exciting changes at The Needle

Hi everyone! I'm Felicia from Fluffy Flowers. A couple of days ago Chickenpants Claire posted the big announcement about her new baby chickenpants and the changing of hands here at The Needle. I hope to do right by Ms. C-pants and the website and promise to do my best to make her and you all proud.

So what's in store for the future? A lot. Here are some ideas I've got in the hopper:


- Create an ongoing, comprehensive list of Handmade Plush Shows (galleries, museums, shopping)

- Develop an extensive list of plush making resources

- Establish regular features such as: Tutorials, Book reviews, In Your Studio, WIPs, Vintage Handmade Plush

- Begin a weekly plush discussion question such as: Art or craft? Do you write stories to accompany your Plush? Best way to stuff tight corners? etc.

- Run more contests with prizes!

- Set up a Facebook feed

- Create a FAQ i.e. what is art plush?

- Give blog a makeover

- plus, a whole bunch more!

Sound exciting? Yeah, I think so too. Got other ideas? Want to get involved in this groovy Needle growth and expansion? Drop me an email at theneedle.org@gmail.com

Can't wait to hear your thoughts and ideas!

Big Changes at The Needle!

I have really exciting news to share with you today. This marks a new era for The Needle. Today, I am officially handing over the reins!
I have loved being the person behind The Needle, starting it up and watching it grow. The Needle is actually two and a half years old, and we've got just over 225 members.
My life is changing (first baby on the way!) though, and I no longer have the time and focus that this site deserves.
That's why today, Felicia is taking over.
Many of you might know Felicia from her lovely blog, or adorable Etsy shop. She's been a member of this site since it's infancy. She's been a member of the Etsy Plush Team pretty much forever, too. On top of all that, she's not only extremely nice, but extremely smart to boot!
The Needle could not possibly be going to better hands.
I'm sure Felicia will be implementing some exciting changes in the near future, and I for one can't wait to see them!

Stay tuned, and keep posting your great work!
Claire

And the winner is...

Our Craft Leftovers Giveaway winner is commenter #2, I Purr-Furr To Craft! So says Random.org.

Side note: Hey, we've opened up a prominent new ad box spot. Behold the top left corner of the blog. Two Project Wonderful spots, no waiting. (And psst, the bidding starts at $0...i.e. free!)

Site Update

Hi everyone,
Just a quick note to let you all know that I am majorly behind in general Needle business. (Answering emails, New Member Mondays, etc.) Something to do with buying a crazy dirty fixer upper of a house and needing to move out of our current one in a timely manner. *insert dramatic sigh here*
So please bear with me and the general slowness I seem to be swimming in.
Keep the good posts coming! You are all plush rockstars!
Claire

Technical Difficulties!

+++UPDATE 11:12 pm+++
So it is fixed? Maybe? Would someone else like to try posting something so we can test this theory? Pretty please? Feel free to leave a comment below, or email me: theneedleblog {{at}} gmail if there are any more troubles posting.
Thanks guys!


Hey Needlers,
So. Apparently we are having some trouble logging in and such. We've been flagged as a possible 'spam' blog by Blogger. Just wanted to say that I'm working on it, and hopefully things will be back to normal really soon. And also, if you know anyone at Blogger and can get us off their naughty list, that would be good.

Happy Needle-versary!

I can't believe this blog has been around for a year already! (Actually, a little more than a year- our official launch date was January 2nd, 2008.)
One year ago, we had only the tiniest handful of members. (And in the first month alone, 154 posts. Whoa!)
Today, we have 160+ members, and growing. There have been over 1,000 posts in the last year! How amazing is that?
I just wanted to say thank you to all the artist members for being a part of this site and sharing your creativity. And special thanks to all our readers! Oh, how we all love you. (and natuarally, our advertisers! Extra smooches in your direction!)
Best wishes for year two!
-Claire

Site news, sort of

Really, it's more like a memo.
I just wanted people to know that I'll be out of town* and unable to get to The Needle business till Tuesday.
(So if you've sent in an email and I'm taking forever to respond, that's why.)
Have a great weekend, everyone, and feel free to keep those emails coming! (especially the new member ones, I love those!)
-Claire


*at unique los angeles! booth 5012! visit me!

Site News!

Hello, all you fabulous artists (and fans!) of The Needle!
Just a quick note to let you all know that The Needle was mentioned in the wonderful Crammed Organisms write up in this month's FiberArts magazine...as well as many of you! Hooray!
In other news, The Needle has grown by leaps and bounds, as you're well aware. And, what can I say? The Member sidebar has gotten a leetle away from me. I have plans to tame that crazy long (151 members at last count!) list once and for all very soon. It may even involve alphabetizing. So if any of you would like to have your links updated, please let me know as soon as possible so I can get that done for you. (Just shoot an email to theneedle.org {at} gmail {dot} com.)
Special thanks to everyone who has donated and/or run an ad here. But really, thank you to everyone who is a part of The Needle, whether through membership, commenting, linking to us, or just plain reading. You all make this the vibrant, exciting place that it is.
-Claire

Site news!

