but I also have this pressing need to do something....so I do comfort sewing, For me it is elephants so I spent yesterday sewing all those dark grey piles of fabric into elephants.Nothing ground breaking but satisfying in its own way.

All of a sudden it was the last weeks of school and then a day or two of preparation and Christmas - like some crazy downhill race that cannot be stopped.
The day itself was very relaxed, there was lunch under the cherry tree, a walk with Finn and some fabric cutting in the evening.

The school bursar (the chick with all the money and the magical order book) is an obsessive penguin lover, and I, being the librarian in need of monies to buy books, am an obsessive bursar lover.

Apparently there is a computer game
and apparently in this computer game there is an awesome spell of infinite power or somesuch.

Apparently it allows you to push horses off cliffs ('cause thats a skill we all need)
So apparently these screen printed cushions for Jem's computer- game- loving boyfriend are going to be awesome - the best present ever

or the jokes on me and I have just printed some hidden geek language that reads "I'm a dick"
(I'll let you know)

A couple of T-shirts for the vegetarian

Of lick
and fur

Another day, another disembodied animal.

This is head four, five and six. I got sick of making a whole new head after number four, so I just un-stuffed it and tweaked it and re-stuffed it. The good thing about working that way is that it is faster, but the bad thing is that it is harder to exactly replicate those changes on paper...I inevitably make the next head from the paper pattern and it doesn't look the same - so this head, if it is OK will be destined to be unpicked so I can re-draw the paper piece from it.

Much narrower neck and higher under the chin. I do think I like it, but I am a little scared to call it done for fear the next toy will take 300 attempts. Six heads is a dream run !
Part of me wants to make this into a doll-styled toy complete with an olive green winter coat, with a fur trimmed collar.....but another part of me wants to make a more realistic looking animal- kind- of- animal.
I have tossed up the gusseted underbelly kind of look , but I find it hard to let go of my button joints . If I go with an animal- type- animal it might have to be a head and body with buttoned on legs - hmmmm. Join in guys - share your thoughts.
I went to sleep last night imagining how the back of the head can extend down into the body, without getting all weird . I also find myself thinking of the shaggy fur that these guys have on their chest. I'm wondering about colours and fabric , and tails and teensy spots on bottoms kind of Bambi style. I'm thinking the ears might need some tweaking. I also fruck myself out a bit with thoughts of vinyl.......
And as I get ready to bake birthday cakes for my (work) birthday partner that I blithely forgot about today , and prepare Finn for puppy school I can't help but wish, as always that the time between work and bed could be elasticised or gusseted or have its seams let out just a little.

Hi guys, I started a new make today and got to thinking about the whole process and thought maybe you would like to follow along. I'm not promising a series or anything (I'm sure to get bored and wander off into something else) but thought it might be fun to document some of the stages.....

I always start with the head, I guess it is the bit that holds the personality and it is the bit that (hopefully) makes a toy recognisable. This is Head 1, a compilation of heads past, a very basic 3 piece, as you can see the nose area was a disaster.

Front on, I quite like the curve in the lower part of the antler, but that's about it so its time to move on to another head - and yes that's an ugly ear, there's no denying it. I usually don't expect to be even close until about head 5 or 6 so don't stress-
I made a new head with two antlers and ears, pin eyes and some drawn on features....hmmm, its a little chunky isn't it? I usually do all my toy making with sheets. Locally I can buy them quite cheap so I never feel bad about how many botched attempts I make- oh and they must be white - colours confuse me at this point, I really just want to look at shapes and if I use coloured fabric I get a bit stuck on the colour . (anal or what?) Does it look like a toddler to you? The pins are like instant plastic surgery, a little nip here , a little tuck there.
Oh dear - this toy has mumps....
That under chin area is waaay too chunky. I also changed the back by adding a centre back seam so I could get a bit more roundness but then had to pull in the base of the neck so it looked less stump like. I have also decided the antlers can't be sewn into the seam- way too difficult and weird and floppy......felt ???? Maybe not, these were hard enough to turn as it was.
Head 3
What ??? Is anyone else seeing a unicorn here? Lets hope its a combination of bad angle and pins in the forehead... That weird under chin wrinkle is caused by a pin I promise.
OK - I am much happier with the line on the nose area (although I have pinned away a bit more on the chin as you can see) Also my tweaks previously led to some weird blobby forehead thing so I have pinned that as well. Not sure about the line of that side seam.... maybe I need to add a bit to the back and take some from the front to even it up. That will become important once I decide what kind of body I'm making.
Hopefully there will be some after-work-time for another head tomorrow. Look at the back of the head - too round ? Maybe I need it flatter after all - and then maybe to flare out a little at the base...
(its a long and winding road folks)

All the relatives and friends gathered and said goodbye, and then we shared our stories and we laughed- a lot. Granny wanted very little in the way of a service - she said to "just get that bit out of the way" She wanted a party with all her family , just like her 100th birthday, so that is what we did.
Like all gatherings of the clan, given half a chance the music will follow. Great grandkids sprang forth with guitars and bongo's and a little bit of didge. Aunts and Uncles and nephews and nieces sang quietly and then sang loudly. People fortified themselves with drinks and food and sang some more , and told funny stories, and those kind of weird happy/sad stories and even a few ribald stories. There were moments of quiet and moments of thigh clenching laughter. We all learnt new things about Granny and her amazing travelling life. and in the mix, somewhere in the laughter and the grief I think we all realised that we do quite like each other as well. We have years of shared history, the inlaws and the outlaws, we have rubbed up against each other for a pretty long time now. Those that we rarely see were greeted and hugged and welcomed and those familiar took up their roles and helped and served and moved things along and kept things flowing.

Yesterday morning Granny Boo passed away very peacefully. She simply drifted off , which I think is a damn fine exit after 103 years .

So for the next little bit its all about the family and arrivals and the guests and the catering and the details. Next Tuesday we will all be here, gathered to say Goodbye and to share her stories, and our stories.

I did wonder about telling you, but you know what, you're my friend and I wanted you to know.

I'll see you soon.

I heard a strange noise,
and had to battle with the scary black thing. The scary black thing was very tough, but I wrestled it and I chased it and I dragged it through all the flowers...until I won.

grow slowly

Nude, naked, hairy, spiky - in all his glory.

Baxter is finally a pattern

and the first 5 people to purchase him online from Ballarat patchwork will get another of my patterns absolutely free . (chosen at random)

How cool is that ? Of course if you miss out you can check out the stockist page and visit one of the lovely shops listed there, or you could even ask your local craft emporium to get it in for you. (hint hint).

Tomorrow I have the day off, and I thought of putting my to-do list on here to make me more productive - but I'm kidding myself. I am a craft-sloth at the moment it seems, so I'll probably just hang upside from my branch, blink a few times and pass wind.

but you can look at the shoes with their little Hook and Eye faux lace up thingo's, cause they are pretty cute.

(Just so you know- no amount of cute little doo-dads is taking away from the fact that all I can see is those bloody mismatched stripes.)

I really did.

After maybe a month or more and half a zillion attempts, I thought she was super duper ready to share,

But that anal gene tells that the almost finished dress needs one final tweak, (and different binding). So I'll cut out another dress and lining, which means I have to cut out and sew and french knot all those mushrooms (again) .


and just when you don't need it - I had an idea



Which led to another idea ,which means everything will take a bit longer than I first thought. So finished once again turns out to be a relative term.

yeah Ok... and she still had a pin in her brain -obviously I was going to deal with that .

After an impromptu "staff meeting' with Annie today, I got fired up and back into the sewing room.
I fiddled with a few frocks in between Finn-play and took some photos.