Penguin & Fish

We Love French Knots

2011-11-07T11:49:00.007-06:00

Hi all. Now that International Quilt Market is over, I'm attempting to get back on track with blogging again. One of the things that I missed telling you about was that in September Penguin & Fish was interviewed on the We Love French Knots blog run by the lovely Bari J! I designed a free pattern download of a little squirrel for the blog as well. The squirrels are going CRAZY outside right now prepping for the winter so I thought it was an appropriate time to share this little pattern again. Here is a link to We Love French Knots, please check it out! And here is a link to download the free squirrel embroidery pattern.

Fall Quilt Market 2011

2011-11-03T12:03:00.004-05:00

Hi all! I'm back from Fall 2011 International Quilt Market. Quilt Market is a trade show for quilt shops and the rest of the industry to come on down and see what's new. There is one held in Spring and one in Fall. This was my fourth one, I can't believe it! I'm exhausted and could sleep for a week! It was an excellent show and I got to meet a ton of great peeps. Wasn't able to leave the booth very often, so I don't have many pics from the show, but I thought I'd share a couple from my booth. We hung Safari Sweet all over the walls. I think my favorite thing is all the little Safari Sweet plushies we made. I love the little alligator that's chilling with the big hedgehog. Silly. That's me in the booth in the first pic. That's only the first day and I looked tired already. On the wall with all the embroidery kits, you may spy some new little fellas. We now have the Giraffe, Jellyfish, Zebra and Alligator as kits! They're not up in the shop yet, but they will be soon. And all the patterns and kits now have iron-on transfers included, Yay!

Let's MEET and play with Safari SWEET!

2011-09-28T10:18:00.006-05:00

Hi all. I have exciting news. My first fabric collection, Safari Sweet, IS NOW IN STORES! Yay! To celebrate, the lovely Nikol from Sewtropolis in Minneapolis, and I are having an embroidery get together on Saturday. We'll be stitching up little embroidered animal brooches like the one above. It's a super fun project and is especially good for kids or if you've never embroidered or sewn before. At Sewtropolis you'll also get to see a whole bunch of fun projects that you can make with Safari Sweet, like the giraffe quilt. I'll also be signing my children's book, No Monster Here. So come by on Saturday, it'll be SUPER FUN!

Saturday, October 1
1:00 - 3:00pm
Sewtropolis
5 West Diamond Lake Road
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55419

Society6

2011-08-31T17:28:00.004-05:00

Hi all. Have you checked out Society6 yet? It's a super fun community website where you can post artwork. Then people can purchase art prints, laptop skins, iphone cases and more all with the art on it. There is so much fun art posted there, I'm tempted to fill my studio wall with different art prints. I signed up for a Society6 account a long time ago but just uploaded my first piece today. It's my Owl in Ferns embroidery that I made a while back. I ordered myself an iphone case with it on. Can't wait for it to arrive! If you want one too, here's a link to my Society6 page.

My studio in STUDIOS mag!

2011-08-02T11:40:00.003-05:00

My studio is in the Fall issue of STUDIOS Magazine, yay! Should be on newsstands soon!

Jean quilt progress

2011-07-30T21:04:00.002-05:00

Thought I'd share how I spent my Saturday. I worked on my jean quilt! I started it a couple of months ago and spent the entire day on it today. It's a "log cabin" style quilt with gold woven wool squares surrounded by one inch strips made out of old jeans. The dark colors are the outside of the jeans and the the light colors are from the insides. To make it bigger you just keep adding strips around the outsides of all the squares. I'm hoping to make this into a queen sized quilt and I'm about half way there right now. Unfortunately I ran out of old jeans. Boo. I'll have to try and steal a few more pairs from the hubs, but until then this project is on hold.

Pile'o'gators

2011-07-29T11:49:00.005-05:00

Finished making some alligators out of Safari Sweet!

Instagram love

2011-07-22T19:21:00.002-05:00

So I decided to get on the Instagram bandwagon. Instagram is a fun app where you can make your photos transform into vintagey yummies. You can also share them with the Instagram and other social network communities. These are my first six pics. That dang squirrel keeps trying to get to the birdfeeder. He's made a few leaps but hasn't quite made it yet.

Stuffed

2011-07-15T12:30:00.004-05:00

My Kitties and Unicorns were in Stuffed magazine. Yay! I'm so happy to be among so many great plush artists. Stuffed is available at bookstores and check out more pages here.

I made a Kitty and Yarn

2011-07-13T11:47:00.003-05:00

Sheesh, it's been another long time since a post. I promise you it's because I've been working on some super fun (and time consuming) projects that I'll be able to talk about soon. Just thought I'd share with you some recent fun stuff. I completed a custom kitty of the lovely Chloe. I don't do these very often, but when I do they end up being really fun for me. I love being able to add all the extra details that I don't do with my normal kitties.
And the other little project is...I made yarn! It was my birthday last week (31 eek!) and the hubs and I stopped by the Minnesota Textile Center to check out the gallery. The Textile Center is also the home of the Weaver's Guild of Minnesota and they had their store open when we were there. They had a gorgeous wall full of beautiful yarn on cones just waiting to be woven into fabric. They also had books and some kits. I purchased a Spindle Kit that came with some poofs of wool and a spindle made from an old cd. I've seen people with their spindles online making all sorts of yarn and I've been wanting to give it a try too, so I was just squealing when I saw the kit. When I got home I gave the spindle a try and found that it definitely got some getting used to. You almost need a third hand to man the spinning while your other hands work on putting the wool together. I have a new appreciation for all the spinners out there. It wasn't until I was done that I realized that I had been spinning the yarn way to tightly so when I made it into a ball I had to unwind the yarn a ton. Gah. All in all spinning was fun. Not sure I'll be doing much more of it (it was kind of hard on the wrists) but I got to learn a new thing and I probably won't obsess about it much longer. Now I'll just obsess about the wall of yarn back at the Weaver's Guild.

