wonky crotch and plumber's booty

how's that for a title? hehe, get your interest?

okay, i have had some feedback lately regarding the summer sailors and proper line ups with pattern printing. i have checked and double checked my master copy and on the master copy all of the lines match up. with that said, i have also printed a few times at my own house and had an instance where everything didn't line up perfectly. so, all i can say is that i think there are some issues maybe with printers and when the paper pulls from the printer??? i am no computer genius, but i can help with trouble shooting!

i put together a small little tutorial to help you if your inseams aren't matching up perfectly. also, confessions...this is how i sew EVERY single pant, shorts, capri, etc pattern since i tend to be on the sloppy side sometimes when cutting out a pattern. i always like to cut the pieces, then line up the crotch points and cut the inseams at once so that i know they will line up like butter. :)

hope this will help clear up any confusion!

now that we have cleared our sewing rooms of wonky crotch and plumber's booty...we are ready to move right along, huh? hehe.

ps - i am so highly annoyed that i took the time to make these PDFs so that they would be clearer only to realize that blogger no longer accepts PDFs. grrrrrr. so, sorry for the blurriness, if i didn't have 2,830 loads of laundry to do today i would redo it all, but right now i am off to the washing machine!

also, i am off to the beach for a week starting tomorrow and dare i say this vacay could NOT have come at a better time. in the last week my youngest has had surgery, my brown dog got sick, i had to put my brown dog down and then the youngest got pneumonia. needless to say, my toes are screaming for some sand and my shoulders are dying for some sunshine and my hands are ready to hold a cold bevo. oh and did i mention my belly is ready for boiled peanuts? ;)

i will be going unplugged this vacay - so the shop will shut down and i will be away from emails and facebook for the week. be back next sunday! thanks again ladies!!

most supportive customers ever. period.

ladies (and gentlemen if you are out there) i honestly cannot thank you enough for the immense amount of support you have given me over the past few days after the loss of my very best friend in the whole wide.

 

if you knew mallard, you would never be able to say he was "just a dog" as he was SO much more. as i said, he was my best friend. he knew all my darkest secrets and loved me the same. he always was up for a good snuggle and cry if i needed one. he walked me down the aisle to marry the man of my dreams and was there when i brought both of my babies home. i have never known a more loyal friend and i miss the ever-living mess out of him so much already. i could literally post thousands of photos and tell you a ton of stories, but, a/ i am not quite ready for that and b/ you would probably be bored to tears. :)

it is so hard, and while each day gets a little easier to face, my house is so quiet without him. you know the  moment an animal comes into your life that at some point you will have to face that dreaded day, but it never makes it easier. i am just so thankful that i was blessed with 11.5 amazing years with him.

but above all, thank you ladies. i have been blown away by the generosity, support, sincerity and loving kindness that you all have shown me over the last few days. through the emails, comments, sweet words of wisdom, sharing your loss and grief, etc. i have been just amazed. my dad has always told me that animal people are good people, and i stand firm by that belief.

my sweet lucille (the goose) misses him so as well. it is hard on her since her best friend is gone too. but have no fear, i have given her so many hugs, kisses, snuggles (she is not a snuggler as brownie was), etc that i might actually be getting on her nerves. :)

 

i just opened shop back up and i thank you for allowing me to take a few days of rest. i have a lot of catching up to do, and will do so as i can, so bear with me. i had intended on making this blog post last week, but as you can see, things took a sort of different turn.

it is now summertime and my kiddos are out of school. i am so very fortunate to be able to stay home with them day in day out (whether or not i feel the need to poke my eyeballs out by 9:30 am) and one of the things i love so much about the great sewing community out there is that we are all mostly mommas. and so we all understand that kiddos come first, sewing comes next, and then maybe laundry. hehe. but i work a little slower in the summer just because both of my hooligans are here all day. i enjoy being able to hang out with them. what this means to you is that i am not as quick to get back to you with emails and questions and such and i don't spend much time on facebook so i don't see tags and things of that sort. i think we all enjoy a bit of relaxed living in the summertime, i think that may be why it is one of my fave times of year!

we are leaving for the beach this saturday and i may/may not shut down shop for the week while we are gone. thankfully, etsy's downloads keep my shop running smoothly, but i don't always check emails and such when i am on vacay. i enjoy going unplugged, remember first and foremost i am a shady lady. ;) so, i may and may not, still haven't decided...but if so, it will just be a week! i only wish i could stay at the beach all summer. talk about not getting anything done!

thanks for listening and again thanks for being there. now, try not to get too jealous of our crazy-awesome water pressure here and don't forget to hug those labradors for me! oh, and try to pretend you don't see my 6 year old squeezed into an 18 month bathing suit. she refuses to let it go. oy.

happy summer to my awesome geese!

summer sailors just got better

now, i love these shorts. and since they are one of my best sellers, i know that you just might love them too. i mean, you kinda can't love them. but then again, as their momma i feel i am a bit biased.

