New crows & Etsy update

I wasn't going to put any of my new things in my Etsy shop (thinking that I needed to save them for the shows) but recently somebody emailed me to ask me to put one of my Etsy bears aside for her, to be collected at Hugglets.  I have suddenly twigged that there is a link on the Hugglets page which takes people to my shop, and I need to get listing things, so my Hugglets customers can see them!  

So all hedgehogs are now on there, as well as these crows - Nelson & Rumpole...

And Macauley & Biggles...

In the meantime, I have been putting together this panda prototype.  He is not a new design, but I haven't made any pandas for ages, and this is a medium sized version of the ones I used to make, so I thought I ought to test it, just to make sure I knew what I was doing.  He is so sweet - I love the way they look in plain cotton.  I think I must have an otherwise-unnoticeable minimalist streak in me.

The other thing I've been working on is a commission bear.  Somebody sent me a photograph of an old, homemade, pre-war bear called Plummy and asked me to make them a similar one.  I think I have just about got the design right; now it's just down to fabric.  Today we went out for lunch in Frinton, and stopped in (on the off-chance) at the Townrow carpet-and-curtains shop (not it's official name).  They have some wonderful stuff!  It's not cheap, but certainly less expensive than mohair.  (Although I think you do a bit blasé about that kind of thing when you're used to buying mohair.)  We found several possibilities and spent a small fortune(!)  Now I need to sit down and work out exactly how I'm going to use each piece to cover the cost - my least favourite job.

Anyway, hopefully I am going to make a panda whilst waiting for my curtain fabric to arrive - so that's what should be appearing here next!

Hedgehogs

I have my first little lot of items for Snape!  In addition to Hattie (first pic below) who you've already seen, I have made four more hedgehogs.  

This is Tulip.

This is Bramley.

This is Mortimer.

And this is Copenhagen Monty.

I very nearly came unstuck with Monty.  I wanted to make a hog with his head slightly turned to one side, and my first attempt looked like he had some serious neurological condition.  I did finally get it sorted out though.  Here is another pic to show his little head turn.

And finally, doing what hedgehogs do best.  Ignore the fact that the biscuits are fish-shaped(!)  They were the only cat biscuits I had to hand at the time, but real hedgehogs generally prefer meat biscuits.

Tomorrow I am hoping to go into the Art & Craft Centre and get some photographs of them next to some Embar Pottery, to use as advertising for the show in April. 

I am a teeny bit worried about having enough stock for the show.  I have been working more days than usual at the Art & Craft Centre, and so my sewing schedule isn't really going to plan.  I am absolutely determined to have some new designs ready though.  Will keep you updated!