Quilt Market prep

2011-05-05T11:02:00.004-05:00

Hi folks. I've been in Quilt Market preparations for a while now. I'll be off to Salt Lake City on Wednesday to start setting up my trade show booth. Eeek! I'm really excited. Right now I'm putting the finishing touches on everything. Above is a little iphone pic of my studio from about a week and a half ago. I was stitching a new big lion pillow. It's so much fun to stitch these animals at the larger size.

My bunny is in Small Magazine!

2011-04-26T09:26:00.005-05:00

I'm a couple of days late with this post, but I'm still super excited. My bunny muff was photographed for small magazine! Small has the BEST photography of kid's fashion and it's worth a look if you haven't checked it out. I'm so happy my little plush friend could be a part of it.

Book review: Big Little FELT Universe

2011-04-15T18:44:00.006-05:00

Remember this post I did a while back about Jeanette Lim of Ume Crafts. Well she's turned her amazing felt creations into a book! Check out the beautifully designed Big Little Felt Universe: Sew It, Stuff It, Squeeze It, Fun!

I was struck immediately by how many projects were in the book, over 70! Jeanette has so many clever techniques. I love the frosting edges on the cake above. On the banana you can put magnets on the inside so that the two banana slices connect to make a whole banana. Then you can cut the banana in half with your felt knife and felt cutting board. Too funny. One of Jeanette's main techniques is to use posterboard as a stabilizer. You basically make the shape of your felt object out of the posterboard and then sew your felt around the posterboard frame. I can see how this would really help the plush keep their shape. It's a new technique to me and one I definitely want to try.

Another thing I love about the book is that the templates are right after the project. You don't have to search for them in the back of the book. Yay!

The project I want to make the most is the potted bamboo. I have tons of felt lying around, I just need the time to make it (maybe after Quilt Market). The plants are actually separate from the pots, so you can pretend that you're planting your little cactus or African violet. I'll be sure to post some pics of the bamboo once I finish it. Check out Jeanette's etsy store here and check out the book here on amazon.

Artist: Myko Bocek Studios

2011-04-08T13:16:00.003-05:00

I've been staring at this little puffball owl for weeks now. Isn't he the cutest! All of these wooly pom pom characters are by Myko of Myko Bocek Studios. Check out more of her creations in her etsy store, facebook and blog. She has tons of Easter/Spring cuties in the store right now. How fun!

Crows are back

2011-04-05T13:23:00.004-05:00

The sun is out, the sky is blue and the last bits of snow are melting. It's spring! The neighborhood crows are out and starting to bring their meals to the bird bath. They perch on the edge and dip their stray crackers and hamburger buns into the water before they eat them. I got to see one do this for the first time today since last fall, and I'm taking that as a sign that winter is finally over. Yay! Here's my little sketch of the happy bird.

Hoop Up 2 swap

2011-03-21T10:55:00.003-05:00

Hi all. I thought I'd share a project that I worked on during my hiatus from blog land over the holidays.

While scanning my Twitter last summer I found out that John (Quilt Dad) was going to have a "Hoop Up 2" embroidery swap. I thought the swap would be a fun way to make some new embroideries and meet some new peeps so I signed up. The way the swap worked was everyone would be placed into a group of about 5 people. Each person in the group comes up with their own theme for an embroidery. After everyone shares their theme, each person has to stitch an embroidery for every other swap partner in their group based on that partner's theme.

The theme that I chose was "Pretty Pets in Pretty Borders". I made a sample of my theme to share with the others in my group. You can see my process of the sample piece for my theme here and here. Above are pics of the embroideries I did based on my partner's themes. The "Owl in Laurel" is for John's (Quilt Dad) "whimsical woodland" theme. Lim's Cafe is for Amy's (badskirt) "retro or silly sign" theme. The Etch-a-Sketch is for Jill's (spinster sister) "Text + ?" theme, where Jill wanted us to have text plus something else in our embroideries. And the final piece is for Cara's (quiltnookgal) "Bluebirds with Tea" theme. I had such a good time stitching everyone's piece and it was a fun challenge to work within someone else's theme. Once I receive all my "Pretty Pets in Pretty Borders" from my group partners, I'll be sure to take some pics and share them. I'm so excited to see how they all turned out!

Another exciting thing about the swap was that it allowed me to develop my iron-on transfer Puppy embroidery patterns. I love when work and play collide!

Safari Sweet is released!!!

2011-03-11T12:23:00.005-06:00

The lovely Brandi over at Clothworks Textiles let me know yesterday that my first fabric collection, Safari Sweet, is out. Yippee! So tell your favorite quilt shop that you want some. :-) One of the neat things about it is that it's all organic. And not just organic, but GOTS certified organic. GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) is a third party organization that makes sure every part of the process – including harvesting the raw materials, processing, manufacturing, packaging, labeling, trading and distribution – maintains the organic status of the fabric. Here's a link for more info on GOTS certification. Another super fun thing is that there are new organic solids that coordinate perfectly with Safari Sweet, and there are also a couple of flannels in the collection. Check out Clothworks Textiles blog and website for more. Over here at Penguin & Fish, we have all of the animals in Safari Sweet available as embroidery patterns and a few of them as embroidery kits. I can't wait to stitch up some animals and make little pillows with the sample yardage when I receive it. All you friends who are having babies know what you'll be getting as gifts. heh heh. I'd love if you could help me get the word out about Safari Sweet. I'll definitely share some more pics once I receive samples. Fun!

Artist: Fishing Flies by Claudio D'Angelo

2011-03-08T12:42:00.004-06:00

I was helping the hubs out with a project this morning where I needed to find some fishing imagery (weird right, but kind of a nice change of pace). I came upon these gorgeous flies by Claudio D'Angelo. Aren't they amazing! Definitely little works of art. I love how graphic and tribal they look. It'd be fun to print one out on a huge canvas and hang it up somewhere around the house. Check out his flickr page for more pics.

