The Whimsy Patch

Little Miss Tia--Busy! Busy!! Busy!!!

 

With all of the craziness lately--all of the pattern tweaking, the sewing, the typing and the drafting of tutorials--I have been going a little nutty.  I guess I need to note that we have been sick around here for the last couple weeks and hubby has been having to work a lot of extra hours!  This has complicated getting patterns ready for sale and I've not hit the deadline I hoped to hit.  Nevertheless, I've been having fun and I'm pleased with the new accessories I've designed, the changes I've made to old patterns, and the new ideas I plan to put into fabric in the coming weeks. 

So, with all of the nuttiness around here, my new friend Tia from the Whimsy Patch insisted that I allow her to lend me a hand.  Here you can see her working on the new cake pincushion/accessory that I have designed.  The fabrics sitting on the table are waiting to be turned in to an Alphabet Fairy--letter A--a Little Lion Prince with companion Girradragon, and a few Whimsy Fairies.  Tia said I must slow down and catch a breath so she sent me out for coffee while she worked on tweaking the detail work for the pincushion. 

 

Tia also asked for a closeup shot so that you might see her cute little wedge shoes with the cutesy floral detail, her fringed apron, and her cherrie hairpin and broach.  The pattern for this Lovey Mod Dollie will be released along with the Sweet Dreams Fairies as part of my initial pattern shop opening. 

Keep your eyes opened.  I promise the patterns are coming! 

K is for "Kitty"

 

Okay, so I've been slaving away all week working to get a handful of my patterns ready for sale.  Well, "slaving" is not the best word choice.  I'm actually very excited to be very inspired and back into a good creative rhythm--this despite my little guy's case of the flu and my hubby's long hours.  Getting back into a good creative stride has been a high point of the last couple weeks.

As I continued to prepare my Sugar Dream Fairies pattern for my shop, I felt like I needed to continue working with the line and expand on it for an accessories pack.  Aside from a couple sweets that I had already created, I knew that I wanted to add more.  I've always had a thing for illustrated alphabets.  Some of my earliest memories are of looking through A to Z word books with my mother.  I also like the idea of being able to personalize bedrooms and wanted to expand more on this.   All of this came together with my new Alphabet Fairy pattern line.  Beginning with the letter "K"--given that my name is "Kimmie" after all--I will be releasing patterns that for the illustrated letters that the fairies hold and any ammended details like the quick wing design that I will be using for this line.  In order to make these fairies, you will need to purchase the Sweet Dreams Fairy pattern for the base fairy design.  Once all 26 letter illustrations have been designed and released, I will likely release one A-Z pattern pack though that will be far into the future.  I hope to design one new Alphabet Fairy every week or so.

Without further adieu, I would like for you to meet "Kitty," the first of the Alphabet Fairies.

 

Maybe because she likes to cook or because her letter is K, after all, I found her hanging out in the kitchen baking kuchens.  She was being assisted by her sous chef, Katrina, a rather precocious kitten with a kitschy sence of style.  I have to say that the kuchen was delightful and I look forward to sampling more of her work.

 

Kitty told me that she also enjoys designing kaleidoscopes and gave me one as a hostess gift--as though the kuchens were not enough!  I am very pleased to meet her and cannot wait to meet more of her friends.

I will be working on the patterns more over the next few days and hope to start releasing them this weekend!

Patterns on the Way!!!

 

 

For those of you who are watching and waiting, I wanted to offer a sneak peak at one of my up and coming pattern releases.  I'm looking at roughly one more week before I will be releasing my first handful of patterns--the Sweet Dreams Fairies and an accessories pattern pack, the Lovey Sized Mod Dollie, one of my Whimsy Chaps patterns, and a couple more TBA!  I'm very excited but they definitely take some time.  I'm cleaning up my patterns to get them just right.  I'm writing up directions and drawing tutorials.  I kind of feel like I'm back at university working on a class project!

Wish me luck! 

