PIPER Letter Fairies VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

So about nine months ago, a special custom order was placed by a favorite return customer of mine.  She had ordered a set of Friendly Letter Monsters for her son, Sawyer, a few years back–

and these little monsters have a story of their own worth mentioning….

An old friend of this customer’s—living close by in Louisville, KY–had decided to purchase a set of the Friendly Letter Monsters for this customer living out in California who had had her first son. The friend ordered the SAWYER monsters to be ready for little guy’s first birthday.  When ready, she picked up the spunky fellows from my house and decided to take them by her office to show them to friends before the monsters headed out on their trip across the states.  While visiting her office, the “W” monster was rudely stolen and I had to remake a “W” before she was able to ship them.  The “W” was remade and the little pack of monsters made their way toward California, but this trip was not to be an easy voyage. 

While traveling, the monsters were rudely accosted.  Someone ripped away an end of the box and kidnapped all of the monsters with the exception of the “R” monster!  When my dear customer out in California opened her gift, she was horrified to find all but one of her son’s monsters missing.  Poor Wonky had gone missing again and Rowdy was left all alone as he waited for the cousins of the original monster troupe to arrive.  I hurriedly prepared S, A, W, Y, and E and, fortunately, these monsters arrived safely and intact.  Rowdy was reunited with his cousins, still missing his original troupe, but at least able to join in the fun with his new partners.  The SAWYER monsters were finally complete!

Then after I again began to visit the Whimsy Patch, my sweet customer in Cali contacted me and asked if I could make something special for her daughter, Piper.  We decided on a new Letter Fairy design that I had been working up for my own new arrival.  The order was placed but we had no idea how complicated this story would become.

The day the order was placed wound up falling one day before my own first child, my son, wound up in the hospital with a new diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes!  Just months after I had started visiting the Patch regularly again after my second’s arrival, my son grew gravely ill and I had to stop sewing again for a while  Dear customer was very understanding with the circumstances and waited patiently for me to compete her daughter’s fairies.  Eventually, with the help of a deadline—her daughter’s first birthday, my creativity kicked into gear and I was able to finish the last of the set and I sent the sweeties on their way to California for Piper’s first—eight months after the order was placed!

Now I am praying my creativity will continue to simmer.  We have settled into life with our son’s diabetes and have been finding our new rhythm with dear daughter buzzing around the house with him, laughing and running about as if diabetes had never come to our home.  We are starting our new homeschool routine with number one and I am sewing in the night hours, freshening up old patterns for sale in my Etsy shop and coming up with new ideas to test with my little ones.  Someday I hope to have a steadily operating business in the Patch.  Today we are taking things one step at a time, learning to be thankful, truly thankful, and hoping for exciting things with The Whimsy Patch.  Come visit my shop, if you have a sewing hand,  and find patterns so you can make some little cuties of your own!

Oh, the wonders of a frazzled Christmas season.  I managed to created at least five plush dollies that I completely forgot to record in picture before sending them off to new homes this season.  Ugh!!!  I think this is the first time I have failed to take pictures of anything that I have sewn–even the raggediest, most unfinished pieces have received a flash and a click in the past.  I knew I was stressed–just not that  stressed….  Here’s to a less stressed holiday the next go-round!

So meet Oliver and Pepper:)  Fortunately, I remembered to photograph these sweeties before packing them up and sending them on their way.  Oliver and Pepper were absolutely inseparable and they loved rooting around in my hubby’s tie collection.  You can see that Oliver snagged one for the photograph.  He said he “will not be seen less than completely dressed.”  I suppose that ties are a regular part of his wardrobe.  Pepper, on the other hand, prefers to wear ascots.  He did not find that in my hubby’s drawer but ran to the sewing machine when he could not find one there.  He fashioned it from an old suit (“I do hope your husband had outgrown that one,” he whispered.)

Oliver was made using the updated Whimsy Chap pattern but Pepper was a brand new creation–the first official Whimsy Pup.  I will be readying the pattern set for sale in the coming weeks so keep your eyes on the shop!

This morning, I awoke to discover a little Whimsy Christmas Fairy sitting beneath the tree.  She had come to bring good tidings for the coming festivities and wanted to arrive in time to bring Thanksgiving well wishes our way.  We baked cookies, made Christmas ornaments, and talked about what preparations we still have left during the advent season.  Then she announced a shop discount!

Use the coupon code: NEWBLOG2010 at checkout and receive 10% off your order in my Etsy shop.  This coupon code will be good throughout the remainder of the holiday season and will go toward your entire order. Shipping is free right now and custom Whimsy Fairies are being created at a 30% discount so now is the time to cash in!

Coupon Code: NEWBLOG2010

Just in time to bring a little sunshine your way, the Polka Dot Triplets, Paige, Phebes and Pansie want to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving.  Before packing their bags for a long trip across the seas to Australia, they wanted to celebrate the American Thanksgiving holiday by baking up a few pies–a Maple Pecan Pie, Sweet Ginger Pumpkin, and Apple Pear Cinnamon Crisp–for us to include in our celebrations.  You should have seen them working away in the kitchen in their cute little polka dot aprons, trying desperately to keep the flour off their tights!

