While She Naps

Brand New Handmade Birds in the Shop Today!

I'm very pleased today to have a set of six brand new handmade fabric birds in my shop! Each bird is one-of-a-kind.

Pair a bird with an autographed copy of my book, The Artful Bird, for a very special gift. You can find birds and books in my shop today.

Thank you so much for all of your support of my work and for what I write here on the blog. I love talking to you about sewing softies and running a handmade business. My discussions with you mean a tremendous amount to me and I hope my words and pictures have been helpful to you this year. Thank you so much for being a part of this community we've built here on While She Naps.

An Owl Like My Own Handwriting

I spent most of Friday (my 37th birthday) making this owl. I haven't made an owl in many years, but I got a special request for one and thought it might be interesting to make one again. And it was.

Looking at the pattern for this owl was like looking through an old diary from college. The handwriting was familiar and so were the thoughts, but my writing and my thinking has changed now in marked ways. Revisiting this pattern stirred in me those same awkward feelings of revisiting past expressions of self.

an article

There is a lovely article about my work in the winter 2011 issue of Wellesley Weston magazine.  Here is the link if you'd like to take a look. 

Little Bird in Flight: A Free Sewing Pattern!

I made a little felt bird in flight and I thought you might like to make one, too. Pretty as ornaments for the holidays, or hanging from a branch for a mobile. Simple to make with a few scraps of felt and some embroidery floss.

Here are some birds made up in different colors.

To make a white bird, you'll need:

a scrap of wool-blend felt, about 6 inches x 12 inches

a tiny scrap of brown wool-blend felt for the beak, about 2 inches x 2 inches

embroidery floss in black, about 18 inches

fiberfill stuffing, about 1 ounce

coordinating all-purpose thread

monofilament or metallic thread to make a loop for hanging

 

Okay, let's get started!

Download the pattern template, print and cut out. From felt, cut two body pieces, adding a 1/4 inch seam allowance and cut two wings and one tail (no seam allowances needed).

Mark and cut a small slit in each body piece.

Make two small folds each wing pieces, like a tuck, and press to hold.

Insert a wing into a body through the slit. Pin. Stitch across to close the slit. Repeat.

Fold the wings up inside the body. Pin the body pieces together. Set your machine to a small stitch length (setting 2 on my machine which is 13 stitches per inch) and stitch around the body, starting and stopping under the tail.

Trim the seam allowance to 1/8 inch. Clip the curves. Turn the bird right side out and stuff firmly. Close the opening with ladder stitch (see my post here for more on how to close an opening).

Press the wings to smooth them out. Pin the tail to the underside of the bird, hiding where the opening was. Stitch in place by hand using small backstitches.

Fold the brown felt in half and press. Place the base of the beak traingle on the fold and cut out (no seam allowance needed). Put a bead of glue along the fold and press the beak to the bird, pinning it in place until the glue dries.

Draw circles for the eyes with a disappearing fabric marker. Use one strand of black embroidery floss to stitch the eyes with satin stitch.

Thread a needle with a single strand of monofilament or metallic thread and take a stitch through the bird's back. Tie off the thread, forming a loop for hanging.

  Set your bird free!

*And if you'd like to try your hand at more fabric bird patterns, there are 16 patterns for birds in my book, The Artful Bird: Feathered Friends to Make and Sew!

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And check out my Etsy shop for lots of easy-to-sew softie patterns!

bird workshop was awesome

I spent Wednesday evening at Gather Here in Cambridge sewing birds with 8 lovely women (and one awesome 10 year old).  Gather Here is an incredible place. If you live in or near Boston I highly recommend a visit. I need to get back there for some hardcore shopping. Virginia and Noah have pulled together a beautifullly curated selection of fabric and notions and yarn.  And the teaching space in the back is super. A big wide table covered in brown paper. You just want to sit down and start in on a project as soon as you get there.  I can't wait to go back. I will be teaching a few more plush workshops there in the coming months.

I have put the bird ornament I made for the workshop in my shop. Now it's back to writing patterns and taking pictures for the book.  Have a great day everyone!

bird ornament

The workshop I'll be teaching at Gather Here in Cambridge, MA, at the end of the month is fully enrolled and I'm getting excited to sew birds with everyone! We will be making a bird ornament, one of the projects that ended up getting cut from The Artful Bird due to space constraints.

