Hand Written

With all the electronic communication that we use now it makes the few hand written notes I receive just that little bit more special.  A few weeks ago after a ten hour shift I came home on a very cold night to an extremely lovely hand written note from an etsy customer.  What a lovely surprise!  She was thanking me for a purse that she had brought.  I was so chuffed that someone would take the time and effort to send me a thank you note.  I get such pleasure from selling my wares on etsy and this was just so unexpected and so special.  

Above is another hand written note I received the other week from my youngest.  Out of the three girls, Moo is the one that loves to sew the most.  I was in my room one morning when I received the above note (please excuse the seven year old spelling attempts).  Moo had been sewing a bag and had gone just a little crooked on the seam.  Miss perfectionist was not happy at all.  There taped to this note was the little bag itself.  So I introduced Moo to the pleasures of the seam ripper along with the need to mutter bugger, damn, crap while unpicking.  This note makes me smile every time I see it, so it is now being used as my bookmark.  

Loving

I love the new fabric I received from Western Australia designer of paper and thread.  I really adore the red trees on the cream hemp/cotton blend.  Just so lovely to work with.  This is all the sewing I've gotten done in two days as the littlest moo has a real yucky virus that has induced tears on a very regular basis.  So I've been subjected to spending my days off watching the High School Musical trilogy with the wee one.   

This week I was also very lucky to receive a beautiful order from Thea & Sami but more to come on that another day when my brain isn't humming along to cheesy lyrics.  

Library Tote

The Ruby Swirl Library Tote is in my etsy shop now.  The panel is the swirl textile range from Hollabee.  I have had this fabric in my stash for the longest time. It is so pretty that it took me ages to make a decision as to what I wanted to do with it.  I am really please with how it came together.  I still have plenty left.  It has such a lovely texture that I would love to make a bag with pleats in it.  So stay tuned in about a years time I should have made a decision.  

On another wee note I read a very silly article this week stating that plastic bags are better for us than reusable bags because of the germ factor.  Hmmm a bit of clutching at straws I think.  I was so cross I just skimmed over the article.  Ok so on that note, buy a shopping bag you can wash and hang out in the sun on a regular basis.  Germ factor all fixed.  

Birds of a Feather

Now where did those two weeks of school holidays go!  I managed to do a little bit of sewing with the girls.  We used the bird pattern from Spool.  It can be found here.  I know this pattern has done the full rounds of the blogs but I couldn't resist giving it a whirl.  I have never made a softie before so it was nice to step out of my comfort zone.  The flickr group has a much better representation of the birds than I have.  My birds just hang out on the rail on the blinds above my sewing table but some very talented sewers have made the most amazing set ups to show their birds off.  

There is one bird for each of us at the moment.  Apparently I am the yellow apple one.  You can see this is the one that is a bit saggy, droopy and a little tired looking.  Now I wonder why I got assigned to this one.  Thanks girls.  On a little side note the birds have been stuffed with appropriate stuffing this time unlike previous sewing adventures at Little Mary Moo's Place.  Have a lovely weekend.   

Sweet Front Page

(Image from here)

My Sweet Mustard Organic Seeds purse made it to the front page.  Huge thank you to this lovely Brisbane girl for letting me know.    The fabric used in this purse is from the very beautiful hand screen printed Seeds range by Hollabee from Ink & Spindle.  This colour way is beautiful.  I love how it is a little different from what is traditionally available.  Happy Days.  

Feeling Hungry

"In February 2009 Victoria was victim to the worst bushfires on record, which wiped out entire communities, caused 173 deaths and left thousands without homes or shelter.

The Handmade Help Recipe Book evolved as part of handmadehelpsout.blogspot.comby a group of crafters and artists who wanted to contribute to the recovery effort.

The result is a truly international cookbook, packed with treasured recipes and family favourites, donated by people across the globe who wanted to help including well-known chefs such as Margaret Fulton, Allan Campion and Michele Curtis.

All proceeds from sales of the recipe book will be donated to the Salvation Army."  

(Text and Picture from here)

I got my pdf version of this cookbook and I have to say there are some very, very yummy recipes.   I love the idea of downloading the cookbook as I usually make such a mess of my hard copy ones. I have only gotten as far as the sweet section in my looking though.   So if you too would like a fab cookbook that supports such a great cause go to here.

Well, the girls and two of their friends an I are off to go ice skating today.  I have never been before, so I'm hoping that I come home with all limbs intact.  Have a lovely day all!

The Amazing BIDM

The BrisStyle girls totally out did themselves at the markets on Saturday.  I hope everyone of them is so very proud of the fantastic effort they put in.  All the stalls showcased classy, original, well made, beautiful handmade Brisbane goodness.  Well done to you all and a huge thank you for allowing me the pleasure of shopping at such a wonderful market.  Below is some pictures of the some of the beautiful goodies I picked up.  

This is the beautiful bag that I brought from Beckybean.  I have loved this bag for ages.  I even took it out with me on Saturday night after I brought it.  It makes me feel like a real girl.   These sisters again were a real hit (no surprises there) but apparently it was their Dad who too took Brisbane by storm with his great wooden buttons.   

