Textured Denim Pieces

Been working on Spring stuff for Sweet William. I was looking for engineer stripes, but found this beautiful textured denim much more interesting (and it's crisp, but still has a really soft hand). So happy I still had enough left over to make some cute little trousers for Devon to wear (since suddenly she's growing out of all of her pants) Just wanted to say that I'm really sorry I haven't been on it lately with posting. Things seem all over the place and next week Devon starts school. Will she cry or will I?

Babiekins Magazine

YAY! The latest issue of Babiekins magazine is out, and I finally got to see the pictures that Devon shot in San Diego for this beautiful vintage photo shoot styled by my friend Heather and shot by Allie Lindsey. You can also read our feature in issue 4 here, thanks so much Priscila!

Moody

...is how we're feeling most days

So we've been shooting a lot, trying to get outdoors and enjoy the sunshine and snails.

Sorry to disappear, we have limited internet access right now, but I'm still trying to get new product up quickly...fiending to go fabric shopping (right now, it's all about window shopping)

Devon had a growth spurt this week, I think. She going to be starting pre-school on the 22nd. We love this place! It has a petting zoo with swans, peacocks, the biggest tepee EVER, and a reading nook that looks like a hobbit house. First thing out of her mouth was " Wow, Mom! A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!"

Tea Party Dress

Devon's cousin, Zoe gave her this little "Garden Tea Party" dress. I believe it was handmade in France and a gift from Nonie. Devon said she felt like a princess when she put it on.

Here’s one of our “Tea Party” dresses that I just sent off to a nine-month-old client. Her mother was checking out our sold items and fell in love with our Polka Dots and Petals dress. It was a one of a kind piece, but the substitute seersucker also works wonderfully with the original embroidered, polka dot cotton. We hope it makes her feel like a princess:)

The Bright Side

Just a few weeks into a brand new year and already it seems that things are super chaotic. It would be so easy to slip back into that negative mind frame that I've been trying so hard to escape from. I read this the other day and it made me smile: "Whenever things seem to have gone terribly wrong, choose to see it as having gone tremendously well for reasons that are not yet apparent" It's my new favorite life lesson- so many lessons lately... things can't always be so serious though. Thank goodness for playtime, play dough and perfect peanut butter and jellies!

Holiday Sewing

Happy New Year! Our family was lucky enough to have the free time this season to spend together (did a lot of playing) but I also did a lot of sewing over the holidays and wanted to share some pictures of the finished products made with core materials purchased on Etsy.

I made this purse for my Mom, modeled it after a vintage "weekender" bag. It seemed like it could be best used for toting around her quilting or crochet projects. The awesome 60's vintage print cotton was sourced from MoonParade . I highly recommend her to anyone who sews (or enjoys any kind of crafting) Reina ships very quickly, is super sweet, and always ties my packages together with some kind of amazing trim (which I always use later) as a ribbon.

I also made this Ipod Nano case for my Dad, I wanted it to look like an authentic, Chinese "little happy bundle" So, I found this hand stamped muslin ribbon at Kawaiigoodies. It was the first time I had purchased anything from this seller, but it arrived very quickly and was the perfect touch for this present. I'm embarrassed to write that I'm still working on presents for my sister and niece (and my brother's birthday which is right around the corner)

This batch order for babybird set me back a bit. She bought up all the last pieces of my cashmere for our little bonnets....and now I'm movin' onto Spring:)

Puppy Playdate

Just wanted to share this happy moment of Devon's first puppy playdate with my sister-in-law's new baby, "Mochi" We hope everyone had happy holidays!

Tiny Turbans

Sand Dune Turban

Floral Burst Turban

I made myself a batch of these turbans last Winter. Recently, my friend Heather's been spotting them everywhere and thought I should offer some for kids. I'm also making a collection of teeny, tiny turbans for Penelope's Blythe Doll, Tigerlily:)

*Joy*

Well, I had a rash of Christmas orders (right at the end of my cut off date) so our blog has been neglected, but I did ship off the last set yesterday so, YAY! Now I'm finally making Christmas presents and a Holiday dress for Devon...hurry...hurryhurry!

By end of January, our little shop will be stocked with early Spring items! Our Etsy will be focused on knit seperates with ocassional wovens (dresses and blouses) in VERY limited fabrications (we're talkin' 3 to 4 pieces only....ever! I'm excited to say that DevonRose will also be available very shortly at babybird
and as I'm switching into a new Spring collection for Sweet William, I was so happy to find our corduroy vintage print, "Peter Rabbit" dress in the new issue of the beautiful PapierMache magazine!

Boob Job

...or really the total reconstruction of the holiday dress that I made last year for my sister-in-law, Heidi. It's a fully lined wool and velvet dress. I completely detached the back zipper (which is 23" and piped on either side with black velvet) I took in 1" from the sides, created a major peg by chopping off 1 1/2" at the hem, reworked the neckline, added fish eye darts to the back bodice, and chopped 1/2''' off of the back sleeve. The hardest part was adding cups to the bodice (kinda freaked me out when I had these gaping holes cut into it...no turning back now!) but lucky for me, I was able to pull it off in the end...



