12 Days of Sis Boom

I am so excited to be a part of the Sis Boom blog hop hosted by my sweet friend Jenny Fish of Sew Pretty Dresses.  You can check out all of the posts on the tour here:

December 09 Sew Pretty Dresses
December 10 Sweeter Than Cupcakes
December 11 Sweet Baby Jamie
December 12 Hickity Pickity  Handmade Dress Haven
December 13 Tabbo Designs 100 Billion Stars
December 14 Heavenlelgh Blessings Boutique
December 15 Scientific Seamstress
December 16 Sweet Baby Jamie
December 17 Hold It Right There
December 18 Sew Fun By Monique
December 19 Small Town Girls Clothier Marie Madeline Studio
December 20 Granny B's Clothesline Lilac Lane by Melissa Stramel

I am so honored to even be part of this group of talented ladies and gent.  I have only been sewing for a few years and by no means can measure up to the talent of these so I won't even try.

My love for Jennifer's fabrics was immediate.  I did a fabric swap with a young lady a few years ago and received my first stash!

I began sewing up all kind of things with it, not realizing what I had my hands on. 

At the time, I had no idea about fabric designers or prints, or even what or who JP or Sis Boom were.  All I knew is that I loved this fabric and each time I shopped for stash, I was drawn back to the same ones.  Shortly after my initial fabric swap, I posted a dress on Facebook I had made from the West Indies Line.  I had it stashed for a while with no clue what kind of fabric it was, I just loved the colors!  A friend shared my picture with Jennifer and she commented on how beautiful it was.  I had to get my friend to explain to me who she was and why she was so important to my novice attempt at a dress??  I was completely blown away to find out that she was the fabric designer behind this dress:

It's not everyday that that a famous fabric designer steps into your world of social media and compliments your sewing...well not mine anyway.  I told everyone I knew.  Seriously. 

If you are familiar at all with Jennifer's fabrics then you know, there is NOTHING she has designed that isn't worth filling your stash with.  But, here is the real reason why I love her.  One reason I began sewing was to give me an outlet and something to do since our move to the big city.  You can read more about that here.  I lived on a 400 acre farm and knew no one.  Sewing was all I had.  Through my love for it and Jennifer's fabric, I have met some of the most amazing women, none of which I have even seen face to face.  Funny how the internet and sewing can draw people together.  I felt like I had an instant family!  There is really no way to explain the dynamics of this group-it's just something you would have to experience yourself.  These gals (and guy) are oozing with talent and to me, unparalleled friendships.  We have seen each other through marriage issues, cancer, family matters, crazy customers, fabric shortages (gasp), and baby having.  A few months before I welcomed baby #3,  these sweet people secretly sent me a "baby shower in a box".  I pored over the sweet notes and handmade goodies all day, completely overwhelmed that these ladies would be so kind to take the time from their busy crazy lives and successful  businesses to make something for my little lady.  Gals that have never even met me.  This is what the common thread of  Jennifer Paganelli has blessed me with- a group of others that share the same love of her fabric and her heart.  I am forever grateful for these girls and for the impact Jennifer has made in their lives, and the outpouring of that onto me.  Thanks for letting me be a part of something so special to me.  I hope one day to hug all their necks, and Jennifer's too.

Done

The last few weeks have been filled with tons of sewing...over 30 hours! I'm so thankful for my sweet friend Keisha who offered to come help get these babies out the door. I will be delivering my first ever order to a local boutique tomorrow morning and I am thrilled! My hope is that they sell quickly and I can do this again in a few weeks. It has been so fun designing these skirts. No two are the same and a lot of thought goes into making each one special. The new fabrics are listed here on the blog and you can order a custom ruffle skirt by contacting me directly or leaving a comment here on the blog. I offer sizes 12 months to 12 years. Prices range fro $40-50 depending on size.

Spring Fabrics

The Ruffle Skirts are flying out the door! Here are current available fabric selections for the spring:

Secret Garden Sandi Henderson for Michael Miller

Fly A Kite by Riley Blake

Hoo's in the Forest by Riley Blake

Hullabaloo by Moda

Delighted by The Quilted Fish for Riley Blake

Hometown by Sweetwater for Moda

You can order these skirts by clicking on the SHOP tag at the top of the blog. All of these skirts are one of a kind and custom made to fit your little girl. Check out our other creations on our Facebook page and become a fan for exclusive discounts and future give aways!

Slow and Steady...

This business stuff is a lot harder than I expected and waaaaay more work than I was ready for!  I am still enjoying it, just at a slower speed.  I have thrown away a lot of "learning" projects over the past few weeks, but I am not giving up.  I finally finished a dress my daughter has been begging for and I have been reluctant to make.  Check out my Etsy shop and let me know what you think!

Humble Beginnings

Everyone has to start somewhere.  I have been spending the past few months trying to figure out how all this is going to work. I kept going back and forth about Etsy, blog, website, Facebook...and just became completely overwhelmed.  I finally had to just take a step back and realize that this is not Macy's.  I am not some kind of big time seamstress with a stack of orders.  I'm just a girl who likes to sew clothes for my kid and thought others might like for me to one day sew something for their kid too. 

So here I am. With a little bit of confidence in one pocket and some anxiety in the other,  I finally listed 2 things in my Etsy shop.  Again, everyone has to start somewhere, right? I am hoping to be able to add a few items per week to get some inventory and some sales.  I don't have huge expectations right now and I am super excited about just having 2 things available!  There is so much more worked involved in this than I anticipated but I am looking forward to what is to come.  

My plans for this blog are to keep people updated on new listings on Etsy, what I'm working on, possibly some sewing tutorials or fun stuff I've found.  I have met a ton of people in the small world of sewing that I may ask to do some guest posts too.  I want this to be a place for people to not only be able to see my finished projects but to also see the process and some of the mishaps...and there have been some pretty funny ones so far!  

I'd love to have you keep up with me here at Small Town Girls by subscribing to this blog.  Just enter your email address on the left or you can follow along with Google Reader, or maybe you just want to leave a comment here...everyone has to start somewhere. :)

You can also read about my family at One Landes Place