Lilia Designs

a Sale and Giveaway

2010-03-12T17:10:00.000-08:00

Check out our sale this Sunday at http://hyenacart.com/gowiththeflo and get some awesome deals on pads - both second quality and first quality! I've been cooking up some ideas to show our customer appreciation, so stay tuned!
Remember you receive a $5 gift certificate for every order over $20 that results from you spreading the love of Go With The Flo pads!
a hui hou,
Anna

2010-01-27T00:27:00.000-08:00

Excitement! A brand new roll of heavenly organic bamboo velour to dye up in dreamy colors...

Is it really almost the end of summer 09???

2009-08-24T00:08:00.000-07:00

Wow, did this summer go by quickly or what?! We still have a good selection of pads in our gorgeous ocean colors available at http://hyenacart.com/gowiththeflo. Take advantage of the final days of our free shipping offer with code 'FREESHIP' through August 31st!

Here's a peek of our new colors for the upcoming fall season. A palette of warm, rich earthy colors...

Lovin' the Beach!

2009-07-16T22:56:00.000-07:00

It is so HOT here on Maui - I am very thankful to be able to spend at least a day a week at one of our beautiful beaches!
In the spirit of beating the heat, we are giving 10% off all sales this weekend only. Use coupon code 'TAKE10' during checkout.

There is still a great selection of products available in our store. Our next stocking will not be until August 1st, so grab what you can now!

Happy Independence Day! and Happy Birthday to GWTF!

2009-07-03T02:07:00.000-07:00

Happy Fourth of July!!

If you are wondering where Go With The Flo™ went, let us assure you GWTF is very much alive and prospering still.

If you are an existing customer of ours, you should have received a postcard explaining everything, but if you're new (or didn't get the postcard), here's what's going on...

Go With The Flo™ is still owned and operated by the same person. So that I can better serve your needs, Go With The Flo™ and Lilia Designs (my DBA) have been combined. This name consolidation simplifies things and allows the freedom to expand our product lines. In fact, we have exciting new products and lots of FFS Giveaways to be unveiled July 3rd-5th!!

The Fit OS (one size fitted diaper covering bums from 8-40lbs)
The Trim Fit I & II (all in one style diaper in two sizes)
The Sleep Tight Fit I & II (extra coverage night time fitted diaper in two sizes)

Contoured Nursing Pads (now with wool backing option for leakproofing)
Shower Flower (fun cloth bath poufs that scrub you clean)
Tips (the coolest little finger mit for facial care)
Beauty Rounds (the perfect cloth replacement for disposable cotton balls, rounds...etc.
Organic drool Bibs
Super-size Receiving Blankets (perfect for swaddling!)

We've gotten together with Seylah, yarn dyer extrordanaire, and SweetKnits, yarn knitter extrordanaire, to bring you two awesome custom slots. Seylah has dyed up BFL Aran and Honey Bulky in our two most popular colorways, 'Pink Fusion' and 'Infinity'. SweetKnits will work magic with your yarn to make into a gorgeous soaker of your choice to match your Fit OS!

I invite you to visit our newly designed website, and tell me what you think. Please follow us on Twitter, FaceBook and our Blog for the latest news and special coupons.
Mahalo for FOUR awesome years!!!

Anna

GWTF

Annual Super Sale!

2009-05-22T01:08:00.000-07:00

It's time for the Annual Go With The Flo Super Sale!
We are clearing out the last of our 2008 inventory to make room for the sweet new products and other surprises we have in store. Don't miss saving up to 50% on your favorite pads!
From 7-7 save 30% off everything in the store. Or try your luck between 7:15pm and 8pm to see if you can score the same pads for 50% off!

New colors for Spring/Summer 2009!

2009-04-10T21:06:00.000-07:00

Here are the first of 7 new colors we will be introducing over the coming weeks. Inspired by the moods of our beautiful ocean, we bring you "Kai", "Nalu" and "Sea Glass". :)

It's almost Spring!!!!

