Snow Day

Snow days are the happiest days in the world.  Bloomington looks as if some sugar-obsessed giant slathered us in vanilla icing.  Joseph and I took a walk today in the park and on our way there we saw at least 5 unprepared college students trying to shovel out their cars with lids from large tupperware containers.  As long as no one gets seriously injured, I love a good natural disaster.  It makes everyone a little friendlier and more excited.  Everyone smiled at us on our walk and we exchanged a sort of giggle at how silly and fun it is to have all this white stuff around.  Also, I have definitely been having baby fever lately (ever since the birth of my nephew) but this snow day multiplied that feeling by 10 because I think that toddlers in snow suits are the cutest thing ever.

Plushie Love

Kitty PinkStars was happy as a lark and constantly dancing to the music the birds would chirp.  It wasn't until Kitty's waitress at a diner accidentally dropped 2 straws into her strawberry milkshake that Kitty realized that her heart would explode into teeny, tiny bits if she didn't find someone to share it with.  Without coincidence, at the exact moment Kitty PinkStars had this realization, a boy named Jacob, who was coloring in the woods discovered that the exact color he needed to fill in the drawing of cotton candy was missing from his crayon box.   Being a particularly devoted colorer, Jacob rushed off of his toadstool on the hunt for something pink to use as a coloring medium.  He ran through the streets desperately, when out of the corner of his eye, through a diner glass window, he spotted the precise color he needed---it was Kitty PinkStars aura.  He was mesmerized by it.  His feet moved him into the diner before his heart even knew what was happening, and when their eyes met, they found that their vocal chords didn't work.  So, Kitty PinkStars offered Jacob the rest of her milkshake via her spare straw and the rest is history.

Mobiles!

Meg from Elsie Marley is hosting a mobile swap.  I'm joining in, partly because I think it will be fun and partly because I find trading arts with people to be really exhilarating but mostly because her mobile swap icons are so cute.  You can find the details out on her blog.

She's Pink... She's Fabulous... She's Kitty Pink Stars

Here she is!  I just adore this woman---she transfers so well into plushie form because she really is a magical, happy, beautiful person who was plucked straight out of Candy Land.  I still need to write a love story for Jacob and her which I will post soon.  Her shoes are little cats which actually exist in full-human size.  Now that I am done with her, the sun actually came out of hiding.  My dog, Albert, is also aware of this, and he keeps trying to hypnotize me with his sad, brown eyes into taking him out for a walk.  

Meet Jacob

Jacob is the boyfriend of the pinkest of the pink, Ms. Kitty Pink Stars whose pinkness puts me in awe.  I think that if I ever had a fan club, Kitty Pink Stars would be the president.  She snatches up my mustached men almost as soon as I finish them and then she takes them on amazing adventures, including photographic documentation (much to my delight!).   Kitty Pink Stars has a boyfriend who Kitty wanted Pink Cheeked, and here he is below.  The part that was the most fun for me was the stubble.  

Kitty also wanted another of herself to give to Jacob for Valentine's Day (shhh, don't tell Jacob).  I am not finished with her yet, I am still trying to figure out the shoes.  Here is a photo of her that I used as inspiration.  Isn't she lovely?  I think so.

Sewing after such a long break was nice.  It took me awhile to motivate myself which could maybe be due to the many gray days we have been having, which I find to be really debilitating, or it could be the fear of getting back to my old obsessive ways.  I know other bloggers and Etsy sellers will be able to relate, but the Nichol of 2008 was slightly obsessive about her blog and shop.  The stat-checking feature that allows you to see who comes to your blog, from where, and when, for how long was like my version of crack-cocaine!  I would check and be thrilled with one thing one day (i.e. "Wow, look at all my readers from Turkey") and then suffer disappointments the next day (i.e. "Where did all my readers from Turkey go?")  There are various versions of the same stat-checking tool for Flickr and Etsy, and for 2009 I have sworn all of them off----they are no good for me, they just turn me into a crazy lady and give me mind-rot. 

 My pain is not doing much better, but at least I know that it must not be due to the sewing, since I didn't get much relief with my break.  I went to see an orthopedic surgeon who basically told me there was nothing wrong with me, which I was a little frustrated about.  But, I actually feel better immediately after exercising, so I am just not going to stress about it because I actually truly believe the pain is related to stress and anxiety more than anything else, but I don't want to open that can of worms on my happy blog which I am really excited to be back at.  I have missed you all!  Thanks for reading and see you soon!  Happy 2009!  

Tomorrow

I'll be back tomorrow. 

I needed to post that as motivation to actually make it happen.  I have been working (very slowly) on 2 squat friends, and I can't wait to share them with you.  I have missed this blog immensely, but at the same time I find it difficult to light the fire underneath my butt and begin again.  But, tomorrow it will be lit.  Pinkie swear.

Sabbatical

Dear Blogger Friends of Pink Cheeks,

Thanks for always tuning in and for your nice comments and enthusiasm about the silly plush things I design.  You have made this stuffed journey of mine so exciting and heart warming, thank you!  I am taking a bigger break than anticipated.  I never fully healed from my repetitive stress injury, and I think it is time I prioritize.  As my own boss of my Pink Cheek business I know I would force my employee to not work through the pain and instead drink more tea and read better books and put her feet up and maybe enjoy the (free) cable she recently discovered she had and let her body recuperate.  I don't know why I have been so hard on myself---it's ridiculous really.  I need to take a very long break and let my ulnar nerve heal properly so that it stops freaking out and making my neck hurt and my fingers tremble.  Thanks for reading, I'll be back some time!

Yours,

Nichol