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This post, Decadent Colors from March 21, 2008, has been one of the most popular posts on my blog, as a result of internet searches for "blue brown wedding".  It really is a gorgeous color combination.

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blue brown green
1. Teal, 2. 3rd interpretation of Brown and Turquoise, 3. Teal and turquoise, 4. wool - brown and aqua, 5. YOC2: brown + blue ribbon, 6. Aqua Green Plaid Dog Harness, 7. brown lime Necklace, 8. Blue & Brown Wedding Cake, 9. aqua water and green grass, 10. Brown with Aqua Waves Purse, 11. Fiber Art Pendant - Orbiting Moons #3, 12. Brown-and-Blue Swap: From Kerflop, 13. 4 blue and 1 brown, 14. aqua green, 15. EtsyChocLimeDuck2, 16. brown and blue inspiration



I love these colors together. The blue/teal/green combination reminds me, of course, of the Gulf of Mexico and the ocean ... looking at them it's easy to get lost, transported to a sailboat somewhere called Nowhere. The dark brown is so strong. Love it.

brown blue quilt outdoors

And so I had to make a quilt, because one can never make too many quilts, I say.

brown blue quilt


I've been gathering these fabrics over the last few months, along with a bunch of others that use brown ... I've decided brown is the new turquoise/teal, it goes with everything and looks decadent.

blue brown quilt detail, backside, and bindingThis quilt was initially inspired by this one created by One Shabby Chick. If you haven't visited her site yet you must. She uses such wonderful fabrics and creates the neatest things.

To make this quilt I cut the darker fabrics into shorter pieces (2-6" long) all with a 5" width. I cut the lighter pieces into longer strips (6-10" long) 2.5" wide. I then sewed two really long strips, one with each width of fabric. When I thought they were long enough I sewed the two together, cut strips the length I wanted, and sewed the newly cut strips together. Pretty simple.
brown blue quilt detail
The quilting is done both in the ditch and in big random circles. To do the circles I traced two different sized circles onto freezer paper. I pressed the freezer paper onto the quilt, stitched, removed the freezer paper, repositioned it, stitched, and repeated. I did pin the freezer paper on the larger circles after the first two, the piece of paper was so large that it was a little harder to work with.

Oh, I also tried spray basting for the first time. I was very hesitant but read some good online reviews and thought it'd be fun to try (and a time saver). Overall I was happy with it. I did do some pinning, just to be safe, but not nearly as much as usual. Pretty cool stuff.

Below is a little idea of the progress at the store, kind of "before" and "during" pictures. This is just one room, about 1/3 of the total store area, the other larger part of the store is still pretty full. This room should be completely empty early next week.

before during
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Because I'm Me New Year's Eve Bow Ties for kids and men

New Year's bow tie. Some of the stars have silver inked on them. Very cute and festive, but not "over the top".

Available for kids, from infant to preteen AND adults.

The disco balls are Christmas tree ornaments. I'd purchased them for my old store, Ditto Kiddo, to use for Christmas and New Year's windows (also great for July 4th, Valentine's Day, "watery" swimwear displays, etc. ... they got a lot of use!). After the store closed they came home for our family tree. We have a family tradition of singing, "ah, ah, ah, ah, stayin' alive, stayin' alive" whenever we put one of these disco balls on the tree. And, of course, since it's a tradition the kids must keep doing it, even when they're teenagers and feel tortured by the whole production. Because I love them so.

Orders need to be placed by next Wednesday, the 26th, for New's Eve delivery (or Thursday for priority mail).

Stayin' alive, stayin' alive ...
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If you've come here via Money Saving Mom, thanks for stopping in to visit. Please make yourself comfy and have a look around.

If you're not familiar with my post the other day on Money Saving Mom here's a link to it. I shared a story of how I motivated the kids to help lower our electric bill (truth is, I bribed them).

Thank you to Money Saving Mom for posting my story!

In honor of that post and the visitors from that site I thought I'd link to some of my favorite "homemade" alternatives to more expensive store bought products, especially as they've worked so well for me.

Without further ado (drumroll please):

Microwave Popcorn (head to the bottom of  the post)
Crock Pot Yogurt
Laundry Soap

I promise that all of these are really easy and work wonderfully.

And here's a post  I wrote a few years ago about consigning/reselling your gently used clothing and other items, written after owning a children's resale store for 9 years (I miss that store!)

For more money saving ideas click on "saving money" in the right hand column under labels.