Sweet Dreams Fairies and Sugarplum Dreams

Since the beginning of this year, I have been dreaming up new ideas for the Whimsy Patch and revisiting old ideas to try and figure how I might improve them.  The Sweet Dreams Fairies are the first dream that I've been able to sew into reality and I am so excited to be releasing them!  These fairies are daintier than my usual chubby lines and they include a ton more handsewn detail and embroidery work.  I've always had a thing for miniatures and I chose to indulge that obsession and try my hand at some miniature plush treats to include as accessories for these lovely ladies.  You will see the first fruits of this endeavor below.  As I continue to prepare the patterns for sale this week, I will be working up a few more mini treats to include inthe accessory pattern pack.  Think tiny cakes, lollipops, ice cream sundaes, cupcakes and more!  Once released, the Sweet Dreams Fairies pattern pack will include the pattern for the fairy body, three different wing styles, three hairstyles, fairy shoes, a lollipop, and embroidery and hand sewing suggestions (though you can machine sew the wings if you prefer speed to the slowness of hand sewing!).  The accessories pattern pack will include the patterns for five different mini felt plush treats.  So cute and fun!  Below you can meet our new friends:

 

Meet Tilly, our sweet little Lollipop Princess.  She's the daintiest of the fairies and she adores polka dots so she recently had some embroidered on her lace-like wings.  (Embroidery is the tatooing of the Whimsy Patch, by the way.)  She's been make handcrafted lollipops almost since birth and really loves mixing flavors and making swirly patterns in her pops.  She says that, "The visual experience of the lollipop is almost as important as the taste experience.  Almost." 

 

And Sherry, the Princess of Upside-Down Cakes, has the feistiest personality of the bunch.  She loves making upside-down cakes but refuses to be conventional.  She--though you might find her occasionally taking a bite of one in private--has vowed to never be caught making a pineapple upside-down cake.  She notes that they "frustrate [her] because there are so many other varieties of upside-down cake.  What a way to smother creativity!" 

 

Strawberry Chocolate Truffle Upside-Down Cake is her favorite to bake:)

 

And meet Gigi, the Princess of Ice Cream Sundaes.  She's both practical and sweet.  She thinks of her job making ice cream sundaes as "a most important job.  I help children to celebrate everything that's great about childhood and I help adults remember what it was like to be one."  She also believes that their is nothing wrong with a classic.

 

She says she will teach you how to make her favorite--Vanilla Bean Hot Fudge Sundae with Extra Sweet Cherries and Sprinkles.  Mmmm.....

All three of the Sweet Dreams Fairies will be available in my Etsy shop tonight!  The patterns will be available within the week.

Oh, My Goodness! They are done!!!

Wow!  These lovely ladies took me a lot longer to complete than I expected--granted, I only had about an hour of sewing time per day for about 3 weeks there.  Fortunately, in the last week, I was able to include sewing as a regular part of my daily juggle so I could complete these gals:)  I'm really enjoying all of the handsewn goodness and coming up with new patterns.  I will blog more about these ladies individually tomorrow.  I will be releasing this pattern set and an accessory set within the next week or so!  After tomorrow, these fairies will be for sale in my Etsy shop.

Good Things Come to Those Who Comment

Hello, all!  I am still busily working away on my new line of Sweet Dreams Whimsy Fairies.  These little girls will appeal to those who enjoy hand-stitching and embroidery work.  That's also why these gals are taking me so long to complete!  They are very detailed and include a lot of small details--hand stitched felt wings with embroidered details, handsewn shoes, and little plush goodies handsewn and held in their hands.  They will be lovely when complete, but they are still a few days out.  I'm making them to be wall hangings so they will be hung by ribbon and will look so sweet decorating some precious darling's wall!  The completed fairies will be available in my Etsy shop but I will also be selling their patterns--likely here on my blog.

Many of you know that I am in the process of getting my older patterns ready to sell as well.  I'm tweaking my tried and true patterns, making sure they will be easy to sew for my customers, and taking care of writing directions that will be simple to follow.  I'm excited but also impatient to get them ready!

Now, I would like the help of all of you who are excited to start sewing some of your own Whimsy Patch creations.  As I think of what I want to create next, I would like to ask for your input. 

What sorts of patterns would you be interested in seeing come out of the Whimsy Patch in the next year?

--kits with fabrics cut and ready to be pieced and sewn--fabrics will be combined Whimsy Patch style!

--Dolls with clothing patterns?

--More of my usual patterns with clothing and accessories sewn in place?

--Dolls with plush accessories--Think dolls with plush lollipops, mini teddy bears, plush picnic baskets, etc.?

--Embroidery stitching patterns of Whimsy Patch scenes and dolls?

