This Weekend...

$10 off all Fabulous bags!

$10 off all Jumbo Glam bags!

$5 off everything else.

(This offer does not apply to TS patterns, wallets, diaper packs, or accessory pouches)

Meet Katie!

We're quickly approaching Sawyer's 2nd Birthday and it's amazing to me to look at just how far we've come. Since Sawyer's diagnosis we've had the craziest ride of our lives, but things really seem to be settling down. Even though I have Achondroplasia myself, it was still such a shock when Sawyer was born and I new quickly that I needed support. I remember getting online and googling "Achondroplasia moms" and suddenly I was introduced into a whole new world of mothers...well, friends now. One of which that I stumbled across is Katie. When I was doing the fundraiser for Shriners Katie offered her support by designing an entire blog for me. And since then, she's created my TS blog design, which I looove!
My goal on this blog isn't just to sell patterns and bags, but it's also to help mothers see that everyone has something that they're going through and with that we all have talents to share.

This is Katie's story:

I've always been a craft person growing up! I loved to scrapbook since high school. After having my son Cole and finding out he has achondroplasia I was sort of thrown into a whole new world. I was introduced to the blogging community through another mom with an achondroplasia child. I decided to give it [blogging] a try and the rest is history. I'm completely self taught and have spent many hours learning about blog design. I still have so much to learn, but I completely love it! As I said before my husband and I have one son named Cole. He was born with a skeletal dysplasia called Achondroplasia, which is the most common form of dwarfism. We were completely shocked to find out half way through my pregnancy that there was a big possibility that our child would be a little person. Does it run in our family? No. 80% of all cases of Achondroplasia are babies born to average height adults. There was a gene mutated at conception which caused Cole to have this condition. We love him so much and he has opened the door to a whole new world to us. I have countless numbers of friends with people I would have never known. It's a great community and we call ourselves family.
So go check out her blog, the Polka Dot Pig, shop around, and while you're there grab her button!

Quilting? Seriously?

Dear Readers,
Let me explain something...Quilting and sewing a bag are two entirely different things. As most of you know, I purchased my first quilt pattern the other day and decided to give it a go. While I sit in my sewing room and stare at these tiny little squares that I just spent hours cutting out, I wonder if I will ever finish this. It's slowly becoming adorable. And I love the fact that I have only used scraps so far. But it's a lot like doing a puzzle, whereas sewing a bag is more like fixing something. Roni is texting me, "haha's" every 5 minutes, but I know that I will push through this. I will get this done! And it will be look amazing hanging in my living room...I hope...maybe...please?
Also, I whipped this up the other day. This bag has been a hit with the moms out there. The size-versatility seems to really work in our favor! Watch for the pattern this fall!

Looking Up

Let's start by saying that I can't even remember what's happened this week. I've had telephone conversations and email discussions that I simply didn't even know I had. If you know me then you know that every year about this time, something totally crazy and expensive happens in our home...surgery or operations of some sort. EVERY YEAR!
2005 I had Ruger c-section,
2006 I had my gallbladder removed,
2007 I had Sawyer c-section,
2008 Ruger had his tonsils removed,
2009 I had knee surgery (something with my knee cap and tendons and such). I don't even ask anymore, I just say, "Fix it, so I can move on with life!" Granted, the babies are much more than operations and such, but it's just how everything falls right into place. I think Jason and I are just being reminded that we need to slow down and appreciate what we have. Anyway, my knee is well on its way to recovery, my children are taking complete advantage of having Grandma and Grandpa K. in town, and I'm anxious to get in the sewing groove again. I just bought my first quilt pattern (Pint-Sized by Thimble Blossoms) and I am so excited to start! My living room is in desperate need of coziness and I thought a quilt would be the perfect solution. Wish me luck on my new adventure!

A Glimpse...

This is my sewing space. I haven't had this room for more than just a few months. It started out as a nursery for Ruger, but since then we've had to rearrange our sleeping arrangements. There's another room in our house that was planned to be my room, but it's still under construction and I simply couldn't wait any longer. I've been sewing in a tiny little corner in our basement and things were just getting out of control, so I took our spare bedroom and made it my own. It's not done yet, there's a lot that I'd like to add to it, but I'm not complaining it's really been the greatest thing for me and my family.
This is the spot where I keep all of my important things, like patterns, ribbons, fabrics for bag orders and such. The flowers were made by Ruger. He gave them to me for Mother's Day and the wrought-iron purse was given to me for my birthday from Roni.

