black rabbits in a little patch of sun

EARS!!!!

he's got them now...

 <<< anyone looking for a special baby gift? if so email me. >>>

today- back to work

drawing, stitching and planning:

just beacuse...

I needed to make something fast, fun, and heartfelt- I began this little bear for some little lucky baby out there. I hope to finish him tonight, but now I'm off to make dinner for my lucky little boy. Feels good to be working and have life begin to feel a little more normal again. phew- it's been a rough month. I'm happy to be able to finally catch my breath.

working...

This is what my desktop looks like right now...

For the last few days I've been sorting through every image of every bear or animal I've ever made. This is a very tall task, but it's been really fun to see the progression that's taken place over the last 11 years I've been photographing my work... I'm gathering everything for a new website, which I hope will be up in the next month or two. I can't wait for everyone to see it- lots of new content, image, and a few surprises too!
Ok- back to work... and later day, when I need a break from looking at this screen... I'll be doing a little sewing! stay tuned.

dying new colors... out on the line between the storms

the storms have been rolling through here daily which has left everything in the yard very green- but very soggy. The air too- man it's been humid- humid and hot. I was joking with a friend that it may as well be the dead of winter here it's so uninhabitable outside. With all these storms plowing through the weather has to change sometime... here's to hoping it's soon.

(and check back tomorrow to see the bear I'm working on with this fabric!!!)

hello .... kitty.

I sent this kitty off to a very lucky gentleman last week- I think I'll miss having him in the studio, he was here such a short time and got packed up before I was ready to bid him adieu.... I'll post a photo of how I finished him tomorrow...

my old handwritten list of names- from my old studio...

I love finding old images of forgotten things. This list didn't make it through my last studio move- I do so miss my old studio- that light and space was a wonder.

(photo by Alison Malone)

three blind mice... and one who says:

my messy work table- today

two handfuls

and more on the worktable

Pandas: currently ear-less but not for long...

wo-wo-wo-working! AGAIN!!!!

and it feels so nice. These bigger kitties (14")  have been really coming along ... I'm looking forward to putting on their eyes and expressions on for "real" this morning.

Ohhh to be back to work- I've really missed it these last few months.

the minimum required...

I've gotten all the hand-sewing on my little bear done. It actually went quite quickly once I got going- maybe 30min for all the limbs- pads and all. I've been amazing at how little you need if you just want to make a single simple little bear. I've included of photo of all the supplies I'm using but a few of these things could be omitted too if you wanted to make a couple changes. For instance you could use a different fabric, but mohair really is the best (in my humble opinion!). If you didn't want to mess with disks and cotter pins you could just string join the limbs. I'm not using glass eyes for this bear- instead I'll just stitch the eyes with floss since it's for a baby (there are just little pins marking the placement now). I stuffed the head with excelsior, but since I didn't want the whole piece to be very hard I found this cotton in the drug store. It's just cotton batting instead of cotton balls- and I think it will be perfect for stuffing the limbs and body and could have been used for the head too. 

It's fun to see what you can make do with.  I can feel summer in the air here and summer always makes me want to pare everything down- from possessions to process. I just want to make room for more air in my day and my life- you know what I mean?

handsewing...

My parents came for a visit last week. It's so good to have people we love come here, it really makes everything so much more rich and full sharing the marvel of this place with them. Lucky for me, my mom carried a number of much needed items in her bag for me. One of which was a little package of sewing supplies. A little bear is currently in progress- from Scratch: new pattern, handsewing, and all things new- will keep you updated on my progress:

they're lining up...

a floppy ear and handful of hearts...

My workday is filled with so many different activities- designing, cutting, searching for materials, taking photos, writing, blogging, thinking, not to mention the physical act of sewing... and really that's just the obvious actions. Running a business is a hefty load of multitasking and odd jobs.  Yesterday I did a number of things, my favorite of which was nailing down the design for the bunnies I'm making for the Valentines Day Update. Designing is a complex puzzle that is so satisfying. I find all the joy is in the smallest details- a flopped over ear- the slight differences in layering felt for small hearts...

hand-dyed-cotton-tails

grrrruff ruff

Valentines Day Update...

I'm currently working on 3 limited edition pieces (10 in each edition)... they're in various stages right now, but I'll be posting photos as they come together. I plan on incorporating some of the fabric I designed for their clothes and other little details. I'm anxiously awaiting the delivery from Spoonflower- fingers crossed it all comes out! Until I have the fabric in my hands I won't know what outfits I'll be making for each piece, so the above drawing is just a loose idea...
 

The Valentines Day Update 

Friday January 28th at 12noon CST 

(that's 1pm EST, 11am MST, 10am PST)

Here's a rundown of what to expect for the update...
  On the big day at 12noon CST, these 3 pieces will be on the "new bears and animals" page of my website. If you have any questions about how the updates work check out all the info here about ordering, payment and shipping. If you have any questions at all feel free to email me. Ohhhh and I'll be sending out emails to everyone on my email update list in the next couple days with this info and more.