My 300th post, 3 year blog anniversary, Valentine's Day giveaway extravaganza

In honor of my 300th post and my 3 year blogging anniversary, not to mention Valentine's Day...I am having a giveaway! The handsome, debonair, and very red prize will be Mr Valentino, the Hug Me! Slug! Thanks, Miko, for the idea!

Update: Thank you all so much for the great comments and compliments! And thanks very much for entering, and for reading my blog too! Sam A. has won the draw for "Valentino". Congratulations, Sam! I have some more Valentine's Day "Hug Me! Slugs" over in my Etsy shop as well. Please click here for the "official" announcement.

"Valentino the Hug Me! Slug" is an original, one-of-a-kind art toy, designed and made by me. He's about 7 1/4 inches tall, and he's made of soft, fuzzy fleece. His "Son of the Sheik"-inspired headdress is made of 100% cotton striped fabric.

His arresting eyes are hand sewn on using a blanket stitch. He has a purple heart because he is also very brave, in keeping with his romantic-hero personality.

He is, of course, also mysterious, irresistible, and cuddly.

I'm curious to know who you are, and so to enter to win "Valentino the Hug Me! Slug", please leave a comment here, between February 1 and 7, 2010, saying hello and whatever you might like to say by way of introduction. Please include your name so I can put your name in a hat, and a link, if you have one, where I can find you (your web site, your Etsy/eBay page, blog, Facebook page, whatever you'd like). Otherwise, you can separately send me an email address where I can reach you if you win. I'll be accepting entries up until a week before Valentine's Day, February 7th, to allow for shipping time. Please check back here on February 8th, when I'll announce the winner.

If your comment doesn't show up right away, don't worry...I have comment moderation in effect. As long as you leave a comment (click "comments" or "post a comment" at the end of this post to get there, type your message in the "leave your comment" box, and click "publish your comment", for anyone who might not have used that before), and it is in my mailbox when I get up in the morning on February 8th, I'll include your name in the draw. One winner will be chosen from a random draw. Thanks for visiting my blog, and happy posting!

I think I'm having a slug-themed birthday party tomorrow

Although that wasn't my intention! I've been very busy.

These are Monday and Wednesday's slugs. They're on their way to their new homes, or many have probably already arrived.

I'm going to mail at least two more tomorrow, but I'd been hoping to get more done by then. There is a rumor that we may have snow, and so I will be amending my plans to make sure I mail the slugs I promised to send on Friday, out in time.

I imagine many of the folks who buy and sell on Etsy saw today's NY Times article on Etsy businesses. I read that this morning and thought I'd better take those examples to heart, and pace myself. It's been crazy lately. I'm happy for all the interest in my toys, but I also realize I don't want to end up, someday, being someone who works thirteen-hour days, like some of the people in that article. I want to make sure I am doing what I want to do, and enjoying it.

Anyway...I'm amazed I got all these done. My mom has been helping address boxes, and trimming and clipping seams, and turning slugs right side out for me. Thanks, mom!

I hope all these little guys and girls will be a big hit for the holidays. I like to think about them being unwrapped and making someone smile or laugh.

I have a few fleece slugs almost done, in royal blue, gold, orange, light turquoise, cream (with blue eyes), and denim-colored blue. I don't think I'll get a chance to get them up and photographed this weekend, as I had planned though. I think there are only three finished slugs left in my Etsy shop, for now, as I'm writing this.

I just put this fuchsia-pink slug up this morning. I named her Holly. I can't figure out if people would prefer to name their own ready-made slug, or if I should just leave that as an option for the custom-made slugs.

Okay, just checking in, and now I've got to get back to work! Hope you are enjoying the holiday season!

The holiday parade of slugs marches on

These are some of the "Hug Me! Slugs" that went out on Thursday and Friday this week. That's "Laylee" above, in medium pink. I'm busy at work on quite a few more.

My goal is to get them all out to their new homes this week. There may be some more orders though. So, hopefully, I'll have the ones that have already been ordered done midweek.

The orange slug above is for a little one who loves looking at pictures of my slugs. He coos and squeals when he sees them on the computer. His mom is excited to get him a real one for Christmas.

My birthday is this coming Friday. I don't know if I'll get the day off. I'd like to make sure everyone gets their slugs for Christmas.

I've been trying to make a few extras, for last minute shoppers, but the current shoppers have already shopped in my stash of extras. I'm going to keep trying to add to that group of slug standby's. I've got some new colors to add too, like the bright yellow, and the bright tomato red, that are drying on the rack shown above.

Thanks everyone, for your orders! It's been great. I'm enjoying making toys and hearing from you. I know I say it often, but I hope you know that I really do appreciate it. Being able to do something that spreads a little happiness around is a great pleasure.

The latest roundup

The latest batch of slugs are on their way to their new homes today. They are probably driving off from the local Post Office right now, or at least riding in the back of the truck. I have some photos of them to share, but first I'd like to thank some of the people who have been featuring my work.

"The Rabbit Dances" makes an appearance on Annette's Etsy treasury this week. Annette is in Scotland, and her treasury is meant to help raise funds for the Buckeye House Rabbit Society, in Ohio, which is holding a holiday raffle where you can make a donation and enter to win an original rabbit painting. The details on the Buckeye House Rabbit raffle are here. Entries for that raffle need to be postmarked by December 1st, but Annette told me she also has a raffle of her own going on to benefit a rabbit and guinea pig rescue group in the United Kingdom. You can make a small donation for the rescue group, and enter for a chance to win one of several rabbit-themed prizes she has, that were made by various artists. You can check out more information on Annette's blog. It's open to anyone, and the artists involved are donating the shipping costs of the prizes, worldwide.

"The Frost Angel" was featured on another Etsy treasury by Christine.

Christine picked out some very pretty winter images for her treasury. It hasn't snowed here (yet), and it is nice to look at frost without freezing!

And finally, my "Marmalade the Hug Me! Toad" was featured on the Found Handmade blog.

Thank you, Annette, Christine, and the folks at Found Handmade!

So, here they are...this Monday's postal travelers, plus...one "Name this slug" slug. Yes, I managed to get one done! I was pretty happy I was caught up with my custom orders, but that only lasted for about twenty-four hours!

This batch included a custom, small-sized "Super Slug". His name is Percy.

I think I'm going to make up an Etsy listing for more custom "Super Slugs". I always thought the idea of a Super Slug was funny, but I'd only made one large one before.

I'm still experimenting with his cape, with how full I want it to be. It is sewn into his back so it won't fall off while he's flying through the air, or just slugging along.

This is the "Name this slug" slug, in gold and orange. If someone doesn't grab her before I can list her, she (or he...not sure there) will be over in my Etsy shop soon.

I enjoy photographing the slugs in pairs. They seem to interact with each other, especially when they are looking in different directions.

Lots of people have wanted this royal blue color, and I'll try to find some more. (Update December 1, 2009: I did find some more at the store. So I do currently have it!) I have another appealing royal blue, but it isn't this dark. I have at least one dark royal blue small slug left.

I think Super Slug is checking out his friend Ludwig's heart here. He must like purple.

Okay...off to Slugland. By the way, I'd like to do some "Name your own" "Hug Me! Toads" too, but I'm not sure if I should try to show some of the socks I have to choose from, or if I should just make them and have them as "Name this toad" toads. Or both. Just thinking.

I also have some neutral fleece colors, like gray, darker charcoal gray, various tans, and brown, in case anyone happens to want a more masculine slug. I have some plans for the neutral colors. I'm going to try my earlier "Huggy Kitty" and "Huggy Bunny" using them. That might take some more experimenting....and more time, if I have some.

Slugs and surges

Large, small, and medium "Hug Me! Slugs", all in a row. One is from the first batch of slugs I ever made, and one is from this past week. They were initially inspired by a teasing suggestion that I add a slug to my list of "Huggy" animals, but they've turned out to be embraced by people of all ages, in a way I hadn't expected. That's really nice. Thanks everybody, for your enthusiasm. It's a joy to hear that they are loved and that they making people happy. I appreciate hearing your stories. It's a lot of fun.

This Monday, "Green Bean" left for a baby shower.

I was proud of myself for carefully matching that green plaid. I had to stop to admire how it dovetailed along the seam lines :)

Little "Rupert" is going to surprise someone's dad for Christmas. Slugs are his favorite animal.

Oh, wait. How did he get in there? That's my buzzard. According to Gund, he is supposed to be a toucan, but I'm pretty sure he's a buzzard. He just stuck to me in the store, while I was out shopping with my mom. She threatened to buy a stuffed dog that sang Christmas carols if I didn't put him back on the shelf. But I said no. I told her to go ahead and get the singing dog (she didn't). I was getting my buzzard.
As I've mentioned, my sewing machine went to the shop with electrical problems. The owners of the sewing machine repair service told me that those issues are usually caused by power surges, but I had a surge protector on my machine all along. There were no unusual electrical "happenings" at the time, no surges or lights dimming, and I wasn't running any other small appliances or electrical devices at the same time. So, most likely, it was caused by something else. Still, to be safe, we thought we'd get a new surge protector. My friend M sent me some information on how electronic sewing machines are also sensitive to both surges and to low-voltage occurrences, or "browns". He suggested I get a surge protector with line conditioning, to protect my machine from surges and from browns.

To be safe, we also wanted to make sure there wasn't anything wrong with the service to my workroom. My dad made an interesting discovery, by checking the wattage on all the things I was using in my room. We had never noticed that I have a 1700 watt iron. Right away, my dad said, "That's awfully high!" I had noticed, at other times, that the lamp on my desk dimmed when the iron reset itself, which would indicate there wasn't enough power on the circuit for both the lamp and the iron to be on at the same time. My dad double checked, and the recommended limit on your standard 15 amp household circuit is 1440 watts! That's means everything you have plugged in and turned on in one room usually! The mathematical limit is a little higher, 1800 watts, but still...the iron all by itself was exceeding the recommended amount of electricity being used on one circuit. Adding the lamp was too much. So sure, low voltage occurrences were probably happening all the time, when the iron needed more electricity than was available, making my lamp dim.

Luckily for me, my dad has been an electrician, something he learned from his dad...whew. He cut a hole under the circuit box, ran 50 feet of wire to my workroom, cut a hole in my wall for a new outlet, and put in a new 20 amp circuit and outlet for my workroom. The recommended limit on a 20 amp circuit is 1920 watts, with a mathematical limit of 2400 watts. Now I have both a 15 amp and a 20 amp circuit in my workroom. The iron and the lamp are plugged into the 20 amp outlet, and my sewing machine gets the 15 amp outlet, with a separate circuit, which protects the sewing machine from any fluctuations caused by anything else that's on in the room.

Complicated? A little. But good to know if you have sensitive electronics, like sewing machines with fancy push buttons and other electronic features. Most people who sew also iron, but there wasn't any warning about damaging anything on or inside the box. All the directions said were to avoid plugging the iron in with other high wattage appliances, but even the lamp was too much. That's not a high wattage appliance, and neither are most sewing machines. So, I guess you can get a low wattage iron, or just avoid plugging it in on the same circuit as your electronic sewing machine.

Anyway, thanks, Dad for saving the day and safeguarding my sewing machine! And thank all of you for reading my blog and for your support. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

Slug onslaught

I'm still here! Somewhere in the middle of all the slugs. This is the group of "Hug Me! Slugs" that went out on Monday, this week, to their new homes. Yep, these are all spoken for already. I'm working on the next batch this week. I'm currently running at about a two-week time span to finish new custom slug orders.

In this group are my first "Mommy and Baby" slug sets. The babies' hearts match their mommies' bodies, and vice versa.

I like the way they look at each other.

They couldn't wait to get to their new homes. They jumped right into their boxes before I could even get their tags on them. I had to take them out, one at a time, and tie their hang tags around their necks, but they were wiggling all over the place. Slugs just love to travel and they just go crazy with excitement when they get adopted. I'm sure the next bunch will be no different.

Slug gossip

My "Hug Me! Slugs" are all whispering amongst themselves today. Two of them have been invited to visit a host and executive producer of a show on HGTV and the DYI network. This should be great fun for them, but I don't want them to get too excited before they get there. They will still have to sit quietly in their box for the trip.

