Not much sewing or softie-making these last few days - we’ve been running around like crazy preparing for a number of house inspections of our home during the week, including being told at 9pm last night that there was going to be an inspection at 9am this morning!

So on my desk tonight is a completed custom softie that needs to be taken apart and re-worked, and some vintage fabric generously sent to me from my cousin who lives overseas just because :-).

Oh, and there’s also a copy of some very important and much awaited paperwork . . . . . . we finally sold our house! YIPEE!!! {Happy dance, happy dance}. Thankfully staying up very late night last night to make sure the house was as perfect as possible for the 9am inspection this morning was all worth it. We signed the papers this evening and boy oh boy, does it feel good! We listed the house for sale way back in early January, just before the housing market went into a slump, so it’s been slow going with trickling interest from potential buyers.

But now we can really, seriously, search for a new home, which is something I am very excited about. It’s the new beginning that we are in desperate need of - the next phase in the life of this little family. We are definite on the suburb and agree on all the things the house will need to have as a minimum (including a craft room for me!) - now to do the hard yards and start inspecting homes. Fun, fun, fun!!!

So given this (and all the packing, cleaning and moving that will inevitably follow) plus the craziness of life in general, I’ve had to cut down on some commitments including downsizing the number of custom-made Peg Bears down to 5 (from 10) and at the moment there are only 2 left - so if you are still interested, go here.

I’m going on a little blog break and hope to be back here early next week. I need to re-work the softie on my desk - this doll was a good challenge for me to work on as it involved making a softie based on a design given to me by the customer. Getting the right curves and proportions has been tricky. I still need to incorporate changes requested by the customer, which will require for it to be pulled apart (and perhaps made again from scratch) but I am hoping to get it right by the weekend. Also on my to-do list are a heap of Peg Bears (which I never grow tired of making!) and of course, visiting a few prospective homes on Saturday :-)

Wishing you a wonderful rest-of-the-week!

Wishing all the Mamas & Mamas-to-be a wonderful Mother’s Day!!! I’ve been spoilt with chocolate, kisses, hugs and artwork from the girls :-) It is only fitting that the “This is” theme this week is “This reminds me of my Mum” by Angela.

My Mum is a very generous and giving soul - she’s the kind of person that if you remarked how nice that bracelet was that she was wearing, she would respond with, “Really? You like it? Here, do you want it?“. She and my dad sacrificed so much to give my brother and I a better future here in Australia. She is wise, strong in character, and loves and protects fearlessly. She is a woman of simple tastes but her one indulgence? Jewelry!

She has tried to share that love of jewelry with me but unfortunately, it hasn’t really stuck (sorry Mum!) When I was 8 years old, she gave me a very cute little container to store my jewelry and some pieces from her collection:

This is only a very tiny sample of what she has given me over the years - I have returned much of it to her given that it would get more use with her than with me! I think I mentioned in a previous post that I really don’t wear much jewelry, but I do keep these few pieces close at hand simply because they remind me of my Mum and her unconditional giving and loving spirit - two qualities I strive to develop in myself and in my girls.

In crafty news, Oliver the Owl was completed this week:

As was Happy Chibi Girl Cadence, her two outfits, and her little pouch-bag with mini-Peg Bear ;-)

She initially had a nose on her face but it just bugged me too much so I got rid of it! I decided to keep the ears (couldn’t resist putting button earrings on them!) and I think all Happy Chibi Girls will have ears from now on too :-). Cadence will be auctioned by Craft for China - I’ll post details up here as soon as she’s listed.

And welcome! to all the new readers who have stumbled upon my little blog for the first time, thanks to 3 lovely blogs:

>> One Red Robin was included in a round-up of Aussie design/craft blogs on Decor8 (blink and you’ll miss it :-))

>> A few photos from my studio and a short interview about my studio space were recently posted up on Poppytalk

>> And I talk a about what inspires me creatively on Hip Slope Mama

Off to enjoy more time with the girls (and of course, more chocolate!)

Vintage wooden-spooled thread:

Early last week my Aunty, who lives in the U.S., contacted me to let me know that she had sent a few of my Grandma’s old sewing supplies to me. What a wonderful surprise! I was super excited.

