In the Workroom Recap : Week 277

Hey guys! That week went by so fast! I'm going to make this a quick update because there are now only three weeks left until One of a Kind show and I still have tons to do! Serious business!

I fiinished up half of the Owl Mamas I had been working on last week but of course ran out of stuffing so I'll be finishing the rest up this week.




I then decided to make another art doll to match my own kitty dress I made last week!





She'll be added to the group of girls that will be available at the show as well as in the online shop: needlings.etsy.com. Never trust anyone who doesn't like cats.



And now I'm working on this big bunch of Owl Baby Pins!



I sold one of these little guys off my coat when I was just visiting the show a few years ago so hopefully they do as well at the actual booth!

So that's it for the week! I'm hoping to be through another big chunk of work by the end of next week - see you then!

In the Workroom Recap : Week 276

Another week finished! It's now almost officially one month until the One of a Kind Show and I'm sticking pretty close to the schedule. So far so good! My goal is always to get ahead of my schedule so I can add more to it. Which I realize seems arbitrary because I am the one writing the schedule in the first place but I like to leave a little room for falling behind because life is busy and I can only do so much! Which is a lot!

I started the week with a stack of 20 bookmarks. So much handwork!



I was super happy to also notice this week that I was the "Artisan of the Week" on the One of a Kind website! As if I wasn't excited already!




Back to bookmarks! Which I finished before getting started on some display work which includes painting this old trunk a shiny white. Still in progress and waiting on lining but you'll see if finished in coming weeks I'm sure! And then it will be all Needlings filled for the show!




A few more coats to go! It's been fun having a different sort of job to work on in between sewing jobs. 

I also had another crafternoon with my fellow-maker friend Lisa! I whipped up another new Needlings fabric dress and we had a day of sewing, tea-drinking, chatting, and general fun stuff. And I managed to get some work done too, of course!





It's so fun to have some Needlings clothes to wear for shows now! I've added this kitty dress to the collection and I'm pretty happy about it - plus it matches my purple hair!

And now I'm working on a big batch of Owl Mamas! 



That's quite a stack! So I'll be hopefully finishing those up this week and continuing with the to-do list!

See you soon guys!

In (and out of) the Workroom Recap(s) : Week 272, 273, 274

Hi guys!

After a few weeks without a recap, I'm back! I was out of the workroom, as I mentioned last post, staying with my dad for the last bit of week 272, all of 273, and the first little bit of 274. It took me an additional week to get myself together as far as feeling organized enough to sit down for a blog post so here I am! Finally. It was a busy few weeks getting work together to sew while I was away and then trying to piece it all together when I got back. I guess you could say I've become pretty methodical with work now but I think everything is all back in order now so I feel relatively organized again - yay! (Don't laugh Mom)
But I did it. And I even managed to get some work done while I was away on the big restock order for Kid Icarus in Toronto that came in near the end of the week 272.  I had already started doing some prep work for some other stuff to take along with me for the week but I put that aside and brought a bunch of Littles with me instead which worked out great. Lots of handsewing kept me busy and when I returned, I had finished sewing 48 little faces. Not too bad!




(A few Instagram shots from the week at my dad's)



The week went by pretty fast and before I knew it I was back at home cleaning up my work table again and putting up my great grand father's clock that my dad gave me! It doesn't work but 10 is a good time I think.

And then...lots of little plush assembling. (with tea usually)






And there is still lots to go! Hopefully I will have all the Littles and then another bunch of keychains, cell sleeves, and a couple Owl Mamas ready to send off to Kid Icarus next week so I can get working on stock for the One of a Kind Show in Toronto in March! I'll also be working on some new display stuff in the coming weeks and hopefully staying on schedule.

Hope everyone is staying warm! See you next week this time.

In the Workroom Recap : Week 271

Hi everyone!

Last week was an exciting news week for Needlings because I found out I will be participating in the One of a Kind Show in Toronto as a part of the new Etsy section! It's going to be a busy couple months getting ready for it but I am excited and looking forward to doing an exciting new show that boasts being the largest consumer crafts show in North America. AH! I just read that to include it here. It's so big, you guys!  



I'm sure I will update you as I go along! Super relaxed updates with no freaking out at all!

Before I got the news of the show, I finished another doll since I was kind of on a doll roll for a bit there.






Her hair is pretty crazy isn't it? Anyway, I got her up in the shop but took her, along with a few other of the new ones, out because I was asked by One of a Kind to send a few items in to them to have a little photoshoot to potentially be included in the show's web and print material.

I whipped up a few other owls and Needlings goodies and sent them on their way.



So off they all went! They'll be back after their exciting stay at the One of a Kind headquarters in Toronto.

I also found these little boxes this week and got to thinking about new display ideas for the show.  Notice I am pretty plum out of stock myself so you and I can both look forward to a few weeks of stocking up on goodies for the show!



