WIP Friday

Friday. Last day of the school holidays. We went to see a theatre production of "Pinnochio" this morning. Alice was mesmerised. Beth was sent nearly demented by the smell of the smoke they used for special effects. Remember the smoke they used to pump into nightclubs? They probably still do. But that was the smell. Every time the fairy appeared, there was smoke. And she appeared a lot. And Beth couldn't get out of there fast enough.

When we came home, I asked Beth what she would like to do while Alice was asleep. She casually replied "Umm ... sew a skirt." Her mother's daughter. So, we did. Two in fact. One for each of the girl's because they have a birthday party tomorrow. I put the sewing machine pedal up on the table and Beth pressed it for me. Yes, I have the patience of a saint. The novelty wore off after a while, but she came back and forth, choosing trim, offering advice, asking questions. Lovely.

I should have taken this photo earlier while we really did have a WIP. I still have some ribbon and buttons to attach, so it is still a WIP.

Hopefully, the finished shots will appear very soon.

See the other craft work's in progress here.

Picasso: Love & War 1935 - 1945

National Gallery of Victoria from St Kilda Road.

Well, The dinner was made, the girls were bathed, my sister came over to babysit (Thanks Katie). My nails even had two quick coats of nail polish! Hamish came home, picked me up, and off we went.

Now, I don't want to appear like I am someone who knows their art. I enjoy art, but am by no stretch of the imagination, a critic. Those who know me may be laughing now that I even entertained this thought. Truth of the matter, I happen to be married to a man who is employed by a company who is a corporate sponsor of the National Gallery of Victoria. Hence, our invitation to the opening night of "Picasso, Love & War 1935 -1945". So read on bearing this in mind.

If you live in or have the chance to visit Melbourne in the next three months or so, visit this exhibition. It is moving. Yes, really moving.

I went along thinking I would see a few Picasso's. And yes, I did. For me though, this exhibition was about a period in time and a beautiful and passionate relationship. I am not going to explain the story here. I would ramble for hours. Rather, if you are interested, this article gives a great summation.

Dora Maar was what some describe as Picasso's true love. Honestly, I had never heard of her before. She was his muse for the "Weeping Woman" and was in her own right, an accomplished photographer, in the company of Man Ray. The exhibition shows many of her works and they are beautiful.

She was a striking woman and I was mesmerised watching an old film that is on display of Picasso, Maar and friends on their summer holiday's. If you enjoy the European style and fashion of the 30's and 40's, then you, like me, would just fall in love with this little film. It is so happy and carefree. But so tragic, as you then find that many of their friends were taken by the Nazi's and were never to return.

Many of the items on display were taken from Maar's apartment in Paris after she died in 1997. She had kept her home almost as a shrine to her time with Picasso. Hamish commented that he couldn't believe that the photos of the apartment were taken in '97. They could have so easily been taken in '37.

Afterwards, we even went out for cake and coffee! Can't remember the last time we did that.

It is a big exhibition, very detailed and beautiful. Well worth the effort though if you are able to go along.

Life. As a check-list ...

