Plush Team 5th Anniversary Swap!

If you follow the Plush Team (and if you don't, well what the heck are you waiting for?), you know we just celebrated our 5th Anniversary. Can I get a woot woot?

Anyway, to mark the momentous occassion, we decided to do another swap! Because nothing says par-TAY quite like snuggly plush.

I was lucky enough to get this adorable party owl from Nyssa of LitheFider. She already has her party hat on and even brought me a tasty little treat!

I'm not sure if it's because she's so cute, so sweet, or because she totes around a sweet, but she already made good friends with all my other plush. 

She should probably watch herself, though. A few of them look like they want to eat more than just her cupcake. . . .

Thanks so much, Nyssa!

Summer So Far

Oh, hai Interwebz! I have returned with splendid tales of offline adventures!

The most exciting bit of news: I launched a second business last week! The new biz is Stardust Stitches, and it's lots of handmade little lovelies to help you have a more relaxed and serene life. Slippers/house shoes, rice therapy pillows, sachets, lap/receiving blankets, etc.

 

Why let your neck have all the fun? Now your feet can have Peter Pan collars too!

Check out the Etsy shop or the Facebook page for all the goodies. I might be crazy, what with Plushroom Soup, the day job, the 5 pets, the farm plan, and trying to have a social life too. But I'm super excited about the new biz!

 

 

Amy's reversible dresses

 

I'm also excited to announce that Amy, my BFF and favorite crafty partner in crime has revamped and relaunched Crabtree Studio. She's making utterly AMAZEBALLS heriloom-quality childrens clothing, so if you've got a little munchkin in your life, you should check out her stuff.

 

Lookin' snazzy before the show.

 

Last Sunday, we shared a booth at the innaugural Summer No Coast Craft-o-Rama in Silverwood Park (reunited and it feels so good. . . .). But holy hell, people, was it HOT. And STICKY. I felt like I was standing in a swamp all day. I don't think I've ever sweat so much in my entire life. But the park was gorgeous, the crowds were pretty steady, and we got lots of positive feedback about our work. I even made a few more sales than I had expected for both a first-time show and the first event for Stardust.

I didn't have much of a chance to check out all the other vendors, but our neighbors Oh Dier were really sweet and lovely people. And they make highly-covetable, beautiful objects to prettify your home. I think this sign in red would make a perfect addition to our reading room.

 

image © Oh Dier

They also had one that said "Library," but I can't find an image of it. Tough to choose which I'd want more, but I better decide before Winter No Coast!

 

In other news, I started a new day job in mid-June. I've once again picked up the red pen after my brief erroneous stint in IT. I'm VERY relieved to not be part of that madness anymore and am loving the new job so far.

 

My MIL's dog, Cal, helps us assess the north pasture.

The farm dream is also going strong. My local NRCS rep came out to the farm in June to help me assess the pastures and develop a rotational grazing plan for my future critters. Turns out I have abundant and species-diverse (if a bit overgrown) pastures, including awesome native prairie.

 

Sadly, all this activity has left little room for plush making. But I do have lots of fun ideas and the Plush You! 2012 deadline is starting to loom, so expect to see some fun stuff soon.

Also expect to see some changes around the blog in the next few months. I haven't entirely worked out what it will look like, but I know I want one cohesive space where I can write about Plushroom Soup, Stardust Stitches, and the soon-to-be-named farm. I'm toying with lumping them all under one blog called Farm Sewn (see what I did there? See? Yes, I'm a dork.). I know many of you run several businesses. Any advice for juggling their web prescences gracefully?

Second Annual Plushcation!

Last weekend (May 10-14) was the second annual Plush Team retreat. Just like last year, there was so much joy, warmth, fun, laughter, and productivity all weekend. I'm sure it sounds like a tired refrain by now, but seriously, I can never adequately express just how awesome this team is, and how lucky I feel to be a member.

This year's retreat was in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and was organized by the amazing Yummy Pancake. Though there were six fewer of us who made the trip this year, it was no less fun. I'm not sure I ever laugh quite as hard as I do when I'm with this group.

Our view this year was very idyllic and peaceful. Most of us spent a few hours taking in this view each morning while sipping our tea or coffee.Two geese families lived on the pond, and each day we were visited by deer, hawks, vultures, herons, bald eagles, and all manner of backyard birds.

A few bird families even lived in the walls of the cabin. Unfortunately for me and Ann-Claire, this was directly behind our beds, and we were awakened to a chorus of very loud cheeps every 20 minutes or so starting just before dawn.

