Mimi Green Custom Designer Dog Collars and Leashes

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

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!

I 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;)

Life is so super hard except when it's easy -- the abridged version...

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;)

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:)

Been a Looney Few Weeks

I know it has been awhile since I have blogged, but so many things have been going on.
I put up a new website that is about 75% functional as of this morning:

It took a ton of time, but I think it is probably worth the effort.

Thank God for a slow week at the news wire or I would have never gotten this done. 

I used a program called Mac Web Site Builder. Long story short-- they pretty much give you a blank generic website template and you try to figure out how to make it your own.

After staring at it for 20 or 30 hours now, I am not sure what to think of the final design. Hopefully after some sleep things will seem more clear.

Today Noah gets home from WI. He has been there for 17 days already! Wow, how time flies! Auggie kept Dan and I pretty busy the entire time which made it go by way faster than I thought it would. Anyway, I cannot wait to see him tonight.

Besides those two things, I mailed out my first big wholesale order last week:

Dan applied for a job in NYC, interviewed last week and we should hear back any day now (fingers crossed)

Aug stared eating like it is going out of style. I don't think that Dan and I are going to be able to afford to feed both these boys soon!















My mother in law came to see the boys a few weeks ago

And I got a Tweety espresso maker. Hehe.  The box is hilarious-- it is from Italy and there are kids making and drinking espresso with their mom and dad on the back. I can't wait to show Noah, he thinks that he likes coffee and is always trying to sneak it. Like mother like son I suppose!

There is no place like home

I've been thinking a lot lately about growth. 

I am feeling some growing pains at work which brings up so many new feelings. 

Watching Aug become a little man is both hard and exciting for me. I can't believe that only a few months ago he was a blip on an ultrasound screen and now he has opinions about things, he has places to go, things to see. 

And Noah, well compared to the little boy he was this time last year I barely recognize him. He has transformed out of his baby stage and after today he will be a third grader! I thought I was SO  old and mature in 3rd grade, that must be how he is feeling now too. 

And then there are these beautiful poppies that Dan bought for me at the beginning of Spring. They are finally growing and blooming but there is something quite strange about poppies -- 

These amazing blooms, well they only last a few days. The slightest breeze, the sprinkle of water on their flower, even a very hot day and they are toast. So beautiful and so big, they get like 18 inches tall, but so fragile. 

But they are always growing new flowers. When one dies off there is 2 to take its place. So maybe this plant isn't so fragile after all. hmmm. 

Off to bed I go. Just like Dorothy and the Lion, these poppies have made me really tired. Well that and the fact that I just got home from working the overnight shift I suppose! But comparing my life to the Wizard of Oz just makes me feel cooler you know? ;)

Enjoy the Spring sunshine today! 

Easy Like A Sunday Morning.

Auggie and Momma had such a nice Sunday together. We sat on the couch, ate the most amazing vanilla cinnamon gelato, and watched some TV-- what was on I don't even remember. The taste of the yummy gelato was mesmerizing. One bite for mommy, 2 for Auggie. He went into a total gelato comma.

But then we went to hidden park and met up with Auggie's friend Nigel and all was good again. 

We napped the rest of the afternoon. Aug has grown 2 teeth in the past week and a half, plus he had his shoots on Friday, so he has been so super cuddly.

Noah joined us at the park for Aug's play-date, he is such a good big brother. Here's he and Aug in the tub.  Dan and I are the luckiest parents in the world. I wonder if all parents feel this way.

Cessie is a model, you know what I mean....

Cessie had a bit of a photo shoot today, and she shook her little toosh on the, ummmm, dog walk. You can't even tell anymore that 2 months ago she was homeless and she had major surgery on her arm. She has totally fattened up and her fur is growing back over her huge scar. Pug -tastic I say ;)

Auggie on the other hand, he didn't think that this was any fun.
I was so excited when I found  this jogging stroller at a garage sale when I was pregnant. Unfortunately, today was probably the 4th time Aug has ridden in it. But considering that I still have 30lbs of prego weight to loose, I think he will be ridding in it more and more now that it is nice outside.

