How I made Berlita Bunny

I've been thinking of making a bunny toy for some time, and a few weeks ago I finally got around to doing it. I made a bunny a few years ago, and although she's now a very well-loved bun, I felt the urge to create another.

As it was a few years since I'd made my first bunny I thought i'd make things simple by using the tried-and-tested pattern (for the body, at least) first.

However, I did design a brand-new head pattern for this bunny though which took a lot of trial and error. I started by modelling a plasticine head, then divided it into sections by lightly scoring lines which would be the seams.

I then laid tracing paper onto the head and traced the scored lines, then cut the paper sections out; these were the basis for the pattern.

I then made a series of felt heads until I achieved the shape I wanted. This tried my patience a lot and wasn't easy! But eventually Berlita's head took on the form which I was looking for.

This was the hard work over. Now I had a pattern for the body and head that I could follow, so the rest was relatively plain sailing. I used some very nice black wool felt coat fabric, which was easy to work with as it doesn't fray - a real benefit when you're working with small fiddly bits!

Although I did use Vilene iron-on heavyweight interfacing on all the pieces to give it that bit more stability.
I covered a couple of buttons with black satin for her eyes, which are ok although they do protrude a little more than i'd like.

I also invested in some new needles - some extra long upholstery ones for attaching the arms and legs, and some curved ones for attaching the head - useful for getting the needle into such a tight corner (although the curved needles I got were a little thick for the felt I was using, but would be fine on woven material I think).

I embroidered Berlita's features before I stuffed her face, and I also planned and wrote down what order I would sew the pieces, because this is the area I always tend to mess up! Like sewing up a seam that I was meant to leave open... my seam ripper is very well-used, unfortunately!

I designed the pattern for her little dress and made it up in a blue and white polka-dot polyester satin moire that i've had for years, and which I only use for very special occasions because one day it'll be gone!

Berlita Bunny isn't going anywhere- I spent too long making her to want to give her up - but I may make her some cousins who will be up for adoption (hahaha! I mean up for sale in my Etsy shop....) when I can get around to making them!

Please tell me what you think to Berlita!

Happy-Go-Lucky

Oh my goodness, I haven't written anything in this blog for such a long time! I've been sewing, going to "real" work and generally wasting time! But I must write a bit about this lovely film I saw last week, directed by Mike Leigh and starring Sally Hawkins as the irrepressible Poppy.


It's a story about a very lovely primary school teacher who has an amazingly positive outlook on life. She starts driving lessons with an instructor who is the polar opposite of her; narrow-minded, negative and angry. While the instructor shouts at Poppy about her habit of wearing inappropriate driving footwear, she laughs and enjoys the moment... because anger just doesn't seem to be part of her. But she has a great empathy for any vulnerable person, and shows a lot of love and understanding. I would love to be like Poppy, she is incredibly joyous and bright, like a golden ray of sunshine! There are plenty of funny moments in this film and I think its the best comedy since last year's Little Miss Sunshine, because it shows people coping with life's setbacks and difficulties with humour and love.


The film showed how Poppy wanted to see happiness and light and that's what she saw; and the driving instructor only saw bitterness and hate in the same situations, because he didn't want to see anything else. The film seemed to say that we can, to some extent, decide what our world is; the world isn't just outside our bodies, its just as much made up of the feelings that we create in our own heads.

If you see this, you'll be chanting, "En-Ra-Ha" too!

You, The Living

The 25-minute walk to the cinema last night seemed far longer in the cold, insistent rain and wind, but i'm glad to say that this film was worth every icy drop!

You, The Living is set in a city and tells many stories about some of the people living there, their hopes and dreams, their troubles and anxieties. I was taken on a dream-like journey through the sadness, loneliness and warmth of the people who inhabit this curious place. The film is made up of lots of short scenes which show different aspects of the human condition, from loneliness and frustration to joy and pleasure.

It opens with a man lying on a small uncomfortable sofa in a tiny, austere room. The man eventually awakes and addresses us, the audience, directly. I'm not that sure how I can describe the feeling that gave me, but the size of the cinema screen and the way the room had been shot, made me feel that I was actually in that room, like a guest in the house rather than a far-off spectator. This claustrophobic feeling continues as a theme throughout the film, as do many unexpected moments of surreal comedy and the muted, beige-coloured streets, people and

interiors.
This is a film that I want to keep remembering.

You, The Living - YouTube trailer

Imaginary People - Lars and the Real Girl and The Orphanage

Hooray for the member's discount at the Showroom cinema on Fridays! Only £2 per ticket, not bad! So I just HAD to see another two films this evening. These two films were both enjoyable in their own way but each was very different. There was a tenuous link between them, though; both featured "imaginary people".