2009-03-12T22:36:00.000-07:00

And we are super busy at Go With The Flo! We'll be finishing up another large order next weekend, and then we'll work on putting up all the new instock we've been collecting but haven't had time to stock!
March is my dh's and ds's birthdays. The big 40 for dh, and the big 4 for ds. ;) Then, in April, our little baby turns 1!! So, we have parties to plan and accomplish on top of keeping our stores stocked with new beautiful pads for you. Because of the family stuff, we will be randomly stocking over the next two months. So, be sure to keep in touch through our blog!
Mahalo!
Anna
GWTF

Just a small showoff

2009-03-02T17:37:00.000-08:00

This is an order for a Diaper Swappers co-op. Here are most of the 250+ pads completed in a record two weeks time. Thanks to my helpers!! :D

Valentine's Day Specials

2009-02-13T00:08:00.000-08:00

Ok, maybe pads aren't the first thing you think of when you dream of your Valentine's Day gift. But let's face it: a lovely set of soft, new Go With The Flo pads are going to outlast the roses andthe chocolate! Plus, it's something good for you and the earth. :)

We put together a few sweet deals for you in celebration of Valentine's Day. Don't miss the free drawing! Winner to be announced Valentine's Day. Winner only pays shipping on this beautiful set!

We also have new stock available at K & F Shops and YINIA.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Go With The Flo

Back to the Pile of Sewing!

2009-02-04T21:00:00.000-08:00

At last! The sergers are repaired, and the stack of sewing is going to be attacked tonight. :D
Next stocking day is Friday the 13th. In the mean time, there is a sweet selection at http://yinia.com and a couple left at http://hyenacart.com/gowiththeflo.
Thanks!

A Kink in the Works

2009-01-24T01:56:00.000-08:00

After the smooth and successful launching of our new wool-backed O-Pads last Friday, we've been focusing on getting our Fit OS diapers stocked. While we enjoyed the smooth sailing we've had up until this time immensely, our projected January 20th launch was just not meant to be. Between two sergers being sentenced to rehab for acting up and refusing to serge correctly, and the Fixer-guy deciding to take a two week vacation right when I need him most, our launch date has been pushed to February 1st.
We apologize deeply to everyone who has been anticipating our Fit OS, and we assure you everything in our power is being done to things back on track. Thank you for your patience!

Happy 2009! Go With The Flo Announcements

2009-01-17T09:11:00.000-08:00

Hau'ole Makahiki Hou! or Happy New Year!
Go With The Flo has many exciting things taking place in 2009. We have now been providing superior cloth pads for women for 3 years! Our product line has expanded, offering you a wider range of sizes and fabric options. We are adding to our team to provide you more excellent service. And we are introducing our local best sellers, cloth diapering, online!

We are happy to introduce our line of O-Pads. Organic from top to bottom, O-Pads are backed with the softest 100% wool we could find. Wool, like our poly fleece, provides a leak proof barrier. The benefit of wool is that is is a natural fiber, making it the eco-friendly choice for our cloth pads. Most women prefer wool to fleece for it's comfort and green aspects, however, a few find even the softest wool aggravating to their skin. For this reason, GWTF will continue to use our proven high performance fleece as well.

In our quest to meet each woman's specific cycle needs, Go With The Flo has created a Light Flo Line. The first size available is our 10" Petite Long Pantyliner. Following shortly, will be a 7" Petite Panty Liner. Our Pantyliners feature a unique, stay-put wing shape designed to prevent bunching and floppage that commonly occurs with other thin pads. Each Pantyliner consists of a single layer of hemp or bamboo, backed with wool or fleece, to give you unnoticeable protection. Our testers who found this pad perfect, included women who used an UID or menstrual cup and just needed a little extra protection.

Available late February, the All Nighter. As the name implies, this pad is the mother of all heavy flow pads. Go to sleep confident you won't be changing bedding in the morning. Also provides the extra absorbency for early postpartum days. Undergoing testing now.

The final product announcement we have is perhaps our most exciting! After 6 years of designing and testing cloth diapers and covers, we are proud to offer you the OS Fit. With the high demand for a diaper that goes the distance & lessens the cost of diapering our babies, the OS Fit rises to the occasion. A trim and comfortable diaper, the OS Fit has a size range of 11-35+ pounds. It features hidden snaps, quick dry soaker construction and has a fashionably finished look. We've priced it very competitively, so be sure to grab one this Tuesday the 20th at http://hyenacart.com/gowiththeflo !!

