I call them egg dolls!

Well actually Joe called them Egg Dolls because of their shape, nothing to do with Easter or chocolate or chickens or anything else to do with eggs, and since I really don't like thinking up new doll names, I think this one might just stick. I think they are pretty cute, and I'm making them all with red heads and blue hair for now-- I find that when I'm making something new, narrowing my colour palette really helps me a lot! And it seems I'm completely over sewing mouths... they are so last season... or something like that...

And speaking of seasons, it's getting to that time of year when snuggling and sleeping on fabric is far more fashionable than it has been in a long time... 

B.

I'm back!

Well, I got back late on Sunday night, but couldn't resist the opportunity to continue on holiday mode, esp with Monday being a public holiday and all!

Firstly, here are the dolls... they're not perfect, but they are my first attempt.

One for each member of the family.

Secondly, since I was at my Mum's place for a night, these are her amigurumi snails. I send her a pattern a little while back.

I think they're very sweet!

Almost as sweet as a certain little black cat that I missed so much!

 

More soon, for now, I'm cleaning up the mess that exploded when I got home full of ideas, and spending some time with a super cuddly, slightly clingy Henry!

B.

A hard day's work...

Henry is slightly confused about everything being so tidy...

But Abigail is happy...

 

And Sofia is happy...

And the up & coming blinkies have a well-ordered new home...

I know where all the cotton is...

And where all the bobbins had gotten too...

And the fabric is as tidy as it's ever going to be.

But Joe just smiled and asked how long will it last... I give it about 36 hours!

B.

Oh Henry!

I haven't written about little H in a while. He's a funny little guy... he has taken to adventuring around the corridor of our apartment block... he scratches at the door endlessly now and wants to be there at all hours. We have had to build pillow barriers around the door some nights so that we can sleep and so that the neighbours don't think we've kidnapped someone with sharp claws. He used to be so uninterested in the space outside that door, and when we'd take him downstairs to explore the trees and dirt like normal cats do, he was so overcome with anxiety that he'd just huddle in my lap... I'm hoping that this new found curiosity and sense of adventure will mean that he's more interested in the grass and the dirt this summer.

His other favourite place is this box, and his new favourite thing is an old quilt that my Gran gave me a while back. We've tried nice boxes, he used to claim Joe's chair and often my new fabrics, but since this faded yellow quilt came into the flat, he can't get enough of it... no matter where it is, you'll find him there. And he's always had a thing for cardboard boxes, they can be sat in as well as scratched and that's all rather exciting if you're a cat apparently. When I combined the two last week he looked at me in disbelief... the quilt inside the box, he hopped in and checked it all out and looked up again... he went from playing games to sleeping in this comfy new place just like it was an activity in itself, which I guess it is when you're a cat!

And so, I have the box on the table in my sewing space, and we spent most of Friday just hanging out together... me sewing, ironing and carrying on, Henry all snuggled in his box with his quilt in the sun. There was lots of purring involved!

B.

Henry discovers prawns...

I couldn't resist sharing this. My little guy went from sweet sleeping kitty, to super-prawn-obsessed-critter in a matter of seconds, he reminded me of Zoidberg from Futurama when Fry buys the anchovies... if prawns ever become extinct, we'll know who to point the finger at!

Happy Mothers Day to all the Mummies out there!

B, xxx.

Sunshine and Lollypops...

Can't believe I EVER had any cold feet over this little critter...

The joys of living with an artist in a very small apartment! I do love this painting.

The sunshine is back... yay!

Biscuit Baking Frenzy... it can be addictive. Half are pear and poppy, the other are lemon and poppy.

I've been dragging my feet with my rainbow girls, only one to go, but I'm like this with everything, I race through a book, and savour the last chapter for a month... I think maybe I'm saving purple for my Nellie. Her fave colour was purple, and I used up a lot of my purple stash in projects that had me happily thinking of her... don't have a lot left these days. I am going to try to get it done this arv... but I am also in the middle of writing this business plan, and I'm finding that 'determining my market size' is a painful exercise!

B.

Cold Feet

My first attempt at Meet Me at Mike's words and pictures weekly challenge! Here goes... 

We had just moved to Wollongong, and it was a hot, hot summer day. We were at the shops to stock the new flat with supplies when we noticed a pet store, of course we went in to gawk at the kittens, like always.

We had discussed getting a cat for so long now that I was starting to accept that it would never happen. The lines were always the same, I was hopelessly enthusiastic about it, whilst he just wasn’t sure. He wanted to, but it was a big step, and he had never had a cat before. My heart fluttered at the site of a cat or kitten, and somehow I have always felt more complete when I had one around.

This pet shop had so many kittens, and all beautiful, cuddly, playful little ones like every other shop or shelter that we visited. There was one however, he was a little bigger than the rest, and he was a he (we had been wanting a she), but he was perfect. The shop assistant got him out and let us hold him, and he purred happy purrs straight away. We were sold.

But this presented a new dilemma for me. I wanted the cat, he wanted the cat, but I was the main instigator, was I manipulating the situation? Would this all blow up in my face? Would he throw it back at me when it didn’t work out? What would my parents say… a cat in that little flat of yours?

I needed to go outside, and think about this. My heart was racing, I wanted that cat, I was finally allowed to do it, but was it just silly? I felt light in the head, we sat there on a bench discussing it for a few minutes, going around in circles, me saying ‘no, no, it’s silly’, him saying ‘well, it’s up to you, we’ve been saying for ages that we would do it, and I think we should… it’s your call’.

I got up and started to walk away, adhering to that ingrained catholic logic, that denying yourself is generally the best policy.

Then I started to think, ‘this isn’t a rushed decision at all, it’s a long and thought out one, and the time is right, and its okay, you’re a big girl now. If it doesn’t work, so what, you’ll figure something out. It will be okay.’

‘I want the cat!’ I said. ‘Me too!’, he said.

And it worked. No cold feet, just warm hearts.

B.

Henry and the new/old cabinet that I found...

Gosh I love him!

What I've been making... and seeing!

1. henry/ 2. dolls, some black apple patterns, some of my own/ 3. the three little kittens who found their mittens/ 4. ten pin/kitty bowling game, using softies pattern/ 5. home sweet home/ 6. my beloved monster, sally!