munch!

Oh look! It's the first mantis of the Spring! And it's, uhhhhhhh, snacking on a bunny....

These two guys here are going to be the prizes for a contest that my father-in-law is hosting for his final class of the semester. The class is on corporations, and the mantis is supposed to represent "predatory fiduciaries," while the bunny is supposed to represent the "friendly" variety. By the way, did I mention this contest will entail singing? The students have to compose and perform their own songs all about fiduciaries. Seriously, my father-in-law rocks.

This is the second year that I have made the prizes for this contest, I am happy to say. Last year, it was a little last minute, but this year, I had plenty of time to calmly work on this duo. I have to admit, I am pretty happy with the results and hope that the prize-winning students love them to bits. For a better photo of the mantis on its own, please go here.

Oh, and speaking of insect softies, I am sure that most of you are already well familiar with her works, but I just have to gush about her because I love her work so much. Weirdbuglady has been blowing me away with her amazing creations lately. If you haven't already checked out her fantastic blog, please go do so right now. I promise, you will LOVE it. She is all sorts of awesome! Happy Monday everyone!

you spin me right round baby right round

Ever have one of those days where no matter how much you try to do, you feel like you're just spinning your wheels? I don't think I accomplished even half of what was on my to-do list (although, I must say, my list runneth over these days - in a good way). Anyway, you know that thing that I was so excited to share with you all today? Well, it's not finished yet. I have to be patient with myself sometimes and remind myself that it's better to take your time and get it right than to rush it for the sake of finishing it and do a slap-dash, half-assed, insincere job of it. Yep.... Still, it makes me feel bad, like I'm floundering.

Well, at least I took all the photos for tomorrow's shop update. I wish I could give everyone an exact time for the update, but to be honest with you, I am not sure when I am going to schedule it. All I know is that it will take place once I am done with this other project. Any idea when that will be? Someone? Anyone? Bueller?

7 up? 7 down!

Seven mini-manti went to the zoo. Seven mini-manti stand against the blue. Seven mini-manti shout in unison, "Woohoo!" Seven mini-manti want to meet you.

Pardon the goofiness here. These little guys will be hanging out at the Open Studio soon. Well, most of them, at least. Two will be going off to Plush You!, but I have yet to decide which will be going. Hmmmmm, decisions, decisions.....

meet the mini-mantis 7th grade class of 2007

1. Bianca, 2. Mick, 3. Angie, 4. Egon, 5. Trudi, 6. Cheri, 7. Hammy, 8. Ula, 9. Lala, 10. Igor, 11. Perri, 12. Edvard

Actually there is one missing from the mosaic (and three that are still in the works). I don't want to be a one-trick pony, but I am having so much fun with these little guys....

i guess cutting is to sewing what rhyming is to stealing

Things have been busy here. Fourteen new mini-manti are in the works, in addition to the ones that are finished and just waiting for wings and detailing. Half of these will go to the Open Studio and half will go up in the shop by the end of the week. I was hoping to update the shop tomorrow, but with so much still in the works (and some other stuff that I am juggling in the background), I think the most reasonable thing to do is finish everything up and update on Thursday instead. Speaking of shop updates, if you would like me to email you to let you know when I update the shop or about upcoming craft fairs that I will hopefully be participating in, please email me at sotosofties[at]gmail[dot]com - with the subject "mailing list." I am putting together a list because I think that might be more efficient than letting you know about updates on here alone (since I plan to email about updates right as soon as I update, as opposed to posting about them solely on here, which usually takes more time and hence doesn't happen until long after the update - and goodness help anyone who is hoping for a shop update via a subscription of this blog through Bloglines since Bloglines continues to hate me and doesn't post my updates until hours and hours later). Okay, I have bored you with enough details. Minutia, minutia.... Anyway!

Wanna be on the mailing list? Email me at the sotosofties address and I will add you to the list. I'm also planning to make it kinda fun in the future, like putting together a pattern PDF or a little promo pack to give away to anyone on the list, but right now I'm just bouncing ideas around.

In the meanwhile, check out my MOO! stickers:

Oh how I love them! Oh how I love MOO! You can make your own here. Have fun!

eye-candy friday - the backyard edition

personal mythologies and symbols

Meet Ingmar and Brigitte! They were enjoying their little foray into the backyard earlier and will be up at the shop tomorrow. You can see more photos of this duo here. Did you notice their little "capes?" I was inspired by a similar cape on this mantis here. (I totally love Igor's photography - the colors and the creatures are just amazing.)

