New Critter Development

I'm finally the space to work on some bigger Plush pieces. It's always exciting to develop a new creature, although working through a series of prototypes can be rather tedious. This is my first attempt at Bear. Cute in its own way, but not what I am going for! On to the next draft...

I've also been sewing up some "skins" for future creatures. I enjoy using up scraps on these!

Owlbert

Mr. Green Grin

Mr. Green Grin chillin' on the veranda.

Art brooch; wearable miniature soft-sculpture.

In progress

"Patches"

Perseverance

Sprite Washing Test

I recently had a customer ask me if my Pocket Sprites are washable. I was embarrassed to have to write back and say "I don't know"! Usually I just tell folks that spot cleaning is okay, but throw in the washer at your own risk. Pocket Sprites make a sweet baby gift, so of course folks want to know if they are washable. Silly me, I'd never thought to just wash a few myself and see what happens!
So I did a little test. I chose these two Sprites. The brown fox is made of an angora/wool blend and the fuzzy cream bear is made of polyester "sherpa" polar fleece. Both are stuffed with polyester fiberfill and have hand-embroidered faces.

This shot is pre-washing, the way they look "brand new".

This is how they looked after a trip through the washing machine.

I washed them in a top-loader washing machine with regular eco-friendly detergent, on cold water and gentle cycle,along with a small load of mixed clothing. Aside from collecting a little lint, they don't look much different! The fox's face is a tad bit fuzzier than "brand new".
I air-dried them, which took a few days. If I washed them in the summer, I'd put 'em out in the sun for a day or two, which I think would dry them nicely.
Now I can say with confidence that my Pocket Sprites are indeed machine washable, cold water, gentle, and NO DRYER. Yay!

Unwrapping & Owl

I made Owl for SCRAP's Unfinished Art show. She started out as a partially embroidered tea towel...

These other photos are of the unwrapping of some bundles of linen and leaves which have been soaking in vinegar water with bits of iron for about four months. Following the unbundling photos are pictures of  excavating woolens from the depths of buckets of walnut hulls. These have also been soaking for a number of months.

I'm experimenting with posting from my iPad; the app is a bit clunky, but it's nice to be able to take these photos and do a blog post all with one machine.

The Quick Red Fox

See you this weekend at Crafty Wonderland!

It's that Crafty Show time of year again!

Yes, indeedy, it's been all work and no play for yours truely for the past, well, too long! There's been a heap lot more sewing than blogging going on, that's for sure! I took some time out today in the midst of packing up for my first gig of the season to snap a few shots of my goods. 

Mostly I've been making Mitts-for-Musing Handwarmers. These babies just keep growing in popularity. I've started selling them in a few retail stores, and it's really been keeping me busy! I have a nice selection ready for my Holiday shows.

Due to popular demand, I've made long cotton Mitts

And long woolies of various designs.

These are cute little Plushies with clips on them for clipping onto backpacks or whatever you want to. The faces are silkscreened!

Here we have Snuggle Buns with their cozy little beds.

I'll only have a few Art Plush this season. 

But plenty of Pocket Sprites like these elephants

and sheep/bears.

Thanks for stopping by! Check out my Events page for details of my shows, and the Where to Buy page for store locations.

Apple Time of Year

A perfect Winesap

 We had a bumper crop of apples this year. We've filled all of these jars and more (over 50 gallons!)with two sessions of apple cider pressing. Sweetie is threatening to pick more apples, so we may do yet another pressing. I didn't take any process photos this year, but if you're curious, it looks like this

Annie T. Lopez (just to show you some Plush!)

Happy All-Hallow's!

A Home of Their Own

I found this nifty wooden play house at the thrift store. I was too lazy to take a "before" photo; it was pink and purple and covered with Tinkerbell stickers..slightly ghastly~! But it's a sturdy, well-made structure, so I re-habbed it to use as a display for my Plush. The walls are covered with indigo-dyed wool, and the floors with repurposed wool sweater fabric.

 I added some nice detail of embroidery, but made myself keep it subtle, as I don't want it to detract from my Plush!

I've been having fun doing photo shoots with it, and it's been working out well in my display.

Now I just need to sew some more creatures to inhabit it!

St. John's Bizarre & a Satisfactory Digression

I am constantly inspired to make stuff. As in all the time. I have sketchbooks filled with ideas; more than I'll ever have time to realize. Since I'm sort of making a living from selling my work, I feel a bit of pressure to stay focused on making things that people will buy, and to keep my work cohesive (these days it's mostly making plush toys and soft sculpture art). 

But sometimes I can't keep myself from digressing.

Way back in the day, when I was first trying to sell my work, some of the first items I marketed were little zip pouches. I love making bags. There's something so satisfying about figuring out the 3-d design and construction sequence of creating a bag. And, they are useful. When my new electronic device arrived recently, it was just crying out for a scrappy, colorful cozy. So I made this:

I love it! It makes carrying around that sterile electronic device so cozy and friendly. And it was fun to make. So fun, in fact, that I had to make these:

By the time I whipped those babies out, I was on a roll. I'd been wanting to make some more bags with the laminated-wool-scrap technique, and I like the idea of getting some of those tried and true "Mitts for Musing" appliques on some bags. 

So I made these Cozy Clutches:

Which are not the easiest things to photograph. In person, they are squeezable, textural, and quite clutchable.

Well, then I realized that I had little cozies and large cozy-clutches, but I needed something in-between, so I made these Cutelandia Zip Pouches:

I have so many different versions of these floating around the homestead. They are infinitely useful for holding all kinds of items (cozily; in style!).

After I'd made such a pile of cozy bags and bagletts, I was playing around with them and noticed that some of them made little sets:

I'll have a whole table of "Cozies and Clutches" tomorrow at the St. John's Bizarre street fair. Which, by the way, will be my first outdoor street fair of 2012!

Mostly, I'm still making plush. I've been trying out these dimensional noses on the Pocket Buns, and I think they're keepers.

Finally, I want to show you the second suitcase I've renovated.

I don't always have room at table shows to use both the suitcases, but the vastness of the 10' x10' street fair space will allow plenty of space. It's perfect for showing off Pocket Buns and Mitts for Musing.