This is Feral Cheryl II, the sock cat. She was custom made for a nice lady who does TNR, or trap-neuter/spay-return for cats, and who volunteers with her local no-kill animal shelter.

She saw Feral Cheryl I, loved her, and wanted a Feral Cheryl of her own. Don’t tell Feral Cheryl I, but I think Feral Cheryl II is even cuter.

Feral Cheryl looks innocent, but she has claws,

and fangs.

She also has a tattoo. This one reads “TNR”, as requested by her mom-to-be.

She’ll be going to her new home on Monday. I like to hug her, even though she has those teeth and claws. She hasn’t scratched or bitten me yet.

    

We received an amazingly generous gift today, a box of unfinished carved wooden doll parts from the super-talented doll artists, Peter and Patricia Tyber, of Tyber Katz, for us to assemble, paint, and clothe.

Their dolls are wonderful, beautifully sculpted and hand painted. They are carved by Peter Tyber. Their dolls are painted by Patricia Tyber. Their dolls’ bodies and lovely clothing are made by Patricia Tyber as well. Please go check them out on their website, tyberkatz.com.

I think these “Newbies” kittens might be my favorites.

There are all kinds of kitties, cats and kittens, and some bears in the box.

We were so surprised when Pat wrote to us, and offered to give these to us to assemble and paint. Some of these are the masters they used for carving.

I plan to make bodies for them, assemble them, and make clothing for them. My studio-mate Max Bailey will do the painting. I’m sure it will take us a long time, as these are much bigger than we usually work, but I think they will turn out beautifully. Many, many thanks to Peter and Pat for this gift! And thank you for trusting us to finish these remarkable art dolls.

    

Here are the stuffed toy Hug Me Bunnies I meant to post for Easter. They are now spring bunnies instead.

I used a few shades of pastel rabbit colors. Yes, bunnies do come in pastel colors.

Here is a picture of my pretty Easter flowers as well. Happy belated Easter!

Oh, and here are mommy and baby slugs wishing you a belated happy Mother’s Day! I missed a couple of holidays.

I have some new fleece Hug Me Slugs, like this banana slug, along with some camouflage, turquoise, teal, light blue, and hot pink slugs. You can find my art toys over in my Etsy toy shop.

In the background of this photo, under the camouflage slugs, is one of the boxes I got to hold my sewing supplies. Miss Bertie, below, stole a needle with upholstery thread, and swallowed it before I could get her. Now I keep everything I’m using in a box with a latch, so I can close it if she comes snooping around. String and thread are very dangerous for cats, and can cause serious problems.

Thankfully, the upholstery thread passed without harming her. We were very worried. I was in the same room at the time, but she sneaked in without my seeing her poking around my pincushion. I keep the box closed whenever I get up and walk around too. If you sew, please remember to keep your supplies safely away from your pets. I keep mine in a separate room, except when I am hand sewing, but cats can be stealthy when they want to steal something that looks like fun.

I have been doing okay, a little up and down with the PVC’s, and some chest pain. I’m still waiting for the results of another test, but I still don’t expect anything unusual to show up. I am trying to sleep later, which seems to help. I was feeling shabby after being worn out for a while, and so I gave myself a haircut. That makes me feel better too.

Santana the Peeping Tom Cat wakes me up sometimes. He likes to show up and look in the window early in the morning now. He’s discovered he can climb the settee and rest his paws on the sill. No matter who wakes me up, I try to stay in bed longer, so I won’t get fatigued.

Exercise is helping too. I like to go for walks. We had a string of storms, and now it is getting hot. I am considering joining a gym for the summer, when it is too hot to go walking. I’m not sure I’ll make it there. I don’t often feel that sociable, and I like peace and quiet. I should probably try it at least.

I have been doing custom orders, and have yet to finish the sock cat skirts I have partly done so I can photograph them. They are really cute. I have been going to a block-of-the-month quilting group, but I barely have the time to get the blocks ready each month. That is Jojo, diving over my quilting packet. She thought she was being pretty stealthy herself. My kitty helpers are very silly.