I'm Crafty!

I have a new addiction.

So there I was, looking in a book store for a birthday present for my dear friend Esme.  I found myself in the crafting aisle, and this book caught my eye:

I thought, "Hey, I could do that!"

(For the record, this book did not completely distract me from my original purpose of shopping, and Esme did in fact get a present.  No, it was not a soft toy.  That will be for Christmas.)

So I bought the book and anxiously awaited my trip to the craft store.  At the craft store, I bought some fabric, felt, thread, embroidery floss and stuffing.  A few hours later, I had this wee cat!  According to the book, his name is Arno Cat.

 

I couldn't stop!  I just had to make this little monkey.  I was getting along fine with hand sewing these little guys.  I was happy with the results!  Here, meet Mabel Monkey.

 She has a button on her tail.  My flatmate Sam's mom was visiting and she is a crafter from way back when.  She helped me cover the button in fabric.  Too cute!

I was plodding along just fine with the hand sewing, and I was pretty happy with my results.  Sure, it took a little while, but it was fun!

Then, the most awesomest thing EVER happened.  I was talking to one of my co-workers about my new found passion and she offered to lend me her SEWING MACHINE!!!!

This is the first softie I made using the sewing machine.  Meet Blossom Bunny

Once I finish one softie, I can't resist starting another one!  Here is Mama Bear, using denim from an old pair of jeans.  Recycling is cool!

 I was getting pretty confident, so I tried my hand at making my own patterns.  Here are the results!  Let me introduce you to Clover Cow...

...And Truffles Pig 

 

I even worked out how to give Truffles Pig a curly tail!

My friend Sarah T. made a special request after looking through my book.  She thought life would be much more fun if she had this creature hanging around.  So for Sarah, I made Lucy's Monster. 

In other news, spring is most certainly here in New Zealand!  Bob was away this weekend, so I was a Weekend Starfish Widow.  I miss him, but I get the bed all to myself!   

 He will be pleasantly surprised when he gets home to find that Sam and I have spruced up the back yard.  This little garden is multifunctional:  It has herbs for food and flowers for pretty.  It will (in theory anyway) ward off mosquitoes too!  Apparently the little f#$*&!%s don't like marigolds and rosemary.  We'll see what happens!

We're also growing corn, potatoes, strawberries and tomatoes. 

And finally, a picture of the lemon tree, because it makes me happy.