Interview with Heidi Bears!

If you’ve been on Ravelry or Pinterest, you’ve probably seen Heidi Bears‘s gorgeous stuffed animals! She creates totally unique designs using the African Flower Motif.

I’ve been a fan and I’m thrilled that Heidi agreed to come over and have a chat with us!

Hippo by MissWorld

Hippo by Ravelry user, MissWorld

Interview

Stacey: I have to say, your concept of putting the African Flower Hexagon together to make animals is absolutely stunning! When did you first get the idea to experiment with the technique?

Heidi: Thanks Stacey! I think it came about as I was fiddling around with the basic hexagon pattern to see if I could make a pentagon and other polygonal shapes. Some of these were quite different in 3D shape to the hexagon, and while sitting in my kitchen one day, I thought, “Hmmm…. what if I combine this polygon with this polygon, maybe I can make it look like something…”

This led to an enormous amount of testing, crocheting, frogging, re-testing until I finally put together the pattern for Lollo Bear. I had spent several years as a Teddy Bear pattern designer and maker, which I think helped with the ability to “see” how different parts would fit together. Naturally (since I love and collect artist bears), my first design idea was for a teddy bear.

Heidi Bears Lollo

From the time I released Lollo Bear, my day job started demanding much more time, so my designing took a back seat. At the beginning of 2013, I had the opportunity to take a break from my regular job and concentrate solely on designing. At that point the kinds of items made from crochet motifs, seemed to consist of bags, blankets, scarfs and hats with the odd clothing item thrown in.

With so many amazingly talented people in the designing world, it can be extremely hard to produce something completely different, unusual and original when trying to establish a name for oneself as a designer. With the background I had in writing the pattern for Lollo, it appeared that there was nothing else on the Internet that I could find that was similar to my motif toys idea, in my style, so I decided to try and pursue that avenue.

Hippo from Ravelry

Hippo from Ravelry user, SteffiFalun
It took me several months to put together the pattern for Happypotamus, but during this time I learned a lot about polygons and how they act and what works and what doesn’t when putting them together. I like designing toys as they are smallish projects and when made well, appeal to both child and adult alike. I will branch out into other kinds of items when the time comes, but at the moment I still love thinking up ideas for animals, so until that well of inspiration runs dry, toys are it!

Your style is certainly unique… I can’t picture anyone doing a better job of creating an original design niche! What attracted you to the African Flower pattern over other motifs?

I love symmetry and balance in design. I can’t stand seeing a skew picture or lamps that are not symmetrical…the flower is both pretty and appeals to my love for symmetry…

African flower from Heidi Bears

Were you nervous about taking the step of writing up the instructions? I mean, it’s a lot of steps!

Absolutely! My previous profession had nothing to do with my current work, so I had no experience in writing a crochet pattern… I pretty much winged it, hoping more than anything, that I hadn’t left any important bits out.

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My goal was to provide a really detailed newbie’s guide to making Lollo, and from the feedback I have received over the years, it seems to have done the trick. However, I have since developed a much more streamlined approach, which, although it still has all the detail a crocheter may need, doesn’t run to such a big pattern anymore!

Can you tell us a bit about the yarn culture in South Africa? Is crocheting and knitting popular? What are yarn stores like?

Yes, knitting and crocheting are very popular here! Over the last few years, we have seen a wonderful increase in local indie dyers providing us with gorgeous and affordable natural fibre yarns that come in a much bigger range of colors than can sometimes be found in retail lines. I use yarns from two amazingly talented and lovely ladies, who use local merino and other fibres to dye up the full range of colors you see in my animals.

Similarly, there are more “indie” yarn shops popping up. There are a couple of traditional LYS too, but the growth has certainly been in the online indie shops!

I know that you’re also a sock knitter… what’s your favorite method for knitting socks?

Definitely toe-up two-at-a-time with a short row type heel.

toe up sock knitting from Heidi Bears

My favourite is the Sherman heel… hides any holes perfectly! I am experimenting with all kinds of new heels and toes (just for fun), but knitting them in baby sized socks. They are from a wonderful new ebook teaching just that.. sock anatomy and all the variations you can get for heels and toes… learning is growing, so I like to keep trying new techniques!

Tell us a bit about yourself! Hobbies? Family? Pets?

Well, I am very happily married to the most awesome guy… we’ve been married for 20 years and are still best friends. We live in beautiful South Africa. We have two lovely (and adored!) girls and a pitbull, who is, if the truth be told, is more like a cat in many ways. Likes his comforts, worships the girls and gets spoiled waaaay too much.

I love learning new things and over the years have tried pretty much all the different types of hobbies you can find… I quilt, sew, paint, knit, lampwork, make stained glass… at one stage I ran a photographic studio and at one time even tried my hand at carving full sizes rocking horses! I am terrified of being bored, so I like to have loads of stuff on the go at the same time. I love the color pink, use only natural fibre yarns and have a stash that is shameful (except I can claim I neeeeed all that yarn for my work 😉 ).

