LittleStitch

Kasey's Little Monsters

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:57:00 +0000

Today I’ve just got to share what my friend and fellow Golden Tribe member, Kasey, at Buttonwood Cottage is up to. Do you see these DELIGHTFUL baby hats? She’s just launched the new line “My Little Monsters” in her shop. Take a peek at the new designs ~ my favorite is Vernon... he's a cutie!

And guess what? These designs were inspired by little ol' me! Remember when I was working on Parker's Monster Bash? Oh yes, I will be getting one of these precious little monster hats for my newest nephew... I am so excited to see these hats on happy babies!

Let us know: which monster is your favorite? which color do you like best?

P.S.
Also, be sure to check out Kasey's blog here!

The Week in Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:32:00 +0000

In the midst of the madness, my hubby and I are trying to get back to a normal routine. Our house is a disaster, but I've been trying to accomplish simple little tasks to keep us motivated. It hasn't worked until last night, when I finally washed a couple loads of laundry and did some meal planning for the next week. (Meal planning, which I have never done before, when the house is a disaster- priorities!) Andrew and I have not made a home-cooked meal since this horrible situation happened to Little & her hubby a few weeks ago, so thanks to some inspiration from Kate, tonight I'm going to make spaghetti and my Ma's meatballs.

Apparently, the accomplishments from last night helped more than I thought, because this morning when I woke up eons before my alarm after another night of restless sleep, I got up and went for a run on the treadmill rather than lying in bed and moping. It's been a while since my last run... so long that I had to dust the treadmill before turning it on! The pups were so excited- they knew something was going on and as I was dusting the treadmill and getting the music going they kept nudging me with their little noses and and looking at me with their ears cocked (well, Copper's ears were cocked... Penny's ears just hang no matter how hard she tries, sweet little hound). Finally, I opened both back doors in the sunroom and they hopped back and forth between them, chasing each other while I ran. It cheered me up to see them acting so goofy. I think I'll do it again tomorrow. :)

Another night out letting a restaurant feed us dinner.
They had a "Special Spring Drink".
I couldn't tell you what was in it,
but the Peep was dang cute.
P.S. My hubby had never heard of Peeps! What?!

This was on Easter Sunday.
Penny was not thrilled with the Masters,
and did not appreciate that we let her on the couch.
She was making this face at me across the room.
I told her her face would get stuck like that.
She fell asleep with it, haha.

You know I have a thing for hooties.
I got this sweet hootie cookie jar for just $13!
I named her Ruby and she will be part of my new stitching space.
(I plan to move everything to one of the upstairs bedrooms,
once I get the motivation.)

Working on the RoadMap to Action at lunch,
before things went from bad to worse.

If I had to guess,
I'd say Copper was dreaming about farts.

Sweet Pups enjoying the ride around Andrew's parents' neighborhood.

Little Henry Snuggle Bug.
I hogged him for a very long time this past weekend.
It was so good to be with family.

My two favorite girls!
Aren't they so sweet in their coordinating clothes?
We were at another shower for Allie & Parker.
Parker will be here so soon and I can't wait to meet him.
Also, Caroline is 9 months old!
Time is flying by.

Once again, thank you all for the prayers and support! (I feel like I can't thank you enough.) Please keep them coming this weekend. It's going to be a lonely Alumnae Weekend without my Little.

P.S.

Ok, so Instagram came to the Droid market. I'm currently using Streamzoo. Is it worth it to switch?

Hi There

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 17:18:00 +0000

Hi there. We are still in the midst of this terrible situation, but I wanted to check in and say thank you for all of your prayers and support. Please keep them coming, Little & her husband need them more now than ever.

We're still coming to terms with this horrific situation and all of the changes it is bringing. Life, LittleStitch, and more... it is all changing/going to change. It is hard to see the bigger picture with all of the bad-gone-worse things happening right now, but we have to believe that when this is over things will get better. That this happened for a reason. A good reason.

In the meantime, your good thoughts and prayers truly mean the world.

To our wonderful customers, I'm sad to say that in all likelihood LittleStitch is on hold for at least the next 6-8 weeks. I'm not sure what state it will be in when it opens back up, but I look forward to continuing this endeavor regardless.

I've yet to sit back down at my sewing machine. The motivation has been drowned in stress and sorrow. But this morning I did have an idea spark and sketched a little something. And I've been trying to work on the RoadMap to Action, but with everything up in the air right now, it's been hard to move forward with that.

