Long Weekends Are For....

Well I know this long weekend should be for cleaning out a very messy garage, sorting through Moo's room or maybe at a stretch organising the pantry. But no this weekend is for sewing for the BrisStyle Indie Mother & Child Market that is on the 8th of May. The timing is perfect for the Market as it is being held the day before Mother's Day, which makes Mother's Day shopping easy peasy. I'm sure there will be plenty of goodies there that will please the most difficult to buy for Mum (or even the fussy Mother in Law).

This Market has been a lovely incentive to expand my range. Not only will I have lots of purses I have also been working on a range of baby blankets. They are all made will 100% linen, hand screen printed textiles and backed with a beautiful soft hemp and organic cotton fleece.

The kitchen chair piled with the weekends projects.

The above blanket has the most beautiful light steel grey/blue linen. It is a lovely change from the pastel blues for boys.

I love, love, love how this blanket came together. I so wish I had a blanket like this for my girls when they were little. The soft pink in the screen print, the natural linen and the cream of the fleece go so beautifully together. The floral design has made quite a contemporary modern baby's blanket.

Life Under The Craft Table

Hard life for a dog you know! Poor Lilly relegated to having to lie under the sewing/craft table because no one will come outside and play. All the action seems to happen right about here so where else is a poor dog meant to lie for a little attention. (And no, the phone books aren't for Lilly to contact the RSPCA for craft induced neglect but for the girls when they sew to lift the foot pedal up)

Places to Go

I was lucky enough to get a position in the Indie Fixx Galleria which opened yesterday.  There are some beautiful Indie shops in there and well worth a look.  There just might be a little code in my Gallery Shop to make shopping at Little Mary Moo's Place a little sweeter too.  

I've been having a wee bit of a sewfest and I'm nearly ready to bring on the newbies I've been working on.  

Looking for something to do this weekend?  Pop on over to the very popular Racecourse Road Street Party on Sunday.  There will be heaps of talented BrisStyle girls in action at Racecourse Road with their lovely wares.  I unfortunately have to go up to the Sunshine Coast for the weekend.  Poor me.  It will be a little hard to put up with the sun, beach, swimming and all that.  Hope you all have a great weekend.  

Clever

"There is something you always must remember, you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think." 

(Winnie the Pooh)

I had to gently remind my eldest of this just recently.  Making this little purse this week made me think of Cait.  We all need to be told how clever we really are now and then.  Have a lovely weekend!  

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.  

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.   

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!  

Just For Fun

I have been very slow on the sewing front of late.  It was nice to do a little sewing last week just for fun.  This is the padded Nintendo ds case that I made for Cait.  I was able to use up some of my scraps which I was really pleased with.  Super easy and quick.  I really liked how the little "cookie" looks on the front.  I was a little naughty and cheated with the Velcro closure instead of doing it properly and putting in a clasp.  Oh well, can't do it all.  

The Upside of Insomnia

Ok can someone please reset my body clock.  I have the most awful habit of waking at 3 to 4 am at the moment.  I am terrible at getting back to sleep, it takes me hours and by that time I have to get up and start the day anyway.  There are a few upsides though.  I like the darkness and quite of the house.  A coffee in peace, while reading emails and checking out blog happenings.  Also time to cut out patterns and fuse interfacing.  

After the Stitches and Craft show I have had a surge of inspiration.  I have done very little bag sewing this year but the Fretwork fabric by Brisbane boutique textile designer Thea & Sami was just needing to be turned into a messenger bag.  I had this one all cut out and ready to go by 6 am yesterday morning.  I love red and denim - I guess I have said that before though.  I am so very happy with how this turned out.  This bag was popped into my etsy shop this morning.  

Visitors and More Goodness at Little Mary Moo's Place

Look at the sweet little visitor we had at Little Mary Moo's Place last night.  About seven o'clock Cait walked down the hall to her room and there peeking out from the internal door from the garage was this little fellow.  When she called me to come and have a look at the frog in the house I thought she was pulling my leg as we have never even seen a green tree frog around let alone trying to hop down the hall.  But there he was sitting there just like he'd been invited for a cup of tea.  

