A fun Alice inspired plush and doll show in Santa Barbara opens on December 5th which will display awesome wonderland-y doll and plush from artists from all over including my own Alice and White rabbit!
I've had these little other coloured Owl Baby Pins floating around on my table at various markets this fall but now they're all available in my shop.
I have lots of work over the next few weeks to get ready for the three day show that is MacFair at the Museum of Art at McMaster University mid November so I will be busy busy but I hope to keep you informed of that work along the way!
I just want to take a blog minute to say thank you so so so so much if you've ever bought/read/commented/enjoyed any work I've done. I feel so lucky to have had such nice people saying so many sweet things to me over the past couple years with Needlings. It's all endlessly encouraging and means the world to me.
I love you.
It was a fun night at Supercrawl on James North in Hamilton last Friday - even if it was wet and freezing cold! It was so nice to see that so many people came out for it even though the weather was a nightmare for an outdoor event.
One more outdoor market this Saturday in the same spot downtown and then I'll be indoors for the rest of the year at a few holiday shows/markets in November and December. It's certainly easier to predict the weather inside.
Currently working away on various things and spending lots of time getting ready for the holiday season.
I hope everyone is having a great fall. I love this time of year.
I've been spending the past week working on a stack of Owl Mamas - some of which will be sent to Young Blood in Atlanta and the rest of which will be used to stock up my table for my upcoming markets and to be listed in the shop.
Oh and here's Mip the cat enjoying some sun, just because.
I know every month at least 10 people I come in contact with say, "Can you believe it is [insert present month] already?!" And I say, "no!," every single time.
But they do tend to come one after another so you'd think we'd all get the hang of it.
Anyway, it is indeed August already and, probably mostly thanks to some wonderful trips, June and July hardly felt like they happened at all.
I've finished this little custom Owl Mama and listed her in the shop as another owly option and really need to get to work on a batch of them for the coming markets/shows/consignment/etc. because I'm currently Owl Mama-less! I might fit in something fun and different before starting another batch but we'll see. It's a supply and demand thing (yeah, I took high school economics).
I'm so excited that my mom will be not only hanging out with me for MacFair at the museum of art at McMaster University in Hamilton this November but that she will actually be selling her wares! Her first show - and then of course I'll be there too, hopefully at the table next to hers.
She's excited too - we've been hashing out ideas for displays and I even managed to acquire some free baskets they were going to toss out at the bookstore I work part-time at so I think it will be nice and will surely suit her.
Well, there are still a few months in between to figure it all out but we all know how that goes.
Enjoy the rest of your summers!
Love,
Heather
Hello everyone!
I'm back home after the most amazingly fun trip visiting old friends in Iowa City. Lots of fun reunions and happy times with lovely people.
I even checked out White Rabbit which is a cute little diy/vintage shop that opened in Iowa City shortly after I moved away.
It's really pretty cute and I got myself an "I ♥ Iowa City" t-shirt and an adorable headband I've already had a few uses out of. That was the extent of my shopping across the border but the hanging out with friends was the priority and it was so wonderful.
So, home now and back to work.
The next half of the year looks busy for me so no more wandering with at least one show a month so I hope to fit everything in and hopefully keep you updated along the way.
I hope everyone had as lovely a July as I did!
Love,
Heather
The Mortal Plush opening at Art Whino Gallery in D.C. is tonight and I am there in the form of those two little gals on the wall!
It's so exciting to see the photos taken by organizer and participator, Tobiah Mundt aka Licorice Tree of so many amazing pieces by awesome plush artists!
Back to work! Only two more days of work time before I'm off on my adventure (or vacation).
Well, here are the finally finished bookmarks. They're all up in the shop and ready to go!
I have lost my voice and may make a trip to the doctor this week to see how I can get rid of this strep throat in time for my trip to Iowa next Monday! Wonderful timing, right?
Anyway, I'm sure I will survive and be back to normal soon - in the meantime - I have lots of stuff to finish for various deadlines that happen to spring up right before I leave, while I'm away, and soon after I return. Show applications, magazine submissions, crafty whathaveyous, etc. I have a list somewhere to consult just in case my brain forgets something!
I hope everyone had an amazing weekend
and is fully enjoying their summers!
Love,
Heather
Yep, it's July 1st yet again so happy birthday Canada and happy day to the rest of you!
I have been spending the past couple days "assembling" a batch of Owly Bookmarks to add to the one lonely one in my shop - so far so good.
All the little owls are stitched so I hope to finish them off tomorrow or soon after.