I hear you… I’m a bit the same way with hobbies! Your new sea turtle is fabulous! What animals are on your brainstorming list?

Heidi Bears Sea turtle

Thank you very much! I have a string of designs all worked out and ready to write up…the problem is the pattern writing takes a tremendous amount of time. I take around 500 photographs for each pattern that I write. I then edit the best ones for colour, focus, composition etc. I then annotate each one. Then I start the actual pattern writing, which also takes a lot of time, so the write-up is essentially the delaying factor.

I am currently writing up the pattern for what I think will be a very popular animal and have also test crocheted two completely new and different bear patterns. I love bears! Everyone loves bears! I had read a comment by someone that a bear is a bear is a bear… this couldn’t be further from the truth! It’s like saying “a human is a human is a human… they all have two arms, two legs and a head…” Obviously people are incredibly different despite having the same basic anatomy, and bears are no different. These bears (plus two other totally different bears which will follow) will be focused on making what would traditionally be called an “artist bear”. The regular crocheted and knitted bears have been seen by some as the “humbler cousin” …something I really want to change. The cleverness of the first two designs is that they are self-shaping. I have purposely created them in such a way that they have a little hump (as bears do), they have fat tummies and shaped limbs…all of which is achieved by simply constructing the bear as directed. The patterns will have a whole section devoted to finishing techniques, which will allow the bear maker to create something unique and of artistic quality. Yes, of course it may just be for a grandchild, but it will be the best bear anyway!

I also have plans to release my first shawl pattern this year. It’s for a really unusual geometric pattern that creates a shallowish triangular shawl. I am very excited about it and have started dyeing and testing up yarns and yarn combinations for it… also there is a secret line of new toys that is in the process of being created. This is something I am sooooo looking forward to seeing as it’s a totally different take on my current line….

Thank you so much for joining us, Heidi! Be sure to check out all of Heidi’s amazing designs on her Blog & Pattern Shop!

All photos courtesy of Heidi, unless otherwise specified.

Pattern Review – Wee Princess Pea: A Purse-Sized Fairy Tale Playset

Pattern Review - Wee Princess Pea: A Purse-Sized Fairytale Playset

Wee Princess Pea – a purse-sized fairytale playset designed by Larissa Holland at mmmcrafts

This post contains affiliate links. That means I make a little commission if you buy something after clicking through. All affiliate links are marked with an *.

First of all – can I get an AWWWWWWWW?

How about an OH WOW!

I want to start adding the occasional pattern review to Shiny Happy World. Books get reviewed all the time. But lots of us like to buy individual patterns – especially PDF patterns – and reviews can be helpful for that, too. So as I find patterns I admire in my internet roamings – patterns that I think you all would enjoy – I’ll be dropping in an occasional review.

I’m starting with this one because it’s pure awesome. 🙂

I’ve admired Larissa’s Wee Mouse in a Tin House* before, but when I saw the level of detail and cuteness in her Wee Princess Pea Playset it totally knocked my socks off. Look at all the stuff you make! Pattern Review - Wee Princess Pea: A Purse-Sized Fairytale PlaysetThat’s a bed, a pillow, a stack of mattresses, a ladder (to climb to the top of the stack), a bedspread, a doll in a nightgown with a removable robe and crown, and a closet – with a hanger where you can hang the robe. All the little bits and pieces pack neatly into the two Altoids tins used for the bed and closet, and they tuck into a little drawstring bag (not pictured here).

WOW!

The pattern is amazing.

With something this small, that needs to fit into the two Altoids tins, precision is a must. Larissa’s pattern pieces are drawn beautifully and well labelled.

Pattern Review - Wee Princess Pea: A Purse-Sized Fairytale PlaysetOne of the things I love about digital patterns is that there’s no need to skimp on instructions or step-by-step photos. The pattern can be as long as it needs to be without the space considerations of a printed book.

Larissa takes full advantage of that. She writes very detailed instructions and includes plenty of very clear photos illustrating every step.

This was a new way of making pipecleaner people for me, and I never felt lost or even a tiny bit confused at any point. That’s my doll to the left. I switched thread colors when I got to her legs because I didn’t have enough of the skin color I used on the body and arms. I like how it looks like she’s wearing tights. 🙂

Jo loved that looooong hair. Pattern Review - Wee Princess Pea: A Purse-Sized Fairytale Playset

Larissa is also very detailed in her materials list. I didn’t always have what she recommended on hand and had to make a few substitutions. I didn’t have any eyelet lace trim, but I had this sheer sparkly stuff that I used as my overskirt. And I didn’t have the right size ribbons for the shoulder straps and sash – but I did have a bit of old rhinestone trim that I’ve been looking for a way to use.

Overkill?