For now, we're doing everything we can to support our dearest friends. We can make it through this. We will.

hope.

Prayer Request

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 03:10:00 +0000

You might have noticed that LittleStitch Shop on Etsy has been set to vacation mode. Our very own Little Morgan and her husband are dealing with a situation that has thrown us all for a loop. If/when it is appropriate, we will try to share some information with you, but for now any and all prayers are appreciated.

In the meantime, I will be still be posting a couple of times a week. There are a few personal projects and new items for the shop I'll be working on. I can't guarantee a set posting schedule, as right now my husband and I are focusing on supporting our dear Little & Larry.

Once again, we appreciate your prayers. You guys are the best. Go give your significant others, kids, pups, kitties, and everyone/thing else you love a hug and a kiss.

For now we're holding fast to this quote my dear Cuz shared with us:

When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you can not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.

—Harriet Beecher Stowe

Thank you again for your prayers and support,

Monday Inspiration

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 13:01:00 +0000

via rawartletterpress on Etsy

You are braver than you believe,

Stronger than you seem,

Smarter than you think,

and Loved more than you know.

The Week in Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 13:38:00 +0000

Preparing for the Parker's Monster Bash!
My sister cut lots of colored paper into strips, and we stitched
them straight down the middle.
They were easy, fun and cute!

Caroline Marie is getting too big!
She's trying to learn how to stand on her own.
At this rate she'll be running a 5K on her 1st birthday.

Saturday night I snuck away from party prepping to have dinner at
Andrew's parents' house.
This little cutie and his parents were there!
Aunt Chels might have hogged him a little bit. :)

Late night monster bash prep.
I asked my little brother to blow up some balloons.
He blew them ALL up.
He's awesome like that.

Sweets in her monster shirt!
Us hostesses all made a monster shirt to wear.
It was a blast!

Andrew fishing on Wednesday.
It was a gorgeous evening.

I walked the pups while Andrew fished.
Copper hid behind me because he was terrified of a 12 year old.
At one point he ran straight out of his harness.
My pansy Budd. :)

My Sister sent me the sweetest email from Caroline Marie, full of photos!
I cried happy tears and then decided to print it and keep it forever.
I printed it as a booklet and now it fits perfectly in my planner.

I work in the Management Office at an outdoor mall.
Sometimes for my lunch break, I go park in an upper lot,
roll the windows down and let the breeze blow through the car
while I read or catch up on emails.
Yesterday was amazing with this storm rolling in.
I made it back to the office just as the rain hit.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Parkersaurus

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 14:01:00 +0000

When my sister (Shannon) was pregnant with sweet Caroline Marie, she picked out the most adorable bedding for Sweets' room! It inspired me to get back into sewing, and I stitched up a growth chart for the nursery.

It is still one of my most favorite things I've ever sewn, and I have to say "one of" now because it is tied with the growth chart I stitched up for Parker! When my sister-in-law (Allie) decided to go with dinosaurs as the theme for Parker's nursery, I immediately imagined a long-necked dinosaur growth chart. The inspiration fully hit at work one day, so I sketched the idea on a post-it.

Soon after, I was stopping in at JoAnn's for a completely different reason (Kasey, I was shopping for your buttons!), and I left with 2 fabrics for Parker's growth chart! (Aunt Chels is already sharing her love for stripes and polka-dots with Parker Man!)

When the time came to cut out the fabric, I was so nervous. It wasn't until after I cut out the dinosaur template that I realized this thing is going to have to hang on the wall somehow. After a dramatic flop on the couch (this happens more often then I care to admit), my hubby asked me what was wrong and I told him that this growth chart wasn't going to work because there's no way to hang it up. He looked at me like I was crazy (don't worry- I'm used to it), and said something along the lines of, "Can't you just put some sort of fabric strip or hook on one of the spikes on top of his head and another one on his back for it to hang on?" Yeah, total DUH moment. When in doubt, ask your significant other. If you don't mind being embarrassed about your lack of common sense. Moving on!

Back when I picked out the fabric, I knew the stripes would be the body, and the dots would be the spikes. My process was: create dino template, cut striped fabric, create spike template, cut polka dot fabric & batting for spikes, stitch spikes, stitch on a button eyeball, cut out & stitch on Parker's name and the measuring ticks to the front of the dinosaur, cut large piece of batting, pin everything (except the spikes) together to see how it looked:

Please ignore the wine rack turned plate rack turned stitching rack that makes Parkersaurus look like he has fancy spikes... oh, yes! At this point, Parker's growth chart was dubbed Parkersaurus! My next step was to create a pocket for the back (I'm planning to give Allie some tags she can pin to the front to track Parker's growth). I didn't get any pictures of it, though. (That was the day we found out Patches' kittens were murdered and I was little upset.) Last Tuesday night, I finished up all of the stitching and Parkersaurus was COMPLETE! I immediately hung him up in the kitchen to see how he looked.

