Custom Critters

Not too long ago, I received an email from a loyal customer asking if I could make her two custom fabulous felt necklaces, one featuring an iguana and the other a green quaker.  I was flattered, excited,

. . . and a little scared.  I'd never drawn an iguana let alone fashioned one out of felt, and I had no idea what a green quaker was.  But then the little voice inside me said, "What kind of defeatist attitude is that?"  So, I Googled the two critters (a green quaker, as it turns out, is an adorable little bird), printed out a couple of images, and worked up some sketches. 

I was surprised to find that the sketches were easier to draw than I'd thought.  I emailed them to my customer, and she gave me the go-ahead.  Still, the real test would be if I could translate what I'd created on paper to felt.  So I took my time.  Making something special for someone is a whole different ballgame than designing a piece by whim and tossing it out into the world with no idea how it will be received.  Yet slowly but surely, the tropical twosome took shape.

 Fabulous Felt Iguana Necklace

Fabulous Felt Green Quaker Necklace

Nevertheless, when it came time to ship the necklaces to their new home, my trepidation set in once more.  Sending your hand-crafted items away is like casting your children out into the wilderness (or so I imagine).  Despite your hard work and best intentions, you just don't know what will happen.  So I waited with the proverbial bated breath for an email or some other form of contact until this message appeared in my Etsy feedback box:

"The iguana necklace is beautiful.  Love my quaker necklace  Thanks so much."

Just reading that made all the angst worthwhile.