My kids like to always be close to me. So we put a love seat and small TV in there so they would feel welcome to hang out with me while I sewed.

I love this table! We found it at a yard sale for $25. It's Crate and Barrell...can't beat that!

This is the closet that hides everything else. Like bags and fabrics and such. Our home was built in 1928 and it still has many of the original doorknobs on it. You can't find them like this in stores, trust me I've looked. They have similar ones, but they're not like these. So that's my room. It's not much, but it's mine and that's what I love. There's enough room for my friends to hang out a sew all night long...we really do that! We stack the table with chocolate and soda, line up our machines, spread out, and talk the night away. I highly recommend doing this regularly, it's a great stress reliever.

Whew! That was tough!

I've now discovered why it's called a throwdown. Remember last season on The Next Food Network Star how they made everyone make an original dish for the competition, using random ingredients? And then the winner got to have their recipe on the Red Lobster menu? Well, I think that Kelsey Nixon (BTW, I almost know her, she's my brother's sister-in-law) won because she knew just the right ingredients to select. That's what I think of my two throwdown winners. The first place winner of the Jumbo Glam Bag is AMY HAMBERLIN:

I loooove this bag, especially the Daisy Duke-ish pockets! They're so clever! She came over to sew the night that Roni and I made ours, and I had no idea what she was doing. I just kept gazing over my shoulder wondering what she was going to do with all those pieces and then this was what she finished with! Cute huh?

And the second place winner was Jennifer:

She designed a little backpack for her boy. I thought it was darling with the straps that have little bows on the end and the handprint. She even quilted part of it! Congratulations girls! You can email me to claim your prize. Also thanks to everyone else who participated. This was a tough challenge and I was thrilled that their were so many participants...we had 19 people sign up! WOW! There were also a lot of beginners that did exceptionally well...I hope that this has encouraged you to try some more bags!

I'll Be Seeing You...

So here's the truth. People make fun of us for being best friends, probably because we're no longer 13. But we didn't know each other back then, so that's just not fair, we have to be friends now! I've learned a lot about myself since I met Roni and she's taught me so many things, like:

• Never leaving Old Navy without purchasing several bouncy balls for my children's entertainment.
• Opening crackers in the grocery store before purchasing them (I know I'm going to pay for them, but the whole idea that I haven't purchased them yet is still a little foreign to me).
• Always trusting my advice, because I'm always right!
• Fraying my jeans and cuffing them (We know we look rediculous...people tell us that, but it's comfortable).
• Haggling at yard sales.
• Always looking for our initials or names on key chains or decor.
• Sneaking ziplock bags of popcorn and soda into the movie theater.
• Calling Roin's mom at all hours of the night for quilt measurements (we're not very good at that) and Kay, you work for me now, so there's no escaping me!
• Thinking we're hilarious, even though we're not.
• Standing up for myself and refusing to be pushed around.
• The MSG...Apparently that's just what we are! HA!
• Throwing stupid Halloween Parties (actually I may never do that again).
• Keeping up on HSM and Hannah Montana just so I can understand her conversations with Emma.
• Hershey's Cookies and Cream and Diet Soda!
• Huge sunglasses.
• Children's clearance sections.
• We're totally different, but completley the same. For example, I dream of being a Rock Star, whereas she dreams of being a Vampire. It's not the dream that brings us together, it's the fact that we dream!

Four years ago she taught me how to sew my very first bag, and clearly that was a great lesson for me to learn. She also gave me some rediculously amazing fabric for Christmas last year and I made that into the Glam Bag...imagine where I'd be without that bag? I think people are in our lives for a reason and clearly Roni's made a significant difference in mine. So even though I kicked her trash in the bag competition, let's not forget who brought me to where I am today! I love you Roni and this town is totally boring and lame without you! Come home soon!

BAG A: Roni BAG B: Tiffany

BTW, throwdown bags are due today and I must say we have some serious competition on our hands so far!