Hope you all enjoyed (or are enjoying) your weekend. Just wanted to pop in and say that there are only a few hours left on the auction of Fiorella Fawn, which is part of Nuffnang’s Queensland Flood Relief Appeal. All proceeds from the auction will go directly to the Queensland Premier’s Flood Relief Appeal.

We are in the midst of a big move at the moment, so I won’t be making fawns (or softies in general!) to sell until much, much later on in the year as I won’t have access to my sewing machine and fabric for quite some time (I know, how will I survive?!) . So, if you are keen to own one of my fawns, please do bid on Fiorella over HERE – and you’ll be making a important contribution to the rebuilding of Queensland’s flood-affected areas.

I’ll be on a blog break this week to focus on the big move, and also to work on a project for an upcoming collaborative book, which I am very excited about! The deadline is approaching soon, so I better get cracking :-) Meanwhile, please help yourselves to some of the freebies/tutorials I’ve posted up over here. And with Valentine’s Day just around the corner, you may want to try my free Sweetheart softie :-)

It’s been a busy week! I haven’t had a chance to sew anything but I’m hoping this happy mail received today will get me back into the craft room :-)

Some lovely linen from Linen Me on etsy, and a few pieces of my designs printed on to fabric by Spoonflower:

I’m especially delighted at how Woodland Cutout in pink on linen/cotton blend . . .

. . . and Little Mushroom Girl in grey and red on cotton turned out :-)

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Don’t forget that the auction of Fiorella the Fawn for the Nuffnang Queensland Flood Relief Appeal is still open! Please do bid HERE!

Firstly, thank you to those of you who generously bid on Fidelity the Fawn in the auction I held for Make It Perfect’s Queensland Flood Appeal! And a special, special thank you to the wonderfully talented Kathy of Pink Chalk Studio for her winning bid of $250!!!

Nuffnang Australia is also holding a special auction of items on eBay donated by Nuffnang bloggers. All proceeds from the auction will go directly to the Queensland Premier’s Flood Relief Appeal. As part of the Nuffnang community, I have donated one of my favourite fawns, Fiorella :-)

You can find all of Fiorella’s details and place a bid over HERE. The auction for Fiorella ends on the 31st of January.

I am thrilled that Fidelity is going to such a creative and inspirational home. I am sure Fiorella will find a wonderful and loving home too!

As mentioned last week, I am joining Make It Perfect’s Queensland Flood Auction Appeal to help support those affected by the devastating Queensland floods. All proceeds from this auction will be donated to the Queensland Premier’s Flood Relief Appeal.

Up for auction is Fidelity the Fawn:

Fidelity is:

• Made from a floral Japanese fabric, charcoal grey wool flannel on the ears and underside, red polkadot cotton print bow, wool felt, plastic safety eyes, and polyfill;
• 42cm/16.5 inches tall (head to feet);
• Firmly stuffed and can stand on her own;
• One-of-a-Kind;
• Suitable and recommended for children aged 7 years and older only. Suitable for decorative purposes and very gentle play.

Care: Spot/surface clean only.

How this auction works:

1. Bidding will start at $20 (Australian Dollars).
2. You can place a bid by leaving a comment on this blog post with your bid amount and email address.  Please make sure that your bid is higher than the previous bidder.
3. Your bid must be in whole dollar increments.
4. This auction is open to everyone, and postage is FREE.
5. The auction begins NOW and will END at 9AM on Monday 24th January 2011, (Australian Eastern Standard Time).
6. At the close of the auction, I will contact the winner (please make sure your bid comment includes your email address).  The winner will pay the winning amount directly into the Premier’s Flood Relief Appeal and send me proof of payment via email.  Once proof of payment has been received, I will post your fawn to you.

Thank so much for participating in this auction and happy bidding!

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Thank you also to all of those who participated in the Tote giveaway. I really do appreciate the lovely words of support encouragement :-) The winner was randomly chosen and is comment #31, which is from . . . . .  WENDY!! Wendy, I will be in touch with you soon!

So I’ve made up a list of things I want to make for our home this year. First on the list: Placemats! To replace our rather old, grotty, ones :-)

Like bibs, placemats are such a quick and satisfying project :-) Possibilities are endless! For our new set, I decided I’d make reversible ones.

Using some thrifted/vintage fabric, it meant that for breakfast we’d have mats that were sweet and cheery (please ignore unintentional wonkiness!):

And then for dinner I just flip them over. I’ve used a mix of striking IKEA fabric, dark blue linen, and cute ribbon for a little bit of formality (and the dark fabric should be able to mask some accidental spills!):

I’m thinking about making another set in order to use up some of my thrifted/vintage bedsheet collection, and this time with little pockets for the cutlery. And perhaps I need to practice sewing straight lines too :-)

Some placemat tutorials you might like to try:

• Patchwork Placemats Tutorial Round-up on Sew, Mama, Sew
• Easy Reversible Placemat by How To Gal
• Quilted Placemats by Pink Penguin

Placemats: Simple, quick, and useful – gotta love that!

