Sheep fixins'

Just in case you're wondering what a sheep looks like unassembled....

I thought I'd provide a little glimpse of my dollmaking process. Don't expect any time-lapse photography though. I'll leave that to the technical folks over at National Geographic. I figure this sheep will be ready for grazin' in a few days. That's because once I start a new doll I can't wait to see what it's going to look like "in the flesh" so to speak. I'll be doing a little stuffing this evening during the Connecticut-Duke basketball game....or not. I might be chewing my fingernails instead. I just don't know if there's any team that can put one over on Duke this year. But we'll see.

My dollmaking process is as follows: Cut out all the pieces, stitch them together, stuff, assemble, and then feel terrible because the doll doesn't look good at all. I throw it on the table in my craft room and forget about it for a while.....but usually not for long. Then I remember that they always look fine once I've added accessories. For the cows, it's the neck scarf and the cow bell. For a cat, it's the bowtie and whiskers. Snowmen need their scarves and buttons. I'm not sure how I'll accessorize the sheep. Ideas for these things come to me when I'm doing something totally unrelated to dollmaking. I've had great ideas in the shower. Sometimes even while scrubbing out the sink. I've learned not to panic. On rare occasions I even remember to do this with other things in my life. Like when I can't find my car keys and I have a doctor's appointment in 30 minutes.

On a different subject, and totally unrelated to sheep, I took a trip over to see Tech Guy at work a little while ago. It's just a 5 minute drive. I do this occasionally when I have some left-overs in the fridge that I think he might enjoy. It's funny how those picky eaters I used to have are not nearly as picky now that they live on their own and haven't really familiarized themselves with their kitchens. I'm kind of a mom version of "Meals on Wheels." And while I was handing him the bag of food through the car window, I took the opportunity to ask him a question about an idea I had for a blog illustration. He said he could do it, and I figure he owes me. Here's a little hint. It will combine my great photos and his humorous cartoons. There could be some real blog fun ahead......just as long as I keep cooking and putting gas in the Meals-on-Wheelsmobile.......