a big THANK YOU!

We’ve had a great time doing our Christmas fairs this year.  Lots of buddies found themselves new homes and were adopted into good families. We sold lots of mini monsters – almost 150 in just a few shows...pheeeww that’s a lot of sewing!

We’ve done a lot of school events this year and our buddies enjoyed meeting all the kids. 

They liked getting lots of cuddles and enjoyed all the attention - they’ve never felt so popular!

There’s been a lot to see and do to get us in the festive mood.  Brody enjoyed having his photo taken with this adorable donkey dressed as a reindeer and he got to meet Santa too, much to the envy of his buddy friends!

Many mice pies were eaten and our buddies enjoyed checking out the other stallholders.  They were particularly fond of these cork reindeers!

We’ll be taking a few weeks off to recharge our batteries and restock our sock collection before we begin stitching again. We’re excited to try out some new ideas and test some new designs.

Don’t forget to send us your pictures of you and your buddy, whether you’re just at home or out and about on your travels. Buddies love action and adventure and make great travel companions!

So now that our Christmas fair season is coming to a close we would just like to say a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who bought a buddy. We look forward to a successful 2012!

Dawanda's Colour of the Month

Dawanda's Colour of the Month for November is Grey with one other colour.  Check out a few of our selected entries.  Meet Evie.  'Evie is a playful and goofy little bear who loves social networks and is addicted to Facebook. She likes tennis, shopping and has a great sense of direction. Evie's favourite word is “chewy” and her favourite colour is yellow.'

Meet Zeppo. 'Zeppo likes rock music, action movies, cheeseburgers and playing videogames. He dislikes early mornings and has a phobia of clowns. Zeppo's favourite word is “muppet” and he has a pet iguana called Chuck.'

and lastly these cute little grey mini monsters were too sweet not to enter!

eyeballs, eyeballs and more eyeballs.....

With that time of year again and our Christmas shows fast approaching, we decided to knuckle down and get ourselves organised.  Some new mini monsters and sock aliens were on the 'to do list'  and our biggest priority......eyeballs!

We went for some much needed retail therapy and bought some fabulous buttons from our fav little craft shop - Puddleducks.  They have soooo many quality buttons to choose from and we love how they store the different colours in these cute glass bowls.

We sorted through our little selection and made up some preliminary eyeball selections for our monsters.  Then it was time to whip out the felt and prepare some felt eyeballs for the child friendly mini's. 

Now it's just time to sew the monsters themselves. Pheww.......back to the sewing machine!

Wally's Chicago Adventure Part II

Wally was up bright and early ready for another day squeezing in as much of the Windy City as possible.  He was sure to pack his map so that he didn’t get lost!

 Wally checking out the Chicago Trolley Tour, he was happy to get a seat upfront and was very excited to check out President Obama and Oprah’s houses....big fan!

Wally at the Hard Rock Cafe!  Can you see the famous Sears Tower in the background?  Wally decided not to go up there, heights aren’t his favourite thing and it was a looooong way down!

Wally is a huge movie fan so was very excited to do the Chicago Movie Tour and check out the locations of some of his favourite flicks.

On a beautiful day Wally enjoyed taking a peek at Lake Michigan......

and checking out Michigan Avenue at the heart of the city.

Wally had a brilliant time in Chicago and hopes you enjoyed checking out some of his holiday snaps. Chicago is a beautiful and friendly city and he highly recommends it to everyone! If you’re off on your travels, think about taking a sock buddy friend with you. As Wally shows, they love to travel and aren’t camera shy!

For more photos of Wally’s Chicago adventure check out our Flickr gallery at Flickr or visit our Facebook Gallery.

Wally's Chicago Adventure Part I

Wally has just returned from his fabulous summer vacation in Chicago. He was sure to pack his camera and took it everywhere with him. He's super excited to show you his travel snaps and hopes you'll have as much fun seeing them as he did taking them.

The night he arrived in the windy city, Wally decided to get into his very comfortable hotel bed and do his research and read up about Chicago.  He wanted to be well prepared and be sure not to miss anything.

First up was a walk (well Wally was carried, he can be a bit of a diva and his legs are only little!) around downtown Chicago.  Check him out at the Wrigley Building.  This was his favourite building, sooo pretty and he knew his sock buddy friend Wrigley would get a kick out of this photo!

Wally at the entrance to Millennium Park - he knew the Bean was just around the corner and was very excited.......

Wally and the world famous Chicago Bean!  He was very impressed, in fact the Bean was Wally's favourite part of Chicago - it was just so big and shiny!!  He was hoping for a photo a bit closer but with all the people around he was a little worried about getting squished!

Checking out the beautiful Chicago River and the city's many bridges!

Although he gets seasick, Wally was keen to go on the city's River Cruise.

After a long day of sightseeing Wally had a craving for a slice of authentic Chicago Deep Dish pizza so went to the locally recommended Pizzeria Uno, yummy!

For more about Wally's Chicago adventure check out Part II coming soon.........

Mini Monster Mayhem!

It's always exciting to get a new collection of socks, all ready and waiting to be made up into cuddly buddies. We had almost sold out of our always popular mini monsters so decided to spend a little time making up a fresh batch. These colourful little guys are our new favourites!
We decided to add a few little extras on these fellas, don't they look cute?!? It takes a bit longer but it's well worth the effort.