So what else can I tell you?  What other things - money saving, parenting, home schooling, child care, budgeting, organizing, sewing, or whatever has you curious - would you like to know?  Ask away and I'll do my best to answer.
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CPSC Grants One Year Stay of Testing and Certification Requirements for Certain Products

... The stay of enforcement provides some temporary, limited relief to the crafters, children's garment manufacturers and toy makers who had been subject to the testing and certification required under the CPSIA. These businesses will not need to issue certificates based on testing of their products until additional decisions are issued by the Commission. However, all businesses, including, but not limited to, handmade toy and apparel makers, crafters and home-based small businesses, must still be sure that their products conform to all safety standards and similar requirements, including the lead and phthalates provisions of the CPSIA.

Handmade garment makers are cautioned to know whether the zippers, buttons and other fasteners they are using contain lead. Likewise, handmade toy manufacturers need to know whether their products, if using plastic or soft flexible vinyl, contain phthalates. ...

Read the entire article here.
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I hinted at this a week or so ago, but no one picked up on it, or at least no one mentioned it. Hmmph. So I guess I'll just come out and say it (the title gives it away though, maybe?*).

We're having a boy. Boy #4. As K. keeps telling me there will now be 5 males in this house and only 3 girls. That's ok, K., all of us females are still older than you!

Jason and I were both sure, for different reasons, that this one was a girl. However, I've always, every single time, been wrong when I've tried to guess so I didn't give my "instinct" any credit.

We're excited, and most especially happy that the babe looks great ... everything seems to be going well with him.

The shopping has begun. The day I found out I was pregnant (one week before the store closed) Jason and I raided the racks at Ditto Kiddo, gathering all the boy and girl clothes we wanted in every size up to 3 years. I'm sure we looked like we were nuts ... oh heck, at that point we were feeling more than a little nuts. There wasn't a huge selection, since we'd been marking things down for a month, but we did alright. And now we don't need any of the girl stuff (and it's so cute!) so it has been sold/taken to the consignment store with the money going towards new boy gear. The images are a few of the adorable things I've picked up this week at Once Upon a Child and Trader Tots (her prices are incredible).
We found out we were having a boy because I went to the emergency room a week ago Saturday for bleeding concerns. The bleeding started at 14 weeks, and stopped completely around 16 weeks. I hadn't mentioned it here because we didn't want to worry the kids if we didn't need to. I've had numerous ultrasounds and everything has looked ok, except that there's a pocket of blood between the uterus and placenta, called a subchorionic hematoma. That's what seemed to be causing the bleeding problems. At almost 18 weeks the bleeding started again, of course on a Friday night when I can't see my OB until Monday, so we went to the ER (C. went with us, which is why I'm more comfortable mentioning all this here). The US tech wasn't able to find the bleed but everything else looked fine and the baby was right on schedule and appeared quite healthy and appropriately active, with a steady strong heartbeat ... and boy parts. Within a few days the bleeding stopped and hasn't started again. I've been on very limited activity for the last 5 weeks ... lots of resting, no lifting, etc. I feel like a lump. I've always believed pregnancy is just a fact of life, not an illness or handicap, so suddenly having to be very careful has been hard to get used to. The potential consequences, though, are keeping me in line and well behaved. The babe has been busy lately, lots of wiggling and jiggling, which is so reassuring and, of course, just plain heartwarming.

I have realized, by the by, that I don't look very pregnant. No, I just look larger. Apparently, when you start out a lot wee bit on the rounder-all-over side you don't get pregnant and look like Heidi Klum, with just a cute tummy to show off. Nope, you just look even rounder - all over. It's a little embarrasing to find out that people are ready and willing to accept the fact that I've gained a ton of weight in just a few months ... rather than deducing that I might be pregnant!

Signed ...

Really Round Lumpy Jody of the Testosterone Filled Home

*Mr. Winky is slang for that male body part (I don't know ... can I say the real term without attracting "interesting" new visitors to the blog?)
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We finally hooked up the store computer and I've been playing around on it this evening. I'm lying ... I haven't been playing, I've been trying to get our #*( printer to work with it, and have seriously debated throwing the computer out a window ... more than once.

Ditto Kiddo in chalkI've been asked, a lot, how I feel about the store now that I'm away from it. Well, I miss it. A lot. Almost nightly I dream about having a store, not necessarily the same as Ditto Kiddo, but something of my own. A place where I can do the displays, talk to grown-ups, get excited about the products I'm selling, and hopefully even earn a little money ... an outlet for me to be the business person me as well as the creative me.