I laid on the floor to take that photo and Copper thought I'd make a cozy bed and Penny thought I wanted her to give me lots of wet willies. It took five minutes just to get one photo (and I need to spend less time stitching and more time playing with my Pups so they don't attack me as soon as I'm away from my stitching space!).

You can kind of tell in the photo above which spike on his back has the added fabric loop for hanging. And (since I stole these photos from Parker's Mom's facebook), here's a peek at his nursery!

A lot of love went into Parker's room. My brother spackled, sanded and smoothed out lots of spots on the wall where mirrors used to hang, Allie's mom and sisters painted, my Pa installed the gorgeous chair rail and molding, and Allie created the precious dinosaur border! And now Parkersaurus, made with love by Aunt Chels, is hanging on the closet. :)

My next personal project: stitching up a giraffe growth chart for little Henry!

Parker's Monster Bash!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 14:23:00 +0000

We had a blast celebrating my nephew-to-be, Parker! This is a picture-heavy post... enjoy!

Parker!

The monster cake!
We were inspired by this pin on Pinterest.

Monster fruit salad!

My Ma setting up the food table.

Monster cornhole!
We covered my in-law's cornhole boards with plastic table cloths
and painted monsters on them!

My sister created a game called Monster Jam 2012- it was a hilarious relay.
Yes, this is my Aunt Patty feeding my little brother 2 oz. of beer.
It was hysterical! (If the look on my face didn't make it obvious already.)

Allie & Jake (the parents-to-be) at the Pack + Go station of the relay!
Jake was completing the very important task of packing the diaper bag-
and sipping his beer!

Sweet Caroline and Shmimi in their monster shirts!

Opening gifts.
This is the growth chart I made for Parker.
I'll share more on that tomorrow!

We had such a great time! I wish I had more pictures to share, but we were so in the moment I didn't think to grab my camera much. (Luckily, my hubby snapped most of the ones you see here!)

Thanks for sharing in this exciting time with me... can't wait to meet my nephew!

Checking in

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 13:03:00 +0000

Well, hello! :) It's been quite the crazy few days. We had a blast heading home this weekend and spending time with our families. Parker's Monster Bash was a blast, and I can't wait to share some photos with you tomorrow!

Caroline Marie in her Monster Bash shirt!

Now I'm getting back in the swing of things... working on an iPad cover, a custom order for Kasey, and waiting for some fabric to show up so I can test out some new Ramsey Pouf sizes and shapes.

See you tomorrow with the monstrous photos! :)

The Week in Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 14:24:00 +0000

I have officially dubbed this week as nephew week! We got to meet our newest nephew, Henry, on Sunday and I've spent this entire week getting ready for a party for our nephew-to-be Parker. So excited to celebrate with the family!

Hubby and I watched 6 episodes straight of
the first season of Game of Thrones.
I justified it by making Parker letters.

In December, the sweetest stray cat started hanging at our house.
We named her Patches and put food out for her.
Friday she showed me where her new little kittens were.
(Under the doghouse.)
Sunday night, another mean stray cat came around.
He killed the 4 precious kittens.
Patches and I cried in the driveway while Andrew got them out.
I'm so sad for her.

We met our sweet nephew Henry on Sunday.
He's already sticking his tongue out at me.

When planning a Monster Bash, you can never have
enough Googly Eyes!!

My Sister sent me this picture of Caroline Marie
with her bunny ears on Wednesday.
I didn't get anything done for the next 2 hours.
I just looked at my phone and giggled.
She is the BEST!

Painting life-size monsters for Parker's Monster Bash!
This is Jeb.
He's our monster greeter going on the front door.

This is Pete.
He's telling me to stop eating all the jelly beans.

This is Sweetopus.
Sister and I created her together for the party invitation.
We decided she looks like the Monster-version of Caroline.
Now I'm giggling again.
I'll be sure to get a picture of Sweet Caroline and Sweetopus at the party!

Hope you all had a great week. We had another Google+ hangout with those amazing bloggers I talked about earlier this month. They are smart, silly, sweet and I'm proud to be a part of The Golden Tribe! <3

Happy Friday!

