Menagerie Workshop and Shop Update!

Hello everyone, and - for those who celebrate it in North America at this time of the year - an early happy Thanksgiving!

I had so much fun at last week's Menagerie workshop. I learned so much from the process of prepping and teaching the class, as well as from my four joyful, competent participants. All skilled seamstresses, they were focused, patient, asked fabulous questions and worked with great determination for four hours to make stuffed toys together. We started out in the "do this next" step-by-step way of traditional classroom sequences and then very quickly, each participants found their own pace and rhythm, so that what was left for me was to wander around the room and enjoy watching them instinctively assemble their plushie from its disparate parts (and occasionally poke my nose in their business to see if they needed any help).

Oh, how I've missed being in a classroom! I loved the intimate size of this class, which allowed us to chat randomly between sewing an arm, or a tail, or to demo a particular technique one-on-one. So, so, fun. There was a lot of prep to do beforehand, not only of the materials we'd be working on, but even more so to anticipate the best way to teach someone in a brand new setting, with equipment and technology I'd not been accustomed to using. I mean, for the past couple of decades, my mode of instruction with you guys has been tutorials and photodocumentation. And before that, when I was a high school teacher, there were still chalkboards and white boards and OHPs and transparencies (remember those? Sooooo funny). 

Of all the things I've learned as a teacher, the most vital is this: different learning speeds. These days, we talk about different learning styles: visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and I can't remember the others. But more fundamental is the challenge of presenting the same instructional material to a group of learners who, because each is an individual, will process that material at varying rates. And as instinct leads us to slow down for the student with the most furrowed brow, this concept was drilled into us in teaching college; some professor would always be asking, at some point or other, regardless of whether it was a Science or English or Phy Ed teacher's course, "And how will you ensure that the quick learners will not get bored?" 

I almost went the way of the powerpoint presentation, let me confess. I thought I'd run a slideshow of enormous annotated photos detailing each step to guide most of the class even as I backtracked to an earlier stage to review a particularly fiddly technique with others. 

Thank the stars I didn't. Instead: handouts. Which looked just like one of my blog tutorials, with color photos and do-this-do-that in accompanying text. Did it involve more prep work? Sure, but it was worth it. Some participants followed the instructions, others deviated as they felt creative, and anyone could be on whatever page fit their speed most comfortably. 

My one regret is not thinking to take photos. Grrr! I was so focused on being present during those four-plus hours, that I didn't imagine I might want to share that experience with you guys in this post after. I did take one quick shot - just one, and only because I thought the husband and kids might like to see what it all was like - and the participants have kindly let me share it here:

I wish I'd taken photos of the setup of the room, the various animal displays of both Season 1 and Season 2 Menagerie critters, and the sewing tables stocked with notions and materials at the start of the class. When I got home, I recreated the shot I would've taken:

If I ran this workshop again in the future, I'll be sure to do a better job photodocumenting it! I also need to record all the things I'd tweak and those that worked wonderfully, because the learning process for me was at least as exciting as being able to teach in person again. One of the things that really surprised me was how much I liked cutting out pieces of fabric for the participant kits. It felt like mass-producing (which you all know I adore) but without the actual making, and I had so much fun doing it that I made way more kits than I knew we'd need. It certainly gave the participants plenty of choices on the day of, but it was mostly because I wanted to keep going with the cutting and assembling. Well, now I have kits to put in my Etsy shop for you to buy if, unlike me, you actually disprefer cutting stuff out and just want to get right to the sewing!

There are three different Menagerie kits, and each contains almost all the materials and notions you'll need to make that animal, plus the templates so you can make more of that same animal after if you want. You'd only need to supply fiberfill stuffing and sewing thread. I'll include some instructions (you'll get a black-and-white printout with your order, and I'll email you the color PDF version). 

Here, I anticipate a question: Does the kit come with the sewing pattern?

To which I will say that the answer is a bit roundabout, so bear with me as I try to explain.

These kits are intended to be used with your Menagerie sewing pattern, so if you already own that, you'll find that the print instructions, particularly for the Rabbit and Ladybug, are very similar. If you don't, the print instructions accompanying each kit may be adequate if you already have some experience sewing stuffed animals. There might be some Menagerie terminology (like "rolled ear") that's new to you and which are explained in the Menagerie sewing pattern, but instinctive people will probably be able to work around it. 

You can buy the Menagerie Sewing Pattern here.

In order of challenge level, I'd say the Rabbit is the quickest sew in that it is a classic Menagerie animal with very simple surface details. The instructions are also pretty basic, with a couple of photos or diagrams.