Hello everyone!
You may have noticed a few changes to the site.
Our first big change is in regards to advertising. Yes, we've accepted advertising from the very beginning, and that's always been a part of keeping The Needle alive. (A very vital part!)
Well, starting today, we're offering a new advertising option. We now accept ads from Project Wonderful. This is a great way to easily support the site and get a little something back in return.
The location of the original, pay by the week/month ads has also changed to a more prominent spot. And, as a further incentive, the fees on those have been reduced! Email me if you'd like more information on that. Etsy minis are also accepted there, just so you know.
And, for the altruistically inclined, (and at the risk of seeming completely, utterly pathetic and orphan like), we've added a donation link as well.
The proceeds from the ad/donation revenue will be used for keeping the Needle running- domain fees, advertising, etc. The more traffic the site gets, the more exposure the artists get, and then I think there is a part with rainbows and possibly world peace.
And I think that about covers it. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Site news, sort of

Hello everyone!
I am really enjoying all your fantastic posts...plus it is very exciting to see all the great work that is going to Crammed Organisms!
I just wanted to make a quick post that I will be out of town this weekend at Maker Faire/Bazaar Bizarre, so emails are going to go unanswered, and there won't be a Needle Ten this week. (Which you all no doubt figured out already, as it is now Thursday.)
If any of you happen to be looking for something fun to do in the Bay Area, do stop by! I'll be at table #61.

Keep posting your awesome work!

Needle News

Good morning-ish, everyone! I've got two little tidbits to share:

1. The Needle has suddenly crossed the line of 120 members! I wanted to have a nice little post when we hit 120, but we're now actually at 122. This is totally amazing to me. And each week, more and more talented artists make themselves known. Incredible! You all rock!
(Also: I'd totally appreciate any help with the member side bar. If I've somehow missed you, or your link isn't going where you'd like, or you'd like to change your name or whatever, shoot me an email (theneedle.org@gmail.com) and I'll fix it.)

2. Here's a chance to do something nice. I recently received an email from Jillian of http://blog-me-til-midnight.blogspot.com/.
She's started a project with her kids to make a Holocaust memorial. They're asking for people to send them stars. From her email: "Any kind of star, made from anything you wish. These stars will symbolize the lights that went out due to the Holocaust."
You can find out more about her project on her blog. If you're interested in participating, leave a comment on her blog.

That's all for now. Keep up the awesome work, everyone! Remember, you are all stars.

Announcing the official Flickr group for the Needle

Hello, all!
There is now a Flickr group for members of The Needle! It's mainly for posting photos related to swaps, challenges, and...general Needle-ish things.
It is currently an invite only private group- in other words, anyone can see the photos, but in order to post and see the discussions you have to be accepted in. This is just to keep it relevant to members of The Needle. (and also so we can have a top secret place to post the nitty gritty details of swaps!)
The actual address is: http://www.flickr.com/groups/the_needle/
Much thanks to Patti Haskins who's headed up the whole thing.
Hope to see you there!

www.flickr.com More photos in the needle

How about a round of self congratulatory applause?

Because trust me, we've all earned it!
I want to thank each and every member of the Needle for posting such awesome stuff, commenting freely on other posts, and being so generous with linking to us. Without all of you, there is no Needle.
The Needle had it's very first post on January 2nd...and the last time I checked, we are now up over 100 posts! There are now 65 members (woo!). And we've had 2,987 pageviews. (801 unique visitors) Not too shabby for being only 21 days old!
So thank you, thank you, thank you!

CLAIRE!

Can I ask everyone to give a huge (virtual!) round of applause for Claire please, this blog is growing at such a fast pace, nearly 60 members, and over 100 posts already.

Amazing!

Woot!

Hello all!
I just wanted to mention that we are now at 49 members! Not bad for a 13 day old blog. Thank you everyone for joining and making this an awesome place!

I also wanted to say that if I have somehow missed putting up your link in the sidebar, or if I've linked to the wrong site, or spelled your name wrong, or some other mistake- do let me know so I can fix it! Email me at theneedle.org {at}gmail.com so we can set things to rights.

Also: we do so appreciate it when we get linked to! Please link to The Needle on your own blogs and sites. Your links make the site bigger, stronger, more handsome, taller, etc. Thank you everyone for all the links that have already been made!

Eeep!

Hi, this is Claire. I just wanted to pop in and say a.) Welcome new members! You are lovely. and b.) Due to massive power outages all over Northern California (and most distressingly, my house) there are delays in getting the posting invites sent out. Ack! This isn't really the launch weekend I had planned. Anyway, I'll get the invites sent out as soon as I can, but my ability to get to internet service is sporadic at best. (Power's been out since Friday. No, really.)
Thanks for your patience! Keep on posting the awesome stuff!