The Art of Elizabeth Ruffing | My Studio Blog

Here’s a slug update. These are over in my Etsy toy shop, along with one new Hug Me Bug too,

bright red, burnt orange, mauve, pink with stars,

orchid, honeydew green, and two pretty, soft yellows.

Below are orders waiting for Monday’s trip to the Post Office. Some sock kittens and Hug Me Slugs found homes at the festivals they attended this weekend too. They were at Peak Fest in Apex, Meet in the Street in Wake Forest. and OutRaleigh in Raleigh. Thanks to everyone at Alley Cats and Angels for taking them along and babysitting them. I’ll borrow some photos and post them next time.

This is one of my tabby cat helpers with my fleece remnants. She’s been keeping me company while I watch movies and hand embroider eyes, and hearts, and smiles on my toys.

Bertie also likes to be helpful. She gets as close as possible to projects to make sure she is ready, if needed.

I made the girls some very easy cat toys this week. They have a favorite tattered scrap of fake fur they love to carry around, meowing, and sometimes putting it in the water bowl. I cut 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inch pieces of fake fur, rolled them, and stitched across one end. They happily accepted them.

Below is the old one with Bertie. At least half the fur is gone off of it. They still play with it anyway.

This is Phoebe waiting for her turn. Lately, Phoebe has been chasing the other cats. She thinks this is funny, but at least one older boy doesn’t care for it. I joined in, to see what would happen, and Phoebe seems to like the idea of my chasing her around the house. I make sure not to scare her, and she seems to know it is a game. It’s good to be able to interact with her, since she is too shy to be handled.

Three more festivals for this Saturday

My toys were at the Cleveland Strawberry Festival in Clayton, NC this past Saturday. Here are some pictures of the Alley Cats and Angels booth. Thanks, Ashley and Laura, for spending their whole day there, and for organizing the event, and to everyone involved.

It was very crowded and busy when we came by. I got lost, and it took me a couple of hours to get there, being unfamiliar with the area, and getting the wrong street from my Internet map. NC is fond of naming two streets in the same area, the same thing, even when they are not connected. There are two Technology Drives in Clayton. I was way off! My parents came along, and my dad patiently asked about five people for directions before we happened across a lady who had just been there. Then we walked the whole length of the festival before finding the booth on our fourth pass through. I got lucky and found a security guard who had been by the booth earlier and remembered seeing it. I was glad when I finally found it and was able to get some pictures. It would have been terrible to go home without finding it!

The rescue is going to take my toys along to this coming Saturday’s events too. They’ll have booths at three festivals, Peak Fest in Apex, Meet in the Street in Wake Forest, and Out Raleigh in Raleigh. Please come if you are in the area. They’ll all be on May 5, 2012.

In truth, I am nervous having the toys away from the house! I’m used to doing everything from home, and I fret that something will happen to them. This takes some adjusting.

Aside from finding the booth, I was glad to get some more catnip cigars. The kitties love them, as you can see. Proceeds go to help the rescue.

Here’s Phoebe enjoying her nap in the sunshine after an active morning of playing.

Today I finished my remaining batch of 7-inch Hug Me Slugs. A portion of sales, $5 each, from these goes to the rescue as well. These are over in my Etsy toy shop.

I am still sewing through a pile of toys I have stuffed, but not yet detailed. I’d like to try something different soon, for variety. Doing the same task for hours can be productive, because I get used to what I’m doing, but it can get boring.

I feel encouraged when my workroom gets emptier. It feels good to get the toys finished and put away. For months, I’ve had a large number of toys all around me in there.