The first was Lars and the Real Girl. The story is of a young man with a mental health problem which leads him to buy Bianca, an "anatomically correct" lifesize doll to fall in love with, and the reactions of his brother, his sister-in-law and the rest of the town, to this bizarre behaviour. This film was trailered as a comedy, and it certainly had many comical moments, however I found it to be a powerful account about a troubled man who goes through a difficult emotional and psychological journey, but with the love and patience of others, comes out the other side a stronger person. Lars treated her so much like a living breathing human that i'm sure I almost saw her move a couple of times... This film used humour to lift what may have otherwise been quite emotionally draining. It was tender, moving and uplifting.

Official Trailer

The second film was The Orphanage, a chilling but moving ghost story produced by Guillermo Del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth, Cronos, The Devil's Backbone). It was beautifully made in a wonderfully creepy and massive mansion, with outstanding performances from all the cast and plenty of heart-attack-inducing moments where EVERYONE in the cinema jumped in their seats. The film used suspense to disturb, rather than gory horror, of which there was only one scene. Mathew and me discussed the suspense it gave but also the suspension of disbelief it required; so many things were left unanswered about the mystery, which made some of the story unconvincing. But, as the medium in the film, Aurora, says to Laura, "if you believe... you will see". The plot-holes though, do not detract from the fact that this is a great film.


YouTube Trailer

An Evening of Cinematic Song - We Are Together and Sweeney Todd

I've just seen two very different films this evening at our local cinema (the Showroom in Sheffield, South Yorkshire) but they share one thing in common: singing!

The first film is actually a documentary called "We Are Together", about a group of South African orphans who use their beautiful talent for singing to change their own lives. We follow the making of their CD, their trip to the U.S. and the highs and lows of their lives. It is an incredibly powerful film, and I was moved to laughter, then tears, then back again to laughter. The children's voices are wonderfully angelic, and it was so great to see them dedicating such a lot of effort into their talents. And the best thing was, that they sing all the time! Everyone sings and dances, and this is a joy to see and hear, against the bleak backdrop of family members dying from AIDS, and great poverty of the area. You must see this film, it will warm your soul.

The second in my musical double-bill was Sweeney Todd with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter, and was far from heart-warming. It was incredibly gruesome and deserves its 18 certificate, I was squeamishly scrunched-up in my seat, not wanting to see yet another throat being sliced through! However, the dark violence was contrasted against the colour of the wonderful songs and a few black comedy moments; it was very funny at first to see Johnny Depp singing (Mathew said that he sounded like a slowed-down David Bowie!) but after a few minutes you get used to it.

The sets were wonderfully shadowy and atmospheric; very evocative of Victorian London, and fitted the tone of the whole film beautifully. The colours had been toned down, so everything had a dreary, grey look to it, which seemed to emphasise Depp and Bonham-Carter's sickly-looking eye makeup and ghostly-pale skin.

Lurid, thrilling and magnificent is how i'd describe this immensely entertaining film.

Etsy Beauties!

Etsy Beauties!, originally uploaded by Joey 7.

Some gorgeous objects made by Etsy sellers with springtime feel. What a lot of talent! Use the links below to visit their shops.

From left to right:

1. Blissful Gypsy Caravan purse by Pink Lemonade Boutique

2. Knitwit Tops Necklace - detail by Liana Kabel

3. Cody Cat by Thistle Town Studio

4. apple green floral button ring by Tigerlilly Shop

5. Green and Orange Vintage Flowers Barrette by Sweet Acorn Store

6. B. Butterfly by Loopy Dolls

7. rabbits in the bubbles by Molly Jey

8. Cedar Waxwing - 2008 by Studio Lyon

9. james taylor turtle by bonnie b pottery

Misaki the Pink bunny and her little friends

I finished another pink bunny brooch this afternoon and the light was just right for taking some pictures of her. I always take pictures of the small things I make on a south-east-facing window sill in our house, for the natural light. I haven't really sorted out a bigger space for things too big to fit on the window-sill yet. But most of the things I make are pretty tiny anyway...

The brightly-coloured plastic ladies you see pictured here are some of the collection of Unazukins we have. If you've not seen these before, they are interactive toys that will either shake or nod their head (just their face, really) when you ask a question. Or if you make any sort of noise... But the main things are that they're cute, come in lots of different designs and provide a lot of distraction at your office desk. The most popular question asked of the "oracle" sitting on my desk at work is, "will I ever get to leave this place?" to which the "oracle" usually shakes her head... Yes, she tells it like it is, and never shies away from giving unwelcome news.

Click this link to say hello to Misaki and her Unazukin friends on Etsy!