Sunday, February 28, 2010

Ohh....Pick me, Pick me!

Who doesn’t like to win things? Not I. I love to enter blog giveaways. I am not neurotic about it (imagine that, ONE thing that I am not neurotic about) but when I come upon one I do like to enter. Especially the ones that give away fabric. I have never won, which is sad, but it is still fun to think of wining.

Speaking of wining, I know of a blog that has a fantastic give-away coming up. It is sort of a contest for those of you out there that are a bit more competitive. It is the Dear Mama Contest being hosted by Moms Are Human. This mommy blogger is a great girl (we went to high school together.) She is a real girl and has real stories and real pictures and things that are important in everyday life as a mom. She has entries that will speak to you as a mom, and most of these topics are not ones that you will find on other blogs. She talks about the down and dirty side of being a mom. She even bared her post-partum mid-section for all to see. Have you read her blog yet? If not, you should. Especially read about the Dear Mama contest that she has going. Brownie-goose has some mighty-fine appliquéd kitchen towels in the give-away that are just about to wet their pants to be in your kitchen. Oh, and a $150 Target gift card. If you are anything like me….I could live in Target. I love that place. She also has a signed copy of a Paula Deen cookbook, don’t know about you but I am a huge Paula fan. So, got you interested yet? Get on over there, read about the contest and open up your word document and get started!

Just a peek of the hand towels that need to be on the handle of your oven...



So, get on over to Moms Are Human and read up on this contest. Hey, by the time you are done you just might have a new blog to stalk. Gotta love that! At least, I do. :)

where to shop

this is my etsy store where you will find all of my PDF patterns that are published for sale.

keep up to date on BG and follow me on facebook for all the newest updates and info from BG.

and now, even more fun for the BG geese! join in the sewing fun in the group brownie-goose lovers on facebook. here you will find an amazing group of girls that love to sew and love to help!


thanks so much for all of your continued support here at BG!

xoxo - amy

about me

hey there - i am amy, the girl behind BG. shown here with me are my beloved labradors (RIP mallard 5/13) the namesake behind brownie-goose. 

i am a girl that loves to sew. i am a girl that loves fabrics and trims and buttons and lace and all that jive. and i am a girl that enjoys designing patterns for you to sew. most of all, i am a girl that loves the fact that sewing is cool again.

want a little history of bg? it all started november of 2008 when i decided that i would be quitting my "real job" as a pediatric nurse so that i could stay home with my little girl who wasn't agreeing with daycare. i am a 4th generation tailor in my family so the sewing machine was nothing new to me. i began sewing for louisa as i would shop and not find a single thing i would like to dress her in. therefore, i began creating her unique outfits, and took the advice of some friends when i quit my day-job to take a go at selling some of my stuff to others. when baby #2 came along in 2011, things got interesting. as all of you mommas out there know, there wasn't near as much time to spend with the sewing machines anymore. so, with that i retired my children's clothing lines and started to publish and sell the patterns i had been designing.the rest is history, and i would not be where i am today without all of the awesome customers i have. nick-named my "geese" by one of my favorite button-suppliers, i am so fortunate to have amazing ladies backing me and supporting me!

brownie-goose is named after 2 of my 4-legged children, my labs. i have a chocolate lab (my sidekick) named mallard that we call "brownie, (sadly we lost my brown dog in may of 2013, we sure miss that boy!)" and a black lab (mixed with horse, she is huge) named lucy that we call "goose." enter.....brownie-goose. :)

thanks for stopping by on my site, and i hope you like what you see.

amy s. norris

for more info on me and the girl behind BG, check it out here.

Friday, February 26, 2010

Moving Right Along

Okay, for the record, I am not sure yet when exactly I am opening up for more orders. I know that I will, but am still working on the first batch of spring/summer orders. thanks to everyone for their patience.

i am planning a sew-a-thon this weekend in the hopes of getting a ton done. however, for all of you fellow moms of toddlers out there....i am sure that you can understand that sometimes things don't always go as planned. :)

here are more recent pics, i know i chose the lazy way again with the slideshow, but i think this may be the way to go from now on. it is easy and quick and you still get to see the pics. excuse any duplicates....the steam coming off my iron is slowly killing off the brain cells. well, at least that is my excuse this week.

also, i am beyond myself with my brownie-goose facebook page. i have 411 fans right now and that just about makes me fall out of my chair. i love it, and love yall and are so glad that people out there like what i do! i tend to be a bit out-there sometimes and to know that other people find that great just humbles me something else! if you aren't a fan yet....come on and join since that is where i update the most pics and info and such!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