--Dolls vs. creature companions?

I'm in the process of brainstorming and would love to see where my customers' interests are.  With an ever tightening economy, I am aware that more and more of you are likely turning to crafts that you can make yourself.  The Whimsy Patch wants to evolve with this economy and I look forward to see your interpretations of my work.  Even though the times are hard economically speaking, it's exciting to see what directions this will push us creatively!

So, here's the deal, for those of you who comment on this post, you will get a free Whimsy Patch Mod Dollie pattern with your first pattern purchase from my shop.  That means you will get two patterns for the price of one once my patterns are released.  I expect to open my pattern shop with five options to choose from and then new patterns will trickle in from there:)  (At this point, I plan to release all patterns in PDF format, by the way.)  You can expect to start seeing patterns in my shop within the next two weeks.  I will email those of you who comment when the pattern shop is open!

Thank you in advance for your input!

Momentum and New Directions

As many of my blog's regular followers know, I have been very busy over the last six months and this has led to some much needed time to recouperate and rethink the Whimsy Patch.  I absolutely love what I do, but with my family in the toddler phase and likely increasing this year, I cannot continue to run Patch the way I have for the last--almost--2 years now.  I've been brainstorming a lot and have many new ideas for the coming year. 

I have been considering many things:

--time I have to put into business each day
--limited time to devote to filling orders
--desire to have more time to make new patterns and come up with new ideas
--need to help out the family budget rather than hinder it!
--likelihood that we will become a two child household this year leaving me with even less time to sew

All this said, I've been thinking about ways to revamp my Whimsy Patch approach.  In the past, I really wanted to be a largely custom order based business but I also wanted to have plenty of time to devote to sewing new ideas, coming up with new patterns, and also contribute to magazines and Plush Team projects.  Ultimately, I have realized that I was still thinking with my pre-child-in-the-home-brain.  I cannot do everything that I would like to do, but the last thing I want is to see the Whimsy Patch die.  If I'm going to keep going with this, I must change directions.  I've decided I want to try a few different things:

1. sell patterns for items and start using a creative commons license for many of my items--I'm actually excited about the idea of seeing other people reinterpret my dollies.  This used to scare me, but I'm in a different place now.
2. sell kits so that people can make Whimsy Patch dolls and have all of the pieces ready aside from stuffing, thread, and needle, etc.--I want to do this for customers out there who would rather have all the pieces ready to make one of my dolls.                                                                                       3.  continue filling custom orders but on a limited basis--I would probably place a certain number of spots in my shop each month, likely fluctuating by season of life.

I'm hoping these ideas will help me to gain some momentum and get the Patch moving again.  I wanted to at least give a sneak peak into one of my new lines.  I am now making Mini Fairies in sets of three.  I will be selling sets that I make but will also sell patterns and ready-to-make kits.  These gals will appeal to those who like to do a bit more handstitching and enjoy using felt.  You can take a peak below.  I hope to have the first set complete within a few days and will post pics then.

Because Birds are Fun to Sew!

I had a blast with these next two lovelies!  I absolutely adore birds and love sewing them.  I attribute this to being raised partially by my Great-Great Aunt Judy who also loved both.  She had this awesome screened in porch where we would breakfast on summer mornings before the southern heat kicked in too hard and heavy and play card games, Scrabble and Yatzee as the sun began to creep behind the trees and the humidity became bearable.  I treasured my time on that porch with Aunt Judy and my Nanny and making these two dollies allowed me some time to think back on those good days.  I miss them so!

Sweet Cera and Spunky Zella come from the Aviary Farms where Lou Lou and Josette used to find there home.  Unlike Lou Lou and Josette, Cera and Zella do not find their expertise in bird song but instead they both run the Aviary Lofts, a home to thousands of birds that doubles as a Bed & Breakfast.  Cera and Zella train the birds to be resident friendly.  When residents visit the B&B, they are able to breakfast with the birds, walk the grounds with birds perched on their shoulders, and sleep to the sound of birds singing lullabies in their rooms.  When residents go home, they are each given a lovely, handcrafted bird cage and a new birdie friend.  Cera and Zella, aside from fixing a breakfast banquet each morning, also spend their time making the handcrafted cages, sewing cute birdie purses, and making other handmade gifts to sell in the Aviary Lofts Boutique.  People who don't stay the night can still go there to purchase a cage and make a new birdie friend.