My life is going by as one big check-list at the moment. Each trip to the post office sees another tick on my list. This is my Magic Yarn Ball, currently winging its way to Christy in Portland. Have a look at her fantastic artworks on her web site.
This is the magazine I am sending to Amy in Orange County, California, for Cotton Strudels Magazine Swap. She is an architect, so I hope she enjoys "Inside Out". It's one of my favourites. By the way, I'm not spoiling her surprise, she knows what she is getting, but there may be a few other surprises. Part of the swap package I sent to Justine. She admired my dishcloth purse so we decided to do a swap. I found a tutorial for making a tissue holder at Stardust Shoes so decided to make a little matching set. Because every grown up girl needs matching things in her handbag.
I lined it with red gingham to match the red gingham oilcloth lining in the make-up purse. Please excuse the state of the hand models hand. She was called in to do the shoot at the last moment and just didn't have time for a manicure and polish.
Very important item for check-list. Beth's 6th birthday party invitations. Last year I had Beth's party at home. There were 8 little girls and that was borderline nutty. Being in the middle of winter, I can't really send the kids outside, especially if it's raining (tempting and all as it may be). This year, the list of invitees expanded to 14 in total, including 4 boys. Boys add a whole new added dimension. Our house is small, but that's another story for another post entitled "We had plans drawn up so my husband could keep them in his bottom drawer". So, as much and all is it kills me to do it, we are going to a local hotel for the party. They have an indoor playground, do face painting and most importantly on Beth's party check-list, they have ice-cream cake. That kills me too, because every year I make Beth's cake. I've made a ladybird, Minnie Mouse, a butterfly, a princess castle. And all she wants is the ice-cream cake. So, to hang on to something of my daughter's birthday, I had to make the invitations. Because that is what I do. I cannot buy invitations. Not that I think twice when my girls receive a non hand made invite, but I have to make mine. And handwrite them, all, at all hours of the night. Because that is what I do. Because I can't help myself.
And here they are, all ready to be posted. Even though we walked past three of the party invitees home's to get to the post box. My pet hate is the Schindler's List approach to distributing children's party invitations. The child stands at their classroom door with their bundle of invites, "One for you", "No, you don't get one", "You can have one". It breaks my heart. So we post ours. And what child doesn't love receiving mail. Or child's mother for that matter.

And I think that Australia Post just needed to get that last cent out of my purse this week too. I have handed the equivalent of the national debt over to them this week.

I have also posted a parcel to Sara and last but not least, one will go out to Julie soon, I promise Julie, soon.

Off to Picasso tomorrow night. Frock, beads, boots and funky tights at the ready.

And this was going to be a quick post ...

Mermaids ...

In my blog title, I mention that my inspiration (I feel like I am using words that don't belong here) for making things comes mostly from my girl's. That is very true of my latest creative endeavour.

Last year, I bought the girls some mermaid finger puppets. They loved them. They gave them little names and did plays with them that Hamish and I sat through on numerous occasions. The thought did cross my mind that sometimes these plays were used as stalling tactics so they didn't have to go to bed, but nonetheless, they were very amusing. And being finger puppet size, I would often pop them in my handbag when we went out, especially if we were "dining" (could you call it that?) and they would be amused for a further 5 minutes, at least.

Then they discovered that Lola loved Mermaids too. Especially the Mermaids in the typing pool in "I am Far Too Extremely Busy" and the ones in the underwater supermarket in "I Will Not Ever, Never Eat A Tomato" . Both episodes on our DVD. Then it was all over, red rover. Like the hooly hoops. The Mermaid phenomena hit town. It was all about Mermaids. Alice is now obsessed with watching "The Little Mermaid" and Beth quite often will come out dressed in her Mermaid costume (which I made, did I mention that?)

I am rather partial to Mermaids myself. They are very sophisticated. Unlike fairies, who tend to be a bit giggly. I would love to see the statue of "The Little Mermaid" in Copenhagen. What could be more stylish than a Danish Mermaid?

I am a huge fan of Lauren Child, which doesn't help my children's obsession with Charlie and Lola. I was very impressed to read that she collects Barbie doll Mermaids. Her illustrations of Mermaids are fantastic.

One day I grew tired of reattaching sequins, hair, shell bra tops etc onto the finger puppets. Thus igniting the creative fire to create my own mermaid. This is the second version. I learnt much from the first.

She measures 18 X 9 cm. Try turning that size inside out and then inserting the stuffing! My first version had little bends in her 8mm wide arms. That was never going to work, so now her arms are straight.

I also had a play with her hair. Version One had woollen hair. It just wasn't Mermaidy enough. I wanted something more underwater, seaweedy like. I have (not so) fond memories of my mother putting my hair in rags as a child, so Mermaid developed rag hair.

The other big thing for me was that none of her parts would be able to come off. So she is completely sewn together. No glue in sight. Version One has been road tested by Beth and Alice and I am pleased to say that no seems have yet burst nor any item of clothing been discarded.

And I just had to show you the cute little "swish" in her Mermaid tail.

I'm thinking of doing a whole series of Mermaids. Will keep you posted.

Now the song. I ran a search and found a song called "When Mermaids Cry" by Eagle Eye Cherry. But the links are getting far to literal for my liking, so who could go past "Save Tonight" . Just because I can.

