Blog Hop!

 I feel so honored that I was asked to participate in a blog hop - the post from my friend Kim at Fall Hill Bead and Gem will be hard to beat, but here goes!:

What are you working on? 

 Muppets, Muppets and more Muppets... in my craft room, I have bits and pieces of Animal, Kermit, Fozzie, Rowlf and the Swedish chef cut up and lying in little piles. Sounds morbid, right? But the month of June has been my busiest EVER, especially with my Etsy shop. I was commissioned by a customer to decorate their nursery Muppet-style (is there any other style, really?) and every day is a new order for something amazing!

 When I say I have all of those characters in little pieces, I do that because many of my items feature a sewing technique called applique. In the fabric arts, you can create ANY picture you want by deconstructing it and then layering them piece by piece. I use a wonderful quilting book for my designs, which gives detailed instructions for creating many of the Muppets we know and love. But Rowlf, the Swedish Chef, Scooter and the Mahna Mahna peeps were "developed" by looking closely at photographs. So for each pillow or apron I make, I cut up little eyes, eyebrows, lips, bowties and crazy fur. This results in many weird shapes and eyeballs lying on my ironing board... but in the end, as I iron on little Muppet pupils or teeth - I find my old familiar friends!

Recognizable by his eyebrows and bowtie!

One of my custom toddler quilts 

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

 This one is an excellent, yet loaded question. I did not invent applique or the Muppets for that matter. I consider my work an ode to the iconic Jim Henson team and how much I LOVE them. When I opened my Etsy shop, I featured items that were important to me: tag blankets, cloth diapers, aprons, pillowcases, cute tie shirts... all things I had created out of need or fun for my kids. It wasn't until customers started to ask for more quilts and characters that I realized I was creating a specific niche on Etsy. (Not easy to do with such a wide array of artists!) It's not easy to find customizable quilts or pillows featuring your favorite Muppet or Sesame Street character. Each and every item I make is guided by customer requests, color preferences and sometimes their pint-size toddler demands... but that's what I love! Each item is unique and exactly what my customer is searching for. 

 My shop (and business) is unique because I probably care way more about the creative process than I do about profitability or business-sense. Making unique items is neither cost effective or efficient... but the upside is that I NEVER get bored. 

 Why do I create what I do: 

 I think it's pretty clear by now that my passion for cute puppets is endless... but why an Etsy shop? Why sewing? Like many businesses, it has been a process. I started my shop after moving from my hometown to Buffalo: with three small children. I love having the flexibility of being home with my kids, shuttling them to activities, being in their classrooms for holiday parties, etc. BUT (and this is a big but... and I cannot lie... get it?) I am not cut out to be full-time mommy. I love the empowerment of making my own money and having a passion/art form that stimulates my brain! Sewing is a hobby that starts out innocently and turns into an obsession. I spend hours looking at sewing tutorials and adding them to my list of projects. A friend described it very well when she said sewing started to make her inspect friends' curtains and pillows to see how they are put together... we sewists want to know HOW and what technique was used and to watch every instructional Youtube video about walking feet! We even buy clothing just to see how it is made and then re-create it ourselves. It's a mini engineering feat to understand how purses are constructed. 

 As long as the orders come, I will continue sewing and continue acccepting challenges to make the next curtain or diaper bag or cloth diaper. 

 How does my creative process work: 

 The best description of my creative process is not so much a light bulb, but a DUH! Why didn't you do that before? My Swedish Chef apron  was a gift to myself. I had used a pattern to make a butcher's apron for a friend... decorating it with appliqued flowers, spoons and forks. Then I thought, omigosh, wouldn't the Swedish Chef be amazing? And if he said Bork! Bork! Bork! my mind would be blown! I made it, and listed it and the orders have not stopped! But really, why didn't I think of this a year ago? 

 I am also inspired by sewing technology. My standard machine is a simple one: given to me by my in-laws. It has so many attachments that I still don't know how to use: a ruffling foot, for example. The purchase of my embroidery machine has really been a game changer. I would never have been able to made my Chef apron without his famous words on the pocket. I never would have made this cute tag blanket without first seeing the embroidery file for a smirking Wookie. 

The back of this blanket is a delicious faux fur: which I first used leftovers from my son's Halloween costume.

 And I must give credit to my kids, my friends and my customers: their requests push me to the next level. I love sewing so much that I would be content to make log cabin quilts and tag blankets forever... but people are always asking for custom items that I would have never attempted on my own. I feel such joy being a part of the action: especially when so many of my customers are buying gifts and creating one-of-a-kind items for their families. Often, they have the vision and I carry it through. 

 

A friend needed a Super cape as a birthday present - again, DUH, why didn't I realize that everyone would want one of these? 

The Mommy Poppins bag... this one stretched my brain, but the results are incredible!

 

 Next on the my list is a Sam the Eagle golf club cover... have I ever made one before? No way. But am I willing to try? Yes sir! "It's the American Way!" (One of my favorite quotes from Sam himself.)

 Stay tuned for the next artist on the blog hop!