moopy & me

Up a tree

When thinking about my last Koala made for the Morphe II exhibition and some of the comments people left..... I thought ...yes, why be embarrassed by making one of our native animals (we tend to shy away from making anything too Aussie) and then I thought .... here in Australia we are always looking at snowy white Christmas images and decorating with snow flakes etc.. when infact it is usually 35 degrees C .... Every year I have a personal battle with myself to use Aussie Christmas ideas for decorations and end up giving in at the last minute to the blessed paper snowflakes....

Well I think I have found that new decoration, my Christmas Koala. The koalas (or rather 'Walas' as Moopy would say, like a true Aussie dropping the 'K') are even making regular visits to the gum trees in my parents garden (they live a couple of minutes from the Belair National Park). I am going to try and make a few more of these Christmas Koalas for that big bare tree in my shop. I will let you know if it ever happens..

I have just finished a customer order (I don't do orders and now I know why!!) I must have had a momantary lapse... I find customer orders really difficult to finish?... and this one was particularly hard because the fabric that was given to me (to be exclusively used.. the grandma's, who had passed) was all polyester/nylon and all very neutral in colour.... I wasn't going to share these picks because of the whole nylon thing...but I think the learning curve is worth sharing.

Now that, that is done ..I am going to spend the next 2 days cleaning our pig sty house..our house gets like this when Chris is madly studying because he is so wonderful and usually does much more than his share of housework, but he has his final assignment due for his degree so it's all up to me ....I have no idea how I will cope when he goes back to full time work away from the house??? I am being shoooed off the computer as I type...ok bye then.. sorry for any missing emails/communication... I literally have not been near the computer for days.. see you when our house is back to 'normal'.

WIPping it up

A prototype of Claire's (she does have a blog!) knitter ilustration..... a bit lumpy and not circular enough.... that ALWAYS happens to me.... I cut out the perfect circle and by the time I get my wonky style sewing to it, it's an oval shape. I am relieved that my hair idea has worked though...

Exhibition will be opening on Friday December 8 at the Tincat Cafe

Can you hear that!

Yes, it's rain!! thank the lord ... which ever one you like... it is raining.

Here in South Australia we apparently live in the driest state in the driest continent on earth... And we are in a serious drought at the moment.... no sprinklers for Moopy.. infact no watering the garden and talks of all sorts of water restrictions.... I am very conscious of the whole lack of water and wish that we could one day live in a sustainable home. All we can do now is carry buckets of the bath water to the lawn... it makes puddles... who doesn't love to jump in puddles.

My appologies for the worst photography and most boring post ... but I am truely excited by this thunderstorm of rain and had to share. See the lightening above our Frangapani tree. I am hoping for an all night down pour...  I love the sound of the big rain drops on our galvanised roof while I drift off to sleep, then we can wake up early and jump in the puddles... Anyone else in Adelaide bombarded with flying ants tonight? it must be summer coming...

Claire & me

Illustration by Claire Thompson-Richards

You know that shop update I was hoping to do really soon.... well unfortunately y'all will have to wait just a little bit longer because I have been ever so sweetly asked by Claire to join her in an exhibition at one of my fave cafe's. How adorable and hillarious are her illustrations!

I remember the day I met Claire .... there was a girl pacing the pavement outside my shop  with a big canvas under her arm...  and after the third time she wondered past I asked if I could help ... and she said she was waiting for someone to give the artwork to.... so I of course asked if I could take a peek at her work... HOW CUTE! perfect...right up my ally... AND she just happened to mention that she was getting cards printed of her work... so I promptly ordered some in.

Very soon after that or was it just before.... I met Barb and had started helping out with her magazine ...to which I discovered Claire was illustrating for. Anyhoo, that was almost a year ago now ... long story short, I am super excited by the idea I have, to make softies from her illustrations... and thankfully Barb has offered to help out with a little knitting of tiny jumpers (or organising of the knitting... How much spare time does an editor and publisher have? it's not a trick question). Claire has an adorable dog character too, who I will be turning all plushy...can't wait! will show you some more of Claire's artwork once I get permission... unfortunately she doesn't have much online...Claire you need a blog!! or rather we need you to have a blog... So if you are in Adelaide in December pop into Tincat Cafe for a delish bite to eat and then remember to come upstairs to see Claires artwork on canvas and my toys to match.

And as if things can't get any more exciting.... we are off to Queensland for a long overdue holiday in the new year... I am so very much looking forward to the almost two week break ... I would have liked to make our Queensland holiday a Brisbane. stop. then Cairns. holiday but it was way out of our budget (so so sorry Button) but we will get 4 whole hours in Brisbane for serious tongue wagging on our way through.

As a little side note ... I have just discovered that you can be notified by email when someone comments on your blog.... (duh!I know it has only taken me two years to figure that out) which means I will hopefully be able to say hi a bit more when you comment.... I am not the best when it comes to mailing out parcels/letters/emails/comments..... in a perfect world I would have special fairy type person at my house actually seeing through my list of things to do and the answering mail & phone.. There are definate ups and downs to being a list maker.... the up being, you know what you need to do.... the down being, you know exactly what you have not done!

