Wee Wonderfuls

make-a-long story: chapter one

It's here! The first installment of the make-a-long story is up. Click here to read the story and that will lead you to the first make-a-long pattern for Olive & Archie.

I can't believe we actually made our Sept. 15th deadline! I'm a little nervous. Three days straight on the computer and my brain is a little addled. I'm saying my prayers to the technology gods that everything will work smoothly. I hope y'all like the pattern and it's clear and easy to follow. This one is a little trickier than the put-together book but not too bad. I hope. My testers survived at least. Huge HUGE thanks to Laura, Erica, Sasha and Brooke who just floored me with their generosity, energy and intelligence. You guys saved me so so much time and caught stuff I'm sure I wouldn't have seen if I'd looked at it a hundred times. Thank you!!

And for those of you with a good memory, I'm putting the kybash on the 'special perks for early adopters' plan. After spending the past week consumed with this project I realize how long it all takes and trying to make 'extras' might just kill us. There will be freebies and fun things and they will be available to anyone who buys this first make-a-long pattern. I'm excited to get working on freebies and fun things. I've had my fill of html, illustrator, dreamweaver, blah blah for awhile. I haven't even been in my craft room since vacation. Ok, enough jabber.. make! a! long! 

Coming Soon... a Make-A-Long Tale

As I've mentioned before, I'd love to some day do a childrens book with my toys. It is so much fun (with a little frustration and anguish thrown in of course) creating personalities and props for the dolls and then staging them in their own real/fake world scenarios. So I had this neat idea for a book that would be part children's book/part craft book. The protagonists are dolls and the tale is told in photographs of the dolls staged in adventures. Sort of a less creepy (you know, with no spanking) Dare Wright type of thing. That's the first half of the book. The second half is comprised of the patterns to make all the things that are in the story -- the dolls, outfits, etc.

I'm loving this idea so much! It's everything I love doing all wrapped up in one big dorky bow, making up stories, plotting tiny props, making patterns. So I thought I'd give it a whirl here on the blog and see how it goes. For this next foray into self publishing we're going to try the PDF route. As much as I love printed matter, this way we won't be held back by turn around time and the installments can flow naturally. So it will just be a paypal and download deal. No reprints necessary! Although... there will be perks and benefits for early adopters :)

I'm really really excited about all the possibilities. Every installment of the story will have a new project or projects that is featured in the action. The first pattern available will be for our hero and heroine and then from there we'll see where the story takes us. There will be outfits, knitting patterns, embroidery design, accessories, hats (that's why no buns), sidekicks, versions of the projects that are for doll and kid both, like matching quilts, oh the list goes on and on. I'm so relieved to finally have the dolls the way I envisioned them so I can share with y'all. I've been jumping all over Tim the past few weeks in an agitated excited sort of way -- how bout this! and then we could this! and wouldn't that be cool! we need to find a tiny thermos, get on that! -- and I think I'm wearing him out.

Please meet our leads, Olive and Archie...

We're aiming for the week after next for these first patterns and have given ourselves a deadline of September 15th. You can sign up on the mailing list to be notified when they're in the shop.