While She Naps

Benji the Bumblebee: A New Pattern

I've got a brand new pattern in my shop today!  I'd like to introduce you to Benji the Bumblebee.

I designed this guy in the middle of a very long, cold New England winter. His bright smiling face cheered me up while we waited for green grass and longer days. I made Benji for Stitch Craft Create magazine and he was all ready for publication in the Summer 2013 issue, the very next one to hit newsstands, when the magazine folded. So sad!

But nobody can keep Mr. Benji down. I had planned to put him in my shop right after his magazine debut, so he's just as happy to land there a few weeks early. I love this softie and I hope you will, too.

Okay, make a bee-line to your fabric stash, grab the pattern, and sew your own Benji the Bumblebee!

Penguin and Egg Reversible Toy!

Guess what I've been working on?

Something is about to hatch.

Hmmm...Could it be a baby penguin?

Yep!  Hello little guy.

The pattern for this penguin and egg reversible toy will be ready soon...

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UPDATE!

The Penguin and Egg Reversible Toy pattern is now in my shop! Thanks everyone!

 

Owl Girl: The Third Six Months of Softies Pattern

Are you ready? The third pattern in the Six Months of Softies club is out! She's Owl Girl by Paloma of Noialand and she's amazing!

I've admired Paloma's designs for many months and I was thrilled that she was one of the designers in the club because that meant I'd have a chance to try one out. These dolls are totally different from what I usually make. They're tiny and hand-sewn. I don't make all that many dolls generally so this was a totally pleasurable project to tackle.

I sat on the patio on a Sunday afternoon while my kids ran around the yard and stitched up this doll. Here's mine. Do you like her?

Hand stitching makes me nervous sometimes because it takes concentration to make it neat. My stitches may not all be perfect, but it was really rhythmic, almost meditative, to work on this and I enjoyed it immensely.

This girl is made to look like she's in an owl costume. It's so clever! She has a mask and a little hand puppet.

Her legs, arms and neck are wired with doubled pipe cleaners. I love all the details here: the tiny feather stitches and the little face on the puppet. I'm really pleased with my owl girl. She's going to sit on a wooden spool in my studio where I can always enjoy her.

We'd love to have you join Six Months of Softies. Once you start your membership you'll get all three of the patterns that have been released thus far and then one a month going forward. And guess what? My pattern is next! I can't wait to show it to you next month!

So come along on this fun softie-making journey with us!

Month 2 of Six Months of Softies: Join the Club!

Today is the release of the second pattern in Six Months of Softies! This month we're making an adorable whale designed by the amazing Jen Gubicza of Zooguu.

Photo via Zooguu. I love this picture so much. That was totally me as a teenager.

This whale is easy and fun to make and Jen gives you terrific step-by-step photos and instructions to guide you through the process from start to finish. The pattern comes with three size options so you can make a whole family of whales.

I chose to make a medium sized whale. Two, actually.

Josephine is very fond of these guys.

She's been "swimming" across the kitchen floor with them (in her bumblebee costume).

And giving them big hugs. Adorable. I love this pattern.

And I love Jen's work. Jen is an expert at selling handmade goods at craft shows. I interviewed her for this post about how to master selling your softies at craft fairs. Club members have permission to sell whales made with this pattern, as well as elephants made with the pattern from the first month of the club.

Come join us!  Six Months of Softies is a club for anyone who likes sewing toys. Six indie designer have created new exclusive patterns just for club members!

Here’s the designer line-up:

• Pauline of Funky Friends Factory

• Wendi of Shiny Happy World

• Annika of Bugga Bugs

• Jen of Zooguu

• Paloma of Noia Land

• and me!

Sign up today and get the first pattern right away. A new one will arrive in your inbox once a month. Subscriptions are $50. Are you in?

Elephant Softie from Six Months of Softies

Happy weekend to you!  I just finished sewing the first pattern from Six Months of Softies and I had to show it to you! This is Polly. The baby is in love with her...

...has made off with her...

...and refuses to give her back.

I can't say I blame her!  Wendi has done an outstanding job with this design. He's big and squishy, like a pillow.