Our Favorite: Customer Feedback!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 13:09:00 +0000

You know we love positive customer feedback... and you know we love it EVEN MORE when customer photos are included! Oh yes, this one had us dancing. :)

This customer purchased 2 items: The Maddie Make-Up Pouch and The Wilbur eBook Cover.

Our customer said:

"Exactly what I was hoping for. The perfect sized make-up pouch. Fits my brushes, a few mascara and eyeliner, and multiple sets of eyeshadow. Very well made and unique as well! And it came so beautifully packaged with a thank you note from the seller! I will definitely be recommending this seller to others...and probably stalking their shop and making another purchase in the future!"

Our customer said:

"I absolutely love it!! I wanted something unique for my Nook, not just a boring manufactured cover. It's adorable and functional. The shop owners are very wonderful! They responded right away when I messaged them about a correction on my shipping address, and the packaging was so adorable!"

Jackie, we thank you for the sweet words and are absolutely THRILLED that you love your LittleStitch treasures! Customer satisfaction makes us slap-happy! :)

P.S. SUPER EXCITED to chat with our tribe tonight!

A Growing Family

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 13:17:00 +0000

Once again, so sorry for the radio silence. My hubby and I were enjoying the sweet snuggles of our newest nephew, Henry (son of Andrew's sister and her fiance).

We are so happy that Mom and Henry are doing well and are already counting down the hours until we get to see him again.

It's going to be another crazy week as we prepare for a party celebrating our other nephew (due in May) this weekend. I can't wait to share what I've stitched up for his dinosaur nursery!

Hope you all had a great weekend,

Reading Suggestions: Find Your Tribe

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 13:30:00 +0000

I'm sorry for being out of the blogging loop this week. Lots going on, but I hope to be all caught up after the weekend. And I hope to sit down and catch up on what everyone's been up to. :)

In the meantime, here are some great posts by Skye & Kasey on finding your "tribe".

Skye @ Feathering our Nest: Finding Your Tribe

Kasey @ Buttonwood Cottage: How to Gather Your Tribe

I'm so looking forward to another hangout with our tribe next week!

Week in Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 13:21:00 +0000

We've been busy as usual this past week! Time has been flying by- which is good and bad. GOOD: the work week goes by fast and we've enjoyed the past couple of weekends staying home and not traveling. BAD: lots of things to do for upcoming events and not enough time to do it! (But you better believe we've had dinner on the boat the past 2 Saturdays... priorities, haha.)

I went to JoAnn's for fabric... and left with 2 of these ceramic egg trays.
They now hold all of my buttons- I love them!

Andrew and I took the pups to the lake for a walk.
Sometimes I think they enjoy the drive more than the walk!

Gorgeous day to walk by the lake.

Little & I met up for Happy Hour on Friday and enjoyed
Bonefish Grill's new pineapple martinis.
Seriously- best drink EVER.
And it was an awesome night.

We did yard work Saturday.
(Our poor house/yard has been so neglected.)
Pups were being needy so we let them play in the front yard while we worked.
They thought the freshly laid pine straw was just for them.
Penny approved of the coziness level.

Little and I had a Sew Day on Sunday and stitched up
some cute keychains for our Alumnae Weekend!
We also snuck out and got some Sonic...
it was a fun day.
Come to think of it- the entire weekend was the best.

Our first Gerber Daisy of the year!
(This is a big deal- sometimes I think plants die when I look at them.)

My brother & sister-in-law are expecting their first baby in May!
We're throwing a Monster Bash for our little Parker next weekend.
I'm planning to stitch up a little something for his Dinosaur nursery.
Can't wait to meet the little guy!

Hope you're all having a great week. What have you been up to?

Happy Birthday Autumn @The Pickled Poppy!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 20:48:00 +0000

We want to wish a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Autumn at The Pickled Poppy!

Sweet Autumn has included us in her Birthday Bash Giveaways! Be sure to check our her blog for your chance to win one of our Wilbur eBook Covers for iPad! (And many other great prizes!)

And if you are visiting here from Autumn's blog, thank you for stopping by! We'd love to hear from you and wish you the best of luck at winning the Wilbur eBook Cover. :)

Sew Day

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 13:01:00 +0000

This past Sunday, Little and I had a Sew Day together to experiment with some items for our Alumnae Weekend MarketPlace. We stitched up some keychains and are head over heels in love with them!