In the grand tradition of being sick on holidays - I woke up yesterday with some throat scratchies that have caused me some hold ups but I still hope to be able to get my sewing work done before my regular schedule resumes on Saturday.
That's all for now! I hope everyone had a lovely day.
Here are a couple photos from today's home time:
Backyard lavender harvest.
Mip the cat.
A new little bookmark is now available in the shop for those of you, like myself, who appreciate a nice little book accessory every once in awhile.
I plan on making more to hang out on my table at my markets this year and more bookish items for the shop as well.
On the topic of books, I've been searching around for the perfect copy of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland to inspire me a bit while I brainstorm for a couple pieces I'll be making for an Alice in Wonderland inspired gallery plush show in a few months.
It's always been one of my favourites - I think it will be fun picking some fun Wonderland-ish characters to create myself.
I hope to have more work finished to show you for the shop before heading off to Iowa mid-July...
...unless I fall down a rabbit-hole myself.
Happy June.
I also listed a little batch of keyrings in the shop this week when I got the urge to use up some of my seemingly endless supply of ribbon.
In other summer news, I'll be taking a couple months off from the markets before my next one in August because I'll be acting as traveling vagabond (only sort of) for a couple weeks in both June and July.
In July I'll be visiting friends in Iowa for a week or two and, coming up sooner than I am ready for in the second week of June, I'll be heading out with my mom and brother to visit family in St. John, New Brunswick on the east coast of Canada. I haven't been for a few years but it really is a beautiful part of the world and it will be nice to see my mom's big family and go on some pretty ferry rides.
Here's a picture from my last visit a few years ago on a rainy day ferry ride to my aunt's house on Kingston peninsula.
I'm hoping to show you some sunny ones when I return but either way I'm sure I'll love it.
I'm really not a boat person but there's something about having to take a ferry to get somewhere you have to be that really excites the kid in me.
I've been spending the past couple of weeks getting a few things done so I can have a full table for my next Makers' Market next Saturday.
The little brown Needling in the front in the photo and the pink one in the back with the green eyes will be new additions I managed to finish last week. Lots of little things and some pillows will hopefully also make their way to the table providing I am as productive in the coming week as I would like to be!
That next market will be May 23rd 10am-3pm at St. Paul's - the market's first time at a location in Westdale. I hope you will stop by if you can!
This will be my last market until August as my June and July will be occupied with trips to visit family in New Brunswick and friends in Iowa if everything goes according to plan.
My mom is wonderful enough to come with me to the market again next week so I'm sure it will be a fun day hanging outside and seeing lots of fellow local makers.
Ok, back to work!
Love,
Heather
I've been working on this big lady on and off for a bit now and finally finished sewing her up last night!
She's pretty huggable, I think. Just a larger version of my Owl Mama design made with mint green corduroy and felt. And she's in the shop!
I'm excited to see how she looks/fits on my table for the summer markets. She's about the size of four of my original Owl Mamas. Some moves will certainly have to be made to fit her in.
I'm looking forward to making a few more with different fun corduroys and fabrics I have stored away around the Needlings workroom.
I spent the week working on this little girl, named "Naïf," french for naive, made as a submission to an upcoming plush art show called, "Mortal Plush: I am not your toy," taking place at Art Whino Gallery in Maryland.
I'm more excited to see the wonderful art that will no doubt be a part of this show as many of my fellow Plush Team members, as well as many other talented plush artists, have already revealed some amazing submissions.
You can view more of the submissions in the Mortal Plush flickr group.
I love being a part of the plush world and I'm proud enough just to have submitted something - so my work here is done!
Happy May!
New little owly item went up in the shop this week! Earrings!
I have fun attempting tiny but I've also been working on a larger version of my Owl Mamas that I'm pretty excited about. Another Needling is also in the works as well so lots of half finished projects floating around the workroom. Still trying to get back in to the swing of things but I'm almost almost there!
I hope everyone is enjoying the start of spring-y weather. The past few days here have been so pretty. It's so much easier to wake up early when the sun is already shining - or even just hiding being some rainy spring clouds.
Love you all.
I know this photo is terrible - my lovely mom went around and took a few pictures during the day on Saturday during the Makers' Market on James North in Hamilton that I participated in but she unfortunately had her camera set to take videos instead of photos so we were left with a bunch of 1 and 2 second videos. Poor thing - she tried!
Anyway, photo debacle aside, it was a beautiful day to be outside and it was just a fun day all around.
I'll be doing four more dates (at least) this year which I am quite happy to do. Lots of sweet people and peaceful locations.
I love it the most when the little kids stop by. Very sweet.
