giving back, with a *small* spoiler

okay, just to update...i am moving a little slower than expected with my fall line. i haven't been feeling so hot lately, which has really, really decreased my time in the sewing room. but, my super fantabulous photographer katie stafford is being uber-flexible with me in shooting for the fall line. so, i will be taking orders in september, but i just don't know if it will be the first week or not. also, i am still gung-ho for the lottery system, but still trying to figure out how to work that. all that being said...it sounds like i am uber organized, huh. geeze.

but, on another note...for those that remember my "40 days to help the strays" and what became of it i had forgotten how GOOD it felt to so something good for others. in this case, my most favorite cause...animals. well, the day that i dropped off the check at CARA, i knew that i wanted to do more. and since my husband wasn't real keen on the idea of me taking in half of the sweet doggies that gave me the pitiful stare, i knew it had to be monetary again. so, what better way that with BG? initially when i started BG i wanted to somehow incorporate money to give to an animal shelter, but it started in such a whirl-wind that it kinda crept away without me. well, no more. for those that may or may not know, i am kinda crazy when it comes to my animals. they are my children. i love them more than anything, in fact brownie-goose is named after my two labradors. so, what more fitting? right.

well, i stewed and i stewed and i stewed over what i could do to generate some extra funds to donate to CARA. i finally came up with the idea of having a certain appliqued shirt that would be specified to this orginization. well, then i stewed and i stewed over the perfect applique. i wanted something that showed my devotion as well as everyone else's that helps out with CARA. i didn't want to just put a dog on a shirt or a paw-print, so one night it hit me. i had the PERFECT idea. then, it took quite some researching and sketching to get it just right. well, it still isn't perfect...but i am no artist, and it captures the EXACT moment that i wanted. in fact, just looking at this applique makes my heart smile.

how about yours? is there a warmer-fuzzier feeling that a kid with his/her best friend sitting on a dock looking out at forever? i hope i am not getting too mushy here, but this shirt sums up to me what CARA is. loving animals and giving everything you've got to help them. the ladies that i met that day at CARA had sacrificed so much to help these animals that mostly are homeless and out on the streets with no thanks to other human being's ignorance. okay, i will stop there before i get all on my soap box.

of course i had to design something that wasn't easy on the machine and involved layers, but what the hey? how else would we swing it here at BG? i haven't worked out all the logistics and prices and such like that, but a certain amount from each purchase of this shirt which will be known as "man's best friend" will go straight to CARA. so, i hope all of my BG fans out there support this one and will purchase this applique to help all of the sweet, innocent animals out there who unfortunately cannot take up residence in my house due to the hubby.

just a small spoiler, but i couldn't hold this one in. i am so proud of it and so excited to see what comes of it! more later as i try to get my bootay in gear.

successful de-stash

so, it is no secret that i have a slight obsession with fabrics. i have an entire sewing room full and then another hall closet full. yikes. i have gotten better lately and not buying unless i need. however, i also have a warped definition of "need" in my vocab. oops.

well, as i was trying to get things done in the sewing room the other day i realized that it was getting to be a hazard to my health as i didn't have enough room to the left of louise (my serger) due to all of my fall fabrics. the bolts are overflowing, as i have ordered as much as i could afford for the time-being. but...as the fabric i was serging kept bulging up and threatening to come back and get chopped in all the wrong places by my serger knife, i thought - hey, something needs to give here. i knew immediately that i needed to get my fall stuff off my actual sewing table and onto the racks, but how was i supposed to do that when they were JAM-PACKED full? ugh, i needed to get rid of some fabric. no bueno. no bueno grande, if you can't tell...i do not speak spanish, but i try.

so, as i stared at all the bolts and yardage in front of me, i almost panicked thinking of getting rid of some of it. i mean, what if i needed it down the road? what if it was about to be out of print and i have some of the last of it? spoken like a true hoarder, right? well, i put on my big-girl panties and i narrowed it all down. and then i had a slight anxiety attack and put some back up on the shelves and justified the keeping of certain fabrics. but, in the end...i came up with a very large stash that i felt i could part with. so, i unbolted and unrolled and unfolded on my 8-ft long cutting table that only about a foot is not covered in crap. and i measured and i priced. then, i listed on facebook. and i felt good about it all, until people started wanting my fabric. then i panicked again. then, reminded myself that i needed to do this so that i could get my sew on properly when the levees of fall orders break. so, i started taking orders and cutting and inventory-ing and such and realized that if i ever got into a fabric-selling business (who am i kidding?) that i would definitely have to clean all the crap off my cutting tables before i tried to cut and measure yardage. geeze.

