celebrating the brownie in brownie-goose

so, for all of you that know the girl behind BG, you know that she loves her labradors more than she loves most people. yep, it is the truth. my doggies are my heart - and tomorrow my sweet brown boy, my first baby, turns 11. i cannot hardly believe it. he is my best bud in the whole wide, my side-kick and partner in crime. he even walked me down the aisle. oh how i love my brown dog.

so, to celebrate his birthday, along with doggie birthday cake (yep, i am that girl) i will also be hosting a FLASH SALE in my etsy store! it will run from 12:00 am EST on september 16 until 11:59 pm EST on the 16th. your code is FLASH25 for 25% off your purchase. eeeeeeks!

the bundles are not included in the sale since they are already discounted, so i will have those listings inactive while the sale runs. 

but, for some of the best news so far, my newest pattern will debut tomorrow during the sale. i am super excited to debut betsy's dress - a dress that had me head over in no time!

this twist on a peasant dress is right up BG's ally. you may recognize her - yep, betsy and nelle are sisters - you've got that sweet ruffled neckline on both, but one with flutter angel sleeves and the other with belled longer sleeves you can finish off with lace or ruffles. methinks you cannot live without it. not to mention it comes in sizes 6-12 months all the way to 12! holy junkaroos. :)

the betsy looks fab on her own, but pair her with tights and boots and you just might fall off your chair. or your rocker, in my case. :) for a fabulous pattern that comes together in no time and makes a huge fashion statement - girls, go get you a betsy's dress! 

just look at the beauty that came from the testers!

 photo and dress courtesy of hearthmade creations - this girl ROCKS some BG patterns!

 photo and dress courtesy of saflower photography - this is a girl after my own heart, she photographs with her labrador. :)

 photo and dress courtesy of sweet birdie & co. her fabrics and attention to detail slay me, as always!

photo and dress courtesy of handmade by autumn. i'd kill for that fabric!

okay - time out from betsy fabulousness. time to talk hattie.

for those that know me, you know my perfectionism and how i really, really, really always like to be right. well, i goofed and let 2 mistakes go out on the hattie pattern and to say i have beat myself up about this would be an understatement. i mean, i cried. big fat tears with snorting and snot running straight down my splotchy face. big cry. i was so upset with myself for missing those mistakes. but, thankfully i have some super awesome customers that held my hands through it and told me that all would be right in the world again soon. so, in my big moment of anger with myself  - i also realized something else. well, a few things actually. but maybe one doesn't count because i already KNEW that my BG girls are the best girls in the world and i swanny if you ladies didn't stand by me and be as loyal and awesome as you are, i wouldn't still be doing this but so many of you have become my friends and companions and you mean the world to me. i am uber lucky. and i also realized something that if i could bear the pain of a tatoo i need to have it permanently tatoo'd somewhere that i can see it everyday. SLOW DOWN AMY. i have a lot going on right now and i sometimes don't like to remember that or take it into consideration that i am about to run myself into the ground if i keep up like this. i always smile and remember the lyrics to my most fave buffett song that "i must confess, i can use some rest. i can't run at this pace very long. yes it's quite insane, i think it hurts the brain." and yes it does. so, i really do need to slow it down and stop pushing myself to the cliff!

so, in that regards, i will not have hattie back in the shop tomorrow for the sale. i am sorry yall, but i really want to get this pattern right before i release it again. PLUS, while i had it on the table redrafting my mistakes, i graded it up to a size 12 - so now i need  to have those larger sizes tested too before i send it to you ladies again. so, for those that have already bought a hattie, you should have an email about how to make revisions if you need to do so before the new one gets released. let me know if you haven't gotten that email because that is also the list i will be using to send out the new pattern when it is available. i hope you all understand this and know that i am VERY upset that it wont be in the shop tomorrow, but i really, really am mortified that it wasn't right the first time and now really want to make up for it and not have this as a repeat!!

wordy blog, wordy blog, wordy blog.

but, what you need to take away from this blog is a SALE TOMORROW when my shop opens back up and a NEW PATTERN. yay!

once again, the sale starts at 12:00 am EST on september 16th and runs until 11:59 pm EST that night in honor of my brown doggy's birthday. your code is FLASH25 for 25% off your purchase. also - please note on flash sale days it gets caaaaaarazy. so, i will email the patterns out to you in 24 hours, promise! but just be patient as it gets a little wild. :) and you know i have those 2 tow-headed hooligans on top of it all making it just a bit more chaotic. haha.

