Little Cotton Rabbits

awards

I'm feeling a bit guilty here because recently my blog has been given a shed load of lovely awards and it's taken me ages to post about them. So without further ado I'd like to thank Caroline, Francesca , cmeknit, crafting jen, Rae Knits, La Quinta, Sew Christine and Maureen for the 'you make my day' award.

Jane at Craftyconundrum for a 'spread the love award'

Deborah at a cup of joy for an E award

and Moyra Jayne for an Arte y Pico award

Thanks so much ladies - I really appreciate being nominated and I'd like to bounce back a 'spread the love' award to you all (apart from Jane who I nominate for a 'you make my day')

I find it really hard to pass these on because there are so many blogs that make me happy in all kinds of different ways (see for yourself my list of favourites to the right). There are however 3 further people who spring to mind for the 'spread the love award'. Katie - What Katie Did, Tracy - Cupcakes at home, Kat - Secrets of a Butterfly. Three special people who always have kind words and generous hearts.

Finally, today is the last day for pre-orders on the new set of little cotton rabbit stamps. Amy and I got our preview set yesterday and are looking forward to having a lot of fun with them over the weekend. I'm so thrilled with how they've turned out - Linda has really captured the character of each one (experienced stampers please forgive my heavy-handed stamping - I've yet to refine my technique!)

 

If you'd like a set you can pre-order here at Funky Kits. There will be more coming into general stock soon - if you have any queries about these please contact Sugar Nellie.

Brownie girl

Today is 'world thinking day'. A day when all Brownies, Guides and Scouts around the world think about each other and the friendships they've made. Amy is excited because it means that she gets to wear her Brownie uniform to school and show off her growing collection of badges. I'm so proud of her as she's worked hard for each of these. They're also special because they are all the things that are dear to my heart too - toy making, home skills, artist and entertainer.

I'm so glad for her that the brownie uniform has changed since my day - cue dodgy photo of me from the '70s!

hello again!

I hadn't really intended to be away for so long but it was half term here last week so I didn't get my computer time - instead I was entertainments manager for 2 small people! We even managed to get out in the garden for some bouncing - it's lovely to see the blossom on our old plum tree and know that spring is on the way!

After a few days at home we headed off to stay with my Mum and Dad and had a lovely time. Mum is doing so much better and is working hard at her physiotherapy (after she broke her neck in a serious fall last autumn and had to wear a halo device for 3 months). There is still a way to go before she's as flexible as she used to be and her back gives her some pain but she's so determind and is an inspiration as is my Dad who has become quite a dab hand in the kitchen!

Now that the kids are back at school I'm pressing on with knitting again. I'm not sure when I will have the next sale of toys / cakes as my situation has been complicated with an encounter with the Inland Revenue. I don't want to go into great detail but I'd advise anyone making and selling anything in the UK to look into whether they should register as self-employed and not assume that you only need to declare any income if it is enough to pay tax on! Anyway, when I get all of my paperwork finished and know exactly where I stand I'll email my advance list with full details before the next batch of toys are sold.

Thanks so much for all of the emails I've had recently, I will be working through them this week. Thanks too for all the lovely blog awards that have come my way - I'll do a post and pass them on shortly.

bits 'n' pieces

Thanks so much for the lovely comments about the bunny baking and Edgar. I am gearing up for a sale soon (probably mid february) and am just finishing off jumpers and dresses for 12 toys and beading some cakes. I'll send out advance emails to those on my advance list when I know a date.

This week has been a funny one but on balance there were more ups than downs. The main down was Toby being ill with an unspecified virus. He had a high temperature and snuffles and just lay on the sofa and wouldn't eat for 3 days - he must have been feeling pretty rough as it takes a lot to slow him down.

There have been a couple of other downs involving the car, loads of spam comments and hassles with discontinued yarn that I've already paid for - you know the usual mundane frustrating stuff, but now Toby is better and back at school that all seems done and dusted and I can enjoy the ups (and start catching up with emails - sorry there's a backlog again!)

The first up was when we heard that Rose's family have reached their fundraising target and will be able to take Rose for her treatment in the USA (thanks for emailing me Philippa)

Then I snagged me a Raspberry bag. I fell in love with the beautiful sneak peek pictures she posted this week on her site and stalked her etsy shop all evening and my gorgeous new bag arrived today. Thanks so much Alice - I love it! (there are much better pictures over on her site)

To top the week off my Mum and Dad stopped off for a quick visit on their way to stay with friends for a few days. Mum looks great and is wearing just a soft collar now. It's nice to see them getting back to some fun activities after the last couple of months!

So on balance a pretty good week. Hope yours was a good'un and that your weekend is too!

Quality time...

...but not exactly of the kind I had in mind!

I had to take Amy to have a tooth out at the end of last week. So we got to spend an hour together, just her and me - and the dentist! Poor kid had a cracked molar and developed an abcess. Still she was incredibly brave and over the weekend we did manage to make some time together to do something a bit more fun:

We played spas and had manicures, cucumber facials and massages - which was much closer to what I'd orginally had in mind!