why the big paws?

all the better to wave hello!


Little-Cat costume takes shape ...

fur and feathery greens!

today I buried my hands in super soft fur ...



and i spent a long time cutting shapes into this for and a fluffy white one ...



also did some green things, eating this lovely fresh lettuce for out tea, harvested under the watchful eye of our chickens ...


the children picked some of our gooseberries, and removed some of the fallen-too-soon apples from the lawn...

blog a dog ...

Here is a pretty dog, a little scruffy in the fur department, but then so am I!



she is made from some lovely vintage faux fur, lovely to work with as it has a woven back and such a nice colour too ...



I embroidered her nose and mouth and added a sweet-heart cotton bandanna, left over from all my miniature plush heart sewing ... It matches her ear lining. There are no wires in her ears, I shaped them with thread!



and you can see her at the Valentine's Fayre, Dorchester, February 13th for any last minute gifts and tea and music ...



look out for pretty hearts hanging around Dorchester to advertise the event!

All of Us Girls and a Rabbit ....

Mary took a shine to the furry topknot belonging to the rat head i am making ...



Daisy with a huge box of cuttings to glue-down ...



Matty busy with her paint box ...



Edward Tulane left our hands this week, despite there still being doubts about our air-space, but there he is, gone on his way! I do miss him. He was such a character and really quite good looking too ...



I went shopping on Etsy and my headband arrived promptly. Its very hard to photograph your self featuring your new head gear, but i gave it my best shot!

Patterns for furring my BIG RAT HEAD ....

symmetry in heads is important - i used the same pattern for both sides ... the pattern in turn helps me place the cheeks level on both sides, and the ears of course !



here is the Pattern for the Cheeks and Muzzle ... this is both sides, but folded ... some times i make a cut too far, and repair with tape! I have marked out the white and grey areas with marker pen...



hey wait a minute - who is that little blue guy? Not seen him around here before...

Edward Tulane gets ears and eyes ....WIP

I decided to needle-felt his eyes, so that they would look more part of him, more painted ....

rawwwwwrrrr!

ok so it might have looked like a an angora show-rabbit for a time ...

but wow i had fun felting these eyes, first the balls, then linings and tear ducts, pupils, highlinghing and finally a white dot - ding !

a new craft project ....

i have two projects on the go at the moment, neither of them are soft toys, but both of them use lovely long fluffy white fuax fur..

here are some WIP pics for one of the projects -
a quick sketch to help me place signiicant features ...



this pattern piece is a strange shape, and here i have fitted a loop of faux suede
fabric with two strong D-rings ...



i have been very carefully scissor sculpting an area in the middle of this piece of fur ... it is secured inside a large embroidery hoop.



these look like ears, of course !



and here are the inside and outsides of the back of this piece ...



what am i making?

getting furred ....

wow the head is looking rounder and fluffier and cuddlier and i am on the home straight with this now!
i may have to re-think the plastic dome 'eyes' if they dont fit my vision for the character - which really just changes as the thing grows and hopefully fits whats in mine and my clients heads !
now im off busy shaping the cheeks, building the pattern for the muzzle fur - 3 kinds of fur, and getting hot glue gun burns again !

Clowning Baby Badger ...

Clowning Baby Badger ...
Originally uploaded by RaggyRat

well here is wee baby badger ...,
i have had such fun messing about making his bits and bobs, also writing his listing at bid4bears.

heehee
his hat is on gold elastic if you can see, so he can be handled wearing it with out it falling, also he can be silly and put it on his big suede nose :-)
i decided big nose was comical, but it didnt have to be red !

That blankie is a special new fleece type fabric called flurr ... i edged a sample i was sent, as it is very flurr-fy and frays lots ... also very stretchy but so soft and cuddly ....