personality goes a long way

I have never sewn a dog before. I'm not a dog person. I once wrote a short story called "dog kick girl." But when a special request came in for a pug for one of my favorite customers, I couldn't resist. Personality goes a long way. (in customers and in critters.)

I used the same pin tuck technique I use on whales to create the amazing forehead wrinkles for these dogs.

  
Sometimes I get so wrapped up in stitching hats I forget that making weird animals is a super creative and fun part of my business. I took a break from hats and just sewed critters all week. Hats may be the bread and butter of moth and squirrel, but animals are the personality. And personality goes a long way.

Stop by the farmer's market tomorrow to see a few new faces and to stock up on baby whales.

custom love

I wanted to brighten up everybody's monday with this custom toucan I made last month. It was super fun to create a stuffie for one of my favorite customers as commissioned by his girlfriend.

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manimals

Last summer I made this special order bunny suit for James Kraus. He is using it in some photo projects and, I suspect, regularly wearing it around the house.

Steeb was quite jealous of the pale yellow chenille suit and requested some cozy breathable outfit of his own. I said it would be a birthday gift and six months after his birthday the blue flannel jackalope is beginning to take shape. I have completed the hood and now just need to tackle the body which I promised would be ready for Halloween.

For James' suit I just made it all up as I went along, but for Steeb's we decided to reference an actual pattern. We thought it would make it easier to properly fit his larger proportions. But I hate pattern paper. I have spent almost as much time cursing and refolding the tissue as I have sewing. On one hand I loved how all the pieces really fit together perfectly. And by following instructions I did pick up some tips on how to piece it together more smoothly. But the pattern itself was not tailored the way we wanted, so I ended up going back and haphazardly cutting and re-sewing most of the seams. So I seem destined to curse and make up my own rules and find my own solutions no matter how I begin a project. I think that's what gives my work it's charm.

crow and canary

I was dropping off new pins at The Paperdoll today and Shultzie told me she had seen Carina's custom name tag the other day. I do not know Carina, her sweet man friend special ordered the pin for her after seeing me at Crafty Wonderland. I knew they lived in Portland but had no idea she was the rep for so many of the fabulous cards at The Paperdoll. I had wanted to post a picture of it but wasn't sure if it was a surprise, so follow the link above and see for yourself.