Here she is, basking in the sun. I felt kind of cruel, taking her out for a photo shoot. The temperature is around 100 degrees and she is dressed in her wool housecoat, slippers and kerchief… not to mention her wool skin and hair. She made it through with a smile on her face though. What troopers these grandmas are.

Above is the face, in progress, before I added her eyebrows. And here is the back- her hair in curlers under her kerchief:

A close-up of the front of her dress:

and her fluffy slippers-

One more photo.

**Warning- I’m going to whine now. Last night I got an email telling me that I am a Plush You reject. I guess I’m not surprised. I was seeing around the blogs I read, about other people getting acceptances weeks ago. And truthfully, when they posted about my work on their site in March, I thought there was a lack of enthusiasm. And then today, I see this review on Drool.icio.us. Is it just me being too sensitive, or is this kind of harsh? Have these people seen what an American Girl doll costs? Should I be happy that people are noticing my work at all? Any publicity is good publicity?

Well anyway, I keep going back to this review at Design Boner to boost my spirits. Being totally clueless though, I had to figure out whether a design boner was good or bad!

Something else to make my day. A perfect Abraham Darby Rose. So fragrant. Breathe deeply and relax.

I’ve made another one. I just couldn’t help myself. When I make one, I think of all kinds of ways to do it better and so have to make a few more. That is why I am so often doing my artwork in series.

Here is where we were this morning-

working drawing on the right. My tiki face, flat, on the left. I embroidered the features and stuffed the nose like last time. But this time, I used a piece of thick quilt batting behind the fabric. I did a running (hand quilting?) stitch around the features and now they have a bit of puffiness.

I didn’t use the pillow insert this time. I stuffed him with wool scraps and poly stuffing. He has got a nice heft to him. He’s slightly taller then 14 inches and about 6 1/2 inches across.

Here is a close-up to show some of the embroidery.

It started to rain just as I went out to take photos. These aren’t too bad though. I kept thinking of the old Jolly Green Giant commercials when I was sewing him up!
And speaking of green… did you see Ellia‘s posting about dreams (versus reality, I guess)? I loved it. I remember my college interview, so many years ago. The woman who interviewed me asked what I saw myself doing, 10 years in the future. The question came as a shock to my 17 year old self. Growing up in a time of constant nuclear fear/threat, I don’t think I really believed in 10 years away. I told her I could see myself in my own shop, selling my work, whatever I was doing at that point… sound familiar Ellia? Anyway, fast forward to now. I was thinking only recently about how Etsy has given me that little shop, a place to sell the stuff I make. Funny really.