Maybe. But also totally fun. 🙂

One thing that I especially appreciated was her detailed information about what glue to use in what situation. I am NOT a glue person so it was really helpful that she didn’t just instruct me to glue pieces together. She said where I needed to use craft glue, fabric glue or hot glue – and why. Very nice!

Pattern Review - Wee Princess Pea: A Purse-Sized Fairytale PlaysetThe project is almost all hand work and glue, with a little bit of easy machine sewing for the mattresses, bedspread and drawstring bag.

The robe was intended to be a mix of hand and machine sewing, but you can’t expect me to make a teeny-tiny little felt robe and not blanket stitch around the edges.

I just had to!

And I love how it turned out. 🙂

Here’s the final scene I made. . . Pattern Review - Wee Princess Pea: A Purse-Sized Fairytale PlaysetWant to make your own?

You can get the pattern here.* And take a look at everything else in Larissa’s shop* while you’re at it. In addition to adorable playsets, she also designs lovely felt pieces, super-cute dolls and softies, and a stunning 12 days of Christmas felt ornament pattern collection.

Happy sewing!

Best,
Wendi
Wendi_Gratz_Shiny_Happy_World

Book Review: Woodland Knits

I adore Stephanie Dosen’s (aka Tiny Owl Knits) designs. She designs whimsical and fun knitting patterns… so I was really excited to see her book, Woodland Knits.

Woodland Knits by Tiny Owl Knits

The book contains 21 adorable patterns, 10 of which are new designs for the book. The remaining 11 designs are well-loved favorites, like the deer with antlers hat, bo peep scarf and fawn poncho.

mr. fox stole my heart woodland knits

The book contains cute little notes and helpful tips throughout, but no introductory material. It’s 21 lovely patterns bound together in a book.

Woodland knits

I was surprised to see that all of the patterns in the book are available for individual purchase as pdf downloads. At around $5 a piece, if you’d like to make a few, then $20 for the book is a great deal!

Bo peep scarf tiny owl knits

Besides the discount over purchasing 21 individual patterns, though, you don’t get much additional content to the book. So, I would recommend having a peek at the included designs (which is tricky, since only the new 10 designs are listed as patterns in the book on Ravelry), and deciding whether there are a few you’d like to knit.

The patterns are cute and the book is very pretty… so if you can find a few, then I’d say go for it!

 

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Book Review – Quilting Happiness

Quilting_HappinessWhen I read a book to review it, I read it with a notepad next to me so I can capture my thoughts as I go along. My notes for Quilting Happiness – a terrific new book by Diane Gilleland and Christina Lane ended up being a long list of things I loved.

So let me tell you what I love about Quilting Happiness. . .

I love the title. My business is called Shiny Happy World. How can I not immediately pick up a book called Quilting Happiness?

I love the quote mentioned in the dedication. “You’ll never notice it on a galloping horse.” That – in a nutshell – sums up my quilting spirit. It’s something I often tell my students when they fixate on a tiny “mistake” in a big, beautiful quilt.

I love the list 5 Things About Quilting That Makes Us Happy.

Quilting_Happiness_listI really connected immediately with both authors of the book – but especially with Diane’s last point. “Give me some hand quilting to do, a cup of coffee, and a Doctor Who marathon, and I’m one happy woman.” That’s exactly how I feel about all hand work – quilting, embroidery, finish work, etc. Although I’d also add in Sherlock, Downton Abbey, the Phryne Fisher Mysteries and lots of other favorite TV shows. 🙂

I love the many quizzes sprinkled throughout the book. They can help you articulate what kind of quilter you are – something I sometimes find difficult to do. And I love how the results of the quizzes point you to specific quilts in the book. It’s a fun “Choose Your Own Adventure” way to work your way through the projects.

I love that every single project has very specific suggestions for quilting each quilt.

Quilting_Happiness_Ideas_QuiltingSo many books just say “quilt as desired.” That’s not helpful at all! And not only does the book have specific suggestions – it has multiple suggestions for every project! And they range from simple line stitching to more complicated free motion stitching and even some hand quilting and tying suggestions. That is fantastic – and very unusual!

I love that the instructions for each quilt are super clear – with excellent diagrams.

I love that there are detailed instructions for cutting the fabric. A lot of books will tell how many of each shape and size to cut, but leave it up to you to figure out the most efficient way to do that. This book breaks it down step by step. It tells you how many strips to cut of each size, then exactly what pieces to cut from those strips. Very nice!

Crazy_Strips_Quilting_Happiness I love this Crazy Strips quilt. I think it’s my favorite in the whole book. It’s pieced improvisationally, but within a structure. That helps keep things balanced and can be less overwhelming to someone just getting started with that kind of loose approach.