Jon's short film: Photos and Drawings

2011-03-07T08:41:00.002-06:00

Photos & Drawings Trailer from Studio Collective on Vimeo.

Last year was the "year of film" for my husband. He was one of the producers for the feature length film, "Ghost from the Machine", and also finished his first short film, "Photos and Drawings". Above is the trailer for the short. It was so much work but really fun. I can't wait to be able to help on more of them! Go Jon!

Doing a little blog redesign

2011-03-04T18:52:00.005-06:00

Hi Peeps. Check out my new blog design! The other one was looking a bit dated so I thought I'd freshen it up a bit. One of the things I'm excited about is the wider images. I'm hoping that the redesign will get me motivated to start posting again. It was a struggle to keep up with everything at the beginning of the year, but as I cross things off the "to do" list I'm feeling ready to get into the routine of things again. Yay! So take a look around and let me know what you think. Are there other things you'd like to see on the blog? Let me know, it's a work in progress.

Progress

2011-02-03T11:39:00.010-06:00

Thought I'd share a detail from my current project. Still not feeling super productive yet this year. Boo. Slowly but surely I'm getting things accomplished, but would really like to speed things up a bit. Ah well. Posting this little guy is making me feel productive so that's good. Hope all is well with everyone. Have a great rest of the week!

Making art again

2011-01-19T21:45:00.005-06:00

Hi peeps. Long time no see! Yeah, I know it's 100% my fault. Over the holiday season I worked and worked and worked, then went on a 15 day vaca to visit the family, then came home and promptly got sick. I had tons to catch up on and was feeling stressed about the year that was ahead of me. Well I'm over the sickness and am finally starting to feel excited about this year. Yay! I'm ready to start the year (only 19 days late). To celebrate I played around in photoshop a bit today, just to practice and start making things again. Not sure if anything will come of this little pattern experiment, but I'm happy to be creating again.
-Happy New Year all! best -alyssa

Gallery Hanahou - Luv-able & Hug-able opening

2010-12-13T13:25:00.003-06:00

Hey, NYC peeps. You should all go down and see the Luv-able & Hug-able exhibit at Gallery Hanahou! (from Dec 9 - Jan 14) The popular plush show's theme this year is "Wear-able" meaning that most everything there will be plush that you can wear! There is so much amazing work by some of my fav artists. This is my first year participating and I have three kitty necklaces with braided silk ribbon. And also I think one of my favorite things I've ever made, a bunny muff, EEEEEE! I can't wait to make more of these guys. This one has little stitched snowflakes on it but I can't wait to make one with a bunch of sparkly beads and sequins for all the snow. I can't wait!

WINNER!!!!

2010-12-13T12:47:00.002-06:00

Hey folks, we have a winner! My lovely intern Sarah picked KerryKaheCakesb43 as the winner of my new printed patterns. Woo hoo! Congrats Kerry! And thanks to everyone who commented. I really appreciate all your kind words and support. -alyssa

Giveaway!!!!! My new patterns

2010-12-08T11:16:00.004-06:00

Hi peeps! Man, this has been my busiest holiday season ever, which is awesome, but exhausting. Don't worry I'll be posting more regularly soon. The No Coast Craft-o-Rama went great this weekend. It was super fun hanging out with my crafty friends. I still have to clean up everything still (and from Quilt Market too) but I'll get there.

Thanks to everyone who's stuck with the bloggy blog during my lack of posting. I'm going to do a little giveaway for all y'all! I'll be giving away my 4 new printed patterns to one lucky reader. All of you who guessed alligator here were right, my first sewing pattern is the little alligator in the first two pics. He comes with a fold out template and a booklet of easy to follow instructions. The other 3 patterns are my new puppy embroidery patterns, Boston, Golden and Maltese. Each puppy is sitting in a pretty border. The best part is that the patterns include an iron on transfer, woo hoo!

To enter the giveaway just leave a comment below. I'll pick a name randomly on Monday. Then you'll still get the patterns before Christmas! All the patterns are available as printed patterns and as pdf downloads in my etsy shop. Thanks all! -alyssa

No Coast Craft-o-Rama Friday and Saturday!

2010-12-02T23:14:00.004-06:00

The No Coast Craft-0-Rama is this Friday and Saturday at the Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis, Yippee! If you're from Minnesota you should come on down. I'll have my booth going with my bud Kristin from Doodle Bird Design, and I'll have some new items and some "oldies but goodies" there as well. Eeeeeeee, I can't wait! Come and say hi to me.

2 Short of a Dozen Holiday Boutique

2010-11-17T11:28:00.004-06:00

Hey all. I'll be participating in a holiday boutique show in Wayzata this weekend. It's going to be super fun and full of crafty loveliness. For more info and to check out the 10 artist's work visit the 2 Short of a Dozen Holiday Boutique blog. I'll be there all day on Saturday, I can't wait!

I'm in the Storque!

2010-11-16T00:07:00.001-06:00

Check it out peeps. I was in an Etsy Storque article a couple of days ago! The lovely Linzee McCray wrote the piece about Textile Trends at the International Quilt Market. And one of those trends was embroidery, woo hoo! I got to chat with her about my embroidery kits and she took a pic of me with my big hedgehog pillow. You can read the entire article here.

My Saturday...

2010-11-14T22:53:00.002-06:00

Snowkitty - made by Alyssa & Jon from Studio Collective on Vimeo.

...was spent making a Snowkitty. Hah! It snowed 6 inches on Saturday and only days before I had the windows open because it was so nice out. That's the Minnesota fer ya! Here is the hub's video he made of it all. Tee hee!

Quilt Market post number 1 (finally!)

