Monday, October 6, 2014

This week you might like to....

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VOTE for My Bearded Pigeon in the Etsy Design Awards.

I met Cath, Ms My Bearded Pigeon, online a few years ago right after we had both just started blogging. Each Thursday we, along with a couple of hundred other craft bloggers, would share our creative spaces and what we'd been up to.

I liked Cath straight away. I loved her creativity, her parenting and living style, the fact that she'd also moved from the city to the country and I really admire the fact that she always stands up for what she believes to be right, always supports other people’s projects and is always enthusiastic, encouraging and kind.

A few years ago Cath came up with a gorgeous organic cushion design which she handmade in her lounge room at home and then started selling on Etsy. When the world fell in love with her cushions and she found she couldn’t make them all herself, she employed other mothers in her community to help her with the cutting and the sewing. Other mothers who could sit up at their kitchen tables stitching and still be there when their kids woke up or got home from school. I think that’s pretty awesome.

I also think it’s pretty awesome that Cath herself juggling motherhood, running a household, going to work, being a constant and supportive friend, fighting copyright issues and copycats, has grown her business, come up with loads of new designs while always sticking to her ethics.

Voting for Cath puts her in the running to win a mentoring session with Clare Bowditch and also a trip to New York.

Voting is quick and easy, it’s free, it gives you the chance to win a $250 Etsy gift card and it would mean the world to Cath.

Vote for My Bearded Pigeon here.




Sponsor Pottymouth Mama to wear a dress each day in October and raise some much needed funds for ovarian cancer research. Every cent she raises goes to the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation (OCRF).

Currently there is no early detection test for ovarian cancer and the OCRF relies completely on the support of the community and business. 

Here are some stats I found on Lexi's blog;

  • Every ten hours, one woman dies from ovarian cancer in Australia
  • Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death of all gynaecological cancers
  • Unlike other cancers, there is NO early detection test
  • Over 50% of the community incorrectly believe a pap smear diagnoses ovarian cancer
  • Ovarian cancer has a lower survival rate than both breast and cervical cancer
  • When detected and treated early 80-100% of women will survive beyond five years compared with only 20-30% when diagnosed at a late stage

This is Lexi's third year of participating in frocktober and it would be great to help her make it the biggest yet.

Please sponsor Lexi by clicking this link.


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READ this little interview I did over on Kellie's blog.

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MAKE a soft toy for Softies For Mirabel

I love this one. Each year for the past eight years, Pip and the Meet Me At Mikes crew have encouraged crafters all over the world to make and donate a soft toy for The Mirabel Foundation, an organisation that cares for children affected by parental substance abuse. 

As an obsessive compulsive crafter myself, the thought of something I have created with my own two hands making a small difference to a child's life, warms my heart.

Softies can be stitched, crocheted, knitted, woven or felted. Above is the softie I made back in 2010, you can check out all the others in the flickr group.


I still haven't decided what form my softie will take this year but I think it's probably about time I took a break from my sock-a-thon, don't you?

Keep up to date with the softies project over at Meet Me At Mikes.


I think that's it from me for now.
So tell me, are you going to vote or sponsor or read or make?
Were you a creative spacer or have you made a softie before?
Do you have anything going on that you think I should know about?

I hope you have a wonderful week.
I hope your sun shines and that you find the time to do something that you love.

Big love

xx

11 comments:

  1. One every 10 hours!!!! Donated, voted and hoping to manage making my first softie this year... Yours is such a cutie!

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    1. I know!!! The stats were really shocking to me too. Love your work BLD. xx

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    2. Thank you so much for sponsoring me!! xxx

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  2. Can someone pop an extra vote for Cath for me? I don't have a Facebook account!

    It needs to be said that when one meets Cath face to face that she is bloody delicious!! and TALL!!
    It also needs to be said that when one meets Kate face to face she is an absolute bloody delight!!! and SMALL!!

    Lovin your work. Leonie xx

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    1. Agree to all your comments Leonie. And why aren't you on FB? It would make keeping in touch SOOOOOO much easier xx

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    2. Thanks Leonie! The first thing Kate and I said to each other was "you are so small" "you are so tall"

      Thanks for the shout out Foxy. xx

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  3. Voted! And will have a look if I can donate from overseas as well. :-) Thanks for sharing theses good causes with us.

    Take care
    Anne
    http://crochetbetweentwoworlds.blogspot.de

    P.S. There is a big give away at my blog at the moment because it turned one year... Feel free to join! :-)

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  4. Already voted. Already donated. Unfortunately I won't be making a softie as I am TERRIBLE at sewing & don't want to inflict that on anyone but my own family. I did put the call out on FB so hopefully someone I know will help :) x

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  5. I hadn't heard of Mirabel before but what a worthy cause.
    Your fact about pap smears and ovarian cancer was interesting. I learned some years ago that it is hard to detect ovarian cancer if a woman has endometriosis because the latter can cause false positive results in blood tests for ovarian cancer. My heart goes out to every woman who is suffering from or has lost anyone to this silent killer.

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    1. correction should read "anyone" who has lost someone...

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  6. Thanks so much for sharing Kate! And I've voted for Cath already! And I'm with Reannon. I am really bad at sewing, so I'll stick to what I can do - frocking on and donating blood. xxx THANK YOU! x

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Thanks so much for stopping by...

I do read every single comment you leave and appreciate it very much, but I should let you know that I can be a wee bit on the useless side when replying to comments, that's just me, everyday life sometimes gets in the way....so I'll apologise now, just in case.

Kate XX

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