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Buying a Sewing Chair and Tracing an Image for Embroidery 101

Posted on by Amanda Jackson
You gotta love Craigslist. I have been looking for weeks for a chair that I can use in my studio to both sew and work on my computer. I want it to have wheels, or legs thick enough to add wheels, be made of wood and upholstery, and be a color that will brighten my life.
As you can imagine, this hasn’t been an easy find. Then last weekend I see this gold chair on Criagslist that looks like it is screaming for someone to embroider in. Not necessarily the chair that I am in need of, but a cool chair non the less. And the price tag? $10. A total steal!
craigslist chair           
I put it in my room near my two favorite windows in the house.  
It fits in perfectly like it was always meant to be there.
Oh and what’s even better — when I got to the woman’s house to pay for it I only had a twenty dollar bill and she didn’t have change so she gave it to me for free!
She said that she just wanted it to have a good home, and a good home it now has. I totally love it.
And… I’ve already been doing some sewing in it. Wanna see?

embroidered bug
This is just a peek, I am making an art quilt of sorts and will be posting bits and pieces of it here and there until I can reveal the finished piece.
To get a real bug shape in motion I printed out a picture of a live bug from the Internet, taped it down to my light box, and traced it onto the fabric. Totally easy solution to putting an image onto fabric to embroider. I’ve also heard of using a window for the same technique. Just tape the image up to a sunny window and trace away!
Oh and you can get the water soluble marker to do this at JoAnn’s– they are like $2 if you have the 40% off coupon. I don’t know what brand it is, but I love love love the blue one that is marked “Water Erasable Fabric Marking Pen”  All you have to do to erase it when you are done embroidering is take a damp paper towel and blot the area. Off it comes, simple as that! But thankfully it doesn’t come off very easily when you need it to stay put while sewing.
Of course the bug I traced didn’t have a purple butt or hot pink eyes. That was all me;)

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Has Yoga gone to the Dogs?

Posted on by Amanda Jackson

On my morning trek to Starbucks this morning I heard a segment on the radio about how popular dog yoga is becoming around the world. Now, God knows I love my dogs, and I really do love yoga. But in conjunction, not so sure about that. Its kind of like how I love Salmon and I love peanut butter, but together they’d be a pretty big mess.

So I came home to read about it — try to expand my understanding of the subject. Turns out it is quite the phenomenon. Dog Yoga…hmm…makes sense I guess. I mean where did they come up with downward facing dog anyway? Pooch inspired???

Thing is that my dogs seem pretty relaxed as it is. I mean, they wake up in my bed, take a run around the yard, pee, come in and eat, sleep, go back outside, pee….well you get the picture. Lots of eating and sleeping going on around here. I don’t think I’d be able to convince the husband that we should spend a cent of his hard earned money to help the dogs feel more relaxed. This isn’t to say that I haven’t met a dog or two in my time who would benefit from some chilling out. I just wonder if the dogs will really let you put them in the pose. When I want to cuddle and Cessie doesn’t there is no amount of force in my body that can get or or keep her lying next to me. All the sudden her 12lb body has the strength of 10 men. I can’t imagine trying to get her to stand in tree pose. (I am laughing out loud at this visual hehe)

After all the giggling I guess this is what I got from my research this morning: Some dogs, like people, cannot calm down to save their lives.  And really, as crazy as the whole thing might sound, the more things we have to make our world a calmer place, well I’m all for that.

ap photo dog yoga

So grab your dog, your mat, an open mind, and read about the whole thing here. 
 And Namaste, the God in me bows the the God in you, canine, human, whatever you may be 😉
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Plush goodness; Francis Francis espresso maker badness.

Posted on by Amanda Jackson

I think I’ve fallen in love again, this time with a plush:

6a00df3520bf34883400e553b62e298833
Yes, that’s right. It is Matilda, my ‘Matilda”s name sake.  I am usually not a plush kind of gal, but this one is so beautiful!  

Even though she’s a French Bulldog, if I squint she looks like my puggy Ceccie. 

Lori Marie  totally outdid herself again. I wish I had an ounce of the creativity that she has! She also put some other pretty cool things up in her shop, so you should for sure check it out. 

