A Kink in the Works

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

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

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

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

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

B.U.S.Y.!!

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!

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!

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!

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

Cloth Diaper Starter for Twins

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

Princess Maddie Dress for MY Princess

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

Princess Maddie Dress

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!

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

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

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

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

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!!

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!

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

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!