A little bit of a preview. . .

It's been crazy busy in the land of Lemon Cadet. Baby Lemon has been hard at work developing her modeling skills, Mr. Huskystar has been stitching up a tsunami of new goods, and Mr. Lemon fixed the tent.

I've been working on some yeti plush that I'm really excited about. I usually embroider the faces after I have a base established. It's a little more to grab onto that way. But this new fur is a beast! It was shedding like a Skunk Ape in Spring so I had to hand sew the faces before I attached them to the fur. Then I had this amazing bald yeti.

The second photo is a sneak peak at what the finished guy will look like. The new fur is longer and very silky. I actually finished all of these but the photos are still on the camera.

New goods.

After many a sneak peek and a bunch of hints, it's time for the grand unveiling. I listed the first of the new line this afternoon and I have to say I absolutely love it.

The seersucker fabric was wonderful to work with; it's just such good quality. I also love the new blanks. They're a brand called Rabbit Skins and the cotton is nice and sturdy and won't shrink much at all.

There are 4 different rompers: aqua with a reproduction quilt fabric, lime green with a coral/orange seersucker, yellow with a green seersucker and bright orange stitching for amazing contrast, hot pink with the popular bird bean flannel (that gorgeous cherry blossom print) and two ringer tees. One is an aqua with pink trim and pink seersucker while the other is orange with blue trim and a blue seersucker. Most of these are unisex -- something I try to always have since so many people buy my items for baby shower gifts.

I'll be carrying the rompers in 6 months, 12 months, and 18 months. The ringer tees are sizes 2 and 4 for toddlers. I'll be happy to do custom orders for larger sizes but as usual, the sizes and colors are going to vary depending on what I can get.

I plan to list one in my Etsy shop each day this week. For now, check out my flickr for more photos.

I think we can do it.

So this weekend we did our first craft show with Baby Lemon. The little model slept soundly in the car the whole way there, while we were unloading, and while we were setting up. She only woke up when I took her to the Odyssey to eat because I was getting worried. (She probably would have been fine but I'm a new mom...).


The event was a total success. The weather was not. It was incredibly hot and humid until it poured. Luckily, we were mostly packed up so only a couple of the bins got a bit wet. We've got the tent out of the bag and drying in the basement.


As always, the Pittsburgh shoppers were awesome. This was my third show up there and everyone is super supportive and nice. I was hoping to see some of the people who stopped by at Handmade Arcade but the cloudy skies kept a lot of people away.


I made a lot of changes to the whole setup. While reviewing pictures of last year's events, I decided that it was all just too busy. There was too much going on. I made bright lemon shapes and used black sticker letters in different fonts easy-to-read items and pricing. I also made a couple of sale signs. I really like the way they turned out.


Because of the weather, I couldn't use my tall displays. The shirts or onesies just act like sails and are so hard to control. I will definitely be using them again when it's not so windy. I think the look is really important to my tables.

I also decided not to use the yellow baskets with the lemons and cadet plushies. I thought maybe they were a bit distracting but now I think the display is looking a little bland so maybe they'll make a comeback -- or maybe the tall displays are all I need. We'll have to wait until next time to see.


Baby Lemon is generally very cooperative during the day. She was pretty easy this time (thanks to tinted windows and the awesome event coordinators who let me use their offices to feed her later in the afternoon). I've applied to a couple of shows that aren't too far away and have plans to apply for several more to take advantage of my maternity leave. I think we're just going to keep taking it one day at a time.

There are a few more pictures with notes in my flickr.

cat and baby

art 365 day 154 - cat and baby
Originally uploaded by mabith

One of my Etsy peeps mabith did this amazing drawing from one of my photos posted on flickr.

She's doing an art 365 thing just like I'm doing a 365 baby thing.

This is day 154.

I love it.

More on 365 baby in a couple of days.

Coming Soon...

I bought these fabrics when I was in New York City for the Bust Craftacular. I was anticipating my Spring line. My Spring line has become my Summer collection. So anyway...

As soon as I get finished with this big freelance job I do twice a year, the sewing will commence. These seersucker fabrics are from a really cool shop I found in the garment district. They are super high quality men's suit fabrics and I have been loving having them in my life. I'm keeping my blank onesies a secret until they're finished. I'm super excited about them.

This weekend I plan to go through all my stock and clean up the Etsy shop. I'll add back in some of my custom hand-stitched pieces and that pile of yeti shirts I've been going on and on about. I have a few long-sleeved onesies that are ready to go and some bean dolls as well.

I expect to make some bean dolls to match the new fabrics so that when The Lemons go to shows this Summer and Fall, we'll be able to offer discounts when someone buys a set.

The best part of all of this is that Baby Lemon will be modeling the new designs (as soon as she fattens up enough to fit into them).