BUT...you asked, and i listened. you wanted more sizes. and here they are. the summer sailors are now available all the way up to a size 12. and i may or may not have jerry-rigged a muslin of the size 12s to fit my booty. you can do it too, and shhhhhhh...it will be our secret.

so, if you were holding out to get this pattern when the sizes were increased, head on over to my etsy shop and grab them up here.

OR if you already have them and want the extra sizes, head over to my etsy shop here and grab the upgrades. fun stuff, right? now, just a disclaimer (and i have it written everywhere to hopefully not confruse anyone) this upgrade IS NOT A COMPLETE PATTERN. as you will see, it is only $1. if you have not purchased the sailor pattern before, please don't buy the upgrade. i promise, it will not do you a lick of good. pinky promise. but, if you do by accident, holler at me and i will refund so you can buy the actual pattern with the complete tutorial, etc.

now, are you about ready to run over to my etsy shop and grab you up some sailors? because if not, i am about to be a bad influence and motivate you just a smidgen. enabling at its best...

one of my rock star geese has written up a tutorial on how to add real, functioning pockets to your sailors. seriously, rock on, right? now your sailors are complete for all the lip glosses, rocks, pennies, whatever that little girl feels the need to put into her pockets. or, as a sweet friend of mine's little girl says, "she now has hands to put her pockets in!"

bookmark this ladies. pronto. and if you see kari (the brilliant goose) running around in the awesome PDF page on facebook, give her neck a quick hug and tell her thanks for her brilliance! and while you are bookmarking, go ahead and bookmark pattern revolution too. you won't be sorry. promise. robin has some great ideas and lots of things in the works for those that just might enjoy sewing. :)

thanks ladies - and have a great week. i am gonna fall off the BG face of the earth for maybe a week or so and try and tackle some DIY projects at home. once i feel i get enough accomplished (is there really a such thing when you buy an 80 year old fixer-upper?), i plan to dive back into the sewing room and finish up the last few steps of 2 of my newest patterns. i *think* you might like them. :)

peace out geese!

welcome to BG you sweet lazy susan!

seriously one of the most versatile patterns in the BG collection. you need this one in your collection. and let me just tell you why. :)

the lazy susan is a dress and she is a top. she can have a flutter sleeve or not. you can put a contrasting band around the bottom if that is what you fancy, or not. split the bodice up into different fabrics OR my personal fave, herringbone block (detailed instructional tutorial included) it. seriously ladies, pick your poison.

wait, did i mention she has a boatneck? the boatneck is quite possibly one of my FAVE cuts ever. for real. if you looked into my closet and saw all of the boatneck tops i owned, you would think i was a nutcase. but this cut is classic. tried and true, tested over the years and never out of style.

oh wait, i also think i need to tell you about the sweet little button up back that she has. because you all know this girl loves a button. 

ask and you shall receive ladies...she is graded up to a size 10.

and one more thing...this will knock the socks off of you ladies that have been sewing BG for a while, there is NO selvage width skirt. holy macaroni. can you believe it? nope, not lazy susan. she has a full, and i mean full skirt that makes her oh so sweet and perfect for twirling in case you have little girls that like to twirl. i have yet to run across a little girl that didn't twirl. :)

have i sold you yet? if not, take a look at all the awesomeness that came from my testers...

i could eat this child to pieces. her cheeks and her smirks make my day. and she loves a labrador, brownie points for real. 

i absolutely die over the next 2 pictures. 

i die with that poppy fabric. and i do love red shoes. 

and we all know this little goofball...

so, do you love her? because i sure do. and best news yet...she hits my etsy shop tomorrow. i am so excited i can't hardly stand it. and this is one of the first patterns i have released in a while that i wasn't in cahoots with my buddy hilary of hbfabrics. but, she is busy being a tourist and enjoying herself and posting all kinds of awesome pictures while she is in london with her sweet family. oh wait, did i happen to tell you she also had a new adventure on her hands? we just got some belts in yesterday and love them!

okay, after looking through all the pictures i just decided i needed to make another one. man i love this pattern! what will you make?