One of the highlights of the trip was the PA Fabric Outlet. It wasn't quite as big as S.R. Harris here at home, but the wall of buttons and trims was much more impressive. And cheap!

We also explored downtown Lititz, which was incredibly quaint. We had the most amazing meal there at the Tomato Pie Cafe (if you are ever offered tomato pie, eat it! You will not be sorry. It was so delicious that most of us became obsessed with it the rest of the weekend, plotting ways we might get it shipped to us or how we might make it ourselves.) and had a great time exploring the little shops and reading plaques on all the historic buildings.

Back at the house, there were tacos once again, Amy's famously delicious margaritas, and waaaaay too much sugar and chocolate (between the Amish homebaked goods we picked up at the Green Dragon farmer's/flea market and the chocolates from the Wilbur Chocolate Factory, we were guaranteed weekend-long sugar comas).

Of course there was much crafting, as well, including the awesome group-produced giant plush taco you can see in the first photo of this post. There were zombies, moss balls, poopsticks, appliqued onesies for the Moon Bun in the Oven, caged gouda, angry panties, and so much more. . . . We also once again participated in a white elephant swap and the goods were so amazing that actual tears were shed when certain items were stolen.

But none of these things were quite as amazing as all the laughter. The conversations were hysterical and often we laughed until we cried.

I sincerely love this whole group, and I can't wait for next year's retreat!

Monster Mail

Every year, the Plush Team participates in a little Secret Santa-style swap. This year we decided to push the deadline out to Leap Year, since the plush community is always crazy busy during the holidays.

My swap this year came from the super talented Chelsea of Love and a Sandwich! I've been wanting one of Chelsea's critters for a while now, so I was excited when I unwrapped this guy:

He's very snuggly and also very well made. Check out his details:

I immediately hung him on my little plush wall:

The space on the right looks a little empty, but I have some ecoLEFTZ and Yummy Pancake goodies to hang there. . . .

Anyway, my adorable little monster also came with a fabulous drawing:

I love how he's salivating while he thinks about tacos, which is pretty much a daily occurrence for me too.

Thanks, Chelsea, for the wonderful monster and drawing!

Barnheart

So, I've been very absent lately, and it's not all due to my typical craft fair hangover + post-holiday slump. No, for the past several months, I've been spending 3-6 hours every other week in a county fair building some 90 minutes west of my home, learning about holistic and whole farm management philosophies in a Farm Beginnings program offered annually by the Land Stewardship Project. And a fair portion of my time outside the classroom has been spent researching, writing, and reconnecting with my favorite alpaca farmers.

To many of you, this is no surprise. But some of you may be furrowing your brows in confusion or wonder. Let me explain. I've had a serious case of Barnheart for the past 5 years:

"that sudden overcast feeling that hits you while at work or in the middle of the grocery store checkout line. It’s unequivocally knowing you want to be a farmer — and for whatever personal circumstances — cannot be one just yet. So there you are, heartsick and confused in the passing lane, wondering why you cannot stop thinking about heritage livestock and electric fences. . . .

"It’s a dreamer’s disease: a mix of hope, determination, and grit. Specifically targeted at those of us who wish to god we were outside with our flocks, feed bags, or harnesses and instead are sitting in front of a computer screen."

I'm hoping to find my cure for Barnheart in a heritage-breed fiber farm (sheep, goats, and alpaca) and fiber CSA. I long to spend my days working in and with rather than against nature. To be a good steward of the land. To do work that feeds my soul, while deepening my spiritual connection to both people and the natural world. To foster creativity and handmade pursuits within the community.

That's right, nearly all my long-term goals are related to farming and living in the country and playing with fiber and just doing. I know it won't be easy. It takes a lot of grit—physical and mental—to run a farm and make a living from it. But it's what I want, truly. And I hope I can make it happen within the next two years, even if it's just part-time.

I've spent a lot of time this past year examining my values and goals and intentions. In doing so, it has become painfully clear to me that I have spent a good deal of time living outside of them, living out of integrity with myself. I've known since I was 18 that I wasn't really cut out for corporate life, and yet I've spent the last 15 years attempting to fit into that mold. I've taken the path of least resistance too many times instead of creating the life I want.

My Farm Beginnings course is just one of many shifts (some tiny, others larger) that I've been making over the last year on my path toward intention. I want to be mindful of where I'm spending my time and energy, and if it isn't in service to my values in any way, then I need to foster change in that area.