2010-11-08T14:43:00.003-06:00

I'm FINALLY posting about Quilt Market. I'll be doing a couple of posts even though I didn't get that many photos, so stay tuned. Above are some pics from my booth. You can see my new products that I'll soon have up on my website and etsy. They are three little dog embroideries and an alligator toy sewing pattern. I'm super excited to start offering sewing patterns! I'd love suggestions on what animal you'd like a toy sewing pattern for next. I'm thinking a jellyfish might be fun, but I'm not sure yet. For the booth I took photos of the dog embroideries and printed them huge to hang on the wall, and people kept coming up to them because they thought I actually embroidered them that large. Heh heh. Now I totally want to. I think it'd be fun to have a big bedspread with one of the dog embroideries on it. I got to meet a bunch of my twitter/blog/store friends. I definitely had a great experience and can't wait till the Spring one in Salt Lake City. And my big news...I'll be doing a line a fabric with Clothworks that will be coming out next year. Eeeeeeeeee!!!!!! I'm so excited!

Where am I?

2010-10-25T11:36:00.003-05:00

I've been super MIA lately, gah! I've been absolutely consumed with my preparations for the Fall Quilt Market. I'm super excited about my new products and I can't wait to share! I also have some fun bit of news to reveal as well, but it all has to wait until after I get back. To make up for my MIA-ness, I'm going to have a little giveaway right when I get back from Houston. More info on that to come. I sent my booth off to Quilt Mmarket on Friday and now I've been playing catch up with all the things that I put off while I was busy prepping. I stayed up way to late on Friday and Saturday frantically designing greeting cards for the manufacturer I work with, and yesterday was another late night working on some embroideries for an exciting new project. Again, I can't share all the info yet (annoying right) but here are a couple of sneak peaks of the two embroideries. I'm hoping to blog more regularly again after Quilt Market. Thanks to all of y'all who've been patient and stuck with me. :-) I'll be tweeting at Quilt Market, follow me here if you'd like all my updates.

Artist: Ana Belen Salatino of Merry Blues Art

2010-10-11T11:26:00.003-05:00

It's almost that time of year again (although you wouldn't know from the 80 degree weather we had here over the weekend). Time to start thinking about the holidays. Check out these eco-friendly, Warm Winter Greetings cards from Ana Belen Salatino of Merry Blues Art. They are printed on 100% banana paper made from agricultural waste–meaning no trees! Check out more works from Merry Blues Art and read more about their commitment to helping the environment. etsy and website

Rejects

2010-09-27T12:48:00.003-05:00

Just thought I'd share a quick pic of some muslin rejects from my current project. See my notes all over them? It took way more figuring out then I expected. Can you guess what I'm making? More pics to come.

My "Vintage by Crystal" Unicorn from the Handmade Market

2010-09-20T23:16:00.004-05:00

Just had to share this little guy. I got it from Vintage by Crystal at The Creative Connection's Handmade Market craft fair. Isn't he awesome!!! It's my little spun cotton unicorn, eeeee!

Artist: The Storybook Rabbit

2010-09-20T12:35:00.003-05:00

Bam! Did I kill you with cuteness? My heart skipped a beat when I saw these adorable plates by The Storybook Rabbit. Aren't they darling! See much more in The Storybook Rabbit etsy shop and the Made by White website and blog.

The Creative Connection Event - Jennifer Murphy class

2010-09-17T13:06:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I had the most amazing day. I attended The Creative Connection Event that is currently taking place right now here in Minneapolis. I met the most amazing people who were all incredible and inspiring. But more on that in a bit...right now I have to jump ahead to the class I took with Jennifer Murphy during the event. Jennifer creates the most amazing quirky, vintage inspired stuffed animals and she was gracious enough to share one of her patterns and teach a class how to make her little bunny. You can see my in process and finished bunny above (mine is the one with the big blue bow), some other bunnies people made in the class, and a few of Jennifer's original bears. The last pic is my little bunny getting ready to eat the apple kuchen at the gala dinner. Check out the table cloth made from Amy Butler fabric. She spoke during the dinner btw, eeeeee!

New items in the store

2010-09-15T11:16:00.003-05:00

Hi all! Just thought I'd share some new items I put up in the ol' etsy store yesterday. Three new bright Kitties, my book No Monster Here with a matching Monster embroidery pattern, and a printed pattern upgrade for the Animal Alphabet embroidery patterns. I think the monster book and embroidery pattern would make such a cute Halloween gift. I'm just saying, heh heh. Have a great Wednesday peeps!

Embroidery puppies

2010-09-13T12:40:00.003-05:00

Finished the three puppies for my new embroidery series. I'm working on the patterns right now and will for sure let you know when they're available. I can't wait! Have a great Monday peeps! -alyssa

We Love To Illustrate - Free Downloads

2010-09-01T08:35:00.004-05:00

It's September and that means that it's back to school time. The girls over at We Love To Illustrate have made these super cute bookplates/stickers as free downloads! We Love To Illustrate is made up of children's illustrators: Julissa Mora, Jennifer A. Bell, Nina Seven, Shirley NG-Benitez, Cally Jane Studio and Belinda Strong. Head over to We Love To Illustrate for the free printable download and to check out more of their amazing work. And have fun at school today!

Embroidery puppy no. 2 progress

2010-08-30T09:52:00.003-05:00

Here's the second little doggy for the series of three embroidered puppies that I'm working on. This one has a bunch of lattice stitching for the background which I'm pretty excited about. I'll share more pics when I'm farther along.

Artist: Cameron Oehler of 1337motif

2010-08-27T10:42:00.003-05:00

Gah! These cutting boards and coasters are AMAZING! Cameron Oehler of 1337motif (pronounce "leet motif" for you non-gamers) constructs his cutting boards out of blocks of different woods to create his PacMan and Space Invaders. Too cool! Check out more on the 1337motif website and etsy store.

On my desk

2010-08-25T17:51:00.003-05:00

Working on a new puppy embroidery and thought I'd share. Working on the border right now. I'm going to need more filler but not sure what yet. Anyway, hope all y'all are having a nice Wednesday! -alyssa

Artist: Tilly Bloom

2010-08-24T09:12:00.002-05:00

Check out these super fun jewelry pieces by Tilly Bloom. I love all the little Victorian faces! See oodles more on the Tilly Bloom website and etsy store. FUN!

