Category: on my work table

the finished 2025 stitch book and 5 things I did at my job this week

May 30, 2025

by annwood

I’ve had this job for almost 20 years. It’s changed a lot but there’s a constant element of it feeling like an amorphous squishy blob. The worky stuff is so intertwined with my life stuff it gets blurry. That has its advantages but it can also result in wheel spinning and not having clear priorities.

I think it’s valuable to get super focused about what “working” really means. So here are some things I accomplished this week that are my actual job.

1- worked on the 2026 calendar

Last year’s calendar was a big hit (thank you!) But I wished I had released it earlier. I’m working on 2026 now. Still messing around with images – it takes forever to choose. If you’ve got a favorite painting, leave a comment with the date and your suggested month!

Don’t see the video above? click here.

2- finished the stitch book – there’s a video and everything

I love putting the book together. The process feels magic and the book feels substantive in my hands. I I’m already percolating ideas for next years book…

3- started the summer scroll project in stitch club

After a very brief post stitch book breather we have started a summer long mini project in stitch club – scrolls. The idea is simple, just cut a strip of fabric (I used an old linen table cloth) and stitch a little every day. The size is great for summer- it could fit in your pocket.

The stick (or spool etc.) is optional. We plan to stitch until labor day. If I keep going at my current pace my scroll is going to be huge. If you join in, tag your work with #summerscroll on Instagram!

the summer special for june!

4- worked on patterns

There are so many in the works and patterns will be the main focus of this summer. Next up will be the soldier (at last) and circus cat. Stay tuned.

5- blog post and newsletter

I love newsletter day! which almost always coincides with blog post day. And the moment I hit send I start working on the next.

bonus – a few things things that aren’t part of my official job description but I act like they are:

Staring at seedlings and willing them to grow faster.

Monitoring bunny and squirrel activity and generally messing around in my tiny garden. Please make the rain stop- it’s too much.

Re- arranging things…

Recreational ironing- I wish it was but it’s not.

Internet based research (pinterest). It a little bit is… I organize newsletter ideas there but it mostly is not. I start with the best of intentions and end up looking at gardens and country houses and quilts.

The NY Times puzzles. We’ve talked about this before. It really is like they are my job. I might need an intervention.

What do you accidentally spent big chunks of time on? Have you assembled your stitch book? Is there a stitched scroll in your future? Let us know in the comments.

8 simple joys this spring and the stitch book homestretch

April 11, 2025

by annwood

a roof over miss thistle’s head

Big news in tiny world: Miss Thistle’s house finally has a roof! Fully shingled (with cardboard, of course). I’ll be sharing all the DIY details soon—it was super easy. Still to come: a few charming touches on the exterior and shutters (I think) stay tuned for a dedicated cardboard doll house post.

aroma- a layered approach

I’m all about a good smell, nothing too loud or perfumy, I describe it as earthy and fresh. After years of experimenting I think I’ve perfected it:

A bunch of fresh eucalyptus – I get one every Friday.
This handmade soap by Saipua. All the scents are glorious but my top pick is clay and dill.
Santa Maria Novella Potpourri – I’ve got little dishes of it all over the place. I’ve had the same bag for over a year and it’s still going strong. It’s pricy but good.
Lavender cleaner. So simple. There are lots of ways to make it, I used equal parts vinegar and distilled water and about 20 drops of lavender oil.

bramble

It gets me through the winter. I get an outsized amount of joy from wandering around outside looking for exquisite little sticks and dead plants to bring home and put in my tiny vases.

happy plants

You know I love a houseplant. My collection has officially tipped into “plant lady” territory—and I’m fine with that.

new story bottles

New little delft /early american inspired rustic bottles. After a few more get fired I’ll put them in the shop. There is a giant artwork shop update in the works.

daffodils

They almost don’t look real! A magical occurrence every time. It’s still so wintery when they make their magnificent appearance.