well, all in all...it went great. BG has some extra money in her accounts (perfect since lou's school is starting up soon and tuition must be paid and my sweet lucy-goosie is still limping and will see the vet this week and i am HOPING that the whole s-word (not my kind of s-word...surgery i mean) isn't mentioned) and the most important part....look at the empty spots on my shelves.

wonder what that mess of smudge is in the corner on the left, well...that is where my fall fabrics are living at the moment (notice how dangerously close to louise) and i got all fancy in photoshop and smudged them so i wouldn't be giving away the cow. oh, and pay no mind to the hula hoop, that basically says "louisa kate was here." next importantly, look at all this fabric that is going to homes that are excited about them. no more sitting on a shelf or a bookcase ignored.

oh, and one of the saddest parts, empty bolts. am i the only one that sees an empty bolt as a sad thing?

but, all together, THANK YOU everyone who bought fabric from my stash. you are helping me with my problem, and it makes me smile to think that soon little kiddos will be wearing cute little frocks made with love and some of these fabrics. i even had a moment where i thought i would do this bi-annual. well, let me not get all crazy yet. but seriously, thanks. and if you had no clue this was going on...check out my BG facebook page and you will find the de-stash album there. i do have some fabrics/yardage left. :)

do you see what i see?

well, do you? is that a selvage sheet in the background?

oh wait....hard to see? shame on that bokeh. hmmmm, this any better?

okay, who am i kidding - how about these apples?

that's all i got for now. likey?

Sneak A Peek-a-Roo

Well, not really. Sorry for the tease. But, this is a sneak peek....and a very exciting thing for me to have finished. Finally.

This notebook holds all of BG's fall patterns. I designed many of the patterns for the fall line which I am super-duper proud and excited about. It was NO easy task. In fact, it was WAY easier in my head at night as I lay in bed thinking of new ideas. It was very hard to put things down on paper and then actually have them work out on the fabrics. I am by NO means a pattern designer. But hey, you never know until you try...right?

Anyways, this notebook is gold to me. I now have all sizes, lengths, inseams, chest measurements, etc. in here for all patterns. This book has taken me about a month or so. I would work on it, get burnt-out and then work on it again. Well, now there is nothing else to do then to take a small breather and then put it all in fabrics for the photo shoot.

As for orders for the fall line, I am thinking of doing a lottery system. There is no way possible that I will be able to take everyone's order. I am so sorry that I can't, but there is just no way. I sew all.the.time and just barely am able to get the orders done that I do take. It breaks my heart every time that I get an email of someone that wasn't able to get an order in. But, in order to keep BG the small funky little "company" that I want it to be, this is the way it will work. More details to come on the lottery system.

I know that many other clothing companies have their fall lines out already, but I appreciate everyone's patience with me this year. I won't have as long of a break as I had liked, but I do want to enjoy the small time off that I do have. So, I am turning off the light in the sewing room for the day and enjoying some "me" time.

Oh, and PS - I am now going to be moderating comments on both my personal and BG blog. PLEASE leave comments, I love them more than anything...but I have been getting killed with SPAM comments lately which blows my mind since you have to have word verification. Geeze. So, to keep all the nastys from commenting, I will be filtering it all. Boo for bad apples.

just a note

okay, i think there has been some confusion lately. although my website no longer says "orders closed" i am NOT currently taking orders. i am taking a little siesta as i have FINALLY finished spring/summer '10 and am slowly getting things ready for fall while also taking a little time for myself and family.

i will be doing something a little different for the fall line. it will debut about a week or so BEFORE i am taking orders. this is so that everyone will have a chance to get a look and figure out what they like before the craziness of opening orders happens. i have a fairly good idea now (i *think*) of how i am planning on doing order taking and such, and it is from ideas that i have collected from all of my awesome BG customers that gave me some input. hope that it works! i doubt that i will be able to take everyone's orders, since i just cannot imagine being able to sew that much all by myself in a limited amount of time, but we shall see.

just wanted to give everyone a head's up as i have gotten some emails with orders lately and also some emails wondering if i was since it didn't say "orders closed." in all honesty, i took it down when i re-designed the blog because it wasn't very pretty. ha! but, i will be having some work done on my site between now and the fall line and you may see something similar re-appear. thanks girls for being the most awesome customers i could imagine.

now....go enjoy your fourth of july!