I am Sammy and I set up Ruby and the squirrel when I was on maternity leave with my daughter Ruby. I am a fully qualified veterinary nurse and have a passion for all animals but especially wildlife. I hand reared a squirrel about 6 years ago who lives with us. She is called Peanut. So that's how I came up with the name.

I taught myself to crochet and found a love for using different yarn and creating different textures. Each piece I make is unique and made with so much love and attention to detail (I am a bit of a perfectionist) , that I find myself creating characters that you just cant help but fall in love with. Most of my work is inspired by my love of nature and made up of a pompom which I hand sculpt myself. I use different techniques and fibres to create depth, characteristics and textures in all my work and take great pride in my work being neat and tidy.

A lot of my work also involves natural wood that I source and hand cut myself. I am currently learning to spin my own wool but I always source my fibres from other small hand made businesses when I can. Therefore I use a lot of luxury hand spun and hand dyed wool in my work.

My head is constantly filled with new ideas, new characters and beautiful images I just cant wait to bring to life. I really hope you like my work and find something special that you or a loved one can treasure.

I am proud to be able to say I am A Kirstie's handmade Christmas 2017 champion and won the handmade gift category with my Giant pompom deer. I will also be teaching skills workshops at Kirstie's handmade fair in June 2018.

Thank you for visiting my little whimsical shop.

Sammy x