NYT puzzles

Now I’m also a puzzle lady. My goodness. But I can’t help it – I love wordle, connections and strands. Obsessed. A huge amount of my discretionary time budget is spent on them. Who knows – maybe it’s helping my rapidly aging brain.

the stitch book home stretch

Friends! We are less than 20 days away from the finish line!! I will be a little bit happy and a little bit sad when this is finished. I’m excited about putting the book together and overflowing with ideas for my last pages. The process builds idea generating momentum and I don’t have enough pages left for all the things I’d like to try. It’s exactly the problem I hoped to have. The official end is Saturday 4/26.

What’s bringing you joy this spring? Are you a puzzle lady? A plant lady?!? Let us know in the comments and a very happy spring to you!

celebrate 19 years! of ann wood handmade

March 21, 2025

by annwood

For fun, I asked AI to write a blog post about the 19th anniversary of Ann Wood Handmade. It wasn’t bad. Pretty serviceable, actually. But it used the word journey a lot, had a certain flowery tone, and didn’t sound like me.

One thing I did appreciate, though, was how it zeroed in on community as an essential element—you all showing up here. Some of you for the whole 19 years.

Here’s what ChatGPT had to say:

“But what has made Ann Wood Handmade truly special is the incredible community that has grown around it. Over the years, makers from all over the world have connected here, sharing a love for handcraft, resourcefulness, and storytelling through materials. Whether you’ve been visiting for years or just recently discovered this creative space, your enthusiasm and support mean everything.”

And it does. I love knowing there are paper-mâché ships, earnest little birds, and dastardly owls scattered across the world. That they’ve mattered to other people too.

paper mache ship pattern

In an increasingly AI-driven world, the weird soup of human experience and imagination feels more magical than ever. It can’t be reproduced. I had to have a father obsessed with sailing, tall ships, and books, which led me to an early love of shipwrecks in literature. That had to collide with an image of a crystal chandelier shaped like a Spanish galleon, plus a lifelong devotion to paper-mâché (so accessible).

a wedding in prospect park

little bird pattern

mr. tibbles and mr. wickles

dastardly owl pattern

The little birds, and the owls, the general mood of it all? That doesn’t happen without a deeply poetic, Beatrix Potter-loving mom who took me to see this film at an apparently incredibly formative age. It doesn’t happen without mountains of scrap fabric and a sewing needle in my four-year-old hand.

It all layers together. And that mix—uniquely human, entirely unrepeatable—is what makes handmade things, and the people who love them, so special.

So happy anniversary to us! I’ll leave you with some customer/ reader projects that I love. And as always, thanks for showing up.

onward!

ann

Crow in progress by Gail

songbirds by Sue

song birds by Lynn

The collection above by Margaret includes her own modifications to the song bird pattern to create the larger robin.

A stitched vessel by Cookie – I love the button and pouf!

A magical ship by Teirney.

A sweet elephant by Lindsay.

mushroom by Steph

stitched eggs and chicks – new sewing diy

March 7, 2025

by annwood

Why make just one fabric egg when you can whip up a whole batch? These little stitched eggs are quick, easy, and extra cute in abundance. And they are perfect, cozy homes for little chicks.

You probably already have everything you need to get started. The free little chick pattern is available here.

A couple notes:

You can mix fabrics for multi color eggs. I’m demonstrating with one fabric for the exterior of the egg and another for the lining of the front opening pieces.

These can be sewn by hand or machine – if you’re machine sewing they only take about 15 minutes to make.

DOWNLOAD THE PATTERN

you will need

the template
cotton scraps – fabric for the egg and lining
a basic sewing kit
optional – pinking shears
chicks

: 1.

: 2.

1. Pin the egg back template to a single layer of fabric

2. Pin the egg top and bottom to doubled fabric – right sides together. One fabric is the same as the egg back and the other will be the lining fabric.

: 3.

: 4.

3. With the right sides of the fabric still facing, mark a 1/4 inch seam line on the bottom and top and sew across each pair.

4. Press the seams open

Support free patterns like chicks and eggs! It’s been a priority here for years to create high quality free patterns (there are tons) on an ad free site. There are not very many of those left… Help keep the awesome free projects flowing.

Click here to add your support.

5. Fold at the seam- wrong sides together – and press.

: 6.