This pattern is the first of six brand new designs from six indie softie designers. I'm finding it incredibly enjoyable to sew these one by one, and I've already learned a smart trick for neatly attaching footpads from Wendi's pattern.

Join Six Months of Softies. You'll get the pattern to make Polly (or Napoleon if you'd like to make a gentleman elephant) right away, and a new pattern in your inbox each month. So cool.

Six Months of Softies: A Brand New Club!

How do you learn to sew softies?

The very best way to learn to sew softies is to, well, sew lots of softies!

The more you make, and the more patterns you follow, the better you get at sewing, at designing, and at seeing how softies are constructed.

Every pattern has something new to teach and with every toy your skills improve. And the best part? All of this making results in fun stuffed animals and dolls that you (and the kids in your life) love to hug and play with.

Today I’m excited to tell you about a new club for softie makers called Six Months of Softies.

What is Six Months of Softies?

Well, six softie designers have each created a brand new plush toy sewing pattern just for club members. Join the club and you'll get a softie pattern in your inbox once a month for six months!

Are the patterns new?

Yes! These patterns are all brand new and exclusive to club members!

And each pattern comes with tips, tricks, and links to blog posts from each of us that will help you sew amazing toys.

Who are the designers?

Here’s the designer line-up:

• Pauline of Funky Friends Factory

• Wendi of Shiny Happy World

• Annika of Bugga Bugs

• Jen of Zooguu

• Paloma of Noia Land

• and me!

Maybe some of these names are new to you? I love to find out about new and inspiring softie designers. I'm so excited to sew each of these new patterns and learn about each designer's style.

The first pattern is an elephant and tiny mouse by Wendi. I'm ready to sew this guy and give him a big hug! And as new patterns are revealed each month all those question marks will be filled in. So exciting!

A six-month subscription costs $50. You’ll get your first pattern right away, with one to follow each month. Sound good? Join the club!

I'm happy to answer any questions you might have. Feel free to ask in the comments or to email me at abbyglassenberg at comcast dot net. Thank you!

Sew + Crochet: A Collaboration with Stacey of FreshStitches

When you run a tiny business in which you are the only employee you do everything yourself. You make every decision, you create all the products, do all the design work and all the writing, you do all the outreach, bookkeeping, marketing, and teaching...you do all the everything! It's fantastic! Except sometimes it's a bit scary and a bit lonely.

Every now and then you come to a crossroad and you aren't sure which is the best path to take. Sometimes a problem crops up and you need to get a second opinion before you present a solution. When you're in business by yourself it's really best if you have someone who can tell you the truth about what they are seeing and push you to take the next step.

My husband, my sister, and my friends have all been helpful over the years, but nobody understands the particulars better than a fellow owner of a craft business. And for me, truly nobody would understand them better than someone who has a softies pattern business.

Many months ago Stacey Trock became that person for me, and I became that person for her. What began as an email exchange regarding a business article we'd both read quickly developed into a relationship we call "business buddies."

Stacey’s business is FreshStitches, a crocheted softies company. She's written three books, she teaches, she designs patterns, she blogs. Stacey is a superstar and she's always learning and thinking ahead. Our businesses are by no means identical, but they are similar in so many underlying ways.

Our friendship has recently led to some neat opportunities. This month we are co-hosting WhipUp writing about our shared love of making beautiful things from humble materials. Catch our posts there each Friday.

And now we are so excited to share with you a softie pattern we have created together. Say hello to Pepper, a very special plush penguin. What’s unique about Pepper and what we’re both really excited about is that he's a 2-in-1 pattern: he can be crocheted OR sewn (or both!). Same Pepper two ways!

I'm not sure I've ever seen 2-in-1 crochet + sew pattern for a softie (or anything else?) before. Think of the potential for mixing and matching, you know? Sew Pepper and then crochet him some winter accessories or crochet pepper and sew him a hat and scarf. Develop your skills while making twin penguins. So fun!

Are you excited about Pepper? We hope so! He’ll be available in both of our shops on Wednesday, March 20.Three cheers for collaborations with amazing people!

Generating Design Ideas From Stories in the Public Domain

Classic children's stories are a wonderful source of inspiration for stuffed animal and doll makers. Many of the classic tales are now in the public domain which means that they either have expired copyrights or are ineligible for copyright protection. No permission is needed to use works that are in the public domain and that's great news for artists because we are free to interpret the characters from these stores in any way we choose.