The Matilda plush made my day a bit brighter yesterday after I found out that my Francis Francis X1 espresso maker is broken and it seems as if no one in the entire world is willing to fix it. And the one person I found said it would cost almost as much as I paid for it. All that is wrong is that I run way too many things at once in my kitchen and kept blowing the power which in turn blew the power switch. I am so sad because it isn’t like I can buy a new one– Francis Francis is making pod only makers now and who wants espresso from a pod? I want to pick the coffee out myself. I want to bite into the bean before i buy it. Then I want to grind it just to my liking. It is totally ruined if all I have to do it take a pod out of a box! I am so desisted about the whole thing. 
Anyone have an espresso maker that the love and can recommend? francis francis x1 broken
RIP Orange Francis Francis,  Nov. 07- July 08
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Mimi Got Tagged Finally!

Posted on by Amanda Jackson

We got new labels! I feel like a real designer now!

 

Jewelleash
Actually we got them last week, and it was super exciting then, but I was too busy to share a picture of them 😉  I got to ship my order off to Dogville  in California with the new labels in tact. They are woven so I never have to deal with the whole raw edge thing I did on the others. These will not unravel, I don’t have to make them myself, and I have 500 of them. It is a glorious thing.
Label

You might notice another change– yes we stopped using white thread in favor of colored that matches the webbing. The one here on the Jewel set is Hunter Green. Unfortunately we couldn’t photograph the 5/8 xtra-small version because I tried out a new supplier who, after two weeks, sent me Teal Webbing. I sent it back. Then yesterday they sent me Kelly Green. Both totally beautiful, but neither came close to being Hunter Green like I needed! I am about to lose my mind over it.

 

But, all can’t go perfectly and the labels are enough to be happy about for quite awhile. They weren’t easy to get either. I’d been looking for a manufacture in the U.S. for a few months before I found one in New York. I have taken an oath to myself to not buy anything for Mimi Green that wasn’t made right here in the United States, and nowadays that isn’t an easy thing to live by.

 

Either way, after all that work I have a new appreciation for tags. From now on, I don’t care how itchy or scratchy it is, I am never ever going to cut a tag out of a shirt or from the back of pants out of respect for whomever had them made.  Well, never for today anyway…hehe….
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Puppies on Parade

Posted on by Amanda Jackson

I love when customers send in photos of their dogs  wearing  Mimi.
Meet Millie, she belongs to Elizabeth:                                                       July 4th Pictures 008

Cosmo who belongs to Kimber of Great Scott
Cosmo

Lucy (and baby Ian) who both belong to Molly

LucyandIan

Shiva, whom Carol at Wires n’ Pliers bought this Matilda Collar for…Shiva3

And Kaya, whose Momma Mari was one of my first customers!Kaya2

It is a total pick me up to see “customers” (hehe) wearing my designs. And I sooo need a pick me up today! It has been kind of a tough week so far. Not having the security of a full time job and missing my co-workers has really been getting to me. But I know this will pass, I’ve said it once and I will say it again, quitting a job is like breaking up with a boyfriend. Maybe worse…hummm…

And speaking of pick me ups, although Starbucks is closing 500 locations somehow I am lucky enough to have one (with a drive thru no less) opening up just blocks away. Plus it is right by the entrance to the freeway! This is going to be hard on the pocketbook, I can already see it!

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Paper or Plastic?

Posted on by Amanda Jackson

I am pretty sure that I just went through the most complicated process of all time — applying for a merchant account.  However, on a positive note, Mimi Green now accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and we are in the Discover Network. Yahoo! VISA MASTERCARD LOGO

What does this mean to our customers? Well it means that they won’t have to go get a PayPal account to purchase things through our store. And to me, well to me it means that I have a real, live business on my hands.

 

I will spare you the boring details, but getting an Internet merchant status is near impossible. And it should be I suppose.

 

Once in college I had just gotten my financial aid dispersement and I went camera shopping on the Internet. Found one on Ebay whose price was literally too good to be true. I sent the man the money only to find out that he had broken into someone else’s Ebay account and was now long gone with my $700.

 

People like that ruin it for the rest of us who just want to sell their handmade dog collars hassle free. But after all that I am feeling better about buying things from anyone with a Authorize.net

badge on their site. This means to me that the seller had to give a blood sample, a DNA test, pass a lie detector, all while hopping continuously on one foot. At one point I think I promised my first born to the bank if I commit any on-line fraud;)

So now that everyone know for 1000000% sure that I am not going to rip them off they will come…right?

