Lovely Melissa

This is "Lovely Melissa". I made her from my Lucy doll pattern. Like Lucy, she is decorated with ribbon trims, Rick Rack, and machine appliquéd fabric over 100% prewashed quilting cottons that have been fused to a layer of cotton sheeting.

Melissa is very ladylike. She sits nicely on our green chair.

She has pretty light blue eyes that look off the side.

She bends at the hip, knees, and shoulders.

Her ponytails are hand quilted.

Her boots have appliquéd fabric buttons.

Melissa's sweet features are entirely hand painted with acrylic paints.

Lovely Linda and Lovely Lucy have been talking about her all day, saying only the very nicest of things, of course.

Hug Me! Kitty

Meet Darla, my new black and white, tuxedo "Hug Me! Kitty". I took a little sewing detour to play around with my pattern designs and came up with a kitty. That doesn't seem too surprising, huh? Lots of cats.

I like her curly appliquéd tail.

She'll be ready to give someone a hug over in my Etsy shop soon.

I'm still sewing doll clothes. I stopped to make some blueberry apple muffins though. They were about to be blueberry muffins until I discovered I didn't have a whole cup of blueberries. A happy short-coming though. The combination worked out nicely. I made them from the same buttermilk muffin recipe I usually use, and added a teaspoon of freshly grated orange zest. I also substituted some plain yogurt plus some milk for buttermilk, since I was also out of buttermilk, trying to get it to about the same consistency. That worked out fine too, but it must be time to go food shopping again!

I hope you have a great Memorial Day weekend, everyone!

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.

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.

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 :)

My Irene is on a treasury on Etsy

My "Goodnight Irene" doll is on a treasury called "You, Color Admirers" on Etsy. Thanks, Elena!

I'm prewashing my new fleece, along with some other fabric. It's air drying on the porch right now. I've been making some more fleece slugs. My doll from yesterday is drying on my work table at the moment, and there is a lot of clutter to move from one surface to the next in order to do anything in there. That fleece is bulky and takes up a lot of space! So, I'm extra anxious to use it up.

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by all my projects today. I like having a bunch going on at once, but that doesn't mean my head doesn't start spinning once in a while. I'm sure as soon as I see some more progress, I'll feel better. On that note, I am off to sew.

Babies Everywhere

The "Gumdrop Baby" brood is growing.

These are the newest four.

These are Bethany,

Monica,

Dominique,

and Hyacinth.

They are all original art toys, made to be hugged or displayed, made from my own designs and patterns. Each has a hand-painted face. They are all currently in my Etsy shop, where you will find more info about them.

I'd like to thank Heather for featuring my "Hug Me! Slug" on her Fabulous Fun Finds blog. The blog features her picks for online shopping.

I think the rain ate my brain

Just grasping for a title. It's dark and rainy this afternoon. So, I have no decent photos of the dolls I finished yet, four "Gumdrop Babies" and one extra-small "Hug Me! Slug". I think I will make a slug set with the tiny one and a medium-sized one because I don't think I want to try to make a tiny one again! He's cute, but he was challenging due to his smallness. I'm at work on some new doll/toy designs, and my Lucy dolls are still waiting to be sewn up. I'll have to update my Etsy shop sometime soon.

Other than that, I vacuumed my workspace and put my dolls in a big box to keep them clean and nice. I spent some time this morning trying to set up a webcam that wouldn't work, regardless of what software I tried installing, and then I tried to decide if I wanted to install Skype. A friend suggested I get it, but I don't really have a great love of talking on the phone to begin with. Add sitting at the computer some more to that, and I'm not sure it appeals to me. I suppose being able to see a person, via webcam, while talking to them might might eradicate one complaint I have about talking on the phone, which is not being able to read a person's expression, but considering what passes for the "casual wear" I wear to work here at home...I'm not sure I want to be seen! I'm not sure I like that little eyeball staring at me either. Maybe I'll come around with encouragement. Maybe not!

Update: The third (or fourth?) time is a charm? The webcam came on. I still have no idea what to do with it, and it is only photographing the kitchen while leaving me in total darkness...but it did come on. Such excitement.

Angelica the Gumdrop Baby

I thought I'd finish a doll, rather than just do a little on this one and a little on that one, so I'd have something to show for myself! This is Angelica.

She reminds me of Little Red Riding Hood, only as a baby.

We ran outside to try to photograph her before the rain started. The sun was shining here this morning, but it's been getting darker. We have rain so far, but no strong winds from Hanna yet. Here's hoping it won't amount to anything serious.

I have so many projects going on right now, I'm not even sure what I will finish next. Most likely, I will start a few things too. I've been putting my cloth dolls and toys over in my Etsy shop.

Still fusing the world together, one piece at a time

Okay, yeah, that would be an ambitious project, and I'm not sure a necessarily good one to take on. I am, however, still fusing my appliquéd pieces together for my Lucy dolls. I know these don't look all that different here from the last time I posted about them, but I've gotten more done on them. They just don't look like "something" until they come together, all sewn and stuffed, and they take a long time to make. I'll be embellishing them next.

Thanks everyone who wrote to tell me they voted for my "Hug Me! Slug" in Etsy's Handmade Kids Challenge, and thanks to everyone who didn't write to tell me they voted too ;) The polls are open until September 8th. You can still vote for my Gerard the "Hug Me! Slug" here (if you haven't already)...I really appreciate it!

Please vote for me!!!

I'm a finalist in the Etsy Handmade Kids Challenge! I'm so happy! Gerard, my "Hug Me! Slug" is is in the toy category. Please, please, please go vote for him (and me!) here. All you need is an Etsy user ID. It's free and easy to get one. You can vote only once in each category and, by voting, you get a chance to win an Etsy shopping spree. You can read all about the Handmade Kids Challenge and Sweepstakes here.

This is Gerard. He has already found a home, but you can still see his listing here.

The photos on the voting page rearrange themselves, and so you might have to look for him a little on the page. Etsy will be having a guest panel of judges from Boingboing, Cookie, decor8, Martha Stewart Living, Ohdeedoh, Parents and Treehugger. I'm so excited. I have been on Etsy for some time now, hoping to be found amidst the many handmade items by all sorts of artists and craftspeople. Thanks Etsy!

Gerard is happy about it too, or I'm sure he would be. I hope someone will tell him!

I'm still making my dolls. They got dresses, stockings, and shoes today, or some of them did. I'm making progress.

I have big shoes and a messy room

I'm still working on a bunch of dolls all at once. They were all getting appliquéd hair today. That is a pile of ponytails-in-progress in the upper right of the top photo with my "Gumdrop Baby" faces.

This one is a Lucy doll in progress. I pull the paper backing off my fusible web as I go, and drop it on the floor. I know that isn't so nice, but there isn't anyone here who is going to complain about it. As long as no paper-chewing pets are in there, it's okay for a while. We have one cat who will chomp on all sorts of weird things if we're not careful. He's not allowed in there. It's important to keep pets away from art and craft supplies they might eat. You just never know what might be intriguing to them and it's best to be safe.

My floor looks like this until I come through with a waste paper basket. I don't like to trip over anything extra in that room. So it's easier for me to leave the waste paper basket somewhere else and come through with it when I need to. I am a clutter-aholic.

I also finally got new sneakers. I have been putting that off for months. I think I mentioned before that I hate to buy new sneakers. Don't you know, they redesigned them, and made the toe area bigger. I am floating in the usual size I get, which I ordered by mail. I don't think I mentioned before that I also hate to return things, and so I will be floating in these for a good long time! I wear sneakers most of the time, even with sundresses. That should be an even better look for me now ;)