I call her Jodie...

It's been a little while since I've made a toy... those flowers and beanies have kept me very busy!

But I've been asked to make some more mermaids for sale at Just Planet Gift Shop and Cafe in Sunbury... so it's time to pull out the safety eyes and stuffing... and start creating some characters.

 I'm working from one of my own patterns: Roweena the Raggedy Rascal of the Sea.

The fully tested pattern is available in PDF format, for AU $4.50 - you can click here for more information, including the link for purchasing.

And if you'd like to see some of the mermaids made by other people using my pattern - click here.

As for this mermaid - I call her Jodie - after my real life, purple-haired friend!

Dead Heads

I don't really know what they are...

Or what they're meant to be...

But they are DEAD.

 

And they have HEADS... 

So I'm calling them DEAD HEADS!

 

And they're loads of fun to make...

PLEASE can I have this one Mummy?

Little Miss Katie actually swooned when she laid eyes on this finished mermaid...

Maybe it was the blonde hair (well, yellow gingham really) or the pink highlights... the pink bikini... or that perfect curlicue tail. Whatever it was - it was LOVE at first sight!

Of course she begged me to let her keep it - and I had to be the mean Mum who said no.

So we agreed instead, that one day I would make one to her exact request... and in the meantime I taught her to make curlicues herself - which took her mind off the heartache for a little while, at least!

Happy Friday!

I have a gaggle of mermaids here, wanting to wish you a 

Happy Friday and a Safe and Relaxing Weekend...

These ones are destined for a new home at a local gift shop.

 

Click here for the pattern details. 

Enjoy your weekend!

 

Branching Out

I'm trying to branch out a little.

I love recycling yarn, and always will - but there are so many other ares where we can UPCYCLE.

During my blog absence, I revamped Little Miss Katie's bedroom with a fresh coat of paint on the walls and ceiling.

My timing is not always smart with these things. For starters, Mr Goldfish was away. He's a Scout Leader - and he was interstate for a fortnight at the Australian Jamboree. So I was home on my own with all the kids. That's three school aged kids - all on holidays and expecting to be entertained... PLUS a toddler! Oh. And we were in the middle of a heat wave. The kind of heat where your paint starts drying on your brush between dipping it in the tray, and painting it on the wall.

But when you're in the zone - you're IN THE ZONE.

So you push through the barriers and just do what you have to do.

(If only I could do that in all the other areas of my life. But that's a story for another day.)

Anyway.

I wanted to add a chest of drawers for the bedside.

So of course I went Op Shopping to see what Second Hand Delight I could discover.

To be honest, there wasn't a lot on offer...

But when I saw this fully functioning chest of drawers for $1 - I could hardly say NO.

Yeah.

I know.

There's a handle missing.

And the top is kind of gungy and covered in ickyness.

Plus a dinosaur, courtesy of The Toddler.



But I figured we could get around all that...

So I set the kids to work with some sandpaper and a drawer each.

Well - they were asking to be entertained, weren't they?

And The Toddler just kind of supervised... In between juice breaks.



The dinosaur was useless, but kind of majestic looking.



So.

With a bit of scrubbing and a light sand, followed by a couple of coats of paint and some fresh handles... We have a winner!

Not bad for a $1 chest of drawers, hey?

That mirror was a makeover job too - but I forgot to take photos.

And how gorgeous is that Rag Doll?

She was made by a dear friend of mine, the Incredibly Artistic Anna.

You can check out more of Anna's work on her Facebook page - Swallowtail.

The Little Mermaid Needs a NAME...

Here she is...

Based on yesterday's progress photo, were you expecting a mermaid???

I had all sorts of guesses yesterday - a turtle, a worm, a butterfly, a grasshopper, a praying mantis, a dragonfly, Craig Thompson (an Aussie politician)... and someone even suggested I was working on a spermatozoa (you're TERRIBLE Geraldine!!!!)

And well done Desertnetti - you correctly guessed it - a mermaid... and you too, Alyssa!

 

Not quite sure what her name will be as yet...

I want her to be "SOMEONE the SOMETHING Mermaid" but I haven't quite worked out those details...

Open to any and all suggestions - just fire away!

(and Geraldine - you need to keep it NOICE!)

           

My Doll and her Matryoshka

I hadn't really designed the Matryoshka or the Kokeshi dolls with PLAY in mind.

The idea was that they were decorative - more of a show piece than a toy...

But Little Miss Seven doesn't think so:

March Knitting Challenge.

Are you ready for the March Challenge?




Here's a refresher of what it's all about

• Each month I will offer a new pattern for FREE to those who wish to participate
• One month will be a KNITTING challenge, and the next month will be a CROCHET challenge
• Take a photo of your completed project and enter it in the competition
• I will choose my favourite project… the one which makes me go WOW the most! my decision might be based on yarn choices, embellishments, interpretation of the pattern… you get the idea
• PRIZE? the winner gets to tell me what to design for our next challenge... maybe you want me to write a pattern for something you've seen me design in the past, or perhaps to bring something to life from your imagination... it will be the WINNER'S CHOICE... you could choose to have me design a plarn toy elephant, some crazy elton john style glasses, or an easter surprise for your great aunt elsie…
  it might be something sane or crazy… either way, it will be designed and embellished in that true laughing purple goldfish style which you know and love! BUT bear in mind… whatever you choose… will be MADE by you guys the following month… so choose something YOU want to make…

So, here's the plan for March...

• Knit this toy from my pattern. 
• Enter your project photo in this competition over at Ravelry. If you are not a Ravelry member, you can enter by emailing me your entry
• Entries will close 31/3/12 at midnight, my time (EDST Australia)
• Winner announced 2/4/12... photo of winning project will be posted here on my blog... and I'll also tell you why I chose it
• The winner will then choose what they would like me to design for the next Knit-Along (KAL) which will be run in May 2012

SO... are you in?

Want to join in the fun?

Email me for the pattern to get started

January Challenge

I'm kicking off 2012 with an exciting challenge.

• Each month I will offer a new pattern for FREE to those who wish to participate
• One month will be a KNITTING challenge, and the next month will be a CROCHET challenge
• Take a photo of your completed project and enter it in the competition
• I will choose my favourite project… the one which makes me go WOW the most! my decision might be based on yarn choices, embellishments, interpretation of the pattern… you get the idea
• PRIZE? the winner gets to tell me what to design for our next challenge... maybe you want me to write a pattern for something you've seen me design in the past, or perhaps to bring something to life from your imagination... it will be the WINNER'S CHOICE... you could choose to have me design a plarn toy elephant, some crazy elton john style glasses, or an easter surprise for your great aunt elsie…
  it might be something sane or crazy… either way, it will be designed and embellished in that true laughing purple goldfish style which you know and love! BUT bear in mind… whatever you choose… will be MADE by you guys the following month… so choose something YOU want to make…

So, here's the plan for January... and yes, I know that the month is almost over already, so we'll keep this running into February a little)

• Knit this Kokeshi Doll from my pattern. 
• Enter your project photo in this competition over at Ravelry. If you are not a Ravelry member, you can enter by emailing me your entry
• Entries will close 13/2/12 at midnight, my time (EDST Australia)
• Winner announced 15/2/12... photo of winning project will be posted here on my blog... and I'll also tell you why I chose it
• The winner will then choose what they would like me to design for the next Knit-Along (KAL) which will be run in March 2012

SO... are you in?

Want to join in the fun?

Email me for the pattern to get started

And don't feel left out if you are not a knitter... there will be a CROCHET challenge in February.