catching up

I had a wonderfully relaxing break, staying out at my sister's place. I've been home for a week now, and trying to catch up on email, blogs, and projects. Now I'm finally ready for a nice long chat with you!

First off, if any of you want to get your hands on one of my toys, a bunch of them will soon be for sale at Quiet Hours Toys. I'm told they will be listed tonight, or maybe early tomorrow. These will probably be the only toys of mine available for sale for a while, because everything I'm making right now is intended for a craft fair this summer. And I must say, Carey was wonderful to work with. Even when the parcel of toys went astray in the post, she didn't get upset! (unlike me, who freaked out) But these guys made it to her at last, and I'm sure she will find good homes for all of them.


I made these cushion covers last saturday. We'd finally bought ourselves a new sofa, having come to the end of our patience with the nasty old one that was here when we moved in. These are the same fabrics I used to make my wall-hanging, with a more abstract design. It took longer to cut out all the pieces than to sew them together, but I find the process relaxing. Once they were done, I realized the whole effect is a little busy. I should probably have used half the fabrics for one, and half for the other. They're growing on me, though, probably just through the combination of soft pretty fabrics, squishy feather pillows, and comfy new couch.


I've also been trying out some fabric toys. My first try was left with my niece to chew on, so I have no photos of it. It was made straight from a pattern, just so I could learn how the pieces fit together. These two were adapted from a different pattern, and have quite a different body from the first. I love how the lamb's face looks like my knitted toys, and their bodies are very squishy and cuddly. Sewing with wool felt is a pain, though, so I might not use it very much. I really dislike the feet on these guys, and definitely won't be using that style for my final pattern. I think once I've made a couple more, I should have all my ideas in place to design my own. All this sewing has been a nice break from knitting, as my left wrist has been really bothering me lately. Hopefully it settles down soon, so I can make more toys for an upcoming craft fair.


Finally, this little critter came in the mail today! The favourite colour swap over at the needle.org finished the other day, and I was hoping mine would come soon! What a surprise I got when the doorbell rang during lunch, and found out my swap came from Greenstars Studio. I've decided to call him Dandilion, and he's already made some friends here. I should ask his creator what the fuzzy yellow yarn is, because it's awesome - soft and silky like down. I think I must do more swaps, because this one was so much fun!