sleepy-time cushion

My friend Katie has some wild children (awesome, but wild) and therefore could use a bit more sleep. So I made her this cushion:

I took the idea from a post I saw on the Mr XStitch website. The original is "A Gentle Warning to my Children" by The Cotton Floozy:

Hilarious. You should check out her blog. She does all sorts of hilarious embroideries, like one of seagulls puking rainbows. 

I posted a link to it on Facebook a year ago and Katie loved it. This year, I thought she should have her have her own version. The wording was really too perfect, so I kept that. But I wanted it to be more personalised, so I used a photo of Katie's sleeping profile (nabbed off of Facebook! Lucky she has such a lovely profile, am I right?), traced it, and embroidered it onto light fabric. I exercised a bit of creative license and gave her hair pink streaks (it's blond in real life) to match the lips, but my favourite bit is the eyelashes. Those were fun. 

My brother suggested a pillow would be a fitting object for the message and I agreed. So there you go!

I wrapped it up in cheerful yellow tissue paper and shipped it across the pond. She insists that she loves it and it makes her giggle. It may not help her sleep, but if it makes her giggle, then my work here is done. 

I'm hoping to make some similarly amusing cushions for my dito shop. Not this one, as I'm not into stealing other people's ideas for profit. It's a shame The Cotton Floozy thought of it first, because it's JUST SO GOOD. 

ticky tocks for kids who are all growed up

Big ticky tocks!

Because I couldn't just make them for toddlers, could I? Question is, do I put them in the babybandito shop or in dito, my grown-up shop that I have neglected now for quite some time? They wouldn't be the only thing in the grown-up shop. I have ideas, you know. Grand plans. And they (of course) involve funny embroidery.

At a market the other day, a lady quite cleverly quipped, "It's a perfect holiday watch!" And she's completely right. Because when you're on holiday, you don't actually want to know what time it really and truly is. Luckily, these are all set at roughly brunch time or party time, depending on whether the sun or the moon is out. And everybody knows those are the two best times of day.

So what do you think? babybandito or dito?

{ticky tocks} s/s12 collection

Feast your eyes on a bit of eye candy I'm certainly proud of:

They'll be in the shop tomorrow! xo

Sparkle Motion!

My friend Amy (who made me the lovely soft scarf) introduced me to Donnie Darko back in college. She is therefore, quite obviously, an important figure in my life. She had a baby boy in the summer, so my immediate impulse was to pick out some cute banditos to give to Dorian. Then I thought, hmm...Amy needs a present too. And I had just fallen in love with cross-stitching. And seeing as Amy was my Donnie Darko supplier and her email address used to be sparklemotion, it only seemed right to make her this:

See, I figure that now Amy is a mama, she has lots of different roles to play in life. And there will be lots of people with crazy expectations of how she needs to go about doing things and what her priorities should be. And she may find herself having to say no to someone, and perhaps will feel bad about letting them down (maybe I'm totally projecting at this point, but whatever). All she has to do is look at this, and she will feel better. 

But mostly I just thought it would be hilarious.

You ain't my baby daddy!

Just coming up for a bit of air...

I have been madly marking a stack of 570 GCSE exams, but took a day off for a second try at my new project: Ticky Tocks.

So named because that's what Dhari calls watches and clocks, duh! I chose the time based on what time I completed the French knot on the watch face.

 10.47am

 look at the adorable backing fabric!

 3.35pm

 3.24pm

10.32am

What I love most about these is the actual handwork involved in the process. Especially the French knots. There is very little time spent at a machine. Instead, it's mostly just me, a needle and the textiles. Grand.

39/365

Grace in Small Things.

1. I've started a cross-stitch project. So far it's taken me two days just to transfer the pattern. There must be an easier way, I just couldn't figure it out. But I'm way excited to start stitching and see the final product! It will be one of my Facebook giveaways, which I let fall by the wayside there for a while. Oops.

2. Going to a funfair yesterday with Dhari, Sophia and Hazel. I took Dhari on loads of little kid rides, including the caterpillar train, the teacups and a little train roller coaster (which he loved at first, but then at the 4th or 5th time around he decided "I don't like it! I don't like this one!"). I was hoping he'd come off saying, "I ain't afraid of no rolly-coaster!" But he didn't.