I've thought about getting a retail job and nixed that idea quickly. I'm not ready to work for someone else and not be the boss ... I'm pretty sure I'd be too set in my ways and opinionated.

collage15

I don't miss it in a sad and depressed kind of way, more of a "wow, this was my life for 9 years and suddenly it's completely gone, what do I do about that?" kind of way. I think no one is more surprised than me by that ... I was really ready to move on, and I'm still perfectly glad that I did, but I thought I'd lock the doors and never look back, and that hasn't been the case at all. I'm glad, it reminds me that I spent all those years doing something I loved, and I do look back at Ditto Kiddo with a lot of love and joy.

27 003Jason and I have talked a bit about opening another business someday. Obviously not now, closing the store when we did couldn't have been timed any better, and I couldn't be more grateful. There's no way I could have worked with the issues I've had during this pregnancy. Also, it's great being home with the kids ... certainly a lot different than working, even different than having them at work, but wonderful. But maybe someday ...
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It's rainy and ugly here and I can't think of a thing to post about, so go visit the Old Red Barn Co. and try to win a quilt (though my fingers, toes, eyes, etc. are crossed and I intend to win it so you're out of luck, but you can try anyway).



And, just in case you're in need of baby shoes I have a zillion pairs of Bobux listed on eBay right now at an unbeatable price (starting bid is less than wholesale cost). I've mostly listed girls shoes, because I kept the boy ones ... hmm ... I wonder why? :P


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A.'s birthday dinner at Daddy's work was a huge success. A. filled up on bread and pretzels and didn't eat much real food though ... only regaining his appetite when the extremely yummy dessert came!

I had nothing to wear to dinner because nothing I own fits. Nothing I own fit before I got pregnant either so I really can't blame it on the babe-to-be. Sigh ... I found a not-maternity dress that should work well through summer so I was happy about that. What befuddled me though was the current styles ... everything looked like, and worked well for, maternity clothes. I didn't see a lot of things that flattered the figure. Oh well, I'm happy with my new dress (which I can't find a picture of online).

Speaking of clothes ... my oldest daughter (14 year old) needs new clothing. She needs shorts, tops, bathing suits, and jeans. I don't want to spend an arm and a leg but I do want high quality. I'm not interested in buying her "disposable" clothing that will last just 3-6 months, but I sure see a lot of that in the stores these days. Also, I'm looking for shorts that aren't too short, but that aren't made for Grandma (or me ... even worse!) So far we've been to Old Navy, Target, JCPenney, Kohl's, Ross, Marshall's, and a few consignment shops. Any ideas where to look or brands to look for?

And while I'm asking questions (see how easily these completely unrelated paragraphs are flowing together?) I've got a bunch of stuff left from Ditto Kiddo to list online, mostly new Melissa and Doug. I know I can do it on eBay, but are there any other options that might work as well? Just thought I'd ask before I get busy listing it.
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A few more gift sets to list on etsy sometime today. I haven't had any luck with the first round of sets yet, but I think I'll keep trying.

3 piece green butterfly set
Green linen-like cotton embroidered with butterflies. The set includes a blanket, bib, and burp cloth trimmed in pink ribbon.

3 piece blue floral set
Blue floral blanket with two burp cloths.

2 piece patchwork set
Green, blue, and red patchwork cotton blanket and burp cloth (I love this fabric and was more than thrilled to find it on the clearance rack at JoAnn's during one of their 1/2 price sales ... I felt like I was stealing it!)

new tagsThese are my new merchandise tags, to attach to all items for craft shows! The image is part of a quilt, the same image at the top of the Because I'm Me website, and on the cards is written:
Because I'm Me
Because You're You
http://www.becauseimme.net/

The size, price, and other other information I decide to add go on the reverse side.

The tags are 1/2 of a business card. Through VistaPrint I had business cards printed with the same images on the top and bottom halves. I paid less than $10 total for 250 business cards, which when cut in half, will yield 500 tags. I figured out the other day how to do the same thing new tagswith their super clearance heavier weight business cards so I could have done it for about $5 less. It's not a *great* deal dollar wise (we used to pay about $13 for 1000 generic pre-printed tags, but these are more personal, and suit my needs well).

I've been cutting them with a paper cutter and after they're cut I'll poke a hole in the top and attach them with a tagging gun (also left over from Ditto Kiddo).

