Upcoming Shows!

Spring is on the horizon! The snow is melting, sun is shining and little Walter keeps coming in the house covered in mud (aaah! the joys of owning a white dog who likes to dig!)

Spring also means the start of outdoor markets and great craft shows! yay! In the past I've gotten a bit too excited about all of the shows available and have overextended myself (and consumed way to much coffee!) so this year I'm keeping it nice and simple. 1 market a week from May-October and a couple great craft shows in May (Christmas will be another story but I'm trying not to think about that just yet :).

I am happy to announce that I'll be returning as a full time vendor to the City Market Downtown. I love this market (even during windstorms!) and am looking forward to starting my 3rd season there. It starts May.15th and goes to Oct.9, every Saturday from 9-3

May.29-30 I'll be at Make It Edmonton. This is one of Edmonton's coolest craft shows. I love this one, there are so many amazing artists and designers selling their fabulous creations. Be prepared to shop!

I know the One Of A Kind Show isn't until December but I'm already excited for it. I was actually scheduled to take part in this last year but I ended up being busier then expected leading up to it and due to lack of stock I had to drop out. It was very sad, but thankfully they said I could be in the 2010 show instead! yay! I've never done a show in Vancouver so I'm looking forward to it (I'll make sure I have enough this year!)

I'm still waiting to hear about 1 more May craft show but remember I'm still at the Old Strathcona Farmers Market until April.3 (and hopefully I'll manage to get a few more weeks in after that!)

Have a great weekend!!

A Monstery Milestone!

Fremly and all of his monster friends are very excited to announce that this weekend saw the adoption of monster #5000! Yay!

When I nervously set up a table at the Vernon Farmers Market in May 2007 I had no idea that it would turn into my full time job and that so many monsters would end up scattered around the world. It makes me so very, very happy and I can't wait to sew the next 5000 (well, after my hands get a much needed soak in the paraffin wax dipper thingy!) I've taken a photo of every monster I've made and you can see them here:

Monster Set on Flickr

Thanks again to everyone who adopted one (or 2 or 3) of my monsters! I appreciate it so much!

Fremly also wants to say Congratulations to all the amazing medal winners at the Olympics!! He hopes that one day monsters will be allowed to participate because he thinks he'd definitely win gold in bobsled!

Random studio shots (and other stuff)!

Well, It's not reeeally a studio, it's more of a wee extra bedroom but it works for me and it's where all my crafty bits get stored (and if you're a crafter, you know there are lots of bits!)

The funny thing is only about 10% of my work actually gets done in here. I spend about an hour on the sewing machine before taking everything downstairs to the living room. Most of the work is by hand so I find it a lot more fun doing it in front of the TV (although I don' t recommend watching movies with sub-titles, you'll either sew your fingers together or completely lose track of the plot :) I thought I'd share a few of these random photos while getting you all caught up with monstery news!

Firstly, I'd like to say that I found out last Saturday that I have a space at the Old Strathcona Farmers Market until April.3. yay! I'll be in a couple of different spots but will be definitely be there. I might get a few weeks beyond that too but I'll just have to wait and see. I've also applied for some spring craft shows so I'll be posting them as I get confirmation!

I'm hoping to reopen my Etsy store next week. I've been trying to accumulate enough stock so the etsy monsters aren't needed for the market and I can keep them separate. I think I finally have enough to do this! yay! I'll post as soon as they are available!

I've also been really excited to make more monsters out of re-purposed fabrics. I started making big, fancy ones last fall but just recently started designing ones that are similar size to the sock monsters. I'm hoping to have a few of these available for on-line sales as well

Well, that's about it for now! I have to get up at 6:00 tomorrow so I need to go to bed!

Have a great weekend!

Love is in the air!

Valentine's Day is on the horizon! The day of love, romance and schmoopy goodness. It's a well known fact that monsters love love so they've decided to celebrate the entire month!

Fremly is having a great time spoiling his lady love!

Irry is shy around pretty monsters so he thought if he dressed up he could finally talk to his crush. He couldn't quite figure out how to tie his tie (especially with his monster thumbs) so he decided to use it as a head band as well. Silly Irry!

Gibbon loves his Hootbot but didn't know what robot owls like so he decided to give him his favourite treat (a little pile of macaroni)!

We're still at the Old Strathcona Farmers Market and have a nice big spot right by the front door. There will be lots of monsters to choose from so you can find the perfect one to give your Valentine! yay!

Have a great weekend!

Meet Randolf Barksly!

Gibbon would like to introduce you to his new buddy Randolf Barksly. Randolf is a monster on a special mission, he will be going to the Pet Expo this weekend to be part of a silent auction (he's very excited!!)

He was donated to H.A.R.T (human animal rescue team), a great organization that rescues unwanted, abandoned and stray dogs around Edmonton. All proceeds from the auction will go to H.A.R.T and all the animals they find forever homes for! yay!

Randolf measures 2 feet tall and is made from upcycled upholstery fabric samples. He's not meant as a pet toy but he loves pups (as long as he's looking at them from a safe place!). He's extremely excited to be part of the expo and hopes lots of people come by and say Hi!

Market Tomorrow!

I'm sitting here eating some pita and tzatziki and procrastinating starting on the sewing machine. Mr. Walter is beside me on the couch enjoying his new chew (although he does periodically stretch his head my way to get a bit of pita!). I have to get crackin' though because I need to sew a few big monsters for the Old Strathcona Farmers Market tomorrow. Yay! We'll be there every Saturday in January and February (and hopefully March and April too.....my fingers are crossed!) I'm going to take an assortment down to Carbon Environmental Boutique on Monday, so if you need monster and can't make to the market there will be some $30 ones there. I'm also working on a special monster which is being donated to HART for their silent auction at the upcoming Pet Expo (very exciting!).

So now that I'm full, gotten the blog up to date and the dog is occupied it's time to get to work....

Have a great weekend!

Merry Christmas!

Well, It's Christmas. The presents have been unwrapped, the turkey is in the oven and I just had a delightful cran-apple martini. I must say it has been a wonderful day!

This is Fremly's favourite time of the year and he celebrated by climbing in a stocking for an afternoon nap with his buddy Giles.

Of course first they had to raid the box of Toffifees (it's a little known fact that no monster can resist the combination of chocolate, caramel, hazelnut and nougat..yum!)

Little Walter enjoyed his first Christmas. He got a new collar and a stocking full of treats. He also got to meet his grandparents for the first time and is completely smitten with them. He even tolerated his Christmas jacket although I must admit I did get a few dirty looks when I first put it on :)

I was a little worried when my parents flew in on Monday from Victoria. They'd forgotten about the crazy cold winters that the rest of Canada succumbs to. Luckily today was a balmy -10c and the sun was shining brightly. It was the perfect wintery Christmas morning!

I hope you all have been having a great day as well! We're taking a few days off to relax before the sewing begins again on Dec.28 and we'll be back again at the Old Strathcona Farmers Market on January.2 ! Yay!