Of course, we had to experiment on ourselves first, so the 'c' and 'm' on the bottom right are ours. :) Then we made some purple Ws for Wesleyan, and started working on some class-specific ones. These are so fun to make! We're excited to share them at Wesleyan!

Tonight we're getting together to watch the season finale of The Walking Dead and eat a Zombie dinner (just like I planned out for Valentine's Day). I'm so excited! By the way, The Walking Dead Tacos with Ground Brains is just a fun take on Pioneer Woman's Frito Chili Pie. It is so yummy. (Especially if you add a 1" slice of velveeta cheese to the pot for the last 15 minutes of simmering... oh goodness. I also use 2 cans of ranch-style beans in place of the two cans of beans listed in her recipe.)

Wishing you all a fabulous Tuesday!

Monday Inspiration

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 12:55:00 +0000

Oscar Wilde Quote by Albee on Etsy

P.S.
Check out the rest of Albee's shop on Etsy... it's full of hand-lettered goodness.

Shipped in the USA + NEW ITEMS!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 13:24:00 +0000

First of all, HELLO FRIDAY! Yes, we've been waiting for you. But only since Sunday night. Don't go by so fast this week, mmkay?

We have a couple of things to share with you today. Last night, I was having one of those nights when I couldn't make a dang thing go right. Thread tension, cutting fabric, stitching things together that aren't meant to go together... yeah, my plan of sewing 2 pouches and an iPad cover and taking Friday & Saturday night off from stitching turned into sewing 1 pouch, half an iPad cover and finishing the rest tonight. Oh well, it happens! Anyway, during a dramatic moment of frustration (you know, one of those fling yourself backwards, put a hand on your forehead and say, "Woe is me!" moments), I looked up and saw our shipping map. Little and I each have printed maps of the U.S. so we can highlight the different states our LittleStitch treasures are shipped to. I took a 5-minute break and went through our recent orders and updated the map. It makes me so happy to see where all of our hard work lives! One day I hope to see every state doodled up with turquoise stripes. :)

(I apologize for the late night cell phone photo!)

In other news, Little has been busy stitching up some new iPad covers for the shop! Check out these beauties:

{1, 2, 3}

Cheers to Friday! Little and I are celebrating this week being over by trying out Bonefish Grill's new pineapple martini during Happy Hour after work... can't wait!

Have a great weekend!

Custom Order out the Door!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 12:30:00 +0000

A few weeks ago we were contacted by Jennifer. She loved our Ramsey Poufs (which we are working hard to restock!), and wanted some stitched up for her son's room. After a fun weekend fabric shopping with her friend, she shipped the fabric to us and we got to work!

Aren't they cute?! Of course, you got a sneak peek yesterday when I shared that Little thought the middle one was "DINO-mite"! Bwahaha- it hasn't gotten old yet! I know, they look a little flat. We offer our customers the option of stuffing them upon receipt, which reduces the price of the pouf, and significantly reduces shipping costs.

Did you know our poufs have zippers? We decided to include them so that the stuffing can be taken in and out for washing. (And that also helps with our non-stuffed shipping option!)

Here they are, prettied up with their care instructions strung on and ready to ship! Jennifer, we hope your sweet little boy enjoys his poufs! (Sidenote: Jennifer also has a shop on Etsy called BubbiesBlankies, where she sells the cutest crocheted baby blankets and lovies!)

Little and I are working hard on some big changes for the shop. We can't wait to share in the next few weeks! :)

The Week (+1/2) in Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 12:59:00 +0000

Here's what we've been up to since our last Week in Photos post... almost two weeks worth of photos, but I'm sneaking them in anyway. :)

The weekend of the 3rd, we had 5 pups staying with us!

Pictured clockwise from top left are:

my Copper Budd, my Penny Baby, Devon Blue, & Wilbur.

(Missing from the photo is Pippa Lalla.)

My Hubs with the two sleepy baby girls,

Caroline Marie and Devon Blue. :)

HA! Caught these two snuggling!

Look at their guilty faces.

Caroline, I found your spoon...

come back and get it Punkins!

Mid-week stress relief with my Hubby:

beer and boiled peanuts by the lake.

This past Friday night, we had a craving for mimosas

(and we actually had the ingredients!).

So I cut out tons of fabric, caught up with Project Runway AllStars,

and enjoyed a few of these puppies.

(And had a champagne headache Saturday morning!)

Custom order heading out the door!

A custom cushion and 2 pairs of pillow covers for Nicole.

I pin. A LOT.

