Jessica's blog

Amy and I decided that one of our Plush You 2008 pieces would be a collaboration. The first thing we thought of was a two-headed monster, as it would be easy for each of us to do whatever we wanted creatively, while still being able to join the two halves in the middle.

Amy sketched out her half, a goat-like creature, before I had even begun thinking of my half. So I started thinking about what I might like to make that would look cool attached to a goat. It didn't take long for me to think of a chimera, and thus our "simple" two-headed monster quickly grew more complicated.

The Greek chimera was a fire-breathing, three-headed monster. As with most Greek myths, specific details of the creature vary. Some authors portray a dragon rather than a snake, some put the goat's head in the middle of the creature's body rather than next to the lion's head.

Amy and I decided that our chimera would have a lion head on one shoulder and a goat on the other. The chimera's upper half would be lion while the hindquarters would be goat, and the creature's tail would be snake.

I am super pleased with how our chimera turned out; it was very hard to part with her (despite the mane, the Greek texts always referred to the chimera as female)!

Mythology has always fascinated me (my undergraduate work focused on mythology and folklore), so it was only a matter of time before I started exploring these old tales in plush form. I can't wait to bring more of my favorite tales to life!

Little fishy,

don't let this

happen to you!

This fearsome sea monster is one of three special creatures off to Seattle for Plush You 2008.

I apologize for the sparse blog posts, folks. We've been busy little bees around here lately. We're working on some really super stuff—I promise the full stories with loads of great pictures to match very, very soon! There will be all new plushies to behold, announcements of new shows, and a special surprise. In the meantime, more giraffe love:

This sweet gal was a custom order for someone's niece, featuring a scarf monogrammed with the niece's first initial. I've never made anything so girly; it was fun to play with princess colors and themes for a day.

The shop has been updated with a handful of clearance items! I redesigned my giraffe pattern a while back, and I've decided to discontinue the old version and clear out all remaining stock.

Old pattern:

New pattern:

Once current inventory of the old pattern has been sold, that style will never again be available, so don't delay!

I've been catching up on the first season of Mad Men over the last few weeks, marveling at the exquisite attention to detail in recreating 1960s-era New York. The hairstyles, the fashions, the cars, the knick knacks, the interiors, the fashion. . . . The fine tailoring of all the beautiful dresses and skirts often has me musing how they just don't make them like they used to. Well, sometimes that's actually a good thing.

My sewing machine, a simple and graceful yet hardworking Elna, needed a tune-up and deep clean; the poor thing takes a lot of abuse. So I called around for quotes and, wouldn't you know, the only place that was open past regular business hours (i.e., when I'm working the day job) quoted me a price more than twice that of all its competitors and would take at least four days longer to service my machine. I griped a little to the sales person on the other end of the line and she eventually offered that they did have loaner machines. The thought of a week without my machine had perturbed me more than the extra cost, so I was sold. Until she showed me the machine, a 1960s-era Sears Kenmore:

Well, I thought, it looks sturdy. And they don't make them like they used to, right?

They certainly don't. This machine was loud, shook my entire sewing table when in use, had very nonintuitive controls (the manual didn't help much either) and, well, just wasn't my machine, you know? It's funny how dependant you can become on a certain way of doing things, how certain movements and actions you perform as if on autopilot. While using the Kenmore, I kept reaching for the controls in areas it doesn't have any because that's where they are on my Elna. I hadn't realized that using my machine had become second nature to me.

This may seem like an odd realization for a crafter, but I've had a very tempestuous relationship with sewing ever since my mom taught me how to use her machine when I was nine. I could never remember how to thread the machine, the controls never made much sense, and I didn't have enough patience to make even, straight stitches. Everything about sewing felt awkward to me. I hated my first machine with a front-laoding bobbin that contstantly jammed, hated the tissue-thin patterns that tore if you looked at them the wrong way, hated the funny special scissors my mom had for fabric only. To think then that someday using a sewing machine would become second nature to me and that not only would I be making my own patterns, but people I didn't know would want to buy the things I made!

The Kenmore taught me another lesson as well. I often grow nostalgic for eras I never knew, longing for what I perceive to be a simpler, less complicated time. Of course, I realize my own romanticized view of periods past likely doesn't hold up to the truth of what living in those eras was actually like. Progress is inevetable and fuels change. My week with a vintage sewing machine has reminded me that, often, such change really is for the better.

I have two exciting classes coming up at Crafty Planet. On September 6 and 13 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. is perennial favorite Needle Felted Critters, where I'll demontstrate how to turn raw roving into a cute little critter, like these birds:

This will be my fourth time teaching this super fun class, and each time I am blown away by the talent and imagination of all my students.

The second class is Sew Your Own Stuffie, held October 18 and 25 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. In this class, I'll demonstrate how to sew your very own Crabtree Studio alpaca or horse. This is the first-ever offering of this class, and I am very excited about this new opportunity.

Don't miss out on all the fun—contact Crafty Planet to sign up for one or both of these classes today!