I shy away from creating characters from stories with active copyrights, and I certainly wouldn't sell work based on those characters, but the public domain is open territory and there's so much incredible material to be found there.

Here are just a few of the children's stories in the public domain:

• Peter Pan
• Alice in Wonderland
• The Wizard of Oz
• Black Beauty
• all of the Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes (one of which inspired my Humpty Dumpty doll)
• The Tale of Peter Rabbit
• The Wind in the Willows
• the Raggedy Ann stories
• Red Riding Hood
• Goldilocks and the Three Bears
• all of The Brother's Grimm fairy tales
• Aesop's Fables

And I know there are many more. If you know of other stories or fairy tales that are in the public domain, please add them in the comments so that we can have an even longer, more inspiring list.

For my newest pattern I took inspiration from the classic Edward Lear poem, The Owl and the Pussycat, a piece that's in the public domain, and created a felt Owl and Pussycat set.

As you can see they are sailing in their pea green boat and the Owl is serenading the Kitty. Here's the first stanza of the poem:

The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea
    In a beautiful pea green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
    Wrapped up in a five pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
    And sang to a small guitar,
'O lovely Pussy! O Pussy my love,
      What a beautiful Pussy you are,
          You are,
          You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!'

-from Edward Lear's The Owl and the Pussycat

And here they are out of their boat, ready to get married. The pattern for this set will be available at the end of next week.

The next time you're looking for inspiration try interpreting characters from one of these classic stories. Each one is so rich in visual imagery and surely provides enough ideas for a whole lifetime of making.

News and Updates from Abby Glassenberg Design

In the past few weeks I've had a few exciting Abby Glassenberg Design press pieces and projects completed and I want to share them with you.

My first Simplicity pattern is out and in stores nationwide.

I designed these! Simplicity 1681

This set includes two of my original Lovey Dovies (the bear and the bunny), my Baby Bear and Blankie Set, as well as my Chick and Egg Reversible Toy. The Baby Bear is also available by itself as an It's So Easy pattern, 1649.

Simplicity 1649

And I'm working on a new set now that will come out next winter. Very exciting!

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Have you checked out &Stitches? It's an ezine for people who love stitching of all kinds. It's self-published by two incredibly smart and talented designers, Nicole Vos van Avezathe and Carina Envoldsen-Harris. The magazine comes out quarterly and is just lovely. This issue has a woodland themes and includes a very nice profile of me and my work. I love this kind of creative magazine. It's beautiful, inspiring, free of advertising, and total homegrown in the very best way. Pick up a digital copy here.

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You may remember my post at the beginning of January asking for readers to sign up for 15 minute phone calls with me for some research I was doing. Well, through that post I was able to spend a wonderful week in January talking to 18 incredibly generous, honest women...about my blog! Curious? I wrote a guest post for Oh My Handmade explaining the project and detailing what I learned. It was an amazing experience.

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Okay, that's it for right now. I've got two video interviews lined up for the coming weeks, and a very long to-do list of new fun projects to tackle. I am so happy when I've got big things to sink my teeth into.

Sign up for my newsletter to have useful tips on sewing and running a creative business emailed to you once a month: sign me up!

New Pattern: Luke and Lily Duck

First off I just want to thank my six-year-old for the names Luke and Lily. These ducks were very nearly Lester and Lucy, but Stella informed me in no uncertain terms that these were not a suitable names for ducks and Luke and Lily were way cuter. Agreed. Always consult with 1st graders when naming your stuffed animals.

I'd like to introduce you to Luke and Lily Duck. They're a very cuddly couple. They sit up nicely and are happy to have tea with you or a cuddle during storytime.

Luke's got a dapper blue necktie and Lily looks so chic with her big pink bow. Attach a pinback to the bow and you can reposition it as you'd like (it even makes a nice bowtie if you'd like two drakes).

This pattern is full of step-by-step photos because making a plush duck should be fun, not frustrating, you know? I used minky for this pair, but you could also use fleece for soft, huggable ducks.

Grab the pattern in my shop on Etsy or as an instant download on Craftsy.

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