Tag: Me and My Studio

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Slugging away

I’ve been having a little rush on “Hug Me! Slugs” this week. These are just some of the ones I am working on. There are others, in boxes, on the ironing board, on the extra table. They’re taking over my workroom right now. Poor little Sarah, my older sewing machine, is having to stand in for my Platinum, which is in the shop for repair. The man who does the repairs thought the feed dogs might have gotten accidentally tugged out of place, a minor repair, hopefully. I think Sarah will have to go in to be serviced next, with all the fuzzy stuff collecting inside of her.

Fall finally feels like it has arrived. The leaves are turning color, and it’s slightly chilly…sometimes. It seems warm compared to NY state. It feels just right to me.

Even though Mr. Duck’s leg has healed, the ducks still come asking for cracked corn treats. We give them a little bit, just to encourage them to forage on this side of the pond and not wander toward the roads in the other direction. It’s not as nutritious for them as what they can find on their own, and you have to make sure none is left on the ground, because mold is dangerous for ducks. But they get very excited about it. I can’t believe the duckling is so big now. That’s him (or her) in front, on the left. Mama duck is watching me. She’s got her baby quacking at me now too. They are a funny bunch.

We cleaned out our flower bed out front, and this little anole has been enjoying the warmth of our solar lamps, which are now exposed more to the sun. He was sitting there sunning himself for a long time. I think I will follow his example, and sit out on the porch with some hand sewing.

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And there was fleece everywhere

I’ve just been sewing today and part of yesterday, working my way through my pile of fleece. I might be a while, but I’ll have some new fleece “Hug Me! Slugs” in an assortment of colors to choose from. They can be custom ordered now over in my Etsy shop, or you can just contact me.

It’s been rainy and gray, which is giving me some eye strain, even with the lights on inside. I got tired and left everything where it was last night. I came in this morning to fleece strewn everywhere. I’m not sure I have a place left to put it away anyway. I’ll just have to transform it all into fuzzy creatures, and then find homes for them.

For those of you who notice things like this, it really isn’t March, like it says on the calendar on my wall 😉 Actually, I wanted to use that kitten on the calendar as a color-reference photo for one of my paintings. I thought it would be easier to find again, if I kept it up on the wall. As you can see, things are getting a little crowded in my workroom.

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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.

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So many things to be inspired by today

I came out on the porch this morning, and realized I’ve been taking these pretty morning glories for granted. I went back in an grabbed my camera.

The morning glories have been blooming here since we moved in, and we’ve never planted any new ones.

I love to see what flowers look like from behind. You never see those views in the garden books. The sun is shining through this one.

I had another custom “Name your own slug” order, and I noticed I didn’t have all that many pinks or purples in my fabric stash. Well, now I do! Hehe. I just ironed all of these.

I had some trouble finding pinks I liked. The last place we stopped was at my favorite Raleigh quilt shop, Carolina Sew-n-Vac, and they had plenty of pinks. Yay! When we got to the counter, the couple who owns the shop started joking about how he tells her she buys too much pink. She was happy to hear she’d filled a need. She told us to tell everyone she has pink!

I added some pink, purple, and blue to my embroidery floss collection too. I’ve been trying to sort my fabric and my floss by color so I can keep better track of what I have. Before I did that, I kept thinking I was short on yellow fabric, and then I’d buy more yellow fabric. After a while, I wasn’t short on yellow fabric, but I had no idea. Having everything organized by color makes coordinating fabrics for projects much easier too.

I picked up some more yarn and socks as well. I must be ready for anything now. I get excited just looking at all these supplies.

And with perfect timing, just after I amassed my new pile of socks, Stray Sock Sewing Too: More Super-cute Softies to Make and Love by Daniel, arrived in the mail. I pre-ordered this book as soon as I heard it was coming out, because I love his first Stray Sock Sewing: Making One-of-a-kind Creatures from Socks book. I got mine on sale from Crafter’s Choice book club.

Both books are adorable. The dolls, the photography by Liao Chia Wei, and the narratives in each are clever, sweet, and charming. Even if you don’t sew, it’s just so much fun to look at them. I can imagine children would enjoy them also. But if you do sew…there are great tips in each one. This new book has instructions for fourteen new sock creatures, and I can see any one of them as such a nice handmade gift. The instructions don’t require the use of a sewing machine either.

Most of all, for me, they are full of wonderful stepping off points to create my own creatures. I find once I try one technique, before I am even finished with a doll, I have tried something else that came to mind. There is so much room for being creative with these.

In other creature news, this is a meeting of Ducks Against Pills. Some time around Labor Day weekend, Mr Duck decided he’d about had enough of antibiotics. What a challenge! I had a terrible time trying to catch him, falling gracelessly to the ground, nearly hitting my head on the fence, very humiliating! Ha! I did my best and we did manage to get that last pill in him. For his part, he did plenty of wiggling and spitting his pill out. I noticed someone came over to the blog looking for directions on how to give a duck a pill. An avian vet is the best at showing you how to do it, and of course, you wouldn’t want to give medication to any animal without consulting a vet first anyway. It’s a lot like giving a pill to a cat, only you really need to wrap the duck’s body carefully in a towel first. Their beaks open just like your cat’s mouth opens, when you reach over the top of the head, pressing gently behind the corners of the mouth/beak, while tilting the head gently back. And, just like your cat, they can push their pills out with their tongues, and they learn to wiggle too. It takes some patience!