Sammy

2010-08-17T16:25:00.002-05:00

Oh, Sammy. You're the best!

Kitties by Jamie Shelman and Gemma Correll

2010-08-16T10:35:00.004-05:00

Today I was missing my kitty, Sammy (actually my bros cat that lives at my parent's house), so I decided to share some art from my "go to" favorite kitty artists: Jamie Shelman and Gemma Correll. I LOVE LOVE LOVE their kitties! I want them tattooed on me, heh heh. The top three images are Jamie's and the bottom two are Gemma's. Gah, they're so cute it just kills me.

Dog embroidery DONE!

2010-08-11T00:07:00.001-05:00

Woo hoo, finished my dog embroidery! I used Cosmo thread for the first time which was really fun. Their embroidery floss is so soft. I think this little pup might be the first in a series of three of these dog + fun border embroideries. I'd like to make them into patterns too. We'll see, I have to get my thinking cap on. Let me know what you think.

Artist: Tracy McEvilly

2010-08-05T09:38:00.003-05:00

Check out these amazing porcelain pieces by Tracy McEvilly. Aren't they just sweet and lovely! I love the strawberries in the first pic and the little roses in the last pic. See more of Tracy's work on her blog, website and etsy store.

Dog embroidery in progress

2010-08-04T09:56:00.004-05:00

Hi all. Just got back from a Cali trip to visit the in laws. It was super relaxing and I got to just sit. I did however start a new embroidery there. Here are some progress pics. It was a bit difficult for me making a kind of monotone background/border since my colors are usually all over the place. But I thought it'd be a good challenge. I'll share more (and better) pics when I finish.

Artist: Mother

2010-07-29T00:07:00.003-05:00

I'm loving the Stella Artois 4% "La Vie Tres Smooth" campaign by Mother. Super fun retro loveliness! Check out the vids and check out Mother's website here. (found via Allan Peters)

Artist: Wilkintie project

2010-07-28T09:16:00.002-05:00

These letterpress prints are absolutely gorgeous. They are for an artist collaboration project called Wilkintie, started by Carly Hargreaves and Niels Oeltjen. You can see more amazing prints on the Wilkintie website and etsy store. The pieces above are:
1. "Rolling Contrivance" by Merijn Hos
2. "Circus" by Chamo
3. "Nature Walk" by Tim Biskup
4. "Forever Friend" by Cody Hudson
5. "Rabbit" by Klaus Haapaniemi

Artist: jenny mccabe of Yarn Soup

2010-07-27T11:40:00.003-05:00

Check out these amazing bird brooches by jenny mccabe of Yarn Soup. They are made from layers of dyed fabric that are freehand machine embroidered. So darling. I'll take the owl in the first or second pic please! See more wonderful work in the Yarn Soup etsy store or on jenny's blog.

Artist: Kyoko of Rachel's Cabinet

2010-07-26T11:08:00.004-05:00

I'm currently obsessed with rabbits (mostly because they've been running around like crazy outside my studio window) so I was super excited to see these gorgeous watercolor paintings and prints by Kyoko of Rachel's Cabinet. The silhouette one on the bottom is my fav! See more in the Rachel's Cabinet and Kyoko Imazu Prints etsy stores. Also check out the Rachel's Cabinet blog.

Artist: Tamé

2010-07-23T10:43:00.002-05:00

Love love love these necklaces by Tamé. The knots are just gorgeous and the perfect size; big enough to make a statement but not overwhelming. And check out the "Magic Triangle" piece from the "Magnet Collection". What a great interactive piece of jewelry. See more in the Tamé etsy store and blog.

Artist: Teresa Sheeley

2010-07-19T10:22:00.003-05:00

I just love these camping inspired watercolor paintings by Teresa Sheeley. Aren't those thermoses the best! See more of Teresa's work in her etsy store.

Artist: Birdie of Dear Ada

2010-07-14T00:07:00.001-05:00

I found out today that one of my most favorite blogs is taking a break for a bit. Dear Ada is a wonderful art blog. I know I'm going to be inspired every time I visit. And today was no different. Birdie has been running the Dear Ada blog for about 5 years now and said that having the blog has inspired her to make art again. How cool is that! The pieces above are her new prints. Just gorgeous. Check out the Dear Ada blog here. I promise you, you could easily spend hours checking out all the beautiful work.

Artist: Jeanette of UmeCrafts and Lit'l Brown Bird

2010-07-13T10:02:00.005-05:00

Gah, I'm loving all this felt food. That cotton candy is amazing! The best part about all of these is that they're patterns so you can make them all yourself. How fun! I think I might have to get that County Fair set. The patterns were created by Jeanette of UmeCrafts. Check out more in her etsy store, flickr and also her other store Lit'l Brown Bird.

Artist: Marisol Spoon

2010-07-12T12:01:00.004-05:00

Did you know that Molly the Owl has started laying here second clutch of eggs! There's no live video this time 'round but there are some pics here and there on the Molly's Box Blog. I haven't finished my plush yet but I'll get there. I'm more inspired to get it done now that I've seen these gorgeous paintings/products from Marisol Spoon. Doesn't the first painting look just like Molly in the bottom pic? Too darling! I'm also absolutely in love with the little owl locket. To see more work by Marisol Spoon check out their etsy store, website and blog.

Artist: Vive Handmade

2010-07-08T10:17:00.002-05:00

I'm absolutely loving these pillows by Vive Handmade. Each one is hand printed and hand-drawn using silkscreens and monoprints. They would definitely brighten up a drab room. See more in the Vive Handmade etsy store.

Fireworks in Wiscony

2010-07-07T11:18:00.004-05:00

Hi all. I'm back from my trip to Wisconsin for the 4th of July. I had such a great time. Both my brothers were able to come home so it was the first time that the whole family has been together for about 2 years. And the first time we were all together at home for even longer!

I relaxed the entire time. Took pics of the new lilies that opened in my parents little pond. The goldfish pretty much doubled in size since last year.