I'm thrilled with the results and will certainly reorder soon, and wanted to pass this idea along in case it would be of use to anyone else.

***Pregnant? Know someone who is? Don't miss this contest at Carmel Turtle to win a unique, pretty shirt! I entered, of course.***
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and post too. I don't know where the time is going these days.

I've got a long "to do" list of sewing projects ... 21 bibs, 9 blankets, 8 onesies to finish, 72 more onesies to make, one quilt top to reconstruct (my mother gave a top to me and I cut it up, now I have to make it good before she asks how finishing it is going ... yikes), a quilt to quilt and bind, a quilt to finish seam ripping all the quilting stitches, a summer purse to make that will hold my new coupon organizer, and another quilt to put together. Maybe that's it. Please tell me I'm not the only one with spring ADHD.

Jason, the kids, and I have been busy emptying out Ditto Kiddo. We're almost done ... just a few donate items left at the store. And everything else that we didn't sell or give away came home with us. Sounds good, huh?

Sure. This is the view looking in my front door:
the last of ditto kiddo is now in my living room

And this is the view of the dining room:
the last of ditto kiddo is now in my living room

which used to look like this:
dining room

One of the neighbor kids came by yesterday and the first thing he said was, "boy you've got a lot of crap in here!".

I don't like clutter. I don't like chaos (which doesn't explain why I have five charming children). I like neat and tidy ... I like order. I'm not having fun with my house right now.

"Put it in your garage," you suggest. Nope, can't do that ... 8 bikes, two ride-on jeeps, two sailboats, and all sorts of other outdoor crap filled that room years ago. We've only once put a car in the garage and that was my in-laws convertible during a hurricane.

Now there's some great stuff in this huge mass of mess. Plenty of Melissa and Doug to eBay, but I can't even got to it to list it because that's what came home first and it's way in the back corner. I could, from memory, list a bunch of it but would I be able to get to it if I sold it? Probably not ... at least not without breaking something (like an ankle).

So my solution is to have a garage sale. ASAP, like Saturday. I hope we're not too far past garage sale season here. That would be bad. We haven't had a garage sale in at least 6 years. I have no idea what I'm getting myself into, but it has to be better than the current situation, right?

Wish us luck.
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Tomorrow I close my store. I wrote enough about it here that I won't repeat it all, but ... wow.
Tomorrow I retire.

Yup, after tomorrow I'm looking forward to days of bon-bons with my feet up on the couch ... yeah, just me, the bon-bons, the five kids, the schoolwork, the housework, the yardwork, the husband, the cooking, the cleaning, the welding (from In Living Color) ... it'll be the life of ease, I tell ya.

I'll let you know how that goes.

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Completely irrelevent but happy images ... Most of the kids playing at a little water feature. They were supposed to stay dry. That went well.

I have to share this recipe.

I needed something to make with mushrooms, I had a pound of them, sliced, from Sam's that were down to their final days. This was the first recipe I found (found here) that I had most of the ingredients for. I did not, however, have the rolled oats ... I had one-minute oats and only 5 cups. And I only had a little packet of active dry yeast. Oh, didn't have marjoram either. Yes, I too was wondering what I was thinking.

Oat Mushroom Patties

3/4 lb. mushrooms, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 C rolled oats
1/2 C onion, diced small
1/2 C carrots, diced small
1/4 C soy sauce
1/4 C yeast
1 t oregano
1 t thyme
1/2 t marjoram

Bring 4 C of water to boil in a large saucepan. Add mushrooms, carrots, and onions and cook until soft.

Add the soy sauce, yeast, garlic, oregano, thyme, and marjoram. Add the rolled oats, one cup at a time, letting oats sink in, then stirring. Cook about 5-6 minutes, until the mixture is thick at the bottom of the pan.

Cover and set aside for about 20 minutes.

Allow to cool and shape into patties.

Placed on a well-oiled cookie sheet and bake at 350' for 45 minutes, turning halfway through.

Serve as desired.

13 013

I wasn't sure if "cover and set aside for about 20 minutes" meant to take the pan off the heat, so I put it on very low heat and that seemed to work fine.

I added seasoned bread crumbs before shaping into patties, which added a nice flavor.

"Shape into patties". Interestingly enough there is no note as to how many patties this makes. We don't eat burgers. I haven't shaped anything into a patty since I was a line cook ... a good 20 years ago. So I had to really guess here. I ended up with 11 nice sized patties, which I salted lightly before cooking.