3. Summery days like today. Ooh, sunshine.

4. The tea cupboard. It's the only spot in the flat that isn't cluttered. Thanks Marcus!

5. Charlie Brookers The Hell of It All. It makes me laugh so much I can't really read it on The Tube. You're not allowed to smile, let alone laugh, on public transportation.

33/365

Grace in small things.

1. Not having a haystack weighing down my head anymore. I got my hair chopped. It's really short.

2. Dhari gave up his dummy on Monday in exchange for a "real guitar like Rumble Strips and Kaiser Chiefs." It's actually a ukelele, but don't tell him that.

3. Hanging out in the sunshine at Wimbledon Park yesterday with Maria, Marcus, Dhari and Belle. Very fun indeed!

4. My To Do list. It's mammoth, but it's also full of fun things (except one, which is "clean the flat"). The only problem is I want to do all of them now (except the no-fun one), so I haven't actually gotten much done at all. Does that make any sense?

5. The prospect of attending a stitch-in on Sunday afternoon, April 10th. A stitch-in! How awesome is that? I get to embroider a little train carriage that tells the minister of transport to stop punishing people (me) who don't drive.

32/365

Grace in small things.

1. Finishing my Red Nose Day bunting. I loved stitching Dana's (ahem, waterpenny's) super-cute protesting animals, especially as Dhari is going on the March For the Alternative with his papa next week. I like to imagine Dhari toddling along in solidarity with a turtle and a unicorn, shouting "Tories, Tories, Out-Out-Out!" By the way, did you know that COURTNEY LOVE is now a supporter of the Tories? She tweeted it, so it must be true.

"Tory now."

How completely random and bizarre is that? Nothing says rock'n'roll like conservative politics. I mean, look at Thatcher. The Sex Pistols loved her. I find this deeply amusing.

2. Meeting up with Claire and Hazel yesterday, and watching the madness that is four toddlers let loose on what would seem to be the greatest toys on earth. It was - and always is - an explosion of cute.

3. Being included in such a talented group of crafters at The Crafty Fox pop-up market. I'm really excited about this. I'm sure this is counter-productive, but I plan to save up some dosh from my weekly allowance (yes, it's come to this!) and pick one wonderful hand-crafted thing to buy at the market while I'm there.

4. Dana giving me a shout-out on her blog. Thanks Dana!

5. I raised £57.50 for Red Nose Day. I'm pretty proud of this as I have never been good at this sort of thing. Remember selling girl scout cookies? Or having to sell magazine subscriptions or those coupon books for your school sports team? Yeah, I pretty much sold some to my parents and that was it. And babybandito ended up donating a bit because a friend bought one of my stripy scarves.

If you're beating yourself up because you missed the deadline, not to worry. You can still donate here!

{red nose} The Real Red Nose Day!!!

Finished!

What do we want? Healthy babies and happy mothers! When do we want it? Now!

Remember I set myself, somewhat ambitiously, a fundraising goal of £182 because that's how much it costs to send a maternity nurse in Tanzania to a one-week training course on child delivery, resulting in safer labour for mother and child.

embroidery pattern by waterpenny

Now...what on earth should I do with this bunting? I smell a giveaway coming on.

In the meantime, if you're still weighed down by lots of spare change in your pocket because you haven't yet donated to Comic Relief or to relief for Japan, get a move on! I've raised £50 so far, but still have £132 to go to meet my goal by the end of today! Thank you very very much to Hazel, Ben, Val & Shiv, Adele and Christine for your support. :)

{red nose} day seven

The gingham background will become binding tape. I'm hoping that if I just stare at it long enough with big googly eyes, it will magically become binding tape.

And the glorious red nose is actually the wax covering of a baby gouda.

Please please please donate! I set myself a target of £182 and have £172 to go... (thanks Hazel!)

{red nose} day six

When do we want it?

pattern by waterpenny

Only three days left to donate!

