted!

happy birthday dear brownie-goose...

wow...what a whirl-wind again. once again, you girls rocked my daydream believer upload like no one's business! thank you, thank you, thank you!

on a whole other note. brownie-goose turns 3 this month. oh my goodness. i remember quitting my day job like it was yesterday. i remember sewing in the guest room which is now louisa's room. i remember almost jumping up and down every time i heard my blackberry chime for my brownie-goose hotmail account meaning someone was interested in me. i remember ordering fabric by the yard, and maybe 4 at the most. i remember moving my sewing room to the dining room when i out-grew my space in the guest room. i remember taking orders all.the.time. i remember building my sewing room and realizing that maybe taking orders all the time wasn't such a good idea as i sat chained to my machines. i remember moving into my sewing room and doing a holiday line. first and LAST that BG will ever see. i now have an aversion to holiday clothing because that christmas line almost broke me. i remember doing a lottery system for orders and getting some of my very first hate mail. all of this seems like yesterday...yet here i am.

crazy. humbling. and grounding. sometimes enough to make my head big, but thankfully i get knocked back down by murphy and his law in my sewing room.

so, here's to you brownie-goose. you've come a long way baby. where will you be this time next year? i honestly don't know. but it is awesome to think that BG has come so far in this time. it is awesome to think of everything that i have put into it. and so far, it has all gone over well. knock on wood. there have been bumps in the road for sure, but those speed bumps have just given me the time to slow down and re-evaluate the path i am on.

i have some really, really exciting things going on behind the scenes at BG lately. nothing i am quite ready to share just yet, but i can say that i am blown-away by it all. it creates so much excitement and pride for me, but at the same time puts me between a rock and a hard place with a decision that i cannot make to save my life. i swear i am not trying to tease here by any means, but i wanted to let you know that all of this couldn't be possible without the amazing support i get from all of you out there that love brownie-goose and spread the word. you all rock, but i think you know that.


on another note....ohhhhh brother.

i mean, really. meet my newest addition to the BG family of brothers. pepper. she is my new coverstitch machine. as you can tell, i have quite a fondness for brother machines. the only one not pictured is thelma, who is still on disability because of a certain seamstress who thought she could moonlight as a sewing machine repair lady. hmmmmm.

anywho. pepper has earned her name. she is spicy and fiesty. and she makes me say very, very bad words. i bought her one day on a whim and in the midst of a knit-induced temper tantrum. i have yet to figure her out, but then again...i have also not spent quality time with her. i am hoping this week to take some time from daydream and spend it with pepper, sewing for my hooligans so that maybe nash will have more than one thing to wear, and also getting cleaned up and organized in the sewing room...which means there will be a destash coming. and this one is going to be LOADED with blanks. i am no longer going to be stocking blanks (shirts for appliques) and want to unload all of the inventory that i have since i do not want to move it with me to georgia. stay tuned on facebook. and, if the inner hoarder in me doesn't take over, i may just destash some fabric too.

so again, thank you always. i always credit my unbelievably loyal fans for everything that BG is today - and today is no different. you all are the bestest and my faves. daydream believer will be having a 3rd and final upload in december. stay tuned for info on that one.

let's all raise our glasses, diet coke cans, coffee cups, etc. to 3 AMAZING years of brownie-goose. and here's to many, many more. :)

daydream believer upload TWO

okay ladies...the second upload is tomorrow! wahoo!!!

4 of the designs from daydream believer will be up for grabs tomorrow, friday november 4th at 12 noon (central time).

yes, that is friday november 4th at 12 noon central.

tune in to my big cartel store (http://browniegoose.bigcartel.com) for the upload of the goodies.

up for grabs this upload are the butler britches (with matching shirt), the plum hattie (oh be still my heart), trudy's picnic dress and the lucky star pants (with matching shirt, it is a slate grey...pics make it look purple, that isn't the case). here are all the details.




CORRECTION - FOR THE LUCKY STAR PANTS, I ACTUALLY HAVE SIZE 18 MO SHIRTS FOR THE 18 MO PANTS.

(PS - if it helps any...lou is wearing a size 2-3 hattie and trudy's picnic. she is about 37" tall and weighs like 28 lbs.)

okay - last time it all went quick. and it was crazy. in fact, big cartel oversold a few items and got the shipping all kinds of confrused - but i am giving it another try because SO MANY people (shop owners) love it. so, here is another chance for the hearting to happen between BG and big cartel.

the difference this time is that all items will ship by next friday, november 11th. i have the majority of the construction done, but many of the details still need to be added. time in my sewing room lately has been really hit or miss since i cannot seem to keep my kids well. so, i still have some work to do - but as i said...your order will ship by next friday. with that said, some people said that they were never asked for shipping or for a code, and so it may get crazy again. so, if you can...please make sure that you have the correct shipping address with big cartel and if you are local, enter SHIPFREE for local pick-up.

thanks girlies, and again...thanks for rocking and being such loyal customers! and don't forget, brownie-goose on big cartel at 12 noon (CST) on friday november 4th.