Washington City Paper strikes again!

I was chosen to be the Craftiest Bastard of the Week once again by the Washington City Paper in Washington, D.C. These folks are the fabulous sponsors of the best craft show ever, Crafty Bastards.

I just got an email with the good news.

That's one of my designs up there featuring that amazing numbers print from Alexander Henry.

I made the Etsy homepage!

One of my Etsy friends, iSew, and I made the Etsy homepage yesterday. The people over at EtsyLabs have been making all these Christmas gift buying guides for The Storque. This one was for boys ages 3 - 7. There was some pretty great stuff on the list and it was the first time I got a product featured there.

Ginny, the mastermind behind iSew, does these amazing sock monkey gadget cozies. Since our future baby's room will be all sock monkeys, we might be talking to her about a little something something someday soon.

Neglected but not forgotten...

It's been a crazy time around here for Lemon Cadet. Since Crafty Bastards, there's been a lot of catching up, taking new photos of the goods, and filling custom orders.

I have 5 bean dolls to add to the shop and a few new shirts. The sizes are mostly for toddlers but include some super thick awesome quality sweatshirts (even a couple of hoodies, size 4). Please forgive me. I love you.

Handmade Arcade is also coming very soon. And as promised, we'll have something new. I'm thinking yeti. I'm thinking plush.

The Mustache Show

The Mustache Show at Wild Zero Studios was a huge success. I didn't sell any panties but we all had a great time. There were mustache cupcakes, mustache cookies, a dude singing about mustaches, and even a mustacioed fire department official checking for maximum capacity.


That's the gang up there in full regalia. It's crazy how good Brian looks with the mustache. His 'stache looks more real than the one on Eric or Mr. Lemon. Setph [team lemon] is really rockin' with The Rogue. Everyone who didn't come wearing a mustache had to put one on at the door. Eric is selling prints of the framed mustache pics on his myspace. Click here.

More pics on flickr. Click here.

New at My My

How cute! See the original photo on Taryn's flickr page.

Crafty Bastards 2007!

I know it's been almost a week but there has been a lot to catch up on around here. Since I put everything on hold while getting prepared for the show, I've been taking care of old business.

So I'm sure you've heard that Crafty Bastards was amazing. There were thousands of people there. I sold lots of stuff and even bought a couple of things. I think Team Lemon singlehandedly (or two fistedly) emptied Sticky Fingers of their vegan treats.

The first photo shows most of the booth at the very end of the day with two very tired team members, Steph Lemon (aka Sister In Law or Sister to my Husband, Mr. Lemon) and Mr. Lemon. Both are sporting items from the Lemon Cadet line. I think Mr. Lemon looks hot in that yeti tee. Soon the facial hair will disappear as he shaves for tonight's Mustache Show at Wild Zero studios. My friend Jen stopped by and she snapped this photo of me (if you're dying to see me hot and sweaty and holding a bean).


That's Ingrid of Team Lemon who not only let us stay at her house, but also helped out for most of the day. She was a madman with wrapping up items in tissue and making everything sparkle.


The beans were a huge success. I didn't bring home very many of them and I'll be adding those to the shop next week. They also got featured on the My Aim is True blog.

The new yeti screenprinted tees were also a hit. I still have lots of sizes for kids and ladies in stock and I'll be ordering more of the men's sizes later this week. I want to have more ready for Handmade Arcade. I'm not sure if they'll make it to the Etsy shop since I didn't print them myself. So if you want one, let me know.

For more pictures of the event, check out the Crafty Bastards 2007 flickr pool.

Indie Path Interview

Lemon Cadet was asked to do an "Indieview" for the relatively new blog, The Indie Path. I enjoyed answering these questions more than any other interview so far because she asked me really specific things. That was cool.

Plus she said you need to kick back with a cup of chai before reading and that's my favorite drink!

I got the pictures from Crafty Bastards off the camera so if time allows, there will be more on that tomorrow.

Lemon Cadet on Indie Fixx!

Last week when I was preparing for Crafty Bastards, I got featured on Indie Fixx for their reader fixx! Indie Fixx is a great blog with a huge readership so this is a big deal.

I was chosen by Alicia of Eternal Sunshine. She loves my bean plushie that's on consignment over at My My. It's a good thing because I don't have a single bean left in my shop.

I'll be adding what's left from Crafty Bastards next week. I have to wait until the weekend to get some good sunny photos of those beans. They are really tricky to shoot!

And yes, I will be dishing the dirt on Crafty Bastards as soon as I get the photos out of the camera. And yes, it was amazing.

It's time for Crafty Bastards

I know you've been wondering why it's so quiet around here. I've been super busy making stuff for Crafty Bastards. It's this weekend! Sunday, Sept. 30 from 10 - 5 at the Marie Reed Learning Center on 18th and Wyoming in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, D.C.


