ENdings and Beginnings

Thank you for keeping me company, your lovely comments, listening, name and sex suggestion, laughs and warm squidgy tummy moments this year.

I hope 2012 is a wonderful year for you full of love, laughter, happiness, smiles, and surprising bits too.

Happy New Year!!! Im heading down to beach for a few days, so I'll see you on the other side.

xo

jess

Merv- the "reject" koala

I never thought I would make a koala. ( again*)

To be honest koalas are not by any means my favourite Australian animal- echinidas and possums- they might even be one of my least favourite ones. Not that i don't like them, or have a problem with them it's just well they don't do it for me as much as wombats, wallabies, bilbies and dingos as well as the two mentioned above.

I digress.

Merv here was the 3rd koala head attempt I made ( why is it the rule that the last few things you need to do for a deadline all turn out to be sagas?) and while he wasn't right for the show, i felt perhaps this head had something. I shared him on Instagram and got some very positive responses, and so Merv was born.

The Grey part of Merv is a new mohair I bought a Japanese distressed mohair ( most of the mohair I buy is German) and it is the most beautiful stuff. the colour is superb, I didn't even dye it, and didn't really age it as i felt it was appropriate here. He has a sculpted nose, that I bought, and it's my first time using such a thing.

Merv is your average Aussie bloke/koala. He at first gives off a very macho vibe, but really is a big softie once you get to know him. His favourite food is beer , beer and the occasional sausage roll.

Merv is a limited edition of three.

And yes in case your were wondering Merv is named after that unique Australian cricketer.

*I made a set of knitted koalas many moons ago, when I still knitted.

the real spirit of Christmas

please click image to get a larger image to read.

you won't be sorry

Christmas comes early for Mr Mustard

She sure is Ms Superpops! thank you Cam, Mr Mustard and I both absolutely love it.

And to all of you, I hope whether it comes early or late or dead on time, I hope the festive season is a wonderful one for you.

Happy Holidays!! xo

A little bit exciting...

Um I'm the Age today along with Pip and Nicole Jenkins in an article about crochet.

I'm a little bit excited, these things don't often happen to us here at TBW, so bear with me ( no pun intended) for a bit of shameless self promotion ;)

I'm very humbled to be in such amazing couple in the article and by Fran's kind words about me and my guys.

hope you're friday got some excitement too

PS if you've never seen me, I'm the blonde with the messy hair ( and house)

For Michelle

One of my friends beloved cat Max died this year. And Max was like Turtle is to me, but was alot order and had been with Mich a very long time, so she was devasted as you could understand.

Max was max in more ways than one if you get my drift, she was a maximum cat.

I've wanted to and slowly over the last few months made her an ode to Max or a feline friend to comfort her. NOt to replace Max with - impossible, but i know she would be so sad and unable to get another pet any time soon.

So here she is, my ode to Maximum Cat. And she is quite like max, in she is rather larger than I meant her to be.

I do hope she likes her.

I'm sorry the photos are so crappy, I've sort of lost my proper camera, and these were taken with the Iphone, which camera is er limited. But I wanted to take some pics before I wrapped her up and sent her off. So these are better than none.

Hope you're surviving out there in all the CHristmas crazy and enjoying it too xo

Mr Mustard

One of the things I love about music is how suddenly a song or a need to listen to a certain song or album comes into your brain.

Late Monday night all of a sudden I found myself singing " you never give me your money" by beatles. i scoured my brain to remember it was in Abbey Road and put it on. It was just what i was in the mood for and it was almost like listening to it for the first time, except I knew all the words.

I can't remember the last time i listened to Abbey Road and i love the way so often my mind will know exactly what i'm in the mood for without me really knowing.

So im subsequently have been having a bit of a love with Abbey Road.

Including " Mean Mr Mustard". Which is perhaps was the inspiration behind naming my lastest bear Mr Mustard. Although he is not mean ( a tad simple I think) he doesn't sleep in the park or shave in the dark- i doubt he even shaves but I think he might like to save paper.

My Mr Mustard is the kind of beer that is big into BBQ's and thongs and has a "kiss the cook" apron ( currently in the wash). He likes root bear more than proper beer however.

Mr Mustard is also a member of the beginning to be long line of Pancake Family. he is Kermit and Howie's uncle.

Judged and sentenced

Today when out and about I saw a woman walking wobblingly down the street. As I got closer to her it became obvious to be she was a working girl and wasted. She was thin and gaunt too, which also suggested drug addiction or heroine abuse. I felt so sad for her. But what made me almost more sad was seeing the way other people were looking at her, with disgust and judgement.

Most likely she didn't choose this life, and what a horrible life it is. and now was stuck it in with no easy was out. Once in a world of addictive and addicts it's hard to claw your way out without the support of others around her.

I smiled at her, and she smiled back. I wanted show her that kindness from strangers was possible. That unlike other people I thought she was worthy of more than a cold stare.

The world when it is like this makes me sad.

I seem to be a bit of a "freak" or lost person magnet. I guess they see that I'm an unthreatning person who will smile that them. And most of time I find these people just want a bit of chat, a bit of time and a bit of kindness. And quite often I get something out of it too.

I wish we lived in a world that felt this more so, as perhaps there would be less troubled and lost people. Or at least they wouldn't feel so alone.

So I lied

lucky it wasn't a big one.

But when I said Igor was the last steiff type bear for the year, I was so sad, and of course like any child very soon after all I could think of was making another one.

And I also had the perfect bit of mohair that I had dyed a while back ( twice) i couldn't really concentrate on anything i was supposed so Wally was born.

Wally is another of my boy bears, a little cheeky and little sweet. Likes tree climbing, digging for bugs and riding on trams.

He prefers cake and cookie batter to cakes and cookies.

All the good stuff in life.

Wally will also be one of the last of my makings I can show you as from now until mid Jan I'll be going into major exhibition prep.

Our creative space- business as usual

Some Christmas orders

and because i cant help myself ( and felt too sad about him being the last one)
The home of Creative Spaces

Fletcher

I had was tempted to call this bear Georgit, as he is a bit like a combo of George and Widget. Then I was tempted to call him Mugworth ( don't ask me why but this word came to me while I was making him) but decided um to most people that might not be the most appealing name.

And then it came to me, he was Fletcher.

Fletcher is named after one of my favourite songs of the year, although I don't think he is much like the Fletcher in the song.

This Fletcher likes playing Monopoly, the Kazoo ( who doesn't? although it look more like a digeridoo on him) and Cheezels.

A coming home of sorts.

YOu know how I feel about bears and being loved and cuddled and worn away , the more loved and worn a bear is the more beautiful. That the signs of love and time and life on him, his scars make him who he is ( and us who we are) and all the more "valuable" and beautiful..

I received a phone call from a family friend who had bought each of her boys one of my bears, 5 and 3 years ago respectively. Both boys were distressed as both their teddies were in a bit of need of repair. And would I be will to do it. ( of course I would)

To see two of my bears already very loved and cuddled in their relatively short live is a dream come true, is a big part of why i do it, and inspires me more than ever to keep going.

the home of creative spaces.