seriously batty

Thank you all for your kind comments regarding my last post. I appreciate your understanding, sympathy, and support. I apologize if I can across as whiny or anything of the such. I'm not having any sort of crisis really, existential, identity, or otherwise. It was just a bad day because I've been frustrated with the way I've been running things here. I realize that in order to do the things I want to do and take this in the direction I want it to go, sometimes I will have to say "no" to people, and I hate doing that. I have to also not feel bad about not updating the shop as frequently as I would like. Some folks update their shops once a month, and that's okay. I have to learn how to be okay with that myself. Most of the major changes I need to make are within myself really.

Back to the point, however, thank you all for your great advice and thoughtful suggestions and sharing your own experiences. Now that I've come out from under the mountain of softies I've been buried under the last week, I am able to get around to responding to you all individually as well, so I'll be emailing you. Thank you all. Some of you suggested I start making patterns, which is something I have been meaning "to get around to" for far too long, so while we're away at dance camp next week, I will be able to finally work on that. Because you know what? I think it's a great idea and am excited about the prospect of sharing that with you all. I also have a few more ideas that are reinvigorating my interest in softie-making, but I'll get to those later. All in good time. All I can say for now is that I am extremely psyched about them and firmly believe they are excellent ideas that will get me past this funk. I think you'll be excited about them, too.

For now, I have a batch of bats going up in my etsy shop shortly, so please do check it out if you can. Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

who's your batty?

Hey there! Just dropping by to let you know that the next update will be much sooner than I had originally anticipated. I have scheduled it for next Friday, June 20th @ 3PM EST. After that, things are going to get really quiet around here. We'll be off to dance camp then Western Mass then maybe a quick visit to NY then we might actually go on vacation (which I would really really like to do). I'm hoping to include a new design in this coming update, so keep an eye out for that. I'll post about it here once I have the prototype done. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

now in the shop

The owls are up, and there are a couple left. Also, there are a whole bunch of other good things available at the shop now, which I will be blogging about over the week. Right now, it's sweltering here, and I am getting a little punchy, possibly because I need water. So I'm calling it a day. Hope you all had a happy Monday!

here we go!

Mieces for tomorrow's shop update. Please tune in at 3PM EST if you are interested in them.

These are not 100% finished yet; I still need to attach their little bows. However, it is super-frigging hot here right now, and the thought of ironing out strips of fabric to make the bows is not especially appealing - not in the least. I think it's best to work on that later tonight once it cools down a bit and attach the bows to the mice as I photograph each one individually for the update.

I know that I mentioned to a few people that I would have bats in this update, but to be honest, I am not sure if I will have the bats finished by tomorrow. Right now, they are all cut but awaiting to be sewn, and I still have one more piece to finish before I can move on to them. I do have one bat that is done, so that one will be going up for sure. That might be the only bat in this update. But that means that the next update will be sooner that I anticipated and will include a few bats. So hey! Not such bad news after all.

Thank you all for your kind words regarding the post before last. I appreciate all of your comments, and your support and encouragement mean a lot to me. Just want you to know that I am not discouraged or disheartened by that thingy. I just get a little frustrated because I really do try to keep up and make people happy, and all I ask for is a little patience when it comes to stocking the shop. I know that I have been a bit of a slacker when it comes to keeping up with the blog, but that's because I have been working. Making these fussy little toys takes more time than people sometimes realize. That said, I think I am going to stop making the mieces and other button-jointed softies for a while. It's really hard on my hands, and they are time-consuming to produce. This opens a window of opportunity here - I can finally make some of these other designs that I have been kicking around. Hopefully, this will also allow me to finally get these patterns I have been talking about for way too long done. As I promised you all, good things are a-coming this way!

yay for owls!

In my shop on Monday, at 3 PM EST.

...and we're back!

Soooo, long time no blog. There have been reasons for my brief leave of absence here - good reasons, in fact. Sometimes life gets busy. I hope that people will understand that. Unfortunately, when the choice is between spending my time making stuff or spending my time blogging about making stuff, actually making stuff wins hands-down. Hence, I have neglected this here blog. And perhaps I have neglected you. I'm sorry about that.

I have been thinking about doing commissions again. However, this time, there will be set rules, both for myself and the customers. The last time I did commissions, things got a little out of control. I took on too many for the time period (right before the holidays, when I was also making things for craft fairs and trying to keep the shop fully stocked), I wasn't as speedy as I would have liked to have been with them, and I under-quoted prices for projects that ended up having tons of bells and whistles. To be fair to all parties involved, I am going to come up with a pricing guideline and a few basic rules, as well as a strict schedule for myself. More info to come on that later. Please remember that right now, I am just thinking about it. Once I come to a decision, I will announce it on here ASAP, with all the rules and pricing info.

