megan nielsen design diary

hello my darlings! Just a little admin style update today (no don’t yawn! please! )

I often get questions about where my patterns are available other than through my store, so i thought it might be a good idea to do a little updately update! The good news is that you can find Megan Nielsen patterns in a bunch of really awesome stores all over the world, and there might be one near you :) Cool right? And wink wink they’ll be stocked up on the new collection patterns before release.

So if you want to check out whether there’s a store near you, the full list can be found in my store here - i try my best to update it pretty regularly. And because i’m a total list/organization freak, the countries are ordered alphabetically, and individually stores are listed in the order of most recent restocking.

They’re all super lovely people – and truly fantastic stores. For physical stores you’ll see their address listed, and for online stores there is a link. I”m also pretty excited to be working with Nancy’s Notions now as well, who are stocking some of my maternity patterns (i’ll shriek quietly hehehe)

(And if you’re a store and you’re thinking, why yes, i’d like to stock those super cool patterns email me !)

Meg XOXO

Happy Easter dear friends!

This is truly my favourite holiday – such a special and important time of year to Christians. People always think its Christmas, but it’s actually Easter :)

I can’t ever be perfect – and so I’m so very grateful for grace – forgiveness that i don’t deserve, but that’s given to me anyway. The older i get, the more aware i become of my own mistakes and imperfections – and the more that concept, and the great sacrifice that went with it, just blows my mind. It’s funny, I feel like my kids have taught me so much about love and have made me understand that special kind of love so much more than i ever did before. I look at them, and i understand loving someone through their flaws, sacrificing for them, and always forgiving and wiping the slate clean.

So that’s all from me today :) Forgive my sappiness (oh you all know i’m a sap by now!) - just feeling incredibly grateful and content today!

We had a really wonderful weekend celebrating with friends and family, and i hope you did too. Wishing you love, and grace and kindness as you start this busy week!

Meg XOXO

ps. any left over chocolate eggs can be forwarded on to me hehehehe

You guys i am so bummed – apparently Google Reader is shutting down for good in July. It’s been my favourite way to subscribe to blogs for years, so i’m really sad to see it go!

If you’re in the same boat as me and still want an easy way to follow Design Diary – you can find us on Bloglovin here

Also did you know that you can import your subscriptions from Google Reader right into Bloglovin? cool right? I was pretty thrilled when i found out – the thought of manually refollowing allll my favourite blogs on a different platform one by one was a little intimidating hehe

Or if you prefer – you can get posts delivered straight to your inbox by entering your email address in the Design Diary sidebar (no spam, you literally just get emailed the posts)

It’s funny though, when it comes to blog reading platforms (is that what you call them!?) i don’t really know of any options other than Google Reader and Bloglovin – which now that i think about it, is kinda weird. Do you know if any other cool ways to follow your favourite blogs? I’d love to hear them!

(and bye bye Google Reader… i’m really going to miss you)

Friends, i am SO ridiculously excited to introduce you to the newest member of the team! Holly! I’ve been following Holly’s blog for so long that i can’t even remember a time that i wasn’t reading it hehehe. She is one of the nicest people ever (seriously, EVER), her personal style is just awesome, and she has a truly fantastic background in fashion design and sewing. I am beyond excited about working together, and all of the cool things she’ll be sharing here.

Please make her very welcome! (and check out her blog HollyDolly and her store shopHollyDolly). You’ll be able to reach her here on Design Diary, at holly@megannielsen.com and on twitter @hollyjollydolly !

Over to you Holly!

Hello everyone! Holly here! I have to tell you, I couldn’t be more excited to be helping out Megan here on Design Diary. I’ve been following along with Megan and Design Diary since I first discovered what this whole ‘blog’ thing was about, and was beyond honored when she asked me to be a contributor.  You will find me here a few times a week sharing some techniques with you, variations on Megan Nielsen patterns, and some other fun things here and there. I’m looking forward to us getting to know one another as I get settled. But to get started, here is a little about myself…..

I began sewing as wee little one, when my Grandma first sat me down at her old Singer machine. Thats when I first fell in love. Fast forward about 10 or so years, and I decided to attend college to get as degree in Fashion Design. I started out at Buffalo State, where I got my Bachelors in Fashion and Textile Technology. But in my fourth year, I took a leap and headed to FIT in NYC to get my associates in Fashion Design. Best. Decision. Ever. While  there, I also interned at Diane von Furstenberg in the textile, print, and color departments.

Today, I reside near Boston, Massachusetts with my husband. I now own that same old Singer machine that I learned to sew on, and I still enjoy sewing and creating. I write a blog, HollyDolly, where I share everything from daily outfits, to DIYs, to everyday life snippets. I also have my own little shop, shopHollyDolly, where I make and sell jewelry and accessories (and hopefully soon – bridal accessories!).

I’m really excited to start a new adventure as I get started here at Design Diary, and I hope you enjoy what I have to share with you! If you have any questions, feel free to email me at holly@megannielsen.com or tweet me at @hollyjollydolly.

See you soon, friends -

Holly

I really can’t believe it – but my gorgeous little boy is now 3 years old.

How did that happen? I thought he was the baby – but he’s not. He’s a big kid now – with one of those ridiculously disarmingly dangerous smiles… any day is instantly the best day ever when he smiles at you like that.

We had such a lovely birthday celebration. One of the things that was most important to me about moving home, was getting to spend birthdays with family. There’s something special about that. For Buddy’s birthday we were lucky enough to have both sets of grandparents and my brother(!!!). It was wonderful.

I’m really enjoying seeing the little person he’s becoming. His big Koala hugs. His imagination. His love of dancing with me in the kitchen.  And that he and Bunny really are best friends, partners in crime, like we always hoped they would be.

I think i’m extra sappy this time knowing that he’s off to Kindy next year, and our time of playing at home together, making silly faces at lunch, endless cuddles and chasing after ducks is coming to an end.

Happy Birthday my darling little Buddy, please don’t grow up any more. Mommy can’t handle it :)