: 7.

6. Place the egg bottom over the egg back – right sides of the egg fabric together and right side of the lining fabric facing you – pin.

7. Place the egg top – right sides of the egg fabric together and right side of the lining fabric facing you – pin.

: 9.

: 10.

8. Carefully mark a 1/4 inch seam allowance all around the edge.

9. Stitch the seam.

: 10.

: 11.

10. Trim with pinking shears or clip notches into the seam allowance.

11. Turn the egg right side out and run a chopstick or similar around the inside of the seam to push the curve all the way out.

The eggs are designed to be easy for little hands to hide a chick inside and get it back out – hours of fun. Beyond the seasonal significance you could create a memory or matching game.

So easy! I hope you make lots of chicks and eggs!

foundation quilt – the missing ingredient and a peek at the next sewing pattern

October 25, 2024

by annwood

Let’s start with the foundation quilt. There has been a missing ingredient – something just wasn’t gelling for me. The goal is super simple, a scrap quilt with fleamarket vibes but sturdy enough to really use. I love pulling out random scraps and not thinking much about the composition of the blocks. It’s definitely driven by chance. But some element of texture or color or something was missing. The scraps from making circus animals were the answer – yarn dyes.

I love the mix of yarn dyes and vintage prints. and the washed yarn dyes have a super soft feel. They are a combination of linen and cotton that’s just right. Robert Kaufman – Essex Yarn Dyed – PS this is not an affiliate situation – it’s been a favorite for years.

I gave the quilt a solid chunk of time this week – ironing and stitching on auto pilot. I can see the finish line from here and it will get a couple more chunks this weekend. Still not sure about the size- something throw-ish probably.

the next sewing pattern – sneak peek

To date, all my sewing patterns have seam allowance included in the pattern. The Circus Elephant will not and here’s why: It works better that way. The elephant (as well as the other circus animals) are not gusseted.

The construction is simple so the pieces are cut together and stay together. In the case of birds and owls it’s very important that the edges of the fabric match repeatedly so perfect seam allowance is key. For the circus animals the silhouette is everything so I focus on everybody getting a perfect seam line. The resulting dolls have had 100 % accuracy and it’s faster.

What’s the best way to add allowance? It is a fact that some people just magically have an internal ¼ inch seam allowance. They can just cut. For most of us I think it’s a best practice to measure – make little dots every inch or so to guide cutting. I find it easiest and super quick to use a little paper with a ¼ inch mark. It takes very little time and makes a perfect result.

: mark the dots

: cut the piece

other elephant rag doll supplies

*This post contains affiliate links – meaning I get a small commission if you purchase through the link – affiliate links are below and marked with an *asterisks

It really helps to have a turning tube for the trunk. You can use a big straw and chopstick or get a set- *this is the set I have. If you haven’t tried turning tubes check out how they work here.

And disappearing markers for marking the seam line – there are lots of different options- I like all of these. I came to disappearing markers late in life and I’m totally sold on them- so much smoother than a pencil or tailor’s pencil and you get a nice clear line.

*mark be gone – I love the dual option – air and water soluble

*leonis – super handy size and some to give to friends

*sewline air erase – I love this pen – the only downside is it does disappear on its own- but if you’re working quickly it’s great. It was my first and it’s still my favorite.

And fabric- I used Robert Kaufman – Essex Yarn Dyed- Graphite for the body- you can find it in lots of shops. Thrifted clothes are a great source of fabric too. 1/4 yard gets it done but I would get 1/2 yard.

And the elephant uses about 2 and 1/2 ounces of wool stuffing.

the october creative spark

You may recall that there is a new creative prompt every month in the stitch club community. This October prompt was “potion”. I love everything about Pam Q’s hand stitched interpretation.

@cloverwonder

What does potion inspire for you?

And are you ready to make a dancing circus elephant? How do you add your seam allowance? Let us know in the comments and happy October.

