{and the winner is...}

All the names, written in chunky red marker, went into my chunky red mug...

...Justin was recruited to pick the winner...

...and, without further ado, here we have it...

Molly, please be so kind as to email me (astrid@redredcompletelyred.com) with your address, and the big old red package will be with you soon.

Thanks to everyone who entered! I loved putting together all these lovely red things, and am already starting a little collection for something similar next month...

{p.s. one day left}

This could be you:

Eyes about to light up. Giant smile. Surrounded by red red glorious red.

We're picking the winner of our big red mystery packet tomorrow, so if you haven't already, pop over and leave a quick comment. Thanks to those who already have... and good luck!

{red red mystery packet}

As a big thank-you to you all for putting up with my complete birthday obsession for the past few months, I've got a little surprise. I've put together a packet of all things red, and it's all ready to send out to one of you!

There's redness for everyone -- red for sewing, red for cooking, red for tea-lovers and red for the organised. No doubt, I'll rustle up a few more red things, too, before the week is out.



And all you need to do is leave me a comment below. If you can't think of anything to say, just write 'red' and I'll be happy. There are no rules. Open to friends, family, people who googled "I'm sunburnt completely red" and ended up here by accident -- this means you. Go on, don't be shy...

I'll pick a winner on Monday 11th July, so stop back then!

And the Winner Is...

Bramble put all of the names of our subscribers into a basket, and then climbed in himself to mix them up really well. After a good rummage, he came up with just one slip of paper that said...

Carol Browne!

Thank you so much to all you brilliant people who read and comment and follow and subscribe and support and inspire. My goal is to give you all a little Travelling Tillberry, eventually!

The First Day of Advent

Who says you can only have one advent calendar? Round here, advent is an all day event! 

We'll start the day with a cup of advent tea (Lipton's Asian white tea, today)...

...turn over the first letter of the advent message...

...have a chocolate from the advent train to keep our energy up...

...discover what our little mystery Christmas activity will be...

...and we'll finish it all off by picking who will be adopting little Mr. Bramble the grizzly bear! In case you're not subscribed yet, go ahead and do it now. You've got until I go to bed tonight!

Simply enter your email address here:

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Under the Tree

We've had a few mysterious presents turn up under the Christmas tree this year. I think we'll need to leave a little plate of cookies outside the door to feed all of our generous wandering guests.

And, if you'd like Red Red to come right to your mailbox, you can now get updates by email! 

All lovely people subscribed by December 1st will be entered into a drawing to win the newest Travelling Tillberry: Bramble

Simply enter your email address here:

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WANTED: Home for a Grizzly

This is Bramble.

He is a would-be-adventurer, a budding explorer, a rambler in the making. This year, instead of curling up for his annual hibernation, Bramble has decided he wants to see the world. He's seen all the fun that Potato is having in London with his new family -- Paris nights at the Eiffel Tower, horse-back riding, IKEA meatballs -- and he wants a bit of that.

So, what I'm looking for is a kind volunteer to give Bramble a new home. He's pretty low-maintenance; he finds his own food, he'll sleep anywhere dark and cave-like, he is good with children and dogs.

Oh, and he's very excited about Christmas. He loves singing "Jingle Bears" and can't wait to bake his special minced pies for his new friends. Bramble would be very excited to climb into a stocking, or jump out of a present to surprise someone, if you wanted him to.

Bramble wants to make sure we stay in touch, though, and has insisted he go to one of the lovely people who are subscribed to the blog by email. So, if you'd like to give him a home and aren't already subscribed, please sign up (by entering your email below) by December 1st, when we'll pick a winner!

Enter your email address:



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Creature Feature

The menagerie is growing.

Yes, it's time to stand up and admit it. I'm Astrid, and I'm addicted to making small furry creatures out of my clothes.

They always start off as intended gifts for someone. I cut, I pin, and everything's fine. But then I add the face, and it all goes out of the window, because once they have faces, I can't bear to part with them. It's the eyes. The big round stitched eyes. Begging to stay.

Anyway, today I'm about to break my hoarding tendency. I'm going to give one of you-- yes, YOU-- the latest fluffy little beastie, who was just finished up yesterday. Meet Potato:

"Potato?" you say. "That's a bloomin' rabbit."

Correct. But Potato is named after the style of skirt he was cut from.

"A Potato skirt?" you say. "I've never heard of it!"

Let me explain. While I was sewing last night, Justin was interested to see what I was making, and I told him it was a rabbit, out of an old skirt of mine.

"Which skirt was that?" he asked.

"The one that looked like a potato sack," I said.

"Oh, I liked that one!" he said.

Now, perhaps it's just me, but if you can describe a piece of your clothing as "the thing that looks like a potato sack" and people know what you're talking about, then you should not be wearing it. And perhaps, if your piece of clothing has an elasticated top and bottom, and you can wear it at five months pregnant, and it's made of wool, and you live in sweltering Texas, then maybe it's time that garment became a stuffed rabbit.

Yes, he has a big round felted red tail. You know you want him.

So, all I'm asking is that you just take a second to leave me a quick comment, a "hello" or a link to your own page, or whatever you'd like. I've been inspired by this post on connections, and would love to know who out there is connecting with me through these posts, and to connect with you back. Because I love that you're here reading. I love that my dailyness and silliness and stuffed rabbits matter to you.

I'll give it until next Thursday afternoon, a week from now... let's say 2pm... and pick a random number for who'll be getting Potato. Sound fair?