After much oohing and or look isn't he so cute business from the four girls at Little Mary Moo's Place as well as a little bit of a flash photography session he decided to go and hide behind a folded up deck chair in the garage.  Luckily he decided to jump onto the chair and I was able to carry him outside to the grass on the chair.  

On a sewing note, Cait, my eldest made this very nifty purse over the holiday break.  It has a very cool ipod pocket at the front constructed from a scrap of Pippijoe fabric.  Cait made it all herself except the zipper.  

On a very exciting note I received a wonderful gift over the week from Sydney Etsy seller  Flower Press.  I brought one of Flower Press's hand screen printed tea towels for a friend as a house warming present and Flower Press very generously sent me two tea towels that had been printed slightly off center to play with.  How very lucky am I!  These are so beautiful.  Flower Press also has a wonderful blog that is well worth spending some time at.  

Sewfest

Yesterday was a full day of sewing.  I made six purses and one laptop bag.  The purse above with the red print (Pippijoe fabric)  and the aqua blue bird purse (Lara Cameron fabric) are for my sister for her birthday.  Mum and I are taking her out for lunch today.  I am so looking forward to a lazy lunch with lots of yummy food and a good giggle and a much needed catch up.   My brother in law has kindly offered to wrangle my children and my niece and nephew so we can really have a grown up lunch.  Yay!  

On another sewing note, a friend of mine has three girls as well who are all early teens.  We share a lot of babysitting and always seem to be swapping kids back and forth but somehow it always seems to work.  Her middle daughter who is 13 wanted to come over to my place and learn to make a bag on Thursday afternoon.  Now this was the first afternoon of the holidays.  I have to say I was pretty chuffed that she wanted to hang out with me and sew on her first afternoon of holiday freedom.  Her two sisters were jibbing her that she wouldn't be able to make a bag as she is more sporty than crafty.  Well she did a beautiful job.  We kept it really simple, no pockets or clips or flaps but she made it all except the handle.  A  dark denim with a pretty pink stripe inside.  It was so nice to see how happy she was to have something cute, unique and funky to use that she can can say she made herself.  It is also nice to see handmade being cool in the teen age group.   

(photo from etsy listing)

In truth all this sewing has just been a way to curtail my strong desire to pop on over to another BrisStyle shop - Wheres Beckybean to buy the Macchioto Shoulder Bag.  I'm loving these bags made with recycled coffee sacks from Merlo coffee in Brisbane.  The colours, the style, well really everything.  

On another great BrisStyle note it is lovely to be able to go and hang out at the very fab new blog of Ruby 2 Go Go.  This blog will sure to be a fave among many a crafty blog reader.  

Happy Easter to all, may it be full of lots of chocolate and hot cross buns.  

The Bug Has Bitten

Well my esty store crafting has been brought to a little bit of a hault due to having to share the sewing machine.  Little Moo has been totally bitten by the sewing bug.  This was Little Moo at 7 am on this morning - Sunday and all fed and showered, teeth and hair done (this can be a wee bit of a battle) all so she could get back to the machine.  So I think I have finally found my bribe.  

Little Moo is into making pillows at the moment.  For some reason this has also co insided with the decrease in the amount of toilet paper available in our house.  Apparently toilet paper makes great stuffing because one can't wait for their Mum to make a trip to the shops to purchase some more appropriate means of stuffing a pillow.  

I did however manage to edge my way onto the machine and make this little purse above.  I've never used Pippijoe's Orchard fabric for a purse before just the bags.  I have to say that I am quite please with how it has come together as a purse.  

I Heart Saturdays

Saturdays are for curling up on the floor when you are so tired from the week and having a lovely nap with the sun streaming in through the window.  Poor Little Moo was too tired to even make it to her bed this afternoon.  (excuse the blurry image but you never want to wake a sleeping child)

I also have had lots and lots of fun playing with the wonderful Birch fabric by Lara Cameron.  It has been so lovely to see the success of Lara and the girls at Ink and Spindle.  We really are so lucky in Australia to have such talented textile designers.  

