hug-me-slugs Archives - Page 23 of 36 - Ruffing’s

Posted on December 12, 2010January 9, 2019 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Toy riot

This is a glimpse into my workroom, showing how it has looked over the past few days. I’ve been in a whirl of fabric and thread and stuffing, surrounded by toys in all stages of completeness.

All my little sock kittens went off to new homes, all but one kitty angel that I will show you later.

I miss them and need to make some more. My Hug Me Toads are hopping off too. And, there has been an onslaught of slugs.

This fourteen-inch slug is on his way to Australia. I have a big bunch more, in all shapes and sizes, that I’ll be working on this week, so they can be off before for Christmas.

Piles of personalized hang tags are accumulating, and more toys keep joining the ranks. I am sewing all day, each day, for the most part. I’m still on schedule, and every toy that has been ordered as of this morning, is either all done, or in progress. I’m currently on about a two-week turnaround time for making the custom toys. Almost all of my ready-made toy animals have been adopted, but I will try to add a couple more to my Etsy shop, if I can, before Christmas. I have some things I have to do this weekend, along with celebrating my birthday, and so I may run out of time.

My toys and prints have made it into quite a few Etsy treasuries over the past couple of weeks, and this one below made it to the Etsy front page. I saw the number of views rushing up on that listing, along with the number of hearts on it, and thought something must be up. I missed seeing it on the front page, but the curator told me about it later. I appreciate everyone who features my work. It’s a very nice compliment. I put the recent treasuries in a set on my Flickr page.

It seems like weeks now that I, at long last, got myself a Wacom tablet. I haven’t yet had the time to plug it in. I picked up a bundle with Corel Painter, which I have hardly tested out yet either. I tried the tablet during Apple class, but I haven’t had time to get to one of those lately either! I was thoroughly uncoordinated with the pen and tablet. I am going to need a lot of practice, once the holidays have passed.

I think one of my first projects will be to play with my hang tags for my toys. I am wishing I’d made up some kind of gift certificates or e-gift cards to send out for people who are shopping late for the holidays too, so they could pre-order slugs for gift recipients. Those are small projects, but I’m not stepping away from the sewing long enough to do them at the moment. I wish I’d been a little more on top of things this season, but I am more prepared than I was last year. The holiday panic is subsiding, and being replaced by fatigue. My mom is giving me a hand, cutting out eyeballs, and doing this and that. I’d be panicked and fatigued at the same time, without her help. Thanks, Mom!

As always, I have my kitty helper too. He is also invaluable.

Posted on December 1, 2010January 9, 2019 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Custom Hug Me Slugs

Hey, everybody! Excuse my absence from my blog. I’ve been on a sewing binge. I am actually still on a sewing binge, and will probably remain on one for a couple of weeks at least. I just wanted to check in because I’ve been receiving some emails asking when the Hug Me Slugs I’ve been working on will be available. I’m accepting custom orders right now! Rather than try to guess which ones to finish first, I’m letting you decide which colors you’d like. You’ll find some listings for them in my Etsy shop. I’ll keep putting finished ones up when I can, along with my other toy characters. If there are any you are waiting to see, don’t be a afraid to just drop me a note. You can always order directly from me, if you prefer, by sending me an email.

The proud royal blue slug above was a present for Tia, who had a birthday recently.

I’ve almost sewn through my entire stack of fleece. My mom has been giving me a hand, clipping seams and turning toys right side out. I’ve got some sock animals in various stages as well. Again, if you’re looking for a striped kitty or a polka-dotted toad or anything that isn’t there, just contact me and I’ll see what I can do. My turnaround time for custom toys will get longer, the closer we get to the holidays, and so it’s good to let me know as early as you can.

I have a lot of colors for now, in the 9 inch slug size, and a smaller number in the 12 inch size. If you click on the photo above, you can get a bigger version to read. Availability will depend on popularity. I think eventually I will narrow the custom colors down so I can keep them in stock more easily. I went through almost all the colors I had, cutting them up, this time around.

Well, back to the sewing!

Posted on November 4, 2010January 9, 2019 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Holiday poll

I was wishing out loud today, that I had more of an idea of what people might like to see from us for the holidays. I have a few weeks ahead where I will be busy, but I’m never quite sure where exactly to best direct my attention.

Pixie Kittens

Of course, most of my attention will go toward projects I am already working on, but I always find myself short on something someone wishes he or she could have when the holidays come near. A friend suggested I try a poll, and so I am leaving one at the end of this post.

Hug Me! Slugs

If you are considering doing some holiday shopping with us, please take a moment to let me know where your interests may be. I will try to have some of everything, but I never can predict. Of course, if you are here just to read and look at what I’m up to, that is great too. This is just to give me an idea of what I might want to have more of by holiday time.

Hug Me! Sock Kittens

I am bound to throw in some things not on the list too, if I have the time. Last year I got in a crunch where I was barely leaving the house for a couple of weeks. So, I’d like to try to be a little more prepared, if I can.

Hug Me! Toads

If there is something else you’ve been hoping to see more of, please feel free to leave a comment or drop me an email. I received a very nice email today asking if I’ll be coming out with more paintings, and the answer is yes, I will. I’ve got a bunch in various stages, although I’m not sure when I’ll have them ready to post. I tend to start so many projects that sometimes it takes me a while to circle back around and finish them.

Hug Me! Hippo

So, here it is…my first poll. Thanks for the input!

[poll id=”2″]

Posted on September 14, 2010January 9, 2019 by Elizabeth Ruffing — 1 Comment

Bunny and Slug Pillows

I finished my Hug Me Bunny decorative fleece pillow and made a Hug Me Slug pillow friend for her out of sheeting and quilting cottons. I’m experimenting with which fabrics I like the most for pillows. I think I will try a combination of a fleece background, with sheeting and quilting cottons for the appliqués too. I tried that on my Super Slug and liked how it worked out before.

I made an envelope closure for each pillow back, in their background fabrics. To do this, you work out the measurements for half your pillow height, plus a hem and seam allowances for the top piece, and the same plus 3 to 4 inches for the bottom piece, by the pillow width. Then sew the hems, overlap the two pieces, and sew them to the front of your pillow, right sides together. Finish the raw seam edges, and turn the pillow cover right side out.

I made a pillow insert so the covers could be taken off and hand washed as needed. It slips right inside the back closure. I found the easiest way to get the insert in was to flip the top half of the back enclosure over so it is inside out, slip the pillow insert inside the bottom half, then flip the top half back over, right side out.

I recommended hand washing for the pillow covers, cool water for fleece, and warm water for sheeting. Sheeting can be ironed with a warm iron on a synthetic setting since I used a poly/cotton blend. My pillow insert can be washed too. I recommend hand washing for handmade items, and leaving them to air dry.

Both pillows are over in my Etsy shop.