Mad for Plaid

Happy weekend! I had a fabulous Friday at the AWT Austin Women in Business Conference yesterday. It was nice to be away from the office/computer for the day and I learned tons of great information around new technologies and tips for small business owners.

I am often asked how I started my business and how I learned how to put all of the pieces together. I really wish I had a well-planned answer to that but honestly, it's been rather serendipitous. On the back end of things, I started with a super friendly and helpful accountant (on the recommendation of a friend) who pointed me in the direction of an attorney and I worked out from there. It's all kind of overwhelming but I've found it helpful to bite it all off one piece at a time.

But on to the more fun things... I've been mad for plaid lately on my quest for more manly little baby fabrics. Last Sunday I posted the yellow lab in the red/yellow plaid and I also have the same print in this green/blue/cocoa scheme. How cute is this?

Dachshund onesie and burpcloth set ($28).

I'm off to fill orders ahead of the Saturday mail cut-off!

Sunday Lazy Sunday

I was so proud of myself for waking up before 8:30 this morning but the celebration was short lived. After catching up on emails and PostSecret, I went back to bed for a cat nap and didn't get up til after 11. So much for my early start to the day.

Kirby Lane is our favorite weekend breakfast jaunt but the wait is usually at least 45 minutes. I couldn't be bothered to shower this morning so I decided to cook breakfast at home. And thanks to the Central Market green hatch chili salsa, it was muy delicioso. I love the chicken verde omelet at Kirby Lane but my scrambled eggs with salsa came close. I had to improvise with tater tots in lieu of home fries (don't worry, I thawed them and mashed up so as to create the appearance of hash browned potatoes - necessity is the mother of invention, right?).

So it was with a very full stomach that I sat down to work on some of the more gender-neutral designs I've had in production for a couple of weeks now. It's really difficult to find cute but boy-ish fabrics and I've learned that gender acceptability is in the eye of the beholder when it comes to fabric and baby clothes. I tend to be a bit more modern in my taste but to each his own... so I was thrilled to find a few new prints that I plan to get sewn and listed today.

So far I've finished this yellow lab onesie:


and the onesie and burpcloth set:

I think this print will be super cute on the golden retriever silhouette so as soon as I finish the other nine deisgns I have in production, I plan to get that listed as well.

I've got a big project going on at work tomorrow and Tuesday and will be thrilled when it's over. So for today I am going to enjoy my last bit of freedom and get sewing!

Austin craft scene is getting a little less funky

I can't believe we've lived in Austin for nearly seven years now and I have to say, the city has undergone some serious changes since we first moved here. It's such a charming little city but it's sad to see some of the local businesses moving out to make room for larger chain stores. One of my most favorite little corners of Austin is a "funky fresh boutique set in Austin's hip SoCo neighborhood" called Craft-o-Rama. The owner Hayley Pannone was kind enough to help with some last minute fabric selections before my Martha appearance - She was a real life saver!

Hayley had a baby earlier this year and has decided to close her retail shop so she can spend more time with her new baby. It's sad to see such a fun sewing lounge close its doors and I hope there may a grand re-opening some day.

It looks like they plan to remain open through February so don't miss the final sales on fabric and other goodies.

Peace out, Domino

Boo! I just learned that my only magazine subscription will no longer grace my mailbox. I'm probably one of the last to know, but Domino magazine has officially folded! Luckily I don't have much time to read so I have about 2 years worth of magazines sitting in a basket on my fireplace. I guess if I scratch the date off the covers I can pretend like they're new editions. After all, they're new to me!

Be My Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day! I am pleased to report I picked up my newly refurbished laptop from the Apple store last night and she's good as new. (Unfortunately by "good as new" I mean a completely blank slate.) IT Data Recovery was unable to salvage any of my data* and confirmed the damage was beyond repair by anyone. So... I spent the better part of last night reloading fonts, software, updates, etc. The only positive in all of this (and I mean the only) is that they finally loaded Leopard onto my machine. I had ordered the upgrade back in Nov. 2007 but the disc Apple sent me was broken and I never bothered to ask for a new one. So while I'm trying to figure out Stacks, Spaces, and how to reconfigure my keyboard shortcuts back to a virtual landmine, enjoy one of my favorite new Etsy finds:

I can't remember how I stumbled across Accessoire but I am in love! I bought this rose red broach last week and it's so beautiful. It's a blood red felt flower and I got lots of compliments on it when I wore it to work last Friday. I put it on a fairly simple black sweater and it was a uniquely fun way to jazz up my outfit:


I decided to share the love with a friend from work and I bought her this Vixen pin:

I am hoping it arrives today so I can bring it to her on Monday!

We don't have any big Valentine's Day plans this evening and it's a chilly, gloomy day here in Austin. I think we're going to make dinner at home and lay low as usual. Hope everyone has a great Valentine's Day!

xoxo

*Another friendly reminder: Back up your data/hard drive!

New birthday cards

Still no word on the ole laptop but I'm working away on my other machine and have managed to get completely caught up on orders. I'm working on some new greeting cards and just got this black lab birthday card listed in the shop. $2. More to come tomorrow and next week!