Feeling a bit sick ...

Taken on Tuesday, 20th of June. Beth (with her new funky hat on) standing in Federation Square with St Paul's cathedral in the background.

Our visitors are gone and I had such plans to catch up with things, but then, what happens when you have plans? Something to make sure your plans don't happen. I was laid very low yesterday with some kind of tummy bug and today the fog is lifting from my brain. I just feel yukky.

But on the up side, Hamish announced that he has scored tickets to the opening night of the Picasso exhibition at the National Gallery next Thursday night. Some frock shopping may be in order. See, I feel better already.

I have much crafting to finish and post out, so off I scoot.

And I just had to include the photo, taken by my father-in-law when we went in to Federations Square on Tuesday. It's almost picture postcard stuff.

Song for today - "Mr. Jones", Counting Crows. One of my favourite songs. It has a line in about Picasso (hey, at least it's a link and my head hurts) and it makes me want to dance after feeling so horrible.

Sunday in the City ....

Today we went into the city with our special visitors, DD and Amanda. DD is Hamish's Dad, called DD because he is Dad's Dad. Of course. Amanda is his lovely partner. They are staying with us for a few days from Townsville. Here are some shots of our day, and yes, it's cold. What do you do on a cold day? Eat ice-cream of course. It is becoming near impossible to have a photo of Alice without this face.
The family all gathered around and intrigued by this new fandangled technology thing. It was a touch screen information booth. Beth wanted to have a go and I am attempting to restrain Alice from thumping the thing - her version of "touch screen". Hamish looks a tad on the dopey side, but really, he's not. Trust me.
Hang on a minute! What's this! A normal smile! Hat courtesy of DD, hand made in Townsville from the markets.
I love this one. As we were walking along Southbank, there was one of those street performers who are painted and dressed all in grey and look like a statue. Until they move and you nearly jump out of your skin. I have a long running distrust of street performers. They seem to detect this and do really embarrassing things to me. Beth has inherited this distrust. So while everybody else ran forward to watch this statue person, Beth and I hung back. I'm telling her that it is OK, it's really just a man dressed as a statue and she just can't work out why someone would want to dress as a statue and stand in the middle of Southbank. Had to say, I agreed.

DD took these photos, so there's not a single one of him or Amanda. Maybe a shot or two in the next day or so.

As an end note, I have been inspired by Marianne over at Applehead with her musical soundtracks. I have decided that I am going to try and end most of my posts (please note I didn't say all of them) with a song of the day/post. A song that either seems to fit the post, or a song that is on my mind or one that I am just going to throw in for the hell of it.

So today's song was going to be the Australian classic from the eighties (yes, I'm back there again. I'm going to do a cover version of Skyhooks "Living in the 70's", just change the decade) "One Perfect Day" by Little Heroes. I always loved this song and today was just such a lovely day, it kind of just sat nicely. I always imagined it was grey and cloudy in this song, and today was perfect, but grey and cloudy. Nothing profound about that my friends.

In my search for the song, I uncovered a Sara Storer version. Now, I'm no country music aficionado, but I don't mind a bit of Sara. She has a great Aussie twang. This version is really melodic and lovely, so without further ado, for your listening pleasure...
Song of the Day - "One Perfect Day" - Sara Storer. But you have to scroll right down to the botom, to the last song, and hit download video. You didn't think I would hand it to you on a plate, did you?

Red Friday

ReD iS mY FaVOurITE anD mY BeSt.

I have waited all week to post a photo that included the girls and couldn't go past this one that I took of them outside at my sister-in-law's last weekend. I did the bad mother thing this year and bought them both exactly the same coats for winter. I just had to. This coat is so warm and functional (being long) and cute too. The detail on the sleeves has little birds all through it. I saw them weeks ago and decided they were far too expensive but then, thank you god, they went on SALE. Hence, we have two red coats.

My girls love hoola hoops, but they call them hooly hoops. This is because Lola calls them hooly hoops. If Lola says they are hooly hoops, they must be hooly hoops. I tried to correct Beth one day, and it only ended in tears. So, hooly hoops it is.

