I took yesterday off, and thought about a few things Olivia needed.  First of all, she has grown out of all of her pants.  They fit her perfectly in the waist, however the length is now capri – perfect for summer, not for winter.  So, now that the temps have dropped to the 50’s and 60’s I cannot wait any longer to put together a few ensembles for her.  I had fun cleaning my sewing room after last weeks tornado came through.  In the process, I rummaged through my stack of fabrics and picked a few things to sew.  I also took the time to go through a few Ottobre’s and see what patterns I want.  I found a few, but I wanted to alter each and every one of them.  That brings me to Astrid, who is doing a giveaway of four Onion Patterns.  She gave us a link to her source called Shoponion.  I had to check it out myself, and after an hour of looking at all those lovely patterns, I could not wait to order some of my own.  I kicked myself afterwards for not looking for Nicolas.  Oh well, I will browse again soon.

http://www.allthingsribbon.com

I found this hairclip this morning, however they were sold out.  It gave me a few ideas about what I wanted to order for Olivia.  Are they not cute?  Visit their site, they also sell clothing.  Very nice.

I am grateful for snow.  I love it, and I love the kid it brings out in all of us.

I am grateful for my the chance to have grown up in Germany.  I cherish all the memories I have of this wonderful country.  The people, the traditions, their culture, and the food of course.  And with this I leave you with pictures that my mom took today in Germany.

Snow, Snow, Snow....And more snow.....

 

It’s choice-not chance-that

determines your destiny!

______________________________

Jean Nidetch

Sorry for the negative week I have been having.  Yes, I got the flu once again.  I guess it is no surprise considering the entire Preschool is sick, some of them for the second time.  Our weather in Florida is really cold at the moment.  We have had freezing temperatures every night for about a week.  My poor hydrangeas.  They look sad and droopy.  I hope they make it. 

My stress is over, at least for this week.  I have four more dresses to make, two this week, and two more after Thanksgiving.  Then I am rejoining the Ottobre group, and sewing some beautiful things for the kids.  I love sewing for the public, and I love the extra $$ it has brought me, but as long as I have Olivia at home, I just cannot make a dress a day!  I figured out that it takes me about two nights (approx 6 hours) to finish a dress and still get to bed at a decent hour.  Although, I love that my husband takes the kids on the weekend to let me sew, I always miss being with the kids.  And come on lets face it, no matter how hard our husbands try, when the little one is crying and the older one is whining, who would not get up and save the day, because poor daddy just cannot deal with all of it.  I want to make sure that the customers are getting a quality product, and I still have a life when everything is said and done.  So, I have decided to put my shop on vacation in the middle of December so that Christmas will be nice and relaxing.  It will also give me time to put together a few things for the shop.  I have alot of ideas buzzing around in this head of mine.

My Christmas business cards arrived last week.  I love the way they turned out.  I buy them at Lucid dream designs    .    I know I ordered them too late, but I give them out as a calling card as well.  I also have a few locations locally where I put them.  I can always use them next year too.

I just finished making a custom order for a client that is so beautiful, even I am wishing that I had kept this fabric to myself.  I love the fabric, and classic lines.  The white collar with tatting was just another perfect addition.  I cannot wait for her to see it.

My broken heater will probably cost me $350, and I guess I should be happy that it did not cost me $3000, which was my original fear.  However, I needed it like a hole in the head right before Christmas. 

Getting sick again, is not exactly what I wanted either right now.  I am trying to get as much done as I possibly can, without cutting my time with the kids.  They are always my first priority.  Well, at least after drinking my Hotti Totti last night, my sore throat feels alot better.  Ever try one of those? They are great, and I think the bourbon/whisky just kills everything, not forgetting to mention you sleep like a baby.  

Then today, I decided to send a message to a coop owner about why she has not replied to my message in a week, and whether she had even gotten my message.  You never know, but her answer was a bit more surprising.   ”Yes Jeanine I read your message. I have not responded because I
haven’t had time to prepare your added fabrics. Please be patient and
wait for a message from me. “  Personally, I think that is a rude statement to make.  No apologies, no thank you, nothing but attitude.  And in the meantime, she answered everyone else’s emails, however she cannot find the time to answer mine.  I told her to refund my money “please” since we do not see eye to eye on several issues, and I am done with them.  She was pretty mad at me for constantly asking for updates, but she was holding onto a large sum of my money for more then five months.  I think I have a right to ask for an update. You know what, I would prefer to pay retail prices or order it myself and sell it.   Sara/Tina this is all your fault for spoiling us so bad. LOL.

On another note, check out this site Hautemammas when you get a moment.  I read about it at on Little Window Shoppe Blog.  These are mommy calling cards.  Would this not be a great gift for Christmas?  I may have to look into that for my sister.  How cute.  According to the blog there is a Discount:  Save 10% at HauteMammas.com with code: LittleWS

I am grateful for music.  I listen to all kinds really, however I treasure the really good stuff.  It calms me when I want to relax, puts the kids to sleep and helps me clean at times.