The hubs, my brother and his girlfriend made some awesome sushi one evening. I didn't do much to help, heh heh, although I did take pictures to record the event and I picked a cucumber from the garden.

Played yard games for days. It was so nice just to be outside all the time instead of behind the computer. The mosquitoes were crazy and it was super hot and humid, but it was still awesome. We played Norwegian Golf, Holy Board, Croquet, and Bocce Ball. Below is the pic the hubs had to take to document that he won at this round of Bocce.

Then we went to my Grandpa's house to shoot off fireworks. I love taking fireworks pics. I basically just hold down the "Continuous photo" button on my camera and shoot away. Fun!

The next day my Mom baked me a rainbow chip angel food cake for my bday (July 6). Super sugary and sweet and pretty gross, but I love it! It was my fav when I was little and I just have to have it on my Bday. Yum!

So how were all y'alls holiday?

Artist: Karen of Song and Branch

2010-06-30T13:19:00.003-05:00

Gah, I'm just loving these little sculptures by Karen of Song and Branch. The little owls remind me of Molly and her little owlets. I'm also realizing that I've been posting a lot of little clay sculptures lately. Can you tell that I really really want a kiln? See more Song and Branch sculptures here.

Foxes now for sale! Woot!

2010-06-28T11:58:00.001-05:00

Hi peeps! Just thought I'd share with you some final pics of my little foxes. I'm so happy with how they turned out. They are now available exclusively at Schmancy Toys. So if you're over in Seattle you should go check them out. They are also available on the Schmancy website. You can see them all there!

Artist: Barry of fishfanatic

2010-06-22T09:37:00.002-05:00

I'm loving these Gyotaku prints by Barry Singer of fishfanatic. Gyotaku prints are prints or rubbings made by putting pigment onto a fish and making a print directly from the fish. In ancient Japan, the purpose of these prints were to record how large a fish was caught. I'll be headed to my parents in a week or so, and I think I'm going to give this a try with some of the fish from their trout pond. I'm excited to see how it goes. For more of Barry's work and more about Gyotaku printing check out his etsy store and website.

Late night inspiration

2010-06-18T10:25:00.002-05:00

There are so many rabbits in our yard! We were talking to the neighbor lady and she told us how one year she hired a bounty hunter to shoot the rabbits at $25 a pop...which is super scary because she's right next door and not out in the woods or anything. I don't need a crazy rifle guy aiming a loaded weapon into or towards our yard. Gah! Luckily the guy only shot one so I think she's ruled the "bounty hunter" approach as ineffective. Anyway, any time I see a rabbit out my window, I immediately want to turn them into a plush. So last night I couldn't take it anymore and I stayed up late to make one. Here it is! I'm super happy with it, mostly because it ended up looking like my drawing on the first try, woo! I think I'll take some cute outside pics of it once it's not so rainy.

Artist: Eva Funderburgh

2010-06-17T10:20:00.003-05:00

More crazy pottery creatures, Yay! These lovely "Woodfired Beasts" were created by Seattle artist, Eva Funderburgh. I could definitely see that last guy keeping me company by my computer. He's so happy! See more in Eva's etsy store.

Artist: alleluja

2010-06-15T00:07:00.001-05:00

Gah, these tiny porcelain pin cushions and kitty yarn spools are amazing! They are by alleluja (etsy store and flickr). I absolutely love how quirky and cute they are. The minty green glaze is gorgeous and the tiny bit of needlefelted wool adds just the right pop of color. My fav is the little badger in the last pic, but you just gotta love those kitty spools!

One owlet left in the box

2010-06-09T09:47:00.003-05:00

There's only one owlet left in the owl box. Wesley is the last little one of Molly and McGee's 4 owlets. The other three are living in the neighbor's yard in a palm tree. Heh heh. Check out the Molly's Box blog for some amazing pics and the Owl Box site for the live stream. I better hurry up and finish my owl plush before they're all gone.

Progress

2010-06-07T14:52:00.002-05:00

Here are some progress pics of the little foxes. The middle pic is my 3rd (and final) prototype. The last image shows my first 6 ready to be stuffed. I have more cut out and I'm ready to get sewing. Woo hoo!

Next project sneak peak

2010-06-02T08:49:00.004-05:00

So here's a pic of the next project I'm working on. I'm making a bunch of little fox plushes for a Penguin & Fish exclusive at Schmancy in Seattle. Here's prototype number 1. I'm going to lower the eyes a bit (to where the pins are) and move the nose so it's a little more centered. I also think I'll change the shape of the tail a bit and change the proportions of the colors in it. And I won't be doing all red and white foxes. I want to represent all the foxes of the world. heh heh. Anyway, just thought I'd share.

Quilt Market recap

2010-06-01T07:53:00.006-05:00

Hi all. Finally I'm back on track again after Quilt Market. I spent the last week emailing all the wonderful people I talked to there and organizing my orders. Orders! Yay! I had an amazing amazing amazing experience at Quilt Market and I will definitely be doing more (even though I was under the weather for day 2). If selling wholesale is something you're interested in and you want to do a trade show, I say DO IT! It's totally worth it!
So without further ado, here are my pics from Quilt Market. (I didn't end up taking a ton so I put some links to other people's recaps at the bottom)

Me in my booth on Day 3. This is my last cute outfit so it was a good thing Quilt Market only lasted 3 days.

Finished quilt with the fabric patterns I designed. I love how it turned out! My mom sewed the whole thing and she did an amazing job.

View of Moda from my booth.

Me and Michelle Bencsko from Cloud 9 Fabrics. Michelle is one of my twitter peeps and it was great to meet her in person. She's so nice! And her booth and fabrics were amazing.

The gorgeous Amy Butler booth and her super pretty and soft new yarns she did for Rowan.

And Anna Maria Horner's beautiful booth. I got her "Handmade Beginnings" book and she signed it for me. How cool! Her fabric was incredibly soft. Check out the quilt made from her fabrics.

