Look, Ma, I'm on the TV!

Six or so weeks ago, I mentioned that a crew from the local public television station had been filming in my house. I got word last Friday afternoon that the episode would air that evening. 

Cue frantic letting-everyone-know scenario.

This is easier. 

I'm pretty pleased with the segment overall. I was curious how it would come out, since they were in my house - and talking with me - for over an hour. Interesting what makes the 3.5 minute cut, but I loved some of the cultural references they snuck in.

Embedded above is my segment of the program; the link here is for the entire episode, which is well worth watching. (I'm at about the 2/3 point).

Handwork

This Monday I went to my town's fiber arts meetup. I always intend to go, and I've only gotten there a few times before. 

It started during Covid as a meetup in one member's backyard so the makers in town (and there are many) could get out of their houses while still keeping their hands busy. Now it's held in the local maker space, which is less personal, but warmer and with better light.

The reason I've often ended up not going is that when I'm working on a project, I plow straight on to the finish. And for this meetup, I need hand work. Over the weekend, I finished piecing four custom Christmas stockings made from baby clothes, and I held off doing the applique and embroidery work because I knew I could do that on Monday night.

And I actually got them done. It was nice to sit there with coffee and a half dozen other women and catch up on our projects and our lives. It happens every other week, and I'm going to try to make it a more regular occurrence.

What about you? Do you like getting together with others or do you prefer your creative pursuits done alone? No judgment here - I'm firmly in both camps.

Back at it

Once upon a time, I did a lot of craft shows. A lot. During the season - early April through end of June, and then again from Labor Day through Christmas - I would be out every weekend, sometimes both days. For the holidays, Friday-Saturday-Sunday.

Then came Covid. My last craft show, excepting the informal one I set up on my front patio last Thanksgiving weekend, was the week before Christmas, 2019. It would have been later, but I picked up something viral and unpleasant before Thanksgiving that flattened me until mid-January, and by that last week, I couldn't do any more.

So it's been a long time. And I haven't totally missed it, as it turns out. The pandemic made a lot of people rethink their normal, and I made a few decisions regarding my handmade business - which aren't because of wanting to build my writing business, but simply because it feels time. 

I'm only going to do local shows now, here in town or in several suburbs nearby. They're not only the most convenient (necessary since I don't drive and I hate asking Mario to spend a day ferrying me back and forth; it eats into the profits, as well), but shows here and in Swarthmore, particularly, have always been the most profitable. I'm going to try to rework things to build a more sustainable online presence on Etsy, since right now the handmade shop is only busy at the holidays.

My first event is this Saturday, June 5, where I'll be the featured artist at the Swarthmore farmer's market. It's a short event - only 9 a.m. to noon - so I can ease back into packing the car, setting up/breaking down and, most importantly, remembering how to people. Social re-entry is going to be a little rocky for this introvert, but I'm sure I'll figure it out.

Happy Family

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by a woman who owns a shop in South Philadelphia.  I've sold things there occasionally, and she's the organizer of some of my favorite craft shows.  She had someone looking for custom work.

The customer had written and self-published a picture book for her soon-to-be grandson, based in part on a small stuffed monkey she had purchased.  She wanted someone to make the monkey's parents - who were, obviously, a bear (mom) and a beaver (dad).  Because storybook.

I met her at a coffee shop near my office.  She brought the book and the monkey toy.  I looked through the book, took photos of a few illustrations to get color ideas, and we shook on it.

These aren't  the same as my usual animals, and they're probably never to be duplicated, because I didn't enjoy the process of making them that much, but I did enjoy the end result.

I brought the monkey home with me (because he needed shorts), and I spent a day or two fiddling around with ideas and making drawings.  But every time I looked at my fabric stash, I drew a blank.

There was no rush - she asked for them within 30 days because she was going to visit her daughter then - so I knew I had some time to puzzle it out.

Then, on a Thursday, about a week before they were due, when I was still looking at a monkey with no shorts, and some dark brown cashmere blend sweater fabric, I gave up and took a walk.  It had been hot out for the better part of 10 days, and this was the first middling-hot day and I needed out.

I started walking west from the house, toward Clifton Heights.  We've driven up that way but I don't know the area at all yet, so I thought I would just walk for a while and see what there was to be seen.

Soon I encountered a sign that said "Swedish Cabin," which turned out to be (possibly) the oldest building in Pennsylvania, built in the 1600s as a trading post.  It was about a 1.5 mile walk from my house, but I got to sit on a rock and soak my feet in the icy-cold Darby Creek for a half hour, and then I walked home again.

When I went upstairs to my workroom, all of a sudden the project made sense.  I started cutting up the fabric, and by the time Mario got home from work, I had completed the beaver (complete with suede tail), his turquoise suit, and was about half done the bear.

Sometimes you just need to get away from a project and get some fresh air and exercise, and everything falls into place.

African Dolls

 I recently listed a new batch of African dolls in my Etsy shop.  I hadn't made any in a while, and I came across some remnants of wax print fabric while I was unpacking, and decided it was time.

I think I mentioned before that the first of these was made for a former co-worker, who had an African neighbor who took care of her granddaughter.  When the woman prepared to return home, my friend asked for a piece of her clothing and asked me to make a doll so that her granddaughter would always remember her.

They're fun to make, and I love the colors and prints of the fabrics.  I've found a few bits in thrift stores, in addition to using the leftovers from the first doll, but most of these were from remnants provided by sewing friends.

These tend to sell better online than in person, for some reason.  I sold one last fall at an outdoor event - a little girl fell in love with the doll, and was starting a spectacular meltdown when her grandfather told her she couldn't have it.  She didn't understand why, but when I looked at him, I did.

His wife looked from the doll to me to the granddaughter, and elbowed him in the ribs.  "Give her the doll," she said.  "She's growing up in a different world than we did, and there's no point in trying to stop it."

I think he would have liked to try, but the women - his wife, his granddaughter, the doll and me - won out in the end.




And though I admit I didn't like why he didn't want to buy the doll for her, I give credit where it's due.  He knew his wife was right.  That little girl is growing up in a different world, and there isn't anything he can do to stop it.

HANDMADE MONDAY SALE

Monday, November 25, 2013 has been declared Handmade Monday! Handmade sellers all around the world will be celebrating with sales and promotions! Do you support artists and craftspeople?  Pledge to shop on Handmade Monday!

There's already Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday AFTER Thanksgiving, but handmade artists are taking the Monday BEFORE Thanksgiving as THEIR day. Support handmade sellers!

I'm offering a coupon code in my shop - HANDMADEMONDAY10 - for 10% off any purchase over $15.  The coupon code is good on 11/25/2013 ONLY.