We have visitors staying here from tomorrow until Tuesday. The computer is fairly central in our living room, so I may not post again for a few days. See, no computer room, no sewing room. How do I survive?
That is for my husband, if he happens to be reading ??

Blue Monday, I mean Thursday ...

OK, back to the warm and fuzzies after the disturbing day that was Black Wednesday. With a blog named "Mummy Jo", did you really think I was that scary?

Did anybody else love "New Order" as much as I did? Why did I put this title on this post? Now I can't get the song out of my head. "How does it feel, to treat me like you do" Are you singing it too now? Showing your age?

I took this photo on the weekend on a day that was really gloomy and overcast. I was looking at it from different angles and at first, all I had in the background was cloud. Then I turned and from out of nowhere, blue sky!

I'm really enjoying colour week and finding so many new blogs with great photos. If you're a new visitor here, thanks. My new visitors have been really lovely.

See, I'm not scary at all.

"Now I stand here waiting ........"

Come on, come back to the eighties with me for just a moment. You know you want to.

Black Wednesday ...

It's Black Wednesday. A chance for everyone to show their dark sides. I've got my knives out for the occasion. Watch your back !

Brown Tuesday ...

I have a soft spot for brown. I am the eldest of four daughters and Mum always dressed us in colour codes. I was brown. Mind you, my sister's were red, blue and pink and at the time, brown was terrible. Now, I think it's wonderful. My school uniform was brown. Chocolate is brown. It is so earthy and rich and aged. Full of character.

One of our favourite places to take the girls when we go into the city is a little shopping arcade called the Royal Arcade. It is beautiful with lovely old architecture, little shops full of character and the infamous Gog and Magog statues that chime in the hour with their clock. One of the shops in the arcade is Koko Black. Even though the name is black, it is very brown. Check it out for some mouth watering brown goodness.

Enjoy your Brown Tuesday.

White Monday

Back in the PB days (pre-blog), when I was just a lurker and occasional commenter, I loved the colour week that Stephanie and Mav instigated. I really enjoyed seeing all the interpretations and lovely pictures. I thought to myself, self, if you ever have a blog and that week comes up again, you would really enjoy doing that, wouldn't you? And so, with great delight, I found last week that Colour Week is on again.

Being a long weekend here and having been away, my effort on white was a little rushed. We came home and all I could think about was washing, unpacking, school tomorrow, what were we having for dinner, oh look, the white camellia is out. White. There is a god. So here is my first contribution.

I did manage to cram some sewing into my weekend. I was all confused and in my enthusiasm to pack the machine, thought that I had an extra day up my sleeve, like Easter. So instead of catching up on sleep, I caught up on sewing with some late night sessions. Finished what I hoped to get done, so am feeling a bit more on track. Not sure which track though.

And for those interested in the Teflon foot story, here it is. I am in love. If you are sewing oilcloth to oilcloth, there is simply no other way. The foot just glides like it was, well, Teflon coated. Seriously, it was a generic brand one to fit a machine with a low shank and cost me $14 at Spotlight. I found good lurking in the sewing machine foot section. Not sure about the fabric section ...

More colour tomorrow.

Damn You Frat Boys ...

I know, I know, kind of weird title for a post, but I have just been hanging out to say that all day and there has been no appropriate point at which to casually throw it in. So there, now I have.
If you are thinking I have lost my mind, here in Australia, we had the final of "The Amazing Race" last night and there really is a God when two guys like BJ and Tyler can triumph over people like "The Frat Boys" and "MoJo".
And just in case I don't have a chance to say this again today, T-TOW!

Now, back to sanity...

Such a cold wintery morning here. I talk about the weather a lot. Have you noticed? Not because I don't have anything else to say and feel like I need to talk about the weather to punctuate the silence. It's because I love the changing seasons and the differences that they bring. I love that the trees are golden for such a short period because it makes you stop and appreciate them even more.

I walk Beth to and from school. We are lucky because we live really close. There is a park that separates us from the school. Mind you, walking with a five and a two year old makes that walk seem three times as long. It is so lovely just to point out to the girls all the changing things around us. Like the wattle that has just started to bloom. Or the delicate beads of water suspended on this little spider's web. Now that is craft for you.