I topped many with cheese during the last few minutes in the oven and served them as I would a veggie burger ... with ketchup, tomatoes, pickles, mustard.

I had no confidence in this recipe. It just looked interesting. I was pretty sure we would be eating at Moe's or making PB&J. In the end, though, we all, except one who doesn't like mushrooms, liked it ... enough that I'll make it again (and might even use the correct ingredients).

If you try it I'd love to hear your experience!

13 020
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I'm having a great time reading all your tips for the tote bag give-away. I did realize today that I hadn't posted a tip myself, so here's my tip(s) about reselling your child's outgrown clothing. I would guess that they'll apply to women's clothing as well, but I didn't own a women's resale shop so I have no real "expertise" in that area.

These tips are in no particular order, just listed as they pop in my head, so the top tips may not be the most important (or they might be ...).

1. Everything you take to a resale/consignment shop should be in excellent, like new condition. Check each item.

2. Don't expect the store to take everything you bring in. We generally took between 30-45% of the items that came in in a single day. Don't ever be offended or anything that they didn't take all your items ... buying/accepting is done on an as needed basic and the intake person will know what sells well in that store. However, items in top notch condition are much more apt to be accepted.

3. Know the stores policies and abide by them, they have a business to run and lots of things coming and going, their rules are just to make everything run more smoothly for everyone. Lots of stores list their incoming procedures and policies on a website or a brochure, just ask them.

4. Freshly launder, press and neatly fold or hang your clothing. Add a fabric softener sheet to the basket. You may bring in the exact same dress as someone else but the pressed, neat one is going to be perceived as being more valuable and will certainly sell for more. At my shop we didn't iron, there was no way there was time for it, so an item that needed to be pressed had to be refused - even if it was a top brand.

5. Don't start your conversation with "I've got some junk/crap/garage sale leftovers for you to look at before I take them to Goodwill. They've been sitting in my car forever ... I don't really know what's there." Um, yeah...

6. If you're bringing in toys be certain they have all their parts. If you have a game in a box tape tears in the box so it's ready to be sold. If you're bringing in a bunch of similar items, like Barbies, Little People, etc. bag up the things that go together in ziploc bags. Believe me, that scores bonus points! Toys are good items, but kind of a pain to sort though (I usually had to have my kids do it or search the Internet to see what went with what) so if items came in that I could just price and put out without any other steps I'd take more and happily.

7. Big items like swings, high chairs, etc. should look new, or at least really clean and current. If you have the instructions that's great. Oh, speaking of high chairs ... clean it up and check the underside. 99% of the ones on the market can be hosed off and the trays run through the dishwasher.

8. Put some of your best stuff on top. It's a first impression thing. Most people don't, which is understandable and we know to look at the bottom for great stuff, but if it's on top we start drooling and get all excited about what's to come. Why is it usually on the bottom? Because that's what was loaded first, and usually the most certain to be accepted items go in first, followed by the maybe's, and last the "oh, I've still got some room in the bin, I'll just throw this in too." I know this because I do it too.

9. Call ahead and see what the store is in need of. See if they have a website that they update with their most needed items. If we needed dresses in toddler sizes we were more apt to take more of the ones brought in. Sometimes a size is full and nothing in that size can be accepted, so it's good to check ahead.

10. Recommend the store to your friends and associates. Take a few business cards or brochures and leave them at work, daycare, church, etc. The more the store sells the more they can take ... and the more of your things that will sell! If you can help drum up their business they can help you by taking and selling more of your items.

11. What you'll get for your things will vary by store, state, season, etc. If you take them to a buy outright store you'll probably get less per item than you'd get if your items sold for full price at a consignment store ... but you get your money right away and, at a consignment store if your items don't sell or sell on clearance you'll get less. So is consignment or buy outright better? I really think it comes down to personal choice.

12. Think ahead. Get your seasonal items to the store a few months before the holiday. Most shops start buying for back to school between May and July, call them and see when and get your things in before the back to school shopping craziness. If your area has a slow season (ours is summer, up north it's often winter) don't bring your things in right before that season starts ...wait until about a month before business will pick up again.

13. If you take your items to a consignment store read the agreement carefully before you sign it. Be informed.

14. Got a mark on something? Magic eraser. Finish on your furniture a little dull? Try a little furniture polish. Outdoor toy looking dull? Armor All Missing a belt on a dress with belt loops? Replace it with another belt or a piece of grosgrain ribbon.