PS – I keep thinking that I’ve had my last bouquet of the season and I keep being wrong. The flowers just keep coming.

new DIY – stitch an elizabethan collar and hat

October 4, 2024

by annwood

stitched crow wearing a pointy hat and ruffled collar

It’s the perfect time to make a crow. So Halloweenie! And take your crows next level with a costume, make a super quick and easy ruffled collar and pointy hat. Check out both sewing tutorials below.

Also in the spirit of the season- a brand new note card is in the shop!

make the ruffle

you will need

very light weight fabric
embroidery thread
ribbon
optional – button

: 1.

: 2.

1. Cut a long strip of light weight fabric. The strip should be 2 inches wide. I needed 45 inches to make a ruffle that fit my crow. The piece does not need to be continuous – you can join strips if needed.

2. Fold over the end, make a stitch and knot. I’m using DMC8 embroidery thread. Begin to gather by making large stitches and pulling to ruffle. Back stitch every couple inches to lock in the gather. PRO TIP – You can gather on your sewing machine by turning the stitch size to the largest setting and the tension to the highest setting.

: 3.

: 4.

3. To add to the strip fold over the end of another strip and overlap with the original strip. Make one stitch to knot and keep gathering.

4. Test your ruffle for fit.

: 5.

: 6.

5. When your ruffle is long enough to fit around the crow’s neck trim off the extra, fold the edge over and stitch. Optional- add a button.

6. Fold the ruffle at the seam and press. Trim the edge – trimming is also optional but it does give it a more elizabethan and structured look.

7. Add a ribbon to the the end ( or to both ends if not using a button).

Finished! Wind the ribbon around the button or tie a bow.

sew the pointy hat

DOWNLOAD THE TEMPLATE

: 1.

: 2.

1. Cut out the template and cut 2 pieces. One will be the lining and the other the exterior. Mark the seam lines on the wrong side of both.

2. Place the pieces – right sides together- and stitch the curved seam. Clip notches along the curve.

the finished 2024 stitch book and 5 things bringing me joy

September 6, 2024

by annwood

stitch book open to 2 page spread- graphic collage with a vintage feel

finishing the 2024 stitch book

The pages traveled with me all summer and were assembled a little bit at a time by hand. I love the finished book, it feels substantial in my hands, and it’s evidence of how powerful small, consistent daily effort is. I’m already looking forward to the 2025 stitch book challenge. Look for details at the end of this year.

Don’t see the video above? Please click here.

circus doll production work

Circus folk sewing patterns are in the works. The dancing elephant will be the first released this fall. I’m making lots of circus dolls in preparation for the workshops in LA. I learn a ton in the production phase- after the pattern templates are pretty solid – just churning them out and making little adjustments, trying variations etc. It also helps zero in on the best material choices and testing hand sewing and machine sewing. All super valuable for the workshops and sewing patterns.

I also love this kind of production work. In short spurts anyway. I haven’t had any sewing in the shop for ages and some of these dolls will be available in the shop this fall.

bachelor buttons

Bachelor Buttons were the clear winner in the garden this year. Nobody ate them and they didn’t get any weird plagues. The color is unimaginable. They are definitely on my list for next year. I was also delighted by Mexican Sunflowers and Nasturtium leaves.

creative sparks

A place to start. We have a new one in the Stitch Club every month. The creative sparks (prompts) are medicine for stuckness. They give you:

– A place to start, a shape to contain your ideas. The spark gives you a specific starting point, that’s magic when you’re feeling stuck. The little push drops you into the process instead of waiting for inspiration.

– A fresh perspective on ideas you’ve been sitting on but haven’t gotten your hands and head around yet. A completely novel intersection can appear.

– The spark can push you to explore new themes and styles, expanding your creative and visual vocabulary.

– In the community there is a sense of shared experience and energy. The Sparks have been huge for me – the circus patterns, my workshop at Squam all incubated in creative spark work.

Give it a try – last month’s creative spark was MOTH. I’ll show you some moth inspired work when I get back from Squam.

favorite painting supplies

*This post contains affiliate links- meaning I get a small commission if you purchase through the link. They are marked with an *asteriks.

