Pressies for me

I won again!

(I know there has been a lot of that going on lately)

This time it was the June OPAM monthly draw and look what pretties turned up in my mail box late last week.

Love the red polka dots and that is just the wrapping paper.

That card is just the cutest.

Inside there was this super cute shopping list - now I can tell by the pics on it that it is a shopping list for fun stuff only!

Under that there is this super pattern and kit for some bears from the talented Toni over at The Red Boot Quilt Co. Everything is there except the stuffing and there is sure to be some of that in 'the warehouse' somewhere.

How cute are they?

Look buttons too.

Now Kris did mention that these might show up on my OPAM list?

You'll have to wait and see on that one.

Thanks to Kris and Peg for being amazing OPAM Team leaders.

Hope you are warm and dry where ever you are today.

St Claire

While the weather outside is dull and dripping we had an inside picnic here today.

St Claire came out to play and in true cat style tried to unravel my knitting, she certainly had lots of fun playing and is now resting quietly. She really is a fun character, her face just makes her look a bit grumpy.

The design is Pounce from Chris Cotton of Gemini Bears. She is really simple to make with only a neck joint, including her tail which naturally curls up she is 14" long and stands on her paws at around 7" I made mine in a medium synthetic fur.

Run over and say Hi to Melody to see who else has brought their friends out to play today.

My new toys (previous post) are for making pompoms, I am not convinced they are easier to use than the cardboard version but it means I don't need to find a box to cut the circles from.

Hope your week has been fun so far.

Introducing Harriette

I thought I'd play along with Melody's Teddy bears picnic and show you some of the bears that I have in my collection, most of which are made by me.

It is fitting to start with Harriette as she is the first mohair bear that I made.

Completed in a class in 2001 and I even kept up with all the homework so she was finished by the end of the last class and like all good crafty types I picked up supplies on the last day and began an obsession with making bears.

As I handsewed all the body parts the bears became my train project and were completed quickly and very unlike me I worked on one at a time, which is why I only have one bear UFO.

I have plenty of supplies for making more furry friends.

Here is a close up of her pretty face and gorgeous beads.

The design is Hattie by Gerry Warlow.

Happy Creating

Friday Night Sew In..

Reporting on what I didn't accomplish last nigt! I now know I should not wait until Friday night to decide what to work on - a little organisation certainly makes for a more productive evening. I traced all four colours for the bears and managed to sew around the parts of two before just totally losing concentration and making a big mess of the next one - I gave up on further sewing and the bears at that point. And moved right along to some cutting for the item I will make for the kitchen - there was lots to think about as the piece of purple fabric was not quite big enough for where I wanted to use it. I had to cut several pieces for the top and then choose a different fabric for the back.Whilst Friday night was not very productive today has been much better and this mess is now all tacked together ready to be quilted, but the local festival is on this weekend and I am heading out shortly for some free entertainment for the evening.

Enjoy your weekend.

Hope it is perfect where ever you are!

Happy Creating

Where's the weekend?

I can report that Daisy May has made herself at home in her new residence, but before she left I had a couple of young visitors and we discovered that she is quite the gymnast, she performed this stunt all by herself. Okay, she was playing Queen sitting atop the Airer but a little bump and there she was hanging by her feet! As the 21st celebration was out at Ballarat I just had to take my sister and nieces from interstate to check out Gails Patchwork Emporium and well you know it is just not possible to leave without a purchase. I got these two gorgeous spots they currently have no specific purpose but I am sure they will appear in my creations in the not too distant future.

The only creative thing I did this weekend was a little knitting, a new scarf in the making, should be done soon.

Have a productive week and may the sun shine where you are.

Happy Crafting

And it's still Thursday!

So Daisy May pulled herself together nicely, and she is all ready for her new life in the home of Ms21, celebrating this Saturday. Luckily she chose this gorgeous long mohair fabric as she is going to live in Ballarat where it is very cold, especially at this time of the year. I enjoyed making this bear from a Babel Bears design by the talented Kathleen O'Connor, and the fabric is the most beautiful soft purple tone, a bit hard to capture in artificial light. Oh, yes she is sitting on the tool box in that photo. Hope your week has been a good one so far and enjoy the weekend, I will be celebrating milestones with the extended family. Happy Crafting

There's a bear in there!

I got a surprise package today... This is Brown Bear Junior, an authentic bear from the Russ collection and he came to live at my place. I'm not sure how he will fit in as most of the bears in my collection are handmade by me and not very traditional at all. He is very sweet and the most gorgeous chocolate brown colour. Not much happening in the sewing room here as the day job is still eating big chunks of my time. May your days be filled with creativity. Happy Crafting

Miss Violet takes a trip

Well more shopping this week, I finished the Outer Eastern Fabric Frolic. Had a good day yesterday checking out the last three shops with a friend. Not only are these three shops full of inspiration they are located in one of the prettiest parts of the greater Melbourne area. It is like taking a trip to country, but only an hours drive. I added to the stash and even have some ideas about where some of the fabrics may be utilised, so they may appear here in projects in the near future. I made Miss Violet her own quilt to go along with her on her journey around the world. I hope she doesn't suffocate in that post pak, and that she likes her new home. As always I fell in love with her as her character came out, it was hard to say good bye and safe travels. I am having a day in tomorrow and sewing is at the top of the list of things to do, I need to make the most of the last few days of my break as I am sure that it is about to come to an end, oh and they are promising some more of that extreme weather this weekend so I guess not much craft will be happening then, although there is another field trip planned to check out a new shop, will report back. Happy Crafting

Sewing and shopping

What have I been doing since I was here last - lets see well there was some fabric frolicking happening here and there. Nine shops in the outer eastern suburbs co-ordinate this event every year and you get a passport which gets stamped at each shop and there are prizes and specials. Too much fun to miss out on. I still have a couple of shops to go, I can feel a little day trip happening later this week. I also managed a bit of sewing when it wasn't too hot, and the power was on. Last week was definitely summer!! I have completed my first bear in a couple of years and enjoyed the process, sometimes I just need to take a break to remember how much I like creating things. It was almost like starting all over again as I had to be reminded of the process, it really has been that long! I tried something different this time too in that I used a floral cotton fabric for the body, paw pads and inner ears, I am very pleased with the effect of this. Introducing Miss Violet, and yes she does have a purpose this is going to my Secret Sewing Love swap partner, I just hope she likes her. While I don't have a picture of anything my neices actually completed while they were staying last month, I completed this cushion cover which Miss 9 started, but we ran out of time. Miss 9 was just making stripy, but when I decided to finish it for her I cross cut it and changed to the checkerboard design, I was able to give it to her before they left, and she really liked the way it turned out.

Happy Crafting