Petite Purls

All images: Petite Purls
I recently discovered this treasure trove of knitting, crochet and sewing projects, nicely packaged as an online magazine at www.petitepurls.com.


It's great to see such a nice collection of patterns (the majority of them by indie designers) aimed at children, including toys, clothes and accessories. In addition to this, they have a sprinkling of articles which would make great tea break reading. The best part of all? It's free to use, you simply print off a copy of the pattern you wish to make.


Petite Purls is published seasonally in March, June, August and November.

Reading Rocks

I'm hoping you've enjoyed my little Reading Rocks series so far. I will be continuing these posts and am aiming to get back into a regular posting schedule. Here is the next installment!

As a child I had a particular fascination with the adventures of a little bear from deepest, darkest Peru, who wears a duffel coat, is named after a London train station and has a well-known penchant for marmalade sandwiches.

You may have already guessed by now that I am of course referring to Paddington Bear!


I loved reading about his (mis)adventures and all the daft scrapes the silly old loveable bear got himself into, it certainly made for an entertaining read. Watch this episode of the popular kids TV series about the origins of the bear's name :) There's even a Paddington Bear wiki!

All images via Google images

You also can find the official Paddington Bear website at www.paddingtonbear.com. It's got some fun things for kids to do such as Paddington's Party Game, colouring in pages and an interactive map where you can add the location of your very own Paddington Bear.

There is currently an exhibition entitled "The Life & Times of Paddington Bear" on at the Museum of Reading until Sunday the 4th of July. It's a celebration of the famous bear and his creator, Michael Bond. Details here and here.

Daydream Hunting

I thought I'd take the time today to share some recent finds that I thought were rather enchanting.

Image: Papier Mache Magazine

Papier Mache Magazine - this is an utterly adorable online mag, dreamed up in Sydney, Australia. It has a light and airy aesthetic, and features toys, kids clothing, whimsical art and other wonderful things.

Image: Pieni

Pieni - a pretty little bilingual online shop, full of carefully selected things lovingly handmade in France. Also check out the blog.

Image: The Little Red Door

The Little Red Door - one of my favourite etsy shops! Cute little houses of clay and beautiful coloured glazes, handmade in Canada.

DIY Mobile

My other half recently found out he was to become an uncle, so naturally we wanted to give something cool to the proud new parents. The idea of a (home made) baby mobile came up, which we both thought was a great idea, especially as we didn't know if the baby was going to be a boy or girl just yet.

When I couldn't find a tutorial for the kind of mobile I had in mind (i.e. one with a motor, so it spins), we resorted to outside-the-box thinking. May it be noted that my other half is rather good at this kind of thing! Hence the idea to buy a pre-existing design and modify it.

This proved to be the easiest way to proceed, so we got a simple, inexpensive one which I could add my own toy shapes to in place of the ones the mobile came with. One of the benefits of this approach was that it provided a stable framework from which to start, and the clip/arm for attaching to the baby's cot. The last thing I wanted was for it to end up looking like a botched DIY attempt made with coathangers!

Well, it has now been gifted so I can share it with you :) Here is a little clip of it in action:



P.S. Do excuse the whirring...apparently my camera always does this!

An Island Life

As a child, I spent several years living abroad in Europe. This meant that good children's books printed in English were quite hard to come by. My parents always made a point of making sure we had access to books by Scottish authors and other things which would remind us of home, such as taking us to traditional Celtic music events and seeking out specialist shops for familiar treats.

I think it was their way of infusing our nationality in us, making sure we didn't lose our culture and identity when we were immersed in foreign surroundings. I am grateful that they took the time to do this, as it is something I now cherish in those childhood memories.


One of my favourites as I was growing up was the series of books about little Katie Morag by Mairi Hedderwick, who lived on the (fictional) island of Struay, which I have since learned was actually based on the Scottish island Coll, near Tiree and Mull.

I particularly loved the lively illustrations of the island and will always remember the red-haired Katie Morag wearing her ubiquitous Fair Isle jumper with a yoke and her cheerful little kilt.


I think one of the things I liked the most about these stories was the depictions of life on a raggedy wee island with a wonderfully unspoilt landscape. Naturally I always enjoyed hearing about the scrapes Katie got herself into too!

Reading Rocks

I had an idea for a blog series and it came to me last night, like all of my best ideas do, just as I was drifting off to sleep. Which of course meant that I then couldn't get to sleep as my head was buzzing with hundreds of thoughts about it!

I'm glad I remembered it in the morning instead of the idea getting lost in the ether, as can happen when you don't write it down before the dreams take over.

Every fortnight (or so) I have decided I will write about one of my favourite childhood reads. The first of these is the Mog books by Judith Kerr.


As you've probably guessed by the title of my blog (not to mention the name of my business!), I have a slight obsession with all things furry, particularly those which go purr and meow! I adored these books for their beautiful illustrations (by the author herself) and the antics of the slightly cheeky cat Mog and her various adventures.


Find out more about the Mog series on Wikipedia.

Easter Bunnies!

It's been a bit quiet around here recently, so apologies for that...but a few inquisitive little rabbit creatures have just hopped past. It must be Easter time!


Amigurumi Bunny Rabbit by Moon's Creations


Red Hares Gocco Print by Dee Beale


Eco-friendly wooden bunny family by Imagination Kids