And lastly (because I didn't take as many pics as I wanted) here are a few recaps from some other peeps.

Quilt Dad
True Up
Yummy Goods - here's one post but there are tons more
Made

Quilt Market here I come!

2010-05-18T10:20:00.003-05:00

Hi lovelies! I've been frantically getting ready for Quilt Market over the past week (hence the lack of posting) and I'm just about ready, YAY! Finishing up the last couple things like making a newsletter signup sheet, making a 'to bring' list, and making final tweaks to the website. I'm super excited for the weekend and looking forward to meeting all the lovely quilty/fabricy peeps. If you're out at your favorite fabric or crafty store today, let them know that you want them to carry Penguin & Fish products and to see me at booth 2151. Woo hoo! I'll be sure to keep you updated on the happenings at the show.

Kits and Patterns

2010-05-11T09:27:00.003-05:00

Well it was another super busy weekend prepping for the Spring International Quilt Market. I worked more on my booth and also mocked up some product samples. I'll have printed embroidery patterns and kits available soon!!! I'm so excited! Above is a quick pic of a couple that I snapped with my iphone.

Artist: Dimmalimm

2010-05-06T09:03:00.002-05:00

I saw these floral coasters today and thought they were such a great idea. They act as a coaster and as a drink tag so you can remember which drink is yours. And they just happen to be super pretty too! These lovelies were created by Dimmalimm Home. Check out their store here on etsy.

Artist: Suzanne Millius of Studio 3 Ten

2010-04-29T10:14:00.002-05:00

Check out these prints by Suzanne Millius of Studio 3 Ten. I love the combination of art and poetry. My fav is the last one. So pretty! See more work in the Studio 3 Ten etsy shop.

Artist: Brooke Schmidt

2010-04-28T13:10:00.003-05:00

eee, check out these little embroidered Moleskin journals by Brooke Schmidt. I love how she switches thread colors mid line on the goldfinch and snail. And the tea and rainbow are just darling. See these and more of Brooke's work in her etsy store and also check out her blog here.

Artist: Stephanie Levy

2010-04-27T09:23:00.004-05:00

Check out these gorgeous artworks by Stephanie Levy. Now I want pancakes and sangria. Check out more of Stephanie's artwork in her etsy store and also check out her recent etsy featured seller interview.

Store: Timeless Vixen

2010-04-26T10:09:00.003-05:00

You have to check out the etsy store, Timeless Vixen. They sell vintage and antique dresses from the 1870's - 1970's and they all are A-Mazing!!! Here are a few droolers, but you can see 100s more in the Timeless Vixen store.

Artist: Zara of Chatham Girl

2010-04-23T09:21:00.005-05:00

Check out these awesome hats by Zara of Chatham Girl. It's art for you head! See more of these lovelies in the Chatham Girl etsy store.

Artist: Judy Kaufmann

2010-04-21T12:43:00.002-05:00

I'm loving these super fun illustrations by Judy Kaufmann. The house illustration is great with all their little slanted chimneys. I also really like the circus tamer. To see more of Judy's work check out her website and etsy store.

Artist: Medile

2010-04-20T10:28:00.003-05:00

Check out these awesome drawings by Medile. You get such a sense of life from the quick sketchy lines. They're little snapshots of a moment. I'm loving that bed that looks out to the ocean! Check out more of Medile's work in her etsy shop. Also check out her website to see her great stage and costume design work.

Unpacking

2010-04-19T10:00:00.003-05:00

Hi all. I'll be posting again soon. The hubs and I just bought our 1st house and we're unpacking. My office is looking awesome and I can't wait till it's done so I can share some pics! Yay!
-alyssa

One more progress pic

2010-04-13T10:30:00.004-05:00

Just another quick progress pic of my alphabet quilt made from all my embroidery patterns and new fabric. I sent all my finished patterns to my mom and she's been busy turning them into a quilt. I'll get to see it finished this weekend and I'll be sure to take some nice photos soon. I can't wait!

busy busy busy

2010-04-09T09:51:00.003-05:00

So lately I've been frantically getting ready for the International Quilt Market (booth 2151). I'll be selling/showing my embroidery patterns and kits there. For the show I wanted to make bunch of things that would illustrate some of the ideas of what you can do with the patterns. Above are some progress pics of some of the things. I'm so happy how everything is turning out! My mom has been helping with the quilting which is super awesome. In the first pic with the turtle you can see a few of the fabrics that I got printed. I'll take better pics of everything once I get a little further, but I couldn't resist sharing.

Kid Monster art for No Monster Here

2010-04-06T10:37:00.002-05:00

Check out these amazing drawings! Whenever I or Colleen do readings of our book No Monster Here we have the kids draw what they think a monster looks like. They come up with the greatest ideas! Charlie, who drew the monster in the second image, drew a monster with lots of arms to throw lots of baseballs. But then it needed lots of eyes so it could keep track of all the baseballs it was throwing. Too cute! Check out more kid drawings in our Monster Art Gallery and check our our No Monster Here website where you can purchase your hardcover copy. You can also read the entire book online here.

Artist: Ruth of Miss Bumbles

2010-04-02T10:11:00.003-05:00

Eeee, I love these adorable needle felt characters by Ruth of Miss Bumbles. Those little guinea pigs are so fantastic I can hardly stand it. See more of these fun little guys in the Miss Bumbles etsy shop.

Artist: Sue of Polar Bear Creations

2010-04-01T11:11:00.003-05:00

I know all y'all are probably getting a little sick of my recent owl obsession (it's all because of Molly) but I couldn't resist posting these little guys when I saw them. These owls were made by Sue of Polar Bear Creations. They are so adorable! See more in the Polar Bear Creations store, website, blog and flickr.

Artist: Sherry of y0omii

2010-03-31T10:05:00.003-05:00

Cute cute cute! I love these little knit bunnies, owl and crocheted lamb by Sherry of y0omii. They'd be perfect for an Easter basket. I love the first little bunny's squinty eyes. See more in the y0omii store.

