Two owls on tree-stumps are ready for the show:

Made from assorted fabric prints, wool flannel, super-soft fake fur, and wool felt.

And the girls wanted to get into the photo shoot too :-)

Also, an owl print for the show:

I’ve got one week to go before I do the whole install/set-up thing for the little exhibition. I am excited, nervous, tired, giddy and everything in between :-) I still have a bunch of things to finish so I’m feeling the (self-imposed) pressure but it is good pressure/good stress – I’m not complaining!

Thanks to Potty Mouth Mama for the “This Is” theme this week – “This is my favourite children’s book“. This was a tough one as books were certainly one of my loves as a child, but I think I would have to say that all of the Peter Rabbit books by Beatrix Potter were my most favourite and had a huge impact on developing my imagination. I also loved Snugglepot & Cuddlepie by May Gibbs and I read the Ramona books (by Beverly Cleary) over and over again :-)

Given that my brain is just about the consistency of Jello at the moment, for the rest of this week I’ll just be posting up pictures of stuff as I finish them and the let the pictures do the talking. I hope to be back next Sunday with all the details on the show and some postcards to give away.

Thank you again for all the fawn-love! Also so funny to see many of you singing along :-)

Peg Bunnies were completed over the weekend. I used a vintage-inspired circus print, an Echino print, a bird print from Erin McMorris’ Park Slope collection, and very cute woodsy print by Lara (can you tell how much I love her fabric!).

A few days late, but thank you to Bird Bath for the This Is theme for last Sunday – “This is how I like to spend my weekend.” It’s been fun peeking into what you all get up to on the weekend :-) For us, weekends are all about reconnecting and catching up with family and friends. So here’s a snippet of the dessert spread this past Sunday night when we had some friends over for dinner:

Homemade cheesecake, homemade chocolate and apple cinnamon muffins, and a gorgeous selection of mini-cakes. Needless to say, I will need to do mucho walking (just like this gal is doing) this week!

And finally, look who’s come to live with us – Miles!

I won him in Round 2 of the Softies for Mirabel appeal and I A.D.O.R.E him!!! He is indeed the cutest and best-dressed goat I have ever seen :-) He is made by the lovely Holly – a very talented maker-of-many-things. Check out her blog here. And she shares a fantastic tutorial on how to carve rubber stamps here.

And speaking of excellent tutorials, see Kirsty’s tutorial on making a really cute toadstool pin cushion here.

Okay, back to sewing up owls before Aurora wakes from her nap . . .

Sorry for the silly post title up there – got some songs from Grease stuck in my head at the moment :-) (10 points if you know what particular song it is!)

I finished up the fawns over the weekend. It’s been raining on and off the last few days and I’ve been racing to the door every time there’s a bit of sun. Finally got 30 minutes of straight sun while the bub was having her siesta.

Here’s Felix – he’s a little bit shy, a little bit goofy, and knock-knock jokes make him fall to his belly in laughter:

And this is Frangine – she’s all into being matchy-matchy, prefers cupcakes to muffins, and for a fawn, has very good manners:

Filippa, Felix and Frangine having a chat out in the sun – Filippa, of course, being the very chatty one :-)

I’m stoked to have won a softie from round 2 of the Softies for Mirabel auction and I can’t wait to show it to you once it arrives in the mail :-)

EDITED: Just got word that Peaches the Piggy is now available for bidding in Round 3 of the Softies for Mirabel Auction! Go here to bid on her and lots of gorgeous softies!

Image by Pip

On my (computer) desk today is a recently completed fawn for the show:

I’ve been wanting to make a fawn for a few months now and the show gave me the perfect excuse to give it a go. I googled images of fawn(s) in the wild and sketched the shape, breaking it down into a simpler form. After sketching her, I drew up the pattern and thankfully she all came together very easily. She’s quite large, standing almost 50cm tall. This is the first time I’ve made something with four legs that can stand on it’s own, so I’m really happy with her.

She’s made from wool-blend (hounds-tooth?) suiting, wool flannel and wool felt. We were blessed with a beautiful sunny afternoon yesterday so I took her outside in the backyard for a few more photos:

Fabric for two more fawn are on my desk, ready to be worked on tonight :-)

Woodland Boy #2 is also near completion and he couldn’t resist the afternoon sun, so he ventured outside with us too:

I also received more fabric from Spoonflower with some of my designs and I hope to post up pics later on in the week.

Hope you’re having a lovely Wednesday!

Thank you for the lovely comments about Woodland Boy :-) We’ve had some good sunshine this weekend (in between the light showers), so I set off to the local park to take a few photos of these little ones for the show:

These other little ones are not for the show, but they tagged along and were worth taking photos of anyway :-)

Thanks to Amelia for the excellent “This is” theme this week – “This is my trade secret“. I’m looking forward to reading/seeing everyones secrets! Mine is not so secret I think – it’s those two smiling girls up there. They keep me inspired, give me honest feedback on what I make (apart from other things), and cuddle-test every softie that rolls off (or gets pinched) from my desk. I also agree with every point Angela made in her post about trade secrets, and would add that a handy sketchbook/notebook is also indispensable.

