Rosy Maple Moth Plushie + my family’s story…

Over the summer, I taught art camps at the Masur Museum of Art in Monroe, LA. It was one of the last things I did in my time as Curator of Education & Public Programs. We hosted Art for Everyone with my friend Sara Beth, my CLAYtaceous Creatures dinosaur themed clay camp and Sew Creative for kids and teens with my friend Roxanne. During the Sew Creative teens camp I had the time, materials and proper inspiration (thank you Roxanne!!!) to make something I have always wanted to make: a moth plushie! Not just any moth plush though, of course not! I'm obsessed with symbolism and mythos so I had to choose a moth based on something super foolproof and scientific: my Aries zodiac sign! And tik tok. Lol

So according to this one random artist’s video on tik tok, my astrological insect is a Rosey Maple Moth. Good thing I already thought they and all other poodle moths are the cutest insects on the face of the earth! IT’S SO CUTE AND FLUFFY!!! UGH, I just want to snuggle them! In reality, however, moths just aren't snuggle-able. They're more…..squishable and covered in a weird bug dust film that you don't want to touch or you'll hurt them. So I made a snuggle-able version:

It took about a week to complete. I used premium felt from Hobby Lobby, a feathered boa, and big black pom poms for the eyes.

Laying out the base pieces from my paper template in yellow.

Adding all the pink accents! They didn't carry this bright pink in the premium felt so I went with the basic kind. It works well as an added accent but I wouldnt recommend using it for the base of a plushie. It's a bit too flimsy.

Bigger eyes? Check! And we can't have a poodle moth without fluff! I couched/whipped stitched/Macgyvered this feather boa to the body of my bug. Don't ask how I did it exactly, I was winging it. Haha, get it?

Just keep sewing. Just keep sewing. What do we do? We SEW! So much handstitching for the veins!!! I didn't use pattern for them. I couldn't think of how to make one or trace it onto the felt! So I made one wing, laid the matching wings together facing each other and used sewing pins to help “transfer” the lines. It was terribly slow and annoying! Next time I'm investing in fancy transfer paper for fabric. I know it exists, I just didn't have any.

Having a job that pays you to be creative is amazing. I LOVED my art museum job, but it was time for me to move back home for my family. I'd been gone for 13 years!

So here's the situation: I think Dad really wanted a boy and he and Mom kept trying for one until the universe laughed in his face. I'm the eldest of four girls. I apologize in advance, as this exposé might get a bit confusing. No, I can't use initials to differentiate between us. All of our names begin with the letter A. Thanks, Mom and Dad! There’s me and sister 1, born about 18 months apart and over a decade later we have sisters 2 & 3, also about 18 months apart. If a system works, it works, I guess?

My second, older sister (sister 2) just graduated from high school! I'm a mixture of emotions somewhere along the lines of elated and “DO NOT remind me of my age, it will hurt me and I will have to hurt you in return.” Really, I couldn't be a prouder big sister. The kid is way smarter than I was at that age, and I'm not just talking about book smarts. She is SMART! She is the sassy slap-back queen in the family: a complete smart ass! She knows I love her. I moved home to be around her more before she goes off to do her own awesome thing, whatever it may be. Hopefully some of her coolness rubs off on me in the meantime.

Which brings me to sister number three. We have a baby sister who has epilepsy and autism. She is our favorite sister and person, period. Sister 1, accepts this and is cool with it, btw. She kind of agrees with us, but also thinks her kid is kind of her favorite person ever. (Whatever, she’s parentally biased.)

Naturally, sisters 2 & 3 have a crazy close bond. What? I'm not jealous! Ok, I'm totally jealous. Sister 2 helps Mom out a lot with sister 3’s care, which is basically around the clock. Since sister 2 is due her time to start her own life, I've got some big shoes to fill! I have been living away from home for years and am a little out of practice with caring for sister 3. But since I've been home, she has been laughing and talking up a storm! Everytime she sees me, she smiles and it fills my heart with joy. We play games with her collectables, sing to her favorite shows together and we draw her shapes and pictures for her to practice saying their names. I have missed my family so much in the time I've been away, but my baby sister is who I've missed most.

I'll miss my old life in Monroe a lot and I'm sure I'll be up there again for a visit soon, but there's no place like home.

Thanks for reading,

~Alyssa

P.S. Did you think my moth plushie was just a tiny little thing? Think again! I made the thing bigger than my face!

Her name is Sherbert, Sherry for short.