Work in Progress: Crock and Allie!

I'm hoping to get these darlings finished and in the store before I leave for Ireland in a week. A week!!

Progress on the WIP

I'm still working on the Big Bad Wolf, and I just ordered new wool in case I run low. I've been watching The Prisoner with Chris, sewing and needling beside him on the couch. His cat is obsessed with the wool I'm using and takes every opportunity to bat at the pieces or steal them if he can.

I started with a wire armature skeleton: spine, ribs, and pelvis all attached together. The head is polymer clay and wool felted right onto the armature. I used a reclaimed wool sweater to cover the skeleton, like skin, and I stuffed it with polyfill guts. I'll now be able to felt directly into the wool "skin."

I've wet felted all four legs, and added the claws to the back paws. Last night I sewed the back legs onto the pelvis and added an additional armature to keep them stable and spread at the right width. I may walk down to Beadazzled this evening to pick up a few glass beads for the eyes.

More progress later...

Stephen Colbert Hates Bears

I bought this gigantic stuffed bear at Goodwill for $5, intending to reverse taxidermy it and use the fur for other projects. Fur fabric is 'spensive, for one, and for two, it's not green to keep fabricating new things from new materials--so I often purchase old stuffies on the cheap and use their hides.

But this guy grew on me. I let him ride around in the back seat of my car for a while, and I would eye him in the rearview mirror, picturing what I was going to do to his face with scissors and a sewing machine. I started to feel guilty. Now he's sitting in my bedroom looking all cute, and I wasn't sure I'd have the heart to cut him all up.

Then I saw (NSFW) this. And now I'm kind of uncomfortable having him in my bedroom...possibly thinking dirty thoughts. Thanks, Regretsy.

He's getting cut up.

Stitch 'n' Bitch

I hosted my first Stitch 'n' Bitch last night, and it was a total success! It all started when an old high school acquaintance asked me for a how-to-knit book recommendation. I realized that it's so much easier to learn from a person than a book, so I decided why not get some ladies together for a knitting circle type thing?

Turned out that a lot more friends than I knew were into "thread- and yarn-based arts." A total of 11 people RSVPed for the event (I was afraid I'd run out of chairs!), and 5 people showed up to my place last night. The coolest thing about it was that everyone was doing something different. Stef was cross-stitching, Meg was needlepointing, Kelly was crocheting, Jes was knitting, Jesse was pinning patterns, and I was sewing. To me, that means we all have a unique "specialty" so we have something to teach each other, and lots of people to learn from. I got to demonstrate needlefelting and spinning, as well as show off some of my final products.

To me, this was such a great event because I got to socialize (with wine!) with a bunch of great ladies--but also be productive at the same time. No wonder knitting circles and quilting bees are such a longstanding tradition!

Back in Action!

I spent nearly all of my autumn working on a major work project in Houston, TX. I'm just starting to recover from weeks on end of 14-hour days. What's proven to be the best medicine? Making. I have a sewing machine, a digital camera, free time in the evenings, and more motivation than ever. Ellyzee.etsy.com is back and open for business!

Wild Goose--er, Swan Chase

Yesterday, I got this very strange email from my boyfriend:

Can you do me a huge favor after work? I need a stuffed swan. I thought maybe like the card store at the mall or something, or even Toys R Us, might have stuffed animals. I don't think I'm going to get a chance to get to a store like that and I need it by Wednesday. Do you think you could stop by on your way home? I know it's a huge pain in the ass. Also, if there's a little stuffed black and white border collie, I would like to get one of those too. Is that possible?

No explanation - just the request. I didn't ask any questions; I just accepted the mission. Needless to say, I didn't get any painting done last night. But I did get a lot of other things done. Five stores, and four and a half hours later, how did it end up? You can read the whole story, complete with illustrative photographs, here.

Warning: there is a graphic picture of plushicide in progress. If you are squeamish about seeing a toy's stuffing, you may not want to look.