thanks again ladies - you rock as always and i am off to finish up scanning the new hattie and then to finish up the henry/henrietta for the testers!

oh sweet hattie!

i have a few designs that take my breath away each and every time that i look at them. no matter how many times.

the hattie is for shizzle one of those designs.

this dress brought me to tears at the drafting table a little over a year ago. i walked away from it numerous times with many 4-letters behind me swearing i was quitting it. but, it never left me alone. it would haunt me in my dreams and i would be right back at it the next morning. and finally, one day it just worked and i think i went a few minutes without breathing.

i love everything about this design. i love the ruffled neck with a pleated front...

i really love the gathered sleeves with the buttons on the tabs. you know me, i am a sucker for a button.

i adore the short length. i know not everyone agrees with me here, but i love a short dress on a little girl. can you tell i am a huge fan of the brady bunch and the fashion of that time period?

well, it has finally made itself to pdf form so that all of you can create the sweet hattie as well. and i decided to draft it tunic length as well, because i honestly cannot stand how stinking adorable it looks over some skinny jeans. 

as soon as i publish this blog, she will be in the etsy shop. for sale. for you. i hope you love her. i certainly do. and so does lou...don't let that sassy face fool you.

now, for a little more info about what i have been up to. yall, i swanny i haven't stopped in 2 weeks. i have been busting it with patterns and pdfs and tutorials and measurements, etc. i have decided to finally start to include larger sizes and honestly the drafting is kicking my tail. i have been pouring over measurements, sweating under my arms and holding my mouth just right hoping that my insane collection of sizes is working out well. i was a bit humbled to find one day that MY inseam was only a few inches from that of a 12 year old. ouch.

but, to be honest - i cannot keep this pace going. i am exhausted and my brain isn't functioning at full capacity. i mean, think about today - i almost FORGOT to publish hattie. oh my. so, what i plan to do is shut down the etsy shop on thursday of this week for a bit so that i can play double-time with the patterns. i have a special little brown doggy (the brownie of BG)

 

 that turns 11 on the 16th, and i think we all know that i LOVE to celebrate a birthday with a little flash sale. and since technically a flash sale is not planned - that is all the info i can give you about that for now. ;)

again - ladies, i am blown away by the pictures of your creations you send me. i love to see what spin you put on my patterns. it seriously puts a big ole smile on my face. keep it up!

so, hattie getting published, etsy shop closing thursday and in the meantime...someone else you may know turns 33. just a hint, here she is throwing her hands in the air and LOVING life. 

 

peace out my brownie geese.

BG + HB = BFF 4-eva

okay, i know that title is so nerdy and dorky - but after the turn of events this afternoon, anything is humorous to me. plus, we all know i am a dork like that anyways. :)

our upstairs renovation started today, and since we are living in the house while the reno goes on we have made a small area in the basement that is about 400 square feet temporary living space. what this means is that most of everything my family of 4 people, 2 labradors and a kitty cat, does is in this space. hope we love each other. close quarters for sure.

well, today has been a bit hectic getting everyone settled into the basement. the day started off pooey as i was chastised in the carpool line when i broke a rule i didn't know existed (i may be awesome (hehe), but i am not much of a rule-breaker, well...not anymore at least), and then i come home to my sweet brown dog not feeling well and limping and being all pitiful. then, nash decided to strike nap time and once i got lou home from school we discovered a leak in the 400 square feet of "safe space" that we have (on brand new flooring) and trying to deal with that and screaming kids at the beginning of suicide hour...well, let's just say that i'm spent. it's about beer-thirty.

okay - off the pitty potty for me. ain't nobody got time for that! instead, let's learn about the new pattern hitting the shops tomorrow and a fun fabric deal with HBfabrics!

after many, many, many requests and inquiring minds...the Lily Ruffler will be released in my etsy shop tomorrow.

this ruffler is probably one of my faves ever. it puts a little spin on the old double ruffle pants and gives you the option of adding trim and even another fabric to peek out from behind that top curved ruffle. the cut is slimmer than the sleepy jeans - since with the ruffly-ness (dear spell check, yes that IS a word. sincerely, the girl behind BG) you need slimmer lines. trust me. we cannot be having these girls looking all frumpified! oh, and what would a BG pattern be without buttons? and better yet - i drafted this pattern for capri and pant length. so the hardest part is deciding which length you wanty. :)

so, while that is awesome news - i haven't even gotten to the best part yet.