If you would like a sweet little dollie like one of these for Christmas, you should take a peek at my Etsy shop where shipping is free for the holidays and custom Whimsy Fairies are on sale for a 1/3 off regular pricing!  Custom orders are limited this year, so be sure to get your order in soon.  Black Friday prices are already available!

Feel free to email me at kimmiek@thewhimsypatch.com if you have questions.

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

The Whimsy Patch began with the Mod Dollie and now the Modder Dollie is upping the ante with extra mod style. Mitsie makes her debut just in time for the grand reopening of the Whimsy Patch shop. Her favorite colors are baby blue and candy apple red and she loves to cuddle. She has a penchant for shoe shopping and adores baking in her spare time–when she’s not shopping that is.  She recently created a Apple French Toast and Custard Tart that is to die for and she decided she would celebrate by inviting all of her friends over for tea and treats.  Mitsie is known for extravagance so she pulled out all the stops and featured three different local honeys with her freshly brewed tea and whipped up some homemade whipped fresh cream.  Yum!  Mitsie plans to introduce some new friends in the near future but they are all out shopping for their debutante ensembles as we speak.  (They planned the debutante and the Teas and Tarts party.)  They’ll be sure to stop for afternoon tea and scones once their shopping trip is complete.

Mitsie is for sale in my Etsy shop.  Should you like Mitsie but would prefer a custom studio choice of your own, you can contact me at my shop email: kimmiek@thewhimsypatch.com.  Custom orders will be accepted through November 30.

My Mod Dollies were listed in a treasury on Etsy today!  After more than a year away from doing custom orders, the listing made me nostalgic so I decided to gather a few pictures of some of my favorites from times past.  I hope to create some new favorites this holiday season if I can just get my shop up and running with enough momentum.  Regaining steam after being shut down for so long takes time…..

Enjoy the pics.  You can check out my flickr gallery to see more of my work.  Keep your eyes peeled.  I’m dreaming up a blog giveaway as we speak:)

Though the Whimsy Patch is full of fairies of all sorts and sizes, the Original Whimsy Fairie was the first variety to be discovered.  The lovely fairies live in various regions of the Patch and can often be found accompanied by various forest creature friends–snails, butterflies, caterpillars and birds are a few of their favorites.  These fairies are especially kind natured and often work to guard the dreams of little girls at night.

Original Whimsy Fairies are available for custom order on a limited basis in my Etsy shop.  For the crafty and sewing types, you can purchase the pattern there!

My sewing table has been lifeless for well over a year now.  I was sewing madly, often burning the midnight oil up to that point sometime in May of 2009.  Then my second pregnancy became complicated and I had to turn off the switch to my faithful Brother sewing machine.  My fabric started to collect dust and my patterns grew a bit brittle.  I had started my Whimsy Patch adventures during my son’s first year of life and, until my second pregnancy, I could not imagine ever putting down my needle and thread again.  I can remember sewing my last Whimsy Patch creation and realizing I just had to stop for a while when the nausea hit eleven. Then bed rest greeted me in my twenty-fourth week and sewing was completely out of the question. My then toddler would bounce beside me on the couch and rightfully declare every daytime minute of couch-ridden mommy’s time his.  My time would be divided soon enough.  By God’s grace, my sweet second was born around Christmas of 2009 and I had fleeting thoughts of the sewing room.  I would pass by my fabric and think, “When things calm down, I will start sewing again.”  Months passed and I still could not get myself to sit back down.  Then the holiday season rolled around, my daughter started to crawl and I started to remember what it feels like to be creative.  I remembered my first little guy tugging at my leg sweetly as I pressed the foot of my sewing machine and the two—motherhood and sewing—became sweetly entwined in my head and heart.  As I saw my daughter making her way across the kitchen floor I remembered getting that first pattern right when my first little guy was getting his first steps right.  I remembered sewing.  So my mind began to stir and I started to dream up new possibilities for the Patch.  Yes, my sewing table had become dusty.  Yes, my fabric might need a fresh wash.  Yes, I would be starting anew in many ways, rebuilding my client base, my shop and my blog and getting the word out.  After all, so much of the fun of creating a Plush world is sharing it with others and hearing the stories from moms as they get their little ones’ first Whimsy Patch dolls in the mail.  Just a few weeks ago, I sat down at my sewing table and fed the thread through the bobbin.  I hesitated for a moment, wondering if I would even remember how.  I found myself shocked when it was like riding a bike, unforgettable.  I readied my fabric and sewed the first  pieces of my newest doll.  I fumbled with the pattern, trying to get it right.  I remembered that getting that new doll right sometimes takes a few goes.  I kept trying.  I had the bug again.  So keep your eyes peeled.  New dollies and patterns will be coming to my Etsy shop.  Soon enough and so many months later:)