This weekend I pulled out the buckets of quilting cotton scraps and spent a fun few hours sewing some new Pete the Bears. Pete is a free pattern (download it right here) and is the perfect little canvas for playing with fun color combinations, trim, and buttons. My original Pete was sewn from wool scraps…
Should you Move Your Blog from Blogger to WordPress?
Last month I moved my blog to WordPress.org after nine years on another platform. I also moved my shop from Big Cartel to my new WordPress site. The decision to move was a hard one to make and meant a big investment in both time and money. I know that I wasn’t alone in wondering…
The Pattern that Changed My Life: Mollie Johanson
Each Wednesday throughout the summer we’ll hear from a designer about a pattern or book that caused them to head in a new direction and helped form their career. This is the third post in the series. You can read all of them right here. Mollie Johanson is an embroidery pattern designer and blogger. Mollie’s…
Peanut Baby Sew-Along
The Peanut Baby Sew-Along is in full swing and you have two more weeks to join the fun (and possibly win a cool prize, too). This sew-along is being organized by my Facebook group, the While She Naps Softie Designer’s Forum. The group is now 230 members strong and made up of women from all…
Podcast Episode #24: Cynthia Treen and Alison Kaplan (of Kata Golda)
Cynthia Treen and Alison Kaplan It’s entirely possible to have a thriving business making stuffed animals, dolls, and other whimsical things. My guests on today’s episode of the While She Naps podcast are living proof. I’m talking with Cynthia Treen and Alison Kaplan. Cynthia Treen is a Rhode Island based designer and textile artist. She’s…
Abby Glassenberg Design 2nd Quarter Income Report
The 2nd quarter of 2014 came to a close on June 30. Carefully tracking and analyzing my business’ financial activity helps me to look carefully at what I’m working on and to plan out the rest of the year. That means it’s time for the Abby Glassenberg Design 2nd Quarter Income Report (you can see…
The Pattern that Changed My Life: Diane Gilleland
Each Wednesday throughout the summer we’ll hear from a designer about a pattern or book that caused them to head in a new direction and helped form their career. This is the second post in the series. You can read all of them right here. Diane Gilleland is one of my favorite craft bloggers of…
Create a Social Media Routine You Can Stick With
I taught a class with Meighan O’Toole on Friday night called Social Media for Aritsts and Crafters. A group of nine women from the Boston area gathered at JP Knit & Stitch, a beautiful independent quilt and yarn shop in the city, to talk about social media with us. Over the course of two hours…
Summertime Hand-Stitching Projects
I think summer is the ideal time to begin new hand-stitching projects. It’s too beautiful outside to be sitting at the sewing machine all day. Instead it’s time to sit on the porch, or in the grass, and soak up the sun. If you’re like me, though, you also need something creative to work on…
The Pattern that Changed My Life: Sara Lawson
On a rainy evening in 2007 I walked into a used bookstore in Waltham, Massachusetts and picked up a dusty craft book. The yellow cover was torn in the corner and nearly all the pictures were black and white. The book was published in 1971, four years before I was born, but to me it…