..and this is the finished garment. Isn't it a sweet shot of Devon? Even though she's without a top (you know how kids like to run around the house shirt free) I hardly ever get any pics of she and I together, since I'm always behind the camera.

Russian Doll

Just made a batch of these little holiday dresses for Sweet William, it's the last of my bulk orders for the year! I'm going to be shipping off all Etsy orders this Saturday and Monday (priority) so everything will be arriving in perfect time for Christmas. We shot this dress right before Devon left for her first professional photo shoot (down in San Diego) for Babiekins magazine. It was a vintage editorial, styled by my friend Heather who did an amazing job with everything...can't wait to see it! The new issue is out in early February:)

On Location

Lately, I've been trying to find different places to shoot new pieces on Devon. It's so easy to just throw them on her and shoot around the house, but I think we're both getting bored of that. Isaac reminded me of this great tiled wall, the perfect backdrop for our Candy Sprinkled Thermals. It's actually the facade of M&L Fabrics and I'm usually there at least twice a week (right now they're having a holiday sale so I'm stocking up) I found a great navy gabardine that I'm going to turn into a modish dress, to pair with this awesome little 60's vintage vest. I bought it for Devon 2 years ago and now it finally fits her. It's going to be her Christmas outfit... I'll make sure and post pics:)


I also wanted to get some impromptu shots (of Devon just doing her thing) in our 80's Sweater Dress, and she had been asking to get some new library books lately. We live right around the corner from the Euclid Branch, so we've been going there a lot (before that I hadn't been to the library in years) It's perfect for Devon, since I sometimes have a hard time guessing which books she'll love and which ones will just end up lonely on the shelf. Getting her first library card was a big moment for her, she's always got to wear it around her neck for the entire visit, and spends the majority of her time there on the computer playing Science games.

Dress Madness

I finally shipped out all these wool plaid dresses to Sweet William (wish Devon could have kept one cause it makes a great Thanksgiving frock) This was the first time I've sized production all the way up to 6Y and the dresses looked so huge to me. I'm going to try and knock out some new product for our Etsy for Christmas, but I've still got a couple more dress styles I'm working on for Sweet William (and I decided that this Christmas I'm going to try and hand make the majority of my gifts) Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Great Mane

Ok, now bunnies always make me smile (and Sonja Elizabeth Ahlers makes the cutest bunns ever) but she really out did herself with the creation of this little guy, lion's mane hat and leopard pants...sweet!

Farmers Market Muse

Farmer Flannel Frock

Cashmere Grandpa Cardi

There's something really comforting about this brown flannel plaid. It makes me think of grandpa farmers (not the cranky kind) the jolly ones that make you lemonade, hang out on the porch swing, and tell you stories. It was this train of thought that led me to recall a great place to shoot, Sam's Farmers Market! Snapping away in front of the mural was a given, but when I brought Devon over to the produce, she totally worked it out like a pro. I was like "Let's get a shot over here by these lemons"

"OK, Momma" but she doesn't just stand by the lemons, she picks some up and cradles them for a super sweet shot:)

Brownie Points

I've been making the majority of Devon's clothing ever since she was 6 months old. So usually she doesn't even bat an eyelash when I present her with a new piece. But now she's finally getting to that age where she LOVES getting new clothes, YAY! When I gave her this little Suede n Shearling jacket, she hugged it and said "Thank you, Momma!"

Right now my sewing room is covered in chocolate brown wool plaid (I'm working on an 18 piece order for Sweet William) so new product is slow in our shop right now, but I'm hoping to post a couple more offerings on Sunday (in brownie shades too, since I'm in a "chocolaty" sorta mood)

Happy Guys

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Night Light

I just finished a batch of these corduroy smocks for Sweet William. I had made some culottes for Devon from the same fabric before, but I'm lovin' it as a little holiday dress much, much more. Now, I'm taking a tiny break from sewing this weekend. Devon's sleeping next to me as I'm writing this in the dark by the light of my closet (I like to write blog posts in my journal and then type them up later) So, yes... she's still sleeping with Isaac and I (only now she takes up MUCH more room) and she's a kicker. Once, she bicycle kicked me in the forehead so hard that when I woke up the next morning, I had an actual dent in my head. Right now, she's sleeping with a little tissue in her hand (to Devon a tissue is the "cure all" for everything) Itchy nose? tissue. Little boo-boo? "no band-aid, Mommy..TISSUE!" But anyways, even though I'm looking at her right now and she looks HUMONGOUS, I'm really in no hurry to move her into a bed of her own...is that weird? I mean, soon she'll be going to school, and she'll want to be "Little Miss Independent" and then I'll be the one that needs a tissue.

Happy Halloween!