I’ve got a handful of favorite painting supplies curated over the past 5 + years of making a painting every single day. It’s super easy to travel with and it’s a huge help in the daily habit department that it’s simple and always ready to go.

paint box – I have a *couple of these. I love being able to curate my own colors. I was finding that I only used a few colors in the prefilled boxes. Plus having an extra white is super handy. This box has removable little pans I fill with watercolor from tubes. I use lots of different brands but *Koi is still my favorite watercolor.

paper- I love Fluid 100. Mostly *hotpress (very smooth) but lately I’ve been loving the *cold press (less smooth).

brushes – The *water filled brushes were life changing. I got them for traveling but have been using them all the time for years.

french overalls

Ignore the mess around me and focus on the majesty of my vintage french workman overalls. They turned up at the last flea market I visited in France this July. I’ve been on the hunt for them forever. The joy is real.

What’s bringing you Joy this September? Would you rock these overalls? Will you give the creative spark a try? Let us know in the comments and happy almost Fall!

what’s on my worktable – and the flea market report – circus edition

July 19, 2024

by annwood

Mini tetra pincushions. Made from little scraps of my most favorite fabrics and a couple inches of twill tape. A last minute project for the songbird workshops in France with French General. They are quick and easy and could also be filled with lavender or lemon verbena. They’re made from one rectangle of fabric – twice as long as wide. For these little guys it’s 2 inches by 4 inches.

The rest of my time in France is spent wandering around and shopping for supplies for the French Circus workshop in LA and the Imagination Day Camp workshop at Squam (registration for imagination day camp at Squam closes 7/22). And we have just a couple spots on Sunday left in the Los Angeles circus weekend.

This flock was made by the first group in France last week – so much birdness!

It’s all green lights for the French Circus. Sometimes the universe seems on board for an idea. I keep bumping into gorgeous antique and vintage supplies for costuming the circus folk. And I’m finding treasures and inspiration for the top secret “mysterious box” project at Squam this September.

The good luck started before I left. I bumped into a huge collection of vintage millenary supplies at a guilford tag/estate sale. Tons of mini tassels! And a big stack of cotton velvet.

My first stop in France delivered antique trim and gorgeous brocades – I see caps for dancing elephants, ragged jackets for monkeys and lions and tutus and bicornes for cat acrobats. And look at that pompom trim! I can’t wait to start experimenting with them.

What’s on your worktable this July? Do you need a mini pincushion? Are you reading anything great- I brought Pachinko to France with me – so good.

cardboard shingles, bunny issues, the sideburn verdict and flea market report

June 7, 2024

by annwood

The outside of the cardboard house has been on my to do list forever. Two things got me moving:

I happened upon this house. I love everything about it. I’m not going full on folk art but a little color and graphic detail will be just right.

And I made some space. The actual, available work space on my table has been getting smaller and smaller as all the things in progress and essential items encroach. Spending an hour getting organized and reclaiming most of that space made a huge difference. It’s restorative and refreshing and motivating. A chunk of dedicated time and space for a project is magic.

doll house shingles

The bulk of the work, before the fun stuff (finish painting and maybe some window boxes) is the chimney and shingles. The chimney is done with the egg carton stone technique.

I also used some spackle to add a little texture to the walls and cover some of the tape edges.

find more about the cardboard house here

After way too much thought I went with a kind of haphazard fairy cottage shingle situation for the roof. The cardboard is a thin corrugated- pretty stiff -but easy to cut with scissors. The shingle size varies – but mostly around 1 by 1.5 inches. They are glued on in rows with a generous amount of wood glue.

I’ll finish shingling the roof this weekend, sand the chimney and then everything is ready for paint. It’s all going much faster than expected. I’ll be a little sad when it’s done. I’m a process person. Stay tuned for paint details soon.

the captain charmley sideburn verdict

Sideburns were the clear winner. But no sideburns made a respectable showing. So I think I will include an extra template and the option to skip them in the pattern.