It finally arrived yesterday and oh my goodness, I seriously almost fainted. The box was huge! For some reason I was expecting a smallish box given the cost of shipping things overseas from the U.S. When I opened it up, this is what greeted me:

I slowly unpacked the box and found -

A container of new and old elastics:

A whole bag of vintage buttons - my Grandma had patiently made most of them in to button necklaces, organised by colour. This was her ’system’ for storing her button collection:

A heap ‘o’ decorative scissors:

A container of vintage ribbons:

And when I opened this container I actually let out a “Holy Cow!” followed by a squeal. If my daughter had not been fast asleep in the next room, I would have yelled out “Her collection of lace trims??!!”

After all the containers were removed, I beheld the bottom of the box which was covered with spools of thread. I pulled out some vintage wooden-spooled thread (above). I am sure that this collection will pretty much last me a life time :-) There were also embroidery hoops, an assortment of needles and this gadget I haven’t yet worked out what to do with yet.

How strange that a box of old sewing supplies can make a grown woman all teary :-) I cannot describe how excited I am to have my Grandma’s old supplies in my possession. She was the first to introduce me to the wonderful world of fabric and sewing, and she and her life continue to be an inspiration to me daily. And if my Aunty is reading this, thanks so much Aunty!!! You have made my entire year :-)

I think I may spend a bit more time exploring the stash before I head to the sewing machine. Oh, and I have been recently hooked on reading this (because I simply love fabric), this (great finds!) and this (am so inspired by the photography! Hope to be back at the end of the week :-)

P.S. Thank you to those who voted for my Babushka doll in the 2nd Annual Softie awards. I missed out in The Cutest Face Category but please go have a look at the wonderful winners!

P.P. S. Thank you for the Peg Bear love! I won’t be stocking more Peg Bears in my shop until after October, but there will be a small number of new Peg Bears in 3 lovely shops by the end of the month - will provide details closer to completion.

Some new Peg Bears (with headgear :-)) are now available in my shop.

My final shop update will include a few Happy Chibi Girl dolls in the next 1-2 weeks and then I will be taking a break on softie shop updates until October so that I can focus on my little solo show in September.

I also finally wrapped up the easy-peasy Lamb Lovey and another Doddi Bear Boy:

Thank you to Hip Hop and Banana Bread for the fun theme for “This Is”: “This is the pair of shoes that I would sleep in if I could..”

I must admit that I am not really a shoe-gal - in fact I probably really wear only 3 pairs of shoes. And I’m also very much a hoodie-jeans-sneakers kind of gal too so I am pretty sure these shoes would be on my feet ALL THE TIME if I actually did own a pair :-) Camilla Engman Converse:

And thanks to Angela for also suggesting a little bit of a Flashback today - something pre-1985. So here’s me circa 1979. It was my first proper studio portrait. I actually managed to sit still and smile at the same time - my parents were so proud :-)

Thank you for the birthday wishes! I’m a bit behind on comments and emails but hope to respond very soon.

Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who has voted for my Babushka Doll in the 2nd Annual Softies Awards! You ROCK! Thank you :-)

On my desk are some Peg Bear WIPs and two sweet plush creatures just received in the mail: Robin softie by BirdNerd (for me) and Otis Le Oobee by Onegirl (for Aurora):

Soon after the photo was taken above, the Robin softie went in to my bag ready to brighten my desk at work tomorrow, and Otis flew straight into Aurora’s waiting arms. As you can see below, she ADORES him :-)

Well . . . it seems that at some point today, I turned 32 years old. Thankfully, being 32 feels no different to being 25 (heehee!) I spent the day at work and afterwards enjoyed a delicious and wonderful dinner with family at a local restaurant. It has really been a wonderful day. My most favourite gift is this calendar given to me by a very thoughtful friend, featuring the 2 most important little people in my life:

Hope your Wednesday was wonderful too!

(P.S. Assuming all goes well, I will be having a mini-shop update this Sunday with my last batch (for the next few months) of Peg Bears :-))

Just found out this morning that my Babushka Soft Doll is a finalist in the 2nd Annual Softie Awards, in the Cutest Face category!

I’m feeling really humbled by the other finalists in the category - they are all SO cute! Please check out all the finalists in each category - they are amazing.

I think the “campaigning” has officially begun so if you think my Babushka doll has the Cutest Face, please cast your vote her way :-)

Go here for details on voting - voting closes May 6th.

Thanks so much for all your kind words on my softies for the Crammed Organisms show :-) I just hope they will make it to their destination on time!