I love the deep red in the screen print and how it co-ordinates with the black/gray denim.  It has been at least six weeks since I have sewn a bag and this was such a lovely way to get back into it.  I'm still trying to find a place that I like to take my photos in my new house.  I have to say that I am struggling with this some what and I am not altogether happy with the light.  I'm sure I'll work it out in time.  But for now this bag has taken up home in my etsy shop.

My sister's 40th Birthday is just around the corner.  I was really struggling with something to get her that she didn't have and that she might use and enjoy.  I ordered her some of these lovely Moo Postcards last week.  They have her address on the back for when she sends them out.  I love all these prints and I hope she is happy with them.  There is nothing more exciting then opening the mail box to see something just for you (that isn't a bill!).  These prints are so sweet and I'm sure she will go on to make her friends and family very happy when she sends them off.   

Saturday Afternoon Sewing

This purse has just been added to my etsy shop.  It is made from wonderful hand screen printed fabric from Lara Cameron.  I love the sweet little birds on their birch branches on the deep chocolate fabric.  The texture of this fabric is just beautiful to sew with too.  I'm sure there will be more of these little gems to come.

Little Mary Moo's Place Employee of The Month

Look who snuck up on the table yesterday and made himself a wee bit comfortable. Oscar was just taking a rest from his bobbin wrangling (yes, he does adore chasing bobbins and has been known to slobber all over a newly wound bobbin). Honestly it is very hard to get good help.

We love cookies

This was meant to be my Blogtoberfest post for yesterday but last night as much as I tried blogger wouldn't let me post, so here it is a little late.

My girls adore Aunty Cookie fabric. My eldest is especially fond of the fabric and will spend ages looking at all the Cookies. Perfect for a ten year old's sense of humor. Below is a little mobile phone pouch I made the other morning for my eldest. I just can't believe she has her own phone sometimes as I was well in my twenties before I got my first phone. She has been very sensible though and has kept it for necessities. In three months she has only spent two dollars worth of credit (got to love pre-paid).

For More Than Washing Faces

There is many a Nan, Gran or Aunt who will tell you that there is many a crafting activity to be done with the humble face washer. I was the recipient of many a crochet around the outside face washer at Christmas time as a kid. I have to admit, I do have a love for face washer craft and this is my fave:

The drink bottle cover!

I do love these very much as the days get hotter in Brisbane. The girls go to school with frozen drink bottle and these covers absorb all the condensation on the outside of the bottles so their books and Vegemite sandwiches don't end up wet and festy. The great thing about them is they are super quick to sew and can be thrown in the wash for a quick clean and be nice and fresh (unlike anything else that goes to or from school) for the next day. Below are my somewhat dodgy instructions for making your own if you so wish a bit of face washer crafting.

Choose a face washer, I made a bit of an incorrect choice with this one (it was the only new one I had). You are better of choosing one that isn't too thick around the edges for easier sewing and so it sits nice and neat on its bottom.
Sew a wee hem around the top edge of about 2 - 2.5cm should do nicely.

Pin together with the good sides facing each other like above. Sew a seam commencing at the folded edge at the bottom all the way to the start of the hem at the top.

Make sure to stop here so the two gaps at the top of the hem remain open for the tie to go through.

While the face washer is still inside out, take the corner where the folded edge is and pull to make a triangle to square off the bottom. Pin in place. Do the same with the opposite end of the bottom seam .

Sew a small seam about 1.5cm from the edge across to secure the triangle.

The seam should look like this when completed.

Now turn the face washer the right way out and the bottom should then appear nice and squared off like above.

I just had some cotton tape available today but you could use a pretty cord or ribbon if you wished. Just pop what ever you are going to use for a tie through the top. You can just tie off at a length just a little longer than what it takes to go through the top.

The face washes scrunches around the tie really well and will hold its form nicely around the top. Easy peasy hey! All you need to do now is pop in your frozen drink bottle and off you (or the kids) go. The cover will hold a bottle up to 750ml. Maybe you could even make a face washer stubby cooler for the man in your life(or maybe not I think!).

There are some super cute face washers out there so give it a go. I've shared my favourite face washer craft, so what's yours?