A new hedgehog!

The second member of the 'Igel' hedgehog family is ready. He was a custom order, so I have themed him with daisies as requested. His name is Igor Igel.

Igor holding his birth certificate

 I'm very very happy of the outcome. I wanted him to be really different from Vladimir, and I think I succeeded. I have taken tons of pictures of him, and some also of him with Vladimir as they haven't left for their respective new homes yet. The blessing of layaway! :-)

 It is very clear from this perspective how different their faces are: Igor has a much longer muzzle. He is also a bit fatter...:-)

Also their eyes are quite different, they have a pretty different expression, even if they are both very sweet looking I think.
It is interesting working on the same animal, making a series of them. I'm sketching them on paper beforehand, to have an idea of how they should be. Not easy as I'm very lousy at drawing... :-(

Now I have another hedgehog to be finished, probably a girl, and a baby. Let's see how they come out!

Baby Hedgehog

I normally work on a single creation at a time. This once, I have decided to try otherwise. I'm working on three hedgehogs at the same time. Two will be the same size of Vladi, and I wanted to make a baby hedgehog to go with one of them.
It is OK to work with three creations as they are the same animal, and I can keep my mind on the same theme anyways. The baby hedgehog has a different design. He is similar in shape to the big ones, but I had to modify the pattern not only dimension wise. It is a completely new pattern. He also has an inner wiring, so that he can fold like Vladi.

He still has no face, no shading on his legs....but I like how he is coming out! :-)

You can't be always sewing....

....sometimes, you just need to rest your eyes....and let your taste buds do some of the hard work! :-)

I've been cooking this yummy apple tart, with my son Pietro's help. He saw a recipe in kindergarten and is pestering me ever since. Today I let him help me cutting the apples, decorating the cake. He's willing to help eating it also! :-)

Vladi for adoption

Here are some pictures of his pile of felt leaves, his little winter house!

Vladi now lives in the UK!

Playing with Vladi

I'm having fun! Vladi the hedgehog is so cuddly, I love to hold him in my hand. I will keep him for myself a couple of days while I design his felt leaves home. Then I'll be putting him up for adoption.

He loves to be gently caressed on his head :-)

He is heavy...for a hedgehog!

Sniffing my hand...hoping to find some Halloween treats! ;-)

Vladimir Igel

It took quite some time, but my dear hedgehog is finally finished. I've just given him a name. His name is Vladimir Igel.
This hedgehog of mine makes me smile all the time. I'm not sure I'll be selling him right away, I want to make tons of pictures of him, and keep him with me a little while.
Oh yes, I'm really proud of this little fellow! I'm very happy because I finally found a way to make his legs exactly like I wanted them to be. It wasn't that easy, this design is very different from any other that I have done before. The concept will come in handy in the future for other animals, when I want an arm that has flat hands parallel to the ground and a slim shoulder.
I also did a lot of work on his face. Part of his needle felted head has rooted in mohair. I gave him a V shaped hairline! It took long, but I think it was worth it. Ok, here are some of the first pictures!

Hedgehog face: work in progress!

I know it is way too early to say that he has a face...but even if it needs a lot of work yet I can see now how he will look. That it is a 'he'. He already makes me smile!
He still has position eyes, a felt template nose, a pinned down thread for a mouth, but he already smiles! He is an optimist, he knows that even if I don't have much time to finish him fast, I think about him, and I will take care of him as soon as I can! :-)

This is the part I like most, doing their faces, and seeing that they are coming to life!