We're off away for the weekend to Jarmie's. Jarmie is my mother-in-law. She was going to be "grandma" but when Beth started talking she began calling her Jarmie. So Jarmie she is and now everyone calls her Jarmie. It is a three and a half hour drive, not including stops, so we don't get up there that often, but the girls love nothing better than running around up there. To mark the occasion, I have bought them both a new pair of gumboots. Pink with glitter. I hope they don't get them muddy! (Im joking).

The most exciting part about this weekend for me is that I am taking my sewing machine. Hopefully I will be able to catch up on some sewing for some parcels that I need to send out (Sara, Julie, Justine ...). I just have to hope that the universe conspires to give me some quality sewing time. Maybe if I just throw in one more "T-TOW!" for good measure ?.

PS - Have a look at the Mag Swap link on the right if you are in Australia or anywhere besides the States because they are looking for some more international Mag swappers. Who doesn't love a good Mag?

From Kansas With Love ...

It is such a beautiful, sunny Winter's day here in Melbourne. The early morning blanket of fog has lifted and it is crisp and clear and you just want to suck it all in.

This morning was my morning for being the "parent helper" in Beth's class at school. I do this once a fortnight and it is just such a joy to go and do, not to mention very, very interesting. I am the mother of one of the "good girls", of course, that goes without saying (excuse me while I clear my throat and beat my chest). Some of those little boys - ay,yi, yi ! I am just so not used to boys.

To be a parent helper, you have to complete four or five training blocks in regards to literacy that centre on reading and writing and how it is taught in school. Very different to when I was at school back in, oohhh, ummm, yes, let's not go there. We go into the class when they do their literacy block first thing in the morning and assist the teacher. The class is broken up into small groups and they complete different activities. This morning I took two sessions of word bingo. Great fun and so nice to spend some time with Beth in her class.

When I do this, Alice goes to a friends house who lives just around the corner who has a daughter in Beth's class and another little girl who is Alice's age. They have a play for the morning together, or should I say, they argue over what belongs to who, with moments of playfulness thrown in for good measure. That's two year old's for you.

After I picked Alice up, we were walking home, kicking the Autumn leaves, talking, trying to instill some road sense into a strong willed child. We were almost home when I spotted something sitting on our front door step. A parcel ! The parcel fairy's had been.

The very sweet Sara had sent us a parcel from Kansas. Inside were these two gorgeous koala's called Lulu and Mae. But wait, that's not all.

She has made up the best CD for the girls. We have been getting down and funky with it all morning. There is a song on it called "Number One" and we have been loving that one. Sara will have to let me know who sings it. And for me (do I sound all important and spoilt bratish?), one of her cute as a button funky monkey purses, which are cute AND functional. Great little outside pocket and little link chain thingy to put keys on. Sara has obviously heard me before. "Keys, keys, where did I put my keys?". Even kinder was the inclusion of some pieces of the funky monkey fabric and, as I pause to draw breath, a piece of my favourite and my best, Amy Butler, from the Charm range.

The lovely gocco print card is made by Sara too and she has them for sale in her Etsy shop.

Thank you so much Sara, you have made three girls day's. And needless to say, my husband will once again marvel at how I could get so excited about a parcel and it's contents. I think blokes missed getting that gene.

Little boxes make of ticky-TACKy...

And here we have Miss Alice, modeling today's little box that came in the mail. It's her Mummy Jo's Whiplash prize book, "Holiday Knits". And what a delightful prize it is too. Her Mummy has fallen in love with some of the patterns. Her favourite and her best is this one.
How cute is this hat? Maybe in something like an orange and pink for a girl? Or "ondinge" as Beth would always say. Ondinge has always been her favourite colour. I did have an "oh bummer" moment with this though. There is no pattern for the little bird in the pocket. The pattern is just for the hat. And now that I have seen the little bird, that hat must have a bird. If anyone has or knows where I can find a pattern for a little bird or any other little creature for that matter, please let me know!! The pocket measure 2 1/4 inches or about 6 cm roughly square.
At first when I saw this scarf, I thought, oh no, but it is really growing on me. Not in the pink, too lolly, but a more earthy, natural tone could be great.Quite like this little poncho too. It's a matching mother/daughter set and we won't be going there, but for the girls maybe?

