Belated Birthday Bunny

Since I was in the mode of sewing - making the simple elephant and bunny patterns to go with my new book - I finally managed to make a very belated birthday bunny for my friend Karen. In her birthday card, many months ago, I had included swatches from about 10 vintage fabrics that I thought she'd like, so she got to choose. I love how it turned out.

With a larger scale print like this, I have to be more careful in how I place the patterns so that large motifs will be in good places.
I always love how these bunnies look from the back too.

This stuffed bunny pattern was inspired by the bunny I created for this book by Linda Sue Park for Clarion some years ago. When I made the first bunny, I thought it was the best thing I'd ever made!
I started selling them in my Etsy shop, and they were very popular.
Here's a sampling of those I sold:

There was a thrill in listing a new bunny and having it purchased usually within hours. Compared to the long process of illustrating a book, the immediate response and connection with buyers was so satisfying, and a sale always made me want to make a new one. Also, each bunny was different.
But it was certainly far from cost-effective, so eventually I had to stop selling bunnies.
However, this bunny was the inspiration for my next book, My Blue Bunny Bubbit which will be published by Clarion this fall.
It's funny the circularity of things, how one thing leads to another in a way you'd never expect!

Joanne's Big Meadow set

This is the beautiful stuffed toy set that the very talented Joanne Friar made (from my pattern) for her grandson for Christmas. It's so interesting to see someone else's different fabric choices! Check out Joanne's stunning children's book illustrations here.

Big Meadow pattern set!

 i finally finished the Big Meadow pattern set for my etsy shop. it was a long time coming, since, as i've probably said before, these patterns take an unimaginably long time to complete!

 i had fun adding new animals and doing a different treatment with the basket, since the word Meadow was a bit too much to applique.

 this set has a leafy log for the animals to jump over or to gnaw on...

 and some felt fir trees too.

the pdf is 15 pages and includes patterns, instructions, diagrams and reference photos.
it's a great pattern for urging Spring to get here soon!
xo

vintage fabric-a-rama in my etsy shop

for a while i've been wanting to "share" some of my ginormongous collection of vintage cotton fabrics accumulated over many years, mostly from ebay. there is just Way to much for even a healthy human to use in a lifetime! so, we have pretty little roses...

fun mod flowers...

delicious fruit....

and crazy people throwing snowballs!
there's Lots, LOTS more to come.
and i'm happy to report that i've already had my first sale--yay!
hoping it's a good sign of LOTS more sales to come.
you can see these prints and more, for sale in my etsy shop.
happy sewing!

horsies found a home

some things sit in your etsy shop for a long time and you start to think they will never sell (and some things never do), but then suddenly out of the blue (like most sales are), somebody wants them, and it makes everything feel okay.
i knew that some small person would really love these horse softies, so it was frustrating to have them stuck in a storage box instead of being played with.
finally they are going to a home in wisconsin, maybe a horse ranch?
or at least a house with a nice yard.
i hope they have lots of fun galloping in the tall grasses!

learning to make a live link

theresia expained how to make a live link in a posting, so here goes.
this is one of my newer designs--"Sleepy Dog", available in my etsy shop. thanks, theresia, it was easy!

Daisy dog arrived safely in the UK!

theresia sent me this photo to show that Daisy Dog made it safely through the volcano cloud to her house in the UK. now she's hanging out with one of theresia's adorable mouse dolls, like the one i traded her for. one of the best things about Etsy is when you have the opportunity to trade with another crafter/artist. i think this was a happy deal for both of us!
this is MY mouse (theresia's original photo from the listing in her etsy shop) and i love her very much. i'll need to make her a sweater because it's still so chilly here in seattle!
see more of theresia's fabulous stuffed toys and pincushions in her shop:
www.strawberriesandcream.etsy.com

plush doggie - vintage cotton fabric

this is one of my plush doggies, made for a trade with a wonderful etsy artist who lives in england. i'm afraid to put Daisy in the mail for fear she won't make it safely overseas due to the volcano eruption, which has caused huge delays & backlogs with the postal system.