Captain Kitty

I wanted to post a couple pics of Captain Kitty, the pirate cat. I hope my niece is still in love with her! Dig that backpack? ;)

Presents and presents and presents and ... presents!

Where did the last two weeks go?! Let's see ... prior to Thanksgiving, I made this adorable little purple fairy for a girl named Violet. I named her Iris, another purple name, and added little pink hearts on the back of her wings. She loves strawberries, just like Violet, so she took a little strawberry with her. Violet thought she was pretty sweet.

Now, my friend has my business cards and a banner all ready for me; I just need to get my Etsy site set up. I'm beginning to sound like a broken record; where is the time?! I've got so many things to make for Christmas that I think I'll have to set up after the holidays, not as I initially planned, but I'll get there someday. Last week, my time was spent being really sick with a horrid cold, which unfortunately, most of the family, including those visiting, came down with. I'm still coughing up lungs, I think.

Oh yes ... and I made this amazingly cool 14-inch pizza with olives, sausage, mushrooms and tomatoes. All in felt, with quilt batting for thickness. It's for my 4-year-old nephew for Christmas, but since my sister knows and he doesn't log in on his own, I can safely talk about it. It's really awesome, and boxed up in a Mangia Pizza box from right here in Austin. However ... I forgot to take pictures before sending it home with my mom, so photos will be after Christmas. Oops!

After that, what? I made a really cool ... um, wait ... can't talk about that until after next week. It's for a crafty gift exchange with friends next week. So, er, that will be posted later, too. That is the problem with making Christmas gifts. I spend my time making but can't show and tell yet!

Right ... I made a really cute pirate cat for my niece's 6th birthday, which is really this coming Monday. She has named her Captain Kitty, and if I ever get around to pulling pics off my camera, I'll put up photos of that, too. She rocks, with all of her skull fabrics, and a backpack, just like my niece. My brother said I scored major points with her on this one, and that makes me proud!

So there you have the last two weeks in summary ... lots of ideas, very few photos! I have a feeling that's the way it will be for the rest of the month, so my apologies in advance! Happy holidays to all of you jolly readers! :)

Fiona, the fancy cat

Another birthday, another doll! This time, I finally got a cat made. I've been scheming but haven't made one 'til now, but since we are such a cat family, I thought I'd give this a try. I used three of those lovely Erin McMorris fabrics, and I'm still drooling over how beautiful they are together. I plan to do plenty more dolls from them!

Fiona was made for a 4-year-old who doesn't have any pets, which Miss E doesn't seem to comprehend. A house without pets?! No way! ;) We know the birthday girl loves dolls, though, so hopefully she'll like a doll who is a very fancy cat. (Who also happens to love shopping.) I rounded her out with a purse that she can use to tote her BFF, Goldie the Fish. (Um, Goldie loves to shop too. Out of water!)

I have finally figured out how to close these dolls up and sew on the legs w/o as much hassle, though this one about drove me nuts. I did two seams along the bottom, catching the legs, turned hem and missing the tail ... only to find I hated the way she looked. I ripped it all out and started over. I think I just had too much stuffing and hadn't turned up enough of a hem, so next doll, we'll see if I'm right. I learned early on that an over-stuffed doll is not nearly so huggable, so the softer, the better.

I'm not sold on the tail ... We may opt for a manx next time (like Patchy!) or I may skip the stuffing and just do a flannel interfacing. Each doll is a new adventure!