Thanks to generous family and friends and the presence of an existing child, Heather doesn’t need anything for her soon-to-come baby. At least, nothing I can afford. So I figure, if someone doesn’t need anything and I feel compelled to give them something anyhow, it should either be (1) delicious or (2) small and always (3) made by someone totally awesome. In this case, the awesome person is me. I decided to make baby Leigha an owl.

First I made a 1″x1″ doodle of my idea. Then I made a bigger doodle. Then I started cutting fabric. For some reason, having a child has liberated me from the confinement of using sewing patterns. I used: six co-ordinating colors of fleece fabric, six colors of thread, three types of ribbon, half a plastic snap, some quilt batting,  some crinkly plastic and a couple of steel jingle-bells. The owl has a wingspan of about 7 ¼” or 18.5 cm. It’s so adorable! I want one for me…

Oh, and what did I learn about photography today? To use snow as a neutral background, shoot into the sun and let the object’s shadow fall onto itself. That way, the whites are burned-out whites and the object’s colors remain somewhat vibrant. Otherwise, the snow turns neutral-grey & when I try to fix that, the colors get a bit washed out. I’m sure there’s someway around that issue, but it takes time.