if you buy the Lily Ruffler in the first 3 days - you will get a coupon code good for 10% off your purchase at HBfabrics. and better yet - hilary just got a TON of new fabrics this weekend. on top of all the other awesomeness in her shop - she just got more of the robert kaufman chambrays that you see used on many, many pieces of BG. i love to sew with his chambrays - you cannot beat them with a stick! she has the royal (i've used these for the summer sailors on the dock of the bay, the limited edition lolas on the daydream believer, all my denim rufflers), black (this was the ever-popular sleepy jean fabric) and drumroll....MOCHA. girls, this mocha is dying to be a Lily. she told me so. and don't EVEN get me started on the yarn dyed linen. oooooooooh my darlin. and oh smacks, i just saw she restocked the robert kaufman metro living line. danger fabriholics!

so come on ladies...the early bird gets the worm. get the lily ruffler before midnight on thursday and reward yourself with some new fabric! the coupon code will be emailed to you with the pattern and hilary gets a list of the purchasers, so no code sharing please!

enabeler, yes....bad influence, always. sorry ladies. ;)

patterns in waiting

so, i've had a lot of emails and facebook posts recently asking what i have been up to and what i plan to be up to in the near future. well, here is your answer.

NO good.

hehe, just kidding...maybe.

but in all seriousness, i hope to get my sew on again soon. all of my machines, fabrics, buttons, etc. that i am used to looking at day-in, day-out have been packed away in boxes since the beginning of may. enough is enough, i miss those guys. i am itching to get back to sewing and design.

and hopefully i will. soon. we are about to begin renovations on the house, so i will have a temporary spot for my sewing stuff (that will be shared with the kids as a play room/sewing room...sound like a disaster? methinks yes, but i am sort of desperate at this point). that means i can get to work on finishing up some of the patterns to publish and get some new ones out the door. 

pattern design was something that just sort of fell into my lap - mostly due to my stubborness and inability to let things go. i would think of something that i wanted to sew and not find it anywhere out there, therefore...i would draft until i cried and got it all just right. then, i sort of realized that it was more fun than i was letting on, and started to design for collections - mostly so that the BG that i brought you would be different, and me. and then i decided to take a leap of faith and publish some of those patterns since i had people asking (this was a decision that i battled for quite some time) and could not have asked for a better outcome. i never in my life realized that it would bring me such joy to encourage others to create and sew. it knocks my socks off. honestly, when i see people sewing my designs - it really just makes my heart smile - and i know that probably sounds all cliche - but i mean it. sewing is cool, i mean - i am sure i am preaching to the choir here considering who reads this blog, but it is such a cool thing and it is fabulous that i can reach people all over the world and connect on the same level. knocks off those socks peeps!!

anyways, before i get carried away in talking about how much of a dork i am and how rad sewing is...how about what you came here for. patterns in waiting...

these are just a few of the designs you have already seen that i will be taking the plunge and publishing the patterns. i cannot give you a time line as my life is crazy-fest right now, but i am thinking with louisa starting kindergarten next week (sniff, sniff) i may have more idle time on my hands. haha, famous last words.

so, look for these babes to hit my etsy store at some point:

the hattie - this dress was a HUGE accomplishment for me in the drafting arena and i heart it with everything i have! i hope you will too!

 the betsy - i debated to publish this one since i thought it was just another peasant dress pattern, but i have had numerous requests...and so i am happy to indulge everyone's inner brady bunch.

the trudy - this dress can take so many forms. add a flutter, add a pocket, add some funk to your heart's desire!

 

the allie oop - a dock of the bay fave that gave me fits at the drafting table!

for the boys - the clam digger shorts, i swanny i could eat that child!

bestill...the lake dress. possibly one of the few dresses that takes my breath away repeatedly.

the lazy susan top...flutter and boatneck together, yes please!

the lemonade dress - still working out kinks on this one, if a kink is categorized as personality...this one is full of it. lawsy - but she will be perfecto before she hits the shop. just trying my patience in the meantime...

the ever-requested sadie...be her a skirt or a top, including a tutorial on colorblocking the BG way.

another for the boys - the henry pant. a flat-fronted trouser with a cuff on the bottom. i am still debating on whether or not to include instructions for the suspenders as well, i heart them...but don't know if everyone will...what do you think?

so, that is what is on tap here in the near future. i've got my hands full for sure. and who knows...the creative dragon that has been laid at rest all summer may come out and blow some fire up my rear end for some new designs.

i say it again and again, and i mean it again and again...thanks for being the BEST damn customers a girl could ask for. rock on all my BG ladies!