Thanks to you, our wonderful customers, Go With The Flo needs a little help keeping up with the growing demand for our products! I've found two responsible assistants to help in production and customer communication. Sarah and Lei are both women who live here on Maui as well. Lei is a stay-at-home-mom of one, and Sarah is engaged to be married this year! I am excited to bring them on the team, and I know you will be pleased with the new level of service we can now provide.

Yours truly,
Anna
Go WIth The Flo

Swirly Custom for 3 guys

2008-11-02T08:38:00.000-08:00

What I love and hate about swirly dying is that there is the strong possibility that the project will not turn out how you envisioned. With this huge custom I took on (huge because it was very time consuming and demanding in materials), the two boys outfits came out just as pictured in my head. But the man's pants...I wasn't going for the tiger look at all, and that is what resulted from using 2 different shades of brown dyes in this swirly technique. The end result is beautiful, though, and I wish I could promise to be able to reproduce it! :)

New Cloth Pads for the Harvest Moon

2008-11-01T00:16:00.000-07:00

It's been a super productive and busy past couple weeks! I've been working hard these past two weeks on getting completely fresh stock available for my customers, and at the same time, wrapping up a huge wholesale order for Luxury Moon and starting a co-op order. Once I get them all finished, I will have to take a picture of the "pile" before they get shipped out. It's an incredible amount of beautiful pads. :)
If you're in the mood for some fresh color in your pad collection - or if you're ready to start using cloth, you will find the widest selection at my main store at YINIA. You can also get ahold of some gorgeous pads dyed by Dashing Dachs in her exclusive colorway, 'Shubunkin'. Those can be found at my HC store. A snapshot of them is located above for you to drool over.
Thanks for using cloth!
Anna

Special October Stocking at YINIA

2008-10-03T01:56:00.000-07:00

I dyed up a special collection of Halloween-themed pads for our Witching Hour event at

B.U.S.Y.!!

2008-09-19T02:27:00.000-07:00

Well, I managed to get a whole new set of fabrics for fall dyed up within the past two weeks. I've not been able to get any new items up for Friday morning, though. There is still a lot instock at YINIA, a couple custom slots (the last for the year!!) at GWTF, and some awesome collections an K and F Shops. I've also been faithfully stocking our Etsy shop.

I promise to have some pads from this gorgeous fabric up by Sunday at 7AM on YINIA, though! So, do check back to get your Go With The Flo fix. :)

Anna
GWTF

A Busy Week for GWTF!

2008-09-03T02:20:00.000-07:00

We're stocking at a few places this week:

Cloth Pad Shop
YINIA
K & F Shops
Go With The Flo

Go With The Flo has a fresh look! I needed to streamline Lilia Designs and Go With The Flo so that they appeared to belong to the same individual, and here's the result. GWTF site and Lilia Designs site. It feels earthy and clean to me: the brown is deep and rich and organic, while the blue is bright and clean. Hope you like it, too! :)

I'm working on some fun and exciting things for GWTF. A line of all natural and organic pads (no synthetic fibers) to debut January 2009. I will be looking for a few testers within the next couple months. I'm also putting together a subscription of sorts that automatically sends subscribers a pad every month. To sweeten the offer, the fabrics used will not be offered to the general public. So, you'll be getting true OOAK. There will be more info to come in the next week or two.

Have a wonderful shopping week!

Anna

GWTF has a new owner!

2008-08-14T02:11:00.000-07:00

It's past time to announce that Robin has sold Go With The Flo to me as of June. I am thrilled with the opportunity to take the reigns on this well-founded business she began three years ago. I've been sewing for GWTF since January of 2008, and nothing will be changing as far as our products and services are concerned. The GWTF design will remain unchanged - why try to improve perfection? And I hope to maintain the same level of excellent customer service as Robin has.
There will be some enhancements coming up in the near future. I will be streamlining the site design of GWTF and Lilia Designs. However, GWTF will remain it's own brand. I will be adding a new line of pads to the collection that are completely organic and earth-friendly. By subscribing to this blog or registering for the YINIA newsletter, you will receive updates and more info on these projects.
Thank you for your continued support!
Sincerely,
Anna
GWTF

GWTF has a new owner!

