I just completed a swap with Mandy from Australia. Mandy inspired my Kokeshi doll madness. She was my partner for a Mini QT swap over the summer. I wanted to send along an extra with her quilt so I looked through her photostream for inspiration and learned that she collected Kokeshi dolls. I had never heard of them before. I Googled Kokeshi doll and the rest is history! I sent her some panels of linen with rows of stencilled Kokeshi dolls back in August. In return, she made this Huggle stuffed animal for my littlest daughter and sent me some scraps and other goodies.

The collection of scraps is really amazing. There are some little gems in there. This is a grouping of my favorites (but there are others too!). Do you think that she meant to let that little fish swim away to New England? I don’t know, but I am glad it did!

Penny loves her Huggle. I promised Mandy a picture of the Huggle with its new owner and here it is. If you will notice, the Huggle’s face is damp from kisses! I believe that Mandy sells these. If you are interested, you could contact her through her contact information on Flickr. They are nice because they are completely washable and safe for little ones.