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.

look at me...

i'm sandra dee!

introducing the newest help in the sewing room, my dress form, sandra dee. here, she is modeling one of the two patriotic penny lanes that i am so proud to say will adorn one of two sweet little girls when their daddy returns home from overseas. swoon.

i have been wanting a dress form for quite some time. however, i have been holding out trying to find an adjustable (chest, waist, etc) toddler form and i just have not been able to find one. of course in 5 minutes after i post this blog i am sure to have someone email me that they know of someone who sells them, but it just wouldn't be the same without my good friend murphy (as in law).

so, i now have help in the sewing room. i no longer have to lose my patience with a sweet, tow-headed little mess that refuses to stay still when i ask and wiggles and squirms and squeals when she sees the pins when i am working on pattern drafts. sandra dee will take lou's place in that regard - making that a fore-mentioned tow-head quite happy.

i will say she will take some getting used to. i have her in my sewing room and will admit she keeps freaking me out every time i walk by and she catches my eye. i keep thinking there is someone in my sewing room (and that is quite possible considering what a disaster it is at the moment, yikes). but none the less, she skeeeeeeeers me right now.

hi-ever (i used to have a teacher in nursing school that always pronounced it that way and it makes me giggle), i have no worries...sandra dee and the girl behind BG will be BFF 4-eva soon. real soon.

PS - you can make this dress. promise. this is the tutorial that spawned the idea of the penny lane. http://icandyhandmade.blogspot.com/2011/06/tutorial-three-part-harmony.html

i shouldn't sweat when i sew

now, the title of this blog post has absolutely nothing to do with the temperature (although i will say we turned the heaters on for the first time yesterday so the house is still in that 'heaters on for first time of the season so it smells like the house is on fire' phase) NOR should it be confused with 'i shouldn't swear when i sew' since we all know better than that.

it is what it is. i shouldn't sweat when i sew. but i do. and i did for REAL this morning when i was working on a knit that has since been chucked out the door and halfway (well, as far as my arm can throw) across the backyard.

i notice that the last few blogs have mentioned sewing issues. truth be told...i am trying desperately to get out of a sewing funk. it happens to the best of us. my problem right now is mostly that i have toooooooooo much shiz on my mind. when i should be focusing in daydream, i instead am thinking about the next line, whether or not to take the plunge and order some fabric from overseas, where i see BG in the next few years (this one is weighing heavily), putting my house on the market, cleaning my house, packing, real estate in athens and of course my sewing shop in athens (hehe, remember to never give up on something you cannot go 24 hours without thinking about). oh, and sick chirrens. i mean, i simply cannot sit down and sew daydream believer. what is wrong with me??? that is a rhetorical question in case you were wondering. ;)

well, this week i have allowed myself to have a 'catch up' week to hopefully get me back in the mood. so, i have been working on auction/donation items, birthday gifts, personal gifts, new ideas for lou, etc. and everything was going great...until this morning.

i sat down to some knit this morning for a project for a personal gift. nothing that i will profit from (of course...those always seem to be the worst times!) and nothing that i gain anything from. the fabric was brewtiful. usually with knits, i order a swatch before i jump (if it is online since i cannot feel it) but this was a piece of vintage fabric that i could NOT live without. i 'needed' it. it was pricey (of course) but i simply had to have it and i knew exactly what i would do with it. so i ordered, and then fell head over heels when i got it, imagine that.

i should have known after it giving me a fit just cutting it that it was going to be a bad experience...but i kept on with my stubborn self. i put it on louise, my serger and it all but jumped straight off the side. so, i made some adjustments to all my settings and tried again. it still acted a fool. i thought, maybe i should take it to myrtle (my machine) and sew my seams first and then serge over so that i have a little more stability. well, i put it on myrtle and it all but chomped and chewed the side and made that AWFUL sewing machine noise that sends chills up your spine. so, i decided i needed my walking foot to keep it from going down into my feed dogs. well, i put my walking foot on, made sure i had my ballpoint needle in and tried again. chomp, chomp, chomp and CHAAACHHAAAAAACHUUUUUUUUNNKKKKK (that is my best attempt at putting letters to the sound of your machine eating fabric). i was speechless, i have NEVER had my machine act up with my walking foot on. i mean, it is like the equivalent of the best seamstress ever holding your hand while you sew.

well, the sweating (and swearing) began and i got mad. i ripped seams, tried again, ripped seams, changed settings, ripped seams, changed needles, ripped seams, turned all machines off and re-threaded, ripped seams, etc, etc, etc.

i was FURIOUS. i was sweating, and i shouldn't sweat when i sew. this is supposed to be fun. so, i decided i need a break. i got up, turned off my machine while talking sweetly to it for i know it wasn't her fault and then turned to the fabric and had a come to Jesus meeting with it. then, i came to the computer, and treated myself to some retail therapy with some new amy butler i had been eying to make a skirt for myself. i then got a styrofoam cup and filled it with diet coke and finished off the rest of a bag of chips.

with a new outlook on life (diet coke in a styrofoam cures all disasters) i walked back in the sewing room to try it all again. i thought surely everyone just needed a break and a breather. well, chomp, chomp, chomp and CHAAACHHAAAAAACHUUUUUUUUNNKKKKK later...i opened the door to the backyard, grabbed the fabric and used every bad word i could muster up while stomping on it on the floor and then hurled it across the backyard. i am convinced that the fabric itself and the components of it have somehow dry-rotted over time. bless it's antique heart. or at least, it is making me feel better knowing it is a flaw of time. ha! i can honestly think of no other reason that it acted the way it did. i have sewn with some pretty hairy knits, but this one definitely took the cake.

so, i am giving the stink eye to my sewing room at the moment. i need to get in there with some good old-fashioned quilters cotton and get on with it. but in my tempered tirade (who me with a temper? never...) i also made a big ole mess. gargamels...and the sewing funk continues.

humor me sewing buds - what makes you sweat in the sewing room?