What a crazy week it has been! So glad to have finished up the two dolls. Please meet Valour:

Made from Japanese repro-vintage feedsack fabric, woodgrain print, wool flannel and faux fur.

And Liberty:

Made from another gorgeous print from Dawn, cotton prints, wool flannel and wool/acrylic mix yarn. I think she is one of my favourites :-)

More pics in my Flickr.

Also, just wanted to let those of you in the USA know that you can now purchase my sewing patterns at the super fun online shop Felt-o-rama, and the amazingly talented Kathy’s shop, Pink Chalk Fabrics!

Back to cutting up materials for the woodland doll brooches – only a third of the way through!

Been working on this little guy:

And this little girl for the show:

Reading the latest issue of Frankie:

(Claire has a sweet softie project inside from Pip’s book!)

Hoping one of these one of these tickets will win one of these wonderful prizes:

And looking forward to scribbling ideas in my new notebook by Vivian Loh:

Happy Tuesday!

I ♥ these three amigos:

Thank you Cindy for picking this week’s theme :-) Spy more love over here.

I’ve got two button-jointed dolls in progress and finished off a few cushions using the custom fabric and linen/wool for a bit of texture and contrast (I tried using all my custom fabric together on one cushion and just looking at it gave me a headache!):

And some quick links that will hopefully put a smile on your face too:

>> I mentioned sculptor/artist Liz Lomax recently but you really must check out this clip on how she sculpted Noel Gallagher (from the Brit band Oasis). She is just so darn good.

>> The paintings of Roberto Bernardi completely fooled me – I thought they were photographs!

>> I love the idea of Tinnies being sold by Cathy! She’ll be at the Stitches and Craft show too! (found via Linda)

>> This portrait quilt completely amazes me. I cannot even begin to comprehend how one would go about putting this together (link via Kathy)

>> And finally, did you see that Leslie now has the fleur playmat and pillow pattern available for sale? I’m trying to think of friends who will be having babies so I can make this :-)

My creative space today: kitchen bench -

Hot cup o’ coffee. Breaking up reviews of documentation (that I have had to take home from the office) with staring at the pages of Dolly Dolly 16.

My goodness – how have I never heard of this magazine before??? Jamfancy mentioned it when making her gorgeous doll here so I looked it up on the net and ordered a copy just to see. And wow – so much dolly goodness! It’s all in Japanese so I have no clue what the articles are about but there are lots of swoon-worthy dolls:

And this issue has a tutorial on making really cute (and very real-looking) miniature treats like cakes and macaroons. There are also patterns for dolls and dolls clothes including a pattern for making the doll on the right – sweet!

So whilst I’m reading this mag I’m getting lots of good ideas about clothing for future dolls and quickly sketching a few out for refinement later on.

Some Peg Bears for the show have been completed (left-to-right: Nagma, Nakasi, Nha Nac, Nederpop and Nisiotika):

You’ll find individual pics over on my Flickr.

I’ve almost completed some cushions using my custom fabric . . .

. . . and I’m all fired up to get started on a few more button-jointed dolls like Constance on the weekend – completely inspired by Dolly Dolly :-)

More Creative Spaces here!

What a great theme Just Needs Salt picked this week! I just couldn’t narrow down to one secret food shame, so here they are (and not so secret anymore!):

Credits:
1. Big Mac, 2. smores2, 3. Chocolate Caramel Slice, 4. Baked Doritos II

Big Mac, Smores Pop-tarts, Caramel Slice and cheese-flavoured snacks. Horrible, isn’t it?

Rest assured I don’t eat these everyday! Heart disease and diabetes are hereditary in my family and there’s no way I would be eating this stuff regularly. I don’t give these to the girls to eat either, though they have had the odd Dorito and pop-tart (both of which they actually did not like!).

So yes, these are just rare treats though it was not always that way. I used to have a very bad diet – thankfully it has changed for the better in the last decade. So if, one day, you happen to catch me eating that Big Mac, don’t be too harsh on me :-)

Speaking of food (much healthier food), Handmade Help is asking that you send them your favourite recipes for a book they are compiling for the bushfire appeal – hard copies will be printed and handed out to the bush fire victims and you will also be able download a copy for a fee (which will be donated to relief efforts).  Here’s what they are looking for:

“Main Meals – meats recipes, pasta dishes you name it we need it
Salads and BBQ faves – there have got to be some BBQ staples out there!
Soups – winter is approaching fast and nothing is more tummy friendly and budget conscious than a bowl of soup.
Condiments – chutney, jam, sauces, stocks…
Vegan and Vegetarian - I dont have one single chick pea recipe yet!
Kid Friendly – either easy for kids to make or easy for them to eat.
Pet Food – do you make your own dog biscuits? ”

More details here.