15. This one is really shallow, but true. When you bring your things in look decent. It sounds silly, but you are the first impression of your items. Even more shallow, if you have a choice between bringing your things in in a Publix bag or an Ann Taylor bag choose the Ann Taylor bag ... don't go out and buy a nicer bag, but if you have the choice ...

16. Know the store you're bringing your things to. Check out their prices before selling/consigning your items. If they sell Gap polos for $2 and you're hoping to get more than $1 for the ones you're bringing in it's not going to happen. Ask around and get some feedback on the reputation of the store. Is the store organized? Would you shop there? How long have they been in business? If you have a choice of shops in your area check them out before deciding where to take your items.

17. Bring your bedding set in in a bedding bag. Same with any awkward toys or other items, if you can provide a way to put it on the shelves it makes a big difference. We've said no to things before just because we had no way to market the item.

There are more, I'm sure, but that's what comes to mind right now. Keep in mind that this is from my experience, each store is fun independently and uniquely. Have fun and make some money!

edited to add: I can't believe I forgot this - www.howtoconsign.com is full of great tips and hints (and run by THE expert of the consignment and resale business, Kate Holmes, who also runs Too Good to Be Threw).
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13a 007A. and I made this little girls dress and bloomers today.

I saved two mannequins from Ditto Kiddo, to use at craft shows and who knows what else (they make everything on them look so good!). I had many, many, many more (and loved them all dearly) and they were the first things that sold when I announced I was closing the store. I saved two, which mean, of course, that I'll need at least three.13a 009

Suddenly we're limited for space in our house ... could be the huge influx of can't-get-rid-of might-need-someday crap from the store. The two mannequins will have to hang out in the sewing room since there really isn't storage space for them, which is cool because even though they have no heads, which is a little weird, they're good company and fun ... and, as a little added bonus, they can't talk back. But they couldn't be naked, could they?
13a 011
So we made one of them a summery pillowcase dress. There are loads of tutorials on the Internet to make these. I've also made them for M., using regular fabric, and have made tops for C. With the ribbon ties it's a really flexible and easy to adapt for any size. Were I making this for a real child I'd have put some more work into the seams (they are really poorly done, so don't look at the photos any larger!), but this girl won't be running or playing in her dress so no real worries about wear and tear.13a 012

Every time I've seen one of these dresses out in public I've had to comment on it. I know they are simple to make and inexpensive but they look like a million bucks on the toddlers ... and very boutiquey.

The other girl will get a dress later. Yes, the little mannequins could certainly can be boys too ... but a simple dress is much easier to make than boys clothing and, I hate to admit it, but girls clothes are much for fun to play with. Sorry guys.
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blue brown green
1. Teal, 2. 3rd interpretation of Brown and Turquoise, 3. Teal and turquoise, 4. wool - brown and aqua, 5. YOC2: brown + blue ribbon, 6. Aqua Green Plaid Dog Harness, 7. brown lime Necklace, 8. Blue & Brown Wedding Cake, 9. aqua water and green grass, 10. Brown with Aqua Waves Purse, 11. Fiber Art Pendant - Orbiting Moons #3, 12. Brown-and-Blue Swap: From Kerflop, 13. 4 blue and 1 brown, 14. aqua green, 15. EtsyChocLimeDuck2, 16. brown and blue inspiration



I love these colors together. The blue/teal/green combination reminds me, of course, of the Gulf of Mexico and the ocean ... looking at them it's easy to get lost, transported to a sailboat somewhere called Nowhere. The dark brown is so strong. Love it.


brown blue quilt outdoors

And so I had to make a quilt, because one can never make too many quilts, I say.

brown blue quilt

I've been gathering these fabrics over the last few months, along with a bunch of others that use brown ... I've decided brown is the new turquoise/teal, it goes with everything and looks decadent.

blue brown quilt detail, backside, and bindingThis quilt was initially inspired by this one created by One Shabby Chick. If you haven't visited her site yet you must. She uses such wonderful fabrics and creates the neatest things.

To make this quilt I cut the darker fabrics into shorter pieces (2-6" long) all with a 5" width. I cut the lighter pieces into longer strips (6-10" long) 2.5" wide. I then sewed two really long strips, one with each width of fabric. When I thought they were long enough I sewed the two together, cut strips the length I wanted, and sewed the newly cut strips together. Pretty simple.
brown blue quilt detail
The quilting is done both in the ditch and in big random circles. To do the circles I traced two different sized circles onto freezer paper. I pressed the freezer paper onto the quilt, stitched, removed the freezer paper, repositioned it, stitched, and repeated. I did pin the freezer paper on the larger circles after the first two, the piece of paper was so large that it was a little harder to work with.

