A winner and a big thank you

March 26, 2008 Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)31 Comments

Goodness, I’m completely overwhelmed by the number of comments in the 200th post draw. It’s lovely to know that the little cotton rabbits and I have so many friends out there! Thanks for all of the lovely comments that you left – I’ve really appreciated reading them. So, who won, who won?!!

Wellll….

I threw it open to atmospheric noise and a website that uses this to generate true random numbers.

and it gave me the number 175

So Congratulations to c. Rachel and many, many thanks again everyone for taking the time to leave a comment.

200th Post

March 19, 2008 Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)707 Comments

I can't believe this has come around so quickly. When I first started I wasn't sure how long I'd stick at blogging but visiting other blogs and reading all of the wonderful comments that people leave here has become a really important part of my day. Thanks so much for visiting, leaving comments and for the encouragement and support that you offer me.

To celebrate I'd like to give away a toy at random so if you'd like to win it please just leave a comment below (just say Hi if nothing else comes to mind but be sure to leave a contact email). I'll leave this post up for the next week and then use a random generator thingy to pick a winner on Wednesday March 26th. The winner can then choose what regular sized toy they'd like me to make for them.

I've been playing with mice again this week and have made another prototype head with a pointier nose and completely pink ears. I think I'm happy with it at last, so mice are now on the menu!

Anyway have a wonderful Easter – eat lots of chocolate and don't forget to leave a comment below if you'd like to enter my giveaway.

The draw is now closed.

crafts & knitting

an explanation for the mysterious lack of toys!

March 17, 2008 Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)60 Comments

Thanks so much for the lovely comments on the previous post. The ‘Holland’ piece has obviously been a source of comfort for a lot of people – I’m certainly very glad it was written. Thanks too for sticking around while I was ‘off blog’. I’m up to date with my paperwork now, which is a nice feeling, however fleeting!! I even managed to squeeze in some knitting time – not toys but a pair of Eunny Jang’s wonderful Endpaper mittens.

Taking this break from knitting toys has given me a bit of breathing space to consider where it has all evolved to. For the last year I’ve been going at the toy knitting like there’s no tomorrow, but of course there is and this knitting pace is not sustainable if I want to continue to enjoy what I’m doing. For me, that is the one true aim – making the toys is my ‘thing’ and definitely an antidote to raising a severely autistic child.

Since starting this blog I’ve had so many lovely comments about the
things I make, all of which I deeply appreciate and treasure and I
guess I felt that I owe you all an explanation and an apology for the
current lack of toys. So I’m sorry that there will be no Little Cotton
Rabbits for Easter this year. Instead I’m building up a stock which
will mean that there will always be a slow and steady trickle going
into my shop even if I have a knitting break now and then.

I’ve also been pondering my patterns again but I’m not ready to release any yet so I’ve put a new link to some toy patterns from other designers – including Ysolda Teague who designs toys with the most beautiful shaping and Fuzzy Mitten who has a great range of different creatures. See the list below on the left (I’ll add more in future).

It’s not all bad news from here though – Edgar and his friends are waiting in their box (in fact they keep trying to break out!) and will pop into the shop in early April and I’ll aim to have a new batch every 4 – 6 weeks following that (barring school holidays of course!).

Also this is my 199th post and so in keeping with tradition I’m having a giveaway in the next post – a chance for someone to win a Little Cotton Rabbit of their choice. To enter the draw please pop back and leave a comment on the next post.