 

Speaking of Mastercards, last year we were on a plane there was no room to sit by me so Noah had to sit 2 asiles away. He told the man next to him that his daddy has a Master’s degree and then proceeded to say that his mommy has a Mastercard, “Right Mommy, you have a Mastercard?” He shouted across the plane as if it was quite an accomplishment.  I’m not going to be adding that one to my top ten list any time soon, but the fact that I got through the acceptance process to accept Mastercard, now that is what I call an accomplishment!

 

authorize.net
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The Newswire vs. Bernina ; and Kafka vs. Logic

Posted on by Amanda Jackson

    For months I have made 24 hours a day into 36. Between a new baby, a budding business and working 9pm-7am at the Newswire, I have barely been able to formulate a complete thought lately. Something had to give and I don’t think Auggie has any plans to move out a get a job anytime soon, nor is Mimi Green going to be shelved. But I really like the people I work with at the Wire too and I like the security it gives me. I have shed a lot of tears trying to make a good decision.


But then a week and a half ago I am sitting there and out of the blue a Kafka quote appears in front of me. He says, “Follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.” 


    Now I wouldn’t say that I am obsessed with Mimi Green (although my family might tell you otherwise) but this company is my most intense passion. I love every part of it from choosing materials to work with, to the design, to working with all the fabulous people I have met in this journey. There hasn’t been a part of this where I have wished that I was somewhere else. This feels like home to me and I finally had to admit that to myself. 

    

     So, as risky as it is, I decided to leave the Newswire. Tuesday, July 15th will be the final day that I am wide-awake while the rest of the world is soundly sleeping.  I am following my obsessions mercilessly, a little feverishly, and with much excitement.


 


    The upside is that Mimi will get great attention, I will actually get to spend time with my kids and husband, and I will have time again for leisurely activities like yoga and hiking.


    The downside is that I won’t spend 10 hours a day laughing with some of the wittiest people I have ever met, but I figure when I am up working long nights in the studio I will give them a call to remind them about things like the invisible manatee.


   


    I have to say that leaving this job feels like breaking up with a boyfriend. I’ve laughed, I’ve cried, I’ve yelled, and I’ve lost a lot of sleep. But all in all I feel super satisfied with my decision.


 


    Next week I will be waking up as the sun rises, making my espresso drink, and starting my day here, in my new and improved studio space: 


Ry%3D320

    It is like an absolute dream come true. I am so sad to put an end to one part of my life, but I can’t wait to see what all of this new part brings. Just me, my trusty bernina, my pug, my two crazy boys, Mimi Green and a wing & a prayer…hehe.

 

    Kafka began the for mentioned quote with this “Don’t bend. Don’t water it down. Don’t try ot make it logical. Don’t edit your own soul according to fashion…”  This is going to be the mantra that I begin everyday from now on with. Everyday will be an adventure and I hope all of you who are reading this will be back again to see how it all unfolds!

Blog, Sew Sew Sew

Amy Butler’s ‘Little Stitches for Little Ones’ : A Retrospect of ‘In Stitches’, The Original

Posted on by Amanda Jackson

Amybutlerlittlestitches

In celebration of Amy Butler’s new book, Little Stitches for Little Ones, I thought I’d take us back to 2006 and reminisce about her very fantastic book, In Stitches.

 

I could tell that I was getting old this year when all I really wanted for my birthday was Amy’s In Stitches and Amy Karol’s Bend the Rules Sewing. There were birthdays, pretty recent ones I am ashamed to admit, where all I wanted was a hookah to smoke really gross, sticky, Indian tabacco with my friends. Other recent ones I can’t really remember very well but I do remeber looking at the inside of a toilet a good part of the night.

Don’t get me wrong, getting old isn’t a bad thing for me– it was actually very exciting. I felt like a woman finally this past year and my hobbies were reflecting that. So anyway, here I am trying to explain to my husband what sewing books to buy me and he’s looking at me like I am telling him which tampons to get at the grocery store for me. “Jewelry, I want jewelry, ” I say and he can understand those requests, very well I am happy to say. I had to find someone else to buy me some Amy B. I email the links you see above to my sisters and mother. Unfortunately this threw them for a loop too. I ended up with a Amazon gift card from one sister telling me to order it for myself and a very irritated mother who told me that it is unlady like to tell people what to buy you if they aren’t asking.