One of the uni students from my church was in Marysville during the fire and her family (parents and siblings) were in Kinglake West. They all managed to escape before the fire tore through their towns but their house burnt to the ground and they lost everything.  We listened to her story this morning at church and it was heart-wrenching.

She and her family remain hopeful, which is so inspiring. She also spoke of how amazing it was to know that she and her family were being helped – not just by our church but by the community and the country – and they were not alone in this. So keep the help coming!

More Eye-Spyers here.

Thanks so much to those of you who left a comment on my last post :-) Your listening ears and encouraging words have made a huge difference ♥ I’ve spent a good amount of time gathering things to donate to the fire victims and it also provided me with some quiet time to think about breaking things-to-do down into more manageable pieces and letting go of other (less-important) things, and, as suggested by Mandapanda in the last post, to count the blessings!

So back to crafty stuff (which is what this blog is supposed to be about!). Woodland Boys Pemberton and Peregrin have been finished for a few days and I had a chance to photograph them this afternoon while the girls had a nice long nap :-)

Pemberton is wearing a really gorgeous print of woods and fields that Dawn generously gave me earlier this year (selvedge says early 1980s).

Peregrin is wearing a really cute Japanese print featuring squirrels and acorns.

And yes, I still can’t get enough of that woodgrain print!

Happy Valentine’s Day to you! If you are thinking of making a little Valentine-themed softie for your loved one/s, you can whip up one of my “Sweetheart” softies in no time at all – free pattern/instructions is over here.

P.S. The auction for the Matroyshka Soft Doll is still open! Thank you to those who have bid. The auction ends in 3 days time. I will match dollar-for-dollar in regards to donating the proceeds to the Red Cross so if it sells for $100, I will donate $200; if it sells for $200, I will donate $400, etc.

Overwhelmed by the continuing stories of loss and of miracles that are coming from the Victorian Bushfire disaster.

Overwhelmed by the heroism of the fire-fighters, emergency services and volunteers.

Overwhelmed by the Aussie spirit in response and the massive financial (and material) support generously given (and still pouring in).

Overwhelmed by a family issue which requires a very tough decision to be made.

Overwhelmed by a new project at work requiring me to do a lot more juggling of other parts of my life than I have had to do before.

Overwhelmed by the thought that the show is only a month away (eeeek!).

So I’m feeling a little stuck at the moment – too distracted and not able to move forward. Hope to get over this slight slump soon. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest!

My creative space this week (the dining table) has been pretty bare – started a few Peg Bears and picking out some crocheted squares from my quickly-dwindling-thrifted-granny-square pile :-)

Hope you and your loved ones are well :-)

P.S. My original eBay auction for the Bushfire Appeal was removed by eBay because it mentioned the Red Cross and violated their policies on mentioning charities in listings.  I have re-listed it here.

Thank you to those who had bid on the original listing and I am sorry for inconvenience! Hope you will consider bidding again. As mentioned previously, all proceeds (except postage) will be donated to the Red Cross Bushfire Appeal.

Just wanted to let you know that this Matryoshka Soft Doll is now up for auction on eBay:

100% of proceeds from the sale (except postage) will be donated to the Red Cross Victorian Bushfire appeal. The auction ends 15-Feb-09 13:41:57 AEDST.

Listing is here.

Find more listings for handmade auctions on Handmade Help.

{image credit: Brian Kosena}

How:

>> Handmade Help organised by Pip

>> Lots of links on ways to help updated frequently also on Mike’s

>> Ebay Auctions of your creations with all proceeds going to charities involved:

- Bug And Pop

- Silly Gilly

>> The Toy Society is organising a softie donation for affected children

And pray hard – for all the families affected, for the fire-fighters, emergency crews, hospital staff, and for justice to be served effectively on those who were involved in starting the fires.

. . . Pineapple cake and red-bean Mochi from my local Bread Top for my dinner tonight:

I also spent today trying to finish off two woodland boy dolls:

We’re in a sombre mood – stunned at the ferocity of the bush fires that have swept through the north of our state and so saddened by the lives that have been lost. I can’t believe that places like Marysville – towns that we have visited and enjoyed – are now no more. Our firefighters are true heroes.

Those of us who have been spared from the bush fires might like to help by donating to the bushfire/Red Cross fund:  1800 811 700.

Thank you Handmaiden for this week’s theme. More Eye-Spyers here.