Monday Mumblings

Here I am again, mumbling on Monday morning (well, I guess it's technically Monday afternoon as of 6 minutes ago, but who's counting, right?) This past weekend was quite eventful for me. We decided to have an impromptu party at our house to celebrate our child-free status. It started out as a small dinner party... only 7 of us, very quaint, but it ended up lasting ALL NIGHT... and I mean... we finally went to bed as the sun was rising... eeek! It was awesome, though. We hadn't partied like that since, well, 1999... LOL!!! Seriously, that was the year before we got married and started having kids and became... old. ;)

Showing off our "Travel Toes" (Clockwise from top: Briana, Danielle, Patty & Caty)

As an appetizer, I made ceviche (which was a HUGE hit!), guacamole and shrimp cocktail and served them with some awesome lime-flavored tortilla chips from Whole Foods Market. We also planned to grill chicken breasts and serve them with rice, salad & French bread, but the chicks all got so full from pigging out on the appetizers that we decided not to partake in dinner... so the guys decided to grill beef franks for themselves instead. Fine with us.

The party was also a way to debut Jon's newest beer brew... a Belgian-style Witte. It was awesome! His best batch yet, IMO. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that I made my Key Lime Pie for dessert but this time I poured the mixture into individual size graham cracker crusts... so cute! A great time was had by all!

I spent the rest of the weekend recovering from this and cleaning and by the time I got back to my email I had an inbox full of Cook It. Blog It! requests... which, by the way, if you guys are reading this, all new requests have been added. I don't even know how many members we have now... over 40, I'm sure. I'm too lazy to count right now, but I am thrilled nonetheless that you guys all love it so much. Most of the newer members are avid cooks, judging by the looks of your blogs, so I am so excited to have ya.

I was also thrilled to find out -- through your hilarious comments -- that there are lots of you out there who also have a "water-drinking-issue", as I like to call it. Read my last blog entry to know what I mean by this. Not that I wish this on anyone out there, but you know what I mean, it's always comforting to know that you are not the only weirdo out there. ;)

I also had a couple of new sales on my Etsy store over the weekend... WOOHOO! It's always great to come back to unexpected money in your Paypal account. This motivated me to get my butt in gear and list the 2 travel items I made for my mom (which she LOVED, by the way) on my Etsy store this morning.

I listed this super-cute sleep eye mask that reverses out to a solid navy blue in case the man in your life wants to use it too and he's to embarrased to sport Marimekko flowers on his face. ;)
Find it here.


I also listed my travel pillow design. I used it on the way down to Florida last week (shhhh... don't tell my mom!) and it was HEAVEN! Get yourself one here.


And finally, since this was such an awesome gift for my mom, I decided that some of you may want to give these as gifts too, so I listed it as a COMBO Pack with a discount... check it out here.


And as I was listing all these goodies, I remembered that I had forgotten to tell you guys about my mom's newest awesome purses! OMG, these are soooo cute. I already have my favorite in sight, but I will let you guys decide before I taint your decision.
She has created a new version of my favorite Amy Butler purse in a different colorway (which. by the way, I still get tons of compliments on every time I wear it out)... I'm not sure which I like better.


Plus added a couple of new designs to her collection. These are ready-made & ready to ship, so get yours here!

I think that is it for my Monday "Morning" Mumblings. This week I will be sewing a couple of orders from my Etsy sales, getting my packages ready for the two winners of my Anniversary Contest (sorry for the delay, girls! they will be on their way to you very soon, I promise!!!) and hopefully, hopefully (fingers & toes crossed) proofing my first round of Andalucia strike-offs. Yup, they are not here yet, but Kathy assures me they will arrive before Sophie & Sydney get back... let's hope so. I am dying to share with the world!

Happy Monday, Everyone!!!

HUGE Marimekko Sale!

As I was in the car traveling down to St. Louis I received an email from the folks at Always Mod, the Marimekko Blog, giving me a sneak peek of a HUGE sale on all Marimekko goods. OMG! Soooo awesome! What a great way to kill 3 hrs. of road travel... perusing through their awesome SALE! They asked me if I could share with my blog readers and I wish I could have done that right then & there, but as I said, I was in the car, reading email on my iPhone (whatever did I do before it?). And our short trip was so packed with activities that I just didn't have the time to blog (plus, it's really hard to blog on my iPhone and since my Mac is not portable and I hate using Jon's laptop, I decided to wait till I got home.) Sorry.

