Stretch!

Here's my new creation.

I made him yesterday, in between the loads of washing and hanging out and gardening and general tidying up.

I'm not quite sure what he is. He's meant to be a giraffe - he came from a pattern my mum sent me, and the pattern was most clearly marked "giraffe".

But like daughters everywhere, I failed to read the instructions when I was putting him together.

And distracted by the domestic drudgery, I also forgot to put on his mane. And his horns. Oh, and his tail as well. Whoops.

So now he looks like he's part kangaroo, part Loch Ness monster. I'm sure I could adapt him to be either, if I needed to.

He's partly made (the orange, red and yellow flowery side) from a vintage sheet I paid $2 for in Merbein, during that Mildura weekend a short time ago. Vintage sheet! Queen-sized! Two dollars! I love the country.

His other side, here, is made from a Tina Givens print called Cloe's Imagination. This print is way too bright for clothes, but perfect for stuffed animals. Much more expensive than the sheet, though.

He has two buttons for eyes, and lovely polka-dotted ears in yellow and peach.

Most importantly, he is the first stuffed animal I've ever made that actually stands up by itself.

I think I'm going to call him Stretch.

Falling into Love at Home

Love Fridays …. Who doesn’t love Fridays? I mean, really? There are SO many things to love about a Friday.

First and foremost of course, is that it's the last day of the working week. So there's no work after today. In fact, there's *two* days of no work. Which ordinarily would mean two more days of sewing, except tomorrow I have the Northcote Market out the front of the Uniting Church on High Street. Which means lots of chatting to people instead. And hopefully some sales! (if it’s not spitting with rain like it is today, and there are people wandering along the street and feeling inclined to browse).

Today I’m hooked on Love and Home, my two new cushions. I think they’re beautiful – I made them up out of Warwick upholstery fabrics and used patterned cotton prints for the lettering. They're going onto the market stall tomorrow - let's see if other people Love them as well ....

Love has the vibrant colours that make me feel like I’m bursting with life. There’s Alexander Henry and Tina Givens and Heather Bailey cottons in there, plus one random print I picked up somewhere, it's a vintage 50s polished cotton. It's cheerful and happy and optimistic and glowing with warmth. It makes me want to hug it!

Home though has Liberty print cottons. Aren’t Liberty prints gorgeous? They make me feel more refined than I really am. Like I should be drinking an elegant cup of tea and lemon with a perfectly arched pinky finger, and living in a perfect home and being much less loud and obnoxious than usual am, not to mention much more polite and patient. They’re such English prints - my half-Englishness (courtesy of my mother) really rises in my throat when I’m around them.

Each cushion has got a feathery-downy insert, which I much prefer to the polyfil ones that go squashed and flat after a while. There’s something very depressing about a sad old cushion with all the life squashed out of it. Feather ones though, they stay plump and fat and purposeful – all the better to fall gratefully onto at the end of a long day.

I think I’m going to continue this series with Smile, and Laugh, and Joy and Relax. Any other suggestions are welcome!