{red nose} day five

Oh, I'm rubbish and I'm sorry. This is supposed to be yesterday's, but I forgot then. Anyway, hippo finished!

pattern by waterpenny

Please, please please support Comic Relief and your fellow human around the globe by donating a bit of money here!

{red nose} day four

Totally running out of ideas for red noses. So things might get odd.

Hippo wants to know when we want these healthy babies and happy mums.

Adorable pattern, still by Waterpenny!

Please donate to the cause here...

31/365

Grace in Small Things.

1. A windfall of business for babybandito (much busier than what I'm used to anyway). Today was manic. Keep your fingers crossed that this might be a sign of what's to come! My aim is to one day turn a profit. Heh.

2. Dhari LOVES The Rumble Strips (oh hey, and so do I). His new favourite thing to do? Watch their videos and live clips on YouTube. Today, while watching the fantastic video for "Motorcycle", Dhari was really rocking out in front of the computer. We're talking a full-on head bobbing, fist pumping, teetering chair rock out session. Please remember that Dhari is two.
And for your viewing pleasure:


3. Daily Waterpenny embroidery sessions. Remember the tulips playing croquet? And how happy it made me to stitch on it every day? My Red Nose Day bunting is the same. Dana has drawn a collection of different, adorable animals, standing in solidarity for a cause; whether that's for cupcakes or the preservation of democracy in Wisconsin, it's wonderful.

4. Vaguely channelling a 1940s factory girl with my hair and make-up today. Okay, so maybe I just put a scarf on my head, but still.

5. Having a nice chat with my Jenny on Skype last night. That's always a treat!

{red nose} day three

What do we want?

Why, healthy babies and happy mothers, of course!

This adorable pattern is by Waterpenny.

To donate to the Comic Relief fund, click on this link then select "Sponsor Me". Thanks!

{red nose} day two

There! A completed (not part-pig!) unicorn! And she's almost got something to say...

To donate, please visit my Red Nose Day webpage!

pattern by Waterpenny

{red nose} day one

Bah! A mischievous little house elf hid my black embroidery thread halfway through my first flag. That's why the unicorn looks a little odd and has nothing to say.

Support Comic Relief with babybandito

I've decided to embark on a special crafting project for this Red Nose Day. Every day I will work towards festive bunting that demands proper support for mothers and babies in sub-Saharan Africa (using Waterpenny's adorable "Protesting Animals" design). In keeping with the spirit of Red Nose Day, I will post a daily picture of a red-nosed me and my bunting-in-progress here, on my blog. In addition to this creative endeavour, I will also be donating 50% of my takings from any red item in my Etsy shop to Comic Relief. 


Please support me as your cash really can make a huge difference to the lives of vulnerable people across the UK and Africa. I have chosen my target as £182 because that is how much it will cost to pay for a maternity nurse in Tanzania to attend a seven day training course on child delivery care to ensure the safety and health of many mothers and their babies. Did you know that 40% of all child deaths occur in their first month of life? With properly trained nurses, maybe the little bubs will have a greater chance of survival. 


To donate, visit my Red Nose Day page. Thanks!

26/365

Grace in small things.

1. A fab night at the Jazz Cafe, up close and personal with London's cool set (including, but not limited to, Boy George - oh, I will never get over this...)

2. Facebook friends may recall me saying something about being desperate for a bit of Moet and macaroons. Well, the other evening, Marcus came home from work with the telltale Paul box. Inside it was the tastiest, most delectable raspberry macaroon ever (that I know of anyway). Yum.

3. I finished my stitching rendition of waterpenny's Sunday Afternoon! I did it at the edge of a pillowcase, then finished it off with some spring green grosgrain ribbon.

There are two more playful tulips to the right. If you want to see them, visit my flickr stream. I loved doing this embroidery. Waterpenny's (aka DanaK) illustrations just make me smile (remember the gingerbread zombies?). And stitching them to life makes me smile even more!

4. The success I've had on ebay the past couple of weeks. It's amazing how other people will willingly pay for your old stuff.

5. Only one week now, until I'm in sunny Florida. Yay! I know I've already listed this one before, but it just makes me THAT happy.