A custom pouf Little stitched (haha, LittleStitched- love it!)...

and when she finished she sent me this photo and said,

"It's DINO-mite!"

Yes, she's awesome like that.

How's your week going so far? It's flying by!

Questions Answered

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 12:44:00 +0000

Hello, hello! Last week, we were tagged by both Kasey at Buttonwood Cottage and Kate at DiscoverCreateLive to answer 11 Questions. So what you're about to get is 22 questions answered by 2 people for a total of 44 answers (and we're cheating- we're not tagging 11 more bloggers because everyone we know has already been tagged!). So here's a little bit more about us:

When is your birthday?

Little: August 15, 1985

Chelsea: July 11, 1985

What is your favorite color?

Little: TURQUOISE

Chelsea: Green, all kinds of green.

Where do you go/what do you do when you are overwhelmed and need to clear your head?

Little: Go running... That's a shocker, isn't it?!

Chelsea: I go out in the back yard on our porch swing and look at the sky or watch my crazy pups play in the yard. Sometimes I bring a cup of tea or a beer- depends on the time of day, haha.

Who would you call if you needed help burying a body? [oh yeah I just asked who your shovel buddy is.]

Little: Probably my husband... I don't think any of my friends and I could pick up a dead body by ourselves. Ha ha.

Chelsea: Most likely my sister- because she’s sneaky and I know she’d support me no matter what the heck I got myself into!

What is your favorite movie and why do you like it so much?

Little: The Little Mermaid - It's been my favorite since I was a little girl. And yes, I do know all of the songs by heart. :)

Chelsea: The Goonies! I remember watching it with my siblings during our younger years, and the older I get the more funny the movie gets. It is my go-to movie.

If you had 15 minutes to go back in time and give the high school freshman version of yourself a piece of advice - what would it be?

Little: I would tell myself to stop worrying about what other people think. That stopped me from trying out for the track team and I sure wish I had done that now.

Chelsea: Don’t let your insecurities affect who you are. And yes, he is THE ONE, but don’t rush it. J

What is your favorite article of clothing in your closet or dresser?

Little: I have some black lounge pants that I can't live without... I'm sure my husband could though. Ha ha.

Chelsea: Probably this super cozy jersey navy floral dress in my closet that is only appropriate for beach or poolside. But in the summers I put it on almost every day when I get home from work. It is so cozy AND it has pockets!

Your plans for the day have been canceled [don't worry you weren't looking forward to it]. What are you going to do with the 8 hours you have just freed up?

Little: Catch up on school work or stitching... I know, I'm boring!

Chelsea: Oh my goodness! Can this please happen in real life?! I would make a pot of coffee and spend an hour or so reading on the porch swing. Then I’d take the pups for a walk by the lake or the duck ponds. Then I’d come home and finish stitching my laptop bag. Then I’d cook a HUGE pot of chili for dinner. And somewhere in there I’d totally take a nap.

Of all the DIY projects and crafty goodness you've created what is your current favorite?

Little: I just made a "shipping supplies holder" that was inspired by Pinterest (of course). It's perfect for all of the labels, paper, and envelopes that we use to ship our LittleStitch products.

Chelsea: It’s probably forever going to be the hand-stitched growth chart that I made for my sweet niece.

You won a contest and were just given $1000...what do you do with it?

Little: I would probably use it to go to the beach for the week!

Chelsea: Put it toward a vacation with my ENTIRE family… Caroline Marie’s first trip to the beach!

You're super well connected fairy godmother is paying you a visit and asks if there is anyone you are eager to meet. She loves connecting people so you need to come up with someone, fast, so as not to offend her. Who do you ask to meet and why?

Little: I would like to meet Sarah Richardson and Tommy. Speaking of them, when does Sarah's House come on again? I'm having withdrawals!

Chelsea: Hmm... probably Sara Bareilles. Andrew and I have seen her twice in concert and she is hilarious.

What is your favorite guilty pleasure?

Little: I have many (all of which are food-related) - Queso and chips, Cake Batter frozen yogurt, and gooey brownies!

Chelsea: Lazy days. I love (and miss!) when my hubby and I would spend Sundays in our pajamas watching movies together.

How many kids do you think you want {or not want}?

Little: I think I want four (two boys and two girls) so all of them would have a brother and a sister. I'll give you a better (probably smaller) estimate after I have my first! Ha ha.

Chelsea: I used to think we’d have 3 kids. But now I have so many new dreams, I’m not sure I can imagine more than 1! Oh, well… we’re not in a hurry. J

What's your favorite colour of nail polish?

