Little E put in a request when she saw me cutting out fabric - a hoodie dress, with lots of sleeves and purple. I think she likes it.

The pattern is burda 9614 with a few adjustments to turn the t shirt into a dress. The fabric is merino knit from global fabrics and a local clothing factory shop. Can you tell that the sheep was invited to the photo shoot to cover the food she managed to spill on the top? Just as well the dress is machine washable.

There's a new market in town. The second New Rags Market was in the Masterton Town Hall yesterday. Mum and I went to have a peek. I have to admit it was my second time. I was fortunate enough to win the goodie parcelat the first market in May, and picked the amazing parcel from Abbie today. The kids have run amok with the goodies, but trust me the market was great. You can find out more about it over here on facebook. The next one is July 2.

Look carefully and you can spot - needle felted sheep, Cherry Blossom soap, Stamped vintage textiles from Mon Ami, Bib from ASQ, a Spellbound book, beads that have been played with and fought over (lost the tag on these), Fig and olive delishousness from Elia Gourmet Olives, a badge from Ramari and more figgy chocolate. There were some slices from Frilly's too, but the camera wasn't fast enough to get those.

Right, now off to try help myself to a second cup of hot chocolate.

Wee Wonderfuls grabbed me from the moment I picked it up. I saved looking through it for some quiet time and a cup of coffee. Little E was less restrained and started to demand pictures of her own mermaid straight away.

When I finally had my time with the book, I was not disappointed. I had to give the mermaiden a try as you can see above. Little E coached me along with the finer points of mermaid anatomy and the careful placement of shells. It appears that REAL mermaids have lower cut tails and some form of shell bikini. I think there might need to be a bit more growing up before we get one of those in our house.

Format – 24 patterns, illustrated with beautiful photographs followed by a comprehensive basic skills section and full size patterns for tracing. As a newbie to making softies I found the skill section to be very relevant – from different types of filling to how to mark and sew on a face.

Projects - There are a range of patterns with different skill levels. While they are largely aimed at little girls and doting matriarchs, there are a few pattern that may appeal to the little princes in your life, like Eddie Koji the dinosaur. The patterns take some time to make up. My mermaiden was not the 2 hr project I had anticipated, but the pattern was clear and easy to follow.

Who would I recommend it to? – I’d recommend it to someone with a few sewing basics under their belt who would like a range of simple and challenging softy projects.

Would I Buy It?
Oh yes!! I’m planning my trip to book depository as I type.