Boohoo!  I am sick again.  I have had a sore throat all day, and I am not a wimp, but this hurts.  I mean really really hurts.  I can barely find the energy or fun in anything today.  I just want to go to bed.  I have had 3 cups of tea, 2 hot chocolates, oatmeal and anything else I can find that will burn my throat.  I am so mad, because I just got over this crud.  I know my days have been long lately, and my nights short, but I felt so good.  I even went walking yesterday with a few girls from our playdate group.  It was 42 degrees outside, and we walked at a very fast pace for 1 1/2 hours.  It is not fair.

So I am keeping this short.  I did do a little sewing, and I love the way this dress is going to look.  It is a custom order.  I am using my most favorite fabric.  I would do anything to get my hands on some more of this.  Here is a hint.  I will post more pictures after I finish the dress.

Isabella Rose DressIsabella Rose Dress Lace Close-up

Lace Up Close

I am sorry, but today I am not grateful.  On top of everything, my heater broke, so all the money I have made in the last month just flew out the window.  Life really sucks sometimes.

I finally got a free moment tonight to finish up some Ottobre pants from the Spring 2005 issue.  I had to wait until I got some of the japanese elephant cotton print in the mail.  I love this print, but it has taken forever to come in, so I ordered some from Superbuzzy.    I love to make him pants, because he is inbetween sizes.  He wears a 3T in the waist and a 4-5T in length.  The usual complaint from most moms.  In this case I just added length with the elephant fabric.  I love the way they turned out.  I am sure he will get alot of compliments today at school.    I took the above picture first thing in the morning, so please excuse the hairstyle.    Here are some more pictures of a close  up and when he got ready for school.  This is a great pattern, and very easy to make.  I think it would be great for little girl jeans as well.  They are cut very slim. 

Gummibearjunky wanted to know what our sewing history was, so I posted my link and here is my story.  I hope everyone joins in, because this could be fun.  Leave your links on her blog.

I started sewing right after I finished Highschool.  I fell in love with the Burda magazines.  As usual I spent more time dreaming about all the things I would sew, rather than actually sewing anything.  I really started sewing my own clothing when I bought a video showing me how to Tailor a Ladies Jacket.  The rest is history.  I absolutely loved to sew my own clothes, especially pants.  Then my son was born.  I bought all of his clothing in Germany, where the colors were bright and vibrant.  I found nothing like that here in the United States.  So I began sewing boys clothes.   In the beginning I made alot of heirloom clothing, then went on to Ottobre patterns.  I love the Ottobre magazines because their patterns had a european flair to them, and I love the fabrics they use.  Then my daughter was born 4 years later.  Here are several pictures of the first things I sewed for my kids.

Shame on you Mom

My mom sent me this today.  A picture of a german bakery.  Hmmmmm, I can smell that bread right now.  Shame on you mom.

Busy sewing custom orders………

I am grateful for kindness.   Sometimes all you ever hear are bad things, but if you look really close, and take the time to watch, you will see that there is way more kindness in this world then anything else.  I am grateful to kind people for doing kind things, to those that say kind things and to others who teach people to act kind.

I woke up to a wonderful surprise this morning.  I received an article that was written by Associated Content on Eight Great Etsy Shops for Toddler Clothing, and guess who was mentioned?  Yes, it was me!  WOW!  I cannot believe it.  There are so many wonderful clothing designers on Etsy, and they picked me!  Sorry I am just beside myself.

The article is here.  The author wrote this:

Kinderkouture

Kinder Kouture features more upscale, boutique outfits. The items tend to be dressier or more special occasion. They focus mostly on infant and toddler sizes but some items are available up to size 8. Even though these are the type of outfits you might find in a boutique, the prices are more moderate ($30-$65). Kinder Kouture has been on Etsy since June 2008 and the crafter is located in Florida. They accept PayPal, credit cards, money orders and checks.

This is going to be short.  I have spent way too much time on the computer in the last few days.  It always leads me to spend alot of money on fabric, not sew enough, and keep me away from other important matters. 

Someone with very good taste ordered my Santa Dress from my Etsy shop today.  Another reason to make this short.  And Sara and I are working together to order the Charm Bracelet line of fabrics at a great price of only $6.00 a yard.  Anyone want to join just go to the More Joy of Sewing Yahoo group and join the group.  The pictures are listed and a spreadsheet is available for ordering the fabrics.

I am grateful for our lovely house.  It is not too big, nor too small.  It keeps us warm, and cool.  It gives us shelter.  Many fond memories will take place in this house, and I am happy that we are fortunate enough to have one.