Trip to Kyoto

Well, it's a long story. My husband and I were planning a trip to Rome for our 10th Anniversary, but the volcano in Iceland had a little something to say about that! So, without any kind of plan, we decided to head to Japan on a whim. Being a flight attendant has its advantages!

I speak some Japanese and lived there for awhile 20 odd years ago, so Japan is a pretty easy country for me to navigate. We decided on Kyoto because it is lovely this time of year, and there are a lot of historical sites to visit. As my husband aptly put it, "in Rome there are churches and ruins, in Kyoto, temples and gardens." He is quite right. We had a great trip, and it was wonderful for me to be able to practice my language skills. But the reason for this post is actually to show you my new Japanese pattern book!



I don't know why, but I've been hesitant to venture into the Japanese pattern books that are all over etsy. For one, they are a tad expensive, and even though I can read some Japanese, they still look a bit intimidating. Nevertheless, we found a bookstore on the main shopping street of Kyoto, Sanjo-dori. After asking one of the salespeople where to find the handmade sewing books, I found this little gem.



There are a number of adorable looking patterns, and to give you a sampling, here are a few of the patterns I am looking forward to trying. I think my favorite is this one with the ruffled top. I actually made a sundress that has this idea of the ruffling in the front, but I love it with the sleeves. I am thinking to use one of my new Amy Butler bolts with a coordinating solid top and ribbon.




I am grooving on these shorts too. Most kids love pockets, and these look like they would fit just about anything a little girl may want to put in them. Plus, they look ultra comfy! I have some french terry in all sorts of colors, and while it looks like they used a woven linen, I think I'll try them in knit. We'll see.



My big concern is with the sizing. I'm not intimidated with the centimeters, just worry that my all too American child (read: topping the growth charts) will be too large for the dimensions of the pattern. But...nothing to do but try. I can always adjust if necessary.

I'm hoping to have at least one of these dresses for my upcoming show at SOWA. Opening weekend is May 15th and 16th, and I'll be there with some old favorites and hopefully some new styles as well! And I'll let you know how my first foray into sewing Japan-style goes.

Back from a very short trip with very long flights, and glad to be home in New Hampshire,
Melissa

Bursting to tell you...

OK, I'm done. I can't wait one more day to let you in on my secret. I just didn't want to jinx anything, you know? Drum roll please...

little girl Pearl is going to be in Woman's World Magazine!!!

Here's how it happened. I wandered into the Etsy forums one day this past summer, and noticed a post from Adam in admin. The title was press opportunity, and as it turned out two national magazines were looking for businesses geared to different demographics. "Magazine B" was a better fit for me, so I submitted a one paragraph essay on how I started my business.

You know, I had my daughter, wanted to dress her in cute things, couldn't find any I couldn't do better myself, started making them, people asked where I found them, etc., etc.

So, I promptly forgot about it until I received a call from a writer at Woman's World who loved my story, and voila, after a phone interview and a photographer came to my house (more on that in a minute), it should be in the November 16th issue! Which means that it will be on check out stands on November 9th.

Oh man. So, remember back to me having to clean my house for three days straight? Yep. A photographer who was contracted by the magazine came to my freshly neatened home to take photos of my workspace. Ah, there's the rub. My workspace is also pleasingly cluttered, and in an unfinished basement. It's true. This would not do.



So I staged a nice little corner of the living room with a few bolts, my sewing machine, and who else but the P. and her best friend B. Mine was of course the one trying to hide, and her best friend stealing the show all the while. I wish I could share those pictures, but alas they don't belong to me. I was able to take a pic of "my workspace" though, just to share.



I am thrilled beyond belief, a little nervous (certainly about the picture, hoping I don't look too cheesy), and so excited about the whole thing.

So check out Woman's World on the 9th, and know that my house NEVER looks that good. Take heart.

From Minneapolis,
~Melissa

Etsuko Furuya, will you design exclusively for me??

birds and berries outfit, originally uploaded by littlegirlPearl.

Only half joking there with my title. If I could afford to hire this woman, I would do it. And she doesn't even have to learn English because I speak some Japanese.

I'm in awe, I'm in love, I'm in lust with her designs. This is only the most recent fabric I've acquired of hers. There have been others that I wish I could get my hands on again. Most specifically this one.




It's the first fabric I encountered of hers and I was smitten from the start. There's just something about its funky vibe, retro feel, and color choices that I find irresistible. And judging by how many of these dresses I made, you all felt the same way.

The stripe that went along with that collection was amazing too. My daughter still uses the jumper as a top with a pair of jeans. The colors were so beautiful.

I loved the whole ladybug series, and all the colorways of the bird fabric. Unbelieveable.





Next to come was the vespa overalls which I think are great for boys.






My most recent obsession is this gorgeous double gauze fabric that has the most amazing hand.



I love the softness of the fabric coupled with those gorgeous colors. I've already tried three different patterns with this fabric, but am happiest with the little tunic design from Farbenmix, and the peasant dress with empire styling. Both have just the right amount of gathering, but not too much that you can't see the pattern. Perfection. And it fits the P.'s desire for as much blue clothing as possible. Oh, and she informed me that she likes purple too!