I love the range and variety of projects. There are bold, dramatic, modern quilts. There are traditional quilts made with vintage-style fabrics. There are quilts for beginners and quilts for more advanced stitchers. There are small projects like pillows and tote bags, and there are large bed quilts. This is an especially great book for beginners who know they want to try quilting, but maybe aren’t sure what kind of quilts they want to make. They can take some of the quizzes to get pointed in one direction, then stretch their skills as they learn.

I love the “Happiness Practice” exercise about Finding Inspiration Guides. It’s a great guide to studying a quilter you admire – breaking down just what it is about their quilts that really works for you so you can apply that to your own work without copying them directly. What a terrific exercise!

I love the general instructions at the end of the book. They’re very clear and cover all the basics – how (and why) to square up your fabric, piecing curves, basting and binding your quilt and more. It’s a great reference.

Haphazard_Chevron_Pillow_Quilting_HappinessI love this Haphazard Chevron Pillow. It’s similar in many ways to the Crazy Strips quilt I mentioned above – in that it’s irregular piecing within a structure. But it’s a smaller project and one I could realistically tackle right now.  So I decided to make one for myself!

I strayed a bit from the instructions (of course) – not because they were unclear – they’re terrific! But I have overflowing scrap bins, I knew my daughter would really like a rainbow pillow, and I wanted to try a quilt-as-you-go technique I’ve been toying with. So here’s my Scrappy Rainbow Chevron Pillow. 🙂

Scrappy_Rainbow_Chevron_Pillow_quilt

My pillow form was a bit larger than the one in the book, but I used the same suggested range of widths for the strips I cut so it would have a similar effect.

I love it! Thanks so much for the inspiration!

Are you ready for some Quilting Happiness of your own? Get the book here.

Happy quilting!

Best,
Wendi
That's me!

Book Review: Beastly Crochet

As soon as I saw the cover of Brenda Anderson’s new book, Beastly Crochet, I knew there would be some cuties inside:

Beastly Crochet

But… I had no idea there would be so much other awesome stuff! Let’s peek inside, shall we?

The Beasties

You know me, I can’t resist a cute stuffed animal. (Are monsters really animals?!? Hmm… I digress.)

The thing I really love about the creatures in this book is that they feature a variety of crochet techniques. Check out ‘A Zombie named Skip’, a marionette who sports an open mouth with beads as teeth!

Crochet Zombie Pattern

The other critters (including a Frankenstein & his bride and an adorable yeti-type monster among others) feature colorwork, textured stitches, appliques and even felting (the cuties on the cover!). While there are a few patterns suitable for beginners, this book is targeted at crocheters who are looking for innovative patterns and want to add a new skill or technique to their repertoire.

The Wearables

The ‘Beastly’ part of the book is broadly construed to include: zombies, monsters, skulls, robots and myths. I was really surprised by some of the fabulous wearables in the book:

skull zipper cowl

This fun skull cowl is just one of many clothing patterns in the book. There are Sasquatch slippers, a couple great sweaters for kids as well as bibs and bags.

Seriously, how did Brenda fit all of this stuff in one book?

And more!

gnome coin purse

Look at that coin purse! Isn’t it ridiculously cute?

And this Tiki pillow:

Tiki Pillow

So clever and fun!

I particularly love the book’s section on ‘Principles of Cuteness’, where Brenda talks about eye shapes and spacing, so you’ll get the maximally cute monster!

The Verdict

With Halloween coming up, the timing of this book couldn’t be better! It contains 23 fabulous projects for anyone who loves monsters/robots/fantasy.

This book is aimed at the advanced beginner/intermediate crocheter. It doesn’t contain a lot of introductory material (so, expect to learn how to single crochet elsewhere!), but it’s packed with patterns that have great assembly/finishing information. A crocheter with a standard cache of skills won’t get lost, and will learn a bundle of new techniques and methods.

It’s a fab book! You can get it here.

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Book Review: Flip Dolls & Other Toys That Zip, Stack, Hide, Grab & Go

Flip Dolls cover

As soon as I saw the name of this book I knew I had to have a closer look.

I LOVE softies that do something! And the toys in this book do the most clever things!

There’s a stacking tree that unstacks to make a forest of individual trees.

There’s a frog with an elastic tongue that can grab things.

There are cars with wheels that turn.

There are some trule amazing flip dolls. It’d be more accurate to call them reversible dolls – but that’s nitpicking. They’re incredibly fun and creative no matter what you call them! And she includes terrific instructions for a base doll to use to design your own. Score!

There’s a ukelele with elastic strings. Love! Speaking of ukeleles – here’s a link to my favorite ukelele video. Yes. I have a favorite ukelele video. Ukeleles are cool.

There’s a terrific crocodile with zipper teeth.

There are so many fun projects in here!

FD turtles

I asked my daughter which one she thought I should make for this review.

She flipped through the book – oohing and aahing a lot.

She tagged a ton of projects, including these incredibly cute turtles with removable shells.

So sweet!

FD horse

She also really liked this horse with the button-on wings.

