Foxes and dragons

Everyone has a soft spot for foxes, don't they? Especially when they look as cute as this little dude. His name is Chester, and oh, how my kids loved him.



He (she?) looks great in other colours too!



And this little fellow here is Spike the Dragon. He looks rather dashing in blue as well as the traditional moss green.



Both patterns are by Little Muggles and can be purchased here.

In other news, Alice's paper-pieced hexie doll quilt is progressing slowly, but surely. I have completed the quilt top and I am half way through the hand-quilting (yes, I like to make things rather difficult for myself. That's my idea of FUN.) It's been slow going both because hand-quilting is quite hard on the hands, but also because I had to take a few days' break from it to complete my fifth project for Homespun magazine. I wish  I could share some photos of THAT with you but I am not even allowed to give a sneak peek! Argh, it's killing me but I will just say this - it's a cracker! (wink wink)



I have a little obsession going on with Japanese repro 30s fabrics at the moment. Exhibit A - this bundle of Lecien & Yuwa yumminess I found on Etsy even though I am supposed to be on a fabric buying ban. Oh my goodness. I look at these and I can see some cute quilts and cushions screaming 'Make me! Make me!'. Lecien make it just SO easy.

Mr Giraffe

Here is one more creation from the last six months that I didn't get a chance to share sooner. Alexander named him 'Gerry'. He was rather taken by him as you can see!



The pattern is by Djonesgirlz on Etsy and can be purchased here.



He was made for a friend's daughter so I personalised it with her initial on one of the giraffe's feet.



As for current projects, I have so many balls in the air right now it's quite a juggling act. I am preparing new products and stock for my Etsy shop's reopening on 30 January, working on my next project for Homespun magazine, restyling my blog, and making a hexie doll quilt for Alice.



I have also spent several days cleaning and re-organising my sewing room (aka guest bedroom). It's all fresh and tidy for the new year. Mind you it didn't stay neat like this for very long, creativity and tidiness must be mutually exclusive, don't you think?

Goodbye 2014

As another year draws to a close, I find myself getting reflective about the past year, the new year ahead, and work and life in general. 2014 was a good year, all in all. I probably never worked so hard in my life (and that's saying something considering I used to be a senior director at a big investment bank in London in my 'previous' life!). When you have pre-school age kids you tend to work when they are asleep, and with an Etsy shop to run as well as this blog, midnight sewing sessions became my 'normal'. But despite (and if I am honest, because of!) all this hard work 2014 was a fun and productive year for Down Grapevine Lane. I learned a lot about sewing, needlework, crochet, blogging, photography, and running an online shop. Here's a quick round up of my 'makes' from the past year (you may notice there are one or two things here I haven't had a chance to blog about yet!).



What better way to bid the old year goodbye with than this cute trio of festive animals. Meet Jingles the Reindeer, Pepe the Penguin (with his Santa hat), and Jolly the Snowman - all patterns by Little Muggles.



You may have noticed the semi-naked babies keeping Jingles company - they are little dolls made by Sonny Angel in Japan and we are all nuts about them in this house. Alice in particular - she has a sheep 'babee' and she can't sleep without holding it in her palm. There are many different styles of Sonny Angels, ones with animal, fruit or cake hats, or limited edition dolls like this Christmas set. The Japanese sure know how to do 'cute'!



These sweeties tend to hang around my sewing desk, keeping me company (at the moment whilst I am indulging in some hexie paper piecing therapy, making a doll quilt for Alice).



Season's greetings and my warmest wishes for a new year filled with happiness, good health, and cherished memories!

Lil Quack

In February last year I discovered the world of amigurumi whilst browsing Pinterest - and I was hooked (get it? Ha ha! I know, I am so lame). I must have pinned several hundred amigurumi that day, including these (links to all pics and websites they came from are on my Pinterest board here). For those who aren't familiar, amigurumi is "the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals and anthropomorphic creatures" (thanks Wikipedia).



So I learned to crochet a few months later via an online video school (details here) just to have a go at making these. I have already shared pictures of some of the dolls and bunnies I have made since then. Those following me on Facebook and Instagram would have seen lots and lots more 'amis' on my feed (incentive to join me on social media?). I know, I know I have been really naughty not sharing them here sooner. Time to rectify!



One of my favourite amigurumi designers is the wonderfully talented Amy from Little Muggles. I didn't know this at the time when I made the collage above, but quite a few of those designs are hers, you can see more in her shop. This one is called 'Lil Quack' and is one of my faves.



Has anyone seen a cuter sailor duck?



More amigurumi cuteness coming very soon. I am determined to enter the new year with my blog fully up to date with all my latest work, and there will be some exciting changes too (including a shiny new blog design, and changes to the way I run my Etsy shop to allow me to have more time for blogging, and life in general. Sleep would be nice too.) Stay tuned!

Down the Rabbit Hole...

The November issue of Homespun magazine is out today! Featuring my third project for them: a set of Wonderland hoop art.



The editor's intro made me giggle - it says:

"The time has come," Sedef Imer said, "to stitch up Alice things: the queen of hearts and her royal guards, and mad hatter in Wonderland rings." (with apologies to Lewis Carroll)

Great rhyming there Homespun!
 


The feature has a full step by step tutorial over 10 pages. The characters are felt applique and entirely hand-sewn. There is some light padding behind the felt pieces to give the hoops a 3D finish.




I showed my picture in the magazine to Alexander, who said: "Mummy! How did you get into the book?! Am I in the book? I want my picture in the book too!!" (cue tantrum - oh the joys of three year olds). Bless him.



If you would like to make your own Alice hoops, Homespun's November issue is available in the shops from today (also available digitally for those outside of Australia, in various formats including Zinio. Follow this link).



ps - If you like this project, you may want to check out my Little Red felt applique which was posted here in April 2014.