Cera loves finches of all kinds.  She thinks they are just "so chubby and cute."

 

And Zella prefers hummingbirds and has dozens of feeders on her balcony to attract new friends. 

 

Stop on by the Aviary Lofts and stay for a night!   Cera and Zella would love to have you.

Two Dragon Tamers + One Flower Princess = One Cute Bunch

Adair, Alistaire and Bree were on my sewing table a few weeks back.  They were a custom order placed by a great customer who wanted to bless her own little one and two of a sis's little ones with some of my plush creations.  This customer definitely has a creative streak herself and she had a lot of fun ideas of how she wanted these dollies to turn out.  I had fun creating my first two capes with dragon appliques and cute sword appliques to go on the Dragon Tamers' hilts.  I was asked to make celtic knot broaches for the boys and a hairpin for the girl.  I tell you--these were a challenge--more challenging than they look on the computer screen.  I thank my visual processing skills for being able to figure out how to embroider and applique these correctly!  I was also able to try my hand again at a detailed, layered applique--this time of a rose.  I'm so detailed oriented that this was one of my favorite parts of the project.  Now, roughly three weeks later, I get to their stories. 

Adair and Alistaire, Dragon Tamers from the Land of Whimsy Hill, a royal region of the Whimsy Patch dotted with castles and royal estates and populated by princes, princesses and fairies of all sorts, have been capturing and taming dragons for as long as they can remember.   Prince Dragon Tamers are raised from infancy being trained in the ways of dragon speak, learning how to communicate with and soothe these fiery creatures almost as early as they are learning to crawl.  Adair has a special talent of training dragons to turn their flames into amazing art in the sky.  Whimsy Patch residents from all around gather every year for the Dragon Festival in the Land of Whimsy Hill just to see Adair's dragons perform.  Alistaire's talents are practical but very important and brave.  He has a knack for capturing the most dangerous of dragons and taming them to pull the famous sky chariots of the Patch.  Not many Dragon Tamers are as brave as Alistaire.

 

Below you can take a peak at Adair's and Alistaire's capes.  Dragon Tamers receive the special dragon insignias on their capes after their very first tame.

 

Bree, Adair's sister, is a Land of Whimsy Hill Flower Princess.  Flower Princesses like Bree are born in flower gardens in the Patch and have an amazing gift of cultivation almost from birth.  They are said to have the ability to speak the language of flora and thus can nurture any kind of plant to beautiful maturity.  Bree's special gift is in gardening roses and she has acres and acres dotting the Hill with dazzling roses of all sorts--tea roses, climbing roses, English roses a precious minatures.  The very best Valentine's gift a Whimsy Patch beau can give to his love is a bouquet of Bree's roses.

On Complications and Catching Up

Creativity is complicated.  Being a stay-at-home-working-mom is complicated. In order to maintain a full creative tank, I have to have the perfect balance of freedom and pressure.  This complicates my work.  When I began the Whimsy Patch, I wanted nothing more than tons of custom orders and steady demand for my dollies.  I began not knowing what to expect regarding the various stages I would go through with my precious son--clueless that I would hit phases like the current one that would be very demanding even though rewarding as ever.  I had no idea that this last holiday season would bring a business boom starting in October and leading all the way into January.  I didn't do the math that would have shown me this would leave me very little time to spend with my husband at night after the little guy hits the sheets.  All of this led to near burnout and questions about where I would take the business next.  For those of you who have been waiting to see their dollies blogged, this is why I have been slow to post.  I wanted to place my best efforts and creativity into the dollies and this left me a little on the writer's block side of things when it came to the dollies stories.  I'm a bit of a perfectionist, and I really hate to do something when I cannot make my best effort.  So I have waited.

Fortunately, I am coming out on the other side now.  I slowed the custom order stream so that I could finish the last orders on my list without distraction and so that I might also find time to rest and spend with my family.  I am still not opening up shop for custom orders as usual, but I am slowly taking on new responsibilities.  I look forward to participating in an upcoming gallery auction and fundraiser.  I hope to prepare new pieces for a magazine submission in the summer.  I am also preparing to release patterns for sale in the near future.

So for those of you waiting for stories, I first ask for your forgiveness and thank you for your patience.  Your dollies friends will be facing blog front page shortly!