40 days to help the strays

okay, this will be a post that may be a bit out there, but it is about something very important to me, and to brownie-goose.

there are a few things in life which i am very passionate about. some of these things are quite controversial, and while opinionated, i tend to keep quiet as to avoid the drama that soon follows. goodness knows i have enough drama in my life with my toddler. i think the thing that i am most passionate about, and thankfully i don't think is very controversial, is animals. i am a huge animal lover. they have my heart. i cannot even stand to think of one in pain or sad or anything to that extent. i originally wanted to be a veterinarian, until i realized that i would have my heart broken every day. my dad is a big animal lover as well, so i think i got it honestly. nothing melts my heart quite like a wagging tail or a wet kiss or a big dog snuggled up with me on the couch. although i realize i treat my animals like children and some people don't agree with that, it is fine. if we all agreed, the world would be a very dull place. i love them. and it breaks my heart into a million pieces when i think of all the animals out there that do not have homes, or the ones that are in abusive homes. cannot think about it without crying. i wish that i could open my home to them all, but i know that husband would probably leave me if that happened. i have, however, converted him from a person that has outside pets to one that enjoys them indoors which makes my life WAY easier. :)

where am i going with this? for those that read my personal blog you know that i tend to be all over the place. today marks the beginning of lent. while i will refrain from going into the details to avoid offending those that may not be christian (like i said, we all make the world go 'round) i will just say that i remember learning in a religion class in high school (yes, mrs. urbine....i did pay attention every now and then) that lent was not only about giving something up for 40 days, but resisting temptation and working to be a better person. She also taught us to take the "rules" loosely and to apply them to our lives in a way that we saw fit. Basically, lent is what you make it. i remember girls from school that would give things up like candy or cokes, etc. but there were also girls that stood out to me when they didn't necessarily "give" things up, but in a way gave themselves in a way to help others. i always thought this was huge, and i secretly wanted to be just like them. the other night as i lay on the couch sick as a dog, i realized this was my chance to be like those girls. so, this year for lent, brownie-goose will be "giving" itself to something i am very passionate about. for the next 40 days, i will be giving a percentage of each article of clothing that i make to help the animals out there that do not have homes. at the end of the 40 days, brownie-goose will be making a contribution to CARA, one of the no-kill shelters here in Jackson. I am really excited, as i have been wanting to figure out a way to give to them since i started BG. this just seemed right to me. and, since brownie-goose is named after my 2 sweet labs, i can think of no better way. :)

while i am not opening orders right now, i have plenty to keep me busy for the next 40 days. if i run out, never fear....i will open back up.

just wanted to share with everyone what we've got going on over here. now, back to the machines....i know some sweet 4-legged babies that need some help.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

wiped out!

okay, i have been hit hard by some sort of sickness that is beyond me. i have not had the strength nor sanity to sit in front of the machines or computer since wednesday night. so, i am a little behind on orders and emails and such. i still feel wretched this morning, but do not have the fever that has plagued me over the last few days - so there is a chance that i will get to open the door to my neglected sewing room and get to work.

thanks again to all of my wonderful customers for your understanding and patience!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

email issues

okay, so i know of 4 customers off-hand that for some reason our emails do not play nice-nice with each other, so my emails do not go through to them. if you have emailed me and i haven't gotten back to you....there may be an issue with your email as well. if you are on facebook - message me or post to brownie-goose page so that i am not missing anyone! if not, comment on here. this means that you have never gotten an email back from me. i haven't sat down to emails in a few days, so if you have written me and i have responded before - but just not in a few days, i promise yours is sitting in my inbox just waiting for me. :)

thanks!

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Business As Usual

So, wondering where I have been lately? Seen the smoke coming off of my roof over my sewing room? Heard my sweet mail lady griping about all the packages? If so, we know it is just business as usual. Things have been hopping here at brownie-goose trying to get all the spring/summer orders done and out. Not near finished yet.....but working on it. Here are just a few shots to show that my motto is true. A clean sewing room is an inefficient sewing room.





For all of you that aren't on Facebook (you should cave, I did and I love it...and if you are on there and not a fan yet of brownie-goose's page - you should be) i just wanted to give you some pictures of some of the recent completed orders. I have been a sewing machine and am so in love with all of these new fabrics and patterns. I have been getting a ton of emails asking when i may open orders again, and honestly....i am not sure. i know that i will, but don't know when. i definitely have to get caught up on what i have going on in the meantime in order to avoid the craziness that sometimes occurs in my household. :) Oh yeah, excuse the laziness of me putting these in a slideshow, it was just the easiest thing for the time being!



Back to the machines......