squirrel momma

PT, at Last

One of the traditions with Etsy Plush Teamers is that members create a stuffed version of our logo, PT Stitchy, who was designed a couple of years ago by the extremely talented Nervous Onion.

 

I finally got around to finishing my plush PT this weekend.  Another team member, Zfla, suggested I put PT on top of a globe pincushion, a nice touch as we're a worldwide team.  And I'm not one to turn down a good idea, especially when somebody let's me use one of theirs!

Go Plush Team!

  

Hello?

Yup, you probably want a darn good reason why I've been incommunicado for the last several weeks.

Let's just say the whole contractor putting in new windows and doors did not go as smoothly as I would have wished, and although I now have a studio of my own--YAAAAAAY!!!--other parts of the house still look like this...

 

That chair with the roll of white paper is where I'm currently taking photos, such as this shot of ricrac trim.  That I didn't pin on first.  And then didn't realize the ends weren't even until I was almost finished hand sewing the trim on.  

 

Reminds me of the seminar my husband took years ago, where they taught them the "Seven P's of Success":  Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance. Yup.

Anyhoo, I wasn't about to let those mismatched ends remain in plain sight, so I came up with a solution that made me quite happy (anything that even remotely works out right now makes me happy):

 

 

 Slap a heart on it and we're good to go! Works for me!

A-Prototyping We Go

I have been working on some new ideas for the holidays.

Let's just say the candy canes didn't turn out so well.

 

They might have to go into The Jar.

But I think Mr. Popper is a keeper.  I am even toying with the idea of making a little igloo for him to live in...

 

But is it just me, or do you feel like you're going blind when you're sewing black? I swear I can't see anything, and this guy is darn lucky he didn't end up with three beaks!

Last Bat

Months before every holiday (that is, the ones I need to stock my shop for) I have the fantasy that this time I will be organized, that my virtual shelves will be overflowing with goods for potential shoppers.

This pre-Halloween was no different.  I had the best of intentions, really I did.  But, as always, my conscious mind ignored the time I would spend packing school lunches, helping with homework, scrubbing mud out of cross country and football uniforms, driving nearly halfway across the state to said cross country and football events, and all the other stuff that the start of school and fall sports brings with it.

So, 3 weeks before the holiday, I have exactly one Halloween bat left in my shop.  Meet Lord Ruthven.

 

Due to his massive ego, Lord Ruthven doesn't mind in the least that he's the only bat in the shop these days. But I'm finishing up a custom order, and then I need to decide what to do next (besides Nut Boy's Halloween costume). More bats? A sensible, early start to Christmas? One of the twenty gazillion other projects on my to do list?

Obviously I need some Halloween candy to help me figure this one out.

Save the Boobs!

Now that I have your attention (and probably the attention of a whole slew of bottom dwelling web crawlers--go away! shoo! not that kind of blog!) I want to let you know about the current project of the Etsy Plush Team.

October is breast cancer awareness month and we are holding a fundraiser in the Plush Team store, with 80% of the proceeds from specially created pieces being donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.  We chose this charity because so many of our members have been touched by this horrible disease, some losing friends and mothers, while others have battled it themselves.

But of course we're Plush Team, so we chose to fight back with humor.  I created Magda the Harpy, because I like the idea of a woman who isn't afraid to take her shirt off and battle tooth and nail (although I think Magda has more of a goofy grin than a fierce snarl).

 

 

If you want to see the full line-up check out the team blog. Big, little, bouncy, and yes, covered in fur, they're all there. Go look, laugh, and most importantly, talk about it.

Save the boobs!

Dietary Question

FYI:  more weedlings, seedlings and bats going up in the shop over the next week...

And now, a dietary question that was just posed to me by Nut Boy. If vegetarians eat vegetables, what do humanitarians eat?!!  Ha!

Saugatuck

Last weekend we drove to Saugatuck, an artists' community on the shores of Lake Michigan.  While we waited for a table at our favorite breakfast joint we wandered down the street to grab lattés at an art gallery/coffee shop.

Then we wandered back to read the paper outside the restaurant. The great thing about Ida Red's--besides the absolutely decadent all butter, thick bacon, real maple syrup breakfasts--is that you can wait in their garden.

Then afterwards we staggered down to the channel to watch the boats go by. Boats with wheels...

Boats with bands...

And even boats with dogs for lookouts...

It really was a beautiful last day of summer, with perfect weather, and best of all when we got home everyone was so stuffed from breakfast I got away with making popcorn for dinner (albeit popcorn with Asiago cheese and my secret spice mixture). Which left me time to work on this guy:

Wish I could repeat it all next weekend!

Dynamic Duo

I suddenly decided that the world needs fewer of these:

and more of these:

Now, if all the sewers in the world--or even HALF the sewers in the world--have owned a tomato and strawberry pincushion at one point in their lives, that means there's something like 50 bazillion of those things on the planet, each one identical to the next. And 50 bazillion of anything identical (except, perhaps, chocolate truffles) is way too much.  

So, in my secret, underground, mad squirrel laboratory, I mutated them.  Gave them faces. Personalities. Minds of their own. 

Soon...soon...they will be ready for release upon an unsuspecting world!

(I probably won't be creating 50 bazillion of them, though.)

Hello!

Well, just from glancing at my TypePad stats, I can tell I have more than the usual amount of visitors today, perhaps thanks to my blathering-on-trying-to-make-myself-sound-halfway-intelligent-and-semi-interesting interview over at Sewn.  

So, hello!

And, er, would those of you in front mind just scooting a little closer to make room for those standing in the back? If there's an empty seat next to you, just slide over. Thanks...  

There. Everybody comfy?  

Hope everybody has entered for a chance to win Mr. Nutters (he can't wait to move out of this nut house), and is enjoying the pattern.  In case you haven't checked it out on Sewn yet, here's a sneak peek:

  

And no, Squirrel Momma is not rewarding herself with a day of lounging around and eating bonbons (well, okay, I'm drinking a frozen mocha, but I'm working hard while I'm doing it). Just finished this little Fibonacci the snail:

I winged it with the embroidery, and now I keep thinking it looks like wallpaper. Or toile. Or toile wallpaper (but in a good way). Anyway, with those things done, I am now staring at my project to do list, trying what is most likely to catch on fire if I don't start it immediately. 

Hmmm...I actually think a couple of items are starting to smoke...

Shhhhh...

I wasn't going to tell you until it is officially announced in the next day or two, but I am so bad at keeping secrets.

On a certain Australian website there is going to be a giveaway--

AND a free pincushion pattern--

--But nope, no peeking at the pattern just yet.  You'll have to wait, but I promise it's 100% guaranteed chock full of squirrelly goodness.

Suspense is killing you, isn't it?