The big reveal, part two

You can almost always tell when a blogger is up to something behind the scenes, can't you? Her posting frequency drops a bit, she doesn't show many recent projects, and then eventually she announces that she's in the process of writing a book or creating some other project, right? Oh, I'm teasing. But it does seem to ring true to a large extent.

I'm not very good at keeping secrets, but for some strange reason I've managed to keep relatively quiet about this one (or at least I've kept quiet on the blog about it; real life is a completely different story). Granted, I have dropped an occasional hint here. But if there is one tell-tale sign that something is in the works, it's certainly the recent state of this blog. It's been in shambles lately. But I hope you'll forgive me for that when I tell you why.

You see, mostly I haven't told you my big secret because it's been such a long time in coming and there have been so many times when I've thought that either I'd have to be crazy to do this or it just hasn't looked like it would actually work. But it's finally time. I guess.

You may or may not know that, pre-Tsia, I designed clothing for a living. Mostly I designed men's clothing like complicated technical performance outerwear, and I developed a lot of textiles as well. Once I started staying home with the kiddo, I started looking for something to keep me occupied. A dear friend suggested that I start publishing patterns for children's clothing. I was already designing and sewing clothes for Miss S because I couldn't find any published patterns I liked. So I started researching and planning and researching some more, and then writing and revising a business plan, and this is what eventually fell out: a small sewing pattern company for children's clothing!

Oliver and S will be launching at the International Quilt Market in Houston this October with an initial collection (Spring 2008) of four outfit patterns in two size ranges, from birth to size 5. Both the sizes and the number of patterns available will expand over time. You'll be able to purchase patterns from your local quilt boutique as well as from our website, and I'm so excited about the patterns themselves. I can't wait to show them to you!

I sort of lied to you about our summer away; we really were away, but I was holed up for most of the time writing instructions, testing patterns, making decisions, and generally being stressed out about the many, many details of starting a small business. Fortunately, many wonderful people have been helping me, including Mr. Disdressed himself, as well as my parents-in-law, who toddler-watched for many, many hours this summer. And of course, Brooke, who has invested a tremendous amount of time and creative energy in the launch as well.

So now you know the real reason that you haven't been hearing or seeing much from me in the craft area lately. I may be a bit infrequent for the near future, but I'll still be around. And I hope you'll agree that all the hard work (and craft and blog silence) has been worth it when you see what we've done. Stay tuned!