Tea Towels and Owl

Jenny of Elefantz challenge for January was making items from TeaTowels. I had a different kind of tea towel challenge last week - we got a delivery at the laundry - a few thousand of the blighters - oh and it was my job to wash, dry and fold them - so I spent two whole days at it and got about half done! This bucket contained 600 and I left those for the boss to deal with on Saturday - my guess is they will mostly still be there tomorrow. He did kindly donate one to my cause - okay so it is one off the outside of the bale - I just soaked it then washed it, now it's clean. I made myself a bag that I can take to the supermarket when I am walking - oh and I lined it with the calico that makes up the rest of the bale packaging - Thanks Boss.

I had some fun this afternoon with the same pattern that I used in the previous post for the Owl applique - it was a softie pattern so I made it up as intended today - I just enlarged the pattern to make this cutie. It is my intention to use it for a Toy Society drop tomorrow morning, hoping is brightens some student's day on the first school day of the year.

Hope your weekend was a good one - Enjoy the coming week.

Happy Creating

Introducing...

Well I matched the legs and bodies I had last week, I made some clothes and painted and embroidered faces and now I have three new friends. I'm not sure I want to part with any of them but I guess I will and just make more. The first who has been flitting around here already is Candy Cane Annie from a pattern by the talented Brenda Greenwalt of LillieMae Crafts. Next is Sweet Annie - another design from Brenda Greenwalt - I'm not sure what I did with this one - but everytime I look at her I can hear Ms13 telling me she looks evil. She really looks sweet in the original pic, so maybe I should follow the directions sometimes?

Last is an oldie but a goodie - a design from Petals and Patches which I have made more than once before - she is petite and oh so cute with that raggy hair.

all 3 together for a group shot - they sure brightened my week.

I finally feel like I have been a bit productive and Christmas may not pass by without me noticing.

My wish is that you're relaxing and enjoying the company of friends and family this Christmas season.

Happy Creating

Sharing some love

Friday I was most productive and made these two colourful Platypus from the pattern by Kate Henderson of Two Little Banshees published in the January 2009 Australian Homespun. They will be going to find new homes thanks to the Toy Society who is organising distribution to children affected by the Victorian Bushfires. I am hoping that they will brighten the lives of some little people. They were a lot of fun to make and very simple. A fantastic project from my favorite magazine. Yesterday I was out early to make my Valentines day drop for the Toy Society, I left Betsy bear in the Laneway off Pier st around 9 am hoping she would not have to wait too long to be claimed. There were already some poeple out getting their newspapers but I was able to leave her without being spotted. I had decided on this location as there are painted murals of local history and personalities on either side of the laneway, part of which is shown in the right half of the picture below.

Then I headed over to Brunswick to spend a lovely day with a group of enthusiastic sewers making fabric bags for young people affected by the recent bushfires here in Victoria. I was happy to be out doing something practical and sharing with like minded people. Thanks to Nikki for co-ordinating this sewing bee. I made several bags, well I should say I sewed several bags as there was a production line happening. These are some of my favourites, though I did make a number of bags that were in more boy colours which I liked as well I just didn't get a photo before they were collected. These bags will be used for the rainbow comfort packs being organised by Monica here.

I hope your weekend is a good one and you are sharing some love with those around you.

Happy Crafting

Happy Houses

Unfortunately the bushfires here have continued to dominate the news and our thoughts which makes it difficult to write anything here. I am amazed at the number of people here in Cyberspace who are making practical contributions to the bushfire effort. As previously mentioned I will be making some softies to contribute to The Toy Society effort to give to children who have been affected by this disaster. The Toy Society has already notified that donated toys have begun to be distributed. I had a wander around my neighbourhood today and chose a spot to leave Betsy Bear from the last post who is to be a Valentines day Toy Society drop. I will be out early on Saturday morning to drop her off, then I am going to join some others sewing bags for another project organised for the children affected by the bushfire disaster. I have been practicing making Happy House blocks and that has cheered me no end. Not only have I been using some bright cheery fabrics, but I also managed to clear a couple of the places where scraps had been stored, amazing how they end up in all kinds of nooks and crannies. So now I have begun the process of making Happy Houses I am thinking there may just be a few more than is required for the swap. I should get some photos when I put the borders on to make them wonky. Happy Crafting