Also, I wanted to discuss shop updates. I was trying to update every other week, and for a while that was working. I don't think that this is going to work in the Summer, what with all the family obligations and travel and yes, some time off to myself so that I can rest my wrists. So I'll be announcing shop updates as they come along, as I get stuff ready and finished. The next shop update will be Monday June 9th at 3PM EST. After this one, the following will probably be in July, but I am not sure when so I am not going to promise any set date until I get a clearer idea of that myself. Going forward, I will be better about announcing it on here as well as my email list, but please bear in mind that the announcement will only come a few days before said update. I hope this doesn't inconvenience anyone, and to be honest, I don't see how it could. If you miss out on one update, the next one is never too far away. As it is, the shop has been pretty well-stocked for weeks now. So even if you miss the update on the day it happens, please do drop by and check out the shop from time to time.

By the way, just wanted to say one more thing. One of the reasons why I closed the comments on this blog a while ago was because it started to become apparent that people weren't considering the human being behind the machine, meaning no one was taking into account that the things you see on this blog are made by a human being who invests time and energy and creativity into making them. I have feelings too, and a nice comment goes a long way and can even encourage me. The comments are open now, but if someone is going to leave a comment to publicly shame me for not keeping up with the blog or updating the shop or whatnot, please note that I will delete it. I am not a huge faceless corporation with tons of employees and an assembly line. I am one person trying to make everyone happy. If I don't make you happy, well, I'm sorry, but you can address me personally at the email address I have provided on my blog sidebar and not make it a point to leave me a public shaming within the context of my own blog. I appreciate your eagerness about updates, but really now, no need for scolding messages, especially when you don't even dare sign your name onto said message. Best to scold anonymously, I know. Anyhow, like I said, I try to make everyone happy, but the truth in life is that sometimes that is just not possible. If I do make you happy, please stick around folks, there's lots of good stuff coming this way....

P.S. - You know what? I am really annoyed actually. I am only saying this because it really pisses me off when someone basically accuses me of lying. If there is one thing I am not, it's a liar. Dear Anonymous at 4:44 AM, I would have emailed you personally, but you know, you chose to remain anonymous. April 25th did indeed fall on a Friday, so when you say it was not an actual date, I have no idea what calendar you may be consulting, but you are wrong here. In fact, I even posted on here the same day that I updated the shop. I have no idea why I choose to defend myself here other than to refute the implication in your original comment, which I have taken the liberty to delete, that I lied to you or anyone else. I cannot believe that you even implied that. Seriously. It's one thing to reprimand me for being remiss or slackerly, but don't call me a liar.

why hello there, springtime!

Hey folks! Hope you are enjoying this lovely weather. Just dropping by to say hello. Life is busy; things are great. I was hoping to update the shop this Friday but only have a couple of pieces ready. Being as I prefer to do big updates rather than little ones, since it is pretty time-consuming to update, the next shop update will be on Friday, May 23rd (@3 PM EST). I am planning to go all out with that one. After that, the shop will be quiet for a while, but there are other things in the works, which I will get to in due time. In the meanwhile, thank you kind folks for stopping by and please do check in. I promise to be a better blogger and post more frequently, pretty this place up a bit.

pinky the bunny

What's pink and sassy and likes it grassy? Available at the shop.

the fruit bats

As a child, when we used to visit our family in Puerto Rico, I used to particularly love, albeit in a combination of frightened and fascinated, visiting my paternal grandfather, Irené, who lived in what was essentially a wooden shack on a cliff surrounded by jungle. I remember being baffled by his home since he had no plumbing, no indoor bathroom, and his electricity was limited as it came from a small generator underneath the tiny two-room house. It felt like visiting "The Land of the Lost" when we would go there, and I would imagine that the 5-foot long iguanas strolling about the path in front of the house were actually small dinosaurs. My parents would go picking oranges with my grandfather (when he was well enough to walk), and I would stay by the house and play with the stray dogs or pick hibiscus flowers and put them in my ponytails (don't ask). If we stayed on too long, the fruit bats would come out as the sun was setting, which freaked me out as I wasn't exactly acquainted with bats much less used to having them whiz about me. My father made it worse by telling me that they would get tangled up in my hair. So I was afraid of bats for a long time, until I saw one up close at the zoo on a class trip. Then I became totally enamored with them and wanted one as a pet because they were so darn cute. Anyway, I guess this is a long way of saying these bats are the totally friendly, won't-get-tangled-in-your-hair because-they-are-SO-not-after-your-blood variety, and they want to be your friend. Irené and Felita will be up in the shop at 3PM EST.

reminder

Hey guys! Just wanted to remind you good folks that my shop update will be tomorrow, Friday afternoon, at 3PM Eastern Standard Time. There will be a variety of critters included in this update. My new designs will be in the following update, in two weeks. Things are pretty busy around here these days, and I have been scheming and planning. I am reconfiguring the way things work, or rather, how I work. I will have some news about the shop for you all shortly. Please tune in tomorrow for the update.

oops!

