She's a Little Bit Country

Spring! You can smell it outside. You can see little green shoots poking their tips up out of the ground. The sun has made an appearance or two. I am ignoring the weather man who says ominously, "It's not going to last." I love this time of year. Winters are long and hard up here, and spring and summer are times to be cherished in all of their glory.

So, with the approaching warmer weather, we're going to need to put the boots away, which means of course that Emeline is going to need more shoes. Oh, darn. So I forced myself to take the opportunity to make something pretty, something that shouts spring has sprung. They're done, and we did a little photo shoot today. Would you like to see?

Ooh, fancy.

I have this love affair with ticking. It's vintage, it's graphic. It's pretty perfect. And I love it with this pale pink silk.

Dress 'em up..

Dress 'em down...

Pose very prettily...

 I also used a new soling material for these so that she can wear them outside once she starts walking. Obviously, she won't be jumping into any spring puddles with them, but the soles are slip proof, water proof and there's a comfy couple layers of cushioning in them too.  If you sew baby shoes and are looking for outdoor soling material, this is where I got mine. It's cinch to sew with on a home machine. I have so many ideas percolating for warm weather shoes and techniques. I can't wait to get to them. For now, we will content ourselves with these. 

Ah, spring.

A Challenge Met

My husband has a large extended family. His maternal grandma, who was told, I believe, she'd be unable to have children, had seven of them. And since each of those children had kids of their own, we're talking cousins galore. And since, growing up, I didn't have a single cousin on either side of my family, I admit I was slightly overwhelmed by the boisterous Brown clan in the beginning. But, now, I see Brown family get-togethers posted on Facebook and lament that we aren't close enough geographically to be a part.

One of the numerous cousins is a fantastic woman who wears so many hats it tires me out just thinking about it. She's a wife, a mom to an irresistible rascal with the bluest eyes, a hair dresser, a graphic designer and a photographer. It was in this last capacity that she contacted me and asked if I would like to make her a pair of baby boots for a photo shoot she has coming up. But, could I make them cowboy boots, something in neutral/nature colors, something modern though, not classic western?

Talk about a thrilling challenge. The first difficulty would be the pattern. I searched, but was unable to find one to buy online. So, I bought a new pattern that I thought I would be able to alter into a cowboy design. I made three different attempts all to no avail. They were awful. Not that they weren't cute, but I had absolutely no confidence that they would stay on the babe's feet. And that is one of my pet peeves as a mom. Little feet do a lot of kicking, and there is nothing more annoying than stopping every two minutes to put a shoe or sock or boot back in its place.

So, I scrapped that pattern and went back to my tried and true favorite.  But, it didn't look much like a cowboy boot. For one thing, I needed to move the opening to the back of the boot, so that the sides would be free for decoration. And then the tops needed a more cowboy boot curve, which I admit was hard to eye ball correctly. Luckily, I remembered in time that Isaac had been given a pair of cowboy boots when he was two. They proved to be the perfect template for what I needed.

I was giddy while these were coming together.

I love how they turned out, and hope Lauren will be pleased as well.  I think they;re graphic enough to be interesting in a photo shoot. The outer fabric is a dark grayish brown and I lined them with a fun khaki and white polka dot fleece.

Western with modern sensibilities...

One of the many things I love about this pattern, is that the shoes have elastic sewn around the ankle in the lining to help them stay on. And now, I love how easily customizable I can make them. I'm almost saddened that the cold weather is leaving us, and I'll have to wait all spring and summer to explore the possibilities that have now opened up to me. I'm sure I'll get over it quickly.

Back At It

Good grief what a week it was around here. That bug you've heard about making its rounds? I can testify from every angle it IS as bad as they say it is. I will be polite and spare you any details. I will simply say I am glad we seem to all be on the mend, and am so thankful that Em and Jo never got the really bad stuff.

But, while I was laying there recouping and wishing for the sweet oblivion to reclaim me, all I could think of was this little business I am starting. I had no idea of it starting up like this. I have had fits and bursts of inspiration before, but this feels so very different. Almost like I have given birth to three children in the last two and a half years instead of two. So I was almost as physically pained to be separated from it as I was to be separated from Em for almost 24 hours.

And it's been a big week for my little company. I have a custom order for which I had to develop a pattern on my own as I could find nothing online to match it. I had my first repeat customer place an order. I handed out my first business card. And I had my first e-mail from a prospective customer, (someone I have never met, eek) in my goodlittlethings inbox. I am a little overwhelmed. In a good way.

