Happy (and relieved!) to let you know that my etsy shop has been updated with the following:

Happy Chibi Girl Coco

Happy Chibi Girl Chloe

Baby Chibi Doll Viveka

Baby Chibi Doll Matilda

Baby Chibi Doll Heidi

Sayeko the Shmerpi (#47)

Omari the Owl

Seahorse #5

Take ‘em Totes

Baby Chibi Doll Ana and Seahorse Softie patterns are also stocked.

More details and pics are here: One Red Robin Shoppe @ Etsy

I’ll probably be away from here for the rest of the week nursing 2 little sick bubs back to health :-) Be well!

. . . it feels good to have a few more things crossed off the list after a week of limited crafting time, especially when the completed items are extremely overdue custom orders :-)

Baby Chibi Doll Jardine:

Baby Chibi Doll Greta:

Salvador the Shmerpi Pirate & Owlie:

Sarita the Shmerpi & Cat:

And after a few emails regarding this softie, I finally started on a new pattern - the Seahorse with patchwork body :-) This one is still WIP and I hope to have this one available in my shop in early October.

Thank you for the lovely comments about Chibi Aimee :-)

I’m excited to announce that some of my toys are now available at a new shop for children in Caulfield South (Victoria) called ‘My Poppet‘. It is owned and managed by Cinti, who is also a very talented designer and makes gorgeous baby wares using vintage fabrics through ‘Cinti Does Vintage‘.

The following will be available from this week at My Poppet.

Left to Right: Baby Chibi Feliz & Bird, Baby Chibi Delilah & Cat, Baby Chibi Gwen &Owl

Happy Chibi Posie (left) and Happy Chibi Pippa (right)

Sakaya the Shmerpi and Owlie

Sawyer the Shmerpi and Owlie

And here’s a view of what’s on their shirts (the yellow one in the middle is not available at My Poppet)

Thanks so much for this opportunity Cinti! More photos over at my Flickr.

I’ve got one more wholesale order to go and then, as mentioned in a previous post, I’ll be taking a break from wholesaling for the rest of the year :-)

So I walked into my studio the other day to be greeted with this sight:

Noting her frown, I asked Sian the Shmerpi why she was unhappy.

“Well,” she began, “I’m not quite liking the fashion you have us Shmerpi folks sporting. Look at Isidore - she gets to wear such a pretty dress. And how about Ramona with her head scarf and dress with pockets? And don’t get me started on the Chimp - I mean, he’s wearing a tie! A tie! Seriously - why does a Chimp need a tie???”

I nodded - after all, she did have a point.

“Listen, the quirky tops and mismatched pant-legs you make us Shmerpi creatures wear is cute but, you know, it wouldn’t hurt to have us in - well, prettier clothes.”

“Okay,” I said, trying to empathize - because, really, how do you empathize with a Shmerpi? “Do you have an idea of what you would like to wear?”

“Let me show you,” she quipped. So I set her up with paper and a pen, and she happily sketched her ideas.

Then we spent some time checking out the fabric stash. She initially couldn’t decide between florals and novelty patterns.

However, once she saw the new floral number by Denyse Schmidt from her Katie Jump Rope line, Sian quickly made up her mind.

So I spent the next hour sewing her up a smock with pockets (while she impatiently drummed her stubby fingers on the table). And when I thought we were just about done, she requested some matching bloomers.

“Bloomers?” I said, “What do you need bloomers for?”

“Well, unlike the other softies, kids actually like to make us Shmerpi creatures do silly things like hang upside down. And when that happens, I would like to . . . you know . . . protect my modesty.”

“Riiiiiiight,” I said. “Of course.”

So I then made her some matching bloomers.

She hastily put them on and after a few little adjustments, Sian was finally one happy Shmerpi. She found a spot next to the window and immediately day-dreamt of new clothes and new outfits.

Before I walked out the door, she did ask me for one more thing.

“And what’s that?” I replied.

“I’d like some sisters - just like me.”

Hmmmm, looks like it’s back to the sewing machine. (Who knew Shmerpis could be so demanding?? And so fashion-conscious too.)

Here are the five Shmerpi creatures that are finally on the way to Aspects of Kings Park in Perth (WA) for the kids display. All of the little softies that accompany the Shmerpi creatures were special requests.

