This little blog of mine turns two this month.
For two years I have been sewing little creatures and taking pictures of them and writing about them and it has been (and still is!) terrific fun for me. All of you who read what I write here and who look at my work and comment – you are all so vital to my creativity, my motivation, my productivity and my growth as an artist. Thank you a million times!
And now, for a little blog anniversary give-away…
A few weeks ago Penguin Books sent me an advanced copy of Sock and Glove: Creating Charming Softy Friends from Cast-off Socks and Gloves by Miyako Kanamori.
This is an adorable Japanese craft book (you may recognize it?) that is being published for the first time in English. It goes on sale June 5 (although you can pre-order on Amazon). Inside you will find patterns to make a monkey, a rabbit, a dog, a cat, a fish, a doll, etc. from socks and gloves. Like in most Japanese craft books, the photography is divine – simple and sleek with the pieces posed on natural, weathered wood. The first half reads a bit like a story and the back has all of the patterns for the toys as well as for a dress, shirt,pants and hat to clothe them in. The toys are easy to make, but sophisticated and cute. This book would be really fun for all skill levels and I even think Roxanne would enjoy it as a storybook.
So, in honor of two years of while she naps (cheers!), leave me a comment here, maybe tell me something interesting or maybe just say hello. I will keep the comments open through the weekend, closing them Monday morning, and then I will draw a name at random and send you Sock and Glove. You all are awesome.
WOW!!! Two years…doesn’t fly by? I of course love you work and think it is very commendable that you get so much done. Thanks soooo very much for the inspiration…if it wasn’t for Etsy I wouldn’t have known about you so soon…thanks Etsy and thanks Abby for sharing so much!!xo
Congratulations with the litlle anniversary! I love seeing your work evolve. from the cutest dolls to true art!
Congratulations on your blog anniversary! Thanks for continuing to share your beautiful and inspiring creations.
Congratulations! I enjoy looking your work a lot. Very inspiring!
Glad I found your blog look forward to reading it more.
Many congratulations on your upcoming two-year blogiversary! You have such beautiful designs. Always a joy to see the new ones.
Congratulations on your blogaversary! I have really enjoyed seeing your work evolve – thanks for sharing and being so inspiring 🙂
hearing you’ve been doing this that long means that there are some archives i’m ready to go back through to see how you got to the beautiful work you’re doing now! i love the direction you’re going with re-used materials.
happy blog anniversary! your work brings me such joy & inspiration…thank you!
Congratulations Abby! The growth apparent in your archives is truly inspirational!
Two years. That’s awsome. Thanks for being such an inspiration to me. You really push the limits with your art. Cheers, Ginger.
PS – I smile evertime I see your header – could she be any sweeter?
I have the Japanese book, so don’t want in on the drawing, but wanted to wish you ha happy 2-year anniversary. You are an inspiration to me!!
I enjoy reading your blog and seeing how your work is evolving. You are an inspiration.
I don’t know if I’ve ever commented on your site before (I’ve been a regular lurker since last year). You’re animals are just darling and it’s so inspiring to see another mom who uses naptime to do creative things. Happy blogiversary!
One of my favorite blogs ever. Please don’t include me in the drawing, I just wanted to say thanks for all of the amazing work that you share with us, and here’s to two more fabulous years!
i’m a silent reader – thanks for all you give, your blog is a true inspiration for me.
congratulations! and thank you for being so inspiring!
Congratulations and thanks to you for your creativity and for sharing your creations and the processes behind them.
Two years! Woo hoo! You can leave me out of the drawing but I just wanted to say “Congrats” on everything you’ve accomplished here. Here’s looking to a wonderful future for you and “While She Naps.”
Happy 2nd blogiversary.
Happy two years! Love your stuff.
that is awesome, i am very proud of you. you are really an amazing artist. (now give me the book!) just kidddinggg.
wow, Happy Blog Birthday! Time flies by 🙂
Happy blog anniversary! I really love the birds you make – and I thoroughly enjoy watching you experiment with new techniques and ‘evolve’ your beautiful creations. My 2 year old daughter is a huge fan of your owls but we’ve yet to snap one up from your shop yet.
Congratulations on 2 years! That’s really impressive.
Really the most fun has been watching your work evolve as you experiment with different fabrics and techniques. Thanks for bringing us along for the ride!
Happy Blog Birthday! What inspirational things you create! So much fun! Such marvelous art! Thank you for including us all in your world.
Congratulations on your blog’s birthday! Ever since I found you on the craftland website I’ve followed your crafting adventures almost every day! I love your products (I have the fuzzy teddy and the Marching Rebels horse). Thank you so much!
Congratulations on your blog’s birthday! Ever since I found you on the craftland website I’ve followed your crafting adventures almost every day! I love your products (I have the fuzzy teddy and the Marching Rebels horse). Thank you so much!
Congratulations on your blog’s birthday! Ever since I found you on the craftland website I’ve followed your crafting adventures almost every day! I love your products (I have the fuzzy teddy and the Marching Rebels horse). Thank you so much!
