Back in the Groove

Here are my 3 beauties on the first day of 1st, 5th and 6th grades.
Ava and Gentry assumed their natural positions on either side of Tatum as we walked her to her classroom door. Tatum was feeling a little self-conscious with the whole posse there, and it was immediately after I snapped this photo that she turned around and declared to me, "No flash photography!". I tried to be discreet after that. No photos of the big girls at middle school -- boo.
Tye even left late for work so he could fix omelets for breakfast (and reluctantly have his picture taken). They were a hit. I think we may have found a new first day of school tradition.
Following the back-to-school theme, here's a spirit shirt I recently shipped.
This first week of school craziness is eating my lunch as far as sewing is concerned. I'm not leaving my house today so I can get some orders out that have been in-process for a while. If you're considering placing an order, my turnaround time is about 4 weeks. If you want Halloween shirts, please place your order now. I have some new designs I'll post soon.

Boy Gift Sets

Chevron. It's my new addiction. I also like this fun new stacked monogram design I recently added.
I made this next gift set for a silent auction, which I love to do whenever I get the opportunity, but it presents a bit of a challenge because I don't have a name to work with. I went with the sock monkey theme again and paired it with a gray chevron pattern. I hope it goes for big bucks.

I have name pillows coming out of my ears that are shipping tomorrow. These are just some of them. Anyone have a forklift I can borrow?

New Item!

I'm adding a new pillow design to my repertoire! The applique name pillows continue to do well, and please keep ordering lots more, but they serve more of a decorative purpose than a practical one. This new pillow style (I haven't thought of a catchy name yet) is meant to be used by little sleepy people -- slept on, drooled on, stuffed in a backpack for pre-school nap time, taken along for trips in the car and thrown in the washing machine (pillowcase only). The pillow measures 12" by 16" and is included with the custom pillowcase. You choose your fabric, font and closure style. Here are a few sample designs.

My nieces love to lay on their traditional pillowcase-style while they watch their favorite movie, or even to sleep on at night.


Tatum requested a dark pink minky with white monogram. I gave hers a wide grograin ribbon tie closure.

 Gentry opted for a 3-initial monogram on pale pink minky with no ribbon.
Ava, always one to blaze her own trail, asked for black minky, a bold font to coordinate with her new asparagus walls...
 and a back opening.
Then just for fun we designed a couple more for some friends and family. Here is Maci's with a bold red font and damask ribbon
 and Lyla's, with giraffe minky and hot pink ribbon.
Because these come with the pillow inserts, they are $25. If you only want the pillowcase, it's $15. Also, if you've been shocked at the shipping cost of the larger name pillow, I KNOW, it's ridiculous, but the dimensions just won't let me do it any cheaper way, and sometimes I still come out short. These smaller pillows will be more budget-friendly to ship. Mini pillow? Petite pillow? Help me out here.

Chevron Personalized Shirts

I've seen this chevron pattern everywhere lately, and love the punch it gives a plain white t-shirt. I'm thinking of doing one for Tatum for the first day of school, but she hasn't given me the okay for a "homemade" shirt yet. Her sisters have already picked out their first day outfits and they are all store-bought, of course. The big 1st-grader has to be cool too. These are for my sweet nieces, one of whom is starting kindergarten in a couple of weeks, and the other who just celebrated her big 4th birthday.


I've been buried under a pile of white chenille from the large fabric shipment I received a few days ago, and white fluff is all over the place. Name pillows are churning out daily, and I'm almost caught up with summer orders. I made my first post office run since June, and the friendly clerk seemed genuinely happy to see "The Zebra Lady" again. I'm back in full swing, with my sewing hours being mostly between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. until my girls go back to school in a week. *Take a deep breath* I'm diving back in.

Classic Baby Gift Sets

A friend of mine recently had a baby boy and I wanted to make her something special. I don't know what the nursery looks like but she is a "classic" kind of person so I went with a sock monkey theme. I found the fabric first, coordinated it with the grays, and then found the miniature stuffed monkey as I was about to check out. A traditional but whimsical gift set!
 Here's the back of the bib -- it's reversible. See the cute little monkeys dancing around?
And I love this sweet little pink dress applique with gray gingham trim for Haven. Holly, I'm sorry the hanger is turned the wrong way!

Name Pillows

Here are some recently-shipped pillows. I love the calm combination of ocean blue and green for Aiden. I'm getting lots of requests for ocean blue color palettes for baby boy pillows. I think I'll need to stock up on these fabrics.

 This crisp navy and lime green one matches this bedding from Target.
 This baby girl's name will be Dorothy, but will be called Dot. Cutest nickname ever.

So I haven't even officially opened back up for orders and I'm already backed up. If you emailed me over the summer and I put you on hold, please send me a reminder email so I don't forget you. I'm going to catch up on those orders before I complete new ones. Please feel free to email me with any new orders, but it may take me a little longer to get them completed. Thanks so much for your understanding. I have some new products I've been working on this summer, and I'm excited to debut them soon!

Baby Gift Sets

I'm organizing my sewing room and stocking up on new fabrics (get ready to see a whole lot of chevron!) so I can resume taking orders later this week. If you've emailed me within the last week or so, I'm holding your order and will send you an invoice soon. If you placed an order earlier in the summer, you might want to send me a reminder email, just so yours doesn't fall through the cracks.  
 I LOVE this orange chevron pumpkin design. Fall can't get here soon enough.