introducing… the little chic sisters apron!

It's here! It's here! Our popular chic sisters apron pattern — in little girl sizes! We are really excited about this design. These little aprons are perfect for cookie-baking day. Or wash day. Or play-at-the-park-but-don't-dirty-your-dress day! Did any of you miss our sneak peek?

the little chic sisters apron ~

And as if that weren't quite enough to make the little chic sisters apron the talk of the town, this apron is sweet… really, really sweet. Because they match mommy's apron, too!

The fabrics we used for these coordinating mommy-daughter aprons are from the Midwest Modern 2 and Dance With Me collections!

Here are the details…

~multi-sized (girl 2/3 XS, 4/5 S, 6/8 M, 10/12 L, & 14/16 XL)

~fully lined bib

~extra long ties (make a bow in the back, or tie them in front!)

~cute slightly-flounced hem

~only $12

~pre-order now, and receive free shipping (just send us an email! We're looking at the next week or so for ship dates.)

The pattern's all done, the instructions are complete, and our cover is on the way. So you shouldn't have to wait too long to get one. Now, for our favorite picture of all…

Leave us some comments, do. We want to know what you think about our little chic sisters apron!

love~ xo, the Long ladies

Extra-special thanks go to our friends, the Pearlstein family, for the lovely photos of Brooke & Ellie. Visit Clayton's blog for more inspiring photography. More on Brooke & Ellie soon… we love these girls!

We have so much to be thankful for.

"Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits… Who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies…. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him." ~Psalm 103: 1-2, 4, & 11

With lots of love and a "Happy Thanksgiving!" from our home to yours~

xo, the Long ladies

Just for the record….

… the lovely sewing room is not always clean. Ahem.

This is the sewing room when you are working-on-47-projects-all-at-the-same time-mode. Hopefully the happy, bright, and tidy sewing room pictures will be up soon! (By the way, the room still is happy and bright, even if it is slightly disorganized.)

A pinch of this, a dash of that.

Hello, hello, to everyone! We hope your Monday has been as cheerful as ours. There are a few little things we'd like to share with you, so here goes…

~Our first ever for-sale happy scrappy twin sized quilt is now up in the store!

~Don't forget all orders over $50 from marie-madeline studio receive free shipping with the discount code CHRISTMAS09 (use it as many times as you like, through the end of the year, and share it with your friends!).

~If you had your heart set on a custom-sewn product (ladies, girls, bags, aprons) for Christmas, please place your order before December 5th. And if you do, we'll knock 10% off the price of your custom item!

~Gorgeous new fabrics from Japan, now at marie-madeline studio! Say hello to Flower Sugar. Does it get any cheerier than this? We're excited to make some emerson skirts out of that lovely border print! Can't you see that turquoise floral with bright red leggings?

~Crystal over at Money Saving Mom is giving away one of our products to five winners! (You get a choice of four different custom-made items!)

~And of course, we plan to keep up our own giveaways, too.

~Kits are coming… our pattern + fabric + any special notion (like buttons for laraine). What do you think about that? Any suggestions?

There's one more thing we just can't wait to tell you. But, that's for another day! Can you say, "new patterns"?

We're of the opinion that nights like tonight call for cozy quilts, baby hugs, and Psalm-singing. Why don't you just stop by and visit awhile?

xoxo, the Long ladies

we like to play with our food.

don’t forget…

…all sewing patterns from marie-madeline studio are 30% off through this Friday! And just think of all the adorable things you could make with them.

Little Miss Mary (It just doesn't get any cuter than this, does it?)~

gracie ruffle skirt in American Retro

Here is Melinda looking lovely (and very winter-y) in her street fair skirt! Pretty Please~

Mary in emerson (flared view)~

Special thanks (and hugs) to the sweet ladies who sent us these wonderful pictures!

Have a happy night, all~

xo, the Long ladies

PS… We'll be back soon, Lord willing, with some super-fun, exciting news! And you'll never guess what all it could be.

beautiful binding.

scenes from a sewing room

Once upon a time, there was a lovely sewing room. Complete with one papered red toile wall, plushy deep red carpet, and a shelf high on one wall, housing pure pretties. It featured a vintage sewing machine, old patterns, bits of trims and lace, old button cards (with the buttons still attached!), and 1940's "Make and Mend for Victory" magazines.

Over time, as the thread selection grew, so did the sewers. Not only that, but the sewers decided to do one of the things they love best (sewing of course!), serve their family, and bless others in the process. Exit mere beauty— enter practicality.

The selection of goodies grew and grew. However, the sewing room stayed small and sweet.

Everyone has a special space for things of their "own". Everyone gets a memo board for tacking things up…. scraps of fabric (selvedges too!), Bible verses and quotes, pictures… anything that strikes their fancies.

Today the sewing room has been reorganized numerous times, in several different ways. The goal: maximum usage! It has been well-loved. We're forever grateful to The Lord for giving us such a lovely room to sew in. We've ripped out many a project in there, put together something new, formed numerous ideas, drafted patterns, cut fabric, sipped from ric-rac glasses, cried a few times, laughed lots, and wrapped Christmas presents in the red toile sewing room.

The sewing room still houses some pretty things. We still keep the decorative "pure pretties" shelf up. We like it that way.

Nana’s Christmas gift

Dear friends,

Our Nana has very lovingly crocheted dozens of these beautiful Christmas-colored dishcloths. She thought you'd like to give them as gifts to your dear ones this year! Aren't they very merry?

But we have a little bit of sad news, too. You see, Nana's having to slow down just a bit more. She went to the eye doctor last week to get new glasses. One of her eyes is blind now, but she's feeling well, by the grace of God! And she can't bring herself to stop, really… so she's just going to take it easy for awhile. Please pray for our Nana. We love her so! All she asks is that the Lord spare her sight, until He takes her home.

You can shop Nana's Limited Edition Christmas palette right over here.

Have a lovely night, surrounded by the people you love most!

xo, the Long ladies

everyday

We have to discuss fabrics when we're talking about what we do everyday! What you see above is a lovely sneak peek of a line coming to our little neck of the woods in December, Lord willing. We are very excited about it and think all of you will Love it.

And while we're on it, we might as well show you this sweet little banner our friend Kaitlyn made for us! Isn't it darling?

Don't laugh, promise? I've been thinking a lot about selvedges lately. I don't know why. They are so cute and really neat, to boot. Besides, isn't there something you can do with them? I'm still thinking. Though I have contemplated saving up enough to make a quilt top.

While we're on the subject of quilts, this is the one I'm working on. It is terribly fun! The pattern makes hand quilting very enjoyable. I don't know when I will actually finish it though. I will try really hard to post pictures when I'm all done. I highly recommend hand quilting during the winter. It keeps you nice and toasty.

And smiling. It is very much a must for everyday life.

Life is full of a lot of everydays. What do your "everyday" days consist of?