A few days before the BLOG TOUR began earlier this month, I decided that the wee folk needed a cart to ride in while they spread the word about my new book, Felt Wee Folk – New Adventures. Thank you to the wonderful participating bloggers who shared my wee world with their followers!

So, I spent an afternoon making this cart. I was almost giddy as I worked because the process was so fast compared to my stitching! First, I rummaged around my studio and found a driftwood board and a pair of old wooden spools that have been waiting to be useful for decades. I sawed off the spool ends to use as 4 wheels. I also found a bag full of metal bed spring parts I salvaged 20 years ago from a dump in Maine. A hack saw did the trick of cutting them in half. Then, I drilled holes in the wood and glued the metal pieces around the edge to make a guard rail.

I glued wooden block axles underneath the drilled holes in the ends. I glued dowels in the holes, which stuck out far enough for the spool wheel to slip onto. I nailed a bead that was just a little bit larger than the spool hole to the end of the dowel. Thereby, making it possible for the wheels to go around. I screwed on a hinge to the front of the cart and added some other misc. metal parts to attach to the horse. The Swedish horse has been in my family for a long time and it was just the right size to pull the cart.

I then tied the top railing pieces in place with thread.

And I made a Blog Tour sign with water-color paper and thread. Since there was (and still is) too much snow outside to find any straw, I covered the cart bed with pine needles that I’d collected last fall.

The wee folk had signs, too. It was fun getting the colored pencils out!

We set up the parade, with an old rug as a back drop and took pictures.

And off they go! I am happy to say that the tour has been a great success and the book has been properly launched. The book trailer has been viewed thousands of times and Felt Wee Folk  – New Adventures has been holding steady as #1 in Toymaking on Amazon! I’ve been getting reports of sightings in bookstores and craft/quilt shops around the country. Quite a few autographed copies (with extra goodies) have sold through my Etsy Shop, too. It warms my heart to know that more wee folk and fairies are multiplying around the world!