Little: Currently, it's Revlon Sweet Tart - Just the right pink for spring.

Chelsea: Nothing beats breaking out the hot pink for summer!

Where would you like to see yourself in 5 years?

Little: I would like to have one kiddo, be in my same job, and working toward buying our dream home.

Chelsea: Gosh, in 5 years I’ll be going on 32. I would love to see that LittleStitch is my full-time job. And maybe we’ve had our one kid. I imagine my hubby at a fulfilling job he loves.

What's your favorite game?

Little: Definitely Phase 10! We have had many fun nights playing this game.

Chelsea: I love games! It’s a toss-up between Uno Attacks, Phase 10 and Farkle! I also love Cranium nights with my family. (If you’d seen my Ma jump over the couch “into the trenches” to re-enact WWII, it’d be your favorite game, too!)

What's the best vacation you've ever been on?

Little: About 3 1/2 years ago, we took a week-long vacation and visited Hilton Head Island, SC. My mom, my brother, Chelsea, and Chelsea's husband came to stay with me and my husband during the week. We hung out on the beach, did a lot of shopping and eating, and went to a Dave Matthews Band concert... It was the best week ever!

Chelsea: I have LOVED every vacation I’ve ever been on… but the most exciting was when my best friend (hi TKL!) and I went to Paris and Florence after we graduated high school. Now Andrew and I are saving up so we can go for our 5-year anniversary next October!

What made you want to start blogging?

Little: I'll let Chelsea handle this one. I'm not the blogger in our business. ;)

Chelsea: When Little and I decided to open our shop, I wanted to share our experiences during this endeavor- and I also hoped we could connect with other new bloggers and shop owners. This is happening and it has been so exciting!

Top three favorite reads {blog, magazine, book, site, whatever...}

Little: Better Homes and Gardens Magazine (I get very excited when my new issue comes in the mail), Joyce Meyer devotionals, and Dan Brown books!

Chelsea: I could read the Harry Potter series over and over and over again. When we do have kids, I’m going to read them Harry Potter before they go to sleep at night. I want them to know that the world is magical.

Any pets?

Little: I have an eight-pound yorkie named Ramsey. He loves rawhide bones and snuggling with his mama and daddy.

Chelsea: We have a cat named Kitty Bug, and two pups named Copper & Penny. Those pups are my world.

What would your ideal date night look like?

Little: Prepare for cheesiness! I would have dinner on the beach followed by a moonlit walk on the edge of the water.

Chelsea: My ideal date night happened last summer. When I was driving home from work, I got a text from my hubby that said, “Just sitting at the docks waiting on my beautiful wife.” I flew through the house and changed out of my work clothes and was at the dock in 10 minutes. There he was, in the boat, with the music going and dinner ordered. We drifted in our favorite cove and talked about all kinds of things and even caught a fish or two, watched the sun go down and then slowly made our way back home. The spontaneity was awesome, the company even better. J I think I’ll keep him.

What would you say is your greatest accomplishment?

Little: The hardest thing that I've ever done is pass the CPA exam. I'm not going to lie... I cried when I found out I passed the last section. I've never felt so relieved!

Chelsea: Is it sad that I can’t really think of anything? I’d like to think that I have many accomplishments in my future.

So did you learn anything new? Any surprises?? I am cracking up right now because My Little Mermaid's "Part of Your World" just came on my Pandora! Little would love it. :)

Happy Tuesday- hope you're all caught up from Springing ahead!

Monday Inspiration

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 13:01:00 +0000

Abe Lincoln Quote by MaryKateMcDevitt on Etsy

We hope you all had a great and productive weekend! Sure could have used that extra hour, darn Daylight Savings. :) Hubby and I have a bad habit of staying up and watching the clock change. Sure wish we hadn't done that this time.

Have a great start to your week!

Psst... Check out more of MaryKateMcDevitt on Etsy... such gorgeous hand lettering.

Guest Post: Kasey of Buttonwood Cottage

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 12:03:00 +0000

Please join us in welcoming Kasey from Buttonwood Cottage for our first ever guest post! You probably recognize her from that cute button over in our sidebar. She is our very first blogging buddy and it has been such a treat getting to know her. Take it away, Kasey!

When I first learned to crochet I made a lot of lumpy, bumpy, uneven, and just plain ugly blankets and scarves. I was queen of the rhombus and trapezoid when I only ever meant to make rectangles and squares. It was a bit humiliating really. But I was SO.EAGER. to make something.

