Scrappy the Dog

I was wanting to use up a tiny scrap of mohair fabric (from bearmaking) that I had left over, so came up with this pattern for Scrappy the Dog.  His head and part of his ears are mohair. The rest is cotton quilting fabric.  He is pretty cute at 4" tall.



I am including his pattern for free in my newsletter tonight.  People already signed up, or who sign up by 8:00 pm ET, will get it for free.  After that, it's gone. If you haven't signed up and want to, here is the newsletter link.

O'Malley the Bear

I am marching forward on March 1 with my launch of patterns and tutorials, hoping to get some of you sewing!  First up will be 4 patterns/tutorials all focused around the little bears you see above.  The main pattern/tutorial is called "O'Malley the Bear" - a cute little 5-6" tall bear you can make from mohair or viscose, woolens or velvets.  Every pattern/tutorial is a downloadable PDF (no waiting time - just purchase and download) that contains a list of supplies, tools,clear, detailed step by step instructions loaded with photos so you can follow along easily,



I am starting with the bear, offering 2 different 3-piece clothing set patterns, one for boys, one for girls, and a cute little aviator helmet I designed especially to fit the bears you make.  These clothing patterns will also work for any 5-6" animal you have purchased in my store previously, including the little rats. Tutorials are extensive, so you will feel like you are following right along with me while I sew.



I will also have some hand-dyed mohair in pastel shades kits available for $20 that will include enough mohair for the bear, the glass eyes, the cotter pin/disk joint set, the floss for the nose and 4 buttons for attaching the limbs. Please stop by my etsy store on Tuesday, 3/1/16, and get your creative juices flowing.  You can stay posted on upcoming patterns and tutorials (Blythe doll clothing patterns coming!) on my new FB page of by joining my newsletter - and as a special thanks for signing up, you will receive a link in the confirmation email to download a free O'Reilly the Rat pattern.

O'Reilly The Rat

I have a little news!  I am working on something new.  I have been sewing, designing and doing various arty things  pretty much my entire life.  I am at the point that I want to get others into the game.  I want you to do a little sewing with me, so I am in the process of making patterns and tutorials.  I have 4 done at the moment, 1 of which I am going to give away to you for doing me a favor.  The other 3, I will have in my etsy shop  at the beginning of March, hopefully 3/1, along with a few supplies you might need for the projects.





My first patterns and tutorials are going to be for making little mohair animals and some clothing that you might like to make for them.  The pattern and tutorial for this little guy, O'Reilly the Rat, I am going to give away for free for signing up for my newsletter, which I will tell you about in a minute. I am also going to give away the actual rat as a random giveaway to the people who will like my new artist page on FB, which I will tell you about in a minute as well.






What I am hoping to do is have a little community of people who like to sew, who are interested in making some things that they might keep for themselves, give away as gifts, or even sell if they were so inclined.  My first patterns that will be available after giving away the one for O'Reilly the Rat, will be a little 5-1/2" bear and 2 different outfit sets of 3 pieces, one for girl bears, one for boy bears.  The girl bear set actually can be made to fit a Blythe or Sad Eyed Susie doll, which is convenient for people just jumping in with sewing for those dolls.  I am starting out basic with what I do.  Little animals that will be able to wear clothes, at first pretty easy clothing, and hopefully adding in some more challenging stuff later.  I am hoping to design different animals for you to choose from and many different outfits for them in the coming months.






The O'Reilly the Rat pattern freebie will give you an idea of what my tutorials are like.  I a pretty thorough.  This little guy is tiny, only 3-1/2" tall, but pretty easy to make.  I added a tail to this rat, but did not discuss a tail in my tutorial.  It is simply a crochet-looped piece of embroidery floss that I tied in a know at one end and sewed to his butt :)  I don't think that needs too much explaining and you could use whatever you like for a tail, if you think he needs one.

Okay, so you got this far through the reading.  I'll get to the good stuff.  If you sign up for my free newsletter (which will just alert you now and then that I have new patterns, new things related in my store, and maybe some free things and tips from time to time), you will get an email somewhere in the process with a link to download the O'Reilly the Rat pattern.  If you go to my new artist FB page and like it, I will enter you in a chance to win the little O'Reilly the Rat you see here in this blog post.  He is 3-1/2" tall, made from a natural white German mohair and has Swarovski crystal beads for his nose and eyes.  he is wearing a silk ribbon on his neck . He needs a bit of propping to sit or stand.  His limbs are jointed, but his head is not.  It is sewn to the neck, which is what I teach in the tutorial.  If you are skilled at cotter pin and disk joints, you could make a rat with a jointed head quite easily.  The drawing for the rat give-away will be St. Patrick's Day, 3/17.  I will randomly choose a name from the people who have liked my new artist FB page and contact them through FB.  That's it!  Hope you like this little guy.  Hope you will want to come sew with me!

Bear Tutorials Coming in March

Okay, I am a really bad blogger girl.  I can't believe it has been over a year since I last put something down on this page!  I have been busy.  I am blogging today because I am trying something new.  I have made a kamillion tiny things over the years, so many it's impossible to count.  Dolls, doll dresses, ornaments, tiny animals, clothes for the tiny animals, etc.  I am feeling at this stage of the game that I want to bring other people into my world - to get them inspired to create something fun via sewing.  I have been sewing since I was 11.  That's a very long time indeed!  Starting 3/1/2016, I am going to be putting in my etsy store tutorials for things I make.  I am going to start with the tiny critters, bears first.  I will have patterns and tutorials for them and their clothing, hopefully growing quite a catalog.  I hope to expand into animals other than bears, and maybe some doll things as well.  I want people to have fun, to enjoy sewing, to make something cool, and for it to be challenging enough, but not so difficult they get frustrated right off the bat and throw their hands up.  So that means, I will be doing things with a lot of detail.  Photos!  Lots of photos. I hope to offer things you might need to complete your projects as well.  So, stay tuned.  Join me if you want, and let's see what you can do!