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 :-)

Is done!! Well, 90% done - I still have to make her little lace-up boots but that can wait for another day :-)

I really liked how the long-haired acrylic fur worked well as hair. Must look for more in different colours. She’s button-jointed just like Patience and is made of wool flannel, wool felt, lace trims, and assorted cotton prints.

More photos of her in my flickr.

I’m so glad I had to bring a big box (for my softies) to Hong Kong because I was able to add a few more things in to it on the way back :-)

I was really happy to find some very cute Monchichi at the APM (couldn’t find any here in Australia for a reasonable price) - and a Matroyshka Hello Kitty!

I also stumbled across some gorgeous stationery from a Korean company called Jetoy.  I picked up a business card holder (on the cover is a cat dressed as Snow White :-)) and a mini-notebook (filled with gorgeous pages inside):

Plus a really sweet tote bag:

The APM were so generous and gifted me with some really lovely things. Firstly, a box of Godiva chocolates:

Also a candy container (filled with Gummies) designed by one of my favourite artists, Yoshimoto Nara:

They also gave me a souvenir show bag filled with these amazing goodies: a monthly calendar, notebook and wrtistlet all featuring the work of Japanese designer/stylist Kumiko Iijima (whose work was also on display - can’t seem to find a website though):

Must admit that APM really spoiled me with these goodies!

When we got home, I also received a package I had almost forgot about. Last month, there was the Plush You show held by Schmancy. One particular softie captured my heart and when it went on sale, I promptly made the purchase.

How gorgeous is he?! He is handmade by Sayaki Imai (no website unfortunately) and I wish you could see it in person. He is a mix of fake fur, cotton, wool, felt and suiting. The craftsmanship is stunning and I can only hope I can achieve the same level of craftsmanship and creativity with my softies that Sayaki obviously has in truck loads.

I have posted all of the photos from the HK show and more photos of the goodies here.

I’d like to wish you all a very happy Christmas with your loved ones, and a safe and exciting 2009. Hope to be back here in the New Year. Thank you for all your encouragement and support this year  - it has touched our hearts more than words can express :-)

Two fawns were finally completed this week. Fifi is made of a red wool cashmere and vintage fabric (from Dawn):

And Figaro is made from wool-blend suiting:

(Pics have been edited using Picnik)

The unnamed Happy Chibi Girl was also dropped off at Mikes this morning for Mirabel. She was a lot of fun to put together and I am hoping to make a few more yarn-haired dolls. I used a 50/50 cotton/wool blend mix for her hair. I am sure her recipient will bestow her with the perfect name :-)

It was lovely to have a quick catch-up with Cam and Pip again at their shop and I even got to meet the super-talented Mr Ghost Patrol in person :-) Speaking of Mikes, I finally have all my Christmas gift-shopping done (and am starting the less-fun task of wrapping).

Most of my shopping was done online after accepting the fact that there was no way I was going to have time to make gifts this year. Here’s some of the loot I bought from here, here, here, here and here - all very highly recommended!

Buy handmade this Christmas! :-) Happy December!

Wow, I am exhausted. What a weekend it has been! I wasn’t planning on posting until later in the week but I am still buzzing from the excitement and wanted to get my thoughts down before I forget :-)

Firstly, it was such a pleasure to finally meet Helen (who runs Pattern Press). Helen is an amazing craftswoman in her own right (see her work here) and she did an amazing job pulling the booth together and getting everything organised for the AQM. She’s been so enouraging and so helpful - I feel truly blessed to be working with her.

The Quilted Crow - Leonie & Deirdre - also have their patterns under Pattern Press and it was an honour to be sharing the booth with them both. Their creations in wool are just incredible. It’s something you need to see up close. You can’t help but reach out and touch the scarves, the quilts, the pin cushions, etc. And Leonie & Deidre were so incredibly warm and kind too!

Being a part of the AQM was a wonderful and memorable experience. It was a real treat to be able to talk to people face-to-face about my softies, about how they were made, and generally to see the instant (and positive) reaction (that you don’t really experience through the internet). Thanks for all your well wishes!

And today, I had one of the most wonderful experiences. I was told that Ms Amy Butler was in a booth just around the corner, chatting to fellow booth-holders. I really, really wanted to drop in and say hello but was suddenly overcome with what I can only describe as being ‘star-struck‘. For about half-an-hour, I kept peering around the corner to see if she was still there and then thinking about how on earth I would start a conversation! My mind was completely blank.

Finally, thanks to a suggestion by Helen’s daughter, I went off and bought Amy’s book (since I didn’t have anything ‘Amy Butler‘ with me at the time as I had no idea she was actually going to be there!). I then lined up at her booth, knees feeling like jelly, and silently hoping I would be able to talk to her in cohesive sentences.

So finally it was my turn and you know what? Amy was soooo approachable, so warm, so friendly and so genuine. We talked about inspiration, Melbourne, and the importance of family. I even had the cheek to show her some of my softie patterns :-) But wow - she was just so easy to talk to and the nervousness slipped away in no time.

Of course I forgot to bring my camera, but she did sign my book and also gave me a little booklet on her new fabric line. I even got a hug :-) I can honestly say that she has a lifetime fan in me :-)

The mosaic up there is of the Pattern Press booth - you can see all the photos here.

Ever since we moved the clock forward last week for Daylight Savings, I feel like I am always running a day behind! Thanks to MissK for the fun “This is” theme this past week - “This is my current reading material“.