I'm going to try to update my Etsy shop tomorrow. I've still got a couple of "Hug Me! Toads" and a couple of "Hug Me! Slugs" to post for adoption. Above are, from left to right, Gilda, Glen, Jake, Rosemary, and Paulie. Gilda and Jake are on their way to their new homes right now. They will both be celebrating birthdays when they arrive at their destinations.

I know this sounds very sentimental, but I have to admit, after seeing the way Gilda and Glen have been staring at each other on my desk, it was hard to send Gilda out without Glen. I get attached to some of my toys, but this time, I felt like they'd gotten attached to each other! I'm sure they will make new friends and be loved.

I decided to pre-wash the socks I use for my sock dolls, and my mom has been patiently helping me turn and sort them all. I didn't want them to pill, and so we've been air drying them. This full rack is just a drop in the bucket. My mom had been saying to me, "Don't you have enough socks?" I didn't realize quite how many I had, until I filled the entire washer with them. Oh my.

Next stop, Toadville

Introducing..."Hug Me! Toads". "Hug Me! Toads" are one-of-a-kind, original, hand-sewn, and hand-embroidered sock dolls.

It was love at first sight between the toads and my "Hug Me! Slugs". They've been bouncing off of one another for the past few days, while I've been waiting for the sun to come out so I could take some photos of them.

They don't mind rainy days at all.

This is Marmalade. She wanted a pink heart to go with her orange self. She heard the combination was very Jackie O.

This is Bernie. He likes flowers. He says they're not just for girls anymore.

And this is Elvis. He was the first-born "Hug Me! Toad" and as a result, he likes to tell the others what to do. He thinks he's a big deal.

Marmalade and Bernie have been trying to show him he's not the biggest toad on the block.

He doesn't pay any attention.

"Hug Me Toads" really like to be picked up and hugged. If you ignore them, they will bounce in their chairs, wave their arms up and down, and look pleadingly at you until you do.

They don't come with chairs though. If you want to adopt a toad, and he tells you he needs a chair, craft stores like A C Moore have them, or you might find some on eBay.

"Hug Me! Toads" are pretty excitable. They want lots of things. You don't have to give them everything they want.

As you can probably tell, they enjoy a good snack. Fortunately, a curvy, ample physique is considered wildly attractive in Toadville.

The toads have fleece features, which have been hand embroidered on with a blanket stitch. They have no loose or removable parts.

They are nice and squishy, and lots of fun to hug.

And they're really cute.

I have more slugs and toads on the way, along with some more Pixie Kittens, by myself and Max Bailey. We're busy busy around here.

Enjoy your day!

Slugs on the move

This is "Nacho the Hug Me! Slug". He's on his way to Washington right now. He's a custom-made gift for someone who likes to sing "The Slug Song". I have to admit, I had no idea there was a slug song, and so I had to Google it. What's pretty funny, is that the song I found starts with this:

You know I love my baby, ...(love my baby)
Love the way she hugs. ...(way she hugs)
But people don't understand it, ...(don't understand it)
She's a banana slug ...(banana slug)

Clearly, some slugs are meant for hugging. Mine are anyway.

Nacho has a fraternal twin, Paulie. Nacho and Paulie were made from the last of my pear green fleece. I found another light green, more of the color of the inside of a honeydew melon, also quite pretty. It's the one on the top in the photo below. I picked up a nice lime green too, which will be fun to try.

Some cornflower blue and another shade of baby blue, more of a powder blue color, came home with me too.

These are Gene, left, and Higgins, right. They were made from the last of the baby blue I had before.

Gene, Paulie, and Higgins all gathered around to wish Nacho a bon voyage today. I'm sure he'll be happy in his new home.

I'll try to get Nacho's pals up and ready for adoption tomorrow, in my Etsy shop.

Ta da...Luna the Pixie Kitten's web page is up

I just got Luna the Pixie Kitten's page up here on our web site this afternoon. Here are some more pictures of her flying around in our garden amongst the ageratums.

I have two tutus to sew for two more Pixie Kittens. That's a tongue twister. Next is a tabby kitten named Celeste. She gets a gold tutu to go with her pretty fall colors. I'll have to ask her to pose with the yellow chrysanthemums I got yesterday.

Luna is sniffing a marigold here. They smell kind of funny, but she likes them anyway.

Sneak peek at "Luna the Pixie Kitten"

I'm in the middle of editing photos of "Luna the Pixie Kitten" by Max Bailey and myself. I had to share my favorite shot. I was crouching next to our Shoal Creek Chaste Tree, which the bees love, hoping one would cooperate, and one did. Once I have the rest of the photos color-adjusted, I'll get Luna's web page up over here.

I asked my mom to take a shot of me too. She told me I looked tired, but I said go ahead anyway. I got my flu shot recently, and since then I've been feeling a little under the weather. I'm not sure if I just happened to start coming down with the flu at about the same time, or if I'm just experiencing some side effects. Hopefully it won't turn into anything.

I picked up some new fleece colors and am in the process of pre-washing them right now. I pre-wash most fabrics, if not all. You never know what might run or shrink, and it's good to get that out of the way first. I'm always suspicious of reds, and even though polyester fleece doesn't usually run, this one did. I got the extra dye out so it won't be a problem later, if anything needs to be washed in cold water in the future. I'm going to make some fleece "Hug Me! Slugs" out of these.

I also picked up a dry-erase board, at Staples, so I could keep track of things I need to do. My current system of little pieces of paper, strewn across my desk, doesn't seem so reliable, although it's worked so far. The first thing I need to write on the board is, "Hang up the board." My mom said no, it's, "Take the wrapper off the board," which, I guess, I'd have to write on the wrapper. I'll get right on that after I write it down on one of my little pieces of paper.

Custom Hug Me! Slugs

These are Speedy and Sluggo, my latest custom Hug Me! Slugs. Speedy is made of fleece, and Sluggo is made from quilting cottons.

Sluggo is going to cheer up someone after his heart surgery, which we hope went really well, and Speedy is going to be a new friend for a boy. He's going to join Phillippe, who was adopted by the same family. I enjoy hearing where my toys are going. It makes me feel good that they are making people happy. That's very rewarding for me, and I like seeing people doing nice things for each other. That cheers me up.

You can find my Etsy shop listings for naming your own slug by clicking here. Or, of course, you can just ask me :)

Pixie Kitten in progress and a new slug

This is actually the second Pixie Kitten original, one-of-a-kind folk art doll Max Bailey and I have been working on together. I got some really cute photos of the first, a Siamese, the other day, which I can't wait to show...but I have to color correct them first. This Pixie Kitten is going to be a tabby with an orange tutu, or that is the plan so far.

She's made of paperclay and cotton cloth. Her paperclay is still drying. Next she'll be painted with acrylic paint, and varnished.

This is "Hope the Hug Me! Slug". She's spoken for already. As you can see, she's excited and happy about this.

She and the Pixie Kitten have been speculating all afternoon about what her new home will be like.

Hope has her own, personalized hang tag too. I think she's in my workroom trying it on right now.

Annie the Antelope

New original, one-of-a-kind art toys are sprouting up around here. This is Annie the Antelope and her new Sluggie friend, my first custom "Hug Me! Slug".

I have to admit, I was having so much fun making Annie, that I wasn't paying much attention to making her too realistic. In fact, when she was done, we were debating over whether or not she might be a new species. My friend, M., suggested she might be a Huggalope.

My mom won out and named Annie after herself.

This Annie is largely hand sewn, with big brown, hand-embroidered eyes. She has pretty eyelashes too. Annie is a sock doll, made from pink and brown socks, with a pink calico skirt, which has an elastic waist.

Her legs are long and graceful. I think she's studied ballet.

I love her tail. It's springy and has a pink yarn tuft on the end. It bounces when she dances.

Sluggie is very excited about the birthday party he will be attending soon. I hear it has a slug theme. I'm sure he will enjoy it tremendously.

Today we got an exciting package. I made a Labor Day sale purchase from Staples and used my $30 coupon that I got from their ink recycling rewards program.

I needed some help getting it out of its wrapping...

Ah, a new office chair. Finally, something comfortable to sit in while I work. It had picture assembly directions, and I couldn't figure out how to use the tilting lever. I could call and ask, but I don't feel like tilting anyway.

I'll probably be wheeling this around from one desk to another, until we get another one.

Collecting fabrics and honing my duck-catching skills

This photo reminds me of "The Princess and the Pea" with her pile of mattresses, but it's really an assortment of new fat quarters and half yards of quilting cottons that I collected on Friday. I've got them all prewashed, and now I need to iron them all. I found out that you can buy "soleplate cleaner", something I never knew existed. I had in mind to buy a new iron with a non-stick soleplate because I was certain I'd melt something onto the bottom in no time. It seems inevitable that, sooner or later, I will lay my fusible interfacing down, with the fusible side up, which, of course, I've already done. For good measure, I melted some synthetic trim as well, while I had my iron set to "cotton". It happens.

I've been thinking about trying a name-your-own slug option for my art toys, since people often seem to want toys named after a child or a loved one. I thought it might be a fun idea. I've listed a few in my Etsy shop. So far, the listings allow you to give a color preference or two for your "Hug Me! Slug" and a name you'd like on the hang tag. Then I'd coordinate the fabrics for a one-of-a-kind creation. I'm not sure about the idea...but I'll give it a try. I know about myself that I like to do my own thing, and so I don't want to get overly involved in the customizing end of things. Plus, there is no way I can photograph all my fabric! ;)

That joke our vet made about giving me medicine to give to the duck each day...would you believe it came true? Mr Duck needs an antiobiotic pill each day, for ten days to two weeks maybe. The avian vet relayed the how-to-give-a-duck-a-pill procedure and said it was easy. We all laughed incredulously, but the funny thing has been, so far, that it has been relatively easy. Each day I fret that I will be unable to catch the duck. My knees have gotten sore, and we've gotten a few minor scratches. Yet, amazingly, we've managed to catch him and put a pill in his beak each day. Each night I say, several times, "I can't believe we caught that duck today." Some days he doesn't seem to care, and other days, he's not so willing. He's been a good patient though. He may still need to visit the avian vet, but the first thing is to give him the antibiotics.

His friends and family have been funny. They don't even run away anymore. They let out a big hoopla when I pick him up sometimes, but then they just hang around, taking advantage of the fact that I have to drop my cup of cracked corn that I use as a lure. I try not to move around too much, until he is close enough to reach. My dad has been joking that, when this medication is finished, the duck will come ask me to pick him up.

Chelsea the Maine Coon Cat is up on our Ruffing's site

Our original one-of-a-kind Maine Coon folk art cat doll, Chelsea, and her birthday cake are up online now.

She is waiting anxiously to taste her pretty birthday cake.

Her birthday guests, as pictured above, from left to right, are "Loretta and Lulu", "Heidi and Helga", "Chelsea", "Emily and Edwin", and "Beatrice and Beulah". Please click here to visit Chelsea's web page.

Loretta and Lulu, our Siamese mom and her kitten are up on our web site

Loretta and Lulu, our original, one-of-a-kind Siamese cat and kitten folk art dolls are now up on our Ruffing's site.

Please click here to visit Loretta and Lulu's web page. Please click here to visit Emily and Edwin (above left) and please click here to visit Beatrice and Beulah (above right).

Lovely Melissa

This is "Lovely Melissa". I made her from my Lucy doll pattern. Like Lucy, she is decorated with ribbon trims, Rick Rack, and machine appliquéd fabric over 100% prewashed quilting cottons that have been fused to a layer of cotton sheeting.

Melissa is very ladylike. She sits nicely on our green chair.

She has pretty light blue eyes that look off the side.

She bends at the hip, knees, and shoulders.

Her ponytails are hand quilted.

Her boots have appliquéd fabric buttons.

Melissa's sweet features are entirely hand painted with acrylic paints.

Lovely Linda and Lovely Lucy have been talking about her all day, saying only the very nicest of things, of course.

Animal love

My "Barbara the Hug Me! Sock Zebra" is featured in this Etsy for Animals: Artists Helping Animals treasury on Etsy. Thanks, Michele! Etsy for Animals, also known a EFA, is an Etsy team that my mom and I joined. They are a group of artists, craftspeople, vintage suppliers, and art and craft suppliers who combine their efforts to help animals in need. Many of the members donate a portion of their Etsy sales to animal charities. To find EFA members on Etsy, you can search the words "team efa". You can also click here to visit the EFA website where you can read more about the group.