2008-08-14T02:01:00.000-07:00

Cloth Diaper Starter for Twins

2008-08-04T23:37:00.000-07:00

I'm going to be an Auntie!! Here's part of my shower gift for the expecting mama:

Princess Maddie Dress for MY Princess

2008-08-04T23:36:00.000-07:00

Here is the same design on a dress I made for my daughter's 6th birthday...

Princess Maddie Dress

2008-07-26T11:41:00.001-07:00

I dreamed up this dress over the past 3 years and finally had the perfect inspiration - a little girl named Maddie. Two Ottobre pattern played a large part in this creation. If you are an Ottobre officionado, see if you can pick out the two patterns I borrowed from. ;)
The fabrics are by Michael Miller.

Swirly Fun!

2008-07-26T11:24:00.000-07:00

Twenty cans of shaving cream in one week sounds like a desperate woman's frenzy to rid herself of every single unwanted hair on her body! On the contrary, I've been learning a new method of dying fabric. ;) The creamy marbled result that comes from the shaving cream technique is fascinating, artistically expressive and highly sought after. It is also quite labor-intensive.

I played Chopin on my iPod while creating these, and looking closely, you can see his Etude #12 in Cm - my favorite! This lovely pad set is going to an expecting mama building her postpartum stash. The fabrics will be added to my gallery for future custom orders.

Recent Customs

2008-07-08T01:49:00.000-07:00

Here are some recent customs I did for a wonderful customer half way across the globe from me. I used the Swirly dye technique for a few of them and hand painted the others. I call it 'Pad Art'. My mother calls it 'Silly'. But I like the way one customer put it, "It makes you happy when you pull your pants up!" Hahaha!

Introduction

2008-07-07T17:24:00.000-07:00

Go With The Flo Pads were designed by Robin, a fellow Work-At-Home-Mom, in 2005. The trim contoured fit and ingenious stay-put wing design quickly made them a great success. In January of 2008, I took over production for Robin while she enjoyed an extended babymoon. In June, she approached me with the option to buy Go With The Flo, and I am now the proud owner of it!

You can expect the same level of outstanding customer service and product quality that customers received from Robin. There will be one thing different: There will be more instock for your shopping pleasure! Every Friday at YINIA...and occasionally at GWTF and Etsy.

July Party Dress

2007-09-13T14:15:00.000-07:00

The birthday girl needed a special party dress for her 5th birthday! Uninspired until the night before her party, I took one of my original designs, the LeleWrap, and transformed it into halter top, backless summer dress. I used white cotton batiste for the dress and a velvet burnout sheer for the sash, underskirt and binding. I love the way it turned out, and so does my princess. :)

Kimono Diaper Set

2007-09-12T00:12:00.000-07:00

I'm doing a change up on my blog...Instead of just my musings - which have been nonexistent as of late - I'll be posting projects I'm especially proud of. In my "spare time" I am a clothing designer and the cloth diaper lady of Maui. This set is a sweet cloth diaper starter set for an adorable Japanese baby girl. It's called 'Kimono' in honor of my absolute favorite fabric ever (shown on the cover at right). Included in this set are a half dozen hemp TriFolds, 2 Honu Shells and 2 Hemp Fitteds. There are two more covers to be added to the bunch, but I miscounted my snap supply and am currently stalking my mail-lady. Didn't she pick out some gorgeous fabrics?

I'm Mommy's MAN!!

2007-03-17T20:37:00.001-07:00

My baby boy just turned 2 today. I can't catch up to how fast he's growing. He is still as snuggly as the day he was born, though. :)
He and Daddy have a play argument that carries on from day to day...
Daddy: You're Mommy's boy, aren't you?
Son: No, I not the baby! I'm Mommy's MAN!
Daddy: I'M Mommy's man.
and back and forth they go. It brings a smile to my face everytime I hear them.