Now I did mention last post that there are some exciting swaps coming up that I am involved in. One is a three way swap with the very lovely Alison and the very lovely Nicole. Think BackTack, minus the Back. TACK. Each of us has to purchase three different pieces of fabric from our much loved "Spotlight". The fabric must be something that we think the recipients will just "love". Girls, I know you are just busting to take a peak, so seeing as your parcels went out in the mail today, I will let you have just a little look.
The challenge (thanks Alison) is to then construct something out of this stunning fabric, using the log cabin pattern. My mind is racing. What to make, what to make? Stay tuned for more TACK.

And thanks to Kath and everyone at Whiplash/Whip-up for the great book.

What day is it?

Has it been a whole week since I posted? I've just been so busy, and I have so much to tell, forgive my ramblings, it could be a long one.

A completed task! I have finished my square for Nichola's Wall of Yarn Gallery. Please, may I never see another knitted flower again? Well, not for a long time anyway. In the spirit of "use what you have month", ( What? It's over? Never mind what day it is, what month is it?) I have used one of the flowers and the leaves from my Whip-up entry. There was method in my madness. The square is basic moss stitch (k1, p1) which is a favourite of mine. Easy, and I love the texture.

The wool, now there is a story. Last year I discovered Nundle Woolen Mills. I decided I was going to knit Beth and Alice jumpers each. I fell in love with the rhubarb and celery 8 ply pure wool. So much so that I wanted to eat it. I realise now that I would have had a severe fluff ball problem and would have likely choked, but look at those colours! I decided on the rhubarb for Beth and knitted her what I thought was a lovely jumper. Yes, it did have a flower on it and little flower buttons. She thought it was gorgeous, but then she put it on. "Mummy it's itchy, take it off me, it's itchy!!!" Repeat this about 27 times, with growing hysteria each time and picture me trying to make her stand still so as I could just admire my handwork. It ended in tears all round. Needless to say, there was no way I was going to shed more blood, sweat and tears on a jumper for Alice. So everything I have done this year is in celery. I am very good at "use what you have". I saw the other day that someone has started a "finish what you have" month. I would seriously fail that one.

I wanted my little square to look a bit like something from my Nannie or Grandma's house. I'm not sure I have captured that exactly, but I didn't want it to get too fussy either. So I've wrapped it and I will put it in the post on Monday. I did have visions of hand delivering it to Nichola, but I thought it would be better to go in and see the gallery when it is up.

I got a little carried away with the wrapping and wanted to include a little something for Nichola for all her work with putting the gallery together. So I made her a little pin from a Molly Chicken tutorial .

Don't fret Nichola, you can take your name card off. And it seems I have progressed from knitted flowers to fabric flowers. Well, at least it's some sort of progress.

I have so many other things I want to talk about, but I think I will leave them so as I have more things to talk about in the coming week and I don't leave it another week to post.

Just to tease, there are swaps, including the Magic Yarn Ball and another very special swap that is just too exciting to tell you about yet. Parcels are being put together for some new blogging friends. I love parcels.

And in breaking news, I bought a Teflon foot for my sewing machine. The idea here being that the oilcloth that I have started to sew with will glide through my machine like silk (or cotton, I'd be happy if it worked like cotton, even really heavy denim would suffice). I haven't tried it yet, it may not even fit my machine, but I love it when I find a foot for my machine that does a new tricky little job.

I think that will do.

And I do know what day it is. Happy Birthday Julie. My sister.

Hang on, funny story, I'm sure she won't mind if I share it. We shared a bedroom for many, many years growing up. I think it was last year that we both told each other that on a few occasions, each of us has woken up and called our husbands by the sister's names - ie. I have called Hamish, Julie. And before you go thinking this is all weird, it was the same bedroom.

And both of us can recite the verse that the Raggedy Ann alarm clock woke us with every morning.

"Andy, Andy, please wake up, it's time to call our friends...."

And on that note, I'm signing off.