Heidi and Helga, original tabby cat folk art doll and painted goose, are now on our Ruffing's site

Heidi and Helga's web page can be seen by clicking here. I finally got their photos taken and edited and uploaded. Whew. In the spirit of "avian week" last week, I thought it would be fitting to get them up online.

I've got two more original, one-of-a-kind folk art cat dolls to get up online, and one waiting for some overalls.

We're working on writing articles to submit to magazines, something we've been talking about doing for a long time, but not getting around to doing. Now is as good a time as any. My mom has now sprained her ankle, and is being a good sport by taking notes and jotting down ideas while she keeps her foot elevated. She is tired of being called "Poor Mom" and so I will refrain from saying that.

The menagerie continues to grow

There are a lot of critters staring at me around here lately. I'm starting to feel a little self-conscious when I walk into my workroom. I'm glad they look friendly.

And they seem to get along with each other pretty well, at least while I've been around.

This is Hilda the hippopotamus' new friend, "Barbara the Hug Me! Zebra". Like Hilda, she has hand-embroidered features, and a removable, elastic-waist skirt made from quilting calico cotton.

Barbara also has a pretty cool yarn mohawk,

and a tuft of purple yarn at the end of her tail.

It's been about 100 degrees here, during the daytime, and our injured duck friend has been staying on the water. He's only come up the hill just this once, this evening, since we tried to help him before, and again, it's too late to get to the vet :( If we can get the timing right, hopefully we can catch the duck away from the pond during business hours, when we can catch the vet too. He does seem to be doing better, but I'm sure he'd feel much improved once that hook is out. Here's hoping.

Sixteen slugs are a lot

Especially when they all need names.

Me: "C'mon, wanna help me name some slugs?"

My mom: "How about 'Tommy'?"

Me: "Okay, which one looks like 'Tommy'?"

My mom: "Um, that one."

Me: "What does this one look like?"

My mom: "I don't know. They all have the same face."

Me: "No, they're different..."

Lilith

Megan

Brady

Marshal

Timothy

Stephanie

Millie

Stella

Ryan

Molly

Riley

Macy

Tommy

Edith

Eddie

Rachael

These "Hug Me! Slugs" are all up for adoption over in my Etsy shop. I'll keep all the available soft dolls and toys on this page of our website too, just to try to keep things organized :)

In duck news, we haven't heard back from the avian vet and, in the meantime, we haven't seen the limping duck, except from a distance, floating on the pond. Then he disappeared. We've had visits from the one mama and papa duck and their one duckling, but those have been the only sightings. Just hoping for the best with their tiny flock, and we'll do what we can. Have you noticed that animal emergencies always seem to happen on weekends or when the vet isn't there? It is surprisingly difficult to find anyone who will treat white ducks who live in the wild. The wildlife rehabilitation organizations we've contacted before only treat native animals, which makes finding help tricky. So, fingers crossed for them.

Hippos and ducklings

Here are some better photos of "Hilda the Hug Me! Hippo", my sock hippopotamus. You can see her hand-embroidered eyes, nose, and mouth, which I did by winging it with some embroidery floss.

I even gave her some eyelashes, and some tufts on the end of her little tail.

Her posture is pretty funny too. I think I might just keep her!

The ducks showed up with some babies! Two sets, on different occasions, so far.

Their mama likes to talk to me. She will walk right up to me and quack, quack, quack. She's the same duck who ran into some trouble before, the one we caught in a sheet so I could remove some fishing line from her leg. She seems to know me. Sometimes she will just sit and look at me for a while, tilting her head this way and that. She's very sweet.

We've only seen one duckling today, and we're hoping the others are hiding down by the pond with the other mama duck. They don't all leave the pond together lately. Some stay behind. The ducklings in the other set are smaller, and I haven't seen them myself yet. I've only heard about them.

It's a big trip for them. They will just fall asleep in place while the other ducks are standing nearby. If anyone slows down long enough, it's nap time.

Update: Just as I was posting this, one of the missing ducks appeared limping badly, unable to make it up the hill. We caught him in a sheet and found he had a long fishing hook stuck in his leg. We couldn't get it out, but managed to cut it off so it won't get snagged on anything. We poured some peroxide on the wound, but there is only one avian vet we know of who was willing to help last time, and he isn't open at this hour. So, we will have to wait and see. Please everyone...pick up your stuff and dispose of it properly when you leave a place. Garbage and leftover fishing hooks and fishing line cause so much suffering.

Sixteen slugs and a sock hippo

I'm pretty proud of myself this week. I actually sewed up all sixteen of those toys I cut out and fused. It's been too unpredictable outside to get some better photos, but here is my new batch of "Hug Me! Slugs", all lining up for their school photos. Maybe tomorrow, kids.

I also made "Hilda the Hug Me! Hippo", my sock hippopotamus. She's quite a bit larger than the slugs I made this week. I keep picking her up and carrying her around. She just asks and asks. So, what can I do?

We watched a cute movie this weekend, Lost in Austen. For anyone who enjoys Jane Austen, it is a miniseries takeoff of the novel and a entertaining spin on the miniseries Pride and Prejudice. A modern woman finds a door in her bathroom that leads directly into the Bennets' house, switches places with Elizabeth, and inadvertently disrupts the order of everything. They must have cut out this scene from the version we watched:

Original one-of-a-kind folk art dolls, Beatrice and Beulah, and Emily and Edwin, are up on our Ruffing's site

Beatrice and Beulah, our lop bunny rabbit dolls, and Emily and Edwin, our ginger tabby with her pet elephant, are up on our Ruffing's site now. I just finished up their web pages.

Please click here to read Emily and Edwin's story,

and please click here to read all about Beatrice and Beulah. There a plenty of other photos on their web pages to enjoy too. It's been lots of fun creating them, for both myself and Max Bailey. More to come!

Raining on my photo parade

I think there just might be a conspiracy against my getting the rest of these doll photos done. It's crazy how many things have stopped me lately, with all that's gone on these past few weeks. I'm now even more determined to get them done a.s.a.p. My mom was actually well enough to give me a hand today, helping me set up and holding things steady. So, I ironed everyone's doll dresses, and set them on their stands.

I gathered up all their friends and accessories, and ironed our photo backdrop too. We set everything up outside, and I got some photos of Emily and Edwin taken. I was just about to go for some group shots, which was my main objective for today, when the wind picked up and started blowing things around.

Then the rain came...ugh. Well, we got everyone back inside and no one got wet. But, by the time the rain stopped, the light had faded too much for our photo shoot. Hopefully the stars will align for us tomorrow, or at least the wind and the rain will wait until we are finished.

Pixie Kitten in progress

A kitten in a tutu. My latest project. She has hand-quilted wings that I borrowed from another project that I hadn't finished. Max is going to work some magic on her next. She'll be taking on some Siamese (or Himilayan, or Ragdoll...not sure yet) kitten features soon. We were thinking "fairy kittens" but then I liked "Pixie Kittens" better. It sounds more mischievous. There may just be a "Pixie Cat" to follow...

Dealing with the tulle has been hysterical. Purchasing it was interesting. We piled the bolts up in our arms, and when we got to the cutting counter, the guy there seemed really angry to see us! He looked up and said, "Oh, you're killing me!!" After the twelfth bolt or so, cutting half yards at a time, he seemed to recover a bit. Maybe that was because the end was in sight, or maybe he was due for a break. I prewashed the tulle, and then had to fold and iron it. It does take some patience. It's true.

I cut strips with my rotary cutter, each half an inch greater in skirt length than the next, and basted them together, two at a time. Then I basted the two sets of two together, and pulled up the basting stitch to gather the edge. The longest skirt length goes on top/outside, and the shortest goes on the bottom/inside, so the tutu fans out from the body. The whole thing is sewn to a band, which is then folded under and hand stitched closed. I closed it with a snap in the back, and added a ribbon rosette in the front.

I got a couple of new presser feet too. On the left is my new clear 1/4 inch piecing foot with guide, and on the right is my new clear edge joining foot. The first one allows you to butt your 1/4 inch seam up against the guide, to keep your seam even. I used that when I sewed my doll body. Being able to see through the foot helped me make those tiny, sharp turns. I did mess up the bottom surface of my new foot a little when I sewed over some Fray Check that hadn't dried yet. So, I will avoid doing that again. I tried removing it with some alcohol, but the surface seems a little damaged. It may have reacted chemically with the coating of the foot somehow.

The clear edge joining foot will help attach lace to dresses, and it also acts as a guide for sewing a decorative stitch down a center line.

I used the clear edge stitching foot I bought before to sew my gathered tulle onto my waistband, as I wanted to sew past my gathering stitches, which had built up from so many layers of basting.

To those of you who sent your well wishes for my family, and your kind sentiments, thank you very much. My mom is doing much better, and hopefully she will be all better soon.

Another new kitten folk art doll figurine up on our Ruffing's site

Tabitha is Max Bailey's tabby and white kitten original folk art doll figurine. I just finished editing her photos and I put her web page up on our Ruffing's site.

She has her own catnip ball that she loves to chase around. You can read all about her over on Tabitha's web page by clicking here.

New kitty cat folk art doll figurine up on our Ruffing's site

I just got Claudia the Maine Coon kitten's web page up on our Ruffing's site. I got her photos edited yesterday, and I'm just launching her now. She's an art doll figurine by Max Bailey. The tuxedo cat doll she is holding is her favorite, Herman.

Please visit Claudia's web page to read all about her and her adoption information, and view her photos in a larger size. I'm still working on more photos for more dolls. Next up is another mini cat figurine like Claudia.

Finishing Emily's dress

I'm still here! We took a little trip to the beach last week, which was beautiful, and then I caught up on my doll dress sewing. I got some pretty roses too :)

I tried out a whole bunch of decorative machine stitches on this skirt, and added a partial underskirt with a ruffle.

As you can see, I went with my simplest color combination from my selections. I thought that would show off the stitching the best.

I got a new iron too! Then....ta da!...

Emily's new outfit. She reminds me of Mary Poppins in this photo, about to lift off, with me trying to hold her down long enough to take her picture. It was raining, and so I was afraid to put her down anywhere. I'll get more photos once it is dry outside. See you later!

Choosing fabrics

I've been doing a little fabric audition for "Emily and Edwin". I pulled out all the fabrics I had that I thought might be a good fit. Right now, I'm leaning toward the ones above because, to me, they have a circus feel, which works well with the elephant idea.

Earlier today, I was leaning toward the combination above. I did a sketch of how I thought they'd be assembled, a polka dot ruffle underneath the gingham skirt, with an embroidered white apron on top, maybe a decorative ribbon on the apron as well.

Then there was the plain and simple look, with a solid green over skirt and a subdued purple underskirt that matched Edwin the Elephant's base. Decisions.

I ran out to mow our field of dandelions this morning. There's a country wedding out here today, and that wouldn't do for a backdrop. No, not my wedding, although that would be a funny story if I ran out to mow a field before the ceremony!

Beatrice Bunny's dress is finished!

Beatrice is finally clothed and Beulah is happily nestled in her pocket.

I was just about to take these photos today, when it started to rain cats and dogs. I got lucky and it stopped before the light outside disappeared.

We are so happy with how Beatrice and Beulah turned out, and the dress suits them just right. It's so nice when something comes together just the way you'd like it to.

There's even an opening for her fluffy tail to peek out.

I'm still loving those big feet.

I'm determined to finish up at least one more dress before these new dolls go up for adoption, but I will be sure to let everyone know when they are up on the Ruffing's site. In the meantime, more photos of Beatrice and Beulah can be seen in this bunny rabbit set on Flickr.

Hug Me! Kitty

Meet Darla, my new black and white, tuxedo "Hug Me! Kitty". I took a little sewing detour to play around with my pattern designs and came up with a kitty. That doesn't seem too surprising, huh? Lots of cats.

I like her curly appliquéd tail.

She'll be ready to give someone a hug over in my Etsy shop soon.

