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Snowbelle, Original One-of-a-kind White Turkish Angora Folk Art Cat Doll by Max Bailey

Snowbelle, Original One-of-a-kind White Turkish Angora Folk Art Cat Doll by Max BaileySnowbelle is a lovely white Turkish Angora kitty whose favorite time of year has finally arrived.

Snowbelle, Original One-of-a-kind White Turkish Angora Folk Art Cat Doll by Max BaileyShe sits by the window and waits for the magical snowflakes to begin falling from the sky.

Snowbelle, Original One-of-a-kind White Turkish Angora Folk Art Cat Doll by Max Bailey

Snowbelle, Original One-of-a-kind White Turkish Angora Folk Art Cat Doll by Max BaileySnowbelle loves the way the snow glistens when the moon is full and all the stars sparkle in the night sky. She loves it too when there’s a snow moon, and the snowflakes swirl softly all around her. She painted little scenes on her sled so she can remember how it feels all year long.

Snowbelle, Original One-of-a-kind White Turkish Angora Folk Art Cat Doll by Max Bailey

Snowbelle, Original One-of-a-kind White Turkish Angora Folk Art Cat Doll by Max BaileyWhen the ground is white, Snowbelle will call her friend Hedda, and the two will take the sled and head for the downhill slope behind the barn. At the bottom of the hill they will lie on their backs and swish their paws in the snow to make kitty snow angels. Then they’ll roll the snow into giant balls to make kitty snowmen.

Snowbelle, Original One-of-a-kind White Turkish Angora Folk Art Cat Doll by Max Bailey

Snowbelle, Original One-of-a-kind White Turkish Angora Folk Art Cat Doll by Max BaileySnowbelle is an original one-of-a-kind work of art, created from my own design and pattern and is meant for display only. She is made from 100% cotton fabric which is sewn, stuffed, and completely hand painted with acrylic paints. She is 13 inches tall.

Snowbelle, Original One-of-a-kind White Turkish Angora Folk Art Cat Doll by Max Bailey

Snowbelle, Original One-of-a-kind White Turkish Angora Folk Art Cat Doll by Max BaileyI sculpted Snowbelle’s face from paperclay, which I smoothed into her fabric head. Her pearl cotton whiskers were threaded through the paperclay before it dried.

Snowbelle, Original One-of-a-kind White Turkish Angora Folk Art Cat Doll by Max BaileySnowbelle’s arms are button-jointed with gold antique-looking buttons, so she can be easily posed, and her paws are needle-sculpted. Her white tail supports her very nicely, so that she can sit up all by herself on a shelf, or a table, or in a cabinet. She will also happily sit in a chair, or stand with a doll stand. (Chair and doll stand not included.)

Snowbelle, Original One-of-a-kind White Turkish Angora Folk Art Cat Doll by Max BaileyI created Snowbelle’s pretty dress from blue cotton fabric that has a delicate pattern of snowflakes, and added white lace at the neckline. She has painted ivory bloomers that match her cute little high-button shoes with gold buttons. Her kitty legs are covered with tights that are striped in two shades of blue. They match her wooden sled.

Snowbelle, Original One-of-a-kind White Turkish Angora Folk Art Cat Doll by Max BaileySnowbelle is signed and dated, and sealed with matte varnish for protection and preservation. She comes with a hang tag, a certificate of authenticity, and a copy of her story.

Snowbelle and her hand-painted sled are available for $950.00, plus shipping. Please inquire to [email protected]

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Kitty Cat Dolls

I had a long sewing day the other day. I had a doctor’s appointment yesterday, and I wanted to make sure I wouldn’t hold Max up with our new folk art cat doll project, which we’ll put in our online doll gallery when she is finished. It was just a checkup. I was feeling fine. But, wouldn’t you know, I hurt my back while I was there, just picked something up the wrong way I guess, and I came out a crooked person. So ridiculous to hurt yourself at the doctor’s. Anyway, I am still a crooked person today, and am trying to find things I can do without moving around too much.

This is my other kitty doll, the real kind, fast asleep in his bed. Now that we have chilly weather, he has rediscovered his cat bed and is putting it to a lot of use. He purred himself to sleep while I was sewing.

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Sewing and soup-ing

I started sewing our kitty doll bodies today on my new sewing machine. I’m still getting used to the buttons I need to push instead of dials I need to turn. So far, it’s great. I really like the “fix” button that ties the thread off, and the “needle up/down” button, which I used a lot when I was pivoting around tight corners. I borrowed my mom’s Ott-Lite and put it right over my fabric so I could see better. The newer machines have stronger lighting, but that’s okay. It worked out fine. Incidentally, I hate that I look like I have big, old man paws in that photo! Foreshortening does some odd things.

We were so cold today that it seemed like a good day for some homemade soup. I made some vegetable soup using a hodgepodge of ingredients. I had some stock I made and put away in the freezer maybe two years ago! I thawed it out and everyone told me it tasted fine. None of us have come down with botulism yet. So, I think it was okay too. I added a can of diced tomatoes and a little chopped onion and garlic, and then I put about five cups of other vegetables into the boiling stock, about a cup each, adding them in order according to their cooking times. I used fresh carrots, fresh parsley, frozen cut green beans, frozen peas, and frozen corn. I also added a cup of whole wheat macaroni, and some salt and pepper.

I probably could have used more stock in my stock-to-vegetables ratio. As it is, my soup came out more like a stew, using about six cups of stock. Closer to eight cups might have made it more soup-like, but it was hot and warming, and we were cold, as I said. So, there were no complaints!
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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.