tie one on - pink lemonade

despite the best intentions i still found myself racing to complete my apron for tie one on in the last week of the month...
up until now its been strictly needle and thread work only, i have been avoiding the sewing machine since high school home economics (quite some years ago now!)


i was aiming for an organic and unstructured look, inspired by all things japanese...
made of calico and the pinkest felt, trimmed with buttons that i have been saving for just the right project, and pink satin ribbon ties...


and while i love the idea of pink lemonade, it's saturday night here so i think i'll head straight for the pink bubbles...cheers!

a month of softies - mary monkey

here she is...my sock monkey...
named after my gran mary who loved to play scrabble and because that's what i was doing when i started sewing this month's softie...i thought i was doing well with a seven letter word on my second go...but i ended up being soundly defeated by stamp boy who scored a massive 425!
monkey was a lot of fun to make, a few false starts on her accessories... although mary would probably have preferred to be in a nice pair of slacks, i finally settled on a brown felt wrap skirt cinched at the waist with a red felt flower...

this week's mail...

thank-you notes on behalf of little miss moo...

a place for pins...

i have been meaning to make myself a pincushion for some time now...here it is, made of felt with a vintage button...

milestones...

last weekend our little moo turned one...just a very small celebration with family, but we had to have a cake, created to celebrate her love of "five little ducks"...she happily quacks along every night at bathtime!


my sister outdid herself with these gorgeous piggy cupcakes...
(from the latest Donna Hay kids issue)


and lovely bug cupcakes too!
(this time from The Australian Women's Weekly birthday cake book)


and this is the birthday cake ballerina who always makes an appearance...


i never expected to have such a sense of a milestone...but i do...and it is...we are blessed to be surrounded by family and friends, near and far, who have provided the most amazing support to our little family...
this journey is filled with joy and great beauty, perfect moments and sometimes not so perfect moments...so i want to say thank you to all of you out there for sharing your moments...there have been times when it has really helped...
the comfort of strangers amazes me still...

and on the subject of milestones...


am super excited about this gift given to little moo...her first hello kitty moment...a gorgeous watering pot so that she can help in the garden...

this weeks mail...

a postcard for scooter girl, who will get the joke...and who has finally posted some of the lovely things she has been making...hooray!

trash and treasure...

sorry, more frustratingly blurry photos on offer today, please bear with me...




i really wanted to show you these lovely burleigh plates...my sister and i found them at Aladdins Fair...
they are a birthday gift for our dear friend miss j, and will be perfect for a slice of cake to have with a cup of tea...and speaking of tea, have you seen Ez's delightful teabags...her work is just gorgeous and her blog a pathway to wonderful places...

my clever mum...

my mum recently knitted this scarf for herself but decided it wasn't quite right on her... i cheekily told her that maybe she should give it to me...and she did!
i'm a very lucky girl, it's in lovely Jo Sharp wool...

this week's mail...

i'm not entirely sure where this week's mail is going yet...sorry it's not the greatest picture, the text reads "an eloquent man told stories"...
inspired by a wonderful (and rare these days) night out to see Paul Kelly at the Tivoli...

pleased to meet you...

thank-you for stopping by and visiting my blog...i live in a quiet corner with stamp-boy and our baby girl who we sometimes call little moo...
i've only recently started sewing again...inspired by Loobylu's amazing A Month of Softies project...i also can't wait to make an apron for tie one on...
in other spare moments i love collecting and creating things with paper, ribbon and buttons...i think i may be on the verge of some serious fabric addiction (shhhh don't tell stamp boy...i'm already taking up more than my fair share of cupboard space with my craft stash and unfinished projects)
thank you all for your lovely comments about may softie and bug...you are very kind!

sometimes words seem small...

buttons...

these buttons are from a mixed bag i picked up at aladdins fair a couple of weeks ago...

this week's mail...

when i started this blog i promised myself i would still make time to send mail...this is going to a friend who loves buttons...