Baby faces

I've been working on a new doll pattern, and these are my experiments so far with their baby faces. Two are on cotton and two are on rayon. So far, the rayon is bleeding less when I use my Pigma pens and acrylic paint on it. I'm going to cut these out and do some appliquéing next. Right now, however, I am going to run in to town...more later.

How did I miss this?

How did I miss Dr Horrible's Sing-along Blog? I had read that it was going to streamed online but I didn't write down the dates. Oh well. If I had written them down, the note would have been lost in the cascading pile of notes I leave for myself anyway. This is why I try to take care of everything right here and now, or at least as things come up. Except for cleaning up the pile of notes. Who wants to do that?! Snore.

Update: Dr Horrible seems to be on again here. Did I miss that too?

Chance Encounter

While I was in town the other day, I stopped to pick up some thread and more fat quarters of quilting fabric for my toys. As I said yesterday, I've been feeling kind of down, and so I hope this doesn't come across as too morbid or too much to share. Believe me, I hope and plan to be around a good long time, knock on wood...But anyway, many years ago it struck me that when my time has come, that I don't want one of those dreary, depressing headstones that you see. I want mine to have a bunny on top.

Yes, I actually mean that. I've shared that with a couple of people in my life that I hoped might be around, but sadly, people come and people go. So, I might as well say it here. I hope you don't mind. The first question has always been, "What kind of rabbit?" I usually say one sort of like Maurice Sendak's Mr Rabbit in Mr Rabbit and the Lovely Present, but I want him to be his own bunny, unique, someone's own invention, maybe even mine.

Well, as I was paying for my thread and fabric, I looked up from the checkout and thought, "Like that!"

I know he's not one-of-a-kind, but he struck a cord I guess and I took him home. Kind of like that. Maybe some day, someone will make a bunny for me, but I'd still like him to be his own bunny.

Why a rabbit? I'm not sure. Maybe I think rabbits represent me on some level, or maybe it's just my love of animals. They are guileless, loyal, sweet, and capable of unconditional love. I've never been convinced that people are superior to them. Some are certainly just as great, but we all have our flaws. One time, my mom and I were sitting at a stadium when a bus emptied out from a group home for people with special needs. We were listening to one conversation in particular that stayed with me because it was so poignant. It was a simple dialogue, but it said a lot to me. Two women who seemed to be developmentally disabled were talking about how much they liked animals. "I like animals." "Me too!" "Animals are much nicer than people." "Yeah, people are meaner than animals." "Yeah, they are! Animals are much nicer!" I thought that was the sweetest and the saddest thing at the same time, because you couldn't deny that that had to have been true for them.

Back where I grew up, there was a sweet elderly woman with Alzheimer's who always remembered to tell you one thing, "Don't trust anyone who doesn't love animals." You might not think much of her remembering that over anything else, but I do. She was dependent on others at that point in her life, and I believe it was a fundamental belief she held as necessary to well-being and survival. It told her who was kind and caring, and she was frail as a little bird.

A friend of mine sent this video to me to cheer me up. I'm sure it has been already seen by millions, but it is still remarkable...

"So you like slugs?" Feature

My "Hug Me! Slugs" have just been featured on firrkids.com, a review site for children's fiction and non-fiction books, DVDs, toys and games. You can see the feature here: So you like slugs? Thanks so much, Jennifer! I've been feeling blue, and that really made my day.

"Hug Me! Slugs", First Photo Shoot

Here they are...all neat and orderly, with their hang tags tied on, smiling for the camera.

Once I write a few ads, I'll be putting these five up for adoption over in my Etsy shop.

"Hug Me! Slug" Invasion

This is what my workroom looks like this week. My mom came in and started to talk to me the other day, without even noticing them, apparently, because all of a sudden she let out a big, "AH!"

They kind of stare at you like Hypnotoad, only in a completely benign way. We hope...

I've also been putting together their hang tags and experimenting with making my pattern over in different sizes. I want to make another, one step down in size from this one, but I'm not sure if I can turn those antennae right side out if I go too small. I guess the only way to know is to try one.