I know I'm starting to sound a little too woo-woo. This is what happens when you spend several months clarifying to yourself what you personally hold most dear and why, and exploring where your strengths intersect with your passions.

So this is where I'm at. Researching. Exploring. Thinking. Acting slow. Acting purposefully. Taking baby steps. For someone who likes to leap feet first into almost everything, you have no idea how uncomfortable this is. But it's what needs to happen right now to move me closer to my goals. And I can only hope that the reward at the end will be all that much sweeter!

Happy Corduroy Day!

Yes, folks, today is national Corduroy Appreciation Day, since 11|11|11 is the day that most resembles that glorius fabric, corduroy.

To commemorate this momentous date, the Plush Team has teamed up with the Corduroy Appreciation Club. Eleven members of the Plush Team created a collection of 11 corduroy-inspired plush. These pieces will be displayed at the grand meeting celebrating all things corduroy at the Desmond Tutu Center in Manhattan on this most auspicious date. These pieces are available to the public to celebrate this every man's fabric in their own private collections. They may be purchased in the PlushTeam's Etsy shop.

I had the pleasure of being one of the 11 artists, and I created a "waling" banshee for this event.

According to Irish folklore, banshees are fairy women (or ghosts of women who died, commonly in childbirth) who wail when death is nigh. Their wails are most often heard at night near woods.

My banshee is dressed in baby corduroy, or pinwale, for a play on the word "wailing." Her tattered dress is accented with ribbon and lace, and her split dagged sleeves feature a silk blend lining (because I still can't get Game of Thrones costuming out of my head). Her body is made of 100% wool felt, and her hair is mohair locks needle-felted into place. Her arms and fingers are wired and jointed for full range of motion. She comes with a doll stand.

I love my banshee. Seriously LOVE. I did not want to ship her to New York, I loved her so much. I haven't been this in love with one of my plush pieces since, well, probably ever. Which means I will definitely have to make more banshees in the future.

All the pieces my fellow Plush Teamers created for this event are amazing. There's a Woody Allen plushcature:

A nasty ass honey badger (if you don't understand this reference, click the link to watch the video NOW. Seriously, now. I'll wait.):
And a plethora of amazing whales:

And if that weren't enough awesomesauce for you, last night, Rachel Maddow of MSNBC purchased that nasty-ass honey badger, and then FEATURED THREE PLUSH TEAM PLUSH ON HER SHOW, including my banshee. How amazing is that?!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Big, big props to Abby of Abbydid for organizing all this plush corduroy awesomeness.

About the Club:
The Corduroy Appreciation Club is a social club which wishes to cultivate good fellowship by the advancement of Corduroy awareness, understanding, celebration and commemoration of the fabric and all related items. Club events are held on dates which resemble Corduroy.

All Hail the Wale!!!

Plush You! 2011 Review

Last week, I had the pleasure to attend the Plush You! show for the third time. I think the collection of plush on display, from about 60 different artists, was the best yet!

I helped Kristen set up the show on Thursday night, which meant I got first dibs on buying a plush. I had such a hard time choosing which one to take home, but I finally settled on this handsome viking dude by Pepper Stitches:

The Plush Team was, of course, very well represented, including Cutesy but Not Cutesy, Plush Goodness, Hibou Cards, Weird Bug Lady, Moons Creations, Yummy Pancake, Talkproof, Pterodactyl Pants, Green Elevator, Yermit, Scrumptious Delight, Chris Creatures, ThEm DoLLz, Green Star Studio, Needlings, Cretur Fetur, Squirrel Momma, Lowell and Son, and Out of the Frame (I think I mentioned every teamer in the show; apologies if I've left anyone out!).

My dudes looked pretty awesome in their little cubby, keeping good company with Moxie's awesome e-textile monsters.

I even got to chat with Moxie for a spell, and she is as supremely awesome as her critters are.

I also met Anisa from Nonsense Institue (she's so sweet!):

And another plush-maker from Minnesota! She even lives in my neighborhood! Meghan and her husband were so fun to chat with, and I can't wait to get my craft on with Meghan sometime. Her toys are not only cool to look at, but they're interactive too!

Aside from the show, I also visted the Seattle Art Museum, Olympic Sculpture Park, Bainbridge, the Asian Art Museum, the conservatory in Volunteer Park, the Japanese Gardens, the Arboretum, Fremont Market, and Pike Place Market. I would say Bainbridge and the Japanese Garden were the highlights for me this year.

You can see many more photos of the show and my adventures around Seattle on Flickr.