My first Elephant

Say hello to "Hettie". I have been wanting to design an elephant for a long time. This mohair has been hanging in my closet for a long time too. I fell in love with the material I used for her dress last week at the fabric store, found the vintage lace for her petticoat at an estate sale and suddenly on Saturday it all came together. The mohair is actually a little longer that what I had envisioned for my elephant but the color was so perfect. Hettie was actually my great grandmother's name(I got her middle name, Nancy). It just seemed like the right name for a little dusty pink ellie. Hettie will probably make an appearance in my etsy shop sometime this weekend.
Later today Bill has an appt at the VA clinic. That means a trip to Michael's craft store..YEAAA! It's a good 40 minute trip so I don't get to go often. It's almost like Christmas morning for me(no fun for Bill though).

I'm still here!

I didn't realize it has been almost 2 weeks since I posted! The days have flown by. I can't even remember all that I have been doing. Last week I was feeling a little off because of a "vibration" in my ear. I don't know how else to describe it...not ringing but like my ear drum was humming. After 2 days and little sleep I went to the doctor. She sees a hair poking my ear drum. The nurse flushed my ear twice with no luck getting the hair out. They made me an appt with an ear, nose & throat specialist for the next week. Bill suggested I try the stuff for ear wax removal because it bubbles up. So I tried it and sure enough a little hair about the size of a small eyelash came out. Weird huh?? The appt with the specialist was canceled(thank goodness...can't afford it anyway).
I did manage to get almost 3 critters finished. I am waiting on some accessories to complete them but I can't "reveal" them because they are going to appear at TBACA's Black & White Ball in June. I can show you Cubby"s Easter Surprise. Cubby appeared in the TBACA's Easter Challenge and is now on the front page of my web site. He is the first bent leg bear I can remember making. His little chick is needle felted, as are the Easter eggs in his basket.
I am working on a Pekingnese and struggling with it's face. They have such cute smushed faces and since this one is a request I want it to be just right.
I am also struggling with the decision about whether or not to get an Artfire shop. There introductory $7 a month forever will soon no longer be available. It will go up to $20 a month but I'm just not sure it is the right venue for me. I have to decide very soon.

I got to meet a flickr buddy!!

I meant to post about this earlier...the days just fly by. One of my contacts on flickr and fellow blogger Vivian was in Florida for her grandma's 93 birthday. Luckily she was staying on Daytona Beach which is only about 40 minutes north of me. We arranged to meet for lunch last Friday. It was bike week in Daytona so there were motorcycles everywhere and most restaurants were crowded. We found a place called The Deck Down Under(because it sits under a bridge). We arrived a about a quarter to 12 noon and went right up to the counter and ordered a couple of burgers. By the time we sat down the line was out the door and remained so the whole 3 hours we were there. The tables were on a deck overlooking the Halifax Riveer. We had a wonderful time talking and getting to know each other. Viv and I had decided before hand to swap a couple of our creations. Viv made me an adorable pin keep with a pink teddy on top. I made a little kitten for her in memory of her Jasper that recently crossed the rainbow bridge. It was wonderful to see(in person) someone I have met on the internet.

Cheeky Pelican

Bill and I tried to go to the beach on Sunday. The beach closest to us is Canaveral Shores Natl Park. It is right next to Kennedy Space Center and in very close proximity to the shuttle launch pads. Because the shuttle Discovery is due to launch this Wednesday the park is closed. Since we couldn't go to the beach we decided to just sit by the river for awhile. The river is actually an intercoastal waterway with dolphins and manatees. The dolphins have learned they can chase fish towards the wall by the boat dock and corner them.
We were enjoying watching a dolphin feed. As it locates a fish you can see a streak under the water, then the fish jumps and the dolphin jumps out of the water to catch it. A pelican showed up and we noticed he seemed to be watching the dolphin too. Soon the pelican was following the dolphin, trying to steal his fish as it jumped from the water. Fascinated, we watched for almost an hour. The pelican never managed to get a fish but he kept trying. I managed to get several good photos. We were glad the beach was closed because we got to watch an interesting show.

AND THE WINNER IS.......

I ended up with 12 comments and today was the day to pick a winner. Shannon wanted to help so we put all the names in the vintage glass. Shannon said "Drum roll please....". TA DAH! The winner is Kay Holroyd of Katie Country Bears. So little Lucky will be traveling to Great Britain. Thanks to all who visited and left a comment. Please visit again!

Blog Giveaway!!!!

Lucky, the little mohair Irish Terrier, came home from the Tampa show with me. His number wasn't drawn as a door prize so I have decided to celebrate St Paddy's Day with a blog giveaway. Lucky is just a mite of a thing and will come in his shamrock bag.
So leave a comment and Saturday, March 7, I will draw a name( so he can arrive before the 17th).