Duck rescue mission

One of our duck friends, the mama duck above, came to visit us with a badly swollen foot and leg two days ago. I couldn't get close enough until evening to see that the swelling was caused by what turned out to be fishing line wrapped very tightly around her leg. I didn't know how I could catch her or get it off since it was embedded in the swollen leg. We called everyone we could think of yesterday for advice, and found an avian vet who could see her if we could catch her.

She didn't come up from the pond until after the vet's closing time, and I could see her dragging the line. We took what advice we had and grabbed a sheet. It took some running around and a couple of failed attempts, but we finally got the sheet over her. I picked her up and tucked her under my arm. She was very upset about the sheet being over her head, but once I gently pulled it off, she just looked at me as if she were saying, "Oh, it's you." She was so good and well-behaved and sweet, we couldn't believe it.

I petted her head and talked to her while my mom and dad put my kitty assistant in the house (he was ready and willing to help, but unfortunately we didn't think he'd add to the calm), and found my little sewing scissors. I handed the duck over to my dad while my mom held the sheet ends out of the way, and I snipped away, a tiny bit at a time, at the tops of the knot heads. There were two knotted areas, with multiple knots very tight against the leg. I kept the scissors pointing at an angle away from her leg, trying to avoid pinching her with them. I managed to get the line free without nicking her, and we were all very relieved. She seemed somewhat disoriented, and so we followed her at a distance to her pond, where she got back in the water with her friends.

This morning, they all came back for some cracked corn. She was determined to come, even though she is still limping. Her friends were going to go back for her, since she was trailing behind, but she limp-marched past them up the hill. She sat right next to me while she had her corn. Her foot and leg are not as swollen, and hopefully they will go back to normal soon. We'll keep an eye on her.

So, please, if you fish, make sure you leave with everything you came with, and everyone, please take a moment when throwing out dangerous items, to dispose of them carefully. It only takes an extra minute before you throw something into the trash to wad up string/twine/fishing line/yarn/thread/ribbon/etc and tape it into a ball with some duct tape or sports tape, or put it all in a jar/prescription bottle/coffee can/etc. Cut those plastic loops that hold six packs together into little pieces, cut up plastic packaging bands, and knot the ends of the plastic bags you throw out, or cut them all the way open. Just please take a moment to think about all the suffering you can prevent by making some extra, small, conscientious gestures part of your routine. There are lots of little feet, legs, heads, and necks that get caught in those things every day. And if you see this kind of dangerous litter, please take a minute to pick it up and dispose of it properly. It only takes a moment, but you might just save a life.

"Hug Me! Slug" and "Hug Me! Creatures" Original Art Toys

Here is a sneak peek at my new "Hug Me! Creatures" original art toys. S.B.'s "Huggy Slug" suggestion finally came to fruition after a lot of procrastinating by me, and, don't you know, while I was fiddling around, someone went and trademarked a very similar name :( So, we've all been tossing slug name ideas around, and the "Huggy Slug" was reborn as the "Hug Me! Slug", part of the "Hug Me! Creatures" family, previously known as the "Huggy Creatures" family.

I really don't like to step on anyone's toes! Huggy Bunny and Huggy Kitty now have a cousin, with more on the way.

My "Hug Me! Creatures" are sewn by me, using my own designs and my own original patterns, copyright Elizabeth Ruffing. No two are exactly alike.

Macadamia White Chip Cookies

I wanted to try out the cookie-baking tips I read the other day in this NY Times article. I picked the Ghiradelli Macadamia White Chip Cookie recipe from the back of the Ghiradelli Classic White Chips bag. This is the first time I made these, but the recipe is similar to the well-loved Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, only with macadamia nuts and vanilla chips. The Times article, among other suggestions, recommended refrigerating your dough for at least 24 hours, preferably 36 hours before making your cookies. I have to say, what they said would happen seems to be true. The nutty flavor seemed to permeate the cookies, along with a nice toffee flavor. They were quite delicious. It was also true that the dough did get a bit dry and crumbly, but I was able to mold it into balls with my hands. I tried to make larger cookies since they said they would be chewy in the centers and crisp on the edges, but I think they came out small because my dough was still very chilled. I'm not sure. They were chewy in the middle and crisp on the edges, just the same. All and all, it was a good experiment.