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Christmas in August

First up, I'd like to thank everyone for their extremely kind comments about my first attempt at a self portrait, you all put a spring in my step! I'm not quite sure how I've managed to go a full week between posting here. Between family birthdays, work, playdates, falling asleep on the couch (hmm) and preparations for Audrey's 2nd birthday (eep!) the week has vanished. You all know the drill. There has been crafting, too, but nothing to show for it yet apart from 6 cats in various states of progress littered all over my desk. Sorry to those who are patiently waiting on me for an ordered cat - these kitties are sloooow to churn out.

Last week was very good though! It felt like Christmas here when I received 3 very lovely swap parcels. This one above from Amanda was such an incredible treat! We swapped a while back for one of my cats, and due to the vagaries of international postage this one took some time to arrive. We thought it was lost! I was so delighted when it arrived - this amazing bag she made (love, love that fabric!), plus a matching pouch, both so beautifully made. And, most generous, Amanda also sent some of her gorgeous fun glass magnets, plus some incredible wool fabric that I can't wait to make cats from. Thankyou so much Amanda, I really don't have the words to say how much I love it all!

Then, as if that wasn't enough, the first two of my pincushion swaps arrived. This beautiful collection from Lessa - trim and button heaven! All put together with so much care. And check out the fabric: vintage Hawaiian heavy weight cotton. I think a cushion must be made from this one very soon, if I can bring myself to cut through its gloriousness. Leesa has just opened up her online shop, so please have a look if you haven't yet... her sweet puppy dolls tug at my heart everytime!

And, last but not least, this cool swap from Abby. Lovely green felt and fabric, a sweet owl pincushion, and some cool trims and buttons, plus a great Yoshitomo Nara postcard, now residing above my desk where I can gaze at it lovingly while I work. Thanks again Abby!

Whew! What a marathon post. Back to work for me now.

Self Portrait Tuesday - Hello Internet!

Thought I might finally throw my hat into the ring and join all of you lovely self-portraiters. I am quite nervous about this, I've never been very confident about the way I look, and generally prefer to be behind the camera rather than in front of it. But, here I am with dark rings under my eyes and all.

The French way

Home sick with the 'flu today, so just a quick post. I was looking through an old Martha Stewart Living (no. 87, Feb 2001, if you're interested) and found a great article about embroidery. So, while sniffiling on the couch watching Bert this morning, I copied this little sheep project. Expert embroiderers, please look away now as this is my first attempt at French knots. It's very, er, 'rustic' - or perhaps 'textured' would be a polite way to say that I obviously had no idea what I was doing! But I do kind of like the way this little fella has come up. I think I might use him for a panel on one of these gorgeous fabric cubes from a Japanese craft magazine that Alison posted on Flickr yesterday. (Thanks!)

Perhaps I should turn to my talented Mum before going near the embroidery hoop again. She made this quilt for Audrey before she was born. It's panel after panel of french-knotted animals. I now have a new appreciation of the amount of work she put into each and every one of these perfect little knots!

OK, back to the couch for me now.

Pincushion swap anyone?

Last week I was after a quick project that I could hand sew while watching tv (we got a whole lot of our old favourite Hitchcock films out: so, so good). We've been reading a whole lot of Dick Bruna to Audrey lately, and I think the beautiful, simple sweetness of his characters has worn off on me. The end result is some animal pincushions - not Bruna cute, more cutesey, but thems the breaks. I ended up with four of them... is anyone interested in a teeny swap for one of these? Please keep in mind, they are VERY basic and made from mostly wool felt, although the plan was to use what I had on hand so there is a little bit of blended felt in there, too - so just a small swap, buttons or another pincushion perhaps!? If you're interested just email me or leave a comment saying which one you'd like.

This weekend has been kind to me so far - yummy Thai food with friends last night (at a retaurant! like an adult! I don't get out much like that anymore!), and a trip to the markets this morning. Hope you're all having a good one, too.

UPDATE: Thanks everyone! Pincushions all swapped! :)

Bertram

It's cold and rainy here today, so no choice other than to warm up with a cup of tea and bit of sewing while Audrey sleeps. We made it out for a quick dash to the fabric shop this morning. I think it's time I started to use more fabric than I buy: I'm running out of storage space in my little craft area, plus the lovely woman in the store knows us by name now, which is nice but a bit of a red flag for too many visits on my behalf! Also, Audrey's refrain when I told her where we were going: "Hooray! Fagrip shop!" doesn't seem quite right for a one year old. (Granted they do have a large toy room... I hope that's what she's really cheering about!)

So this is little Bertram cat, a gift for a new baby boy. At least he was made and dressed entirely from fabric straight from the cupboard. Also, thanks so much for all your kind comments when I quit my job, I really feel like I've made the right descision now. Cheers!

Happy mail week

The postie was very kind to me last week, and I received two lovely packages of crafty goodness. First up, a little surprise package from Sarah, containing a beautiful kimono square and two very cool turquoise coloured buttons (one of my favourite colours!). I felt so lucky to be the recipient of one of Sarah's beautifully wrapped parcels, often displayed on her gorgeous blog. Thankyou so much, it was such a sweet surprise!

And if that wasn't enough, this lovely parcel from Fran was delivered. I had contacted Fran to see if I could get one of her gorgeous bluebird brooches, and luckily she agreed to make me one in a crafty swap - and threw in all this extra cool stuff - fabric, buttons and even shrinky pins. Thanks so much, I love it all!

Cool change

Yesterday I was able to do something I've been dreaming about for a while... I quit my job! I often get stuck in a rut with things like this, and forget how incredibly exhilarating it is to actually change the things that I'm not happy with. It feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders to be free of that particular work place. Life is too short, right? The best thing about the new job (yup, still gotta help pay that mortgage) is that I won't need to be there as much, which means more time with Audrey, and (shivers with excitement) a little spot of regular, dedicated craft time! I'm planning to make lots of new things for my sorry-looking web shop and to maybe even contact another couple of stores who might consider stocking my stuff. Have I used enough exclamation marks in this post to convey my excitment!?!!

Oh, and this is Bella cat, one third of a commission I'm working on for a friend at the moment. She's named after her intended owner, a sweet little gal who has just started school. I hope she likes her!