Bunny made it!

A message from our special friends in California...

Amelia received her bunny yesterday and what a hit!! Thank you so much
for thinking of her and what a piece of art you made!

I sent Amelia the Wee Wonderfuls Bunny that I made a few weeks back as a wee and wonderful present for Easter - part of my one woman "minimise-the-amount-of-chocolate-given-to- small-children" campaign.

Doesn't it feel nice to give?

Dotty Jotty Goodness

Being the stationery fiend that I am, I saw these featured recently in a crappy women's magazine (my other addiction) (along with fabric) (and a few other things that cannot be named) and knew that there was absolutely no chance that I would not own them...that's right, Denyse Schmidt stationery! Gorgeous. Featured here are the Dot's and Jot's Mix and Match Writing Paper ($19.95 from Borders) and the Dot's and Jot's Corrospondence Cards (5 cards each of the four designs featured, $29.95 from Iko Iko) along with two of my matching fabrics from the Flea Market Fancy fabrics. Ahhhhh.....bliss.

And an addendum about the fate of Mr. Bunny. He has been officially adopted by the lovely Harriet who promises to care for him and love him lots and lots.

This week has been chaos as usual with "big deals" of note being CeeJae starting his fourth day of daycare - a HUGE dilemma and ENORMOUS decision for me but a necessary evil given the fantastic opportunities ahead for his Mummy (and really not too big an impact this week given that we had Monday and Tuesday at home) - and the impending arrival of film crews on Friday and Sunday to film our beautiful boy for a new child development series called "Nought to Five".
Very exciting!

Happy Easter!

Given the season, I have made a few little bunnies as gifts for a few special friends - the first is on her way to America to be Amelia's and was made from the Wee Wonderfuls Wee Bunny pattern which is a free download from Hillary - what a clever girl she is! The materials are from my stash (given that Jewels and I are unofficial members of the "April: Use What You Have" club, as we are saving money for our trip to Melbourne next month), with the inside of her ears and bunny tail finished in wool felt - and I added the "A" for extra special effect! In hindsight, I will triple the size of ears for a more floppsy appeal and, if you plan to make her, watch the attachment of the bottom piece - it took me three goes to get it almost right!

The second bunny, seen here lazing with his new mates amongst the weeds in the pukeko pot, is from a pattern which can be found in the latest Australian Better Homes and Gardens, and was an afternoon activity completed with my sister MissGee (soon to be MrsBee!) while I was down at the farm - the fabrics are stolen from her stash (still counts as use what you have! And I noticed that you took home those gorgeous flannels, missy!) and the pattern is only enlarged 150% - talk about a nightmare! Thanks to Mum for her patience - needless to say, we will enlarge the pattern way more next time! Also, the seam allowance is NOT included on the pattern and while we were aware of this, we may have cheated a little on the allowance which didn't help (Note to self; Do not skimp on seam allowance! Half inch all the way!). Recipient for this bunny hasn't been determined yet...any takers?

Anyway, that's all I have - my sewing machine is off for a service this week and I miss it terribly! In other sewing related news, however, I have finally chosen this very pretty oilcloth from Kate Fitzpatrick for my sewing table, so I will endevour to spend some of this rapidly disappearing Easter weekend getting started on the painting and covering...and BabyGee's quilt is back on! I realised on reflection, that I really just hate the yellow and so I have taken out the yellow sqaures, blanket stitched the hearts and animals in ruby red, and will add bright ruby red borders to each of the square...as soon as I get my beloved Elna back, of course.

Happy Easter, lovelies!

The Funny Farm

CeeJae and I took the Overlander train from Britomart to Hamilton this morning for a few days on the farm with "Grandpa/Grandpa" (CeeJae can't quite work out the Grandpa AND Grandma thing). We arrived at 0945 and he's already won over his grandparents and his Aunty H-amy with his grumpy face and ever-so-cute rendition of his ABC's (which finishes at G!), had a ride on the motorbike, and deposited a whirlwind of toys across the living room. He's now asleep - thank goodness! Welcome to the Funny Farm! We are looking forward to a few days home, getting out of the Big Smoke, and spending time with my folks before Mum heads off to France for a few weeks...Bon Voyage Maman! Sewing free zone here as my machine is in for a service - which takes 10 whole days! What are the planning to do to my baby!?

(NB: Letter to the Editor forthwith: Britomart is simply amazing - clean, tidy, and the staff are so friendly! - and all those people whinging to the papers about how much they hate it should really just be quiet now. Hamilton Station, on the other hand, deserves to be called revolting and a horrible reflection on the Tron..send cash now.)

Plans for the weekend include getting myself a haircut (Gosh, I NEED a haircut. Truly. I do.), a trip to Tirau tomorrow for lunch and shopping, catching up with family, and spending lots of quality time talking weddings with my lovely little sister who is marrying the equally lovely Clif in October.

Ahh, t'is the season of love...

Here and there and everywhere!

Wow - things have been so crazy this past few weeks and I apologise to the two people who take the time to read this blog (!) for my lack of posting...I have been working away furiously as Guest Editor for this month's Association magazine (first draft was "put to bed" today), preparing my PhD proposal (yes, it looks like it's back on folks!), supporting my husband in his quest for a new job (completed as of yesterday), and preparing for some other exciting professional roles - which does not leave a lot of time for sewing! However, on that front, Jewels and I attended the Stitching and Handcraft Show in Auckland last Friday (pretty average, especially after a hugely exciting discussion about her wedding plans - yay for Jewels! Yay for me too as I am one of the "Best Women"!) - although I did pick up two cute flannels (which go with the other cute flannels) and more spotty, dotty fabrics...what a surprise!

I'm also in the midst of making the Wee Bunny for a wee American friend for Easter (no children will be getting chocolate from me this year) from Wee Wonderfuls although it appears that he's been taken hostage by CeeJae who loves Wee Bunny sans eyes, nose, and tail - I suspect I will end up making two. Which is kinda okay, because my practice Bunny then goes to a good cause! There are also cute Bunny patterns in this months Australian Better Homes and Gardens...check it out!

I am officially taking a break from Baby Gee's quilt as I am not happy with not knowing if Baby is a girl or a boy - I know, it shouldn't make a difference but it does. And I'm not sure about the colours - or the fabrics - or the pattern. Best to take a break, methinks. Instead I will turn my attention to finishing the handquilting on my first quilt (winter is a much better time for sitting under a wool blanket, and winter is definately on the way!), and my lovely stash of American Jane, Denise Schmidt, and Amy Butler fabrics which are all stunningly yummy - there MUST be a new quilt in there somewhere! Quilt class tonight - can't wait!