Oh, I also tried spray basting for the first time. I was very hesitant but read some good online reviews and thought it'd be fun to try (and a time saver). Overall I was happy with it. I did do some pinning, just to be safe, but not nearly as much as usual. Pretty cool stuff.

Below is a little idea of the progress at the store, kind of "before" and "during" pictures. This is just one room, about 1/3 of the total store area, the other larger part of the store is still pretty full. This room should be completely empty early next week.

before during
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The butterfly quilt threw me for a loop. I hate when that happens. I did manage to get the butterfly resewn, with a different stitch on the machine and lots of stops to clean the needle. Then I had to square it up and now the damn butterfly is about 1/2" from the edge and looks goofy, because why, on a decent sized lap quilt, would the butterfly be so close to the edge. It wouldn't, I think it looks like someone was playing a game of "pin the butterfly on the quilt", blindfolded, and that's where the butterfly hit the quilt. Anyway, it'll get finished eventually, maybe. It really shook my confidence though and I haven't had much heart for sewing this week.


On top of that I've been fighting, and losing to, a cold. It's getting much much better now but there were a few days of no energy and lots of nose blowing.


The store closing is moving along. We're busy, which is great, but not as busy as I'd like to be. So many people have come in to say good-bye, people we haven't seen in years, people with children who outgrew us years ago. That part of it is wonderful. It has been great to catch up and exchange phone numbers.

Here's the frustrating part of the experience, so far: "So, you just couldn't make it huh?" or "Why couldn't you do enough business/make enough money to stay open?" or variations of that theme. What the hey? First of all, we've been in business for nine years ... I think we were making it. Second, I'm not comfortable discussing money and finances with everyone and anyone. Third, don't ask me that when you are either (a) spending less than $10 or (b) telling me you haven't been in in years.

I do get it, really. The economy stinks. Resale/consignment stores do tend to not "make it" for a variety of reasons. We are closing, and that doesn't happen without a reason. And, honestly, if I'd been making money hand over fist I wouldn't be closing, I'd find a way to make it work. Plus, it's a conversation starter ... and sometimes that's what people are trying to do, just start a topical conversation. But still!

Enough whining and complaining!


My answer to why we're closing has gone from a long description of the situation to "I'm retiring early", which I love the mental image of.
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button quilt up closeBefore I go any further, thank you for all the kind words of support and encouragement as I work through closing my store. It has been so helpful and inspiring to read your messages, and really eased my worries. Thank you!!!

The work at the store is moving along, we've collected a lot of this and that in the last 8 years. It's fun going through it and looking back.

I have a vague memory about a button song (or game, or poem), but I can't find it anywhere on the Internet?

Well, without the button song here's the quilt ...

I started this last weekend, right before the craft show, because I just didn't have enough going on.

So I started it. I put two rows together and my quilt looked nothing like the pretty inspiration quilt. I hadn't made the corner triangles large enough even though her blog has a great description of how to make the quilt which was so helpful. I put it aside button quilt detail and backfor a day, wondering if I should start over. When I came back to it I decided I liked it, but then I thought perhaps I was just getting used to it ... kind of like the analogy Tim Gunn gave to Chris regarding his human hair clothing (which I did think was very odd, but so out of the box that he deserved credit for it, and it actually looked pretty, in a very weird way, on the model. I'd have loved to see his runway show.).

Whatever it was, I kept going and finished the top. Then I excitedly added the lovely red border to give it some "oomph", and it looked really weird because there was so much light color in the quilt, instead of the red looking like a great finishing touch I kept looking at it and just asking "why?". I'd hoped it'd pick up the reds in the quilt but it really didn't.
button quilt detail
"Carry on" as Tim Gunn would say (what's with the Tim Gunn? must have to do with the finale last night, which, while everything was very well made and they are all very talented, I found to be very uninspiring ... I was in bed before the winner was announced). I could not decide how to quilt this. I wanted to do some free motion quilting but it's not my forte (I need a lot more practice!). And then I got the idea to use the buttons instead of tying the corners. I got out a jar of vintage buttons we picked up in Arcadia (a post I can't find right now ... is there an easy way to search one's own posts?) and mixed in some new colorful ones. And it was fun. Some of the buttons were so unique, and some just so cool colorwise. I also tacked the corners to add button quiltstability to the batting. I stitched the border with three parallel rows.

