Ashley Hackshaw, Author at Ashley Hackshaw / Lil Blue Boo

California Dresses

September 19, 2009 by Ashley Hackshaw

I love how Julie over at Joy’s Hope mixed up the straps on these halter dresses! She made them so fun!

P.S. I’m not just sending you over there to read the nice comments she made about my pattern….Julie made these dresses so cute and unique! I want them!

I’m in the weeds. I love using that phrase. I used it all the time back in my investment banking days. I’ve got a local boutique show “Artisans & Commodities” in a few days. But here is where I am struggling…..my Lil Blue Boo blog has become a place where my painting, sewing, crafting, Lil Golf Girl, homemaking, journaling can come together. Outside of the blog world though it is hard to pinpoint what I do…..am I a painter? am I a crafter? am I a pattern maker? What am I? How do I reconcile all of it into one? What do I take to a boutique? How about everything!

All day I’ve been:

….putting tags onto Lil Golf Girl shirts….

In the weeds lil golf girl shirts via lilblueboo.com

….putting tags on nursery art….

In the weeds nursery art via lilblueboo.com

….pulling out different portraits, nursery paintings to show examples of commissioned work….

In the weeds portraits and paintings via lilblueboo.com

…..sending patterns off to my rockin’ printer Plan-It Reprographics to be printed and bound….

In the weeds patterns via lilblueboo.com

….pulling out signage to make sure it hasn’t been crushed in storage….

Look at these great t-shirt colors I found today. Now all I want to do is some sewing.

In the weeds t-shirt colors via lilblueboo.com

So that is it for today. Sorry, not much new to share. Now I’ve got to take a break….and start getting dinner ready. My sister and fiance are still visiting. I’m off to pick up Sienna and get groceries for fish tacos! Yum!

Have a wonderful Friday night!

The Sienna Dress

September 19, 2009 by Ashley Hackshaw

Update: The Sienna Dress Pattern is now available in the pattern shop! Giveaway winners (jellaan and roseylittlethings) at the bottom of the post! Thanks everyone for the entries and nice comments!

If you’ve followed me for a while you know how much I love using old t-shirts to make clothing for my daughter……but I like to make them with a pattern so the pieces look finished and boutique. I spend weeks and weeks on a pattern to get it just right. I love adding in tons of options to make a pattern versatile and customizable. I love finding ways to use existing seams and hems to minimize the amount of sewing. And then, after a gazillion versions are created in every size by myself and my fabulous testers, I can finally share it:

The Sienna Dress

I love this dress because it is so versatile. Options include: short sleeve, long sleeve, bell sleeve, tapered sleeve, bottom ruffle, and others. Use your old college t-shirts, tie-dye and other knits to make your little girl the coolest wardrobe ever.

Thank you Nicole, Shari, Angie, Deanna, Becky, Lisa, & Leslie for all of your sewing and help with this pattern!

The Sienna Dress is now in the Lil Blue Boo Etsy Shop along with the new Paper Doll Dress pattern. But of course I’ll give away a few first!

You’ll find the giveaway info at the bottom of the post after some cute photos! There were too many cute dresses to show, but check out the Lil Blue Boo Flickr Gallery soon for more!

(Thanks Deanna for the photo!)

The Sienna Dress PDF pattern & tutorial includes:
:: 26 pages of easy to follow step-by-step complete sewing instructions
:: 71 full color images, diagrams and drawings to demonstrate pattern specifics
:: 7 pattern pages which include separate patterns for sizes 6-12M, 2T, 3T, 4T, 5 & 6
:: Options for sleeve lengths and bell sleeves or tapered sleeves
:: Options for customizing your dress by adding a ruffle and adding your own graphics

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED (originally posted 9/15/2009)

The winners of the Sienna Dress Pattern are:

Congratulations jellan and roseylittlethings! I’ll be emailing you the pattern shortly. Thanks to everyone for the all of the entries and all the thoughtful comments. I loved hearing all the t-shirt ideas!