Etsy Shop: On It's Way

So, we are coming ever closer to the "grand" opening of my little Etsy shop. I sat at my sewing machine last night and churned out a handful of drawstring pouches to go with the bears I'm making. One of them is 100% finished, bag and all. There are two that only need clothes now, but the rest are still going to be a lot of work. A preview:





Expect the store to launch in the next few weeks!
But for now, random cuteness:

These guys keep me company on my desk at work.

Minilu Meets Melissa

Minilu's new home!

My First Embroidery

I made this for my mom (she loves dachshunds). I used a Clover pattern and it was very simple. I never thought embroidery could be so easy! I am definitely going to try more.

Minilu - SOLD

After loads of time I have finally finished my first requested plushie: an amigurumi dog modeled after my mother's coworker's dog. See the real Lucy here:



Now behold the finished product:


I made the cushion as well. To be honest, she is a little top-heavy. She is sewn on to the cushion to keep her sitting up!




I really need to get a new camera. When I can coax it into working, the photos are usually blurry or too dark...


All packed up and ready to go! Melissa, I hope you like your Minilu!

Stich 'n' Pitch '07

Yesterday my mom and I attended the Stitch 'n' Pitch '07 Oakland A's game.



I was late and ended up missing a fight between the A's Nick Swisher and Vicente Padilla from the Texas team. Boo! They both got thrown out of the game.

The A's ended up losing (double boo) but I had time to work on a bunch of projects. I made some cutie magnets with ink stamped designs on fabric. The stamp is my own design (not hand-carved, though. I sent in my sketch to this place. I think I really prefer to carve them myself).



They turned out a lot smaller than I was anticipating. Rashida, I now feel your previous seam-allowance pain! It was almost impossible to get the magnets inside the casing.


I also finally got to work on a project requested by my sweetie. He has such good ideas! He wanted me to make a tiny bear rug that he could put on his desk, so I decided to make a Teddy Bear rug. I drafted my first real pattern and it worked out ok, but it definitely needs some work (the bean-shaped head was not intended). Still, I think these guys are shop-bound for sure.



Check out the scratchy claws! I had to look all over for them. I was planning on making little wool-felt claw pads at first, but Omar insisted on the vinyl ones. Sharp claws only for him, please!


In his natural habitat (on top of the computer)

WIP Bears

I have been busy preparing bears for their Etsy debut! I was able to trick my camera into turning on for a few minutes so I could snap these pictures. All of these guys are bound for my shop. They are in various stages of development:



All Honey Bear needs is a new dress.



Heart Bear is lost without a body



Ice Bear is farthest behind. He is missing eyes and one ear.

Okay, I Lied.

With my camera still out of comission there was no way I was going to get pics up the past couple of days. I have been working working working on stuff for my upcoming Etsy shop, and that has taken up most of my free time (of which I have little).

On top of all of this I have a new puppy hopping around the house and sleeping on my head, an older dog who would just rather have nothing to do with it, and a full time job. So things are a little slow-going.

Look forward to pictures of shop-bound bears in the near future. And to tide you over, here is a gratuitous Beans shot:

Welcome Home, Beans!

She finally made it! Poor Beans spent most of the 12-hour trip from Puerto Rico to California power-napping in her carrier. She only whined when we stopped moving. She loves chasing our other dog, Snooty, around the apartment. Snooty is not so keen on it, though. But I'm sure they can work it out.

I promise to post more crafts soon! Hopefully in the next few days.

The Kidnapper Reappears!

Here he is in his new home. He traveled all the way across the country to end up in my Uncle Tim's office in New York City! He's a big-time kidnapper now.