But I’ve been working on a removable wing thing of my own for a few weeks now and didn’t want to start looking at a whole other technique.

Plus, I’m not crazy about making standing stuffed animals like that. I know they’re great to play with – I just don’t enjoy making them and I’m ok with that.

Gulp the Whale from the book Flip Dolls

Jo’s favorite toy in the whole book was Gulp the Whale.

So anxious-looking!

And so weirdly cute!

Now – I recently made a whale from a Zooguu pattern. And I have a whale pattern in my own book (Creature Camp, coming in November). I didn’t really feel like making another whale right now.

But that pocket! When I was a kid my favorite teddy bear had a hole in her neck. I used to hide things in there even though it wasn’t a pocket and they sometimes got lost in the stuffing. In fact – my diary key is still in there somewhere. 🙂

Ever since I started making softies I’ve wanted to make one with a proper pocket for hiding secret treasures. I included one in the proposal for my book but ended up cutting it for space reasons before I actually made it. This is a project I’ve sketched out and made in my head a hundred times, but never actually made in real life.

The time had finally come!

So I made a doll with a pocket mouth using the construction technique in the book, but my own pattern. Laura’s technique was very similar to what I had envisioned, and her instructions were very clear with just enough illustrations. And she had a nice tip for stuffing the softie before tucking the pocket inside which really helped keep things nice and full and smooth.

Want to see a sneak peek at my guy?

Glutton softie from Shiny Happy World
Hi there! I’ll be a pattern soon!

I’m not happy with the antennae and – now that I’ve played with him a bit and have a better idea of his personality – I have an idea that I like better.

Oh yes, I played with him. 🙂 A lot. I wanted to make his limbs long enough to really be playful. What I didn’t anticipate was how expressive he would be!

Scared Glutton softie from Shiny Happy World
“Sometimes when I’m scared I chew on my toes.”

This little photo shoot was so much fun!

Hand-eating Glutton from Shiny Happy World
Now what did I have for lunch?

The first thing Jo did was stuff one of his hands down into his belly. 🙂 Updated to add: You can find the pattern for Munch here!

I rarely make actual projects from the many (MANY) craft books I buy. They’re a source of inspiration and a way to learn new techniques – and Flip Dolls & Other Toys is all kinds of inspiring.

Maybe your kid isn’t into cars, but he LOVES windmills. Use the technique for spinning wheels from the book to make a windmill with spinning vanes!

Maybe your kid doesn’t care for robots (is that even possible?????) but loves those I Spy books. Use the very cool technique for the nuts & bolts robot to make pocket search games for the car. Or a little aquarium with fish that swim in and out of view!

That’s the thing about this book. The ideas are so clever and so fresh – the possibilities for spinning off the ideas are endless! For me that’s a great book – one that doesn’t just give me instructions for a handful of projects, but one that fires my imagination and gives me instructions for techniques I can use a lot of different ways.

For those who DO want to make the projects just as they see them in the book – here’s a little tip. The patterns all need to be enlarged. As someone who lives in a remote area a long way from a copy shop this is a real pet peeve. BUT! Lark now has full-sized templates on their website that you can easily download and print. Yay! Just save this link because I couldn’t find this nice feature or the link mentioned anywhere in the book itself.

So. Are you ready for some really clever softie designs unlike any I’ve seen before? Get this book! Flip Dolls & Other Toys That Zip, Stack, Hide, Grab & Go by Laura Wilson of We Wilsons. And get ready to have some fun!

Happy sewing!

Best,
Wendi

Applique Wendi (with fabulous hat)

Meet Abby Glassenberg – Softie Designer Extraordinaire

abby-glassenbergToday I’d like to introduce you all to a fellow pattern designer who makes softie patterns I think you’ll love to make. Meet Abby Glassenberg! She’s the author of Stuffed Animals: From Concept to Construction. She blogs at While She Naps, and sells digital patterns for softies in her shop.

I started following Abby several years ago and I’ve loved watching her work evolve and her business grow. I can’t wait for you to meet her, so let’s jump right in!

Hi Abby! Thanks so much for spending some time with us here at Shiny Happy World!

Those of us who run solo businesses tend to wear many hats – and that makes it hard sometimes to tell people what we do. But that’s the first thing I’m going to ask you to do! Tell readers a little bit about you and your work. How do you introduce yourself and what you do to a stranger?

I’m a sewing pattern designer, craft book author, sewing teacher and craft blogger. I design sewing patterns for dolls and stuffed animals. My patterns help you create softies that are adorable and look professionally made. Each pattern includes step-by-step photos and clear instructions written in language you can easily understand. I love sewing toys and I want you to have a great experience, too!

I love that you think of designing patterns as helping other people have a great sewing experience too. That’s terrific! So – in a sea of patterns out there, what makes your work unique?

