Herb and Hesta

Herb and Hesta are herbivores. Like all caterpillars, they eagerly await the greenery indulgences of spring.

Hesta is a hippy - with plaited antennae









...and a crescent moon tail. (She secretly wishes she was called Moonbeam.)







Herb is just happy his antennae still have that windblown look after snowboarding all winter.







Available shortly from furrybees at www.etsy.com.

Edit: 1. If you click on any of the pictures you can see them in greater detail (they are big images though, so may take a while to download). 2. Herb and Hesta are made from felted, repurposed wool sweaters, cotton embroidery floss, polyester fibre fill and, in Herb's case, thick hemp string for his antennae (Hesta's are made from wool).

Sharing Christmas VII

I'd had it in my mind when I was planning the life I'd lead in Canada that I would be in the luxurious position of being able to spend more time pursuing things I really enjoy. I'd read more, learn a language, travel, take the time to research things that took my fancy and, of course, make things. However, I felt quite blocked on all these fronts as I accustomed to my new world. Back in September 07 I knew I needed to make a Welcome To The World gift for my close friend Lisa's new baby, but despite having a defined project to aim for, inspiration was very low. Added to that, all of my tools and materials were safely packed in boxes back in Australia.

However, I soon discovered the world of craft blogs and, although I was dazzled by them for a few weeks, I began to pick up bits and pieces of ideas that took my fancy. One enormously ridiculous craze I came across early was the world of making creatures from socks - Stupid Sock Creatures is a well publicised version of this. Of course, if it's "enormously ridiculous" my interest is automatically piqued and so I bought the book and had a bit of a burl. I made one from the book (a photo of which may never grace these pages as it looks like a flying horse with stick legs that don't bend) which taught me the basic techniques. With a looming Christmas as a mind sharpener, I then let my imagination be swept up by a pair of old gold socks I found in a local thrift store and a pair of stripey, furry gloves I found at the Great Canadian Dollar store next door.

Make way for the Glock Monsters!

I'd like to introduce you to 'Armless 'Arry.


(Note his dashing cape [felted sweater] and three fearsome fangs [or free fearsome fangs, if you insist].)

And his close cousin...Gormless Gary.



Fangs obviously run in this family.

Sharing Christmas V

Despite a flurry of Christmas creations, one seed of an idea lay dormant for a long time before finally sprouting into possibility. Last year, I had begun what I hoped would become a yearly tradition of me giving a special festive ornament to a close friend's new baby for Christmas. With little time to make things last Christmas, I found the most whimsical and slightly ridiculous ornament that I thought a little girl could love. However, with more time on my hands this year and with sparks of creativity firing daily from the tips of my fingers I decided it would be better to make her a festive ornament myself.

Being an Australian in her first white Christmas in Canada, I figured, what could be more appropriately-themed than to send home a Christmas moose? A lovely idea, I hear you say, but oh the procrastination and angst that went into working out how to bring this sheer brilliance to life! Luckily three things helped me in the end. Firstly, a wild google search that turned up a prototype to aspire to. Secondly, a wild flickr search turned up thousands of moose images for lifelike inspiration. And finally, and perhaps most importantly, the courage to dust off my grade 12 drawing skills to make an approximation of a moose shape to draft my pattern. Armed with courage and inspiration, how could I go wrong?


I love him. It's as simple as that. He was made from recycled and felted sweaters (a ribbed rust-coloured one for the body, and a blue and orange striped one for the antlers) and finished with silver thread edges on the antlers and a small bell for the tail (for festivity's sake). The legs are the seams from the sweater's arms, which is a stroke of moose-leg representational genius, if I do say so myself.



Stripey, silver-trimmed antlers for Christmas.

Sharing Christmas I

Despite the fact that it is February, Christmas, and all that was made in it's honour, should not be forgotten.

It all started with a craft swap; the first I have ever participated in. It proved to be the impetus I required to get moving with my new crafty life. In the spirit of sharing some Australian Christmas traditions with my designated swapee (who was in the U.S.) I turned inevitably to the infamous Australian Christmas carol Six White Boomers for inspiration. And so I made me some.