I will be out of the workroom for all of next week starting on the 25th so there might be a bit of a hold on the workroom updates depending on how it goes. If you know me or have read for awhile then you know that my daddio has some health problems and because his wife will be out of town, I'll be staying with him in Binbrook (about a half an hour from me) to get him to and from his kidney dialysis and general taking care/hanging out stuff. I'm bringing along some handsewing work to keep on top of things of course but in general, it'll be a little slow on Needlings work for the week. 

See you soon, friends!

In the Workroom Recap : Week 270

A little late but I made it! Last week was a busy one for me with going in to Toronto for a couple days for some fun with friends reservations for fancy tea and some other friends and family obligations but I still managed to finish work on a few more dolls and some other cleanup/behind the scenes jobs in the workshop!

At the end of last week I had mentioned that I started work on a new "Secret Santa" sort of project for a fellow Plush Team member for the Mardi Gras themes swap and as luck would have it, she has already received it so I can share it with you guys this week!  My recipient was Amy of Squirrel Momma, so naturally I made her a little "Squirrel Momma goes to Mardi Gras," since I was feeling obviously very literal about things.



You can even read about her opening the box over at the Plush Team website, www.plushteam.com. I'm now waiting patiently for my secret santa gift! Who has my name?! It's all so exciting! Well, I was super duper early with mine because I happened to find some free time a month before the deadline but I will share it with you in a future week whenever it arrives!

I've been having lots of fun these last couple weeks making my crazy little dolls and taking a break from the usual stuff that keeps me so busy year round. I finished two more this week that are now available in the shop:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/119920537/tabitha-t-trollope-one-of-a-kind-kawaii" target="_blank">Tabitha T. Trollope






And https://www.etsy.com/listing/120229103/birdie-b-bloomfield-one-of-a-kind-kawaii" target="_blank">Birdie B. Bloomfield







Then I had to rearrange the "doll wall" of course, to make some room for the new girls!



I'm looking forward to adding some more and continuing work as usual!

See you all next week!

In the Workroom (and out) Recap : Week 268

And by when I said, "see you next week for the last post of 2012," what I really meant was see you next Wednesday for the first post of 2013! I'm a tricky one. I hope you all had a lovely time ringing in the new year!

I had a great last week of 2012 making another new skirt for myself and a few friend Xmas presents, a few more holiday get togethers with said friends and doing (a) little work in between it all. Obviously blogging was not one of those things but I'll get back in to the regular swing of things now that the holidays are over!

I did some work on the Homespun restock which is now all finished and headed out to Indiana!


Added pockets to an old skirt prototype.




And finished a few presents!



I made my lovely friend Lisa of Nerdbiskit a skirt to match her Nerdbiskit colours:




And we had a lovely friend time (and lunch) with Paula ofhttps://www.facebook.com/pages/Orange-Octopus/342295672462423?fref=ts" target="_blank">Orange Octopus at Earth To Table Bread Bar in Hamilton!

Smiles all around!


And then the year was over! Just like that it ends and another one starts. I always thought it was kind of weird that we box them up like that. Every minute of the day things change and evolve so slowly. But I suppose you can hardly tell until the date changes and you have to get a new calendar. So 2013 it is! I'm looking forward to lots of exciting Needlings things this year and even more in the workroom photos! I'm excited to share these exciting things with you too. How exciting!

Anyway, goodbye 2012!


Hello 2013! See you this weekend! (I swear)

In the Workroom Recap : Week 269

Here I am, on the weekend as scheduled! 

And I sent off the box to Homespun in Indiana! Post holiday shopping restock has begun with hopefully some more new things in between. It should be a busy first few months of the year! I'm sure you'll hear all about it.



They should be on the shelves shortly, for any of you Indiana folks!

One of my goals for the new year is to concentrate more on my one of a kind dolls; to give myself a break from batches of the usual items and because they're fun!
I finished one up this week and have plans for more soon!



They usual start with a little detail idea, a fun fur hair colour, some fabric digging through and a little pencil sketch.



Sometimes they evolve a bit from the drawing as I start cutting and laying out pieces and all that but this one stayed pretty close to the first idea and I was pretty happy with how she turned out when she was all finished.



Violet V. Vandergast is the name of this little one. Because half the fun of doll-making is naming them weirdo names! She's up inhttps://www.etsy.com/listing/119439587/violet-v-vandergast-one-of-a-kind-kawaii" target="_blank">the shop and ready to go!



I wish I had that dress for myself...

Anyway, I started a top secret project at the end of the week for the Plush Team Secret Santa Swap. The Plush Team is a group of plush artists, myself included, that participate in group shows and challenges together including just for fun things like this swap. We do our swap after Christmas since it's usually a busy time for all of us SO I can't reveal the finished project until the recipient gets it in another month or so, but here's the start!
Oh, and the "theme" this year is Mardi Gras!



Almost finished now!  So that'll be finished up and on it's way out and I'll be back to work on more Needlings work!

See you next week, lovely friends!