My stuffed animals are truly three-dimensional. I like gussets and darts! I love the puzzle of drawing flat pattern pieces so that when they’re sewn together you get an oval-shaped sphere, for example, or a curved horn. While you sew you’ll see how the language of softie pattern pieces works and perhaps you’ll be inspired to design toys yourself!

Tell me a little bit more about your latest pattern. What made you decide to make it and what were some decisions you made along the way in the design process?

Emma dollMy latest pattern is Emma the Doll. She’s a big doll at 20”, she’s entirely machine sewn and she’s made from fleece. I’m a mom of three young daughters, ages 9,7, and 2, so I have a good handle on how kids really play. A few weeks ago my kids spent the afternoon on the front lawn with a huge pile of toys having a funeral for a pink stuffed boar!

When I dreamed up this new doll I wanted her to be big and sturdy, to have jointed arms and legs so that she can be posed, and to be machine washable. Emma achieves all of these things, and with style.

I love the Emma doll pattern! She’s so totally kid-friendly! And I was completely captivated by this photo of her (smiling) in the washing machine. As a mom – that really says it all. 🙂

It's ok! I'm just having a bath!

It’s ok! I’m just having a bath!

Emma’s a very playable doll, kid-friendly doll. But you started out making sculptural birds – definitely not toys. (Abby’s first book, The Artful Bird, teaches you how to make them.) What made you switch gears and move into stuffed animals designed to be played with?

I think my years designing and sewing birds were a great way to explore three-dimensional shaping in fabric. I learned how to control bulges and how to pull shapes inward in order to achieve the particular body shapes of each species. After I wrote my first book I felt free to delve into children’s toys and I’ve really enjoyed designing teddy bears and baby lovies, dolls and elephants, hobby horses and turtles, and everything in between!

So tell me about your new book. How did it come about? What was the most challenging part of writing it? What’s your favorite project from the book?

il_570xn-452002987_td5k1-570x600My new book is Stuffed Animals: From Concept to Construction and it was published by Lark Crafts in May. This book is all about designing your own stuffed animals and it’s perfect for beginners as well as those with more sewing and design experience under their belts. I actually thought of writing a book that would be a comprehensive guide to soft toy design like this one long before I wrote my first book, The Artful Bird. It took many years of research and experimentation to create a book of this depth and I’m really proud of it. I enjoyed every aspect of writing Stuffed Animals, even the tedious parts! It truly was a labor of love and a book that I felt I was made to write. My favorite project is the 16th pattern in the book – a dinosaur with a zippered mouth!

Dinosaur with zippered mouth

Roar!

I love this book so much! My “official” review is here.

What are your dreams for the future of your business?

My business is really two-fold: I design sewing patterns for toys, and I also write about running a creative business. I’d like to grow both sides of what I do. In the realm of sewing patterns, I’d like to teach an online class on sewing softies. I was a middle school teacher in my former career and I still really see myself as a teacher. And, of course, I have tons of ideas for new softie patterns. I truly feel that I could design stuffed animals and dolls for the rest of my life and never run out of ideas! In the realm of writing about running a creative business I will continue to seek out and speak with those in power about the craft industry and share my experiences running my own business. I love reporting about what’s going on in my niche and feel so thankful to have found a large audience who shares my interest.

Can you tell us about a typical day? Where do you work and what’s your routine like?

We wake up early in the Glassenberg household! I’m up at 6:10 every morning. I get the kids off to school and then I go running. I’m at my computer by 10:15 and I work until about 2:30. Those hours include a combination of writing blog posts and patterns, doing research, responding to emails, posting on social media, drawing, sewing, photographing my work, editing photos, and doing graphic design for my site and my patterns. Oh wait, there’s packaging orders and shipping, and sourcing supplies, too. Like most people who run a small business I do everything there is to be done, even the weekly bookkeeping. But I seriously do love it all. I also work in the evenings from 8-9:30pm.

What’s your favorite sewing tool?

Hemostats. I may have 12 pairs. Or 13. When I travel I panic that if my luggage gets lost I may be without my hemostats and that would be serious issue for me.

I should have known that’s what you’d say. 🙂 You rave about them so much that I finally tried a pair (you know that, I guess, since I bought them from you) and they really are a pretty awesome little tool. But 12 or 13 pairs? That’s true devotion.

What’s your most popular pattern? Why do you think it’s so popular?

lovey doveyThe Lovey Dovey. It’s a great go-to project to make for a new baby and everyone wants to make something special to give as a baby gift.

This pattern comes with four variations (a bunny, a puppy, a bear, and a kitty) so you can customize what you’re making for each recipient. The pattern is also very approachable. You look at it and say, “Okay, I can handle that!” And it’s cute! You can’t deny the importance of cute when it comes to toys.

stella owlImagine someone with no sewing experience. She just took her first sewing machine out of the box and figured out how to thread it. She’s eager to make something – but also a little bit scared. Which one of your patterns do you recommend?

