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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.

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Christmas Parade

I made sure to get back from running errands on time to take my mom to the Christmas parade in town, this past weekend. Seeing as how I feel like one of Santa’s elves lately, with all the toy making, I could hardly miss seeing him.

As always, there were lots of vehicles, starting with these great tractors, all shiny and polished by their owners for the parade.

Then, of course, there were the motorcycles.

This one says “Jesus in Lord” on the side.

Some of these guys look pretty serious.

I’m not sure if this gentleman is pointing to the star on his Christmas tree or if he is just having a conversation with someone in the crowd. Maybe he’s telling his wife where to meet him at the end of the parade.

There are always the men in the little cars. The one over on the left ran out of steam and had to be towed, just after I took this shot.

There are so many cars, all with waving folks inside. A couple of years ago, the cars that had the hydraulic lifts inside, so they went up and down, were popular, but these with the doors that go up and down, sort of like a jack knife, seem to have taken their place.

There were plenty of homemade floats.

This lady was leading a song as she went by.

The Mary and Joseph float went by. Mary waved and smiled at me.

Lots of kids ride on the floats. They wave more enthusiastically at the beginning of the parade.

Then they get tired, by the end of the parade.

This little girl seems to have run out of waving energy, but her companion is still forging on.

There were at least three beauty queens. They seem to hold up better with their waving. I think they must practice.

This one had a beautiful skirt.

Some of the kids get pretty silly by the end of the parade. This little boy in the firetruck was making all kinds of faces out the window. Another little boy went by yawning.

There were even dogs strutting along in the parade, with their festive red coats.

They seem to have more endurance than some of the kids. But then they didn’t have to wave or dance or jump around.

There were even dogs watching the dogs in the parade.

And there was a tiger.

He was helping pass out flyers for the karate school guys.

There were colorful flags,

and kids waving sparkling pom poms. This one was getting tired too, I think.

After just about everyone went by, there was a lull. People started moving into the street, and I thought they might be heading home. When I saw the people in front of us start to dance in the street, I realized they were moving off the curb to get a better look at the Helping Hand Mission Marching Band.

There are lots of dancers and bands in the parade, but the Helping Hand Mission really gets the crowd excited. They stop to perform frequently, which is why there was a lull, I guess. This girl on the left was doing a good job of keeping up with the girls in the group.

I had to step out into the street to get photos at this point. My mom told me there was another guy with a camera squatting down in the middle of the road, and he stayed there until they were almost to him.

They stopped just in front of us to dance and play the drums.

The one guy blows his whistle to signal when they stop or go, I think.

One lady in front of us kept dancing along. When she passed me and realized I had a camera, she looked a little embarrassed. I was enjoying that she was having fun. I felt a little embarrassed that she looked embarrassed.

An army truck went by, driven by a man with such a sweet-faced baby. I tried to get a better photo of her, but they passed by before I knew it.

And for the big finale….Santa, of course! He made sure to wave at everyone. He can’t afford to get tired out. He’s got lots to do these next couple of weeks!

And so do I! I’ll post some of the toys that went out this week. I’ve got plenty to get ready for transit this coming week!

Tonight people will be lighting the first candle of Hanukkah too…Happy Hanukkah!

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I love hearing people’s toy stories

“Percy and Macy“

Yesterday morning, I got this awesome email from that made my day:

Hey Elizabeth, Sam and Sophie opened their slugs yesterday. I think they arrived on Wednesday—just in case you keep track. They are Divine—-I know that’s a weird word, but they are truly DIVINE!! My husband and I are so amazed as to the way the children have taken to these little critters. In this world of technology, they are usually drawn to things that have batteries. I thought they would sleep with the Slugs, but I didn’t know they would play with them. I have to tell you about Sam and the Super Slug. He started throwing him into the air and he tells me that Percy can fly since he is a super slug and that was why he had shooting stars on his cape. I didn’t pay nearly enough attention to the fabric on the cape, but Sam did. He then told me that Percy uses his cape as parachute when he has to land. They are thrilled!! Thank you so much. I want to order more and am trying to find the time to sit down and shop—maybe my life is too complicated and there is a lesson to be learned from all of this “slug” business!! Have a great day. ~Glynis

Isn’t that the most wonderful thing? It is for me. Thanks so much, Glynis, for sending me such a thoughtful email. What a great story. (Those are Sam’s Super Slug and Sophie’s Hug Me! Slug above.)

I came into my workroom yesterday, and the sun was coming up, shining through my window and in between my slugs.

My new fleece was all stacked on my ironing board, waiting to be put away or put to use. I have some new colors, but I haven’t even gotten to listing them or photographing them. By the end of the day, there were even more slugs to be made.

In contrast, today is dark and rainy, which means my kitty assistant is hunkered down for some serious napping. His bed of choice for daytime napping is my new chair. Hm. One of us might have to find another chair. I’m thinking it might be me! I’ve tried the whole sharing thing, and he just ends up stomping onto my table or maneuvering his way onto my lap. Either way, my sewing coordination becomes impaired! He doesn’t understand this at all. He seems quite sure he is being helpful.

Fortunately, I have lots of hand sewing to do, which I might as well do in front of the TV instead. I’m not sure I feel like watching TV, but it sort of sounds less humiliating than accepting that I’ve been ousted from my workroom by my cat 🙂

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A feature, some questions, and some answers

My “Hug Me! Slugs” were featured in Zertuchina’s holiday gift guide post here. Thank you, Zertuchina! I thought it was funny that she happened to also pick for her feature a Janine King bag in the same print that I’ve been eying. I have one of Janine’s bags, and the workmanship is super.

Also this week, a student who is studying textiles wrote to ask me some questions regarding my textile work, in particular my dolls and toys, for a project for school. She is working on an original doll with assorted clothing for her coursework. I thought maybe someone else would be interested in the same things, and so I thought I’d post my answers here. I’m sure I could have expanded on any of my answers, but here they are:

What inspires your work?

I find inspiration in all kinds of things. It can come from anywhere really. I might see a combination of colors I like together, or maybe some fabric that appeals to me. I love animals, and I like to try to create them in doll or toy form. I enjoy experimenting. The creative process itself can be inspiring.

How long does it take for you to create your work?

It varies. A small toy can take a couple of hours, and a more complex doll, like the art dolls that are hand painted and have hand-sculpted parts can take a couple of weeks.

Which fabrics do you use?

I use 100% cotton quilting fabrics, cotton sateen sheeting, and polyester fleece. I also use socks for some of my dolls and toys. I pre-wash all my fabrics in fragrance-free, hypoallergenic detergent to make sure they don’t run, to pre-shink them in case they ever need to be spot cleaned, and to get rid of the new-fabric smell (which I just don’t like).

Do you have to do practice attempts before you create a product you are happy with?

Yes. I start with sketches, and rough drawings of my pattern pieces, as I think they will need to be. Then I sew a prototype. There are sometimes small changes that need to be made because when a doll is stuffed, it often looks much different than it did on paper. They often get taller and thinner, and I need to compensate for that. Sometimes the stuffing doesn’t sit right in a certain shape, and I need to re-draw the pattern to compensate for that as well.

Thanks, L.B., for the compliments. I hope your project comes out great. I look forward to seeing it!