The two delightful items above are from Made by Maisie.  Jessie, the doll, is for my middle daughter for her birthday in August and the little pincushion is for me.  As you can see, I have already started to use the pincushion.  It is perfect, just the right size, is stuffed tightly enough to hold the pins at a good angle and sits on its bottom perfectly.   I love how the dolls have their dresses sewn as part of the doll.  My girls have a thing for undressing their dolls and taking off their beautiful clothes and often loosing them.  No worries with a Made by Maisie doll.  

The sweet cat collar above is from PretaPawte.  Now I don't have a cat at the moment but I live in hope that we will find the perfect kitten in the not so distant feature.  Now I can have a dog and cat in matching collars.  But I'm kind of thinking that is a little strange but I do love the red star fabric.  

The lovely earrings and hair ties are from My Girl Design.  This stall was so sweet.  There was three of the best little shop keepers too.  Thank you girls for your wonderful service.  

Wow, Up In Annies Room was hot.  There was a fair amount of jostling to get a look in at this stall (but it was well worth it).  I did also buy a Scrabble tile from here too but it as found a new home already.  

I had the most lovely time at hot toffee's stall.  All of her jewellery is beautiful.  Classic yet a little pretty too.  I brought these earrings for Miss Cait.  I did have plans of saving them for Christmas but I have no self control and they are being worn as I type.  

The purses and hot pack are from Bubba Chenille.  This stall was amazing and I'm glad I didn't leave it too long to call back and make my purchases.  The hot pack reminds me of the bedspread I had as a child.  Mmmm good memories there.  The little purses are perfect for the girls.  They have a neat little metal clip on the top, so I will be able to pin them into their school bags so they can keep their ice block money safe and sound.  

Badges for me from Miss Kitty Boo Boo.  So sweet and will be perfect for my lanyard at work. 

Spinning tops from the most lovely Eliza from Elvenhair.  Oh my gosh, these are so much fun.  A friend came over for afternoon tea on Saturday afternoon and these didn't stop on the table.  But you know I really did buy them for the girls and occasionally I share.  

A beautiful pencil holder for Miss Tayla's birthday from Wicked Child Designs.  Perfect!

A fabric panel from Red Seed Studio.  I have such a hard time resisting hand screen printed fabric, especially in red.  

Another beautiful ring from Ruby2GoGo.  I love these rings so much.  This one is perfect as it goes with my much worn black cardigan over winter.  

Last but certainly not least, this beautiful dress from Hot Fudge.  I have had my eye on this dress for the longest time.  It looks so lovely on the Littlest Moo.  Who can go past red and denim.  

I did also buy some goodies from Raspberry Pink, Lauren even sold me the ring off her finger.  Too funny.  Thanks heaps.  The turtle ring is much loved and hasn't been taken off the recipient's finger. 

Thank you again to all the wonderful BrisStyle girls for making this the most enjoyable day.  To all those too that I ran out of money to buy from, I did have a lovely time oohing and ahhing over your beautiful wares.  It was great to see them in person.   I have many on my list for the next markets.  

Full Steam Ahead

Hooray, a week of crafting has been had.  Well little snatches of crafty time may be a better description.  Above is a new purse made with the seeds range by Hollabee from Ink & Spindle.  I love this colour way and the fabric texture stood up really nicely with some interfacing and the structure of the purse.  

Above is a new bag I made for me.  I wanted a bigger bag to take to the BrisStyle Markets as I have a feeling I may make a few purchases.  I also needed a new bag to take to work on the train to fit my lunch, a jumper, book and all the other essential crapola.  I was over lugging two bags with me, so this was my solution.  I used the seeds range again from Hollabee.  I adore the charcoal colour way and it goes so well with the black denim.  

Ok, so I may have been a little slower then usual on the crafting front but I did go and source myself a new sewing table.  It is huge 1.5 m square, so there is plenty of room for us all to sit and create.  More often then not most the chairs and stools in the house find there way to position around it.  I picked it up at a seconds store and because it has a crack 1/3 of the way down, the table didn't cost much at all.  But I don't mind about the crack.  Some things that are a little broken turn out to be our most treasured.  I'm thinking about just gluing a tape measure along the crack to cover it up, hmmm what do you think?   So with the new table, the dining table is now free.  I thought this would mean more space for actual meals but I was wrong.  The sewing machine might now how its own space but the dining room table is now just space for more crafting.  Oh well, more inside picnics and eating at the bench to come.  

Have a lovely weekend all!  

The Best Place To Be This Weekend

Now could there be any better place to go tomorrow!  I am so excited about the BrisStyle Market.  Going on the success of the last BrisStyle Market, I'm sure this one could be equally if not more fantastic.  No stall for me this time but I am going to get a head start on my Christmas shopping this year.  There will be plenty of handmade goodness to get me well on my way to being organised for once.  I wish all the stall holders the best of luck (they won't need it though because all their stalls will be beautiful for sure).