Cotton sewing

We are expecting a family from Syria today.

A little girl and a boy.

I thought it would be nice for them to receive a little toy of their own 

to distract them on the last leg of their long journey.

A Car Cozy!

And for the little girl, A Maisie Doll

Welcome to Canada and Shelburne, your new Home!

We hope you will like it here.

chickens, owls and who-ville hair

Aahh, A warm day in the middle of snow season. 

Where you can hear everything melting, birds singing and chickens making an awful racket. 

They want to get out and play too.

(oh, did I not say that they don't like to put their delicate feet on the snow? Spoiled chickens.)

So I put some straw down outside the coop area. They were as happy as could be.

 And in kid news: Crazy Hair day was indeed, crazy.

 Can't get enough of these owls.

 I think I will adjust the eyes a bit. This guy does seem extremely sad or worried.

Makes you want to love him more.

 And at the moment, I am working on a decor kind of owl. Denim, shiny thread and metal button eyes.

Our two days of warm weather was delightful. 

Just gets you through enough to gather strength for the snow storm we're expected to get on Sunday.

Yay.

Hello March Break.

Have a good one.

Amanda

Owl pattern from here.

sweater owl

I made a new owlie out of a very happy sweater...

 It's the same pattern as this one.

 The photos from my new cell phone BITE! The colour of this sweater is very bold.

But this guy is still willing to give you a hug.

Well, he's probably giving a hug to some lucky winner.

He was sent to an auction last night.

Be sure that there will be a few more of these for sale in May at the Fire Hall Craft Sale!!

Ciao,

Amanda

Remote Control Owl...holder

Did I ever tell you that I love custom orders? 

Well, I had just that and what I love even more is a day to play with a new pattern.

The request was to take this pattern and make this:

 An owl to hold remote controls!

the original pattern had the owl at 20 inches high and 15 inches wide!! 

Dasalotta pillow!

I reduced the pattern to 65%

 I liked the boxed bottom.

 And I love looking at a clean stitch on felt. Ahhhh. this is a stress reliever to me.

I hope to make another one in denim. oh yes.

And here is a bird photo from a new feeder on the other side of the house.

Just cause.

Well, after 4.5 snow days=no school days in the past 2 weeks, this mama is ready to go out for an evening of adult conversation. Yay for the new local watering hole with live entertainment.

Now if he would just get me some orange pop. Ha.

Have a good one,

Amanda

Bunnies!

Last year, I made this guy

Check him out here

And this past month, I made a girl.

(please excuse these photos. 

New cell phone camera, pressed for time and space and no chance for retake)

I did enjoy making her and her reversible dress.

So much so, I made another boy too! For a wee baby and his bigger sister.

 It was so lovely to sew for me! Something that wasn't mittens. 

I spent the day adding details, revelling in the hand stitching because I had the time to do it.

Do you like them? You can make your own.

Bunny pattern can be found in Abby Glassenberg's book

Stuffed Animals

Ciao,

Amanda

This week in a small seaside village

My first issue of Mollie Makes arrived!!!

oops, this one, I actually bought at Wally World. 

When I came home, Neve came out of the post office with a ... you guessed it...

a Mollie Makes Magazine. I was a little disappointed, I just bought one, but then,

the one that was mailed is for August!!, this one is July. Yay.

Anyhow, I had to make this girl.

 After all, she is the cover girl.

She has tattoos and everything. 

Next time, she'll have a headscarf instead of a turban.

 Fun enough to make another.

Looking forward to this coming out in full bloom. I purposely didn't prune it last fall.

It should be a beauty, orange honeysuckle.

 The ladies have been enjoying dust baths. Surprisingly, they don't touch the veggies in the garden.

They just scratch for bugs.

 The date on the camera for this reads June 9.

Love this little town. 

 On a trip to Islands Park, Rafael and his friend decided to decorate this rock. 

Nice job boys.

 Neve decided to be a drummer for the Re-enactors this summer.

 We're working on her costume. Have to dull it up a bit. 

I don't think they would have had such white clothes. :}

I've been going to Frenchy's all week. 

Guess it was a bad one for finding period costumes.

That's the kind of week it's been here.

School is out!

We're going camping for the weekend in the Annapolis Valley. Yay.

Going to take the kiddies to my Alma Mater, Acadia University.

I'm ready for a rest and adventure.

Have a good one,

Amanda

Meet Ronald

the newest furry friend.... Ronald

 And his friend, Blue Ronald.

 He was much fun to make.

Almost as much fun as deciding how to make Ronald's facial expression:

 Did he even come close?

Peace out,

Amanda

Meet Laila

You've heard me lament before about not being able to buy birthday presents in this town. 

Good thing I'm a mama who makes things!!

Here's my latest furry friend, Laila (Lay-La)

 She was fun to make and has legs. Her future siblings will have arms instead.

I also liked using the safety eyes. 

(for you local folks, I got these at Atlantic Fabric in Bridgewater)

 Of course, as soon as it was spotted upon returning home from school, there were cries and pleas to make more! Even a request to make a male version. Which, I think, I have in my mind.

 And lastly, one of my favourite photos of the moment.

Here chickie, chickie.

Its a beauty day out there. 

I think I'll go make some friends in my studio.

Amanda

a doll for Ava

A few weeks ago, I got an order to make a doll for a 1 year old.

Luckily, I had just found the extra Waldorf doll body I purchased when I made the doll for Neve. 

What fun. 

I'm always nervous to create a character. I find that mostly, the character defines itself.

The order was for blue eyes and red/orange hair.

I set about for the eyes and some clothes.

 We don't have any fancy yarn shops in town, so I saved up my shopping list for a trip to 

Have a Yarn, Mahone Bay.

What a treat! you should go.

I couldn't find orangey wool, 

so I got this.

I love it!!

 I used the 3 layer technique from here and then added an extra few strands to the top front. 

I purposely chose the orangey tones for the front of the face.

And I changed the eye colour and shape. The other eyes were creeping me out. :}

 Fun FUn FUN

 Here she is in some pjs. I also made another pant suit, but have misplaced the top. 

I mean, really!!!! Where is it? I'm so absent minded. It will show up in the most unusual place, I'm sure, as I've already checked the obvious places. Maybe it's with my wedding rings that I recall taking off in the middle of the night trip to the washroom. I remember putting them in a safe place while going back to the bedroom. Really safe, for sure. 

And the long lost, good sunglasses that I misplaced last fall? FOUND by Rafael. Out by the stick pile. They spent the winter outdoors, under the snow. 

Anyhow, I digress....

 Here she is with the Neve Doll made in 2011. Neve is an 18 inch doll and Ava is a 13 inch doll.

The girls are having a slumber party. 

Hope they go to sleep early and don't make a mess in the bedroom with their popcorn.

Ciao,

Amanda

Here come da bunny...

I finally got this guy put together.

 I love his matching pants and ears. And his watch. He's a busy bunny

Do you remember me lamenting about my sweater hill?

Well, after several attempts that were interrupted by storage bins in the city, not here,

2 weeks of the winter plague and working....

 It's finally clear!!

Whew. I can breathe in here.

Those black bins under the table were the biggest ones I could find. 

I wished they were clear, but they got the job done.

When you live in a small town with nil shopping, 

you take what you can get when you run around in the city.

And the bonus of setting up this table is another work surface. 

My sewing table needs considerable attention that I'm not willing to do today.

Must get some firewood. Can you believe it's snowing here? Wet snow, but snow none the less.

This little guy doesn't seem to mind.

Ciao,

Amanda