I started my shop because someone saw me carrying one of my crochet/felted handbags. This girl, a 16 year old student I worked with at the time, asked if I'd ever heard of Etsy; I had not. I went home and looked it up and all sorts of possibilities loomed before me! I already had a name in mind; I'd sold a few of my bags locally under the Millie Fern label as Millie Fern was my great-grandmother. I began with bags but quickly turned to amigurumi plush toys. I started with bunnies, monkeys and turtles. Now I've added such things as three-toe sloths, ring-tail lemurs and otters! Often a new animal will come about from a custom request. This keeps it interesting and keeps me learning new techniques. I do create my own designs- I work in shapes. I don't write a pattern and then make an item.Rather, I make an item and write down what I'm doing after the fact. This way, as I increase the variety in my shop, I can make the animal again. Even though I recreate from the same basic pattern, each one still ends up with it's own unique look and personality. I've made 100s of plush toys, but when I attach the eyes and ears and that face comes together, I still smile. My joy from making them is what I want to pass on. I want someone to receive their Millie Fern box, open it up, pull off the bow and smile with delight at the fuzzy face staring back at them. That's always a good day, to have a client tell a story of why they chose my item, who it was for, and what kind of reaction it received. And often, people are giving Millie Fern items to adults. Adults don't expect to receive such an item, and I believe it brings a bit of joy. That's what I mean by From My Hands To Yours- I put myself into what I do. I want it to bring something special to someone else's life- in the simplest of ways, to bring just a bit of joy. Joy in the whimsical and cute and the idea that something three dimensional and cuddly was created from a ball of yarn by my two hands. And to toot my own horn just a little, recently, a staff member of The Martha Stewart Show found my shop and my giraffe and felted wool bunny were featured on an Etsy-related episode of Martha's show! Gotta love it. I've expanded the yarn love and have also discovered the joy of weaving- an entirely new way to play with yarn and my love of color and texture. It's like painting- only soft and fuzzy. Take a look!