Okay, off to read about more secrets and then a few hours of softie stuffing afterwards. I’m also keeping a close eye on the gorgeous softies in the second round of the Softies for Mirabel Auction. Hoping I’ll win the one I am very much smitten with :-)

Ever since I realised it’s the first day of August, my mind has gone into a little meltdown. I’m somewhat scatter-brained and feeling a tad loopy. As of today, I’ve got 30 days to get things in order for the show. Yikes.

Please forgive me if this little blog is patchy over the next few weeks – some posts may just have images with no words (and if you see one like this, it’s because my brain has gone to mush).

Anyways, the Woodland Boys are in progress. One is still in pieces on my desk whilst the other is almost done (just a few more details needed). I found him happily exploring the house after the girls went to bed :-)

Just between you and me, I think he is my favourite of all the things I’ve made this year.

Another ‘hybrid‘ softie (owl-girl) is also in progress.

Thanks to Katie for tagging me with the 6 random things meme – it’s proven to be a welcome diversion from thinking about softies :-) I think I did this meme a while ago so I thought I’d merge this with the meme Pip shared recently:

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?
I started my first full-time job as a Graduate Analyst for a Telco and studied part-time to finish my Honours year at Uni for a course I really disliked. But it was my last year and I convinced myself to just get it over and done with – and besides, it made my parents happy :-)

2. What are 5 things on my to-do list today – not in any particular order?
Submit my time-sheet, prepare Peg Bear Pattern, explore the Guide to Ethical Supermarket Shopping, prepare grocery list, make to-do list for tomorrow.

3. Snacks I enjoy.
Good Chocolate + Good Coffee = Good Times.
I’m easy to please.

4. Places I’ve lived
In order: Quezon City (Philippines), Burwood (NSW, Aus), Marayong (NSW, Aus), Abu Dhabi (UAE), Whittier (California, USA), Marayong (NSW, Aus), Clearwater (Florida, USA), Melbourne

5. Things I would do if I were a billionaire
Faint.
Then check out of the hospital, and distribute the booty between family, charities/missions, and property investment. I’d also open up little “crafty lounges” in every city in Australia where you could drop in at lunch time and sew, stitch, knit, collage, paint, read great craft books, etc – sewing machines and crafty/arty supplies provided. With fresh cupcakes and good tea and coffee on hand. Yeah, that would be cool.

6. What are some jobs you’ve had
Uni Research Assistant, Online Children’s Books Seller, Summer Holidays Lackey for an Accounting Firm that shall remain nameless, I.T. Business Analyst, One Red Robin slave (ha-ha).

I tag you all!! Care to share?

Have a great weekend! More W.I.P. pics to come :-)

My sincere thanks to all the kind words of encouragement and support received on my previous post :-) Thank you for your listening ears and words of advice :-)

I hope I didn’t sound as if I believed that I deserved to have success in every opportunity that came along – because I don’t. I’m actually very surprised and very grateful for any opportunity that arises and I never presume or expect success with any of them. I must be honest though, and admit that a run of failures/rejections can open the door to self-doubt and disillusionment and that is where I was at when I wrote my last post.

So thank you, thank you again for your supportive comments and emails. They, and a few nights of good sleep, helped me climb out of that ugly hole of self-pity. Thanks for helping me through it!

So on to softie-talk. I completed four Peg Bears and these three are pegged (haha!) for my little show in September:

I used fabric by Lara Cameron, a Japanese linen print, and my Dotty Pears print :-) And I actually had a fun time knitting their little scarves while I talked with a friend on the phone for two hours – hooray for large needles and thick yarn! The hardest bit was making those fabric covered buttons! After the 3rd try I got the hang of it and mentally noted that canvas-weight fabric just doesn’t work with fabric-covered-button kits.

I also completed the final Custom-made Peg Bear but I still need to make her little cap so I’ll share pics of her when she’s all done.

Thanks to Jacinta for the wonderful This Is theme this week – “This is what makes me happy“. You can’t help but sit down and count your blessings when you think about this theme. I listed all the things that make me happy and since most of them were simple, everyday things, I ended up with pages!

For this post, I decided to share the most recent thing that was making me happy and that is our ‘family days‘ – regular days when the four of us go out together for a little adventure, whether to the local park or into the city. Life has been so busy that last 6 months that we’ve had very few family days, so now that we’re all moved in and settling in, we re-committed ourselves to regular family days and kicked it off yesterday by taking the girls to the city for a few hours.

We were all exhausted by the end of it but boy, was it fun, refreshing, exciting, and it made us all mucho happy! Here’s a very touristy shot from the day :-)

Hope your weekend is going well, and you’re finding it filled with many happy moments.