I'm still sewing doll clothes. I stopped to make some blueberry apple muffins though. They were about to be blueberry muffins until I discovered I didn't have a whole cup of blueberries. A happy short-coming though. The combination worked out nicely. I made them from the same buttermilk muffin recipe I usually use, and added a teaspoon of freshly grated orange zest. I also substituted some plain yogurt plus some milk for buttermilk, since I was also out of buttermilk, trying to get it to about the same consistency. That worked out fine too, but it must be time to go food shopping again!

I hope you have a great Memorial Day weekend, everyone!

Just a note to let you know...

Crocus the Siamese Kitten by Max Bailey just went up on our Ruffing's site for adoption. You can read all about her over on her web page. I just finished editing her photos and putting them online. Have a great weekend!

Kitties in dresses

These are our first photos of the original folk art cat dolls that Max Bailey and I have done together, wearing their dresses, and posed on the background we picked out. "Loretta and Lulu", the Siamese mom and her pocket kitten are on the far left. "Chelsea" the Maine Coon Cat, with her birthday cake, is in the middle. "Heidi and Helga" are on the right. Helga is Heidi's goose.

Emily the ginger tabby cat, and Beatrice the lop rabbit haven't got their outfits on yet. That's little Beulah the lop rabbit in Beatrice's lap.

Heidi was our first doll we did together. Then came Loretta and Lulu. Chelsea was the third addition. We'll be taking more photos before these go up for adoption over in our online doll gallery. They'll be on the page for jointed dolls eventually, but not until they are all ready. I'll be sure to post here on this blog, and on the Ruffing's blog when they are ready for adoption. First, I have some photos of Max's art doll figurines to edit. I'll try to get those done as soon as I can.

I believe we are going to create a tuxedo cat doll next, but there is a lot to finish up before we get to her...him? We'll see. I think we will have to try some mister kitties soon.

I took an extended weekend last weekend and did some fun things, including some first-time-ever things. One of those was taking a ballroom dancing lesson for the first time ever! I love watching Dancing with the Stars, but I have no clue when it comes to doing any of that sort of thing. So, that was a treat. We tried the the rumba and the waltz. I can't tell you how many tries it took to get me to walk in a circle correctly. I'm still not sure it wasn't an accident when I finally got it right!

I went to the airport for the first time ever. I have never been on a plane. I still haven't been! I did watch the planes take off however, and, I admit, I shuddered just watching them lift off the ground. I also got the tour of what you do at the airport, before you get on or off the plane, things I've only seen on TV and in the movies. Then I goofed and missed seeing the plane I meant to wave at as it took off.

I also got to see The Soloist, which I really liked a lot. I worked on my Wolverine imitation, but failed to convince anyone to take me to see that:

"Ka-chang! Ka-chang!" (Elizabeth doing "Wolverine fingers"...a sort of distant relative to jazz hands only meaner-looking, and with blades.)

"No!"

"Why not?"

"Because you are going to keep doing THAT!"

So, no Wolverine for me.

In the middle of the week, I finished getting a ton of fillings done. Yuck. I thought I was taking good care of my teeth, but they rebelled and got little cavities in them. My tongue is still numb and prickly. I hope that goes away soon.

After we get some errands taken care of, I will be back to sewing and photo editing.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend. It is getting very warm here in North Carolina.

I'll have some new doll dresses to show you soon, hopefully.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy these.

Been busy busy

Everyone has just been lining up, waiting to be photographed over here.

But, first there were doll stands that needed to be painted,

supplies that needed to be organized,

and a dresser, in which the dolls are now napping, that needed to be assembled.

What a lot of hardware! I'm glad it was so neatly laid out.

This ratcheting screwdriver with interchangeable bits helped me a lot. It's a WorkForce 21-Piece Ratcheting Screwdriver Set that originally came from Home Depot some time back. Too bad I didn't notice the ratcheting feature until I was putting together the last drawer. You don't have to let go of the handle to keep turning it, which is pretty cool. Like I said before, you never know what handy things you will find in our closets.

More lovely azaleas came into bloom. I ran out to photograph them.

The ducks waddled over, all curious about the whole idea of my photographing azaleas, or maybe they just thought I had snacks.

Nope, sorry ducks, just azaleas.

Emily and Edwin make their first appearance

Meet Emily, Max Bailey's and my latest one-of-a-kind, original, folk art ginger tabby cat doll.

Emily's elephant friend is named Edwin. Emily is hand sculpted from paperclay on 100% cotton cloth, and is button jointed at her shoulders. Edwin is made of wood. Both are hand painted in acrylic paints and varnished with matte varnish.

As the story seems to go of late, Emily is still waiting for the rest of her outfit to be sewn. Edwin is just waiting for his wheels to start rolling. He's very patient, which is good, because they don't actually roll. Fortunately, he has a string to help pull him along.

We managed to re-photograph Max's three new kitty figurines this afternoon. After some photo editing, color-correcting, cropping, etc, we'll get to work on their web pages over on the Ruffing's site. The figurines will eventually appear on the art doll figurines page, and Emily and Edwin will find their way over to the jointed cloth and paperclay dolls page of our online doll gallery...after Emily gets some clothes on.

I got this fun book in the mail, Stray Sock Sewing by an artist named Daniel. I'm crazy about it. It's full of the cutest original sock creatures I think I've seen. There are plenty of sewing tips, and even instructions for making a few of your own. I'm getting so many ideas. I drew out some sketches when I got up this morning. I had a bunch of designs I had drawn, while waiting for my mom at the dentist's, a few months ago, but I wasn't entirely sure how best to construct them. So, this is great. Definitely enough information for me to spring off in my own directions. The eight creatures he shows you how to make would make super gifts too. So adorable. Love it.

The book is published by North Light Books, which has put out very nice art instruction books for years. I have quite a few painting and drawing books from them as well. I just read that the book club they've had for as long as I can remember is closing, but it sounds like they will still be offering their books through some special offers, in addition to still offering them through retailers. I got my copy of Stray Sock Sewing through Crafter's Choice Book Club. They have some good deals sometimes, but I have trouble remembering to tell them not to send that monthly selection, even with an email reminder. I'm happy with the books I've gotten from them though, and I was glad to find they had this one.

Pretty little doll pinafore

I finished up this kitty doll pinafore for Chelsea the Maine Coon Cat. It looks adorable on her, but it is too windy here to photograph dolls today. Soon, we hope. I've got my next pinafore cut out and ready to sew.

Looking forward to the weekend...hope you all have a great one!

Still sewing...

I'm still catching up on my sewing...lots to do.

This little kitty doll pinafore has been a mind-bender. I'm adapting it from a Brown House Dolls pattern, changing a bodice into a bib for the top. I made some bias strips, two for each side of the bib, and sewed lace between them, before attaching them to either side of the bib. I tried to get the stripes to match on either side, and tilt downward on either side. It's been tricky and I've been basting each step by hand. The waistband is going to be pieced in two parts, with a front and a back facing so I can insert the bib and the skirt between the two. I've got my fingers crossed that that will work!

Today, in addition to being April Fool's Day, is also my grandma's 94th birthday. This is her back in 1997 with our kitties. She and my grandpa always came to my birthday. This is them, and me, back in 1971...

We called her this morning to wish her a happy birthday. She didn't remember how old she was, and boy was she surprised to hear. "No! No, that's not possible!" She seems to be doing okay, and it is probably just as well to forget how old you are sometimes.

Happy Spring!

Over the past few days...

We've collected some flowers for the front porch,

lots of purple pansies...

We tested out some new backdrops for our doll photos...

This rainbow one is our favorite...

We collected some more calicos. Time for a sewing binge...

My "Laurence with Primroses and Daffodils" was featured in this Etsy treasury. Thanks, Sherry!

Mr Laurence is our senior-most assistant. He's very good with computers...

He's a very wise man...

And, our Camillia bush has gone crazy with flowers. They're as big as saucers.

Happy belated first day of Spring, everyone!

Chelsea the Maine Coon Cat makes her first appearance

This is Miss Chelsea, the Maine Coon Cat, the fourth one-of-a-kind, original, folk art animal doll collaboration between myself and Max Bailey. I think she is the most spectacular doll creation I have seen come out of this studio. She is so amazingly lifelike. We keep staring at her in disbelief, expecting her to meow or jump off the table. She really takes your breath away in person.

We did some test shots of the dolls today, and photographed Max's three kitty figurines that have been waiting a very long time to have their pictures taken. We are going to get those up first on the Ruffing's site, or that is the plan. Things have been moving more slowly than we had planned, but we are still heading in the same direction.

I still have some dressmaking to complete before we can do our group shots of our four new jointed dolls. We are still debating over the backdrops too. Black, tan, white? Some look better on one than the other.

Beatrice and Beulah look so very serious. I can't help laughing. I suppose I shouldn't. Shh...don't tell them.

All of our dollies will eventually make there way over to our online doll gallery, hopefully over the next month or month and a half. Or that's the plan anyway. I have them in categories by type, if you scroll down on the doll gallery page. I'll try to add more categories later.

Siamese mom and kitten, and signs of spring

Loretta and Lulu are all dressed now. I have to admit, I had one heck of a time making this little apron! That apron bib was something else, all edged with lace and lined. I had to turn it right side out at one point, and I wasn't sure I could do it because it was so small. In fact, I was just about sure I couldn't. But I persevered and did.

Doesn't Lulu look just right in that pocket? So cute.

We aren't officially listing our dolls yet because we have some we are still working on and we want to photograph them together. So, it's going to be a while before they are over on the Ruffing's site. I'll be sure to post here and on the Ruffing's blog when they are ready to be adopted.

Our breakfast guest came for an early dinner today. I had to stick around to make sure there wasn't any food sharing going on. My guy didn't understand that, but he graciously put up with it. They made some cheerful chirping conversation after dinner.

Our guest was very happy with his full tummy.

Our duck friends made an appearance today too, for breakfast time and dinner time. They haven't ventured up from the pond for months. Spring must make them want to go visiting. You'd think you were the Beatles the way they run after you when you have a cup of corn. They're like hysterical quacking fans.

I was eating a muffin this morning, when I saw a whole lot of white out the back door. They bob around, trying to get a look at you through the windows, to see if you're in there. They've been back several times today. When they catch sight of you, they come closer to the door. That gray duck was odd man out. I tried to put some cracked corn apart from the rest for him.

The Bradford Pear trees are all in bloom. This one has sprouted from a tree that split, along with so many other Bradford Pears, in an ice storm several years ago. They are very susceptible to storm damage, but they are so pretty people plant them anyway. This one looks like a giant flowering bush.

We've been having some lovely sunsets too. I tried to capture all the pinks and lavenders in this one, but by the time I figured out the controls on my camera, the sky had completely changed color.

I had it set and ready for this one though, the following night. So nice and peaceful here.

Itty bitty pocket kitty

Sunny, warm weather is here, and I did some sewing outside, bare feet and all. I've also been urged by some to change my mind and take the advice of Naughty Kitty! Ha. I will have to think that over as I sew. For now, I've got kitties to clothe, like this one...

This is Lulu. She fits in the pocket Loretta the Siamese. I hand appliquéd a heart onto this pocket and added a machine-embroidered stitch along the bottom. I used some of the rayon lace I picked up yesterday to edge the apron. Next up is a skirt and an apron bib.

Angel or Devil?

Naughty Kitty: "Psst! Listen...I've got a plan for world domination!"

ER: "Given the current economic crisis, is world domination even feasible right now?"

ER: "Wait, why are you girls even talking to me?"

Good Kitty: "Don't listen to her, Elizabeth...follow your heart, follow the good..."

Naughty Kitty: "You'd get to be 50 feet tall and wreak havoc."

ER: "World domination does sound kind of fun."

Good Kitty: "No! Elizabeth, no! Spread love and understanding. Think of your family, your friends."

Naughty Kitty: "No, Elizabeth...think of your ex-boyfriends!"

ER: "Hm..."

ER: "Yeah, that might be kind of fun."

Good Kitty: "Elizabeth, please, we need you on our side. Someone's got to look after the bunny..."

ER: "Oh, you're right. Beulah Bunny, new this week. World domination will have to wait."

Beulah is by Max Bailey and is a companion for Beatrice Bunny.

