Little Cotton Rabbits

catching up

It was the half term school break here last week, so I had a week away from the computer and instead spent all of my time keeping Toby busy or driving Amy around the county. Overall it was a good week with lots of walks in the woods, a few visits to the park and plenty of bubble baths and tickle play. We even had a burst of sunshine at the beginning of the week that did me the power of good and the plum tree responded too with more blossoming. Now though we're back to cold, grey dull days and both the plum tree and I feel on hold again. I hope spring makes a proper appearance soon, I feel rather winter weary.

It always takes me a few days to begin adjusting to changes in routine so I'm not yet into my term-time mode but spending yesterday knitting did help enormously!

 

I have a big batch of animals that I'm working on and hopefully in the next week I'll be putting the finishing touches to them in time for Easter (I'll send emails out to the mailing list once they're all ready).

 

Along with knitting this week, there is a big backlog of emails waiting for me to answer and I have no idea what is going on with all of my favourite blogs but I look forward to catching up with everyone's news soon.

I'm also looking forward to reading all about the Red Nose Day Dolls project which is being mentioned in several magazines (including Handmade Living, issue 22, April 2013). There are loads of new things that have been finished for the dolls in the last week and you can read all about some of them on the Red Nose Day Dolls blog, including my post about the things that I've made for them.

Well, that's all of the news from my end for now, apart from the good news that on our wood walks last week Toby took to wearing one less hood and a lot more smiles.

 

Little things to help

This week I have been mostly knitting things that I really hope will bring some help to others.

 

This morning I finished off this little elephant, who is now a prize in a wonderful raffle set up by Donna Flower with the aim of helping Gretel Parker (who I mentioned in the post below). When Donna contacted me to see if I would like to contribute I thought a little elephant in a red dress would be appropriate as Gretel's Etsy shop is called Red Flannel Elephant. My little elephant doesn't actually have any flannel, instead she's made from very soft Rowan handknit cotton with a dress in 'nannyberry' Quince an Co. Sparrow yarn (100% organic linen).

If you'd like to be in with a chance of winning her or any of the absolutely fantastic prizes also up for grabs then tickets are only £1 each (though you are welcome to buy as many as you'd like!).

The full raffle details are here: Funds for Gretel.

After lunch today I nipped down to the post office and posted off a package containing my contribution to the Red Nose Day dolls project. But I'll tell you about what was in the package next time, as right now I need to go and get ready for Amy's parents evening.

It makes me very happy though to think that things that I've so enjoyed making might do some good. And happiness, wherever and however you find it is a good thing. Here's wishing some comes your way this weekend, thanks for stopping by x

doll sized bears and a friend in need

We've had another snowfall here overnight, though this time it's the kind of snow which quickly turns mushy and wet, rather than the lovely powdery kind that squeaks underfoot as you tromp through it for the first time. I suspect that it will be mostly melted before the end of the day. It's nothing like as bad as the heavy snowfall experienced over the weekend in the north eastern USA and Canada - I hope all of you affected are keeping well and warm.

Not that I need the excuse of snow, but I am using it nonetheless to justify spending the day in my pyjamas, knitting by the fire. So far this morning I have finished the 4 little bears that I am sending off to be companions to the Red Nose Day Dolls.

 

 

And I'm about to get stuck into a big old batch of bunny finishing. I had hoped to have this batch ready by the end of January, then was aiming at Valentine's day but now I am looking realistically at the end of February. I'll post some pictures when I have made a bit more progress.

Now on to the subject of the friend in need...

 

If you follow crafting blogs or are a reader of Mollie Makes magazine you will no doubt have come across the awesome and enchanting work of Gretel Parker. Gretel original worked in 2 dimensions as an illustrator but then branched out into three dimensional needlefelted pieces. It is clear to anyone seeing her creations that her beautiful and unique style of working, amazing attention to detail and her mastery of needlefelting skills were just meant to come together and it's not surprising that her creations are much sought after and have been featured in publications around the world.

Gretel and her partner Andy lived for many years in the Cotswolds but a few months ago they moved to Shropshire and were just beginning to settle into the process of making a new home in what they called 'Bodge Cottage'. But on January 21st of this year, just a few short weeks ago, Gretel had to face the most heart breaking tragedy. I don't feel right in writing the details because it is not my story to share but Gretel has so bravely written about it here, please go and read her words and pop back here for details of how you can help if you wish to.

