Finally - Me N My Lil Sis

Brother's eyes finally arrived yesterday. It appears the package was opened and resealed before it was delivered. My entire order - except the glass eyes - was missing. More on that later.

Presenting Me N My Lil Sis ... inspired by a Mercer Mayer children's book. Brother is just under 9" tall and Lil Sis is 7" tall. Hopefully, I will have them on my website soon and you can read more about this little pair and their red wagon.

Today-my eyes

I had an eye doctor appt this morning-just a yearly check up. I planned to continue on to the fabric store afterward, 35 miles farther down the road. Well, I forgot that the Dr was going to dilate my eyes for the exam. When I walked out-mind you it was a cloudy day- I wasn't sure I could find my car. My sunglasses helped a little. I was getting a head ache from squinting so I found my husband's sunglasses in the console and put them on over my own sunglasses. I'm sure it looked really strange but I couldn't see anyone well enough to know if they were looking at the blind lady. I managed to stay on the road even though every time the sun peeked out from behind the clouds it was like someone shining a flashlight in my eyes. Nothing was going to deter me from going to the fabric store. I had been wanting to go for weeks but with gas prices I had to wait until I needed to go to several places in the area. By the time I got there my eyes had cleared enough for me to enjoy myself and the memorial day sale.

Now no eyes!

I finished the little sister and I am very happy with her. I am very anxious to finish her big brother so I can post a pic of them together. But brother's eyes are lost in post office limbo. I needed a size larger than lil sis, naturally. I ordered them from Edinburgh Imports, a wonderful company for mohair and other bear making supplies. They sent my order via USPS on May 14. Now I realize that it's a long trip from California to Florida but it usually only takes a week at most. I go to the mailbox expectantly every afternoon only to finds bills and junk mail. So, poor big brother is a blind and bodyless and lil sis is losing patience(me too) waiting for him.

The Eyes have it.

I am trying to decide which eyes to use on a little girl bear I am working on. I poked holes when I want the eyes to go and tried 3 different sets of eyes. Two are glass google eyes - one set is 8mm and the other is 10mm. I also tried 10mm black glass. I think they all look ok and it will come down to the "look" I am trying to achieve. She is going to have a big brother so I have to take that into consideration too. Decisions, decisions!

Dog Patch Puppy on ebay

Well, puppy did not sell on Bid 4 Bears so I am listing him on ebay. I might list a couple of other things through the week. The user id for my critters is dogpatchcritters. I also have some books listed under my other id nancynbilld. I have put together groups of books to sell as lots and will be listing more lots also. Bill has decided we are having a big sidewalk sale at our shop on Saturday so that's another thing to keep me busy. http://tinyurl.com/2bwn7h

Happy Mother's Day

This is a photo of my mom and I in 19?? (of course the my mom's dress style and the fact that the pic is b&w kinda give away the date). I lost my mom to Parkinson's disease 6 years ago. She was a quiet woman who loved gardening. Our yard was basically a path through the gardens. She worked until my younger brother was born. My parents had to be frugal. My little sister was born a year and a half later bringing the total to five. They couldn't afford dance or music lessons but let us join boy scouts and girl scouts. My mom encouraged our creativity any way she could. Our artwork was framed and hung on the walls proudly.

Although she didn't complain, the last years of her life were not easy. She lost two of my siblings and my dad. The Parkinson's took away her independence.

She always ended phone conversations with "love you".

Love you and miss you mom....

Little Mohair Dog

I got something finished this weekend. Although it didn't seem like I would ever get to sit down and sew I managed to finish "Buster". I know it's not a very imaginative name but he looks like a Buster to me. At just 4" tall standing, he is the smallest mohair dog I have ever made. Made of curly matted sparse mohair, he is five way jointed with cotter pins & fiberboard discs. Cotter pin jointing takes a bit of getting used to. Because of his small size I did all of the sewing by hand. I am happy with the overall design but will probably still tweak it a bit. I have some small leftover pieces of mohair that I think will make nice "little dogs".

Bosco & Bing Cherry on Bid 4 Bears

I have decided to give Bid 4 Bears another try. My last Dog Patch Puppy did not sell. I have listed 2 this time and lowered the starting price a bit. I wonder if I should invest in making the listing "featured". The pictures show across the top of the page in addition to small thumbnails next to the listing. I notice many bears and critters ARE selling and most are featured. Of coarse many of them are well known names(not sour grapes just a fact).

Bosco is a 7" Dog Patch Puppy and Bing is one of 4 Cherry Bon Bons

I have built up a small inventory of finished critters. I need to sell at least a few so I can afford more mohair and supplies to make more. I have enough mohair to keep me busy for a little while but sometimes an idea requires something different than what is in the stockpile. Of coarse I have already ordered the new mohair so it would be nice to sell something before the credit card bill arrives!