Sigmund the Pirate Shmerpi and Snail

Schafer the Pirate Shmerpi and Elephant

Spring the Shmerpi and Monkey

Sequoia the Shmerpi and Owl

Siona the Shmerpi and Koala

Please contact Aspects if you are interested in any of the Shmerpi above.

And this here is Sullivan the Shmerpi. His shirt is from a vintage children’s fabric.

He’s actually going to my sister-in-law who currently teaches Grade Prep (5-6 year olds). During this term (Term 3), Sullivan will be going home with a child at the close of every week and the child will then return the following week with a story or two on their adventures with Sullivan over the weekend! I can’t wait to hear some of their stories :-)

Hope your weekend was all that you had hoped it would be!

Mine was fairly productive. Perhaps it had to do with my new little helper -

Ava (3 years old) decided that she wanted help me with my “biznez” (as she pronounces it) so she pulled up a chair and asked me to teach her how to stuff a softie. She did a great job - although I had to keep reminding her to be gentle :-) Of course, I suddenly had visions of us sewing and making things together in the distant future . . . that’s what I’m hoping for anyway!

So thanks to Ava’s help, these little gals and guys are just about ready to travel to Western Australia.

They will be participating in a kids display at Aspects on Kings Park, Perth (and will also be available for sale in their store).

The order of scarves is also almost ready too and I was about to start on binding the doll quilt but got a little side-tracked with this Happy Chibi Girl:

But I’ve put her aside so that I can really, really, really start on the binding (so I keep telling myself).

I also got distracted by this wonderful surprise package I received from Tracey and Rebecca.

They sent me a sweet drawstring bag which held some cute ladybug stickers, a super-cute pair of crocheted lady bugs, and a delightful handmade book to store birthdays in. Thanks so much Tracy and Rebecca! The surprise made my day. Your kindness and generosity is overwhelming. Thank you! (Read more about the handmade book here).

More sweetness came my way in the form of gorgeous greeting cards that I picked up free with the latest issue of Frankie magazine. I think there’s a different mix of cards with each copy of the magazine. The one I picked up had cards designed by Jen Corace, Katherine Brickman, Eveline Tarunadjaja, Beci Orpin, and Kat McLeod. I love them all and don’t know if I’ll be able to give them away . . .

And finally I wanted to share with you Happy Chibi Girl Isidore. She was completed last month and I almost forgot all about her! A new Australian online store is opening very soon and Isidore is one of the many prizes that can be won through competitions that the website will be running. I’ll provide details once the online store is open for business. I really love the fabric I used for Isidore’s dress - it’s amazing what gems you can find hidden in the discounted section of Spotlight!

Thank you to everyone who left a comment on my last post regarding progress on the doll quilt. And thank you for the resounding agreement on Heather’s continuous quilt-binding tutorial :-) It is indeed a fantastic how-to and I have printed it off and will keep it handy as I attempt to bind the quilt over the coming days.

For now, just wanted to introduce a few more Shmerpi creatures (all custom orders) that were completed during my blog break last week:

Shadrach (and a rather stunned pear-buddy):

Sydney (and owl-buddy):

Sherwood (and monkey-buddy):

And Sumner the Pirate (and owl-buddy):

And also wanted to share my new favourite necklace that arrived in the mail yesterday. Love the seahorse and the muted colours!

It’s handmade by Nico - check out her etsy store bursting with gorgeous jewelry here (I bought another necklace but will have to keep it out of view since it’s a birthday present for someone special!)

Happy Independence Day to all our American friends and family!!

Ahhh, finally a bit of time to myself to post while the girls go make a mess in the living room :-)

Thank you all for the sweet tips!!! Besides some classic favourites, there were also some new-to-me and interesting sweets like cookie-dough kit kats and skor bars! And we have a winner for the May Giveaway. Here’s my eldest (straight after waking from a nap) displaying the number she picked out of a hat:

Comment number 17 comes from Karen! Karen, I’ll be emailing you soon with details.

I’ve been working on the improvements to Cheery Chimp (first version here). I decided to make his face narrower, his legs longer, and to attach his arms to his body after he was all sewn up. I ended up with a more chimpish looking little fellow - and quite tall at 65cm.

