Project: Storybook Cape

I'm a huge fan of the Grosgrain blog. Kathleen is an amazingly talented seamstress, designer, and photographer. I don't know how she does it. All I know is that I'm lucky enough to have a kid just a few months younger than hers so if she keeps posting patterns like this one that fit her kid, then I'm all set with cuteness.

This cape was incredibly easy to make. I'd like to say it took longer to cut out the slippery velour than it did to make the entire cape but I screwed up (what, again, really? no.). Something that should have been simple, of course, took me a couple extra hours.

So I chose this incredibly soft dark chocolate brown velour to pair with the super bright turquoise fine wale corduroy. Kathleen said not to choose stiff fabrics so I was worried about the corduroy but it was perfect to give some needed weight to that crazy velour.

Zadie came with me to the fabric store to pick everything out and she was dying over the velour. When we got home she was draping the yardage over herself like a kimono and would pile herself dramatically on top of it on the floor all while shouting, "Soft! Soft!" So I hurried to cut out my pattern pieces and stitched her up a little soft of her own with what was left over. "The soft" has now joined the entourage in the crib (Mila, blankie, Elph the elephant).

What I did wrong: Because I used such a slippery fabric, the two layers weren't holding together very well. So I decided to tack them together at the top and bottom of the sleeve holes with a horizontal stitch. I did this before sewing the bottom hem so I couldn't turn it inside out to make a blind hem, I had to pin it together and topstitch the entire thing. With velour, you need to pin every inch or it goes wild. I like to pin and I love to topstitch (as I've said before). But ugh. Then I had to rip out a few sections where it got all bunchy bunchy and re-stitch.

The end result is amazing. Zadie loves it and we can't wait for Spring when this becomes a permanent fixture in the outerwear collection. Check out Grosgrain for all the giveaways and help out her friend win the wedding of her dreams.

For more information about Project: Project, read this post.

Storque feature

I was recently featured in Etsy's Storque. It's like an online newsletter/blog where they highlight issues in the world of craft.

My work was discussed as part of the Handmade Kids series they are doing right now. I'm also going to enter the Handmade Kids contest. I'm thinking one of the new rompers...

Yay! Front page Etsy . . .

Sometime in the middle of the night, this treasury list that I didn't even know I was in, got picked for the front page. It's really beautiful with two of my favorite colors. It's so nice when you get a little surprise like that.

Yeti Loves Seamonster is Alive!

I'm super excited to announce that the Yeti Loves Seamonster site is up and running. Tina Seamonster and I have been working really hard to whip our baby into shape. There are still a couple of minor details to work out and we'll always be making improvements but it's ready to rock.

The home page highlights the YLS Team member shops. We've hand picked the best designers for children's stuff on Etsy including cool clothing, well-crafted toys, and amazing art for your kids' walls.

So check it out. We have a blog with cool new product features, a sidebar pointing to some of our favorite items and best of all, a downloads page! Artists from all over have been contributing coloring book pages and designing postcards. Soon we'll even have fun recipes and tutorials.

We are always welcoming submissions so please let us know if you're interested in giving us coloring book pages. We'll add your shop URL and give you credit on the site.

A Milestone

I remember when I first started selling my little guys on Etsy I would check out how many hearts other shops had. I was always so surprised when there would be one with lots and lots of hearts. Now I am one of those shops. It's amazing. I can't believe I have 650 hearts.

Thanks everyone!

And special thanks to BenCanDance who is making me a custom airstream pendant as my little treat to myself. Check out Ben's blog. He really gets around.

Feature on the Mira blog

First of all, thanks to everyone who stopped by the Squidfire's show in Baltimore last week. The show was a huge success and a really fabulous time. I got to meet lots of fellow Etsy sellers and some amazing crafters. I can't wait to do the next one (Art Star, Philly, June 2 and 3).

In other fabulous news, Lemon Cadet was featured on the Mira blog. Mira is the product of Etsy seller, Stephanie Gibson. She is a talented jewelry maker with extremely well crafted pieces. Her Etsy shop is full of dangerous items. We'll both be setting up shop in Lancaster on July 14 (more on that later).


Steph asked some tough questions for the interview but I think it turned out all right. She also mentioned the interview on her regular blog, Adornments and Distractions.

Lemon Cadet hits the Charm City!

Lemon Cadet is taking to the streets. Find us this Saturday, May 12 at Squidfire's Spring Art Mart in Baltimore, MD. It's in the heart of the city at Mount Vernon Square, Monument and Charles Streets from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

We'll be under a big white canopy -- just follow the scent of lemons. Along with the entire collection of onesies and shirts, there'll be several new button designs, a new yeti mirror and a fabulous bean mirror with a hip white background.

Please stop by to say hi and check out all the new items.

In a large marble hallway

The craft show this weekend at CMU was really fun and a great learning experience. I met a few Etsy people and some other cool crafters. My table was stocked with goods. I ended up making some panties at the last minute because I wanted to have a range of items. I've been planning on adding panties to the Lemon Cadet line for a while now and Bring It! gave me a good reason to get on it.

The table looked great! All the yellow stood out well against the darkness of the stone hallway so I got great feedback on my little guys. Several people asked where I was going to be next. I didn't sell much (and I didn't expect to given the crowd) but I feel much more confident about my line and where to take it. I'm hoping to do some larger shows in Pittsburgh this Summer.

For the next show I need to think about how to display the mirrors and the buttons better. I thought they would sell better since they're so cute and inexpensive. The buttons were pinned on the scout dolls and the mirrors were in a basket on the left of the table. Now that I see the photos I can tell it's hard to even see the mirrors at all. With the buttons, maybe people were afraid to take them off or something.

Next time I'll do it differently. What's funny is that I actually got a few requests for the scout dolls so I'll probably add some to the shop in the upcoming weeks. You never know!

So thanks to everyone who showed up to support Lemon Cadet. Special thanks to Dee and Steph, my trusty helper elves who stayed with me during the day. They are way better promoters of my stuff than I am.

On that note, I'll be adding lots of new items to the shop this week. I have several yeti tees just about ready to go (need to add their little fingers!) and a super cute bug shirt (see him in the photo just above the buttons).

Coming Soon: www.YetiPanties.com, a division of Lemon Cadet!

Farewell, young Fran!

Yesterday I sent out my first onesie. A fellow Etsy seller had emailed me earlier in the week to see if I could custom-make a Francine on a onesie for a new baby (work in progress). I had a yellow 3 - 6 month onesie on hand so I quickly got on task and created Young Fran.

It was really exciting. I've had orders from friends and family but this was an order from someone I didn't know, someone all the way in Texas. So now it's really official.