You have come so far in only two years. It gives me hope for myself.
I am amazed by your work. I do hope that this blog provides you with some encouragement to keep creating, keep growing. Because certainly we all are a little more blessed when we pop round here every day to see what’s new.
Happy blogiversary! Here’s an interesting fact – I’m a dance teacher living in Portsmouth, NH, but as a student I used to drive down to Wellesley to buy dance supplies at some store that I can’t remember the name of now. I think it’s a girl’s name or something, but I used to look forward to those trips all the time 🙂
Congrats on 2 years, your dedication to the blog and your craft are inspiring for us all. i’ve been reading for at least a year and i have really been enjoying the change in your artwork. it’s as though you have burst forth from a cage and you just keep flying higher and higher. thread nest one and two are my most favorite soft sculptures so far. thanks for sharing:)
Mazel on two years of your blog! I love reading it. Even though we are far away, reading your blog helps me stay connected to our Wellesley life. I love to see what you’re working on and what the girls are up to. Hope we get to see you guys this summer when we come back to Boston!
Congratulatons on your work and the blog!
I really enjoy your blog, and I think you may live really close to me too. (Because you’re friends with Mimi who lives really close to me) Anyway, thanks for the heads up on the book. I’d love to win it but even if I don’t I’m putting it on the Amazon wishlist!
Happy Anniversary! I absolutely love the dog in the party hat.
Thank you so much for sharing with us for the past two years. Your blog is always fun to visit and, your fabric creations are always an inspiration. I hope that you continue with this blog for another two years!
Happy anniversary!! Hello, and… something interesting? Well, let’s see. Oh, here’s something. I just read (a comment by oneredboot over here) that mastering a new technique releases endorphins. Perhaps that’s why crafters are sometimes so addicted to learning new things! It’s like a drug! It explains a lot about my own “need” to craft!
Thanks for the ongoing inspiration. You’ve inspired me to make a few softies of my own but 3-d construction is hard so I”m sticking with quilting. Trying and not being very successful makes me appreciate your talent even more. Something interesting…now I think of your work every time I see fabric that could be repurposed (like flour sacks but more interesting). Keep up the good work!
Happy anniversary Abby!
I’ve been meaning to come out of lurking to tell you how much I adore the new thread nest birds….I think having your creatures exist in a larger context really takes them from being just beautiful objects, into the realm of Art.
The addition of the nest for me really completes the idea, showing a resolution in the creative process that is sometimes hard to accomplish with hand made objects. I especially love the simplicity of the one on the single branch, they speak to me of longing and loss, but hope and new beginnings as well……. gorgeous!
Sorry about the rant, I put my old Art Theory hat on there for a minute!
Thankyou for creating and sharing with us,
Leahxx
Happy Birthday!!! I have to say that I really have loved watching you grow as an artist since I discovered you in Dec. In particular, the birds have been sooo touchingly beautiful, and the nests of thread series has honestly been so exciting to me… they touch something so deeply innate and basic in me. I love love love them!
2 years – wow1 Does that mean you still find the time to make all these fantastic things even when she’s two? I have a 6 month old and have been getting lots of my own stuff done, but thought it would all have to stop once he starts crawling.
Congratulations on two years of great blogging.
ALB
Congratulations on your blogiversary! I find your work so inspiring. Keep up the fantastic work!
thank you for for sharing your passion and creativity with your wonderful artpieces!
Happy blogiversary! I only just found your blog today, but am just fascinated by all of your wonderful work! Look at those birds – you are sooo creative. An inspiration I will be back to draw from many a time I am sure.
Happy anniversary…!
love those tags…..
congrats on the two year anniversary!
i always enjoy seeing your new creations – and the nest of threads II? awesome. my all-time favorite of yours, i think.
keep crafting, and thanks for sharing!
Abby, I have really enjoyed reading your blog for a bit now. It’s been great to see your transition in style and function!
Since I have a little one, and even more little nieces and nephews, Sock and Glove would be great on my shelf! Thanks for the offer.
I have so enjoyed reading your blog. you have been such an inspiration. thank you for sharing!
Many congratulations on your blog anniversary. I’m just starting out in this wonderful world of blogging, having been so inspired by the wonderful blogs that are out there – While She Naps being one of them.
Two years – yay for you!
Did you think it would last this long? Or – more to the point – did you think you would last this long writing a blog?
That’s just one of the questions that we blogless folk wonder about.
Take care and congratulations,
Janey
I love your giveaway book but I love your blog more! You inspire me daily … except on days when you don’t post a blog 🙂 and I’m not sucking up to get a better chance on winning that fabulous book … you are a great artist too! Now go take a nap!!
Happy Blogiversary! I have loved watching your work change and grow! Something interesting? Both myself, and two SILs (one on either side of the family) are pregnant and due within a week of each other.