Uh, guys, please don’t hate me for this, but today’s intended update needs to be postponed until Friday. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause anyone. There have been some technical difficulties over here, but more so than that this delay is because of 1) my mismanagement of time and 2) my insane perfectionism when it comes to what I make and sell and how I sell it. I haven’t finished the big surprise, and I don’t want to update until I can include that with the other items (some of which are still not 100% finished yet anyway). So please bear with me, folks. I want to make everyone happy, but sometimes that is not possible. Please do drop by on Friday, same place, same time. I promise it will be worth the two-day wait!

welcome to my messy mess

Hi folks! Just wanted to touch base and let you know that I am working away on stuff for the shop's next update, April 23rd @ 3 PM. The photo above is just a taste of what will be available. I am working on some mice and ducks and other goodies, too, including several finger puppets and a big surprise. I'll try to post photos of the finished pieces on here as I can. In the meanwhile, please drop by the shop to see what's available. I have received several emails from folks who want a sneak peek as to what's available and I really am not able to provide that right now (since I don't have things 100% completed, much less properly photographed). I'm very thankful and appreciate the interest, but I hope you understand. It's very time consuming for me to email everyone photos individually, which is what I have been doing lately, and it's not proving to be as efficient as I would like. Besides, that's why I have the blog and my Flickr account, so please do drop by and check out what I'm up to. Thanks! :)

and now for the finger puppet portion of our show

These and a bunch more not pictured will be included in tomorrow's shop update. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I missed a few days of work (I spent the better part of today at the doctor's office for a follow-up visit) and have not been able to finish the button-jointed bunnies and lambs, so those will be up next week. I may put up the trio I did manage to finish. Anyhoo, please drop by tomorrow and have a look.

the pop in

Hi all! Just popping in to say hello. I have been sewing my fingers off over here, but I still don't think I will have everything finished in time for Friday's update. Hence, I think it would be best to reschedule the update for next Wednesday, same time. I am not sure if weekly updating really works best for me. I think updating every other week works a little better in terms of time and efficiency. It also allows me to spread out my sewing over the week instead of cranking everything out in just a couple of days because you know what? Lots of hand-sewing crammed into a small time frame makes my fingers and shoulders hurt - a lot. And that can't be good for softie-making in the long run. Anyway, Wednesday's update will be a doozy, with bunnies, lambs, something new, and a slew of finger-puppets. So please drop by and check it out.

I sometimes get emails from people asking if I am still making softies. I thank you for your interest, and yes, I am most definitely still making softies. In fact, that is what sometimes prevents me from posting on here. There are only so many hours in a day, and I'm sure you all understand that. I try to keep the shop stocked and have been good lately about updating weekly or every other week. In fact, the shop is stocked right now with garden variety partiers and woodchucks. If you would like to be notified of updates and other news, please shoot me an email at sotosofties [at] gmail [dot] com or you can also check here as I post update info on my blog sidebar. Thanks again for all your support and encouragement.

Also, a huge thank you to the folks at it's (k)not wood, a fabulous design blog about all things faux bois that I have totally fallen in love with, for including my owl in a recent post. Thanks so much guys!

Hope you are all having a beautiful day. I'm ecstatic that it's bright and sunny out here in New England today if a bit insanely windy (like swoop you away windy). Ahhh, off to sew in the sunlight. I love working in natural light.

they've taken over!

The latest batch of garden variety partiers is now up in the shop. Next week, there will be bunnies and more lambs, and the following week, I'm thinking of doing a massive finger puppet update. Not that the finger puppets will be massive; the update will be. Thanks for stopping by! Hope you're all having a beautiful day!

bunnilicious

More bunnies are up in the shop right now. Please drop by if you can and have a look. Thanks, folks! Hope you all have a fabulous weekend.

little lambs

These are going to be in tomorrow's shop update. Also, I am pushing back the time from 1PM to 3PM EST. I hope you all understand. I am going to need a little bit of extra time to photograph and color correct all the bugs and bunnies that I am working on for tomorrow. Also, although I appreciate your responses and enthusiasm, I am not able to reserve any of these. I am shutting off the computer until noon tomorrow so that I can get work done. There's a lot of stuff that I need to finish. I'd like to take next week off to work on my taxes (yeah, it's been rough going trying to work on them in bits and pieces because there's so much stuff to go through) and to tie up a few loose ends that I have let go for too long. The next update will hopefully be Wednesday the 26th. Thanks for dropping by, and I hope you're all having a lovely week.

if "woodchucking" were an actual verb....

...we could say that there's been a lot of "woodchucking" around these parts. These little guys will be included in Friday's shop update.

penguin sale

Hey all! It's the end of the week - hooray! Hope you're all having a great Friday. Just to let you know that although I am not updating the shop today, I am having a penguin sale and have lowered the price on the available penguins. Hope you see one that you love. Have a fabulous weekend, folks!

love is in the air

Shop update tomorrow, February 1, at 3 PM EST.