And here is mine (a day late):

This theme is actually very timely as 3 of the 4 books above arrived from Amazon just last week! I am still reading this fabulous book, one chapter at a time whenever I get a quiet moment. The first book from Amazon is “The Boss of You” by Lauren Bacon & Emira Mears. I’ve read a lot of good buzz about this book around the crafty blogs but haven’t as yet gone past the first page (not because of the book, just because there are only 24 hours in one day!). I’m hoping to get stuck into it at the end of the month.

The next one I picked just because I totally adored the pics one of my fave bloggers, Danielle, posted up on her blog. It’s “Complete Embellishing” by Kayte Terry (previously a Visual Manger for Anthropologie and freelancer for Adorn magazine).

The projects are just soooo good - everything from garments, to accessories and home furnishings. Here’s a snippet of a few things I am hoping to try (adding a mod-squad collar to a t-shirt; making an argyle vest out of an old plaid wool vest; scarf made from dyed doilies; and felt silhouette pillowcases):

And it’s a fantastic resource for embellishing in general as well. In fact, the first half of the book covers sewing, sculpting fabric, embroidery, crochet, trims, felting, beads & baubles, applique, fabric printing and painting/etching. I can’t wait to try out the techniques and projects on some of my clothes, the girls’ clothes, and even on a few softies!

And the other book that is on high rotation with the girls (and I keep by my bedside because I love the pictures!) is “ABCs” by illustrator Charley Harper. Just take a look at the inside cover - stunning:

Besides catching up on some books, I have been doing a whole lotta sewing. Not much to show you yet though as they are still going through the stuffing process (and I can’t believe I bought 5kgs of stuffing today to cover the next few weeks!). But here’s one little gal who escaped from the studio - Myrtle the Big-Headed Turtle:

She’s a little shy about having such a huge cranium so I made her a little bonnet to distract from that fact :-) If all goes well, the pattern for her will be available in a few months.

In other news, you may notice the new banner up at the top of my blog. My solo show has ended and my little website has its first sponsor - Burdastyle! This is a fantastic website for all things sewing - free patterns, how-tos, tips, and an awesome community. I love checking in on their fabric/textile projects section to find some inspiration and ideas - this section is also a great resource if you are looking for projects for gifts or a handmade Christmas. Be sure to wander over!

Okay, back to the business of stuffing!

Thanks to Bug and Pop* for this week’s “This Is” theme - “This is what I want to be when I grow up“.

I mentioned a few posts ago that I want to be Beci Orpin when I grow up :-)

{Beci Orpin. Image credit: Outre Gallery}

Well, of course, not actually be her or be exactly like her but I think more to be engaged creatively and make stuff on a full-time basis, in a number of different mediums; and to fully develop my own style and have that translate across the different mediums; and to do it well. Like she does. I think that’s what I meant :-) And then there’s my little secret wish - no so secret anymore - which is to quit my job and study Textile Design. But that is still many years away I think.

It’s kind of funny that this is the theme this week because I just started reading “The Divided Heart” by Rachel Power (as recommended by Claire and a few other creative Mums) and so far I am nodding in agreement at the end of every page. Sometimes I cringe because it has spoken so clearly and so honestly about feelings I would have never admitted to anyone - those feelings that arise during moments of excruciating frustration, juggling motherhood and the desire to be freely engaged in a creative process (and feeling like a complete failure at both). And it’s got me thinking about what I really want to work towards - “what I want to be when I grow up” - which is something like what I’ve written up there. But I’m still figuring it out and still thinking about what little thing I can do everyday during those spare minutes to bring it into fruition.

So before I start heading off on a tangent, I highly recommend the book for all creative Mums and Mums-to-be. Lots - LOTS - of food for thought and so many amazing insights- and I’m only up to the 3rd chapter!

Okey dokey, so back to making stuff :-) Babushka Soft Doll #2 was completed a few days ago - made from vintage Japanese kimono scraps and wool felt:

I spent last Friday out and about with the girls, including a trip to Hudson so that they could see the show (they loved it :-)). A few things we collected from the day: cutie-pie brooches from Lark (from Dymocks in the city), a key chain from Heidi’s Yummy Breakfast collaboration with kidrobot, and Yoshimoto Nara postcard (both from Hudson), and the cutest little owl in my favourite kind of green that Nikki brought back from Japan (thanks Nikki!).

* By the way, check out Bug and Pop’s new shop of super cute kids clothes!

I was stoked to be invited to participate in Super Plush - a plush show to be held in Los Angeles later this month at Ghettogloss and organised by Narumi Ogawa (of Misterr Funky fame). It’s a real treat to be exhibiting in the company of such talented and amazing plush-makers:

It’s been a week of the flu and nasty sinus problems in our home, so I’m very happy to have finally sent these three owls to Super Plush: left to right - Ozzy, Osmond and Ohio

I challenged myself to use only what I had on hand, so out came some vintage cotton and barkcloth; faux fur; scraps of wool felt; and even some jewelry odds and ends from my long-forgotten jewelry-making stint ;-)

Ohio’s a Captain who likes to remind everyone of his glory days in the Owl Army:

Osmond is an official campaigner for Kewpie for President in 2008. Vote for change. Kewte change.

And Ozzy’s - well, he’s just Ozzy. Faux-hawk and all.

How cool that DJ Lance Rock will be at the opening night! My girls absolutely love Yo Gabba Gabba - in fact thanks to that show they are trying new foods because apparently the show taught them that if “you try it, you’ll like it!“. Thanks Yo Gabba Gabba for making meal-times a little easier :-)

And on my desk tonight, a pile of vintage Japanese kimono scraps to sort through for my next project. Also, three gorgeous handmade tags from the lovely Steffen - seriously, too gorgeous to use as tags so I will keep them as bookmarks :-)

Check out Steffen’s beautiful creations here.

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.

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!