Double-cute Squirrely Goodness

The red squirrels had a passel of children and they are TOO CUTE for words. They're very wee and very adorable.

In other news, all five Orpingtons are most certainly roosters. :( They have been advertised to go to a hopefully good home and I am fetching 6 GUARANTEED pullets on Sunday from a farm in Rochester. Long drive, but worth it for the guarantee.

More County Fair Swap

I made another small item to go with the dress for the swap. It's a prize-winning quilt! And a little chick toy.

County Fair Swap

My Heidi Plusczok doll list is having a summer swap, and my partner and I selected a County Fair theme. I made this dress for her Mandy and put smocking on the bodice and chicken scratch embroidery on the hem. I was thinking about embroidering a chicken on the apron, but then I thought better of it and decided that butterflies were more versatile. I made a giant lollypop and cotton candy to go with it. Hopefully she enjoys it.

Chickens are growing up!

Well, the chickens are growing up. Not much crafting has been going on lately because I've been spending most of my free time fixing up their coop and run. The run is done and the coop is 95% done, and just needs the roosts installed. The run needs a covering over it so hawks don't eat the chickens, but other than that it's pretty much finished. Here are the kids enjoying the sunshine in the run this morning. This is their first day in it.

I still don't know who is a rooster and who's a hen. The chicken below is my favorite, Alice, and I hope she's not Alex! Her wattles are looking roosterish. I think these buff colored birds ARE in fact Buff Orpingtons. They have pinkish-white legs and they are definitely NOT Reds.

Below: Alice's head close up.

Dorothy, who's curious and always likes to jump up to roost on me. I'm pretty sure she's a hen.

Hazel, who I think might be a New Hampshire Red (she's lighter than the other reds) and is reasonably friendly.

Dennis Hopper the Bunny

The above is Mr. Dennis Hopper, my little bunny, at one year of age. He's six now and has a thymoma in his chest. This is a benign type of cancer that is taking up most of the space in his chest, pushing his heart to the side and making it hard for him to breathe because there's hardly any room left for his little lungs! I first noticed he was breathing fast at rest a month or so ago, maybe six weeks ago, so I took an x-ray at work and found that he had a mass in his chest. I made him an appointment with the Exotics Service at Cornell and they kept him all day yesterday for diagnostics. They did a CAT scan and also took a sample of the mass to make sure it was what they thought it was. He'll start radiation on Monday and will have it twice a week. It should rapidly shrink the tumor and give him up to a few more years of life, which for a bunny is a LONG time. Hopefully he does well with the treatments and will be a happy, hoppy bunny for a while longer.

Margot in New Spring Dress

I put this dress on Etsy a few days ago. Sarah says I should make some in other colors, like blue. Apparently not everyone likes pink as much as I do! :)

In other news, the chicks are getting bigger and bigger. They like to go outside quite a lot. Their coop is progressing and is a lot of work! Especially since I'm doing it all myself. I borrowed a jigsaw from my boss to cut their pop door with (that's the little door that leads to the chicken yard). I still don't really know what the heck kind of chickens they are, but I guess it doesn't matter. I know they're egg-laying breeds. At this point, I'm just hoping for not too many roosters. Anyone want a pet rooster? The chick below is one of my favorites and I'm hoping she's a she. If she's a she, her name is Alice.

First Outing

The chicks had their first day out today. I spent most of the day working on their coop, as well. They have outgrown their little rabbit cage brooder and they are now in a small wading pool inside an exercise pen for dogs/small animals. It works out well for them and they love the increased space. They're pretty silly birds and they now enjoy perching on my hands and flying up to my shoulders if I'm sitting. They're so goofy--they don't know whether the leaves are edible or not and they keep playing a game of keep-away with them.

Nicer Chick Photos and Questions on their Parentage

There is some question about whether these guys are actually what they were sold to me as. I don't much care either way, as long as they all end up laying breeds and not meat breeds. Anyway, the Tractor Supply guy said that the yellow chicks were New Hampshire Reds. I don't think they are, because I don't think New Hampshire Reds are yellow as chicks! I may have lucked out (I'm hoping) and have Buff Orpingtons, which was what I wanted in the first place. I ordered Buffs from a chicken breeder, but she didn't get them incubated and it was going to be another 6 weeks, so just got chicks at TSC and canceled my order with the breeder. Anyway, I have five yellow chicks of uncertain parentage:

And then I have three of these little guys with dark red and darker wings:
And two of these little softer looking red chicks with lighter wings:
I've posted a question on my Backyard Chicken Forum with the hopes that someone has some insight. I don't really care what they are as long as they're not all roosters, but it would be nice to know, and I'm hoping that I lucked out and some are Orpingtons. To tell the truth, the TSC folks were nice, but didn't seem to know diddly-squat about chickens!

