So then I made another one. As planned. A circus act. For my personal 4 year old circus act. A perfect choice as she exclaimed instantly "oh this is my favorite pillow case ever...he does tricks!" An instant connection they shared, the smiling bunny and my smiling daughter. Entire conversations she holds with him at night when she's supposed to go to sleep. Getting the bunny of her bed and destined for the washing machine is something else all together but let me just say that as soon as he's back on there, the order in her universe seems to be restored.

He's made following the trusty recipe. One takes a vintage transfer embroidery and one embroiders that with red floss onto a piece of white cotton. Then one adds bits of colorful fabric above, under and to the side of the embroidery as if to make a frame. Then one adds a fanciful piece of ribbon -a bunting in this case- to the lot and one incorporates this patch onto a pillow case. As a finishing touch one crochets a neat border and stitches onto the open side of the pillow case. One cannot fail. Yay!

All this cutting left me with two blisters on my fingers but they are neat and tidy and ready to be sewn up...

Making quilts makes sense right now. After a premature spot of summer, day and nights have turned chilly again. Although... chilly... good heavens, we're in for frosty mornings again around the weekend.

Anyhow, with two ladies to entertain during the holidays I wasn't really in any position to make a full blown adult sized quilt. But a doll quilt... now that is manageable. And let's be frank, if it's chilly for us then it's chilly for our doll posse. And an extra blanket never hurt anyone.

So here it is. Little leftover patches of pale pink from an actual adult sized and finished quilt and some colorful squares from my 1930's fabric stash. Simple little thing. But so cheerful...

Yes, and now you wonder... who is it for?

Well, meet 'Katie'. Wait for it.... 'Katie Canon ball'. Seriously. Canon ball. And be warned, if you start to laugh at this point -as I did when my youngest introduced her- a severe reprimanding awaits you. I speak from experience.

Katie Canon ball is a member of a royal family, being a baby princess, and one can't mock royals. I have been told!

At least she wears home made clothes. And sleeps in a glorified Ikea doll bed... with cool bedding.

So for the last few days 'Canon ball' by the Breeders has been the background music in my mind... constantly. Katie Canon ball, really...

Little duckling. All dressed up. Returning from a spring flower market. And now having a little wander around on this little pillow case. Did I mention before that I have a vague plan to make a gazillion of these cases? 

Red embroidery floss, DMC 304 for those who are into floss color charts, 2 strands used. Then I added some flowery fabrics in the patchwork part to accompany the flowers she's holding under her wings. A soft pink gingham for the front panel, a stronger pink dotted fabric for the back panel. And a deep pink crochet edge. Simple but effective. And the growing pile in the linen cupboard is looking increasingly yummy. 

If all goes well then the next one will feature a juggling bunny. In striped pants. No kidding. A genuine circus act I might add.... Just right for my own 4 year old circus act!

A bunch of spring flowers to kick of a weekend of lazy and sunny celebrations. And amidst all that lazying about I actually finished hand sewing the binding on that little lap quilt. Weekend intentions? Check!

All that remains to do is to put in the washing so that it crinkles up nicely...

Nothing beats the feeling of a finishing a lingering project. Now, which one should I tend to next? Hmm, perhaps I'll first just lazy about a bit more. That sounds like an excellent plan!

A little something I intend to finish this weekend. A small lap quilt with the leftover patchwork squares from when I did Alice the dog's little blanket...

Surprise! Another pillow case. Yes! Surely there's a little theme going on here.

Well, this one I made as a request. So it's not intended to stay over at my parts of the woods. But it would fit our little pile of pillow cases quite well. 

The kitten turned out super cute... and ever so slightly naughty looking. I can just see what will happen to that ball of yarn in a matter of seconds. And it won't be fun to clean the tangled mess up either....

Miss Kitty is surrounded by pink patchwork and some merry Bonbon clippings. To soften up the edge between the embroidered part and the rest of the pillow I used a wide flowery eyelet lace. And on the opposite side a fine crochet edging. Red and pink, it really does go well together...

I think there will be more of these to follow. They are so much more fun to put on the little beds than the simple store bought ones. And frankly, runny noses, sick children, ear infections and so on result in pillow cases changed quite often (compared to blankets etcetera).... so having a pile of these around wouldn't only strongly diminish my stash but would boost my house-keeping-goddess status a bit further I believe. I hope. I tell myself. Hah!

Soon spring will officially arrive. And in its trail, so will my birthday. That just keeps happening every year. And although it's always nice to throw a party and open up gifts, I'm not so keen on celebrating the addition of another year to my increasing age. Man oh man, I'm really starting to look old on paper. The gap between how old I officially am and how old I actually feel seems to be exponentially increasing. Funny that is.

But we're regressing. I said party. And gifts. And as we are on the subject of gifts, I have a little one for one of you. Because it's my birthday soon. And spring. Hence a combination of handmade and supplies in daffodil colors.... spring in gift wrapping if you like.

I will send the lucky one a set of 6 spring fabrics (all circa 34 by 39 cms), some 'nature' sewing ribbon, two lilac bunny buttons, a felt fancy heart, a handmade 'himiko' birthday card with matching envelope and a needle book with 4 felt pages inside.

Now all you need to do is leave a comment to this post and on March 21st when spring is officially in the air, I'll draw a lucky winner.

There are no requirements. You may have a blog or not, it doesn't matter. You may post about this givaway on your blog or Facebook, or not, it doesn't matter. And you don't need to live anywhere specific. I'll send the gift worldwide. Easy peasy I think. 

So go hit that comment button folks...

NOTE March 21st: The givaway is now closed hence it is no longer possible to enter the givaway. Later tonight a winner will be picked at random and will be announced. Good luck everyone!

Sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite.

Another sweet pillowcase for a sweet little head to rest on. 

This time one featuring an artist bunny -I imagine he lives in Montmartre somewhere- and some colorful patchwork as if it were his canvas. A ribbon to his side and a delicate edging all around the opening of the pillow made following my trusty recipe for edgings using a 1.25mm crochet hook. 

I just absolutely love these vintage embroidery transfers. They are so cheerful and innocent looking. Just the thing for sweet little girls. And boys, of course. 

As even the smallest of creatures in our house have their own small beds, it only seems right that they should have the right to their own small bedding. Especially as the boss in the house has a bunch of teeny tiny scraps, ideal for a teeny tiny blanket.