Ok. the Morphe II toy shop will be closed in a couple of hours and the next ten toys will be up for voting then also.... I am really happy I found the polling widget, it has made things so much easier for me and is working really well... thanks for voting.... so far we have two toys that have been shortlisted....

here is a little bit of birthday joy... Moopy & I truely thank you for all your birthday wishes.

running out to her cubby to check her mailbox first thing 7am

Oh my, can you get any more excited over a dolly you have been begging for, for months on end.

Have a luffly day!

Who knew I was capable of making something so dang PINK! my lawdy...

8:49 am three years ago Miss Lily decided she had, had enough waiting around and joined us four weeks early, what a big surprise that was.... funny thing was, I had this wierd urgency to go out and buy the remaining few things needed for my hospital bag the day before ... and rang mum up in hysterics, she reasurred me that I had infact four whole weeks to worry about it and she was going away for the weekend so would take me shopping early in the week.....

Well as she and my stepfather were driving the car down to Mt Gambier (where I grew up) I nearly caused an accident breaking the news via mobile phone that Lily was here! and of course I had to add "see, I told you I needed to get some slippers and shampoo!".

I woke up at a quarter to six thinking I had embarrassingly wet the bed... and Chris was intent on convincing me of just that ... "here I'll get you a towel and now GO back to sleep!!" but things felt a bit odd so I rang the nurse ...who also told me I probably was not in labour or I would "know about it" so go back to sleep!... but just as I lay down there was a big 'woosh' and it was decided that maybe I was having Lily already... or maybe not? When we got in to see the Doctor, an hour had passed,  he took one look and said 'ah yes she will be out by lunch time' to which poor Chris blacked out and nearly fell down. But Lily was much more impatient than that and was out in 2 hours... unfortunately she was wisked off to the SCU after a little cuddle and she stayed there for a few days, while I stayed up stairs and had a nurse wake me every couple hours for feeding, quite stressful thinking back now...but the next 12 weeks turned out to be bliss, Chris was home from Uni and I was on that just had a baby high.... sadly though things took a turn for the worse, I am not sure what it was, Chris going back to uni, breastfeeding went sour (literally!another whole story) or just no reason at all other than it's hard to adjust to the new mummy lifestyle.... I went undiagnosed, as I am sure thousands do, for postnatal depression, until I was almost in the clear..... It wasn't until the day I packed Lily's blocks away in total random order, without falling in a heap because I couldn't find the red triangle and therefore could not pack away the red sqaure..and then the blue triangle..etc.., that I realised that not only had that dark cloud lifted but that there was infact a dark cloud there to begin with. 

anyhoo enough rambling, sorry about that if you are still reading ... anyone who knows me has probably suffered through that story at least twice already.

So after that somewhat rough start, things are certainly a whole lot better now.... maybe even back to that first 12 week bliss feeling (I did say almost... I still had to put on my brave 'I'm a good mum' face as I walked a screeching toddler out of the shopping centre today)....so aside from that 'normal' toddler screechy or even better the whiney thing.... I am really loving Lily's company at this 3 year stage, she can crack a really good joke (LOOOVE her jokes), sing the most sweet little ditty, glue together a stunning collage and of course make the greatest mess that any mother would be proud of.

After all the birthday party festivities on Sunday (we had an early party) she sat on my lap at the big peoples table to eat a piece of the big peoples cake.... she pinched a cherry off the top, popped it in her mouth.... lay her head on my shoulder and said as she fell fast alsleep "I like you mummy".... I got all melty because of course she loves me, she says that all the time.... but I like you... well that is pretty special. I like you too Lily.

UPDATE sorry to interupt .... but I thought I should just quickly mention that there is only 24 hours before the online sales for Morphe II close.... you can check what is left over here please email me for purchasing and inquiries.

Plush O Rama 'O Rama!

Looky what the posty brought me today! Yah! how exciting... a soft toy making book.. with Moopy bunny and Loud pants Pup inside.... not to mention heaps of other awesome softy makers...even some Morphe II participants... I had no idea.

It's our own Aussie/German Beck!

and Lizette and .....

Blobby Farmer Maria.. cool!

Grab yourself a copy here

Well that was fun, franticly flipping through the pages to find my toys...and then to discover all the other cool toys I can make. I think we should make a Plush O Rama Flickr group ... or are you guys already way ahead of me.....

And sorry about that shop update mailing list drama last post... I have no idea why the mailing list button hijacked my comments box?? I am still trying to figure out how to add the mailing list box to my side bar... do any of you know of a widget for mailing lists?? I would be ever so grateful. Cheers, got it! check out my new mailing list box in the side bar up there >>>>^^^^

Ok I have some serious 3rd birthday party preperations to make and all with a snotty nose.. Lily has been very nice to us this year and only passed on this one snotty nose, as opposed to last year when we had one every other week. I think because we have all been sickly germ free all year, this cold has really hit me for six... (aussie slang sorry... head too stuffy to explain).

Hopefully the new list of ten toys for the Peoples Choice will be up tonight... polling for the first ten finishes today.... see to your right>>>>>