kid's embroidered cushions..

Loving these sweet embroidered cushions hand stitched by Natalie Bloom, replicating her kid's drawings.

I like the way Natalie has displayed her kid's books & figurines.

Will show this to my kids - it may inspire them to organise their rooms (or maybe I will do it)!

Farewell to Nora Ephron...

I felt a bit sad today to hear that Nora Ephron had passed away.  Screenwriter and director of movies such as When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, You've Got Mail and another favourite of mine, Julie & Julia.   I liked her wisdom and her wit.

I have read some of her books.   Here are some of her famous quotes. If you were a fan of Nora's you can read more here too.

a small donation..

I was recently asked if I could help out with a raffle prize for a small country town's junior basketball club.

They need to raise money to buy more singlets for the kids plus other things to keep the club going.

I made this 'LOVE' cushion and popped it in the post today.

Best of luck to the Euroa Junior Basketball Club.  I hope they do well with their fundraising as I believe it's really important to keep the little sporting clubs going for all the kids.

cool little shops I found today...

Sometimes it's hard to stay motivated when working from home all the time, and looking for inspiration via the internet, books or magazines just doesn't satisfy.   One of the best things for me to do, is to get out and explore some of the amazing shops in my beautiful city of Melbourne.  There are some gorgeous little shops to be found.

Today I discovered this little shop in Gardenvale

 Just Surprise Me

A bit further along I found this really cute little shop..

Naughts & Crosses

104 Ormond Road, Elwood - just follow the bubbles..

and then my last stop for today was full of vintage treasures

Scout House

125 Grey Street, St Kilda

Just the tonic for me to come home fully inspired to get creative again.

(Oh yeah, I did buy a couple of little things - too hard to resist).

a little Saturday stitching...

A little pincushion I made for myself.

Hope you're having a nice weekend so far..

new fabric word art..

I've lost my sewing mojo for fabric word art lately.  This is the only one I've managed recently.  But I'm not worried, I know when I come across a little saying or hear a song lyric, I will be inspired again.

Can you guess the song?  Mmm -  depends how old you are maybe? From a classic band who've been around for decades.

Still can't guess?  Click here for the answer!!

things for winter..

Have been making a few of these snake draught stoppers lately.  They would have to be a home's best friend in winter.

The fabric I have used is the 'Melbourne iconic images' which I posted about here .  They are currently available for purchase at Davies & Son.  Because they are filled with washed sand, they are too heavy for postage (well it would be a bit expensive).  If you are interested in purchasing one, please email me.

A little someone wanted to be featured on the blog today.

which version do you like?

Gossling cover of the 1940's hit  "Monday,  Tuesday, Wednesday - I love you"

'Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday (I Love You)' - Emma-Louise Birdsall

The gorgeous Emma- Louise Birdsall from "The Voice"

our Sunday

Up early for kid's footy game this morning.

This is what my son looked like after the game!

Those poor knees :(

Then we headed off to The Block for 'Open Day',  hoping to get a look inside all the houses.  The crowd was huge, the line up way tooo long, so we met the couples  instead.  They were all so lovely and happily posed for photos with us and autographed our 'Block' caps.

I really like a necklace Sophie has worn during the series and remembered to ask her today where she bought it from.

I'll share the secret from Sophie...sshh

lucie ellen on etsy

blog land...

Have you ever thought about writing a blog?  I started reading blogs a few years ago and was amazed at how many people were 'out there' sharing their thoughts and ideas.

Over at Kidspot they have revealed the Top 50 Bloggers for 2012.  There's tips from the experts on growing your blog and also how to start your own blog.

                         

Just another good way to spend a winter's day when it's too cold to go outside.

studios...

I'm looking at ways of improving my work area and these are a couple of my favourite studios.

This is Vivian Mansour's  studio: Ish and Chi





This one I love from  Bubby Makes Three



I tend to get quite messy (but in an organised way) when I'm sewing.  My husband thinks my sewing is like a virus as it just spreads everywhere.  Good storage, natural light and a large desk top area is the key and something I'm working on.

Custom order going OS...

A friend asked me to custom make a cushion for her special Mum (Nanny) living in England as it's her birthday soon. The three love hearts represent love from her three grandchildren and on the back of the cushion I embroidered their three names inside a love heart with a red thread.

I took this photo with the afternoon sun shining through the trees outside my window.

bought today...

How adorable are these fabrics?

more cushions...

I'm having fun making big patchwork cushions this week.

This is the latest one made for a boy's birthday party tomorrow. 

It's Mister 8's job to be the fabric colour selector.

I'm loving all these different colours and patterns, but feel some girly colours are due for the next batch of cushions.  Stay tuned..

We need your vote..

You may have read my previous posts about my friend Sarah participating in the Better Homes & Gardens Renovation Challenge.  

Now comes the time for voting and I would love for Sarah and her family to win.

Would really appreciate your vote if you live in Australia.

Please phone 1902 557702 or text "pennydale" to 19777677.

Leave your name & address on text and you could go in the draw to win

$10,000!!

Thankyou thankyou!

The Third Place...

One of my favourite movies is "You've Got Mail" which was written and directed by Nora Ephron.  Watching the movie and listening to the director's commentary Nora demonstrates her love of "the small town" nature of New York City and the importance of third places.
The idea of the third place is that we have our first and second places of home and work, but that cultures thrive best when people have a third place to go and claim.
Nora shared her belief that coffee shops had become important third places for city people.

My favourite third place is my local coffee shop 'Espresso Hit'.  Danny and Chris make the best coffee and the service is always 100 per cent friendly and cheerful. It's a place where I always feel at home.  It's great to catch up with friends there after school drop off or before school pick up.

I found some fabric with a coffee bean print awhile ago and added it to my stash.  And  then I had the great idea to make a fabric word art for my favourite third place!  The boys are going to hang it up in the cafe in a cool spot!