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PlushWaifus

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Hey guys, I'm sorry for the sudden disappearance. I'm kinda shocked that I've actually had people concerned about me and the sudden departure.

Anyway, I wanted to give an explanation for the dropping of commissions as well as an update on things in general.

First up the explanation:

The reason for dropping was mainly focused around time. My job has work schedule bidding based on seniority and being one of the newest hires puts me down at the bottom of the list. While I was on job probation I could choose my schedule, which allowed me to have 3 day weekends. While a far cry from working on plushes full time, it allowed me to finish off at least one commission plus another plush for myself. Beginning of that year that changed once I got off probation, at that point I was at the wrath of the system and lost 3 day weekends. If I were a more dedicated and disciplined plush maker I could probably use the extra 2 hours I gained during weekdays and put that toward plushing to keep the same amount of work as before, but I am lazy as hell before and after work and thus choose to do nothing.

Sadly this means I probably will not be opening commissions again until I am senior enough to get the better schedule. If I did reopen, commissions would be run very differently than before as I would be doing away with any lists.

As for why I haven't been around? Quite simply, I just didn't want to be reminded of quitting by sticking around. I've always had this nagging feeling that every time I do a hobby I seem to stop just as I'm getting good, so simply burying my head in the sand felt better I guess.


With that out of the way, updates:
First up, I'm gonna try to do monthly updates with a little WIP stuff. (stealing ideas once again from someone ;)) I am still alive and plushing even if my progress has pretty much come to a stand still.


Mid February I spent a few days over at :iconqtpony:'s place. We tried making a Dash in that limited time frame, but sadly despite a really good start were unable to finish. She just has her mane left to go, and should be finished in the next month or so I imagine. QT is probably going to be finishing her unless issues come up in which case I'll take her and finish.



In addition to the Dash, I've been working on a personal plush that I had hoped to make relatively quickly with some left over materials I had... however it seems quickly is a matter of months rather than weeks like I had hoped. Shes "almost" done but still needs a tail, and possibly a new head. I'm actually too embarrassed to show any pics of her right now because of how bad the head came out. Honestly may not even post her here if I can't get her to look somewhat decent. :C

And in other news, I have started the process of purchasing a house! I'll be moving next month because of it. Gonna have a MASSIVE work space for plushing and other hobbies... once I have the basement finished! Until then I'm probably gonna setup in one of the bedrooms so I can keep working. Plan on getting some nice tables and decking the place out for a proper sewing room.
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An announcement

1 min read
Hey guys, it's been a while since I've posted anything but I need to get an important announcement out there:

Effective immediately, I am no longer doing plush commissions.

I have varying reasons for this, but the primary factor is related to my job. I will be working a schedule that is not very advantageous to working on plush commissions and do not foresee it ever changing back. Additionally there are other minor reasons I will not be getting into.


I'm sorry to disappoint everyone that was interested in commissions, but I really feel that this is the best choice for me. I might still make some plushes for myself over time, but I am otherwise closing up shop.

-PW
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In progress:

Princess pattern head -lost track of Rev number

Coming soon™:
Lifesize Princess Twilight JM
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Merry Christmas

1 min read
A little late but Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! by PlushWaifus
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Applique crazy

4 min read
Today is a slow day of working for me, so I thought that it might be interesting to talk about a little bit of something that's central to the three big ponies I'm working on currently.

While most pony plushes are made with embroidered cutie marks and eyes, the three I'm making now are all going to use applique details. This will be similar to my big Twilight I made, with cotton eyes and a minky cutie mark. Originally when I created my big Twilight, I did not have an embroidery machine and had decided against using printed iron-on cotton eyes. This left one option: applique. 

Applique seems to have a bad wrap in the court of public opinion. From what I've gathered, many people buying plushes feel that applique details are somehow cheaper than embroidery and less desirable. Personally, I find this not to be the case, though with so few plush makers using it, it would seem to reinforce that opinion. Part of reason is that to many plush artists, applique is a pain and extremely time consuming. This... actually is the truth. Applique is a lot of work and can be very finicky whether it's done by hand or by machine.

So why bother? Satin stitches that get too long are not durable, making the iris very susceptible to damage. They max out at around 12mm. The way around that is to use a fill for it, which I find undesirable. Also I prefer to have minky on my pony flank as it's softer. :D (Big Grin) 

So being a stickler for quality (and perhaps a bit crazy), I decided I would learn to do applique with the embroidery machine. (Truth be told I was super stressed making it with a sewing machine) I had thought that this would have made doing it easier than by just using a sewing machine, but unfortunately it seems that isn't the case. Instead it transferred the work from actually sewing to instead setting up in an embroidery program and then the ridiculous amounts of cutting and layers needed for pony eyes. 

Unlike with the embroidery, each individual appliqued fabric has a set of 3 stitches. First one is a straight mark down stitch that outlines where the piece is going. This is followed by a double zigzag tack down stitch that actually holds the piece down. The fabric is then cut around the outline and finally stitched over by a satin stitch. This combination works very well, but unfortunately is a nightmare to setup with a pony eye. Even worse with Spitfire's cutie mark. :| (Blank Stare) 


6ce0592ef9407ac37df95dbec140d109 by PlushWaifus


 That said though, from the testing I've done, you can get some really nice results out of the applique, and the result is worth the pain in my opinion.

MG 2327edit by PlushWaifus

Mg 2333 by PlushWaifus

Embroidery machine vs sewing machine.


I could probably have embroidered it in much less time especially when it came to design, but embroidery at that size brings a lot of challenges with it and I think I like the end product of the applique more. 
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Updates (Jan-Mar) by PlushWaifus, journal

An announcement by PlushWaifus, journal

Commission Info- Updated 3/9/17 by PlushWaifus, journal

Merry Christmas by PlushWaifus, journal

Applique crazy by PlushWaifus, journal