Okay, fine. I think I would have had better luck asking for the hookah. So in a last ditch effort to get my hands on In Stitches, I have my infant son order the book for me. I gave him my credit card number of course and typed in Barnes and Noble’s web address for him, but that isn’t the point. I was sure that little Auggie wanted to get these books for me as a present, he’d been hearing me complain about wanting them for long enough
The day the two books arrived I was ecstatic!

AmybinstitchesI mean, look at these stunning photos, these  vibrant colors! I couldn’t put it down. Keep in mind that Mimi Green and Augustine had both just been born. I really didn’t have free time for Amy, but I was willing to loose sleep over it, for a few days anyway.

I did buy the vintage sheet Amy recommends for making her PJ pants. I bought Michael Miller fabric to make a quilt. I had super good intentions, I swear I did.

Although none of Amy’s patterns ever made it to my sewing machine I have no regrets. Amy’s book is nothing like the exercise equipment I bought that has now turned into another place to hang my clothes. Although not used for what it was intended for, I am in love with In Stitches.  This book is the book I’d want to be if I were a book. The gorgous colors, the stunning photography! Colin McGuire outdid himself with the photos, I so hope that he shoot Little Stitches for Little Ones.  The reason I don’t know for sure– Amy is only selling this on her website. It won’t be on booksellers shelves till early September.

That’s okay with me, I am still in my honeymoon with In Stitches anyway. There are truly few things that are better than an overcast day, a fine cup of espresso, and cuddling up on my big couch with this book. The pages are thick and matte. Bound by wire, you and your imagination can easily flip through and have the book lay flat (great for laying it on your sewing table — I’m told anyway. he he.) The lifestyle that this book portrays is one that I aspire to. It’s like everyday is a Sunday afternoon in a really hip, cool, stylish world. All you need are your comfy PJ’s, a big pillow to snuggle with and you are fabulous. As simple as that Ms. Butler is.

Today though i am making a promice to you and to myslef. I am going to pre-order Little Stitches for Little Ones and the day it gets here I am going to make something from it. Even if I have to rearrange the sun and the moon so I can have extra hours in my crazy day, I will do it. This time it won’t seem too selfish to me. Auggie really wants an Amy Butler kimono and new crib set, he told me so;)

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Life is so super hard except when it’s easy — the abridged version…

Posted on by Amanda Jackson

Times have been strange since my last entry.

We aren’t moving to NYC.
My Tweety espresso maker was crap so I returned it to the store.
Our landlord had a bug you know where so he raised our rent.
Something went array with the wholesale order I sent out last week

 

and Auggie got into an airtight canister and poured about $7 worth of newly ground espresso beans into his mouth, all over his head, in his walker and onto the floor. Can’t blame him really. It was super good espresso and smelled like a dream come true. I wasn’t mad, I was impressed really. The canister it was in snapped down on 4 sides — he must love coffee as much as his momma;)
IMG_0497

 

A few other annoying things happened that I won’t go into detail about in cyberspace, but lets just say that this week could have been like 10 million times better.

 

But because of my ever positive husband and his wise words, I have picked myself back up and things are actually looking way better than they were before all these messes happened. Dan and I are totally liquidating massive amounts of material possessions that we just don’t need. Tomorrow we are having a huge garage sale and after I listed it on Craigslist I actually pre-sold a lot of the items.  I will let you know tomorrow if getting rid things that I do like, but don’t need, is as freeing as I think it will be.

 

And the very most exciting thing is that we ordered new labels for Mimi Green– they are woven just like they are for human designer duds! Finally, we found a factory that will run small batches and is located in the U.S. (which is another blog entry all together, I am totally disgusted with the amount of outsourcing we as a county have forced ourselves into– I totally refuse to do it)
They will arrive in 2 weeks and I can’t wait!

 

Here’s to next week. Let the delicious coffee be made correctly on the stove in a coffee maker that is awesome, and the frustrations of my husband finding a job subside, and let the good times roll:)