Over the weekend I decided it might be fun to make a larger bird ornament so I enlarged the pattern somewhat and created this more substantial bird. I like this larger size! 

For the workshop, I'll be bringing a selection of favorite vintage fabric scraps for us to dig through, and some embroidery hoops and paper ephemera for making backdrops for the birds like I've made here and here.

If you would like to sew a bird ornament, but won't be at the workshop, you can find a downloadable template and sewing instructions right here!

 

Winged Migration: A Group Show at Bookhou

I am thrilled to tell you about an upcoming group show I will be part of in Toronto this summer.  The show opens at bookhou June 29 and runs through the month of July.  It is called "Winged Migration" and will feature birds by me, Gennine Zlatkis, Margaret Oomen, Arounna Khounnoraj, and Abigail Brown.  I'm thrilled to have my birds side by side with the work of these talented women artists! 

For the show I wanted to make some bigger birds in wool felt that stay true to the kinds of toys I've been making in the past few months.  I chose to focus on penguins because I love the penguin pattern from The Artful Bird and I thought it would be really neat to set them up all together, like a family, inviting the people who visit the gallery to imagine a narrative between them. 

 

I changed their eyes from embroidered eyes to halved felted wool balls.  There are three adult penguins, two chicks and three eggs. 

If you are able to be in Toronto in July, Geninne is teaching at workshop at Bookhou on making your own handcarved stamps!  What a fantastic opportunity. You can sign up right here!

 

The Artful Bird workshop recap

The Artful Bird workshop at The Button Box here in Wellesley on Saturday was amazing!  Six women came and we sewed birds from 10-4.  We had a great time!  Here is Nancy sewing her bluebird.

I brought some of my felt penguins for people to play with. My friend, Terrill, who taught with me when we were in Teach For America in the Mississippi Delta was able to make it and it was so much fun to sew with her again. When we lived together in Itta Bena, Mississippi, we used to sew and crochet and craft ourselves into a stupor every night.  Hooray for crafty friends!

Here are everyone's birds, some still needing beaks or wings.  Look at this colorful flock!

I haven't been away from my children from 10-4 in a long, long while and it was the longest I've been away from Josephine.  Charlie brought her to me to nurse and although I was nervous about how she would do in my absence, she was awesome.  And she bonded with Daddy quite a bit. 

I'm ready to teach again!  I remember now how much I like teaching.  That was my former career, after all, and I like putting that Harvard masters degree to work.  Teaching sewing is terrific fun.

sample for upcoming Artful Bird workshop

Today I finished the sample bird and all the step-outs for my upcoming workshop at The Button Box in Wellesley. 

We will be spending the day sewing this wren together.  Select some scrap fabric from your stash and make your own unique bird using the pattern from my book.  The workshop will be on Saturday, April 30, from 10 am - 4 pm and costs $48.  Want to sign up? Call The Button Box at (781) 489-6515 and add your name to the list.  I can't wait to meet you!

felt butterflies

I finished the felt butterflies for National Nonwovens' booth at spring Quilt Market. I made a second large one (12" across) and two smaller ones (6" across).

This was such a fun project.  Butterflies are something I would never have thought to make without a special request.  When I opened the box of felt on Friday I was nearly in tears. So much good stuff in there! Yards of soft, beautiful wool felt in all kinds of colors. And roving, too.  Yay! 

Spaces are filling up for my bird-making workshop at The Button Box here in Wellesley on Saturday, April 30, from 10-4 pm.  We will be making the wren that is on the cover of the book and once you've completed the project you should feel ready to tackle any of the other birds that strike your fancy, or make your own bird pattern at home. I believe the cost for the workshop is $48 + materials. If you'd like to join us, give the store a call and reserve your spot 781-489-6515.

Josephine had her first taste of solid food this weekend. Some rice cereal and applesauce.  I make all the baby food for my kids which I really enjoy.  Everyone had some applesauce.  Homemade applesauce is just so good!  Josephine agrees.