... just a few days later these photos arrived. That's it! That's my Quilting Rubber Duckie!

And she's more beautiful than I had ever dreamed.


The magic word must have been "pastel" for her coloring is right on. I realized as I stared at her photos that I had been totally successful--because I was beaming ear-to-ear.


Now, how many to order and how to market them?

I was stuck in Atlanta traffic on my way home when Craig called to tell me he had e-mailed me photos of the molded and painted duckie. Wow--that was fast!

My eyes must have been saucers as I waited in anticipation of the photos coming up. Yow! She's gorgeous! So, so close. Just a little bright. Too primary for my intended audience. So I sent my suggestions to Craig and...

Having given my a-okay, the sculpt was off to the factory in China to be molded.

Meanwhile, in preparation for the following step in producktion Craig asked me for the colors I wanted the duck painted. I sent him a tracing of David's drawing with the colors painted on and the Pantone numbers accompanying in. I wasn't very happy with the way my colors looked. Afterall my medium is fabric, not paint!

Next step: the sculpt. Bring on the duckie in 3D!

Once again I held my breathe as I opened the e-mail and the first pictures came up. It's amazing how much detail David got with the clay-like material he uses. More than any other duckie I've seen. And interesting that he used pieces of--is that wood?- to make things like the bolt of fabric and scissors and rotary cutter.

But the quilting wasn't right. It looks like couched ribbon rather than thread.






Sure enough the second time was a charm. She's wonderful!

The e-mail arrived with the first images of the sculpter's drawings. I opened it and was pelasantly surpised. While it wasn't "it" it was on the road to being my vision.

The sweetness was there for sure, and the expression very good. It was interesting to discover that "quilted" brings to mind for most people a mattress pad.

I knew we were on the right road and could get this to where I wanted it.

To help David understand what quilting means to quilters, I scanned some pages from a book showing actual quilting stitches on fabric. His next effort was so right-on! Hey David, you're a good stippler! The wings became feathers rather than quilted. Much better. Love that top knot!

The process started with imparting my vision to the sculpter. Having proven to myself that my sculpting skills--or lack thereof--weren't up to the task, I sketched the duck in my mind as best I could to give Craig's sculpter insight into my vision.





In my collecting and research for the book I had fallen for the pretty ducks of the 50's and 60's with their subtle detail and coloring. They were nothing short of beautiful. That's the feel I wanted in my duckie. So, I posed several of these ducks and included them with my sketches. I hit "send" and the e-mail sped off into cyber space. What would come back to me I wondered.