I was well into my first trimester when my daughter was turning 2. There are times I feel I shorted her on my attention as I dealt with morning sickness and exhaustion. She is such a special and wonderful little girl - how can I get frustrated and angry with her? So often, I take for granted the blessing I have of being able to stay at home with my babies and laugh and learn with them all over again.
Throughout the mad rush of the day, I hear the counsel to take a good look at my children and enjoy them at the age they are now. How true this is. How fast time passes! And what did we end up accomplishing in those moments that we pushed our loved ones to the side with replies like, "Not now, hunny, Mommy's working", "In a minute; I need to finish this" , "We'll read together as soon as I'm done with this"... Oh, for the wisdom of one who has seen all her children to their own lives and now has the time to reflect on such moments as these.

And now, as my little one asks me to play with him, I'm going to drop what I'm doing right now and get down on the floor with him. After all, He is only going to be in these Terrific Twos for a few months. :)

PINK!

2006-10-16T02:15:00.000-07:00

PINK!
The day I found out I was having a girl, I knew I was in trouble. What would I do with a girl?? Boys, I understand. They're easy - give 'em something to bang with and let 'em get dirty. Oh, and make sure they've always got enough to eat because a hungry boy is an unhappy boy. ;) But girls? They like frilly things. PINK frilly things, and bows and foo-foo dresses. I'm a surf shorts and T-shirt girl and hate the color pink, so maybe you can understand my dilemma. But the U/S said I was having a girl, so I prayed for a tomboy like me. Weeeeeeeell, I prayed for a Chevy K-5 and got a porche. She's a girly-girl through an through, and I wouldn't trade her for the world.

Her favorite color is pink, therefore everybody's favorite color should be some shade of pink. You could say she sees her world through rose-colored glasses. 8D
I recently had a birthday, and being the sweetie she is, my daughter wanted to make me a card. "What is your favorite color, Mommy?"

"Hmmm...I like many shades of blue..."

-"And pink?"

I also like forest green-"

"And PINK?"

"Yellow is nice, and I like orange-"

"AND PINK??"

"Sometimes I even like red" (I was trying to get as close to pink as possible without it being pink")

"And pink is your favorite color, too?"

Realizing I wasn't winning, I surrendered. "Yes, when you make me something, my favorite color is pink."

Monkey See - Monkey Do

2006-10-07T23:42:00.000-07:00

Monkey See - Monkey Do
I am held in the highest accountability by two very short persons. Absolutely no room for hypocrisy - let me tell you! I am still chuckling in embarrassment over this most recent episode of not walking the talk...

I needed another spool holder for my threads. MIL (mother-in-law) is known to have at least one of everything, and sure enough, I spotted one not being used. With my ever watchful 4 year old tagging along beside me, I snagged the empty holder and began filling it with my spools of thread. I didn't think anything of it until a little voice chirps out, "That's Grandma's. You didn't ask! You're supposed to ask her before you use it, aren't you?"

Feeling slightly guilty, I fished for a justifying answer. "Grandma doesn't mind me using it - she has lots of stuff - she won't even know it's missing. But, yes, I will ask her tomorrow." Now, I should've admitted she was right, I was wrong, removed my offending threads, and returned it back to it's place...but I didn't.

Fast forward 24 hours later, We are back in the shared room with ours and Grandma's things. Without a backwards glance, my little girl marches up to a box holding a beaded purse she's been admiring for several days and picks it up. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I'm hearing a conversation about that beaded purse..."Mommy, can I have this?" "No, honey, that's Grandma's. You don't take Grandma's things without asking first"...then I got distracted by my younger son, throwing a rock inside the house - or something like that.

Later that day, as my daughter was cleaning up her toys in the living room, I spied that beaded purse among her belongings. Now, I felt really guilty. I knew she had seen my actions in spite of my words and had copied me. Very meekly, I repented of my error with the thread holder to her and then said we needed to return both the purse and the holder. We went together to Grandma's house to return the items. I told MIL in a low voice that I had set a bad example for my daughter, and she had followed suite.

Thinking it was funny, I related the whole story to Daddy. As we laughed about it, a little voice pipes up from the other room, "Mommy was setting a bad example, Daddy."

Little elephant ears!

GOOD MORNING!!

