My Little Pony
Announcing the arrival of a new toy into Lucas’ world … this is what I’ve been doing with my quiet time in the shop! Inspired by Charlotte Gainsbourg’s character Stephanie in Michel Gondry’s ‘The Science of Sleep’ (along with a million other crafters judging by the blogs out there) I got to work making up a pattern for this soft toy horse … in my dreams it gallops free through Lucas’ bedroom.
The mane and tail are made out of dishcloth cotton (a revelation, I love this stuff!), the body’s made from some ticking I had lying around, buttons for eyes and a saddle made out of red felt which I machine embroidered round the edge … et voila. Lucas loves carrying it round the house by the mane and so far it hasn’t fallen apart – I built it tough. The face and tummy have inbuilt gussets which gives it a bit more dimension and means it can stand up in a wobbly way.
(Re)Cycling Proficiency
My default Firefox browser start-up window goes to the Craft: magazine website … I’ve spent many lost hours going off on craft web tangents and forget what it was I originally went online for. Anyway, followed another windy web road today which started off with Shrinky Dinks (don’t ask … another American craft wonder from the ’70s, denied to us Brits) and ended up, somehow, with this great recycling site ‘Recycle This‘. Apart from some ecologically sound ideas, there are appealingly madcap ones, including a link to this recycled teddy bear chair … not sure about the aesthetics, but it sure looks comfy.
Everyday folk
Loving these sewing patterns straight from the US company Folkwear, particularly the storybook illustrations by Gretchen Shields. The Edwardian intimacies and the Poet’s Blouse made me chuckle, I might even give them a go (although I’m not sure they’d look so good with me for a model).
The story of the company’s an interesting one – started in the mid-’70s by three Californian women, sold to a corporate in the ’80s which helped to develop and re-instate the patterns, and is now independently owned by women again. Long may they continue!