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In more important news, as you may be aware, the state of Queensland in north-eastern Australia is currently suffering through significant and devastating floods. The town of Toowomba was hit by what was described as an ‘inland tsunami’. Many residents are missing and the death toll is rising. Queensland’s capital, Brisbane, is flooding rapidly as I write this. If you are able to donate to help those who have lost loved ones, their homes, and their businesses, please go HERE.

Diving into my first giveaway for the year :-) I managed to spend some time in my craft room recently, before preparing for the return to work on Monday. It was SO GOOD to be sewing again. I heart having my own my craft space – though it does need a major clean out soon. And in line with my 2011 resolution of sewing for fun, I whipped up a roomy tote using my Woodland Cutout design that I had printed onto a linen/cotton blend base by Spoonflower. Since I actually have quite a collection of tote bags, I thought I’d give this one away :-)

As mentioned, it’s made of my Woodland Cutout design in grey+blue with sturdy black denim straps, and lined with black+white gingham on the inside. There’s also a button closure with a leather loop. The bag (without straps) is quite large and measures 32cm x 38cm. It’s roomy enough to carry your favourite magazines, notebooks, books, a bunch of groceries, etc.

To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment on this post. Entries close on Friday, 14th January. The winner will be announced on Monday, 17th January :-)

To celebrate a new year (and a new decade), I’ve given my blog a little facelift. Do you like? :-) I’ve tested it across a small sample of browsers but please do let me know if you encounter any issues on your browser.

How was your New Year’s celebration? I hope it was a memorable and happy one!

My family and I were able to spend a few days in Fiji over the new year period, and saw in 2011 together on the Coral Coast (photo up there is of the sunset on our first day). It was a very relaxing time away – I forgot how nice it was to just do nothing! – and it gave me a chance to think about the year ahead.

I have a few creative resolutions floating around in mind for 2011, including:

• Spend more time on designing new dolls and softies and more time experimenting with new techniques
• Do more craft for fun, for the heck of it, for gifting and for the home, rather than with the aim of putting it up in my shop
• Don’t over-commit: Say yes only to the opportunities that clearly fit in with my priorities
• Do more tutorials and freebies :-)
• Re-focus on new patterns for my little fabric range

How about you? What are some creative resolutions you’ve come up with for 2011?

Just popping in to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and happy holidays!!! This year has gone by so quickly – December really took me by surprise! How are your holiday season preparations going?

Looking back on 2010, I didn’t do a lot of making but I ended up having quite a number of fun giveaways :-) Thank you to all the companies/sponsors who generously provided the prizes. Thank you also to Helen (Pattern Press) and all the retailers/stockists who have supported my small range of sewing patterns.

I am very thankful for all the opportunities I’ve had through One Red Robin this year, the following being the highlights for 2010:

• One of my fawns super-sized for display at Sportsgirl, Chadstone Shopping Centre

• Being included in the awesome Craft Hope book (and through this book, gaining a wonderful friend – Jade :-))

• Being included in the wonderful Craft Corps book by Vickie Howell

• Coordinating the small handmade doll appeal for the Project18 Orphanage in Bali, Indonesia for Cate Bolt

Without doubt 2010 was the toughest year I have ever had personally so I am more than happy to say goodbye to it and am hopeful about what 2011 has in store. Thank you to all of you who read this little blog and comment, email, (tweet/facebook!), and buy my creations – your support and encouragement throughout this year has simply been amazing and I am sincerely grateful.

I wish you a 2011 that will exceed all your expectations! :-)

In the Christmas spirit, I’ll leave you with a heart-warming portrayal of Jesus’ birth as told by kids (via Sew Funky):

I’ll be back here in early January, 2011 :-)

Hey all, how crazy is this time of the year?! I haven’t had much time to make stuff for Christmas (despite all good intentions) – perhaps if I start in January I’ll be totally ready for Christmas next year! :-)

Hope your holiday season preparations are going much better than mine!

Just wanted to let you know that Pattern Press have released my newest pattern in the One Red Robin range – Lucinda:

You’ve probably seen her before (published in Australia’s Handmade Magazine a few years ago). I am not sure which stockists have the pattern in stock at this stage, but if you’re keen to get this pattern, please contact Pattern Press and they should be able to let you know about your nearest stockist or you may be able to buy it directly from them. Pattern details are here.

I also wanted to take this opportunity to thank all the stockists and lovely crafters who do buy patterns from my range – I sincerely appreciate your support and I do hope you have fun making the softies and dolls. And thank you to Pattern Press (and Helen!) for all their work in publishing and distributing my sewing patterns. I’m looking forward to releasing more patterns in 2011!

… this past week I received this super sweet doll from Carole W. all the way from the UK!!

Thanks so much Carole!! She is lovely and so lovingly made!

She has joined the rest of the handmade dolls for the Project18 Orphanage appeal that are now en route to Cate, who will in turn be sending them on to the Orphanage.

Thanks so much to the talented and generous donators:

• Carole W.
• Karen D
• Amy L.
• Selina
• Jennie
• Magdalena
• Donna

Please know that you will be making a very special child SO happy this Christmas through your doll!

More creative spaces to visit over here.