Now, I have to touch on something that I've been meaning to discuss for some time now. It's funny to gauge our friends' reactions when they come over and see Manny hanging out (and over) a shelf in my work area. Everyone seems to project their own feelings about gender roles onto this innocent softie. It's strange to me because the truth of the matter is that I never thought too much about it, and when I made Manny and all his/her little counterparts, I never thought about the cultural, social, or sexual implications. For crunchy's sake, it's a toy! I thought it would be cool to take a normally creepy animal and make it all cute and squishy and huggable, especially because I have a fondness for this particular insect, which I will explain later. I have friends whose opinions I respect and who I consider to be intelligent people (hence, I respect their opinions) who try to analyze and "interpret" Manny. I have had friends (namely male) ask if Manny is a projection of my "man-eating" persona - uhhhhh, no, it isn't. I have another friend (female, for the record) who is obsessed with trying to figure Manny into the Matt+Maritza equation, as in, am I trying to dominate my husband, is this my way of saying I'm in charge, do I have a violent streak that I am not consciously aware of, do I secretly hate men, etc. etc. Jumping-jesus, man, what the? That is way more thought than I put into it. No, it is not a projection of my domineering persona, and no, I don't hen-peck, brow-beat, verbally, emotionally, nor physically torture my husband (although sometimes I whine about the dishes not being done *gasp!* I'm a monster!). The one that boggles my mind the most is a friend (also female, for the record) who was attempting to read a feminist angle into Manny. I am still confused as to what a predatory insect, the female of which does eat the male after coitus in order to have the necessary protein in her body for hatching hundreds of eggs later in their happy little oothecae, has anything to do with equal rights. Someone, please, break out the finger puppets and school me, because I am totally lost on that. Draw me diagrams if you must; I just don't get it. (By the way, this same friend concluded that Manny is a lesbian. Okaaaaaaayyy, well, good for Manny! Be proud, my little mantis friend.)

I will explain to you my own mythology regarding the mantis now, before anyone else assumes that I like to bite the heads off men, figuratively or literally. When I was a little girl, my mother was looking through some nature book with me, and when we came across a photo of a mantis, I was in awe of this bizarre looking creature. My mother explained to me that when I was a baby, there was a mantis on my crib. When she saw it and walked over to the crib to shoo it away, she noticed I was choking. She pointed out that if it hadn't been for the freakish bug, she would not have known what was going on. She then told me its name. In Puerto Rico, they call them "esperanzas," which is Spanish for "hope." So in my twisted little brain, this insect became a symbol of hope, beauty, and my own survival, not of violence or man-hating or anything else that all my friends keep projecting onto poor Manny. So that's it - I'm setting the record straight for anyone who may have that much crazy time on their hands that they may be theorizing. Manny and the rest of the manti are not political. They are not a projection. They just are....

Also, because I would hate to be a one-trick pony, these two are the last of the mini-manti I will putting up in the shop for a while. I am not saying that I'm not making any more mini-manti. I am making about a dozen or so for the Open Studio, and any that don't go then will go up in the shop later in September. I will be making and adding a ton more in the future, I hope. I'm just trying not to bore you guys with them is all. :)

Hope you're all having a great Friday night. Please stop by tomorrow and check out the shop update.

back on track

Introducing Jack and Sparky:

They can be found at my shop.

I was super-lucky to find that fun stripey fabric in a "buy 2 get one free" fat quarter bin when I went to Fabric Place with Diana. It totally reminds me of this:

aiiiiiieeee, i'm bugging out

Meet Jerome and Jezebel, the first two of the mini-manti that I've cooked up. Jerome will be up on the etsy shop shortly, but Jezebel is already spoken for. I have a bunch of these in the works which I will be posting later in the week. For more photos, check out my Flickr.

in case you needed any more proof

Yes, I am completely insane. Last night, at around 8:30, my father-in-law, who I absolutely adore, came upstairs to pick out a couple of softies to present to two of his students as prizes for some game/competition he would be holding in his class. He wanted Manny, but I told him Manny is not for sale. I felt bad saying no to him and told him I would make him another. He was so excited about it, that I was glad I agreed to do it. However, I questioned my sanity when I realized that I committed to have this done by the morning. Lucky for me, I wrote a wrote a good clear pattern when I made Manny, but it was still pushing it.

So this is it - the second mantis. The ones I am working on for the open studio are very different, but I'll talk about those later. In the meanwhile, I hope that the student who wins this loves it a bunch. I feel a little whacked from lack of sleep, so I'm going to go curl up and drool somewhere, maybe under my worktable. I'll talk about quilting tomorrow. (I'm sorry; I swear I am not normally this flaky, I think.)

Side note: Can I tell you how beautiful it was out this morning? It's still gorgeous out, but watching the sun rise while trying to photograph this thingy on the porch made it worth staying up all night. The flowers in the beds are all finally coming up, and I am super-happy about the tulips that are now beginning to bloom. I'll post photos on my Flickr later.

in the sketch stage - playing with inspiration

Besides bunnies, we've got bugs going on over here, specifically a series of praying manti that I am working on. So far, I am still at the sketch stage for most. These are some of the rough sketches:



Right now, I am happy to say that I have designed a pattern and cut the fabric for my good buddy "Gongylus gongylodes," and I am working on the pattern for the Malaysian Orchid Mantis. Two out of five started and the show is in May - I can do this....

I have to say that in all my research for great photos of manti, I have come across the most amazing Macro photographer, who is a self-described "mad scientist" and also happens to collect and breed manti (as pets) - Igor Siwanowicz. Igor's photos are nothing short of breath-taking with their luscious colors and intense detail. I am so happy to have stumbled across these, not only because they have proven to be such a valuable visual resource with all their clarity and fabulous displays of the mantis' form (as though it were architecture), but also because they are so inspiring and beautiful on their own as works of art. Warning - they are not for the squeamish, so please proceed with caution.

Back to work for me. I am actually on a roll with this today....