Thanks so much for your input – it was super helpful.

the bunny situation

A pair of bunnies have been eating my flowers. And parsley. And the tops of my leeks. A couple days ago I saw them siestaing in the shade. I’ve named them Snakkin and Nappin. They were so peaceful and happy and I watched them from the window for a long time. At one point Snakkin was lounging on his back, feet in the air and he reached for the parsley and pulled it down to his mouth for a little bite. Pretty luxurious. I went down and a confrontation ensued. You can see it here. Apparently I’m terrifying because they have not been back.

I’m super into tiny, miss thistle size flowers this year – forget me knots, oakleaf and pinkberry among them. The bunnies do not seem to care for those. So far. I’ve been making mini ceramic vases to hold them. I also planted some wild flowers for mid summer surprises and, for the first time, “Love In the Mist” Miss Jeklly variety. Hoping to dry them- the seed pods are glorious.

and a flea market report

The first treasure: tiny puppet/dolls. They are actually a friend’s estate sale find but I had to borrow them and show you. The costumes and expressions are everything. They are giving me all sorts of ideas for new tiny doll wardrobe items.

Also in the tiny people department this little man who sits and stands looking eternally guilty about something… Also outstanding in features and costume.

And finally this needlepoint dog portrait. I love it and plan on framing it so the moths don’t’ get it.

Are you making a cardboard house? Any great flea market treasures? Do you have a bunny situation?! Let us know in the comments,

ann

new workshops: the french circus and stitched vessels – registration is open!

May 17, 2024

by annwood

3 Workshop Weekend Series at French General in Los Angeles – Friday October 11th – Sunday October 13th, 2024

click here for registration

Join me in Los Angeles this October! You can participate in any or all of the workshops – a significant discount applies if you take all three. All materials supplied!

In a few weeks I’m headed to France and I’ll be shopping with the french circus and stitched vessels workshops on my mind. I love treasure hunting with something percolating in the background- it makes me notice things I might not. The context shines a bright light on stuff that might be missed in the great sea of intriguing things. I want color and stripes and little bells and buttons and trim. Those one of a kind details add so much. I’m super excited to share all that in the workshop and see lots of woebegone french circus folk come to life.

Find more details below. Or click here to jump straight to registration!

Friday – Stitched Vessel

3pm-7pm
Aperos and snacks
$150

An evening of conversation and slow stitching. Learn to layer and stitch fabric scraps to form a small vessel. This is an improvisational and meditative process. The technique is simple, flexible and easy to do.

All materials and refreshments provided.

Saturday – The French Circus – Elephant And Cat

10am-5pm
Coffee, lunch and aperos
$300
Join Ann Wood for a day (or two) of stitching and imagination with the french circus as our inspiration.

Saturday”s workshop includes the elephant and cat and all wardrobe pieces. You will receive patterns and instructions for both dolls and our goal will be to complete 1 dressed figure in our day together. Overachievers might complete both.

We’ll be working with antique and vintage textiles, French General prints and solids, my favorite wool stuffing and treasures collected in France: lace, buttons, notions – magic little details to add to your one of a kind piece.

Basic sewing skills are needed, we will be stitching by hand and machine.

All materials will be supplied.

Optional – if there is a fabric you would love to work with feel free to bring it. It’s also helpful to have a disappearing fabric marker.

Sunday – The French Circus – Lion And Monkey

10am-5pm
Coffee, lunch and aperos
$300

Sunday’s workshop includes the lion and monkey and all wardrobe pieces. You will receive patterns and instructions for both dolls and our goal will be to complete 1 dressed figure in our day together. Overachievers might complete both.

Basic sewing skills are needed, we will be stitching by hand and machine.

All materials will be supplied.

Optional – if there is a fabric you would love to work with feel free to bring it. It’s also helpful to have a disappearing fabric marker.

***Click* here *for details and registration***

circus rag dolls and lacey scraps in a basket

handmade animal rag dolls in circus costumes

the question of sideburns and road sewing projects

May 17, 2024

by annwood

It’s a pre-memorial day weekend tradition for me to organize sewing projects so they are ready to go on summer trips. This year there is: ever present mending, foundation quilt blocks, a new KZ Steven’s top and my stitch book sections – more about those in minute..