I’m definitely more satisfied with this version of Mr Cheery Chimp - perhaps a Ms Cheery Chimp should be in the works too? :-) Pattern and instructions for Mr Cheery Chimp are being finalised and will soon be available in a magazine publication. I’ll advise of details when I know of the publication date. By the way, the cute little ABC Book in the first Cheery Chimp picture above is from the delightful Apak - inside you’ll find prints of cute characters for each letter of the alphabet. It’s available here.

And finally, another custom-made pirate Shmerpi is on his way to his new home. The request was for blue and green, and a monkey buddy. I called him Sassafras - it’s the name of a town here in Victoria and has always been one of my favourite words :-)

P.S. Have you seen the Mini-quilts Showcase on Whipup today - each one is so amazing!! I’ve resisted getting stuck into a doll quilt for a while now - but I’ve just added it to my To-Do list . . . heehee!

P.P.S. Baby Chibi Doll Ana pattern & instructions are now available at Duckcloth!

Here are a few of my Flickr favourites at the moment . . .

1. nest of thread III, 2. mães que nos fazem sonhar, 3. Le pingouin, 4. duckling drawstring bag for my etsy shop - detail, 5. A Goodly Hug ACEO, 6. Monstrinho amigo!, 7. Sathiko03_01, 8. What now… mini art quilt, 9. :), 10. 2904, 11. aqua imago, 12. Remember, 13. WAWAYA20070420, 14. Owl, 15. hen and egg, 16. the cardinal, 17. Tea in the garden!, 18. Seahorse Softie, 19. troca do avental bolinhas…avental com bolsos…, 20. caderno whw 11, 21. Iara (03), 22. A birdie in her floral home, 23. Amor de filho, 24. For little one’s room, 25. table 5

Ahhh, so much inspiration. It is so very easy to lose an hour just clicking through all the crafty goodness on Flickr!

And here’s Sugar the Shmerpi and her little scottie dog (a custom order). The request was for bright and colouful, and with a dog softie.

I’ve used mostly Japanese fabrics and a cute Shinzi Katoh trim. I named her “Sugar” because she reminds me of a big, fluffly cupcake!

It’s always challenging and fun to make custom soft toys - working with the customer’s requirements and trying to add my own little touch to it as well :-) However, in an effort to complete a few overdue projects and try out some new things, I am ceasing the option to order a custom-made soft toy from tomorrow (so I’ll be removing the items from my Etsy Shop). I’ll offer the option again in early July but will probably limit the number on the Shmerpi and Baby Chibi dolls just to keep it manageable.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll probably be posting less as well - perhaps just once a week. June is looking like another very busy month for our family with important decisions to be made - including the direction and future of this little blog and One Red Robin :-)

But for now, I think it is definitely time to offer up another GIVEAWAY!

So here it is: on offer is a Baby Chibi Doll which will have the cute, colourful Japanese fabric that you can see on Sugar’s top (above). The Baby Chibi Doll will be holding a sweet little cat in its hands.

To be in the running to win, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post - in keeping with the “sugar” theme, in your comment please let me know what’s your favourite sweet/chocolate/lolly - I’m always on the look out for new sweet treats so your recommendations would be much appreciated!

Please leave your comment by midnight, Sunday 3rd June (Eastern Aussie Time). One of my sweet real-life chibi girls will draw a name and I’ll announce the winner on June 4th.

Til then, wishing you peace and good health :-)

Just popping in to introduce two more Pirate Shmerpi creatures.
Samson (#32) is a custom order. The snail buddy was a special request :-)

Shamus (#31) is also a custom order with a monkey buddy as a special request. The customer also requested lots of orange and aqua.

I also promised I’d make Ava a little cuddly friend. Thanks to generous family and friends, she practically has a softie of every creature known to man, so I wanted to make her something that was different. Her favourite colours are blue and green, and I used vintage fabrics recovered from my Grandmother’s stash. While the girls slept this afternoon, I was able to whip up this little one:

She greeted Ava upon her awakening and Ava has been toting her around the house ever since :-) After much ummming and ahhhing, Ava settled on the name “Tamalee“.

Now, must go and watch a person I seem to relate to very well - Ugly Betty :-)