Miss Beatrice Bunny by Max Bailey and Elizabeth Ruffing

This is Miss Beatrice Bunny, the lop rabbit. She is the third original, one-of-a-kind folk art animal doll that Max Bailey and I have made together.

She is a sweetie.

She's sitting on the fabrics I have picked out for her dress. She has a little violet flower painted on her undershirt that matches the violet flowers in one of her dress fabrics.

I don't know if she is related to my Matilda. Matilda has such a funny expression. You can still find Matilda over here on our website, along with the video of me painting her. We have more animal friends planned and in the works...

There is plenty of sewing and painting to do.

Art toys and strawberries

I finally put these fuzzy slugs up for adoption in my Etsy shop. I wasn't quite sure what to do with my soft dolls and toys, with the CPSIA legislation still unresolved, but given they are still working to sort out the details, I thought I'd post my slugs. From what I understand, you are safe if you say, "safe for children over 12," which I will do, if necessary. It's hard to understand the rules, or how toys made from materials already on the shelves of retail stores, like Polyfil, which is advertised to be 100% non-allergenic, or 100% polyester fleece, or 100% cotton fabric could ever possibly end up being considered an issue for anyone, but hopefully, they will come up with a list of "okay'd" materials, rather than make a blanket law that requires every children's item to be tested for lead and phthalates. I believe they've already given libraries a reprieve by not insisting each of their children's books be tested, and I think they've made allowances for thrift shops so they can continue to offer items for children. The law seems appropriate for companies that use raw materials to manufacture parts, but the way it is written, it seems to include just about anything.

My tummy and head haven't felt too great the past couple of days. This morning, I couldn't think of anything I could eat except a cookie, tea, and strawberries, which didn't sound like a proper breakfast at all. I remarked that it sounded more like a breakfast a storybook mouse might eat. A friend told me that sounded about right for me, and when I thought about it, I agreed. So, that's what I had and I did actually feel better.

I'm also reading my way through the last of my E M Forster novels, Maurice. And contrary to what you might guess, they did sneak Helena Bonham-Carter into the film adaptation too!

Other than that, I've been watching an eclectic assortment of arty films on IFC, and occasionally slipping over to Chiller, where I caught Killer Klowns from Outer Space. That sounds about right for me too.

Update: According to this Storque article on the CPSIA, dyed and undyed textiles, fabric and non-metallic thread and trim, are included on the okay list and can be used to make children's items.

Hopping down the bunny trail

This the the original folk art bunny rabbit doll Max Bailey and I are working on so far. Our attempt to take these photos almost resulted in our bunny flying away. The wind was really something.

Ms. Bunny is a lop rabbit.

I made different arms for her than our cats have.

And you've got to love the feet!

Yesterday, we roamed around a quilt shop we like, holding our Siamese cat doll up to bolt after bolt of fabric. I think we startled the lady who works there. She was suprised at how real Loretta looked. We picked up some quilting cottons, and I ordered some more fabric online later. Today, we picked up a couple more cottons. I'm being very fussy, as usual.

Heidi's dress fitting and blueberry muffins

At first glance, it may appear from this photo that my kitty assistant from my last post has been magically transformed into a doll, but this is not the case. He would never fit in that dress.

This is Heidi, the tabby cat. She is Max and my first collaborative original folk art cat doll. I did the final fitting on her dress today. If you look closely, you will see the pins holding it together here. I sewed all the finishing details by hand. It's a real challenge sewing little things on a machine. Now I have to get our Siamese's sweater and skirt set assembled. It's going to be fun photographing them together.


I also made my blueberry muffins that I had planned to make along with the last batch of muffins I made. These are from the same book, Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. They are made from the Basic Buttermilk Muffins recipe. I added a cup of thawed blueberries and a teaspoon of orange zest. These are so good! I ate too many.

I had them with the orange I used for the orange zest for breakfast. Really good.

And thanks, Eric, for sharing an inspiring site...it's our cosmos, with a new view of our universe every day. Check out Eric and Melissa's music too. They're putting together an LP of their own original songs. Pretty exciting. It's great to see other people pursuing their dreams too :)

Treasury in pink

My Soleil the sock baby was included in this very pink treasury on Etsy. Special thanks to Erika for including her!

Soleil and her other soft doll friends can be found over on the soft dolls and toys page of our Ruffing's website.

Folk art cat dolls in progress, and making progess in general

Here is a sneak peak at Max Bailey's and my collaborative original folk art cat dolls. The one on the left will be a Siamese, and the one on the right is a tabby cat. The tabby is very cute, but I don't want to give too much away before her entire ensemble is complete. She has a gorgeous pet companion as well.

I have so many little loose ends that I'm trying to tie up, and that includes making my way through the pile of books I intended to read. I'm still working on E. M. Forster, and I'm reading A Passage to India right now. I think that might be the only one of his novels I've read that hasn't been turned into a movie starring Helena Bonham-Carter.

Other E. M. Forster novels I've recently read are Where Angels Fear to Tread, A Room with a View (scene from the movie above), and Howard's End. I'm sure none of these will compare to CSS: The Missing Manual, which I ordered today. That's by Brian McFarland. It promises to be "crystal clear". If I still can't efficiently absorb CSS after that, I think I'm just going to live without it, knock on wood.

A gaggle of slugs

I'm on a finish-what-I-started mission, at least when I can fit it in. The way I jump from one project to the next, that could take years to accomplish, but I'm trying to make more of a focused effort. These little slugs have been waiting for their embroidered parts for a long time.

This group is made of baby blue polar fleece, which is soft and cuddly. Their fuzzy hearts are each different shades of pink and red.

I gave them all French names. Why? I don't know. Does it give them an air of sophistication?

I almost named them after The Brady Bunch after arranging them in these composite photos, but then I couldn't think of enough Brady Bunch names. I didn't really relate to that show as a kid, but then I was an only child. They seemed pretty strange to me.

I positioned their pupils so that they would be looking this way and that. I find the upward-glancing ones particularly amusing. They are either rolling their eyes, or praying for assistance. I'm not sure which. Both maybe.

The others seem very curious about everything. This group is a pear green color. They are also French.

I modified their hang tags to say they may be spot cleaned with cool water. Poly fleece seems to do better with cool water. They can be set to air dry if necessary. I prewashed and air dried the fleece I used to make them. They should not go in the dryer! Yikes! They would be scared, but that is also bad for fleece. It melts with heat.

I am listing my available soft dolls and art toys here on our Ruffing's site. I'll be listing fleece "Hug Me! Slugs" in my Etsy shop as well, with some options for naming your own slug too.

We are still putting together our first original folk art cat doll collaboration too. I don't want to give away any surprises though. Time to go catch up on some more stuff...

Santa would be proud

Thanks to Jennifer for including my "Lovely Lucy" in her "Santa would be proud" Etsy treasury today.

Linda and Lucy, sitting above, are both on the new web page on our Ruffing's site that I made up for my soft dolls and toys. I'm always amazed to see how many of everything we seem to have once I make up the web pages for each category on our site. I'm still on my quest to organize and correct our website. I'm making progress a little at a time.

Today, I cut out five kitty cat doll bodies like "Bluebell and Bridget" the Siamese mom and kitten and "Daphne" the tabby cat folk art cat dolls below, for my upcoming collaborations with Max Bailey. I was aiming for two, but somehow I just kept going. I think it will be fun to work with someone else. I find it difficult to keep up my momentum when I am working alone. It's easier when someone else is counting on you to do your part. Plus it's fun to see what someone else adds to what you are doing. We are both pretty excited about it.

We had a couple of flurries here today and it was quite cold. My mom was ready to run out to look at the snow, but it was over before she even got to the door.

The Great Web Marathon continues

We're getting together some images of our original folk art cat dolls to make into prints, which we will start putting in our eBay store soon. We've still got six finished dolls to get into our online doll gallery as well. It will be a great relief to get back to creating something other than web pages soon! Above are my "Fiona" and "Ziggy" kittens, and below are "Ginger and George", "Crabby Alice and Ruthie", and "Hedda and Hopper" by Max Bailey. These jointed, cloth-and-clay dolls are the kinds of dolls we are planning to collaborate on soon.

We all went to vote this morning, before any big lines occurred. I was voter number 320. I am so nervous waiting for the election results. I've been reading while we were taking turns at the computer. This time I went with E. M. Forster, even though I know how those stories turn out, having seen so many of the movie adaptions. Familiarity is comforting right now.

Sock Kitty!

I love Sock Kitty! I also miss Sock Kitty because he is a birthday gift for a friend.

Sock Kitty is made from a sock stuffed with Polyfil. His eyes, nose, and hearts are polar fleece, embellished by hand with embroidery floss in a blanket stitch. I used embroidery floss to hand stitch his whiskers and his smile too. His ears are lined with cotton batik fabric.

Sock Kitty is nice and squishy. His paws even have little toes I sewed with upholstery thread.

He is a perpetually happy cat. I am going to have to make him a sibling to keep for myself, a twin perhaps.

In other news, I am tossing around the idea of collaborating with Max on some folk art cat dolls, the dressed and jointed kind with the sculpted faces. I've been spreading myself too thin for a long time, and I think if we put our efforts in the same direction, we both might be more productive. Collectively, we have at least three doll sizes, and some possible variations as to type of critter. We are terribly behind with a backlog of dolls waiting to go on our website right now. So, that is the first thing to resolve.

Over the past year, I spent a lot of time trying to have a separate business from our family business, in large part to accommodate someone else's desire for me to have a separate income, but that has been like trying to spin twice as many plates in the air as I was already spinning. The end result was only that I had to neglect one business to spend time trying to get the other off the ground. All in all, I only got more behind and more scattered, and then we all ended up behind. Now I need to get us all back on track. My desire to please other people gets me in trouble sometimes, and really, as I'm sure we all know...if you need to knock yourself out to please someone else, it never turns out to be worth it. Please yourself, and surround yourself with people who appreciate you for who you are and who want you to be happy.

On a lighter note, is anyone else already hitting the Halloween candy? I am! Naughty ;)

Super Slug is in an Etsy Treasury

My Sandy the Super Slug is featured in this "Gonna be a bright..sunshiny day!" Etsy treasury from Jo Bead. Thanks, Stacy Jo!

Lucy has a new friend

It's a big day for Lovely Lucy. She has a new little girlfriend to share her secrets with.

Meet Linda. Linda is very much like Lucy, only she is her own person, um, doll. She has quilted golden ponytails, and a candy-stripe dress of red and pink and green.

He stockings are deep red with white polka dots. Her bottom is weighted with Poly-Pellets so she can sit nicely. She is stuffed with poly-fil.

Linda's outfit is decorated with ribbon trims, Rick Rack, and machine appliquéd fabric. I re-embroidered her trims by hand with embroidery floss. So, she is extra special.

Her gold boots are topped with striped ribbon and machine appliquéd fabric buttons. She has no loose or removable parts. Linda is meant to be displayed as art and she is also meant to be loved. I wanted her to be able to withstand some play, and so she is made of 100% cotton quilting fabrics and some rayon that I fused to an additional layer of cotton sheeting for durability. I prewashed her fabrics so they wouldn't shrink later if she needs to be gently spot cleaned and set flat to air dry.

She is signed and dated below her hairline on the back of her neck.

Linda and Lucy are approximately 10 1/4 inches tall when seated, and approximately 18 1/2 inches long when lying down.

Many hours and a lot of work went into making Linda. She is meant to be of heirloom quality, and to be saved and cherished by a new friend, whether adult or child. She is a wonderful listener and she is very good at keeping secrets. She is also very patient and kind.

Linda will be visiting my other dolls and toys over on Etsy to see what they are up to soon.

I made it to the Etsy front page! Yay!

During the presidential debate last night, my "Goodnight Irene" doll made it onto the Etsy front page!! This is my first time on the front page, as far as I know. I was so excited! Thanks again, Elena, for putting me in your treasury, and thanks Etsy!

And this morning, my "Lovely Lucy" was included in this adorable "Dolls for all!" treasury by Fraisebijoux on Etsy. Thanks, Nicky!

These things really make my day. I really do appreciate it so much when people compliment my work in this way. I have hard days, like everyone does, and the kindness lifts me up. Many thanks!

