Happy Halloween!

Its that spooky time of year again ...



Daisy chose the biggest pumpkin, and got so tired scraping it out that she said 'I never want to do THAT again', which reminded me of when I had just had my first baby daughter...



But Mary was very pleased with hers ... i did the shape knife face cutting, BTW, otherwise they would look much better than this !!!



we have recently moved away all our high-chairs and I now have a wonderful place to take photos of stuff!



Matilda and Daisy, my year-round grumpy pumpkins! HAPPY HALLOWEEEEEEN!

tiger tiger ....WIP - furring!

tiger by numbers, Mary watches me at work ...
this is the third time I have used this method to make a pattern for furring, but the tiger head is the hardest one yet ...



so Mary knows its supposed to be a tiger head, but she doesn't think it's very tigery. So she pretends to be a frog ...
I must not loose any pieces ...



i carefully start to cut shapes from four different kinds of fur and begin to sew then together. Matty parks cars on her drawing of children playing in our street ...



Behind You! This is beginning to work, esp when the fur is pulled tight as it will be when all stitched down ... I like to do an much sewing as possible and avoid glueing which is not as strong in many ways ...



and here, using some very careful hand sewing on account of the curves, the muzzle and cheek fur is starting to take shape ...



this is hard work, and requires thought, but the result is making me happy ... i am not an airbrush artist, but this shows you how you can create a tiger head using only commercial printed furs ...

Umphy....WIP

i have another little character to bring to life ...
have you heard of Umphy the Umgum?

another fun plush team challenge ....

these amazing body parts were made and sent to me by Rowan of OUT OF THE FRAME, fame! i was impressed, i cannot crochet, or knit ...



so i took some of the green fur Christina Ward sent me,some of Rowans scraps and while eating her candy with the fuzzies came up with this ...



The children named her Ingrid Monster, Ingrid Ennerver, to use both her names ...



Cute, or just strange? good fun to make! find a challenge today!

some tiger head markings ....

it is sometimes only by making drawings that i really see something ...

a new baby hamster ....

A 1974 flavoured Cat!

In october of 1974 when these newspapers were printed i was three years old, and my baby sister a chip-gulling 4-month-old ... the paper is a much better quality than modern days ones ...



Ruth Meech of the Dorset Echo took these pics, and has borrowed the papers for a giggle and a spot of social history ... and what about my dress, you do like it?



It came form the same stash as these papers, some awesome vintage fabrics and even some toys and books, thanks very much to Chris Slade, my other Dad :-) My mum saw it via my web cam, and was very taken with it, and remembered a Richards Shops being in Southport ...

Molly Owls new job ....

Molly-across-the-pond sent work of her new job ...



she looks quite the part in this lovely autumnal library display ... oh look, we have some Jane Hissy books at home, including 'HOOT'!



just have to keep very still in here, admits Molly ...



Photos by Andrea Duncan, with thanks xxxx

molly owl flies to new home ....

no more will I gaze upon this hand-stitched plumage ...



or see this charming face peeping out at me from all manner of places ...



gone is the guardian of books and children small ...



and so molly got one last hug, and was sent on her way, across the pond ...



then we were lucky enough to be given these - oh dear, those don't look very nice!



but these odd objects were in fact some owl pellets found in the wild, and contained delicate treasures ....



and then molly arrived at her new home, safe and sound, her new perch looks just right !

dear old grandma tiger!

I have made some marking on the head, covering it in old curtain fabric, so will be cutting fur in the next few days!

nice day ... nice lunch ....

i decided to try somewhere different on a bright autumny day ... we went to Bennett's water gardens for an explore. lived in Weymouth for 10 years and had not yet visited ...



three children taking in all that water ...



three ducks maybe thinking the same. it was very pretty and peaceful ...



my children in a Monet painting ... for some reason, Paul Daniels was chosen to open this bridge, in July of 1999, just a month before I came here ...



welcome to our new house. we play dominoes here, as well as rest our legs ...



but then, it starts to rain, and we shelter a bit in the woods, then make a run for the cafe ...



time for juicy salad ....



Mary's first taste of raw onion ...



amd some tasy hot macaroni cheese ... we asked the cafe to split 2 adult plates between four little people which was just about right ...

papoose - closing down ...

papoose in weymouth is closing, but for the last two weeks artwey artists took up an offer of gallery space and hels an exhibition there ...



artwey members always willing to dive in and cover some walls!



some even sold some work, and I got one or two leads from the exhibition that I know of ... my four-year-olds liked this charming chair!



here is my little display with some of my new cards ...



daisy admired it ... but seemed surprised to find it there!

I been messing with my hair !

10 years younger?



i do think the smell of hot henna is lovely ... but i dont much like washing green poo out of my hair!

rat feet ... WIP

big ones!

Visit to Kingston Maurward with Weymouth HE ....

yet again the greedy goats of Kingston Maurward snatch a whole feed bag, leaving matty with one piece of food!



Daisy feeds the alpaca, but very carefully ...



it is nice to share the experience ...



and then go off and have some fun, running about ...



or slide down with a friend ...



as fast as you can,even if you want to keep your back pack on for comfort!



and Mary does go off to play, too ...



sometimes a long way off !