We've had great feedback on these mini monsters, they've made great travel companions and gift ideas for friends and family. Why not take a look, all our monsters are online at http://en.dawanda.com/shop/eckelandnoo/164214-Sock-Buddies?#shop_products

to do pile........

Here's the pile of semi-finished buddies were hoping to get finished over the next couple of days. Lots of lips to be sewn and accessories to be added. Always the best and most fun part of buddy creation! ooh and adding the button eyes - always brings them to life!

Summer Sale now on!

Here at eckel and noo we're having a Summer Sale! We've been busy stitching away and so we need to make room in our online stores for the new little guys! A selection of very special buddies have been chosen and are now 25% off. Go and take a look to see if there's a buddy that takes your fancy and make the most of the sale! This is their last chance for adoption before they get taken to our Christmas Shows!

http://en.dawanda.com/shop/eckelandnoo?in_sale=1

Wally - the beach buddy!

Despite it being the Summer, the weather hasn't been too good lately. So when the sun popped out from behind the clouds Wally decided it was time to hit the beach! Lots of other people obviously had the same idea and Wally was excited to make some new friends! Wally was keen to go swimming and check out the speed boats, but he decided that next time he was going to pack his wet suit - the water was cooooold (and sock buddies aren't particularly suited for the water)!If anyone has any pictures of their adopted buddies out and about or on their travels we'd love to see them! Send them to us (eckelandnoo@btinternet.com) or post them on our Facebook page and we can share them with our sock buddy family. Our little guys would love to see what their siblings have been up to!

whipping up a new batch of buddies......

We've been busily working away at stitching up some new buddies. These little chaps are still waiting for their finishing touches - some eyes, noses and ears! One little stripey fella is still waiting to be stuffed. All new buddies to be listed online soon!

Dawanda's 11% Sale!

Check out Dawanda's World Cup Sale. Today there's 11% off all Home & Living Categories. Find our buddies in the Toys & Collectibles section for a great disccount on our cuddly friends! http://en.dawanda.com/category/1494-Home-Living-Toys-Collectibles?in_special=1

Catching some rays......

Yesterday was the hottest day of the year so far, so Wally decided to pop outside to catch a few rays. He wanted to brown up a little and get a nice tan for the rest of the summer! Of course he smothered himself in sun cream first and made sure to wear his sunglasses!

a day at the beach!

A few of our little buddies decided to make the most of a gloriously sunny day top pop down to the local beach. Lincoln was very excited, this was his first day trip!

Jefferson was amazed by the colour of the sea - he'd never seen it before. He couldn't wait to check out all the rock pools...... .....but Lincoln beat him too it. He was very careful not to fall in tho - sock buddies don't like to get wet. The water was so inviting that Regan wanted to have a little paddle in the sea - but after he stuck one toe in he decided it was a bit of the chilly!Lincoln was super excited to check out all the pebbles on the beach. He'd been looking forward to trying a bit of pebble balancing all day........ After a little while finding his favourite pebbles, he managed to build a nice little pebble monument! He was very impressed with his effort and had lots of fun.
Our buddies had a great day out at the beach and can't wait to take some more of their friends to check out some other local beaches later this summer.

Little Update

We've been busy working away at some new buddies. Check out this little pile - just waiting for their finishing touches - lips, eyes and bellies!

Here's one little fella we finished earlier. Meet Regan. 'Regan likes chocolate brownies, is addicted to cereal and dislikes sushi. Regan loves to build sandcastles, dislikes the word "moist" and has a phobia of octopus!'
Go pay him a visit at http://en.dawanda.com/product/19120085-REGAN---Sock-Buddy

Happy Easter!

We hope everyone had a great Easter and managed to stuff their faces with lots of chocolate. Our sock buddies had a great weekend and Walter even made a little furry friend during the Easter Egg hunt! They are now inseparable!

Easter Egg Hunt 2011!

Charlie is very excited to have been chosen as the organiser of this year's Sock Buddy Easter Egg Hunt! He's so keen to get started that he's already been out and about looking for the best hiding places for his choccie eggs.

He's been checking out lots of nooks and crannies in the garden and he thinks he's found some great little spots. He's hoping to make this year's hunt the toughest ever!

We're seeing spots!

Here at eckel and noo we've gone all spotty! Check out Eli and Carter, two of our newest buddies. Meet Eli. "Eli is a shy little monster who likes peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches, playing in the mud, collecting paper clips and hanging out with his best friends - his stuffed toy monkey Miguel. Eli is afraid of germs and his favourite word is blubber."

Introducing Carter. "Carter likes strawberry flavoured jelly, bowling and karaoke. He wants to learn to play the drums and his favourite word is smurf."

Wally on his visit to Ikea.....

Wally went on his first road trip yesterday when he decided to tag along to a trip to Ikea. It turns out he is a very good traveller and didn't mind the long journey....he particularly enjoyed his mid-morning non-fat decaf hazelnut latte!

We finally arrived and Wally couldn't wait to stretch his legs and see what Ikea was all about.

After a looong time walking around, Wally decided it was time to put his feet up for a rest.

With Wally's almost obssesive love of organisation and order, Ikea's warehouse was like heaven! He even made a few friends along the way.