the latest

Thanks to everyone for the positive response to my last post =)

I have a few newies to share with you tonight:

There was a beautiful article in the Canberra Times today called "Canberra bushfire victim's tips for a great relief". You can read it here or here. In the paper the article was accompanied by a photo of writer Liz and her family, together with a quilt and a knitted blanket that were donated to them after they lost their home and all their belongings during the Canberra firestorms, and I was particularly touched by what Liz had to say about the donation of handcrafted goods:
Make something. Some of our most treasured items are the ones that were made, with love, by complete strangers. The quilt that was one of the hundreds that arrived from all over Australia, the hand-knitted rugs that my children like to snuggle under in winter. If you make jewellery, make a few pairs of earrings or a necklace. If you make toys, make something for the children who have lost theirs. If you knit, make a winter scarf. If you sew, make some table placemats or a beautiful table runner. If you’re an artist, paint a picture or frame a drawing.

The article gives some insight into what people are going through - and how you can help - from the persective of someone has been there. Do click over and have a look.

Speaking of blankets, volunteers across the country are knitting and crocheting 12" squares and sewing them into blankets, just like the ones Liz's family received, to be donated to those in need. A blog called blankets of friendship has been set up where information and progress on this project with be updated. It is just brand new, so it may take a day or two for the details to all appear there, but in the mean time if you would like to help out you can get more info on the Ravelry discussion thread or, if you're not a Ravelry member you can email me on kraftykuka at gmail dot com. Squares should be:
12" x 12"
made from machine washable wool or acrylic yarn

We've all seen the photos of Sam the koala who famously accepted a drink right from the water bottle of one of the firies, and is now being rehabilitated in Rawson. You can help out those helping out our wildlife and domestic animals by donating to wildlife Victoria or the RSPCA appeal.
Here at home there's has been some making and doing going on, as you can see by my desk (aka the dining table!):


Can you guess what that guy is going to be? I'll give you a clue - he's one in a set of Australian animal finger puppets I picked up last week - mostly to use as templates.

Here's my first finished finger puppet - the little Brown Owl that I showed you last week is now all sewn up:


He has a little bunny friend now too - the first in a set of 'forest' animals I'm making. =)

Oh, and whilst hiding from the weather over the weekend I sent some time winding my new embroidery threads, and I thought they looked so pretty that I just had to share - as youo can see from the photo up the top there!

This weekend is meant to be fairly gloomy (about 20C and raining, I think) - perfect for a cosy weekend of more sewing!

xo