cutting out millions of letters...

No wonder I'm getting sore arms.  I've cut out a gazillion letters in the last week and they're all lined up ready and waiting for me to sew up on the machine.

The big maps and little maps of Australia have their ticket for the back of the queue.

Too many interruptions this week....by kids and husbands.  Boys are home sick today. Big and little.

Cups of tea half finished and left lying around.

Birthday cake made for hubby.

Weekends at sport.

and more sport

If I could just get to my little corner of the living room and hang out here for a while.  I have a gazillion more letters to cut and I'm obsessed with spotty fabric right now.

I love this little spot behind the couch, it overlooks the garden.

But alas, school pick up shortly and "Mum - what's for dinner?"

Duck under the table!   Ha Ha - that's what my Nanna used to say.

It's May and I'm off to a productive start...

Another productive day in the land of Gozi and Pop.  The sewing room is in its usual organised mess, it's how I work best.  

Today I finished off this 'tongue twister'.  Wouldn't it look lovely hanging up in a little seaside cottage?  

The inspiration came from this photo of my daughter when she was little.  I was showing her how to hold a shell up to her ear and listen for the sound of the sea.  Just like my Nanna had shown me when I was little. And her little fingers look just like a starfish.

I finished off another giant map of Australia.  

I loved the way it looked hanging in our house, but had promised it to Davies & Son.  The first one I made and had in their shop sold this week.  Yay!!  I love the fabric I used for Western Australia, it is just stunning.  

Here is Michelle, owner of Davies & son, hanging it up in the shop.

Off to make the next one.  Have a great weekend!

Goodbye April...April showers bring May flowers

Last month just flew by...there just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day.  Well not enough sewing hours that  is.

I went a little crazy sewing up cushions...I made nearly thirty, I got carried away with all the lovely fat quarters I had bought.

Our market day was very windy.  My friend Karen (on the right) & I were chasing flying pincushions and holding down the tablecloth and hanging onto the umbrella. But the day was very sunny and we had a nice time drinking coffee, eating sausages in bread from the Scouts next door and having a good chit chat.

I made a batch of these little patchwork pincushions, I love playing around with all the different fabric colours and patterns.

I cleaned my daughter's bedroom and rearranged some furniture while she was at school.  I love doing that and then seeing my kids faces when they come home from school.  She's permanently borrowed some cushions from my "Gozi & Pop shop" for her bed!

April has also been a great time to be out and about in Melbourne.  Having a break from sewing, my friend and I took our dogs for a walk around Albert Park lake, which is also part of the Grand Prix circuit. We had a nice coffee and enjoyed the beautiful view of Melbourne city skyline from the Carousel Cafe.

Footy season is alive and well in Melbourne. 

 My son was lucky enough to play on the MCG at half time on Saturday night thanks to Auskick.  

Such a great atmosphere.  I don't think he realises how lucky he is to have these opportunites.

I've also been getting up early a couple of times a week to walk with my friend and we take our dogs and have been enjoying the sunrises.

Only one more month of Autumn (which is my favourite season) so I hope to enjoy it as much as I can before it gets too cold.  How has your month been going?

making pencil rolls...

There's a market coming up at the end of the month and I've been thinking of ideas of what to make.

Just finished making these pencil rolls, and as they turned out quite well, I am thinking of making some more.

My favourite part is choosing fabric colours & patterns to match the coloured pencils.

They make nice presents too.

There are lots of tutorials on the internet if you want to have a go at making one.  Here's one I found at Sweet Unwrapping Life!

easy peasy Easter decoration

Here's a quick and easy way to make an Easter decoration centre piece.

Draw an egg shape onto a piece of card and cut out to make a template.

You will also need some fabric pieces folded over to make a double piece the size of your egg shape.

Lengths of ribbon and some branches.

Trace egg shape onto double sided fabric

Pin fabric pieces and cut around marked line

Cut ribbon to desired length (approx 20cm) and place in between the two fabric pieces, place about 1-2 cm inside so it will be secured when stitching around the edge

Sew all around the edge securing the piece of ribbon as you go

Easy -  make as many as you can in different fabrics

Place your branches in a vase or pot and hang the fabric eggs 

Also try other shapes such as hearts or birds! 

Easy peasy!

great southern land...

Feels good to have finished my giant map of Australia today.  It's something I have been wanting to do for ages.

It's hanging in the window at my stockist Davies & Son, 520 Hampton Street, Hampton, Victoria.  With the little framed map of Australia next to the giant hanging map they look like 'mother & child'.

I stitched some little islands around  the big map of Australia including  Kangaroo Island (South Australia) King Island, Flinders Island & Cape Barren Island (Tasmania) Stradbroke & Fraser Islands (Queensland) and Groote Eylandt (Northern Territory).

A fleecy, felty week with kids...

Last week it was the kids turn to try their hand at sewing.

My son's school project was to construct a model of your favourite healthy food. I had some left over felt and polar fleece so he decided to make a taco.

Cutting out some tomatoes from red felt.

Strips of grated carrot

He also used some light green felt for avocado and dark green felt for lettuce. I pinned it altogether and then he sewed it up almost all by himself (I helped when he got into a knot).

Do you think it looks like a healthy taco?

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My daughter's project was to make a model that demonstrates the digestive system.  Seeing her brother made such a great taco and not to be outdone, I helped her put together some 'polar fleece vital organs'!

Here we have a purple esophagus, hot pink liver, pale pink stomach, light green pancreas, dark green colon and orange intestines. 

It was a polar fleece week.  At school the teachers asked if any parents would like to come in and teach the kids a special skill/craft.  I volunteered to show the class how to make a 'bat'.

I cut out and pre-sewed about 25 black and purple bats the night before in my bat cave.

The next day the kids learnt how to turn their 'bats' inside out and fill with stuffing.  Then they stitched up the little opening and glued on some eyes and mouth.  They finished off sewing on the bat wings.  I think they really enjoyed themselves and learnt that sewing is not only fun but quite easy.

The idea for the bats came from this book:

Nice to see the boys love sewing too.  It's not just for the girls!