This is my 4th KZ top. The blue linen is maybe? a tiny bit heavier than ideal for the pattern but the color was irresistible. The hand stitching is my favorite part. The top is cut and assembled on the machine super quickly and then comes with me for the hand finished seams. Hopefully it will be done before July, it’s a perfect travel wardrobe item. I’m headed to France with French General to teach and shop for textile treasures for the October workshops in LA.

20 stitch book pages- fabric collages- arranged in pairs for assembly

stitch book pages arranged for assembly

find the full book assembly instructions here

Also in the hand finishing department – assembling the stitch book. Just like last year I’m leaving my edges raw. It’s slower and more work but it’s the same kind of pleasant and meditative hand stitching as the KZ top – lots of little careful (ideally even) stitches visible on both sides. If you also prefer raw edges the only difference in the directions for making the book is that in step 11 you place the fabric wrong sides together.

There were two big decisions to make before assembling my finished pages- page order and finishing stitch color. If you’re doing visible stitches the thread color has to work with all the very different pages. Last year I chose a medium gray, (super sensible) and that was my plan this year too. The brown was an accident- it just spilled out of a bag while I was working on page order. It’s perfect, a magic color surprise, just right on every page and I love it on the binding too.

So far I’ve got two sections done and the third in progress.

Foundation blocks are also easy to take with a pleasure to pick up and stitch. They don’t require as much attention as all those tiny straight stitches. The foundation blocks are going to cross the quilt finish line this year. Really.

Something else that is definitely going to cross the finish line? Captain Charmly. I have been tormented by his sideburns. It’s an extra-ish step. Tiny pattern pieces. They were in the first draft, came out in the second, went back in in the third- you get the idea…

I think really carefully about what I ask you to do in a pattern. Weigh the effort against what you get – does the detail deliver extra dastardly, extra birdness, extra socksness? Is it essential?

So the question is: are the sideburns worth it? Do they deliver extra Captain-ness? What do you think?

Have you got some road sewing planned? This is the perfect time to make your travel sewing kit- get the pattern now at 25% off (just $6.19!) for the remainder of May.

Are you finishing your stitch book pages? Have you got a favorite travel sewing project? Are you in our out on sideburns?! Let us know in the comments.

in the woodshed with the french circus

April 26, 2024

by annwood

The circus has been rolling around in my imagination for a while. It got mixed up in the scraps and fabrics I brought back from France with me. It bumped into an obsession with bicornes and cats and became a collection of rag dolls, a french circus.

My friend Mickey introduced me to the term woodshedding – in a nutshell it means a period of intense creating, refining, practicing – you can find more here.

The woodshed is my favorite place to be. Completely immersed, making tons of mistakes, failing forward in relentless pursuit of what is already real in my imagination.

They are rag dolls in their truest form. Simple, spare and playful with an inherent woebegone quality to them. I can’t wait to share them and plans for patterns and a circus workshop are already happening – scroll to the bottom for more on that.

I’ve been working on the mechanics, taking them from ideas to drawings to stitched and stuffed things and feeling for the vibe.

the vibe: A box with a dusty lid, undisturbed for decades, “CIRCUS” scrawled on the top in pencil has almost faded away. You open the box and find them, sleeping in crumpled paper, frozen in time. All at once you get a full sense of the world they lived in as loved things until the box lid closed a century ago.

Synchronicity

Everything I needed for my circus folk kept showing up – a friend sent me a scrap of red silk fringe a little while ago, another gave me a worn linen duvet in a remarkably elephanty color and a box of fabric and trim I got in France a couple summers ago all seemed like they had been waiting to be circus folk.

And the space between the idea and execution was almost nothing. I had the thought and started working. No one heard from me for days. It was glorious. It got me up early and kept me up late. There is so much there to play with – mood and color and sparkles and patterns…

There will be sewing patterns for all these for sure and we’re already putting together a french circus workshop in Los Angeles in October (stay tuned!). I’m looking forward to shopping for supplies in France this summer.

There are more circus dolls on my worktable now – I’m playing with a giraffe and more costumes. I think the elephant is may favorite so far- how about you?