But do check out their sale! Here are the details:

• Our biggest Marimekko sale ever
• Almost all Marimekko items we have are on sale (over 900 products, including over 200 fabrics)
• July 1st- July 15th or while supplies last
• 20-40% off
• Sale page http://www.alwaysmod.com/sale.html

I could seriously go broke on that site! I already spotted some towels & kitchenware I absolutely must have. Eeeeek!

OK, on to some other stuff... I just returned from St. Louis and OMG I have so much to share! We leave for FL tomorrow morning and I have to pack and get everything ready but I seriously could do about 10 blog posts today! How can I extend the hours of this day??? Jon told me to just upload all my pictures into my Flickr account and blog while I am in FL. I might do that... we'll see. But I hope to at least do 1 more posting before I leave. If time permits.

Off to do some last -minute laundry, pack and try to squeeze in a pedicure. Hope to see you again tonight (or maybe very early tomorrow morning!) you know i never sleep...

Always Mod

These past two weeks have been an emotional rollercoaster for me. After the thrill of attending Quilt Market last weekend and meeting up with so many old friends, I've had to force myself to jump back into the flow of things, wearing the big hats of mommy, clothing designer and textile designer. Which, speaking of the latter, we are in the final, final steps of the fabric design process and I should be able to show you some sneaks very, very soon!

But what brings me to this posting today is something that I am still a bit choked up about. The folks at Always Mod, an authorized retailer of Marimekko, run this awesome blog which showcases new products and design ideas and shares history and news on the company. Well, a few days ago, they contacted me and asked if they could feature my Etsy shop on their blog! (OMG, right?) I was like.... "Uhm, let me think about it for a sec... YES, YES, YES!"

Well, the feature is up today and WOW, what a feature! They have 5 large photos from my Blüm Collection up on their site and a very nice write up.

Click here to go to the Always Mod blog and here for their online store... such YUMMY stuff! Or click here to check out Marimekko's website... always such a treat for the eyes!

Thank you to the Always Mod staff for taking notice of little ol' me and for that amazing feature... I still can't believe it! :)

I missed Bernie's 30th Birthday!

My sweet and loyal Bernie turned the big 3-0 on April Fool's Day and I totally forgot to celebrate her. I was too busy playing our little boutique prank and having my 1-day sale and it just escaped me. But I will make it up to her this weekend as we will be spending lots of quality on-on-one time again. Jon took the kids to Chicago so I could catch up on my Etsy orders. Of course I am still allowed a few minutes of computer break every now & then, so I wanted to come here and share what's been going on. First, check out this hilarious message at the bottom of Bernie's sales receipt:

If you can't read it on the picture, it says: In the event of mechanical problems, place the machine in a Greyhound Bus, directing it to Alt's, 335 North Ashland Avenue, Green Bay, Wisconsin. Alt's will pay the cartage both ways and we will not charge anything for a period of five years.

A greyhound bus? WTF?!? Well, my FIL tells me that Bernie has never had to take that fateful bus ride and as long as she's been with me she has never had a malfunction (I have but she hasn't). So I really think Bernie has super powers.

This weekend, actually Bernie will get a bit of a break because I am sewing with knits and will be using Baby for most of the construction. Bernie will only be there for hemming and sewing on the tags, etc.

Want a little peek into my madness? Here's what my studio wall looks like right now. Not very pretty but keeps me organized and focused.


My cutting table looked like this yesterday morning, now they are all packaged and ready to ship.


I received a new shipment of Marimekko fabric yesterday and thought it looked just so sweet all piled together like this. I *heart* fabric so much I could just stare at it all day! LOL! Oh, and for those of you who've been keeping up with my Marimekko clothing designs, YES, that's a new print there (new to me) second from the bottom. It's the KIVET dots in hot pink & white. YUMMY!!! I'll be making some stuff out of this and other coordinates as soon as my pile of work is back to a manageable size.