Thankfully all of the friends and family members who were the recipients of my early projects never broke my 8-year-old heart by saying, "What is it?" [I think I need to thank my parents for doing some behind the scenes work to make sure this didn't happen. Thanks you Mom + Dad!]

When Chelsea and Little asked me to write a post about my first project I thought surely I can find something from the early years. Though certainly not my first project. I can't even remember what that was.

I am, however, a frequent purge-er. If the project isn't worth the yarn it's made of it gets frogged* or otherwise disposed of. I did manage to find some pretty fantastic failures and unfinished projects which I hope Chelsea and Little will agree is still in the spirit of this post. So... here they are:

Like I told Chelsea, for every awesome design there are at least 8 failed attempts, probably 2-200 stitches that get ripped out and re-done, oh and well at least 2 waiting works in progress which aren't actually making any progress. Yes that white thing is a shirt. Why yes is is nearly complete. The only thing left to do...attach the sleeves. Except it's so old that it would NEVER fit me these days soo...it sits. The upsidedown smilie face...no clue what that was ever going to be. But I'm certain the arch was supposed to be a rectangle.

And there's what hides in the back of my supply closet.

*frogged is the knitting/crocheting term for ripping out stitches when you find an error in a previous row of work. The term comes from the noise ripping out the stitches makes [ripp, ripp, rippppp, rip, rip, rippp] which sounds like...you guessed it a frog.

A BIG thank you to Kasey for stopping by! Your shop proves you've come a looooong way since your rhombus and trapezoid days! :) (And friends, we're guest-posting over at her blog this evening and sharing the first things we ever stitched, be sure to check it out!)

Take care,

Looking Forward to Spring

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 12:16:00 +0000

Here in middle Georgia, we haven't had much of a winter. (Don't worry, I'm not complaining!) It's hard to believe that daylight savings is just around the corner, and Spring is following quickly after that! Here are a few things we are looking forward to this Spring:

Alumnae Weekend at our Alma Mater, Wesleyan College, is coming up in April and Morgan & I are Co-Chairs for our class's FIVE-year reunion. Five? How has time passed so quickly? We are looking forward to seeing everyone and reliving some very fun times! As an added bonus, the college is hosting a MarketPlace, and we're stitching up a bunch of these bad boys in the class colors to sell:

Taken via Morgan's phone

In May, we are taking our hubbies to Heaven on Earth, also known as Seaside, Florida. We can't wait for a fun long weekend on the beach with lots of relaxing. And it's my pups' first time to the beach! So excited to see them frolic in the sand and play in the waves. :) It's been one of my New Year's Resolutions for the past 2 years to bring them to the beach and we're finally doing it!

Photo taken by Chelsea, Seaside September 2010

We're also looking forward to adding a few new items to the shop, as well as finding new fabrics for our Ramsey Pouf. I'm planning to make some in various sizes for our living room and found these fabrics (right now the upper left is my fave, but it changes hourly, ha!):

All from Fabric.com // Clockwise from top left: 1, 2, 3, 4

So even though Spring got here WAY faster than we anticipated, we're excited for a new season in the weather, our lives, and our shop!

What are you looking forward to this Spring?

P.S.

We're linking up to Gussy's Inspiration Workshop-

This month's prompt is Spring so be sure to check out what everyone links up!

Customer Photo

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 12:16:00 +0000

There is nothing more exciting than positive customer feedback... UNLESS that feedback comes with a photo! And that is how Stephanie made our day. :)

She convo'd (Don't you just love Etsy lingo? My sister has a habit of picking on the word convo now!) us a couple weeks back and said she was interested in our floor poufs, but wanted some that were taller and less wide, preferably 18x11". We were excited to try something new, and these went on Morgan's stitching queue.

Yesterday, Stephanie left us some sweet feedback AND uploaded a photo of her custom pouf!

Stephanie says:

"Thank-You so much for the great customer service and awesome floor pillows/poufs--they are just what I needed (the perfect size for stowing under my coffee table when not in use)! Shipping seemed extremely fast, too. Thanks again gals!"

Don't you just love that room? Stephanie, you have talent! Would you come to my house? And bring that chair.

While we are so sad that we are out of our favorite Ramsey Pouf fabric, we are excited to find something new and re-list them in the shop! Meanwhile, if you are interested in a custom pouf, shoot us a convo (heehee, there it is again!) or an email.

Stephanie, thank you for your sweet words. We have the best customers EVER!