Guess who’s here just in time for holiday sewing? Ruby the Reindeer! If you’ve been reading my blog for a year or more (thank you!) you may remember the first version of Ruby from last fall. I decided to pull him from my shop before the Christmas season really began. It was a difficult…
Archives for November 2014
A Plush Lover’s Gift Guide: Soft Toys to Make and Buy for Kids Big and Small
I love stuffed animals. And I especially love handmade stuffed animals. As we head into the holiday shopping season, I’m excited for an excuse to buy some special plush for friends and family. Here’s my hand-picked selection of softies that would make amazing gifts for kids and adults alike. Owl Pillow by my mimi, Big…
5 (More) Podcasts to Love
It’s hard to find new podcasts. They’re the kind of thing you stumble on, following a link from a link, until you don’t remember how you got to where you are. I listen to podcasts on my morning run and I listen while I sew. I listen while I prep dinner and while I fold…
Why I Still Love Etsy
image source I opened my Etsy shop on July 3, 2005. At that time setting up an independent ecommerce shop was an onerous task that required technical skills I didn’t have. Etsy was like a miracle. A week later I made my first sale. I’d been sewing plush toys for months and was desperate for…
Easy-to-Sew Toys Wrap Up
At the end of September I shared this delightful 1940’s sewing pamphlet by Coats & Clark as a free PDF. I was interested in bringing back some of these old patterns. Their style seems to fit perfectly with today’s aesthetic. Toys make all of us nostalgic and these are just so charming. I love the…
Podcast Episode #36: Alicia Paulson (Posie Gets Cozy) and Arianne Foulks (Aeolidia)
We’re talking about what it takes to have a polished and professional web presence on the While She Naps podcast today. My guests are Arianne Foulks and Alicia Paulson. Arianne Foulks runs Aeolidia, a web and graphic design studio that has been working with creative handmakers and designers since 2004, helping them put their…
Link Pack: Blogging, Sewing, Small Business, and Podcasts
I love Pocket. Whenever I read an interesting article online (or just see the headline of an article I want to read later), I send it to Pocket where it sits, waiting for me. Sometimes when I finally sit down and open Pocket it’s a bit overwhelming. It’s like an amazing magazine of interesting stuff…
Should You Work for Free Product?: A Case Study of the Glue Dots Design Team
image credit I’ve worked for free fabric. Last year I designed a tutorial for Timeless Treasures to post on their blog. It took me about four hours to design it, sew it, photograph each step, take the beauty shots, and write the instructions. I was paid in fat quarter bundles and several yards of flannel….
Podcast Episode #35: Robert Mahar
Video instruction is definitely going to play a role in the future of craft media. Watching someone sew, or paint, or fold paper can convey a complex technique easily in seconds. High quality video demonstrations are also really enjoyable to watch. They’re a form of entertainment (think about The Food Network) as well as a…
An Inside Look at Designing Premier Quilting Cottons for JoAnns
While doing research for my post about how much fabric designers earn I spoke with a fabric designer who has licensed fabric collections to both a fabric company and to the largest chain of brick-and-mortar fabric stores in the United States, JoAnn Fabrics. The financial arrangement that resulted from working with JoAnns was so different…