The Ladybug also comes together quickly but because it deviates a little more from the classic four-appendage Menagerie animal, the accompanying instructions contain more detailed step-by-steps and photos.

The Grey Cat is a new variation on the original sleepy-eyed Season 1 cat, 

so the instructions are correspondingly much more detailed. I'd go as far as to say you wouldn't even need the Menagerie sewing pattern with this Cat kit - the instructions are more than adequate. 

And speaking of patterns, I'm thrilled to announce that you can now buy my Menagerie pattern book. In print! 

Limited numbers of physical copies are now in the shop. The pattern book is the same full-color thing as the popular PDF digital pattern, except in hardcopy, 

and spiral bound for your reading (and reference) pleasure. 

For those who want to sew something a little smaller, 

I'm relisting my Spring Bird kits, 

with the option to bundle them with the sewing pattern if you don't already own it. You can select the option in a drop-down menu and I will email you the PDF pattern file after your purchase is completed. 

Finally, and I'm super excited about this - for the first time ever, there are also some actual Menagerie critters in the shop! I've been hoarding all my prototypes since day 1, only some of whom have found space in my sewing room to live

but as I'm working through the documentation of Season 2, I've needed to make duplicates for the photos. The plan was to release all the duplicates when Menagerie 2 is finished, but I. Am. Running. Out. Of. Space. Plus, I want nothing more than for these animals to find better homes and other children (and adults) who will love them now. So this is the first wave; just seven, each uniquely handmade and one of its kind.

Axolotl

Beaver

Rabbit

Dilute Calico Cat

Grey Tabby Cat

Sperm Whale

Narwhal

Lots more photos with each listing in the shop.   I hope you stop by and find fun and creative gifts for yourself and someone you love!

More patterns in print

To clarify: no, I have not struck a business deal with a commercial printer to get my patterns sent to the far corners of the world. I mean that I am incrementally making hardcopies of my thus-far-only digital patterns. I have no idea why I didn't think to do this years ago. Maybe it never crossed my mind that something in softcopy might be nice to have in some concrete, tangible form.  Or maybe it did, but after running some calculations and balking at how much it would cost to actually print full-color books, I decided to deprioritize it till later. 

Well, later finally arrived. Last year, I sifted through countless printing companies insisting on minimums of 1000 copies and found one willing to make single prints. Hurrah! I uploaded a few files as a test-run of sorts, and was very pleased with how they turned out. You can read about that here.

The impetus for finally getting all this printing done was Menagerie. So, as I've been saying for who knows how long, I'm in the (very slow but sure) process of writing Menagerie 2. In contrast to the original Menagerie which I wrote in a few months in 2015, the sequel is taking years. Partly because my life is - surprisingly - so much busier with teenagers than I ever was with preschoolers and elementary kids, but also because the animals of Menagerie 2 are exponentially more complex and ambitious than the ones in the first installment. 

Giraffe, for Menagerie 2

Whale, for Menagerie 2

Unicorn, for Menagerie 2

As I documented each new animal and its instructions, I referred constantly to the original Menagerie pattern in order to keep the terminology consistent. It got to the point where I was opening the digital file so frequently that I realized how ridiculous it was to be speed-scrolling between pages 1 and 87 or toggling between tabs. What I needed was a printed book on the desk beside me as I worked on the computer, whose pages I could flip, preferably spiral bound so it would lay flat or folded behind itself. That was the motivation for the hardcopy version. And then, since I had committed to printing one pattern, why not throw in a few more?

This year, I sent a few more patterns to the printers. I suppose I could've printed all of them in one go, but it would've been a splurge, so I figured I'd pace myself and do just a few each year. The goal is by the time Menagerie 2 is finished, all the others will have been turned into hardcopy, too. This is the haul so far: nine, which is not quite halfway through the whole collection, but in time, we'll get there.

And now, I'm packing kits for the upcoming workshop. It's a ton of work but unexpectedly fun cutting out all these multicolored shapes. The floor of our basement living room was a riot of color and fleece scraps all last week. 

And besides, assembling kits is always hugely entertaining. All those little pieces and components that get to be organized in self-contained sets!

I get excited anticipating the participants' relief that they don't have to cut stuff out themselves and can instead jump right into the sewing and constructing.

Hope you guys are doing well. November can be gloomy here in Minnesota - it has none of the crisp brightness of October nor the magic of December and its sometimes pretty and well-timed snowfalls. Sandwiched between two far superior months, November can kinda be a downer, so I hope you're able to get some sunshine and fresh air, maybe even a fun creative project or two to spike those endorphins! Take good care of yourselves, friends!