Gosh...I'd better finish those Lucy dolls that are waiting for me! I'm so pleased that people like them :)

My Irene is on a treasury on Etsy

My "Goodnight Irene" doll is on a treasury called "You, Color Admirers" on Etsy. Thanks, Elena!

I'm prewashing my new fleece, along with some other fabric. It's air drying on the porch right now. I've been making some more fleece slugs. My doll from yesterday is drying on my work table at the moment, and there is a lot of clutter to move from one surface to the next in order to do anything in there. That fleece is bulky and takes up a lot of space! So, I'm extra anxious to use it up.

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by all my projects today. I like having a bunch going on at once, but that doesn't mean my head doesn't start spinning once in a while. I'm sure as soon as I see some more progress, I'll feel better. On that note, I am off to sew.

Fleece and priming the well

I bought a few quarter yard cuts of poly fleece over the weekend, to use for embellishment on some sock toys, but I woke up and thought, "What else can I make with that?" That seems to be common with people who sew. You buy fabric for a particular project, get it home, and immediately start to think of other uses for it.

I made this slug, of course...so cuddly and cute. I will probably keep doing this, making more and more. I'm tempted to make a pile. I know...I did say I was planning to paint. A couple of people have nudged me on this and I will. I will! :) I took out my drawings and my reference materials. They are sitting on my work table right now.

I can't say I might not push them aside, on and off, to sew though. I was thinking that Julia Cameron calls this sort of thing "priming the well". You do simple, repetitive-type tasks that are meditative to unblock your creativity. I've recently begun rereading her book The Artist's Way. In my case, it's also called procrastination. Hah! I think I will try doing something on my paintings. I have a drawing I want to change a little. I'll stick a toe in the water. What I don't want to do is end up sitting for hours staring at my drawing, doing nothing, when I could be sewing and being productive. I want to get ready for the holiday season too.

I feel like I am on some sort of mad dash lately. I have a goal in mind. I think I see how to reach it and what I need to do. I feel like I did in high school when I was determined to get into "the best" schools. I got in. I'm not sure they were the best schools for me, but I did achieve my goal. Okay, well...I was eleventh on the waiting list for Harvard, which I withdrew to go to Yale....but c'mon, they make you choose one or the other in advance ;) Anyway, I feel like that now, impatient and determined. I can even remember writing, " I awake every morning with a sense of impatience," in my college application essays.

I think it is important right now to "show up" and work on something each day, whatever that may turn out to be.

Babies Everywhere

The "Gumdrop Baby" brood is growing.

These are the newest four.

These are Bethany,

Monica,

Dominique,

and Hyacinth.

They are all original art toys, made to be hugged or displayed, made from my own designs and patterns. Each has a hand-painted face. They are all currently in my Etsy shop, where you will find more info about them.

I'd like to thank Heather for featuring my "Hug Me! Slug" on her Fabulous Fun Finds blog. The blog features her picks for online shopping.

And extra small makes five

Lined up like this, my "Hug Me! Slugs" remind me of the commercials where everything looked like those cell phone reception bars. I don't even have a cell phone...

but, I do have an new extra-small slug. He's pretty cute.

I don't know that I will make any more slugs in his size though. I was already near sewing over my fingers with my machine, while trying to steer him under the presser foot.

My basic, mechanical Viking is great for being tough. It's very reliable and sews through just about anything. But I could really use another sewing machine for the smaller details. I'd like some decorative stitches too. Mine doesn't have any. I like the idea of staying with the same brand so I can use all my accessories, but I'm concerned that, I've heard, the Vikings are no longer being made in Sweden, like mine was. I haven't revisited the dealer yet to ask her about this. Does anyone have any experience with the new models? I'm afraid to get a used machine, in particular an electronic/computerized one. One dealer told me you can't tell how used they are and if the computer in them dies, they are very expensive to replace. I've never sewn on a computerized machine before, and the prices are scary. I don't want to invest in anything that will give me headaches. Advice anyone?

By the way, the weather here is finally perfect! At least for today, and hopefully for some time to come. Oh, I forgot...I Skyped yesterday for the first time! I ended up eating a bowl of soup and a plate of penne with cheese, via webcam, in front of someone who was dieting, but the thing "rang" and there I was in the kitchen. It was kind of fun, for me anyway. I don't know about my friend who was skipping lunch!

I think the rain ate my brain

Just grasping for a title. It's dark and rainy this afternoon. So, I have no decent photos of the dolls I finished yet, four "Gumdrop Babies" and one extra-small "Hug Me! Slug". I think I will make a slug set with the tiny one and a medium-sized one because I don't think I want to try to make a tiny one again! He's cute, but he was challenging due to his smallness. I'm at work on some new doll/toy designs, and my Lucy dolls are still waiting to be sewn up. I'll have to update my Etsy shop sometime soon.

Other than that, I vacuumed my workspace and put my dolls in a big box to keep them clean and nice. I spent some time this morning trying to set up a webcam that wouldn't work, regardless of what software I tried installing, and then I tried to decide if I wanted to install Skype. A friend suggested I get it, but I don't really have a great love of talking on the phone to begin with. Add sitting at the computer some more to that, and I'm not sure it appeals to me. I suppose being able to see a person, via webcam, while talking to them might might eradicate one complaint I have about talking on the phone, which is not being able to read a person's expression, but considering what passes for the "casual wear" I wear to work here at home...I'm not sure I want to be seen! I'm not sure I like that little eyeball staring at me either. Maybe I'll come around with encouragement. Maybe not!

Update: The third (or fourth?) time is a charm? The webcam came on. I still have no idea what to do with it, and it is only photographing the kitchen while leaving me in total darkness...but it did come on. Such excitement.

Slugs of All Sizes

I'm expanding my slug population. They now come in small, medium, and large! I am particularly smitten with the small one. His very smallness is irresistibly cute.

I think I will even attempt an extra-small "Hug Me! Slug". I'm just not sure I can turn them right side out if they get any smaller.

The medium one looks kind of like a teenager :)

I have an extra-large one from before. He was the first "Hug Me! Slug" that I made, before I realized that those Priority Mail boxes didn't come that big! Oh well. I had plans at the time to smuggle him into my then-boyfriend's apartment, and leave him perched on top of the TV shelf, or some similarly semi-conspicuous place, as a surprise, but I never got back over there. Oh well, on that too. So it goes. Mr Extra Large is all mine now, I guess ;)

So...small is about 7 1/4 inches tall, medium is about 10 inches tall, large is about 12 1/2 inches tall, and Mr Extra Large is about 17 inches tall. I'm still working on about eight million other things all at once! I'll add more toys and dolls to my Etsy shop soon.

Soleil the Sock Baby Doll

This is Soleil, which means "sun". She cheered me up, and so I thought that would be a nice name for her. I modeled her sock body as closely as I could after the body of the sock baby I have from my childhood. So she has the same squishy softness I love so much about my doll. I used my own design for her sweet face, which I hand embroidered with Pearl Cotton, and I carefully hand sewed loops of honey-colored soft yarn all over her head for her curls.

She is presently visiting with my "Gumdrop Babies", my "Hug Me! Slugs", and one "Super Slug". I'll be making more toys and dolls and adding them to my Etsy shop.

I designed a more modern outfit for Soleil than the outfit my original doll had, which was more of a prairie-style dress and bonnet. Soleil has a pair of pants and a top which are both elasticized at the top so she can be dressed easily. Like my original doll, she is still dressed in pink. I added a heart appliqué to her shirt.

Soleil should be safe for children three years old and up, or any children who are no longer putting things in their mouths, or at risk of getting tiny fingers caught up in her yarn loops. I try to make my toys as child safe as possible. I've sewn down her loops of yarn hair and tacked down her ribbon ties, but yarn and ribbon make her better for children who are at least a little past babyhood.

Soleil can sit on a chair or a shelf for decoration, and she can be played with and hugged. I prewashed the cotton quilting fabrics I used for her clothing in Tide Free, and dried them in the dryer. Her clothes can be washed in warm or cool water. Soleil herself can be gently spot cleaned with warm or cool soapy water, rinsed, and set to air dry.

Update: Soleil has been adopted. Thank you!

Angelica the Gumdrop Baby

I thought I'd finish a doll, rather than just do a little on this one and a little on that one, so I'd have something to show for myself! This is Angelica.

She reminds me of Little Red Riding Hood, only as a baby.

We ran outside to try to photograph her before the rain started. The sun was shining here this morning, but it's been getting darker. We have rain so far, but no strong winds from Hanna yet. Here's hoping it won't amount to anything serious.

I have so many projects going on right now, I'm not even sure what I will finish next. Most likely, I will start a few things too. I've been putting my cloth dolls and toys over in my Etsy shop.

Still fusing the world together, one piece at a time

Okay, yeah, that would be an ambitious project, and I'm not sure a necessarily good one to take on. I am, however, still fusing my appliquéd pieces together for my Lucy dolls. I know these don't look all that different here from the last time I posted about them, but I've gotten more done on them. They just don't look like "something" until they come together, all sewn and stuffed, and they take a long time to make. I'll be embellishing them next.

Thanks everyone who wrote to tell me they voted for my "Hug Me! Slug" in Etsy's Handmade Kids Challenge, and thanks to everyone who didn't write to tell me they voted too ;) The polls are open until September 8th. You can still vote for my Gerard the "Hug Me! Slug" here (if you haven't already)...I really appreciate it!

Please vote for me!!!

I'm a finalist in the Etsy Handmade Kids Challenge! I'm so happy! Gerard, my "Hug Me! Slug" is is in the toy category. Please, please, please go vote for him (and me!) here. All you need is an Etsy user ID. It's free and easy to get one. You can vote only once in each category and, by voting, you get a chance to win an Etsy shopping spree. You can read all about the Handmade Kids Challenge and Sweepstakes here.

This is Gerard. He has already found a home, but you can still see his listing here.

The photos on the voting page rearrange themselves, and so you might have to look for him a little on the page. Etsy will be having a guest panel of judges from Boingboing, Cookie, decor8, Martha Stewart Living, Ohdeedoh, Parents and Treehugger. I'm so excited. I have been on Etsy for some time now, hoping to be found amidst the many handmade items by all sorts of artists and craftspeople. Thanks Etsy!

Gerard is happy about it too, or I'm sure he would be. I hope someone will tell him!

I'm still making my dolls. They got dresses, stockings, and shoes today, or some of them did. I'm making progress.

I have big shoes and a messy room

I'm still working on a bunch of dolls all at once. They were all getting appliquéd hair today. That is a pile of ponytails-in-progress in the upper right of the top photo with my "Gumdrop Baby" faces.

This one is a Lucy doll in progress. I pull the paper backing off my fusible web as I go, and drop it on the floor. I know that isn't so nice, but there isn't anyone here who is going to complain about it. As long as no paper-chewing pets are in there, it's okay for a while. We have one cat who will chomp on all sorts of weird things if we're not careful. He's not allowed in there. It's important to keep pets away from art and craft supplies they might eat. You just never know what might be intriguing to them and it's best to be safe.

My floor looks like this until I come through with a waste paper basket. I don't like to trip over anything extra in that room. So it's easier for me to leave the waste paper basket somewhere else and come through with it when I need to. I am a clutter-aholic.

I also finally got new sneakers. I have been putting that off for months. I think I mentioned before that I hate to buy new sneakers. Don't you know, they redesigned them, and made the toe area bigger. I am floating in the usual size I get, which I ordered by mail. I don't think I mentioned before that I also hate to return things, and so I will be floating in these for a good long time! I wear sneakers most of the time, even with sundresses. That should be an even better look for me now ;)

"Babushka Babies" Treasury on Etsy

My Gumdrop Baby was featured in this treasury on Etsy today. I think it will be up until Friday. Thanks Susan, for including her! It's always a really nice surprise for me when people pick one of my dolls or prints out of the blue like that to share with other people. I appreciate it a lot.

I asked my mom to take a couple of pictures of me today. Today didn't seem like a good day for that, since I haven't been feeling well and just yesterday I was struggling to eat Saltines, but...I actually look pretty healthy. Yay!

I cut my hair recently, and I think I might be close to my natural hair color now. Why is this of interest to me? I don't know...sometimes I can't remember what it looks like and it's come a long way from last summer. Actually, so have I. Maybe that's why I wanted some new pictures, so I can have a new look at myself :)

Plush Treasury on Etsy

My "Hug Me! Slug" is in an Etsy treasury today. Thanks sarihihi! And thanks, Maia, for letting me know.

