Understanding Positively Posh Skirties
Info to come!
Everything is in the shop!
Oy.
Things in the shop:
1. Our Car (Under Warranty :))
2. Dh’s Grandmother’s car
3. My Laptop JUST came out of the shop — (Under Warranty :))
4. My Serger, in for a free tune up. It is NOT broken, just being fine tuned for the winter rush. It should be back in my hands Weds. morning. I think I am having withdrawl. Is there a serger’s anonymous anywhere? — (Under Warranty:))
Can I just say we LOVE warranties?
On the way to get my comp out of the shop we were borrowing G-Mom’s car (which is older than me–lol) and it broke down! So we were stranded for a quite bit, but were rescued by a combination of AAA and MIL who came to give us a jump but it didn’t work — so we called in the back up. Good thing the car stopped right by Starbuck’s. A skim milk Caramel Macchiato (sp) makes the bumps in life so much easier!
So I will be sending out invoices now! Sorry its so late! 
Tomorrow pics will be coming up! It will be a mostly boyish, if not completely boyish stocking. I know I have been neglecting my boys. I hope to make it up to you! Think Eliot, some Mint Choc Zoo, perhaps some Mighty Mouse! And *gasp* a touch of Volkswagen fabric!
If all goes according to plan! You will be VERY, VERY, VERY happy!
OH! And my custom list will be closing soon. Once I get everything figured out tonight I will determine if it needs to be closed for an indefinite amount of time to prevent any delays!
Consistent perfection at last!
The other night around 1am I finally perfected my wool dyeing technique. I am so happy! I will post pics when I can.
Special thanks to everyone who emailed me to give me tips, each and every single one helped me reach the goal! I love my fellow WAHMs. I feel like you ladies are my co-workers.
Now For Relevant Updates…
The Malden Mills shipment still hasn’t arrived. After I emailed them Monday they confirmed my belief that it was delayed because they had an influx of orders due to the sale. They said they are working as fast as they can. The good news is that once it ships I will receive it quickly because it is on the East Coast as well.Only the second batch of the color pink has worked very well for me. Grey, was mediocre….and the others, and all the subsequent batched, as you can see in the pic above….ehhhh….not so much…lol. So I keep trying, and my wool keeps dwindling and…..hopefully today!
Anywhoo!
Here are pics of the pink wool that HAS worked for me!
The pink is less vivid than it appears on my monitor at least.
As soon as I get the wool dyed correctly then I will be able to get the masculine test packages out and make considerable progress.
I’ve Been Thinking A Lot Lately…
And just needed to get this off my chest.
As you all know my father passed on Father’s Day a few days after surgery. A blood clot went to his lungs and killed him.
On Mother’s Day we went down to Maryland for a Mother’s Day tea, my youngest sister, the 17 year old baby of the family, played the viola (and very well I might add) in an orchestra. The same day my youngest nephew was dedicated during an evening service. The week before that day for some reason I became obsessed with the fact that since everyone would be together for the first time in ages, that we just had to get a photo of the entire family. All 7 children, 2 husbands and 3 out of 4 of the grandchildren. So we all met up at the church and after my precious little Preston was dedicated we gathered around and had this photo taken:
After the service Kris and I were trying to avoid the long car ride home and we were all sitting around and I had this feeling wash over me. My father was sitting across the living room and suddenly a still small voice told me that my father was going to get sick and everything was going to be okay, but that I would need to be strong. Instantly I blocked the thought from my mind. But the feeling didn’t leave.
That Thursday May 15th my father was diagnosed with a degenerative disease in his spine at the nape of his neck, just a few a few days after Mother’s Day. From that day on I think my father knew he was going to die. He called every single person in the family, and cleared the air with them asking if there was anything they needed to discuss. He made it a point to let each child know that he loves us, and was proud of us. He told my mother how much he loved her and what needed to be done if he passed. At the burial site the pastor (who he co-pastored with) even told us that my father told him what to say at the funeral.
A few days before his surgery I was laying across the bed answering emails and the same feeling I had before washed over me again. But this time something told me that my father was going to die but that I needed to be strong. This time the same a peace came over me. A deep peace and I felt like everything was going to be okay. After putting my head down to soak it in, I again ignored it thinking that I am just being dramatic, and that my dad was going to be okay.
The week before my dad died we drove down to spend time with him. The had been instructed to wear a brace on his neck because the bones had degenerated so much that if he had been in a fender bender that he would have been paralyzed. It was difficult to see my father, my hero, encumbered by such an awkward apparatus. He couldn’t turn to the left or the right, he couldn’t bend down. It held him perfectly still. When I came in the house I sat down and talked with him. I couldn’t shake this deep sadness that settled into my being. We all sat around talking and laughing and enjoying each other’s company.
When I had talked to him the day before I told him I would bring it down the next Saturday when we came to see him. He said that’s fine don’t worry about it and that he was glad to be home from the hospital and that he would see me soon.
The day my father died I hadn’t called him yet to say Happy Father’s Day. I hadn’t put his Father’s Day card in the mail. My friend and her husband had come over for dinner and we were just about to clean up and the phone rang and it was my sister Rae. I said, “Oh no! She is calling to say why haven’t you called you father yet.” We all laughed. WHen I answered the phone she told me that Dad had passed out and that mom found him in their master bathroom. They didn’t think he had been breathing but she and my oldest sister had done CPR and that he was in the ambulance on the way to the hospital and everyone was getting in their cars to go. She told me I had to call my younger Brother Jere and let him know.
