Teddy's Busy Day (+ yarn review!)

Hi everyone!

It has been a truly epic summer here in Australia, and I must admit I'm glad to be tumbling into February. Both Kiah and I ended up in hospital for several before Christmas with unrelated illnesses, the heat and humidity has been oppressive, the country has burned down and now there's floods. I think it's nearly time for a break!

So today I've put together something a bit fun for you, to show off Stylecraft's gorgeous new Regatta yarn. It's 74% cotton plus polyamide and elastane, which makes the yarn super bouncy. It still doesn't stretch lengthways like acrylic, but springs out sideways. I don't usually like making toys with cotton because the yarn gets "stringy" and the holes in the fabric get bigger and bigger, but with this yarn the sideways spring makes it look amazing. Check out the stitch definition, and these gorgeous colours! 

I used the Crew colourway, and Anne's adorable Cross Your Heart Teddy pattern. Allie has already claimed it, and loves cuddling Teddy and tucking him into bed . 

Stylecraft sent me this yarn to try out, but the opinions in this blogpost are my own and I am under no obligation to say nice things. 

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TEDDY'S BUSY DAY

*BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP*

Teddy rolled over and cracked open his eyes - it was 6am, time to start another day. He stumbled to the shower to wake himself up a bit. 

The shower wasn't quite enough, so he had to have a really strong coffee as well.

After coffee he felt a bit better, and so before work he had a play on the slide.

At work, Teddy had LOTS of drawing to do.

He also had to do reading, but that was ok - Teddy likes reading. 

Fortunately, then it was time for lunch!

After lunch, Teddy had to go to lots of meetings. Luckily there was cake at one of them, otherwise he didn't know how he would have coped.

Finally it was time to go home. On his way, Teddy stopped off at the gym to do his exercises. He was a bit optimistic about the weights but is very squishy so it wasn't a big problem.

Once he got home, Teddy popped out to the garden for a quick game of hide and seek (and to pull out the weeds of course).

Teddy had such a busy day! It was time for him to go to bed. Night night Teddy! 

See you in the morning!

The Story of Des

This is a short story, about a creature who is very special to me. 

In the last week we were talking with our future exchange students about embracing the things that go wrong, the mistakes, and the embarrassments, as these are the moments that provide not only the best learning experiences, but the best and most memorable stories. I've been thinking about this story for months, and now I think I have the right words :) 

Meet Des.

Des came into this world with some misfortune. My nan and aunt were doing a lot of ceramics work at the time of his creation, and after being slipcast, Des's pieces went into the kiln for firing. Something went wrong in that violent heat, and he fell over, sustaining terrible, project-ending injuries. 

My aunt assumed he would be heading into the broken pottery bin, which is fair enough - he wasn't as perfect as their work usually was. But my nan saved him. He was still perfect to her, even with his imperfections.

So she repaired Des's broken foot with a cast. 

She painted him beautifully (as always), picking out his cuts and scrapes with red paint, and even made some miniature bandaids to cover his wounds. 

She sewed him some tiny warm stripey flannelette pyjamas. My Pa, a talented woodworker, made Des this special stand, with a built-in crutch since he had a broken foot. 

And then Nan named him Des. Why Des? Because he had a Des-aster Day. 

My nan and pa have now both passed away. We still all have things that they created in their busy, crafty lives - a stamped copper coffee table; a snoozing cow on the door lintel; miniature dresses for dolls the same as we children wore; beautifully turned spare toilet roll holders; crochet blankets ... 

But I think the most precious thing I have of theirs is Des. He sits up on my piano, maybe getting a little dusty, but always smiling. 

He is always here to remind me that no matter what: 

everyone, everything, every moment, 

has a place, a value, a use, and a beauty, 

even if it's a bit broken.

- Michelle xx

The Love Story of Mr Alienbunny and Ms Long-Ear

Today I bring to you the magical lovvvee story of Mr Alienbunny and Ms Long-Ear. Grab a cup and tea, some biscuits and enjoy!

The Love Story of Mr Alienbunny and Ms Long-Ear

Mr Alienbunny lived in a town named Koblenz, an old town built by the Romans. He had a very good life among the wine hills and enjoyed life a lot. However, he also felt... empty. He wasn't sure what he was missing at all, so he started his journey to fill the emptiness.

He tried to enjoy the smell of the first spring flowers but it didn't help. He still felt empty.

                          

He went out for drinks with his mate Mr Giraffe from Australia. They had a very good time but the next morning Mr Alienbunny still felt empty inside. Oh and he had a terrible hangover. Poor little one. 

One day, he heard of two wise owls, so he went to see him. They had a very long talk together and the two owls told him of their love for each other and suggested that Mr Alienbunny longed for love.

At home, Mr Alienbunny spent a long time thinking about love which he only knew from the movies. After some days, he decided he had to look for love! He said goodbye to his friends, packed his bags and started his journey in his Lego Mini Cooper.

It was a very long and hard journey. He met lots of nice people but no love.

That is, until he arrived in Dortmund, a town in the middle of Germany. There he saw HER! In the middle of a field of roses... She was soo beautiful! But would she like him?!

He waited until she left the field of roses and started to talk to her. Her name was Ms Long-Ear and she was very lovely indeed! Native to Dortmund, she told him all about the town.

They agreed to meet again the next day and Ms Long-Ear was delighted by the flower Mr Alienbunny got for her.

For hours they talked... and fell in love!

  

After some weeks together, they decided to pack their bags into Mr Alienbunny's car and travel the world. So far they are having a really good time! Should you meet them, have a glass of wine with them - I am sure they will love to talk to you and tell you their story in person!

The End!