Now I'll leave you with a fun close-up of some rolled hems. Jon thought this looked like a can-can skirt (It's actually 4 of my KIVET twirl skirts piled on top of one another!):


***adding to my post***

So, this is what $21.75 worth of sushi looks like:


Yes, my family is still in Chicago. This was just for me. I bought this much because I intended to eat half of it tonight for dinner and the other half tomorrow for lunch. But I parked my ass in front of the T.V. and watched an old episode of Project Runway that I had DVR'ed and next thing you know I'm plucking away at an empty take-out container with my chopsticks! Well, there goes my plan to lose 10 lbs. by Quilt Market! pfft

BLüM is blooming!

So, why is Sydney perched so adorably in the Om position, you might ask? I will answer that question in a bit. But first of all I wanted to thank you all for the Blüm love ... thanks for all the sweet comments on my last posting and for all the convos on Etsy and of course, for all the orders. I am just ecstatic that you guys liked the collection as much as I do. There's something about this line that just felt right from the very beginning and I don't think I had ever sewn with such a big smile on my face before... LOL!

But the weirdest part of all is that I usually love making my original designs but when I have to re-create them for a custom order, I ... well ... let's just say, I'm not quite as enthralled with them. ;) But this time it was different. I enjoyed sewing the custom orders as much as the originals. How weird is that?!? I'm telling you... there's just something about this Marimekko fabric that just puts a little extra spring in my step. The MODKID Studio (and consequently the MODKID house) is positively blooming with BLüM right now... there are fabric rolls, pattern pieces, scraps and what-not strewn all over the place, but yet... I'm STILL happy! And even more happy to report that all orders placed by last Friday are finished, packed and shipped! WOOHOO! Check out the fruits of my labor:



So, if you are one of the first few customers to order some BLUM, you will have your sweet pieces in your hands before the end of the week as I shipped everything via Priority Mail.

And as if sewing all those orders wasn't labor-intensive enough, somehow I mustered the energy to create a whole other collection that is somewhat related to BLüM -- like a super cute, health-conscious, fashion-forward younger step-sister. And here my friends is where our tour makes a full circle back to the beginning and we address Sydney's meditative state. Well, my little ball of energy is taking a few seconds out of her busy schedule to reflect on MODKID's latest collection... YOGA BABY.


I created a new line of Yoga pants that are completely customizable and very affordable! These have a double knit waistband with no elastic, so they are super soft and comfy!

There are 8 styles/colors to choose from and since each pair is made-to-order, you can fully customize it... want it shorter or longer? appliques? no appliques? the possibilities are endless. And at such a low price, you could even get a couple of different styles! These would look great with a plain tee and, of course, are a perfect match to the BLüM Collection tops in my Etsy shop.

Check them out!


JUST A QUICK UPDATE: I am fresh out of the solid raspberry knit, so I have removed the raspberry flare-legged pants off my store (so sorry). I do have some remnants that can be used to make the raspberry tie-strap top and possibly a small twirl skirt, but definitely not enough for pants. Also, I only have enough of the raspberry/grape stripe to make a very small pair of custom pants (maybe up to a size 2T). And one last note, I have received a few inquiries for size 6 & 6X items, and just wanted to tell you that yes, if I have enough fabric, I can make these in that size for $2.00 extra plus adjusted shipping charges. Convo me to inquire about a specific item and I'd be glad to set up a listing for you. That's it! :)

ANOTHER UPDATE: I sold another one of those raspberry tie-strap tops this morning so now the raspberry fabric is all gone and I have taken that item out of my store as well. :( But the good news is that I found a fabric online that looks like it will be a good match (crossing fingers) so when it arrives I will relist the items if it indeed is a match... you never know when looking at pictures on your computer screen. Thanks for all the orders, ladies! :)

MODKID Meets Marimekko

I've had a long-term love affair with all things Marimekko, so of course when I came across these gorgeous knit fabrics made from their famous UNIKKO design from 1964, I just had to have them! The epitome of MOD. And what better occasion to showcase my new collection than during LimeVine's first ever Etsy-only launch.... appropriately titled KnitWits?

The BLUM Spring Collection 2008 by MODKID was inspired by the modern simplicity of Scandinavian design. Using solid knits in vibrant colors paired up with authentic Marimekko fabrics, these pieces are easy to wear and make a statement wherever you go.

There are currently 10 mix & match pieces in the BLUM Collection. All items will be made-to-order, so please allow 10 – 14 days for construction and delivery of your custom-made MODKID item.



Click HERE to view the entire BLUM collection.

Click HERE to view all the gorgeous "knit" pieces from my talented groupmates.