About

Once upon a time, Serendipity Woods was just a blog where I wrote about ‘Life’ things and also the animals I made from beloved clothes that belonged to special people in my life. Among other animals, I made mice and groundhogs, ElliotMouse3BenjaminGroundhog1elephants,
Gracie Elephant 1

and even a snail or two.Jonah Snail 4but mostly I made bunnies;Bunnies love bookslots and lots of bunnies.cropped-cropped-clh-header-ch-quilt1.jpgNotably Charlotte and her brother, Henry above,SophieSpokesPersonas well as the very dear Sophie.

Somewhere along the line (2008, to be precise), I opened an Etsy shop, also called Serendipity Woods, where I began to sell my animals and other creations. Later, that evolved into selling items created from one of my other crafting loves – quilting. At the time, the more I quilted, the more I realized that in my area of Southwest Michigan, USA – there are very few fabric shops dedicated to consistently great quality quilting fabric, and you know what – I cannot concentrate on being a discerning fabric shopper amongst all the polar fleece at my local big box stores! What’s more, I honestly don’t WANT to have to concentrate on whether or not the fabric whose pattern I’ve fallen in love with at first sight – is good quality or total rubbish. I just want to fall in love with a fabric or collection of fabrics and KNOW, from the get-go, that it’s fantastic quality.

So in June of 2015, with the help and support of the smartest guy I know (my husband and now business partner), I converted my Serendipity Woods shop from selling handmade wares to, you guessed it:  Premium quality quilt fabric.

As mentioned previously, the little animals I’ve made over time (and still do make now and then) sort of act as spokespeople for our business.  Even though many of the animals I’ve made over the years have found their way into the hands (and hearts, I hope) of children far and wide, many have remained as cheerful spirits that live eternally in my studio.

Gracie Elephant and Meg

SAMSUNG CSC

They all have stories, and sometimes one will get away from me here at the blog, just for the fun of allowing my imagination to spill somewhere.

Charlotte and Henry (above) – for instance. Henry is the adventurous one on the right who collects rocks, plays marbles with his buddies, and goes off on long explores that require frequent laundering of his overalls. Charlotte, his sister in the purple dress, is more of a homebody who likes to read books, help me with sewing projects, and in general, wait for Henry to return from his days of play with stories to tell.

I do have real people in my life too.  How about a brief FAQ to fill in those gaps in short order…

Are you really married to Superman?

SAMSUNG CSCFrom my point of view, I sure am. He’s one of those hits-the-ground-running sorts of people that works from his home office (which is directly across the foyer from my studio), doing at least 4 things (well) at once.  Thank goodness for our kids and their homework support, he’s a math whiz (which I am NOT)…and After 29 years of marriage…

Reed Me 1986 Gradwe still like each other A LOT.  Did I mention he’s a considerably better cook than I am?  So there. Superman.  Wanna know more?  visit: Superman Defined

You have six kids? What’s the deal with that?

Pumpkin Picking 10:12:2004Yep, six; three boys and three girls. No twins, no blending of two families, and though I’m very much a girl of faith – there really aren’t any specific religious proclivities at play to support the size of our family. Plainly, we’re just two people that wanted a big family and are grateful to have been blessed with one.

Oh – as much as I’d like to possess the ability to stop time, I can’t.  My little people are now…SAMSUNG CSC

…all big people.

Why are you called Serendipity Pam?

Mostly because I have one of those quirky sorts of brains that sees one thing and imagines another usually more flowery image (hence, the stories which evolve about the animals I make), but also just because I retain a lifelong, keen sense that serendipity – the faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident – is responsible for a good deal of my daily propulsion. It’s how I roll.

Is your bunny pattern available for sale?

This is a question I receive often, so I suppose it’s about time I updated our FAQ section here with a solid answer.  It’s actually not available for sale – at the request of my children. They’ve asked that I keep my hand-drawn, rather rudimentary (and dreadfully tattered) pattern that comes from my soul – in the family.  Sort of like the family chili recipe (which happens to be the only meal I make that every single one of my kids loves).  I’d encourage you to dig deep within you. You might find there’s a pattern in your soul too.

What will I find here at Whimsy When We Wish?

Crafty stuff, folks.  Mostly I’ll be share about quilting, but like most quilters I know – my crafting isn’t limited to quilting alone. So I share projects I’m working on, connect you with sew alongs with which I’m participating, and new/upcoming materials I hope you’ll love as much as I do. Yes, I suspect I’ll get rambly at times with a bunny story, or maybe even a life perspective. Again – rambly is how I roll, but I try to be conscious not to bore people to death!

For now, that’s about it.  I’m sure I’ll think of more you should know (like the fact that every other Thursday afternoon, I volunteer at a used bookstore at my local library, which is where I’m headed in about 20 minutes, and lunch calls first!)

Please feel free to say hi on a post or two, or catch me at one of the social media links you most certainly see somewhere on this page or another.  Until then…

Cheers and Happy Quilting,

Serendipity Pam

7 thoughts on “About

    1. I’m so happy to know that, Anne – and knowing it, brightened MY day too! Thank you 🙂

  1. Love the pic of your big kids! I only have half the number of you but when you add in two amazing guys who married my two girls, and one adorable grandman who turns 3 in a couple weeks… then I’m at six too! Yay! I’m a bit ahead of you tho… my girls are now 32 and 30 and our baby (the boy) who is 6’4” is almost 26. Married nearly 37 yrs. Also strong faith here… but I think you knew that! 😊 Warmly, Pris in Idaho

  2. What a wonderful story! I can’t get past the adorableness bunny Sophie!! I’m sure you get asked this all the time: do you sell patterns of your stuffies? *crosses fingers* Cheers!

    1. Thanks for asking Jessica – your message reminded me that I get this question a lot! So, if you scroll up, I’ve taken a minute to add this topic to the FAQ section above, with an answer 🙂

      1. Thank you so much for adding that, it means a lot that you’d take the time! I love that your children feel such a connection to this part of their life and of your work that they want to preserve it. There are countless bunny patterns in the world, perhaps not as cute as yours I’d argue, but there is only one that is imbued with their own history. You can’t put a price on that. You have some very special children!

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