After hearing what she said I immediately went into shock. I was afraid that all my fears had come true. I ran upstairs to pack followed by my friend Melissa. I was hysterical, and she said go get socks, I got socks and put it in the suitcase, she said go get shirts I went and got shirts and put them in the suitcase. My husband called my brother, and told him we’d pick him up on the way down.
We were out of the house within a half an hour. Driving down to Maryland no one called me. No one text me to tell me my father was okay. The closer we got the heavier my heart became. I text one of my best friends and told her no one called. She text me back some assurance, but told me I shouldn’t call them but to wait until I got to the hospital.
When we got to the red light before the hospital, I called Rae’s phone. My older sister Misha answered. She said come to the emergency room entrance and that I would see everyone there. She didn’t tell me that my dad was okay.
We parked I hopped out, grabbed Gabrielle and walked as fast as I could to the door. It seemed to take forever. When I was halfway there a friend of the family walked out the entrance towards me but she wouldn’t look in my eyes. I said, “Tonya, Tonya, look at me. Look at me. Don’t tell me.” When she finally looked at me she was about 20 yards away. I could tell in her eyes he was dead.
Her eyes were filled with tears and she just shook her head and said “I am sorry, I am sorry.” After that I don’t remember much except trying to scream louder and louder and thinking, “Why can’t I scream any louder to make the pain feel less.”
And then I saw a bunch of nurses running towards us with a wheelchair. After a few seconds I realized the chair was for me and that I had gone into shock. I got myself together and walked into the hospital. My family was there, my aunts, uncles, cousins, my mom-mom who is my dad’s mother. Everyone was full of such sadness. It seemed like a dream. My father looked like he was so peaceful. It was as if he had fallen asleep and wasn’t dead. I kept thinking I saw his chest rise with breathing.
Even after a month his death didn’t seem real to me. I was on auto pilot. It wasn’t until my husband and I went to the retreat where he was supposed to be that it became real. He was supposed to me there not me. He was supposed to be having fun with all of his friends, not Kris and I. It hit me hard in such a way that it took the strength from me. I didn’t have Gabrielle to look after, she was with my mom, I didn’t have my laptop or emails to keep my mind occupied. I just had myself and a deep ache in my heart that I had to face. That weekend my father’s death became real to me and it has been real ever since. I can’t ignore it, I can’t deny it I have to face it, and its been hard. But I have been making it through.
This year has been the hardest year of my life. When I married I was in graduate school with the intent of becoming a Professor of Art or African American Art History. A month after being married I was accidentally pregnant. I fought with God asking him why he was taking my goals away from me at this time. I had been commuting to D.C. to go to classes and critiques. When I was pregnant I kept getting into fender benders (2 ~ I have no idea why….lol) But it made it unsafe for me to drive back and forth. I decided to start my own business and fell in love with cloth diapering so I decided to take this huge plunge. It has been the biggest roller coaster of my life. I have learned so incredibly much this year. I have made plenty mistakes, but I have learned from them, and I continue to learn more each day.
I have become stronger because of the hurdles, more loving because of my daughter and husband and tougher because of the trails. It has been a hard journey but its been worth the obstacles.
At the hospital when my dad died the Pastor, his best friend, said that my father’s favorite hymn was, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” so he prayed and we all sang a verse of that hymn. That song reminded us that though we are not in control, God is. He knows our every trouble and will carry every single burden. My favorite version of this song was recorded by Mahalia Jackson. I just wanted to share this song with you and I hope that it will comfort you as it has comforted me, and my father when he was alive.
Dyeing has halted ~ Waiting for Salt to Arrive Tomorrow
Once it gets here dyeing will be up and running again. 
As always, thank you for your patience. I have a 5lb bag coming so I shouldn’t run out again anytime soon.
I am still working on getting the dye for the masculine colors to work. I promise I will master it soon. I switched the dye formula from one shot and didn’t expect such a learning curve. *blush*
Pics…..
Action shots of the jeans. I plan on adding more room to the back and legs.
Tired mommy and Gabrielle on the stoop by Deekie, Gabs great-grandmother’s house. Only one hour till her bed time….lol.
How The Skirt Detatches
I didn’t have a chance to upload these before I left.
I am back in action.
These are awaiting cuffs and waistbands.
Here are pics of the jean shorts with a hidden panel of wool to help prevent wicking when worn over wool. They are made with a light weight stretch denim with extra room for a fluffy diaper underneath.
Action shots of the skirt and soaker. Gabrielle was wearing it all day. She even tried to put the skirt back on by herself when I was tryign to take shots of the soaker. She is wearing a large soaker over a medium My Precious Baby By April. In my opinion the diaper is similar in size to her Haute Pockets when they are double stuffed.
She is very tall and thin.
(Please excuse the crushed cheerios on her bottom. And also the blurry photos is almost impossible to get her to be still….lol)
Notice how the back does not rise considerably more than the front. Them hems are practically even despite the extra fluffy diaper underneath. I have to adjust it a bit more to make it exactly right.
Notice the trim fit of the waist.
Much awaited photos!!!
So I have to accept it. The other night put me behind. I will be shipping on Friday instead of Thursday as much as I tried to fight it, I couldn’t win.
But here are a few very, very quick shots. It goes way faster with bluetooth than with the ol’ cord.
Wool/Knit Skirt Combo ~ Skirt is removable
High Cut Soaker
And guess how much I love you?
I love you enough to put the soaker on Gabrielle while she is sleeping. And THEN risk putting on the skirt as well for action shots, even though she is sleeping. She is wearing a double stuffed Haute Pocket with a Bamboo doubler. So her booty is fluffy. And then I even rolled her left and right a tad for better photos. As Kris said, “You are playing with fire!”. But I won.
Diaper w/o cover.
And with the skirt!!
And…………….back to work!