There are many people around the world who admire Gretel, not just for her creativity but also for her outlook on life and her appreciation of simple living and simple pleasures. Suzanne is one such person and she and Tara have set up a page in an attempt to raise funds to help support Gretel as she tries to come to terms with her grief and to try to help her keep her home in this awful time. Her long term friend Natasha has written a post here and I'm sure there are lots of others trying to spread the word as far and as wide as possible so that people can help if they would like to. If you feel able to spread the word on any social media then please do so.

Gretel herself would never be one to go cap in hand to anyone, she is a survivor of previous tragedy having lost both her parents as a child, but strength alone will not pay her bills. If you would like to help then you can do so here...

The Gretel Parker Project

Thanks for reading x

 

first signs of spring

 

Thanks so much for all the kind comments, emails and suggestions for helping Toby get through the rest of the winter. I am hopeful that things will improve once the warmer weather and longer days of spring arrive and seeing as the first blossoms have opened on our old plum tree in the last few days this now feels a little closer!

 

It's been a busy week here and I had a lovely day on tuesday at my first ever workshop 'teaching' session. I woke up really early in the morning and was feeling really nervous before we started, but I was lucky to have the nicest group of ladies turn up and we all chatted and knitted and made mini bunnies. Thanks so much to Susan, Jackie, Emma, Esther, Iolanda and Rose for coming along and making my nervousness evaporate!

To help take my mind off feeling nervous I had a play around with some yarn at the crack of dawn on tuesday and came up with a little teeny tiny dress pattern for the mini bunnies. If you'd like to make one the pattern is over here with the rest of my free patterns.

 

Thanks again for all of the kind messages about Toby. He'll move on from this rocky patch when he is ready to and in the meantime I'll just do my best to keep life calm and reduce stress for him. If there is one thing I've learned in the last 11 years it is to take each day one at a time and not assume the bad bits will last forever, so far that kind of thinking has worked anyway :)

Have a good weekend x

 

The hooded boy

Toby has been finding life hard just lately and as a result he's been having a lot more outbursts and meltowns. He has now bitten his hand so much that he's developing permanent callouses on his thumb and forefinger and I once again have bruises up the back of my arms from where he digs his fingers in and pinches me if I get too close to him during a meltdown. He has been stressed a good deal of the time, retreating into extreme stimming and seeking comfort and security by covering his head most of the time.

 

This morning we went walking in his most favourite of woods but even there he was 'hiding' under a hat and two hoods and covering his face completely when he found something too hard to deal with - it could be a sudden noise or the appearance of a dog but most often it's something that only Toby knows and the rest of us can only guess at.

 

 

 

It made walking in the woods a very slow activity, it doesn't pay to cover your face when wood walking as you too easily bump into trees!

 

At home he has taken to wearing his pyjama top twisted up over his head most of the time.

 

And he's not been taking much interest in anything apart from his lego which he's been biting too much for my liking.

 

There are no significant changes to everyday life that I can pinpoint so it could be that he's just weary of the winter weather - it is so much harder to keep him occupied when it's cold and wet and he may be missing the trampoline and the carefree feeling of flying that he gets when he's bouncing. Hopefully the arrival of spring will lighten his mood a little.

 

It's not all been bad though - there have been some positives recently too. Over the winter we've worked hard on 'project socks' and finally he is getting used to wearing socks in the house. To Toby socks have always been something that you put on with your shoes before going out and are most definitely to be taken off and stuffed firmly into the very tip of your shoes when you come back indoors. Seeing Toby wandering around barefoot has always made me feel cold because we have wooden floors which are chilly underfoot in winter, so I'm really glad that he now considers sock wearing a suitable indoor activity!

Next will be 'project pants' which will involve weaning him off of the only two pairs of pants he'll wear at night (as they are now getting too small for him and I can't find the same stripe pattern anywhere) and on to random pants wearing at bedtime. Though I will wait for him to be in a calmer phase before attempting this, tackling it in his current mood would be foolish. Hopefully it won't be too long before a calm patch arrives!