Sleepy Peepies

They're not dead, just asleep! They're growing fast and doing well so far.

Look what I got!

I have five Rhode Island Reds and five New Hampshire Reds! Look at that little one on the right, happily pecking at the thermometer. It's amazing how much poop they produced in a few hours, too. These little guys and gals came from the feed store this afternoon.

Alice and the Cupcake

Alice is in her Re-Ment Kitchen, showing off her new pink dress with lace.


Then she spied a cupcake on the table!

MMM! Cupcakes!

(The dress will be posted to my etsy shop within the next few days.)

Book Mooch

I have a new love and its name is Book Mooch! It's just fantastic. I have a number of books sitting around that I have read but don't really want to keep. I have a number of books that I would like to read. I loaded my list of books that I don't want into Book Mooch, and people who want those books can request them. I ship them out by Media Mail, usually about $2.50 or less per book. I get points for them, which I can then "spend" on requesting books from other people! Great for all you literary types who lead busy lives and can never get your library books back to the library on time! So all of you--join up. I want to see what books you have that I can mooch!

Frogs!

I love this froggy fabric! It's from LeelaLouDesigns on etsy. She was de-stashing, much to my benefit. This pair of jammies is listed in my etsy shop, and I think they're suitable for either a boy or a girl.

Pretty in Blue and White

Here's Lei Li looking winsome in the dress I finished on Thursday.

Japanese Craft Book Bunny

Today's project was a bunny made of linen and flannel with embroidered eyes and face. The bunny is for my niece for her 2nd birthday. The pattern was from For Sweet Baby, which I ordered from Yes Asia about a year ago. The background book is a vintage Peter Cottontail that I found at the Friends of the Library Book Sale in Ithaca in the fall.

Spring Finery

I'm absolutely ready for Spring to come. It's been fairly Spring-like around here lately, and my daffodils are starting to peek up through last year's leafy mess that's covering the yard. Everything's soggy outside, still too soggy to rake. Today it's supposed to snow, though, typical of upstate NY in the spring. Above, Kerry (Mandy by Heidi Plusczok) is sporting a new dress I made and embellished with spring chicks. Below is Song by Helen Kish, wearing the spring frock that I made from the pattern that was included with her when she arrived.

Pounce!

This was today's project. I crocheted this little guy from a Planet June pattern. Isn't he stinkin' cute?! He's taken up residence on top of my craft shelves to keep me company.

Orange Cake with Orange Buttercream Frosting!

This is a cake I made for my boss' birthday tomorrow. He turns 65! It's an orange flavored white cake with marmalade filling and orange buttercream frosting, decorated with orange gummies. It's 100% homemade (except the gummies, of course). Here's the recipe:

Orange Cake

2 cups white sugar
1 cup butter
4 eggs
3 teaspoons orange extract
1 1/2 tablespoons orange zest
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
3 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup milk

Grease and flour two 9" cake pans and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the sugar and butter and then add the eggs one at a time and beat till smooth. Stir in the orange extract and the orange zest. Add the orange juice and stir. Mix the flour and baking powder in a separate small bowl and then add to the batter. Add the milk, beat till smooth and then place in the two prepared pans. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until it tests done. Turn out onto wire racks after they cool for a few minutes and allow to cool thoroughly.

I filled my cake with marmalade (prepared) between the two layers. I then frosted the whole thing with buttercream frosting. I didn't measure anything so I can't exactly say how much sugar or milk I used in my buttercream, but I softened two sticks of butter and then added confectioner's sugar to make a stiff dough. I then drizzled in milk, maybe about 2 tablespoons' worth, mixed, and then added more sugar until it became the right consistency. I colored mine soft orange and then frosted the cake. I put orange gummies on, then piped leaves and writing onto the cake. Hope it tastes good!

Etsy Outfit

I made this outfit for a gal on etsy. I hope she loves it! Poppy certainly does. The little bunny blankie is made of a doll sock and a scrap of flannel. I turned the sock inside out, cut down from the toe end and then stitched around the slit to make ears. I turned it right side in, stuffed with a tiny scrap of stuffing, and then added beads and embroidery to make a face. I then sewed it to the flannel and now Poppy has a little friend.

My Cat Ate my Pincushion

Well. Here is the culprit.

And here is the nice pincushion, made just on Thursday, that she "enjoyed." It was so nice and NOT RIPPED UP before. The spots are even loose. I at least hope she had fun.