Molly the Owl plush

2010-03-29T00:07:00.000-05:00

So anyone who follows me on twitter will tell you that as of late, I'm obsessed with Molly the owl and the live webcam of her and her baby owls. On Saturday I couldn't stand it anymore, I had to make a plush of Molly. Above you can see the start of my idea and the construction process. The bottom pic is of the head so far. I have tons to do yet and it'll look completely different when I'm finished but I'm excited. I'll probably have to make a bunch of little owlets when I'm done. I've hesitated making an owl plush because there are so many people making just fantastic owl plush sculptures already, but like I've said, I couldn't stand not making one anymore. Molly's just too awesome not to be a plush. heh heh.

Artist: Grand Ole Bestiary

2010-03-26T10:37:00.003-05:00

Gah, these photographs by Grand Ole Bestiary are so cool! It would be fun to sneak one of these into a wall of family photos. heh heh. Check out the Grand Ole Bestiary store here.

New Obsession: Molly the owl

2010-03-24T11:41:00.004-05:00

I am going absolutely CRAZY for the live webcast of Molly the owl. Molly is the wonderful wild female barn owl who is taking care of her eggs and new owlets. I turn on the live webcast in the morning and watch and listen to Molly all day. In the evening the male, McGee, drops by with headless mice and bunnies. heh heh. The second of 6 eggs hatched yesterday and when Molly gets up and moves around you can see the little eggs and owlets. How fun! You can view the live webcast of Molly here. Watch out, it's completely addicting!

Artist: Kristin of Doodle Bird Design

2010-03-23T10:37:00.003-05:00

My friend Kristin just opened an Etsy store for her company Doodle Bird Designs, yay! Now you can purchase her awesome patterns as digital downloads that you can use for card making or scrapbooking. How fun! Check out Kristin's website here and also be sure to check out her etsy store.

Making a quilt from my embroidery patterns.

2010-03-22T07:38:00.005-05:00

So I have some news... I'm going to be exhibiting at this year's International Quilt Market where I'll be showing/selling my alphabet animal embroidery patterns and kits! Eeek, it's my first trade show that I've exhibited at and I have a crazy amount of work to get done (designing a booth space, updating web and print materials, making samples, etc). But I'm hoping it'll all come together. For my display I wanted to make a quilt that featured the entire embroidered alphabet, but if I was going to make a quilt I also wanted to make my own fabric for it. Last week I designed like crazy, and above is the collection and a diagram of what the quilt will look like finished. I'm so excited! Ordered the fabric yesterday and sent it to my quilty mom to start cutting all the pieces. We'll be making the quilt in a few weeks, and I'll be sure to share some progress pics. I can't wait to see it finished! Spread the word, tell your favorite quilting, needlework, yarn, crafty store that you want them to carry Penguin & Fish products. :-)

Artist: Sara Broski

2010-03-17T10:20:00.003-05:00

Aren't these animal illustrations just gorgeous! They are by the artist and illustrator, Sara Broski. The raccoon with the mask is DARLING! See more of Sara's work in her etsy store and flickr. You'll also be greeted by Sara's fantastic embroideries.

New fabric patterns sneak peak

2010-03-15T09:38:00.004-05:00

Hi all. So I've decided to design a fabric collection based on my embroidery pattern characters. Here is a sneak peak of the first design in three colorways. I'll be hunkering down this week to finish all the rest of the patterns in the collection, so check back the end of this week to see the rest (or at least my progress). Let me know what you think, or if you have any ideas for supporting patterns!

Artist: Felicia Piacentino of Catwalk Paper Works

2010-03-11T11:10:00.003-06:00

I'm loving these collages by Felicia Piacentino of Catwalk Paper Works. Felicia's collages are created from vintage and everyday paper ephemera. Every piece is one of a kind and each one is gorgeous! See more in Felicia's etsy store and flickr.

Artist: Victoria Webb

2010-03-08T08:21:00.002-06:00

I'm loving these bright paintings by Victoria Webb. Many of Victoria's paintings reference landscapes. The first image is my definite fav. It reminds me of where my brother lives/works in Washington; in the mountains, getting to see the morning light after a night of grooming the ski hill. Gorgeous! See more of Victoria's work on her website, blog and etsy store.

Yay for Lori's Place!!!

2010-03-04T10:23:00.004-06:00

Remember this post of the amazing cookies from Lori's Place? Well, Lori sent me a dozen of these amazing heart cookies! Eeeeeee! I gotta tell ya, they are even more gorgeous in person and are super yummy too (notice there're only six left on the plate, heh heh). And they arrived wrapped really well and in perfect condition. How fun. Thanks so much Lori!!! See more of Lori's cookies here.

Artist: Amanda Kindregan

2010-03-03T09:38:00.002-06:00

I'm really inspired by the work of Amanda Kindregan. Love the characters, colors, painting style, humor, everything! The first four pics are gouache paintings and the last image is a fun gocco print. See tons more of Amanda's work on her website, blog and in her etsy store.

Artist: Jennifer Strunge of Cotton Monster

2010-03-02T08:54:00.003-06:00

One of my favorite plush artists, Jennifer Strunge of Cotton Monster, is now making KITTIES!!! All y'all know I love that! Check out these crazy little guys. There's a lot happening in those fun faces. If you want one of these Kitties you better think quick, the orange fellah in the last pic is the only one left. Here are Jennifer's Etsy store, blog and website.

Artist: Dimdì

2010-03-01T08:43:00.002-06:00

It's March 1st which means Spring is on it's way, YAY! And all my little springtime friends are starting to appear. Here are a few of them in these original watercolors by Dimdì. Gorgeous! Check out more in the Dimdì Etsy store.

Artist: Paint Square

2010-02-26T00:07:00.000-06:00

I'm loving these works by Paint Square. They are so unique and I love the texture that all the pieces of wood create. To see more of this gorgeous work check out the Paint Square etsy store.