Tomorrow Noah has a concert at the university-- he is playing a guitar solo which I am so excited to see. And tonight, mommy and daddy have a date to go see  Wilco in concert.  I am assuming that Jeff Tweedy will be playing a guitar solo also, but it probably won't be as good as Noah's. ;)

Craft Show Goodness

I had so much fun at my first craft show. My grandpa made me a super cool display, my table looked pretty good for my first time, and the other artists were really sweet and nice to meet.
It was Noah's idea to bring his puppy;) She was wearing a Mimi Green collar of course.

My mom and sister stayed with me all day and Dan brought the kids, including Cessie, down for a bit. But I have to say that it was exhausting. I did learn a few things that may help anyone who wants to do a show.

Craft Show Tip #1 --- Dress in layers. I would have been doing a bit better in the morning if I had brought a jacket and a bit better in the afternoon if I had worn shorts. Yes, it is still cold here in NM in the morning time - can't wait till we are over that!

Tip #2 Have a game plan about what you are going to say about your product. I didn't think too much about that, and I am sure that even if I had it would have needed to be tweaked in practice, but at least I would have had somewhere to start. I may have sold more if I had "sold" my collars and leashes better.

Tip #3  Make sure to network with the other vendors. I met a lot of really cool women that I hope to work with again-- plus now they have my info which is key. Sometimes it is about who you know.

Tip #4  Go in without expectations. Just like anything else in life, if you don't expect things to happen you won't get disappointed if they don't. I wasn't sure how it would go, which I was glad about later when I realized that I had a massive show/sewing  hangover of sorts.  I was so tired, I am still getting over it!

Tip #5  Have a colorful display. I looked at craft displays on Flickr before the show and got some great ideas. The more attention you can draw to you the better-- this really means color and multi level views. If your display is flat you might find that your sales are too. And you can quote me on that one;)

Let me just add that I am jealous...

Sewing Hang Over

Yes, this is me avoiding getting ready for tomorrow's show. And it's not because I am lazy, it is because I am so TIRED! Yesterday i whipped up 8 leashes, 3 collars, mailed orders and took care of a teething baby who is really hurting bad. Poor Auggie. Today I need to go to the bank to get change, go to the post office to mail packages to Canada, and fax my letter of driver improvement school completion to Albuquerque  Metro Court (don't ask;) That is all before I complete my goal of making 15 more collars today and painting my leash stand, green of course.

So I better run, but I will leave you with this:  This odd couple has finally bonded, look how cute they were this morning sunbathing together. As soon as this madness is over  the first project on hand is making Miss Etta a new bed ;)

Mimi Green Turns a Month Old!

It's been a smashing month for Mimi Green!  There have been lots of developments since our birth on the interwebs.

Lori Marie at Pretty Little Things featured her French Bulldog Matilda wearing a Mimi Collar. It is adorned with one of Lori's beautiful flower pins that she sells in her wonderful shop 

An article that I wrote with two other Etsy sellers was featured on Etsy this week. It is about the Dog Mafia

The Dog Mafia is a team that I recently joined-- all Etsy sellers who love dogs, donate to dog charities, and support one another in our efforts to make the world a more dog friendly place.   

Then Yesterday I got an email from Erin who featured Mimi dog collars on her blog.

It still makes me super excited to see my work on the web!

I have met so many nice people, sold lots of hip collars and leashes, and I get to do what I love.

Things are good on this front;)

Saturday is my first show at Cup O' Joe in Albuquerque. It is a super cute coffee house and only about 10 of us will be selling our goods there. It is perfect for a first show-- not so scary when it is a small event.

I will post lots of pictures from there, but try to come out if you can!

And thank you to everyone who made my first month full of sunshine.