Rat Head Gets Furry .....

as usual in my fursuit creation, some pieces of old laura ashlet curtain fabric wrapped around the form help me with my pattern making ...



I then use it to cut the fur, adding seam allowance ...



here, there are two sections of pieced together fur, the scalp section and the muzzle part. Neither are sewn to the head at this point, altho the laura ashlet scalp pattern helped me sew the ears symetrically to the head with upholstery thread.



that is why the mouth parts look very slack, and the lower jaw is onlt pinned to the chin area. i fashioned some eyes from card board based on my clients digital drawing of his character ...



i hope these are in roughly the right position to line up withthe holes in the foam. As these eyes re longer, i am not sure tear ducts will look right, but a black boarder should look quite effective ...



what do you think ?

ground works ....

Day 3 - forgot to take any pictures ...
Day 4 - Spot the Window that was put in yesterday ...



four men on site ... that's a lot of builders' tea!



some ground work on the front lawn, so we can bury a new soak away. Our Hawthorn tree should enjoy this, and the birds that visit it ...



Mike and Jamie's last day on the porch building - for now ...



Daisy is going to miss Jamie!



Casualty - When Mike and Jamie cut the cast iron downpipe, the hot filings melted the glaze on this wessex fm mug, and the skin on the back of Jamie's neck!



Day 5 - The porch is now awaiting the glass parts ...



Daniel is working in the living room, and Mark, in Mary's room ...



slowly saying good bye to a lot of old plastic ... my house looks like it's opening its eyes wider!



Soon, my plan to disguise my house so it wont be recognised on google street view will all be revealed - (evil laugh) - I just watched Flash Gordon the other night, can you tell?

Something for you ... New Mouse Design GIVE-AWAY!

sometimes, when away from home, and my sewing machine, I take a small work-bag of bits and create something by hand ...



and here, based on an old wooden toy i have had for a few years, is Button Mouse, made from wool fabrics with glass-bead eyes and vintage buttons for faux wheels ... after a bit of tweeking, there will be more of these mice available! But for now, to thank you for your friendship and support i want to give this one to you ...


So what do you need to to to get your hands on this little fella?
Just visit the Raggy Rat Etsy Shop. and leave a comment on this post with your favorite item. Be sure to include an e-mail address so we can contact you if you win! Try looking in the sales section too, some old favourites of mine are in there ...

You can get even MORE chances to win!

Become a Raggy Rat blog follower. If you're a new follower, leave another comment and let us know that you joined. If you're already following us, you can let us know that too and score one extra entry!

Follow the RaggyRat on Facebook and/or Twitter. Again, let us know in your comment if you're a new follower or an old friend and you'll receive one extra entry for each follow. Leave me a link you your twitter as I might like to follow you ... http://twitter.com/raggyrat
(Raggy Rat's Facebook Page).

Tweet this giveaway. Make sure to give us a link to your tweet in the comments to get one extra entry.

Blog this giveaway. For an extra TWO entries, tell folks about this giveaway in your blog. Please make sure to use one or two of the New Button Mouse photos in your post and leave us a link to see your story.

Good Luck, and thanks again for voting for Ganesha - i will do the draw on my birthday, 12th May XXXXX

the elephant headed hindu god ...GANESHA WON!

Ganesha won the Plush Team Mythology Competition!

Thank you all Raggy Rat Fans that voted for him, tomorrow, i have some thing just for you!

In the meantime, Ganesha can be seen at Maker Faire, in May.

ground works ....

DAY 1 - say good bye to this lovely but old and rotting front door ...



daisy mary and matty make themselves giggle by saying, 'bye-bye chimney!'
Mummy and Louise made that collaged and stitched house number ...



our man Jamie cuts through concrete, crazy pathing and digs very hard clay to make the foundations for our new porch ...



finally, the hole is deep enough ... note that part of our old tiled step has already disappeared!



Daisy spends an hour in the window sill, watching Jamie mix cement and throw it in the L-shaped hole ...



DAY 2 - The Foremen show up and scrutinise the brick laying done by Mike ...



Builders' Tea, Strong, White-with-one ... in Wessex FM Mugs ...



Jamie digs a hole in the lawn for a new soak-away ...

Perfect Snippers ...

sometimes, my hubby buys me a present that is THE BEST - and these are the best scissors ... i can cut thru really tough things with these, nice and sharp but also comfortable...

a little fire ....

it has been abusy day inthe garden, a bit mixed weatherwise, but after leaving out heating off all day steve has lit a fire to read bed time stories next to...

Erm ... excuse me Karla...Your Monkey is hogging my firelight!


Ah, Thank you Peanut, that's much better ...

Isn't that nice?