I’d recommend Stella the Owl. She’s a very straightforward design, but still really clever! Her wings come together with a bit of Velcro so that she can embrace her little owlet.

She’s so cute! And I think it would be really fun to choose fabric for the contrasting wings.

rubber duckieWhat’s your very favorite pattern? Why?

I’m really fond of my plush Rubber Duck. He’s a bath time favorite in plush form!

This pattern includes several really cool, but easy, construction techniques and the finished softie looks really professional.

I think this pattern is a really nice representation of my design style.

Can you suggest another designer that beginning sewists might like to get to know better?

I’m a big fan of Raynor Gellatly, a Scottish plush pattern designer whose business is called Elf Pop. Her dolls and toys have a very sweet, innocent look and I think they are ideal for relatively new sewists looking to create toys that kids will immediately want to hug!

Thanks so much, Abby!

I hope you all enjoyed getting to know Abby!

Happy sewing, everyone!

Best,
Wendi
Applique Wendi (with fabulous hat)

Meet Hadley the Horse/Zebra/Unicorn :-)

Six Months of Softies

Yesterday I reviewed a fabulous new book by Abby Glassenberg. Today I’m sharing her newest softie pattern with you.

Hadley the Horse softie pattern

Meet Hadley the Horse, the next pattern in the Six Months of Softies Club.

Hadley is a real cutie, made of super soft cuddle fleece with a snappy red bandana around his neck.

But look!

Make him up in black and white fabric and you have a zebra!

Hadley the Zebra softie pattern

Oooh! Look again!

Change the fabrics again and add a twisty horn and you have a unicorn!

unicorn softie patternDo you have three children or grandchildren? Make all three versions of this one pattern! Or just do it because it’s fun. 🙂

I think I’m going to make myself a blue horse in honor of Eric Carle – one of my very favorite artists.

Six Months of Softies

Want to make your own? Join the club! Everything you need is right here. Sign up now and you’ll get instant access to all four patterns released so far.

Sorry – the club is closed now – but you can get this pattern here on Abby’s site!

Happy sewing!

Best,
Wendi
That's me!

Stuffed Animals: From Concept to Construction

Stuffed Animals From Concept to ConstructionI’ve been looking forward to this book for a long time. Abby told me about it way way back in the early days when she was just starting to write it (it takes a long time for a book to come out!) and I’ve been following along with interest as she designed all the animals, took all the photos, and edited all the drafts.

And now it’s here.

And it’s fantastic!

In many ways it reminds me of Anatomy of a Doll – my very, VERY favorite doll-making reference book.

Like Anatomy of a Doll, the book is filled with detailed information showing the reader lots of different techniques (a variety of ways to attach a head, a ton of joint options, etc.). For each technique introduced, Anatomy of a Doll has loads of photos of finished dolls – showing you the many different ways that technique can be applied.

Stuffed Animals: From Concept to Construction goes one better and has a project! A project with detailed instructions and clear step-by-step photos showing you exactly how to do it so you can practice that new technique right away.

Brilliant!

As I said – I knew about this book long before I had a copy in my hands. As soon as I opened it up I knew I was in for a treat. People – the Table of Contents impressed me! I’m not kidding. Each chapter is the name of the animal you’ll be making, and below that is a list of all the lessons in that chapter.

Camel softie from Stuffed Animals bookIn the Camel chapter (yes – there’s a very cute stuffed camel) you’ll learn. . .

  • How to Design a Jointed Animal
  • Thread Joints and Exposed Button Joints
  • Invisible Button Joints
  • Cleft Hooves
  • Eyelashes

Eyelashes! I love it!

I read the book from cover to cover and it’s simply terrific. Fun projects. Clear instructions. Good photography. Well organized. It’s all there!

Oooh – and here’s another nice feature. The pattern pieces are all (except one) full-sized. No enlarging needed! AND you can go to the website of Lark Books and download them so you have digital files – which would make it super easy to print them out on printable freezer paper. No tracing! (You all know how much I loathe tracing.)

Abby has written a book that will become a well-worn reference for both makers and designers. I love that she assumes from the beginning that readers will want to design their own softies at some point. 🙂

We all learn best by doing and Abby gives us 16 projects to make, with 52 lessons to learn. Those lessons are so well-explained that you learn why you do things a certain way to achieve a certain effect. You’ll become better at making softies from anyone’s patterns, and you’ll be on your way to designing your own creations.

I was going to make one of the projects from the book – but every time I opened it to decide what I wanted to make I kept being drawn to the interesting joint she teaches in the Kangaroo chapter. (Here’s a little video showing more about the kangaroo.)

Kangaroo Featurette from Abby Glassenberg on Vimeo.

I’ve never used it in any of my designs, and never run across it it any of the patterns I’ve sewn. I was intrigued! I decided instead of making one of the projects from the book, I’d use this technique to design a new softie in my own style.