Dollies look back

Now there can be a two-way staring contest. Eleven faces made it to this point, without my goofing anything else up. All that is left is to heat set them with the iron, and then I can begin to match them up with fabrics for dresses, stockings, and boots. I should be having fun right now, but, honestly, I am having such an off weekend. I'm not feeling well, and my car is out on loan, standing in for one that needs repair. So I am cooped up. I have had every intention of turning that into a positive, by getting lots done, which I am doing, but the cooped up part is getting to me. Everyone I know seems to be away for the weekend, and I am imagining them all having fun at the beach or doing something entertaining, which I hope is true. Still, I'm feeling a bit like Cinderella, in more ways than one.

That reminds me...I have been having some very strange nightmares. The other night I dreamt I was getting married. I was wearing a full-length satin gown and all the guests were there, but I had to go talk to a couple of people in a back room. When I came back, most of the guests had gone home, and all the decorations were gone. Only a handful of people had waited for me, to tell me they were sorry. I said that was okay; I wanted to go ahead and get married anyway since whoever would be performing the ceremony was still there and we didn't need the rest. The remaining people thought that was very sweet that I'd still want to get married, without any frills and even though almost everyone had left. I was standing there with a bouquet, wondering what I was supposed to do, and I looked over at the groom. I had no idea who he was! He looked familiar, but I didn't know him. I was panicking and thinking maybe I should call it off, but I felt weird about it after saying I still wanted to go through with it. I couldn't figure out who the guy was. Geez...I guess that's sort of funny, but, it's also kind of terrible! Ha! Thank goodness I woke up!

Dolly Onlookers

I've been painting new doll faces today with my other dolls looking on. The slugs seem the most curious and eager to see what I'm up to. I need some shelving, maybe stadium seating.

I was making good progress until I had to take allergy medication for a bad insect bite I have on my foot. Nothing else seems to control the awful itching and the swelling, but then I nearly nodded off right in the middle of my faces. I kept going, but one or two didn't come out the way I planned. I hate doing "negative work", a phrase a friend uses for creating more work for yourself by making mistakes. I cut one up just to stop myself from continuing to try to fix it. I always feel compelled to try to fix everything, but sometimes it is just better to start over. Besides, most of them came out quite well. I've always been a perfectionist in regard to what I make, and that can make things unpleasant for me sometimes. I've been told that by the time I reached my current age, lots of things that bothered me before wouldn't bother me so much anymore. In some ways that is true, but I haven't shaken the perfectionist drive.

Owlie Art Toys

I am still at work on my Lucy dolls, but I only managed to simplify my pattern by eliminating a seam or two...not much of a difference. I decided she was just going to remain complicated to make, and so I am slowly making progress on those. In the meantime, I took a mini detour and made an Owlie. I made up the pattern myself, fiddling around until I liked the shape.

I added some machine appliquéd details and sewed him up. I made two cute yellow feet for him too. I used some natural, undyed cotton fabric I had from a few years ago for his body. It has a lovely texture with a diagonal woven design. It is the color of oatmeal and is very soft.

Although I tried as many things as I could think to try, I could not get this red polka dot fabric color to show up right in the main photos of my owl. It is a dark red, but it looks too dark in my owl photos. It looks about right, on my monitor anyway, in this photo below:

Mr Owl is about 8 1/2 inches wide by 6 1/2 inches tall.

Other than playing with toys, I got to play with kids this weekend, which was a lot of fun. I think we crammed every kid activity possible into one afternoon. We played with toy trains (I managed to fix the engine part), flew kites, ate ice cream, looked for real trains, played on the caboose at the park, rode on a miniature train, rode the carousel (I picked a bunny), and played tag. And I'm sure I'm leaving things out. I also learned that I am sorely outmatched both in ice cream eating abilities and in superhero powers by a five and a six year old. I needed a lot of pizza to refuel afterwards, but I couldn't help but feel happier when they were around.

Super Slug Comes to Save the Day

My "Hug Me! Slugs" are taking on mutant superhero powers.

This one has an attached cape in case he needs to fly.

He's also got a bit of a potbelly. So, I don't know how much altitude he is going to achieve. He has high hopes, at the very least.

Thanks, G.B., for the "Super Slug" suggestion.

I think today, I am going to take another look at my Lucy doll pattern and see if I can simplify it somehow. She seems to be well loved, but she's a little complicated to make. I can't say, as of yet, I know how to make her less complicated, but my mind is on it.

Gumdrop Babies

This is the new pattern I've been working on. I saw them all sitting on my table and they reminded me of gumdrops. So, they became "Gumdrop Babies". I think they are sweet.

They are original, one-of-a-kind, art toys. I hand painted and heat set each one of their pleasantly smiling faces. They are about 10 3/4 to 11 inches tall and they have no removable or loose parts, making them safe for little ones. They are meant to be played with and loved and hugged. I prewashed the fabrics I used, mostly cotton quilting fabrics, with a little rayon on their faces. So they can be gently spot cleaned, rinsed, and set to dry. BTW, I've been using Tide Free for Sensitive Skin when I prewash my fabrics. I like to get that factory smell out of fabrics in addition to making sure they won't shrink or run later.

I'm finding toy making to be therapeutic. No wonder Santa is a jolly guy. I'm not quite jolly yet, but I'm hoping to get there.

Baby faces

I've been working on a new doll pattern, and these are my experiments so far with their baby faces. Two are on cotton and two are on rayon. So far, the rayon is bleeding less when I use my Pigma pens and acrylic paint on it. I'm going to cut these out and do some appliquéing next. Right now, however, I am going to run in to town...more later.

"So you like slugs?" Feature

My "Hug Me! Slugs" have just been featured on firrkids.com, a review site for children's fiction and non-fiction books, DVDs, toys and games. You can see the feature here: So you like slugs? Thanks so much, Jennifer! I've been feeling blue, and that really made my day.

"Hug Me! Slugs", First Photo Shoot

Here they are...all neat and orderly, with their hang tags tied on, smiling for the camera.

Once I write a few ads, I'll be putting these five up for adoption over in my Etsy shop.

"Hug Me! Slug" Invasion

This is what my workroom looks like this week. My mom came in and started to talk to me the other day, without even noticing them, apparently, because all of a sudden she let out a big, "AH!"

They kind of stare at you like Hypnotoad, only in a completely benign way. We hope...

I've also been putting together their hang tags and experimenting with making my pattern over in different sizes. I want to make another, one step down in size from this one, but I'm not sure if I can turn those antennae right side out if I go too small. I guess the only way to know is to try one.

"Hug Me! Slug" and "Hug Me! Creatures" Original Art Toys

Here is a sneak peek at my new "Hug Me! Creatures" original art toys. S.B.'s "Huggy Slug" suggestion finally came to fruition after a lot of procrastinating by me, and, don't you know, while I was fiddling around, someone went and trademarked a very similar name :( So, we've all been tossing slug name ideas around, and the "Huggy Slug" was reborn as the "Hug Me! Slug", part of the "Hug Me! Creatures" family, previously known as the "Huggy Creatures" family.

I really don't like to step on anyone's toes! Huggy Bunny and Huggy Kitty now have a cousin, with more on the way.

My "Hug Me! Creatures" are sewn by me, using my own designs and my own original patterns, copyright Elizabeth Ruffing. No two are exactly alike.

Fiona's web page is finally up

I've been terribly behind trying to update our online doll gallery, but Fiona's web page is finally there!

She's a one-of-a-kind, original folk art kitten doll. I've included all the details about her and her brother Ziggy. And there are plenty of pictures of them riding their bicycles :)

Cats On Bikes

I'm so glad I found these bikes. I had no idea how much kitten dolls enjoyed bikes until I got them. They actually got a bit rowdy.

They had a game of Chicken.

Their mama managed to redirect them.

Then they rode tandem. No hands! Er, paws.

Then they rode off on their own.

I'm not sure where they went.

If you see them, let me know.

They're about, well, kitten-sized...several inches tall, and not considered dangerous.

Special thanks to Max Bailey's cat Hedda for minding them as best she could.

From left to right, "Fiona", "Ziggy", and "Hedda". Please visit our online doll gallery to see more of our original, one-of-a-kind, folk art dolls.

"Fiona" the Calico Kitten

Here is "Fiona" my one-of-a-kind, original folk art kitten doll, finally all painted and dressed and photographed!

She looks very alert, mischievous, and ready to play, as a kitten should.

I put her with "Ziggy", her little brother, on the handmade doll quilt I made for her. They played with Ziggy's toy car.

Then they had a game of Patty-cake.

Fiona modeled her dress. Three-quarter view...

Front...

And back.

I took a better photo of her butterfly quilt.

And got a closeup of the hand embroidered butterfly I designed for the center block.

Please visit Fiona's webpage by clicking here.

Emerging Art

I think I painted about eight million hairs on this kitten doll, when two million might have done just as well. I have her shoes, socks, and pantaloons left to paint and I'm feeling terribly slow. I may be coming down with a cold. It's gotten everyone else here so far. I really want to get my doll done so I can photograph her with Ziggy. They look great together.

I don't think that I believed how labor-intensive this kitten-making would be. Max had moved on, at least temporarily, from making the sewn, stuffed, and dressed dolls because, with all the sewing, they were extra involved and time consuming to make, and because Max prefers the sculpting and painting end of things to the sewing and stuffing end. I thought since I enjoy sewing, it would be right up my alley, which it may be. Oh, but all these hairs...I think I went a little nuts.

Doll Bicycles

I found these great bicycles on Easter clearance. They had bunnies attached, but I carefully removed them, along with the candy that came in the baskets.

I used some paint and epoxy remover to get the glue off the seats, eventually managed to pick it off. I then patched, sanded, and painted the seats over, closely matching the the bike frames.

I think they are so charming, and they fit my kitten just right.

Mr Buskit, the Birthday Slug

This is S.B.'s birthday slug. He's based on the pattern for my Valentine bird, with a few alterations. He's got a little painted wooden birthday present in his "mouth", and pipe cleaner antennae with painted wooden beads at their ends. His birthday hat is topped with a tiny pom pom.

S.B. had been suggesting for some time that I make a "Huggy Slug" to go with my other huggy creatures.

His name, Mr Buskit, was revealed during the course of a confused driving conversation:

Elizabeth: "What are we waiting for?"

S.B.: "We're waiting until this bus gets by."

Elizabeth: "Who's Mr Buskit?"

S.B.: "What?"

Elizabeth: "We're waiting until Mr Buskit's by?"

S.B.: "We're waiting until this bus gets by us."

Elizabeth: "Oh."

S.B.: "Who's Mr Buskit?"

Elizabeth: "I don't know. I thought maybe he was a neighborhood pet."

S.B.: "A neighborhood pet?... Maybe that's the slug's name."

Happy birthday, S.B...from me and Mr Buskit :)

Furry and having fun

I added some sculpted fur to my second kitten doll. She looks a little less like a space alien today.

I also edited a bunch of Ziggy photos, probably too many, and put them up on Flickr. I made up Ziggy's web page on our Ruffing's site too.

I really like the photos where he is riding his car. I hadn't thought about putting him on the car and was just fooling around in between setting up poses for him.

He came to life when I started having him interact with the car.

Some of the photos are pretty amusing.

Ziggy will be available for adoption over on his webpage. Please visit our doll gallery and our the Ruffing's blog to see our latest available art dolls.

My second kitten doll in progress

It is very dark and rainy today, but I started in on my second kitten-sculpting project. I will add more sculpted fur another day. It's hard to see details today.

I got better photos of Ziggy using a tan backdrop, and the spot metering and white balance bracketing settings on my camera. You can see his whites now.

Other than that, I am doing some boring-to-me things like editing web pages. I'm trying to get a more comprehensive online doll gallery together for our main Ruffing's site. Max, in particular, has a lot of cute stories to go with all the art doll photos we have accumulated. There are so many cat doll photos on our Flickr doll pages at this point, that we thought it would be more entertaining if they were put back in their original contexts, with the stories that go along with them. I still have to edit Ziggy's photos for his page...