I thought I would be able to get back straight into softie-making but the long weekend brought with it a desire to just chill out and relax with the family. So there was much relaxing and eating done! I’m refreshed and re-energised now and am looking forward to a productive week. I did have a bit of time to work on my next craft magazine submission. The brief was for a simple softie that is easy and quick to sew up and is particularly suited for a baby.

A lamb immediately came to mind. After a few quick sketches and less than an hour up in my craft room, this little one emerged:

He’s almost done - just need to find some velveteen ribbon. Ava is in the background ballet-dancing :-) While everyone else in the house was having an afternoon siesta, Ava was happily helping me stuff the lamb with polyfill - and asking me every five minutes at what age I would be buying her a sewing machine :-)

Also keeping me company in my craft room of late is Taotao #44 from the brilliant Wawaya:

Isn’t she just adorable - just couldn’t resist her happy face!

By the way, have you heard about Spoonflower? I’m REALLY excited about this soon-to-launch service. Basically, it will allow you to upload patterns that you have designed and then get it digitally printed onto fabric!!! Yipee! I’ve been wanting to print some of my patterns for a long time but haven’t had the time (nor the resources) to go to a professional printer and figure out all the details. I am keen to know how much Spoonflower will be pricing their service. You can visit their blog for news on when the service will be available (can’t wait!).

Now onto the “This Is” theme for this week by Dees, which is “This is my unconditional, passionately loved, favourite book“. It’s so hard to pick just one book so I picked my favourite craft book, which would be Nuigurumi Style - probably considered a classic by Japanese-style softie-lovers :-)

Gorgeous photography and endearing softies with so much character. Plus I love looking at the images of the designers in their studios - I always spot something inspiring on their shelves or on their desks that I hadn’t noticed before.

Hope to be back later on in the week with some progress on the final shop update :-)

. . . is the headline found next to a photo of Peg Bunny #2 on the cover of today’s The Age M Magazine:

What a complete and utter surprise!!! I would not have known if it weren’t for the email I received from Pip this morning (thanks Pip!). I think I squealed like a little piggy when I finally had a copy in my hands this afternoon :-)

The article inside is a great one about the resurgence of ‘cute’ in modern design and how it could be a response to the minimalist aesthetic that has dominated design over the last few decades and also a manifestation of wanting to reach back in to our childhood. You can read the article here.

There’s also a great photo of Pip in front of Mike’s growing Inspiration Wall and one of Leah’s sweet dolls:

And how cool is this? There was also an article on 10 young designers to watch and Lara Cameron was included in the list!

On to the “This is” meme this week, picked by the lovely Rhelynn: “This is my latest discovery“. Angela actually beat me to it! I was also going to mention the USB Owl that I came across while reading the latest Frankie. I asked hubby to hunt one down for me as my birthday is around the corner and after a few hours of calling around, he told me that they were sold out! Oh, well - perhaps Christmas then . . . :-)

I’m busily trying to complete 4 softies for the Crammed Organisms show after finding out that they need to be mailed at the end of this week in order to make the deadline. A bunny and lion are in progress with more to come:

Happy week all!

. . . are a few critter faces for softies I am making for the Crammed Organisms show in the USA in June; “Tell the Time with Miffy” by Dick Bruna, which my almost-2-year-old asks me to read to her everyday; and a sweet Babushka doll and her 7 tiny kids, handmade in Russia and found in this gorgeous shop in Melbourne.

And in my head, on repeat, is this song by Yael Naim:

Hope you are having a lovely week and thank you for the kind words on the feature in the Homespun Magazine and to all of you generous folk who recently adopted a softie from my shop :-)

Just a quick one to let you know that you can now find the pattern and instructions for Little Miss Mushroom in April’s issue of Australian Homespun Magazine (9.4.). It was a nice surprise to see her on the cover too :-)

And there’s also a little profile on me and One Red Robin - just look at that goofy face! Thanks so much to Catherine, the Managing Editor, for her support and interest in what I make :-)

Also, the shop has been updated with 2 Baby Chibi Dolls and the 5 Peg Bunnies mentioned in the previous post - earlier than expected due to the inability to update the shop tonight.

And, please take some time to check out all the wonderful artists/crafters participating in this month’s Poppytalk Handmade market - now open! I’ve got a little virtual stall there for the next 4 weeks.