From Nashville,
~Melissa

Want to see?

I felt like a proud parent, putting it all together. Our crazy umbrella and yet to be painted dowel all properly clothed, just like I always knew it would look (wink, wink). Even if it took us three tries to get there. So without further ado...





And they're still not completely finished. Each dowel will get a hat and has to be painted too. I need 30 hours in every day! And here are my adventures in applique. I haven't done a lot of this, but it was FUN! Like decorating with scissors and thread. I'm pretty thrilled with how they turned out, so there will be more...








Coming to you from Denver, Colorado where it is way past my bedtime...

I wasn't kidding...

when I said I had made a LOT of these skirts...







So, now the issue becomes how to display them at a show. I had some ideas right away as I was making them, and now it's time to show you just how ridiculously yankee we get around here. By yankee I mean cheap of course...

My husband is an engineer, and he had the best idea almost immediately, but no, no, I couldn't just go with it. I had to "devise some kind of system" to put these on display. My first thought was wire hangars. If I could bend them into some kind of spoke system, and somehow twist them together and nail them into a dowel, and, and, and...you guessed it. Total disaster.



My next thought was to use wire. It'd be easier, right?? So the thought process here was to get some metal rings which would slide over a dowel, and make a spoke system that would then attach to a ring below. Here is how far I got on this idea before total abandonment...





The problem was that the wire kept sliding around the ring, making it impossible to support the skirt in any kind of meaningful way. And I can just see myself futzing with the display every time someone wanted to look at the skirt. Unacceptable.



We then thought that something rigid might work. We have some foam laying around, and thought that by pushing the wire up through the foam and down the other side, we could create, you guessed it, a spoke system for support. This may have worked other than that the foam kept sliding down the dowel, and the spokes weren't perfectly symmetric. Which leads me back to my engineer husband who suggested a modified umbrella.





Oh, I wish I had just started with this idea in the first place...I couldn't find any children's umbrellas at my local drug store (our town's version of a five and dime), but I did come up with these trusty large ones. I took off the fabric, saved the plastic doo-gigs on the end so that no one gets hurt, cut off about 6 inches of frame, and voila...





Eventually, there will be two holes in the base; one to hold the umbrella handle, and one right next to it to hold a larger dowel with a cross-piece for a top. I anticipate adventures in applique later today. The larger dowel will fit through the spokes of the umbrella so that when the top comes down, it'll cover up the top piece.

Oh sure, I could have purchased some dress forms that would accomplish the same thing a whole lot quicker, but they're expensive, heavy, and that's just not the "yankee" way.

Note to self: listen to your engineer husband more often.

The day of the twirl skirt...

Actually, more like two days of twirl skirts.

I have a cold. A really bad one. The kind where you think your head might explode from the pressure, you are coughing up a lung, and you can't breathe. Just in time for a rainy 4th of July...





But I had sewing days, and you know how it is. These days aren't often enough, and I wanted to take advantage. I was planning on some pattern work this week, but I just couldn't do it. My brain was like that commercial where the woman's head is sort of floating above her body. I am not actually taking anything other than a little ibuprofen at night, but I still feel disjointed.



I am totally inspired by Heather Bailey's blog, and saw an adorable twirl skirt using her fabrics. I really wanted to try this out because the cutting portion is just a series of rectangles and a little bias. Simple. But totally beautiful. So, I made a LOT of them. And I am getting an idea for displaying at markets in my sinus congested head. The only question is whether to just applique a t-shirt to coordinate or make the top myself. What would you do?



So, my daughter is bewitched...






And what little girl wouldn't be?

Pattern Re-tinkered...

Believe it or not, I'm actually home in New Hampshire at the moment. At least until Saturday! So I just wasn't happy with the pattern I turned out last week. I liked the overall concept, but I wanted to tinker with the gathering and the back bodice. I'm happy to report that while I was in Detroit over the weekend, I pulled it out and worked on a fix!



The result in blue! I changed the fabric from the heavier home dec weight to a light cotton from Kaffe Fassett, one of my favorite designers. I tried to use this fabric before for my daughter, but made the dress way too small. This time she declared, "it fits perfectly!", and it does. Best thing for her is the twirly factor of course.



The changes I made are subtle, but made a big difference. I added gathering on the front skirt, took out some fullness in the back bodice, and added piping all the way around the seam between the bodice and the skirt. I briefly considered putting rickrack on the lower band, but decided against it. There is so much pattern in the fabric that it didn't really need anything else!



My daughter has been happily wearing her new dress all day, so looks like it's a keeper! Nothing looks crisper in the summer than classic blue and white. I guess I'll have to make another one for my upcoming show in a little over one week! Yipes! Off to get dirty making cement tent weights. Argh...

Spring/Summer 2009 Collection!

I've been thinking about this collection for so long that the styles made themselves in my head long before they were translated into cloth and thread. However, I think having them all in one place would be helpful for you to see how they work together and all of the possibilities!