Congrats on the blogiversary! I’ve enjoyed the blog, and the bag you made me (Backtack). The pleasure is all ours :0)
I adore your softies. You inspire me to get on my sewing machine. I’ve been twice as productive since I’ve been reading your blog. Thanks!
wow!!! happy blog anniversary!I enjoy a lot reading your blog and seeing your artistic work,I think i read your blog from one yars ago and firstly I enjoy your blog name, is really lovely and your baby now is a beautiful girl…
Congrats and thanks for sharing,
V*
Hey, I’ve read you blog for ages and the new creatures you post allways amazes me and makes me smile.
thank you!
Congrats on turing 2! I must say that I love all of your creations. They are all so beautiful!
Congratulations on your blog-iversary! I just found you and am loving what you share. Thank you!
Happy blog anniversary! I’ve been lurking for a while and want to say that your recent clothing-tags-as-bird-wings post is one of the most creative things I’ve seen for a while. The shadowbox was really neat as well. Okay, it’s all great…I am constantly inspired by your blog.
Love being inspired by your work! By the way, thanks for the woven tag tip, I got some very cute iron-on tags from namemaker.
Happy Blogiversary! I so enjoy reading and looking at what you are able to share (in your precious spare moments)! Please keep on. And love every minute!
🙂
congratulations on your two year blogiversary! i’ve been lurking for about a year and a half. i was interested, as a mom, in reading about how you just had a baby and managed to make so many lovely softies. i was new to crafting and had no time to make anything, so i was in awe of you. as the time has gone by, i keep checking in on your work, and i’m so amazed at how much more beautiful your work has gotten! i really admire you for being a mom and accomplishing so much! thanks for being an inspiration!
I only have a minute because my little one is napping…I took a minute to look at my favorite craft sites (which I added yours to recently) and will take a second to breathe, and then will craft for 7.2 minutes before my mom duties begin again. Thank you for sharing.
Happy Bloggy Birthday! I’ve seen that book around blogland and it looks too cute.
Congratulations! Have been following all your wonderful creatures and your creativity astounds me! Love the birds, Love their feathers… Thank you for sharing such beautiful softie sculptures!
Happy blogiversary!!
I’ve been reading your blog for.. over a year, I think? And love watching your softies. You made such amazing progress and your recent birds are absolute ART.
Can’t wait to see what you come up with next!
I’m not commenting for the book, only to say congratulations for the anniversary.
You’re a big inspiration to me, and I am always quick to jump when I see you’ve updated.
Never fails to make me feel good.
Congratulations! I have been following your blog for a few months now and it has been great to watch your art evolve. I love the recent birds, especially the tags and street directory wings.
I wish I had a fraction of your talent and output (and if only my daughter would sleep for longer…)
Happy blogiversary! ive really enjoyed popping by & admiring your creations!!!
~cheers~
Ang
I’m another silent reader who stops by almost every day to look at your beautiful creations.
I have really enjoyed seeing your work evolve and also just reading about your thoughts on the whole process.
And I love, love, love the bird in the shadow box – just beautiful!
Congratulations on 2 years of blogging and thank you for sharing with all of us!!
Congratulations! I really enjoy reading your blog. As I get ready to have my first baby, I am inspired by how productive you are and by your abilitiy to balance your art and being a mom. Thanks!
I love While She Naps!
it has been my pleasure to read your blog, and i look forward to more! your craftsmanship is remarkable and inspiring.
Happy Blogiversary! That book looks awesome!
happy 2nd blogiversary! coming into your blog is like entering into a national reserve wildlife little forest! all yr creations seems to come in life with a so natural touch in colors or in material.. amazing inspirations. something that makes me wow and wow just looking at them. 🙂
happy,happy day!
Me, me, pick me 😉
Seriously ‘tho, congratulations for seeing where your art (yes, I mean that) takes you. I really think the new set of birds you’re doing is a big leap forward from your previous toys (not that I didn’t like them too). The birds belong IN the gallery, definitely.
I am sooo in love with all your birds…I wish I could just line them all up and admire them (especially in my own home!). Congratulations on your 2 years!
Andrea
Congratulations! I only found your blog in January, but I’ve greatly enjoyed seeing your creations — particularly your evolving menagerie of birds.
congratulations on two years. Come to my site too I am celebrating my one year wiht a give away too.
Congratulations! For over a year I’ve been jelaous of your blog name – my daughter never napped. She just kinda started and I keep thinking of you and the possibilities I now have.
Congratulations on your 2-year anniversary. I love your blog.
Hi!! This is my first time leaving a comment – but I visiting you every day – from Norway!! I just Love your blog!!
Your art really is amazing and inspiring. Thank you for sharing it.
Happy anniversary! I love seeing the amzing plushies you design, it realy inspires me to keep on with my sewing and try and start creating my own original designs.
Also, it’s interesting to see a Japanese craft book coming out in English, I think I saw it mentioned on someone else’s blog too.
Another silent reader… thanks for the inspiration! Your new work with the string nests is super on top of what’s already superduper.
congratulations on two years. it’s been exciting to see and hear about the new direction your work has moved towards, and i can’t wait to see much, much more.