2006-06-23T10:57:00.000-07:00

10 Ways Baby says GOOD MORNING!
1. Insert 1 tiny index finger into Mom or Dad's nasal cavity or ear canal. ( be sure to smile sweetly)

2. Select individual hairs on their scalp to pluck. (should be followed up with a hug to avoid reprecussions)

3. Use lotion pump to do messy surgery on the eye. (It works! The eye opens!)

4. Methodically drop the doorstop or other heavy, rock-like object. (the dumber you look, the better)

5. Pull over something that has lots of little pieces, then plink each object back one by one.

6. Position your dirty nighttime diaper directly in front of their face and slowly backup until you reach contact, then sit.

7. Perfect the 'Steam Roll' and the 'Body Slam'. (This one works better with Dad since he wakes up praising your wrestling skills. Mom is not so happy.)

8. Grab the edge of the covers and run!

9. Attack your sleeping sibling. (the ensuing screams are very helpful)

10. When all else fails, Tamper with the alarm clock until the radio blasts. (Guaranteed to get a rise)

Eyes of a Child

2006-06-18T18:00:00.001-07:00

Teaching Mom
For kids, things are black and white. There is right and there is wrong. They don't see in shades of grey like adults do. This has caused me to back myself into a corner with my 4 year old on more than one occassion.

The ongoing discussion at hand is concerning Easter. We celebrate Resurrection Sunday - the day Christ rose from the dead after conquering sin and death. There are no eggs or bunnies involved in our celebration, but we have a wonderful fun time with singing, dancing, and a big party with lots of delicious food. When others around us began to talk about egg hunts and ask what the easter bunny was going to give them, of course my daughter wanted to know what we were missing. Because it's not the point of my writing today, I won't go into the details, but if you are interested in the history of Easter, then one place to find a summary of info is here History of Easter.

Suffice it to say, the origins of Easter are far from Godly and have no place in the celebration of Christ's Resurrection. After explaining this to my daughter, the first question out of her mouth is, "Why do (insert names of friends of ours) celebrate Easter & Resurrection Sunday?"

Another subject that has me backed into a corner is a non-religious one: makeup. Personally, I hate the stuff. I don't like the media brainwashing so prevalent in our society that makes little girls begin to dislike the way they look, and influence women to nip, tuck, hack, suck, inflate, and paint their way to a better self image. I'll admit I wore makeup for a few years in my teens in my search for my identity, but gave it up a couple years before meeting my husband. As a very girly little girl, my daughter loves to dress up in all sorts of foofoo clothing - it must all be some shade of pink and have ruffles - and prance around the house. At a baby shower, I reeived a set of makeup brushes as a door prize, and not knowing what else to do with them, gave them to her to play with. I thought she'd use them for painting or something. Having no previous exposure to makeup, it is uncanny how she automatically began to "apply" her makeup with them! Thus began the discussion about why we don't wear makeup. "Makeup is for women who don't think they are beautiful without it. Outward beauty is nothing but vanity - it's the beauty inside that must be seen: kindness, gentleness, meekness, love, patience, peace, and joy. You are very beautiful both inside and out." I thought it was sage advice: honest, reassuring... But listen to her response! "Why do Grandma and my Sunday School teachers wear makeup then? Aren't they beautiful?" Hmmmm....

The word that keeps coming to mind as the answer to the above scenerios is 'COMPROMISE'. We compromise our standards, our morals, our beliefs, in the name of tolerance and political correctness and even imagined beauty. Everything is acceptable and right if it makes the involved individual happy.
...but how do I explain this to a 4 year old? Things are so much simpler in black and white.

Introduction

2006-06-16T18:20:00.000-07:00

Aloha!
I'm Ru - a work at home mom (W.A.H.M.) on the island of Maui. Everyone around me, including my own husband, is blogging or reading blogs. I've been putting it off because I balk at fads like a Baalam's donkey balked at the angel standing in his path. Buuut, I figure it's time to make use of this thing. It is kinda cool after all. ;)
What's in the name? I call this Teaching Mom because this is where I'll be sharing all the fun - and serious - things I learn being a mom. Like, just yesterday, my 15 mo old son careened down the hallway into my full length mirror and shattered it. It was supposed to be mounted safely on the wall that same day. I was an hour away from doing it. Lesson learned: The saying that breaking a mirror is bad luck is BS because it doesn't take into account boy toddlers who are tiny bulls in china cabinets!