Sewing, blogging, and creative business.
I’m very excited to have finished this patchwork Progress Pride Flag quilt. The pattern is by Bobbie Gentili from Geeky Bobbin. All of the fabrics are scraps from my stash.
This was a fun project and the finished quilt is really bright and colorful. As part of this process, I also enjoyed learning more about how the design of the Progress Pride flag came to be.
I love toys inspired by fairy tales (and I’ve got the Pinterest board to prove it!). Characters from fairy tales and nursery rhymes are a natural subject for toys, and give kids and parents a chance to retell the stories we love so much. When I saw Heidi Boyd’s new book, Fairy Tale Sewing: 20Read More →
It’s best to attach parts like ears or a tail to your softies by machine, versus by hand, especially if you’ll be giving the toy to a young child. Machine sewn seams are strong which means that the parts are less likely to come loose over time or after several washings. And they’re perfectly even,Read More →
Spring Quilt Market will be in Minneapolis in just a few months. Thousands of people will attend this international fabric industry trade show to exhibit, buy, teach, and network. Most of these people will be women, many of them mothers, all taking their Tradeshow displays to exhibit their work. Although the average age of dedicatedRead More →
When Christina Platt set about making a doll for her baby niece over a decade ago she could never have predicted that one day she would have a handmade doll business that employs 48 local women and produces 80 dolls each week. She couldn’t have known that the dolls would sell out so fast thatRead More →
In late September I relaunched my Topsy Turvy Doll pattern. I made a new sample and posted new pictures of this doll which has been one of my bestsellers from the beginning. I read every comment on my blog posts and reply to many of them, either here on the blog or via email. OnRead More →
image credit Most people who buy fabric online purchase it through one of the established shops like Pink Castle, Hawthorne Threads, or Fat Quarter Shop. There’s a segment of the fabric buying public, though that purchases fabric through private Facebook groups. As these groups grow in size and popularity, their impact on the more mainstreamRead More →
I love ladder stitch. It’s ideal for attaching parts to a softie or doll. The seam it creates is sturdy and virtually invisible. This is the stitch I use to attach the head to the body in my Lovey Dovey patterns. I made this 2-minute video to show you how I do it. I’ve foundRead More →
Throughout 2014 I’ve shared my income here each quarter(1st, 2nd, 3rd), along with some financial analysis. My goal was to talk openly about money and the work involved in growing a creative business online. This experiment was inspired by one of my favorite blogs, Pinch of Yum. Owners Bjork and Lindsay Ostrum share their incomeRead More →
A few weeks ago my daughter, Josephine, turned four. We planned a birthday party for her at the local community center and she couldn’t wait. We bought paper plates and a dinosaur balloon, but the most exciting part of the preparations was putting together the goodie bags. Choosing each item and assembling them was soRead More →
Watching someone make something is an ideal way to learn a new craft. I think video is an incredibly exciting new frontier in craft publishing and I’m especially excited by the beautifully produced video classes found on Creativebug. For me these classes are every bit as special an experience as opening a well-designed craft book,Read More →