Painting my kitten doll

I'm pokey, but I am making progress. Little Ziggy (I've decided he's a boy now) has been coming right along. He's got a pastel yellow onesie with a periwinkle blue collar and buttons down the front. I'm having quite a time keeping his whiskers white. I've had to repaint them a couple of times and I'm sure I will again. Painting thread is not as easy as I might have thought. I think what takes the most time, aside from painting his multitude of kitten hairs, is deciding how I want him to look. He is a stylized version of a kitten after all, and there are plenty of choices to make about how I want to do that. All in all, he's a cute fellow.

Just an aside...Those are my African violets in the background. They are getting what looks like white mildew on them. I was so glad to be able to get them to survive, and I am not happy about this new turn of events. Does anyone have any experience with this? I read keeping a fan going helps, but it is cold for that! I've been trying to get rid of the infected parts, but I seem to be losing the battle :(

Another aside...We're on "vacation" from our eBay store this week, in sympathy for the current eBay boycott. We'll be posting our new dolls over on our main website. I'm working on expanding our art doll pages over there so people can visit, take a look at available and already adopted dolls, and read their stories. I don't know if a boycott will have any effect, as I imagine eBay will continue to cost sellers more and more, but I do think the changes to the feedback system are insulting. In the coming months, sellers will no longer be able to leave negative feedback, but buyers will continue to be able to. Personally, we have never left any or received any negative feedback, but whether buyer, seller, or both, we should all be subject to the same policies. To do otherwise is to invite abuse. If eBay wants to reform its feedback system, I believe it would be more fair to do away with the positive, negative, and neutral signs, and just have plain, honest feedback. I believe if eBay users don't feel threatened by potential punishment for saying what they think, that they will leave more accurate accounts of their transactions. I think that would be much more valid and much more fair to everyone.

Kitten in Black and White

Here is my little kitten, with his/her (still haven't made up my mind) face sculpted and dry, and some basic lines marked with pen. I'm going to use that adorable tuxedo kitten to the left as a model when I paint.

It was bound to happen some day...I've been tagged. I may be the last person who hasn't been tagged yet, ever. I think I just passed my first year blogging anniversary too, roughly. I erased my first post that said something like, "Just testing." So, no accurate date there. I digress...I've been tagged by Annie Oakleaves (I like saying that. It makes me smile.) Here goes... five random facts about myself:

1. I am an only child. People have always asked me, "Did you miss not having brothers and sisters?" I never understand this question, but I try to answer it politely. The truth is that I never had them, and so I have no idea what it is like to miss having them.
2. I like to watch campy TV. My dad says that my mom and I will watch anything that "sparkles". Dancing with the Stars, American Gladiators, Passions, Dr Who...if it has some element of the ridiculous, I'm in.
3. I hate to buy new sneakers. I will wear them until they die. I've been known to strap them back together with duct tape. I really need a new pair right now.
4. I am a pack rat. I had to reduce the number of my possessions when we moved several years ago, and it still pains me to think about it. I must have saved everything I had ever had, including piles of junk mail.
5. I usually remember to take the laundry out of the washing machine, but I usually forget to take it out of the dryer.

Okay. Since I can't believe I am not the last person to have been tagged ever, I will leave it up to anyone who hasn't been tagged and who would like to be tagged, to volunteer five random facts about themselves. Or even one random fact. I'm not fussy about rules. Even if you don't blog, you can just leave one or more in the comment section :)

Kitten, Bunny, Kitten

I have a mean headache today, but I managed to finish stuffing and assembling my bunny doll. So, now there are three dolls ready and I think I am about to start my sculpting "apprenticeship":) Max has agreed to give me lessons, and has high hopes that I have the sculpting gene in me. I hope so. The first requirement was that I make my own doll patterns up and the second is that I don't share any of Max's sculpting secrets. I guess that means the next time you see these dolls, they will have sculpted faces. That, or they will have clothes, depending on which I take on first.

To answer Annie Oakleaves question in my comments section about which dollmaking book I would recommend to start with, it depends on what you are most interested in learning, but my personal favorite so far is Antonette Cely's book, Cloth Dollmaking. Her instructions are great and she starts with a very simple doll. Then, in the following chapters, she explains how to make increasingly difficult dolls. There is a doll pattern for each section of the book, and so you really get hands-on experience of what she is teaching. I love Antonnette Cely's book because you can keep progressing right up to her very advanced designs, and it's loaded with clever, helpful tips.

P.S. Don't my dolls look like they are at the drive-in or something in that second photo? :)

The kitty community is growing...

Now there are two kittens assembled. The first one has more of a baby body and this second one has more of a toddler body.

I'm going to give the toddler one some Mary Janes, and so she doesn't have the toes sewn in. She also has bigger ears.

They both have metal button joints, and are of my own design. Since everyone's own pattern designs are copyrighted, it's important to learn about designing your own dolls, if you want to sell them. I thought I'd share some of the books that I've found helpful.

On the far right is Antonette (Noni) Cely's Cloth Dollmaking. Not only is Antonette Cely an amazing doll artist, she is a wonderful instructor. I've learned so much from this book, and it includes patterns for a few of Noni's dolls. She also has videos. There are a couple of clips from her dollmaking videos on YouTube too: Customizing Doll Patterns and Making Faces. Just see if you don't learn something just from watching the excerpts!

In the center are some of Susanna Oroyan's books, Fantasic Figures, Designing the Doll, and Anatomy of a Doll. Susanna's books include lots of examples from a host of doll artists, along with how-to drawings that are really helpful. Both her and Antonette Cely's books include some information on both designing cloth dolls and on sculpting doll faces. They are full of inspiration.

On the far left are two of Patti Medaris Culea's books, Creative Cloth Doll Making, and Creative Cloth Doll Faces. They both explore various techniques for making cloth dolls and include other artists' interpretations of the patterns included in the books. They both have very good basic instruction for sewing and assembling cloth dolls, and all kinds of ideas for embellishing them.

Kitten doll...on her way

I got my first kitten doll body sewn, stuffed, and assembled. She is made from my own original design and pattern. I have a good feeling about this one. I think she is going to be really cute.

I think I'll stuff and assemble the other kitten and the bunny dolls I have ready before I start my sculpting lessons. I think this is going to be fun.

I used tube turners to turn my doll parts right side out today, and they made it so much easier. I got mine at the Hancock Fabrics store (I can't seem to find them on their site, but Joann's has them on theirs).

My assistant thought they made great toys too.

"Huggy Kitty" New Original Cat Doll by Elizabeth Ruffing

"Huggy Bunny" has a new friend, "Huggy Kitty".

Huggy Kitty has a lavender onesie with burnt orange and white flowers, yellow polka dot buttons, and a red polka dot heart.

She has gold "fur" and a curly tail. She is made from 100% cotton quilting fabrics that have been fused to a layer of cotton sheeting for added durability.

Her eyes and mouth are hand embroidered, and the edges of her onesie, her tail, her nose, and the pink parts of her ears are machine appliquéd.

Huggy Kitty has no loose parts, and she is stuffed with Poly-fil polyester stuffing.

To see my available original, one-of-a-kind soft dolls and toys please click here.

"Emily", New Original Art Doll by Elizabeth Ruffing

This is "Emily". I finished her some time ago, but only recently got her photos together and posted on Flickr. Emily was inspired by the Izannah Walker dolls of the 1800's, and is named after the poet, Emily Dickenson. I designed both her body pattern and her dress pattern myself, and sewed each in 100% cotton fabric. She has an antique reproduction Jumeau style face that I made using papier mâché. Her hand-sculpted ringlets on either side of her head are made from paperclay .

Emily was gessoed , then detailed with acrylic paint, and sealed with matte varnish for protection. Her blue eyes were hand painted as well.

Emily's fingers are hand quilted and lightly wired to give them a gentle curl, and her arms bend slightly at the elbows. Her arms bend at her shoulders, and her legs bend at her hips and knees.
I made Emily's dress from a tan calico quilter's cotton. It is dotted with little burgundy and navy blue flowers. Her sash ties in the back to make a pretty bow. I sewed two pin tucks at the bottom of her dress and added a big three inch hem to make the skirt stand out nicely.

Her antique-style undergarments are carefully detailed with painted-on lace, pink buttons and a bow. Her shoes are painted on as well, with tiny buttons up their sides.

Please click here to visit Emily's web page.

Stuffed

"Huggy Bunny" is stitched and stuffed. I did some hand quilting on his ears and at his arm and leg joints.

His little tail, and the edges of his clothes, and his pink parts are machine stitched with a zig zag over the raw edge appliqué.

I took a shot at doing a twisted chain hand embroidery stitch on the booties. I don't think mine came out the way it was supposed to, but I liked it anyway. So, I kept going with it. I'll have to try it the right way later. My book, Judith Baker Montano's Elegant Stitches, arrived today, and it is very nice, with lots of pretty, inspirational pictures. I am still on the lookout for The Embroidery Stitch Bible by Betty Barnden, which I think has even more photos of the stitches. I need all the visual aids I can get.

Mister Bunny seems like an agreeable sort, cheerful, ready for anything. I think I will try raising the arms just a bit when I make his friend/sister/brother, and I think I'll make a simpler outfit next time. This one is adorable, but it took such a long time to make. I'll have to get him posted on Etsy so I can make the Etsy for Animals January challenge deadline. I was lucky to get him done and photographed before it starts raining again.

Later...Ah ha! I was looking through Elegant Stitches and I discovered that my mutated twisted chain stitch is really a coral stitch. I learned something after all!

Embroidery Beginnings

I used a zig zag stitch to finish some of the raw edges on my "Huggy Bunny" doll, and then I put my newly acquired hoop to use and tried a couple of hand embroidery stitches. I chose a chain stitch for the mouth, and a satin stitch for the eyes, because they seemed simple and appropriate for the task of stitching the face. I only sewed the whole thing to my pants once. So, so far so good. I'm going to try something decorative as soon as my new-to-me book, Elegant Stitches: An Illustrated Stitch Guide and Source Book of Inspiration by Judith Baker Montano, arrives. I bought a copy on eBay last week.

I'll try to get some close-up photos of how to do a chain stitch and a satin stitch, to post on this site, when it brightens up around here. It is finally raining, really raining. NC has had a very bad drought this year. So this is good news, just not good for photographing.

"Huggy Bunny" Doll and Quilt in Progress

I've got my new doll patterns ready for a test run. This is my "Huggy Bunny" ready for some machine appliquéing. I am also going to try my hand at hand embroidery, a new craft for me, partly in honor of the Etsy for Animals January challenge, "New Year, New Craft" (although I'm not sure I can meet the January 1st deadline), and partly to tie in with a new idea I have for some embroidery designs. I was thinking a sort of "stitch-along" might be fun. I'm working on an original design to post on my website so that anyone who wants to join in, can learn along with me.

My "Huggy Bunny" is part of a series of designs I've been working on since this past summer. This is the quilt variation. I had taken step-by-step photos of the whole machine appliqué process, and even the basic assembly of the quilt top, meaning to put together a tutorial, but, unfortunately, I got distracted by other things. This year I hope to get more organized and fill out this site a bit more. I've got plenty of ideas for new projects that I think will be lots of fun.

Happy Christmas Eve!

Plodding along/hopping along?

My repair job is done, my next doll face it painted, and I have a few "Rabbit Dances" cards to finish up. I still have more bunny and snow scene cards in my shop. Thanks for all the compliments on them :)

I am also refining a new doll pattern done in machine appliqué style like "Lovely Lucy". There are three variations so far and I think they are going to be really cute. I can't wait to get the first ones together. I hope they come off without needing too many, no, any adjustments to their patterns. I'll give you one hint: they are of the animal variety. The possibilities are multiplying in my mind right now...

Doll Surgery

I hope everyone is having a pleasant holiday weekend. I sneaked a little work time in yesterday and started on some doll surgery. I am glad to say the crack turned out to be a surface wound and not something deeper. I removed the papier mâché and the paperclay in the neck area using a battery-operated manicure gizmo, er, um..."power file" I found at Target. I got it as a cheapo alternative to a Dremel kit, which I still hope to have one day. It works just fine at chipping off the above aforementioned materials.

Once I got down to the fabric of the neck area, I sanded it smooth. I th