I will have photos of the custom order to show you in a couple of days. In the meantime, here's a hint, can you guess what it might entail?

What Do You Think of Pink?

I got these lovelies done before pestilence visited our house, thankfully.  So while one babe sleeps in my arms, and another fights sleep next to me, and the biggest, sickest one sleeps upstairs, I thought I would share.

My awesome sister-in-law who is one of the reasons all of this shoe business started in the first place (read about that here) had a girls-night-in whilst my brother was off globe trotting. One of her friends admired her shoes and Tracie, who is nothing if not incredibly generous, placed an order with me for her friend's birthday. Her friend's favorite color? Hot pink.

Searching through my stash, I had one hot pink option.  It was a cast off silk skirt.  But there were a couple of things that worried me.  It was bias cut, it was very thin and it was printed.  I figured interfacing would solve my first two dilemmas by stabilizing it and giving it body.  I thought the print might work and would be an interesting change of pace. And the skirt did have a matching solid hot pink tank that would be perfect for the flower.

So what do you think? Do you think she'll like them?

A Very Special Baby Gift

I have a friend who has a friend who's having a baby.  She's 30 weeks pregnant, and it has been a long road for her to get to this point.  Last May she was pregnant with a little girl, Halle, who made an all too early entrance into this world at 19 weeks.  She didn't stay long, but her very brief time here left an indelible mark on any who heard her story.  Taking time to heal, her Mommy and Daddy took a little trip to Italy and came back with more than just wine and cheese as a souvenir. As a high risk pregnancy, and due to an early scare, Mommy has been on strict bed rest for months.

I knew I wanted to make a pair of shoes for this sweet, long awaited baby. And considering her big sister's legacy and this baby's "origins" I knew exactly which fabric I was going to use.

Way back in 1997 (gosh I can't believe how long ago that was), I spent an incredible month living in Florence, Italy learning screen printing and textile design.  Our assignment was to create a fabric inspired by Italy.  This was my design.  The colors, the blue sky, the golden sun, the earth.  The rest of it came from the art I saw everywhere.  The blue diamonds were a motif on a fresco of the Last Supper.  The two crosses were inspired by the two ways that Christ was depicted over and over.  The hard brown cross with the crown of thorns represented his humanity, his death, his pain and struggle.  The leaf crosses represented Christ's deity, his resurrection and the life that can be found in him.

Given all that this family had been through, I knew that this was the project this fabric has been waiting for.  In the over a decade I have had it, I have pulled it out and put it back over and over again.  Nothing seemed worth cutting into it. So I used the unprinted edges to make the outer shoe and lined the sweet things with the print.  But inside, on the soles I made sure that the leaf cross was visible.  Because I pray that this little girl's life will always stand on the foundation found in Christ.  I pray that her feet will always be planted in his love for her.  Her very existence is already proof of the victory of life and love over sin and death. 

For Sienna Faith

New Boot Design

It's an incredibly humbling feeling to find out that people are willing to part with their hard earned money for something that you made with your own hands.  I am so touched and grateful for the interest people have expressed in my little handmade items.

A good friend was gracious enough to say she wanted a pair of boots for her beautiful daughter, who incidentally is a mere two weeks younger than Emeline.  I was mid-process of trying a new design, so I offered them to her as an option, and she chose them. I can't wait to see them on her stunning daughter.

Hunter green wool, with tweed faux spats, shell buttons and pink silk ruffle.  Three thick warm layers of fabric and suede soles. 

Em was happy to model them for me.

I hope she likes them!  I know it's almost spring, but she still has another month to wear them here.

My Sister's Shoes...

I like to think that my handmade gifts have come a long way. I remember when I was a kid I made dozens of bookmarks for my sister at Christmas and birthday time. She was and is an avid reader, so it was a thoughtful gift at least. And I remember making her a "purse" one time, but since I didn't know how to sew, I used glue. You can guess how that one held up. And then when I was a little older I remember crafting some jewelery for her from some rawhide and permanent marker. Man, she was a good big sister. She always acted like she liked them.

Hopefully, she can stop acting now. Here's a pic of this year's birthday gift, which I was so happy to be able to give her in person, if a little late.

She lives in New York now, but deep down she will always be a Southern girl at heart.  Hunter green wool, creamy white gardenia type flower with a brass bead and olive green leaves. A little piece of pretty in her world full of boys.  Happy birthday, Cheryl!  I love you.