I thought about making a remora (or suckerfish) attached to a shark, but then I realized very few people would actually want a remora-stuck-to-a-shark stuffed animal – and for the few kids who would want that, they’d want the remora to be removable.

So I decided on a caterpillar instead. 🙂

Caterpillar softie patternA cute, bendy caterpillar with very sturdy joints between all his segments. And easy to sew! (You can get his pattern here.)

It was so much fun trying out this new technique! It’s one that kind of twists your brain around, but Abby explained it so well that my prototype turned out perfectly on the very first try – which hardly ever happens. 🙂

Have I convinced you yet that you need this book? How about when I show you this?

Elephant softie from Stuffed Animals book

My favorite project in the book. I love those droopy eyes!

Or this?

Puppy softie from Stuffed Animals book

Look at those big puppy feet!

Or this?

Dinosaur softie from Stuffed Animals book

You all know I love zipper mouths. . .

Seriously. This is the reference book on sewing stuffed animals. I’ve read (and I own) a lot of them and this is THE BEST.

Buy it.

You’ll use it over and over again for years of softie-making joy.

Happy sewing!

(For Stacey’s review of the same awesome book, click here.)

Best,
Wendi
That's me!

My favorite relaxing knitting projects…

It’s day two of Knitting and Crochet Blogging week!

4th Annual knitting and crochet blog week

Today’s topic is to write about a project inspired by your mascot. If you read yesterday’s post, you’ll remember that I’m a Manatee, because I love to knit projects that are fairly simple and relaxing.

So today, I’m going to share with you some of my favorite patterns for relaxing knitting!

What is relaxing knitting?

Relaxing (or mindless) knitting usually means that you’re knitting slightly below your skill level. For example, if you just learned to do cables, then a cabled sweater isn’t going to be relaxing. However, if you’ve been knitting cables for 20 years, then a lovely cabled sweater might be very relaxing for you!

I’m accomplished at knitting cables and lace and sweaters… but with these skills, I still find myself checking the pattern often, so they aren’t relaxing to me, yet. Projects that are relaxing to me are typically ones with an easy-to-memorize pattern or repeat, simple colorwork or short rows are allowed.

For me, relaxing knitting doesn’t mean boring knitting. Sure, I could do a blanket in garter stitch… but what’s the fun in that? To be fun, a project needs a little bit of interest!

I’m going to show you some of my faves… feel free to check them out for yourself! Who knows… you might find these patterns either too complicated or boring… but I highly recommend that you find your own collection of relaxing patterns for yourself!

Wingspan

Wingspan by Maylin is a simple-to-memorize and beautiful shawl pattern. I’ve knit two!

Wingspan knitting

Although the pattern is easy once you get it, you have to do a repeat or two to internalize it. I’ve written some tips for knitting Wingspan to help!

Stripe Study

I’ve knit three shawls from Stripe Study by Veera Valimaki… because it’s such a pleasure to knit!

Stripe Study Shawl by Vera Valimaki

The pattern uses simple colorwork (changing colors every couple of rows, with the yarn carried up the side), an easy-to-remember short row pattern and increasing (placed at stitch markers) to create this delightful shawl!

The main downside is that it’s asymmetrical, and so is tricky to wear. It’s the only thing that’s stopped me from knitting a fourth!

Pogona

Pogona by Stephen West is another fabulous shawl. I’ve knit two!

Pogona by Stephen West

It’s a little bit of effort to start up (you’re placing quite a few stitch markers!), but once you get going, it’s just stockinette and reverse-stockinette with regular increases at the stitch markers. Love it!

Basic Sock

The Basic Sock by Churchmouse Yarns is my default knitting project. Take any sock yarn, and you’re guaranteed to get a great pair of socks!

Basic sock pattern knitting

A sock isn’t relaxing the first (or second time), but once you’ve knit a few pairs, you get the ‘formula’ of the sock. I cast on, knit the cuff for a while, check the pattern for the heel-turn instructions, knit the foot and then decrease for the toe. That’s a lot of relaxing knitting in there!

I’ve knit 6 pairs from this pattern!

$5 in Paris

$5 in Paris is a fabulous top-down sweater pattern… I’ve done two with plans for more!

$5 in Paris by Anna Peck

A sweater isn’t usually very relaxing, because there’s lots of shaping and seaming, but this one is different! Starting at the neck, you increase regularly until it’s time to separate the sleeves, then the body is plain and simple knitting! The color changes of the stripes keep it from being mundane.

Because they’re 1/2-length sleeves, there isn’t even any shaping, there! Easy!

Citron

Citron by Hilary Smith Callis is another fabulous, but simple shawl. I’ve made two!

Citron Shawl Knitty

The cute little ruffles are made by increasing and decreasing quickly… and the remainder of the shawl is made by regularly-spaced increases. Cute and easy!

And you?

What are your faves? What’s your ‘go-to’ relaxing knitting project?

Any of my faves that you’re looking to try?

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