The binding just seemed so perfect for this. Until I sewed it on. It's white. The quilt is not. The border is not. That's what I get for putting fabrics together in a poorly lit room. Obviously I decided to keep it. It does pick up some of the button colors and a few of the quilt fabrics have white in them ... not too many though because I made a conscious effort to not use white. I think it works with the scrappiness of the fabrics, the random sizes of the triangles, and the off-centeredness of the buttons.

The backing fabric is a thrifted Pottery Barn kids sheet.

In the end, while the quilt presented a few roadblocks and interesting moments I'm happy with it and I'm already planning another, similar one. So that's that ... my interpretation of this quilt, exactly the way I planned it from the get-go. :)

edited to add: The quilt measures about 46" by 46", the squares started at 5" each, and the border was cut to 3". While the quilt is smaller I think it's more appropriate as a toddler bed quilt, lap quilt or wall hanging as the buttons could come loose. The binding is Dick and Jane words cut at a slight angle (I was almost out of the fabric or the angle would have been more pronounced.

button quilt detail, border, and binding

Sew Sew Much More Quilts


  • 7 Comments
I can finally finally finally tell you this. I know this isn't related to the stuff I usually post about here but it's huge to me and my life ... really huge.

I'm excited to move on to the next chapter in my life, but scared to death for so many reasons.
  • Will I isolate myself from the world and never leave the house?
  • Will I get insanely fat?
  • Will I miss the store too much and regret this? I do love the store.
  • Will I go stir crazy being home? The last time I tried to stay home I opened the store.
  • What if I don't ever sell anything at a craft show ... then what will I do for part-time income? I cannot get a job at GapKids, I'd never take home a paycheck.
  • Owning my store, and being the storeowner, chief decisionmaker, boss, know-it-all (I think!), merchandiser, etc. is a big part of me and gives me an opportunity to talk to other people and be creative. Will I be able to fill that another way?
  • What if instead of this allowing Jason and I to spend time together he just works more?
  • What if I forget that I'm more than Mom and I get stuck in a rut?
  • Will the kids drive me batty? Will I drive the kids batty?
  • Where will I get awesome clothes for my kids without spending a fortune?
  • Where will I sell Because I'm Me stuff?

I have no doubt that this is the right decision, and really truly I'm ready and happy about it, but I feel a little like I'm jumping off a cliff ... hopefully it'll be a really cool jump, like a hang glider.

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What have they done now???
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Gone!
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Gone!
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Oh my gosh! This was so cool. We happened to find out that a restaurant and home down the street from the store was being demolished so we HAD to go check it out.

The restaurant was a pretty crappy place years ago when it was still open. We've seen it reopen a number of times as a number of different things ... Fisherman's Cove, Blue Marlin, Olympia Grill ... none of which looked destined to succeed. We'd never been in the building, and felt really ok about that ... it just wasn't very clean and inviting from the outside.

For the last few years the marquis sign has said "under renovation" and a big sign in the front has been promising condos, but nothing ever materialized and the place just kept looking scarier and scarier.

We took a few pictures of the back patio a few weeks ago, it was pretty beaten up but sometimes it's fun to look for hidden treasure ... we didn't find any.

But what a treasure this was today. We missed the beginning of the tear-down but caught the last half of the restaurant and the demolition of the house/apartment/office building ... and it all took less than 35 minutes. Amazing. The kids were screaming with excitement (C. stayed and watched the shop, good thing too because there was a gigantic swarm of bees in the restaurant and they always sting her) and had a great time with the camera, taking 90+ pictures, each of them a cool action shot. I was most surprised by the sound, I expected loud noise and it really sounded like big crackers being broken.

I think they may be looking to put condo's in here and in some adjacent land that was just cleared. This is waterfront property (so is our store) with beautiful views. Just doesn't seem like the time for new construction though, given the market.

So that was our excitement for today.

No sewing going on after the flurry over the last week or so, though this morning I did have the urge to make a quilt like this. And, I swear, as I was telling myself I didn't have to time start this today a different little voice was saying "oh but wouldn't it be great to make it out of unbleached muslin with all those vintage-look fabrics in the stash?". I'm not sure which voice won yet ... but I'm off to check out the stash.
  • 1 Comments
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