Good morning:)  Today I am joining in with a surprise baby shower for my lovely sewing blogging friend, Jenya from While she was sleeping.  Jenya is expecting her second child in August and two of her kind blogging friends, Renee from Nearest the Pin and Alisa from A stitch in between, have rounded up some of Jenya's sewing/blogging friends for a little surprise 'baby shower'.  Surprise Jenya!!

 

 

 

We met with my Mum and Dad, sister and Emily's cousins yesterday for a picnic at the lovely Collingwood children's farm.  I quickly snapped some pics of Emily in her new birthday dress before it got covered in dirt, orange juice and cake.

 

 

I started this softie a few months ago after being inspired by this gorgeous one I found on pinterest.  He sat for a while in my 'to do' bag and finally was finished a few days ago for little Emily.

 

 

I made the pattern myself.  He is made from leftovers from Isabella's winter jacket.  I knitted the little scarf from lefover 3 ply wool from Isabella's first ever little bonnet.

 

 

Linking up here for the first time.

 

 

He is made from a maroon velveteen and cream wool flannel.  I love wool flannel and I got mine from The Fabric Store on Brunswick Street.  His kerchief is made from a Denyse Schmidt print and his nose is a little felt ball I picked up at 'Wild Purl' in Point Lonsdale on a recent trip with friends.

 

I used cream wool flannel from The Fabric Store and the fuschia wool blend felt I picked up at Spotlight.  Her rosy cheeks are care of one of Issie's pink pencils!

So now I'm onto knitting up Bobble the cat...

Check out The Emily Button Project - Chapter One for the inspiration for this doll.

I've been eagerly checking the mail box this week awaiting a package to make our baby a cocoa coloured teddy bear.  Each time I've opened the letter box and have only found bills and catalogues, boo hoo.  In the meantime, I decided to finish off this little bear that I started a while ago with some leftover mohair from my sister's stash.  He is about 13cm tall and is very fuzzy and cute!  He is sitting on baby's bookshelf and is looking very at home.  Apparantly my mohair is waiting for me at the post office so I can collect it tomorrow and get started! 

I'm linking up today with Our creative spaces.

This is Monkey Man - one of my homemade gifts for Christmas.  This one was made for my little nephew, Hamish.

Another Hop Skip Jump pattern.  I also made one for my other nephew, sporting navy overalls - but I didn't manage to get a picture in the Christmas mayhem. 

Here is a dress I made for Isabella's little friend - also for Christmas.  I made the pattern up - just shirring around the top and some little tie straps.  I added scalloped lace along the hems and pockets.

Issie unwrapping her Kangaroo and Joey (see post below for details of their creation).

Back from a lovely week in Warrnambool.  Beautiful weather. Arrived home to Melbourne yesterday to four days of 35 + degrees - not fun.  Thank goodness for air conditioning.

Kangaroo and baby Joey are the most recent gifts completed from my 'to make' Christmas list.  The awesome pattern is by Hop Skip Jump (from the new book by the same name). 

Isabella chose Kangaroo and Joey a few weeks ago when I asked her which lovely friend she would like me to make her for Christmas.  I think she has forgotten all about it now, so she should get a nice surprise on Christmas morning.  I have been loving Fiona Dalton's new book and this is now the fourth toy I have made.  Kangaroo has movable arms and legs and her big tail allows her to sit up all on her own!

I made my set from a grey wool I bought from Rathdowne Remnants.  The pouch is made from 100% wool felt and sewn in place with a blanket stitch.  The floral print is from my stash - I've forgotten what it's called.  The buttons are vintage - I was excited to find four of a kind from my button box!

I have a few more things to complete by Christmas eve - but most will have to wait to be revealed after Christmas so that they are a surprise (mostly for the Mums of the recipients as I don't think 3-7 year olds are very good at navigating blogs!)

Here is my latest softie - Basil the bunny.  Pattern is again by Hop Skip Jump from her new book.  I am making a softie each for the girls for Christmas.  This one is for Juliette.

He is made from a mauve/grey wool blend I bought from Rathdowne Remnants and he features a very sweet wool pom pom tail!

I'm linking up today with Kootoyoo.

The pattern is again by Hop Skip Jump.  I have used it five times now - you can see the other four here.  I was inspired by this doll in particular. 

My fabrics are from a few different sources.  The grey wool is from Rathdowne Remnants, The black wool is from The Fabric Store in Fitzroy and the red spotted cotton is recycled and also features in this jacket I made a few months back.  You can buy the pattern from Fiona's blog at Hop Skip Jump (am I her number one fan?!)

Here is a (not so clear) shot of her in her underwear - the clothes are as much fun to make as the doll.

My sister bought me a lovely gift for my birthday this week - Fiona Dalton's soft toy making book 'Hop Skip Jump'. 

I knew it was coming out in late October but hadn't had a chance to check it out.   Hop Skip Jump (the blog) was my introduction to blogs when my sister showed me a couple of years ago.  I'd never heard of a blog at the time but her's was one I checked regularly as I loved her style of toys and the materials she used.   I have made quite a few of her toys now and have had lots of fun with her new book already. 

This is 'Charlie' the cat (using the 'Archie' pattern).  Isabella needed a bit of help naming him appropriately as she thought 'loopy' and 'catty' were good names!  He was going to be for a new bub (a friend's not yet born) but Isabella looked at him and said, "but I don't have a cat Mummy..." so of course, Charlie is now sleeping soundly next to her at night!  I adapted the pattern to incorporate string joints on the legs so he can sit on his own.  I bought the wool for Charlie here.

I also made 'Eddy' the mouse for another friend who just had a baby girl...

He is made from a recycled wool skirt - also used to make this little deer.

Here is the original Archie...

And Eddy...

A few of the other gorgeous toys in Fiona's book...

I made this little owl for a friend of my Mum's whose son has just had his first baby.  I wanted to make an owl so did a bit of an internet search of owl pics and put this pattern together.  He is made from blue wool with wool felt wings and cotton eyes and legs.  He is simple but nice and cuddly and safe for a baby with no buttons or hard bits!

Our strawberry patch is the healthiest looking thing in our garden at the moment - inspected every day for ripe ones.  We have to get to them before the birds do.  I'm going to use them as inspiration for a painted picture on the end of Isabella's doll cradle that I am doing up.

I made this cute 'Jack Rabbit' bunny last week.  I did not have a recipient in mind, although I have two good friends who are having babies in the next six weeks.  But, after I finished him, I decided that the girls could keep him and I could always make another one!

The pattern is by Hop Skip Jump.  She makes the best toys! 

Here he is unclothed (ooh) and sitting on a bright yellow chair that used to look like this...

We found this chair at an op shop years ago - I liked the shape and intended on sanding and painting it...two years later, it was still dropping flakes of white paint in our bedroom and I finally pulled it out and revamped it. 

Now it sits proudly in Issie's room 'adorned' by her baby quilt and some of her softies!  Love the bright blue carpet in the corner of the pic - our current house is a rental and we can't change it!!

Now I am off to finally finish Issie's quilt (don't mind the failed pledge I made) - I will not be blogging again until I am posting up finished pics of it...