Original Sock Dogs

The custom Pittie orders keep on rolling in, and I love it! They really are fun sock dogs to make with their big ol' heads and paws and their great markings. Pauly is one that I just finished up. He was wandering the rough and tough streets in LA for a while before he was rescued and is now living the good life.

When I first started making the customs, the owner of a retail shop I'd partnered up with advised me (quite strongly) against it. She said that I didn't want to bother with custom orders and the endless rounds of changes that would accompany them. Fortunately, I ignored her advice and I have to say, it has been one of the best parts of this journey. Meeting so many people who are so devoted to their dogs (and cats), sharing in their happy stories and giving them something to help them through a loss...it has enriched my life and my work in ways I never expected and for which I am truly grateful.

New look for the etsy shop!

Check it out...same great stuff, but going with the Original Sock Dogs name, since that's my focus! Now if I can just figure out how to change the blog name without starting over...

 

New customs

(In case you saw the last post about me leaving Typepad, nevermind. I'm stickin' around. Keeping the account on Tumblr and this one too.)

After a crazy December, I have finished up all my custom sock dog orders!

Here are a few of the ones I've been working on:

PEARL

SAM

SHADOW (Psst...he belongs to a certain Monty Python member)

BRIDGET (Psst...so does she)

SEAMUS

LUCY the Wonderbull (Yes, she really does wear a tutu, and here's a link to her Facebook page...please "like" her!)

Happy holidays to all of you...and of course, to your sweet pets, too!

 

Some new customs

Been working on lots of custom orders for the holidays! Here are a few of them:

Rupert

Dink

Nahla

Is it snowing in here?

In the midst of working on a bunch of custom orders, I've been plugging away at this fellow for a few weeks and just wrapped it all up last week. A super shaggy polar bear. Just how shaggy? Well, the carpet in my studio was a lovely shade of white while I was working on him.

I like the end result but I think I will stick to the short pile fabrics from now on.

Pattern Pieces cut out

Head assembled and scissor sculpted

Voila! (3 weeks later...)

 

Sadie and Billy

The first two of many new pups to come. I've figured out a great way to get doggy tongues stitched in, so Sadie is sporting one:

And Billy's just a good ol' mutt looking for a place to lay his tired head.

And...bonus! The kids took a simultaneous nap today, so I got a big shaggy bear all cut out and ready to assemble. Can't wait to see what he will look like.

A New Litter of Sock Dogs

Keep your eyes on the shop in September! There are a lot of new sock pups that I'll be posting in the next couple of weeks.

And here's a little something I've been working on, and may be the first of a new line of puppy plush. Meet "Mongrel"! He is 6 1/2" high, jointed and made from imported Schulte mohair. He's weighted with steel shot, too--so he has a great "puppy weight". Just a scruffy, chubby little mutt.

Bears

In addition to making Original Sock Dogs, I occasionally try making a bear or two. It helps me learn new tricks and keeps me entertained, I suppose. Here are two of my latest bruins. "Rupert" is a 16" plush, disc-jointed bear and "Dumpling" is a 6" mohair fella with a disc-jointed head and thread-jointed arms and legs (they were too small to use discs).

RUPERT--from a pattern by Cat Maessen

I had fun scissor-sculpting this guy's face. Can you tell?

DUMPLING--my own design

There's a lot of trial and error when making bears, and the only way to really learn is to make a bunch and really screw up a few of them. My office is full of misfit bears. It's pitiful. But I think I am starting to get the hang of it--I'm pretty happy with Dumpling, even though he differs from the original design I put down on paper. Since plushies are sewn inside-out, you never really know what you have until it's all over. Kind of exciting, in a masochistic way!

New customs

I thought I'd share couple of new custom orders I just finished. The first is Sully, a Pit Bull mix and a certified therapy dog!

Sully's mom wanted him to have an open mouth with a tongue hanging out. After lots of experimentation, I've figured out the best way to get that tongue in there and make the stitches invisible. Its kind of a "duh" thing now that I've figured it out, but anyway...

And here's Charlie, a little guy who enjoys boating and admiring his moms' artwork.

I have a couple of new pups I'll be adding to the shop soon. One is a very cool black and neon colored argyle dog and the other has a teal and gray argyle pattern.

Dog Days of Summer

(**NOTE to Friends of Three Red Trees: Special announcement at the bottom***)

It's been a busy summer here! Lots of activities with the kids, lots of designing and sewing sock mutts and just trying to keep cool in this outrageous Midwest heatwave.

We've had a really successful few months of adoptions with the Ray of Hope program as well. Lots of dogs and cats going to new homes, even the ones we thought would be with us for a long time.

Scruffy was one of those dogs. We called him our "movie star" and I thought he would have been great as Sandy in a production of Annie. Check this guy out:

Scruffy had a lot going for him. His looks, his character (he is a chair stealer and jumps into one at the very first opportunity), his playfulness. But he chased cats and that tended to work against him. After a few weeks, the right people came along for him, and here's the best part. The couple that adopted him had dreadlocks--such a perfect match!

I've been working on quite a few custom orders over the summer. Here are a few:

 

Books

 

Jack

 

Lily Belle

 

Mack

 

Monty

 

Bang Bang

OK, so here's that special announcement I mentioned: if you remember, last year was the first annual "Dog Days of Summer" sale. And it's back! Here's how it works:

Adopt any Original Sock Dog (excluding customs) between now and the end of August and get 20% off (that's only about $37)! It's the only sale I have all year, and it's in appreciation for your support year-round.

All you need to do to get the discount is enter code: DOGDAYS2011 as you check out on etsy.

As a final note, I've just made a donation of $300 to the shelter to help them continue to transport Ray of Hope animals to various rescue groups around the country. This amount will fund the transport of dogs and cats for three weeks! It is because of all of you that I am able to do this. Thank you so very much!

"Indy", saved through Ray of Hope

"Ruben", saved through Ray of Hope

"Pope", saved through Ray of Hope