They sent us all interview questions for their site. My interview is up right now on the blog.

What's new for Lemon Cadet: a whole bunch of bean softies in lots of different fabrics, of course those fabulous yeti tees I wrote about here, and finally, some long-sleeved t-shirts and onesies perfect for Fall and Winter.

Find directions and all the info you'll need to stalk me on their website. I'll be in spot 28 right next to Ms. Tina Seamonster.

I hope to see those of you within a reasonable driving/walking distance sometime on Sunday. It's not just all shopping. They've got some great entertainment planned, some cool crafting workshops, and food.

A crafter's list

I made a big trip to JoAnn's last weekend to stock up on supplies for all the stuff I'm making for the shop and Crafty Bastards. I either have to drive 30 - 45 minutes south to the town where my parents live to shop at one or drive 1 1/2 hours up to Pittsburgh for a really big JoAnn's. Our house always needs a lot from Whole Foods or Trader Joe's so if I can get Mr. Lemon to come along, we head North.

I always make lists like this for my shopping trips. I take scrap pieces of paper (whatever is closest to me when I think of the first thing I need) and go crazy. There are always swatches of fabric stapled or taped here and there, my weird names for things, and ideas -- where I know what I need but I don't know what it is yet. If you're a crafter, you know what I'm talking about: I need something beige-ish and cotton and about 1/2" wide but....

My list was particularly nuts this week so I thought I'd share it with you. I support my local quilt shop whenever I can but they don't have the faux fur.

Journal Modiste Designer of the Week

Lemon Cadet is the designer of the week at Journal Modiste, an online guide to children's couture and handmade clothing. It's a great site that gets loads of hits so it's wonderful have been chosen.

There are a lot of unique shops featured and it's a very informative site with lots of links and interviews.

Read my interview here.

Heading to Brooklyn

The Lemon Cadet bus is once again hitting the road. Find us Saturday, August 11 at the Brooklyn Indie Market in the Carroll Gardens/Cobble Hill neighborhood next to the Eckerd Drug at Carroll Park on the corner of Smith and Union Streets. Find a map and directions here. I got the above photo from the Brooklyn Indie Market's photostream on flickr. They have a nice catalog of photos from previous weekends. I chose that photo because I love the banner and the cute kid. It's hard to see but all the action is happening inside the tent. There are also cool looking kiosks on the other side.

As with every market or craft show, there's something new. Finally, the Yeti Brooches are finished and all packaged up!!! There are three different colors: orange, turquoise, and pink. Also there will be a smaller bean doll available in two differnt patterns: a gorgeous vintage inspired quilt fabric and that hip retro floral print you've seen in the beans.

The market's hours are from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Please stop by.

The Moo stickers have arrived!

My fabulous Moo stickers were in the mailbox yesterday when I got home from work. They came packaged in a sleek white envelope.

The are so amazing. I'm surprised at the great print quality. I thought they'd be more like those sticker sheets you get out of the photo machines but they're really beautiful.


After snapping some pics of Groucho lounging and striking poses with the stickers, I started working on my business cards. I've been working on a new design so instead of getting rid of the old cards, I gave them a Moo makeover with my stickers. Much better!

Collage city

This weekend I'm going to do the Brooklyn Indie Market. Every time I do a craft show, I'm overwhelmed with setting up. I want it to go more smoothly. So I made this collage of where I want everything to go on the table.

Yes, it seems crazy but this is how I work. A drawing just won't do and I'm a visual person. This will help me when I get there and draw a blank.

I'm also going to do a better job of packing up the bins so I'll be able to put out the display smoothly and without a hitch. I wanted to do some rearranging from the way the table was at the Lancaster Eastern Market so I printed out some of the photos, cut them out and moved them around until they worked. I also printed out some pics from earlier shows where stuff wasn't blocking another piece.

See my flickr image for notes if you want more info on what's going where.

The Secret is Out

So TinaSeamonster and I have been brainstorming an idea for a really cool website that will feature all the hippest handmade stuff for kids. It was her idea originally and when she asked me to sign on, I didn't hesitate.

We have some great ideas in the works and some artists have already committed to contributing coloring book pages that you'll be able to download for free.

So the site is still under construction and we're still in the planning stages but I was able to snag a treasury since I was so excited about it and then TinaSeamonster got excited about the treasury and wrote a blog post about it which inspired me to get all excited and write a blog post about her blog post about the treasury about the yetis loving the seamonsters containing the longest run-on sentence in the free world.

I'll post more info when we have the grand opening of the website. In the meantime, if you'd like to contribute, send me an email. Definitely check out her more informative post without all the run-on sentences.