So today, it's all about the aqua with dashes of hot pink, apple green, and sunshine yellow...



This first dress is reversible, and you can see that you get two totally different looks in one dress. One of the features I love about this one is the elastic under the arms which makes it so that you can get more use out of it. As she grows up, she can wear it next season as a top with my aqua capris!



I love the combination of these fabrics because they are so refreshing and cool for the summer heat. The wrap dress has an easy style that can go from casual to a bit more dressy, and the apron dress has a trendy appeal.



Finally, all my mix and match styles in one place! The polka dot apple green skirt reverses to a solid aqua, and will go with all of my tops. The yo-yo garden skirt can also be paired with everything and the aqua capris can extend the life of those aforementioned dresses. I designed everything to mix and match even for when it's Daddy's turn to dress her up. I know you know what I mean...

Everything is available in my etsy store and as always if you like a fabric but want it in a different style, I can do that too.

The other thing I'd like to try doing is letting you all know where I am in the world when I write these posts, because I'm sure it seems like a crazy life for many. As you know I'm a flight attendant and travel the country on a weekly basis. I'm headed home after a four day trip which has included layovers in Edmonton, Detroit, and right now Madison. By the way, I have stumbled upon a wonderful shop at 218 State Street which features all manner of paper, fabric, and handmade creations that fit my aesthetic perfectly. Its name is Anthology, and if you live in Madison, you should go check it out. Today I tried on a pendant from Sofia Masri that was really hard to leave at the shop. More on that later...

Anyway, from Madison, happy spring!

CPSIA-The Gift that Keeps on Giving, Business ICU

One of the best gifts we gave our daughter this Christmas was a six month subscription to the best play dough on the market. It comes packaged in a reusable tin, and my daughter gets a new color each and every month. Not only does she look forward to getting her present in the mail, something kids at her age adore, but the colors are not exactly what you find in the store. This month it happened to be a charcoal color with sparkles mixed in. I can't tell you how much enjoyment my daughter has gotten from this monthly surprise, and this stuff is amazing!



I'm sure there are lots of homemade play dough recipes out there, but I just love the fact that I don't have to do it, and the "mail thing" is an added bonus for my daughter. This dough stays supple (as long as you promptly put it away, like all dough) and goes through all her molds like a dream. Better still, it doesn't take too much to clean it up, and leaves very little mess behind.


I haven't checked in with the proprietor of this wonderful shop to see what she might do about the CPSIA. Clearly, her products are intended for use by children under 12, and even more clear is that they are not toxic in the least. In fact, they are most likely made with things everyone probably has on hand in their pantry. To lose these sellers in the wake of this inane law would be a real tragedy. There are so many non-toxic, imaginative toys, made and sold in this country. I hope we can all keep the pressure on to get the law amended.

By the way, that isn't charcoal gray play doh on my daughter's fingernails. She ate about a half a package of frozen blueberries last night, and the juice stained them purple. Hey, at least she loves fruit!

Value Added...

For my collection this spring, I have thought long and hard about how to add value to my line. How to turn this whole CPSIA mess on its head, and really make my collection stand out from the crowd. If I have to test my units, and ultimately pass that on to my customer, how can I make it worth it to them (you?) to pay a little higher price? Reversible styles have been popular for a long time, and with good reason. They are practical, stylish, and economical. You get two for the price of one, and maybe even more. How you ask? Read on...



My new reversible "pink floating flowers" jumper is the answer (or at least one of them). Believe it or not, this dress is a size 2T. My daughter now wears a size 5! So, let's say your daughter is in a size 2 right now. Perfect! She can wear this dress (remember, it's reversible) for the entire spring and summer, and even through the fall with a turtleneck underneath. Then, next year when she's a little taller, she can use it as a top with some cute capris or shorts! I detailed this dress with a sweetheart neckline and a little bit of piping at the neck for detail. The back features a keyhole opening for easy on and off, and the underarm is elasticized. Not only will there not be any gaping at the armhole, but it also allows for growing room. I also set off the hemline with some pink rickrack.

The capris are also part of my collection and coordinate with a ton of new designs. I've yet to produce everything, but they are all sketched out just waiting for a day of sewing (I swear I need 24 more hours in each day just to accomplish everything).



The reverse of the dress is sweetness personified. I LOVE bold color, but sometimes a bit softer is nice too. This print is modern but not too flashy. Oh, and in case you hadn't already guessed? Yes, my deliberate child decided that she needed "bangs" again!! We were SO close to having her tresses all one length, but as she rarely keeps ties in her hair, her longer bangs were in her face much of the time. Solution? When Mommy is down ironing a skirt to wear, I will take my new snub-noses and cut off 7 or so inches of hair around my face. I know, I know, it's a rite of passage, but it did nearly bring me to tears...but I digress.

This is only one of several reversible styles I'll be adding, so keep checking. I don't think I'll have everything in my shop February 10th, but it should all be there by March (fingers crossed).