Achaia’s louLOUthi…

To say that I love Anna Maria Horner's new Loulouthi fabric line would be a complete understatement. I was so smitten with it when the bolts arrived that I knew something sewn was definately in order! So…. enter my very new Loulouthi top and voile skirt!

Oh, and I must make an introduction (it's only fair). See the pretty horse I'm riding–er–sitting on? That's Meagan. She's 24 years old and as nice as pie. Meagan isn't very fond of the camera, so she really deserves a medal for standing it long enough so we could get some pictures with her pretty self in them! And, of course, being a girl, I can't resist saying how much we (insert girls) love her bridle. The silver rings and braided leather is so pretty.

Abigail had made a top like this before, but I never had. I like it so much. I'm not really sure that I followed the exact instructions on how to make the pleats, but that's alright. It turned out perfectly great.

And Abiah gets all the sweet words for letting me borrow her new-to-her-vintage boots. She's only worn them once, and she let ME wear them! Isn't she a doll?

Oh, and here I am showing off my nice seamstress thumb, now all taped up so the nail doesn't fall off. Isn't life peachy??!!

Much love~ Achaia xx

take two

Here is our sweet little friend Darison modeling her torrance dress! Isn't she a doll? This is the second view we told you about. Just a simple skirt with a ruffle at the hem… or, you can leave the ruffle off completely for a simple knee-length torrance dress.

And the tulle petticoat? That was just for fun. (Kind of a last-minute brainstorm, you know.) But if you like it, we may just post a tutorial here on the blog!

Make-believe lemonade…

Little matching toes…

Playing catch…

A fun day! And Darison topped it off with chocolate ice cream afterwards.

We love summer!

xo, the Long ladies

These fabrics are from the England Swings collection by Rebekah Merkle. It might just be our new favorite! We love mixing red and hot pink…

a peek between seams.

torrance. (all the details!)

Here she is again! We're over-the-top excited about this little dress. Thank you SO much for all your sweet comments. You ladies are the best!!! First off, this version of the torrance was made out of Tanya Whelan's Delilah fabrics…

And the adorable pink flower buttons? Hopefully you'll see them up in the store really soon!

We wanted to tell you a little bit more about torrance, and share some pictures, too. Do you mind the bullet version?

– This dress is view A of the torrance. Photos of view B are coming soon!

- Simple to sew, without button holes or zippers. We borrowed the very popular button-and-loop back closure from anaclaire for torrance.

– Easy fitting bodice with dropped shoulder seams and back knotted ties.

– Each pattern envelope contains sizes 2/3 through 14/16, full-size pattern pieces, and fully illustrated instructions.

– We hope to have these patterns shipping by the end of July. (But we're trying so hard to have them ready before then, of course.)

– $14

– Want to pre-order? Please just shoot us an email at mariemadeline@netins.net. (And then, when the pattern is ready to go, we'll give you free shipping.)

You can see more pictures right over here!

Lots of love,

the Long ladies

welcoming torrance!

Here she is… our newest design for little girls! We're so excited about the torrance dress. It's sweet and simple and comfy to wear, with a swingy tiered skirt and an easy button-and-loop back closure!

We named this special dress after our best friend's beautiful mother, Torrance, who passed away when her daughter was seven. Now this little dress is being modeled by Torrance's seven-year-old granddaughter… our sweet Sarah Grace! Torrance will never know her grandchildren, but they know her. And she inspires us, too.

We'll be back soon, with more details and fun pictures. But of course we have to know what you think!

Love, the Long ladies

we’re teasing you today…

But something fun is coming!

Quilt making….

Along with the million and one other things we've been knee deep in this week, we've been working on the Joplin Quilt Project. Thank you so much to all the wonderful ladies who have sent fabric! We're bundling everything up right now, and hopefully will have it ready to send out next week. Kristie (Mom) worked on putting together a few ideas for quilt patterns… here they are! If anyone has any questions, please just let us know!

So sorry for the quietness around here— 50+ acres of hay does that. Lord willing we'll be back regularly soon! xxx the Long ladies

some places we love…

FRIENDS~

ah, the life {encouragement from Kelly & Andrea Reins}

Bramblewood Fashion {vintage-style fashion from our friends Ashley & Gabrielle}

Life in a Shoe {some of our funniest pals}

Simply Vintagegirl {our friend Emily Rose and her beautiful photography}

A Bowl of Moss and Pebbles {our artist-friend Breezy}

Sew Pretty Dresses {Jenny, who we love a lot, and who could also be our aunt or sister}

Joyful Momma {Kimberly Eddy, who is our amazing website lady and friend}

Of Pigtails & Dinosaurs {our dear friend Brooke}

No Big Dill {one of our favorite blogs – Katy has lots of girls, too!}

BIBLICAL WOMANHOOD~

Sense and Sensibility Patterns – period patterns from Jennie Chancey

Visionary Daughters – Anna Sofia & Elizabeth Botkin

Money Saving Mom – Crystal Paine

Raising Homemakers

Keeper of the Home

ARTISTS & CRAFTERS~

Sis Boom– Jennifer Paganelli

Grand Revival Design– Tanya Whelan

Anna Maria Horner

Portabello Pixie – Sandi Henderson

Stop Staring and Start Sewing– Jona G.

Hello, My Name is Heather – Heather Bailey

Pam Kitty Morning

Fastenation Studio – Hannah’s adorable handmade buttons

EVERYONE ELSE~

Easy Recipes – Easy, yummy recipes, and all the great stuff that goes along with it!

We do not necessarily agree with all the views expressed on these blogs and/or websites. But they are some of our favorites to browse for encouragement, smiles, or inspiration!

the seamstress’s thumb

By: Achaia Victoria

Ah, yes. It all started on a busy Saturday, when the studio was covered in fabric and pens, and patterns, and more fabric, and boxes to be shipped. (Along with the usual belongs-in-the-studio-but-doesn't-really-belong-in-the-studio-stuff. You know, the Monopoly game board, an assortment of books, etc.) Oh! We can't forget scissors and pins and rotary cutters. Ahem. That's when it all began.

A particular seamstress— no name given, you can just fill in the blank with the writer of this post —-was plugging away, cutting fabric. We were having a good sale, and orders HAD to be cut (and no dawdling). Well, who would have guessed that the rotary cutter wouldn't follow it's supposed-to-follow-path, and end up slicing across the seamstress's left thumb. We're not sure what the seamstress was doing when that happened. She must have been talking or something. Well, blood gushed out, the seamstress rushed to the bathroom, and felt a little sick. It hurt! The official home nurse, Apphia, came to look at the wound, and access what had to be done. They got the thumb all clean and bandaged up, along with sticking some tylenol down the seamstress's throat, because it really was throbbing at that point. You wanted to see a closer-up picture of the wound, right?

Now, we must be truthful about these pictures. They were actually taken about 2 weeks after the fatal slip. It was looking pretty good by that time. Originally the cut was sliced right by the seamstress's nail bed.

But, back to the story….
So, for the next two days the seamstress couldn't properly use her thumb, and she had to get her hair shampooed in the sink by the official home nurse. (Scrubbing factor. You can't really properly scrub your hair with a big band-aid on your thumb.)

So, where does this all end?? Well, now the seamstress isn't sure. She might completely lose part of her thumb nail. It hasn't decided yet. The seamstress is very thankful for thumb nails and that no blood dripped on any fabric. And yes! She's happily back cutting fabric at full speed. The End.

PS We want to extend a tremendous thank you to everyone who has written about the Joplin quilt project!! We are so thankful for every comment and email. Everything is coming together wonderfully well, and we're excited to get started! We'll plan on posting more about it shortly. xxxx