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Sock Kitty!

I love Sock Kitty! I also miss Sock Kitty because he is a birthday gift for a friend.

Sock Kitty is made from a sock stuffed with Polyfil. His eyes, nose, and hearts are polar fleece, embellished by hand with embroidery floss in a blanket stitch. I used embroidery floss to hand stitch his whiskers and his smile too. His ears are lined with cotton batik fabric.

Sock Kitty is nice and squishy. His paws even have little toes I sewed with upholstery thread.

He is a perpetually happy cat. I am going to have to make him a sibling to keep for myself, a twin perhaps.

In other news, I am tossing around the idea of collaborating with Max on some folk art cat dolls, the dressed and jointed kind with the sculpted faces. I’ve been spreading myself too thin for a long time, and I think if we put our efforts in the same direction, we both might be more productive. Collectively, we have at least three doll sizes, and some possible variations as to type of critter. We are terribly behind with a backlog of dolls waiting to go on our website right now. So, that is the first thing to resolve.

Over the past year, I spent a lot of time trying to have a separate business from our family business, in large part to accommodate someone else’s desire for me to have a separate income, but that has been like trying to spin twice as many plates in the air as I was already spinning. The end result was only that I had to neglect one business to spend time trying to get the other off the ground. All in all, I only got more behind and more scattered, and then we all ended up behind. Now I need to get us all back on track. My desire to please other people gets me in trouble sometimes, and really, as I’m sure we all know…if you need to knock yourself out to please someone else, it never turns out to be worth it. Please yourself, and surround yourself with people who appreciate you for who you are and who want you to be happy.

On a lighter note, is anyone else already hitting the Halloween candy? I am! Naughty 😉
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Lucy has a new friend

It’s a big day for Lovely Lucy. She has a new little girlfriend to share her secrets with.

Meet Linda. Linda is very much like Lucy, only she is her own person, um, doll. She has quilted golden ponytails, and a candy-stripe dress of red and pink and green.

He stockings are deep red with white polka dots. Her bottom is weighted with Poly-Pellets so she can sit nicely. She is stuffed with poly-fil.

Linda’s outfit is decorated with ribbon trims, Rick Rack, and machine appliquéd fabric. I re-embroidered her trims by hand with embroidery floss. So, she is extra special.

Her gold boots are topped with striped ribbon and machine appliquéd fabric buttons. She has no loose or removable parts. Linda is meant to be displayed as art and she is also meant to be loved. I wanted her to be able to withstand some play, and so she is made of 100% cotton quilting fabrics and some rayon that I fused to an additional layer of cotton sheeting for durability. I prewashed her fabrics so they wouldn’t shrink later if she needs to be gently spot cleaned and set flat to air dry.

She is signed and dated below her hairline on the back of her neck.

Linda and Lucy are approximately 10 1/4 inches tall when seated, and approximately 18 1/2 inches long when lying down.

Many hours and a lot of work went into making Linda. She is meant to be of heirloom quality, and to be saved and cherished by a new friend, whether adult or child. She is a wonderful listener and she is very good at keeping secrets. She is also very patient and kind.

Linda will be visiting my other dolls and toys over on Etsy to see what they are up to soon.
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I made it to the Etsy front page! Yay!

During the presidential debate last night, my “Goodnight Irene” doll made it onto the Etsy front page!! This is my first time on the front page, as far as I know. I was so excited! Thanks again, Elena, for putting me in your treasury, and thanks Etsy!

And this morning, my “Lovely Lucy” was included in this adorable “Dolls for all!” treasury by Fraisebijoux on Etsy. Thanks, Nicky!

These things really make my day. I really do appreciate it so much when people compliment my work in this way. I have hard days, like everyone does, and the kindness lifts me up. Many thanks!

Gosh…I’d better finish those Lucy dolls that are waiting for me! I’m so pleased that people like them 🙂