This week, I was lucky enough to lay my hands on Jennifer Paganelli's new book Girls'  World.  It's just beautiful - gorgeous projects, clear instructions and the colours - oh how I love her fabrics.

To celebrate our six month blog birthday (OK,  so it's probably closer to seven months, but who's counting?) Maryanne and I would love to give you the chance to win your very own copy of Girls' World and a yard and a half of Queen Street  fabric so that you can get stuck straight into sewing your very first project.

To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment and  tell us a little about yourself .  How did you find  our blog? We'd love to hear any thoughts or suggestions that you have, too.  We'll draw the winner randomly, so don't be shy!

The giveaway will end at Midnight on Sunday May 15th (Sydney time).  Even though we're from the antipodes we're  happy to post internationally.  We'd love to Sew Together with you!

Last week was a special time for our family. We celebrated Will's first birthday.

A first birthday is such a milestone. One year ago we were handed an unknown little bundle and met our son. In this past year, he has shown us who he is and has given us a glimpse of who he will become. I am not sure whether he has grown into his name or we somehow knew the right name for him. Whichever way it happened, his name is perfect. In the very best of ways, he has a very strong will! He knows what he wants and is determined to show and tell us. He has seen the exciting world and is so keen to be part of it.

So where is he at right now?

• He is crawling like a star, can climb on almost anything and is cruising fairly confidently between furniture.
• We are pretty sure we have heard him say Mumma, Dadda, cow, bird and up.
• He loves to be cuddled off to sleep and still expects to be cuddled back off to sleep very regularly during the night. You can imagine from a parent's perspective this is a mixed blessing!
• He desperately wants to know how things work - the mechanics of a book are much more interesting than its contents, kitchen drawers and cupboards provide hours of entertainment.
• He is willing to eat anything. We don't remember any food he has ever rejected and there is a long list of things we would rather he didn't eat but he is very keen - dirt, shells, pumice stones, chalk and sand.
• He loves hanging out with his sisters - they share a whole lot of jokes that we will never understand. His face lights up when Pippa and Madeleine walk in the room.
  
• The time between recognising what he wants and protesting that he hasn't got it yet is about 5 seconds!
• He does a fantastic bear impersonation.
• He has perfected the art of the shoulder snuggle. He is normally very busy but those times just before he goes off to bed or soon after he wakes up are just beautiful. He melts into your shoulder and the fit is just perfect.

I did get a chance to do a little birthday sewing. The Oliver and S Little Things to Sew book  provided me with the inspiration to make a play town. Unfortunately my sewing time could not match my ideas. I still have plans for Madeleine's Sewing Shop, Pippa's Treat Shop and several other little houses. They will have to wait. Here is what I managed to get done (with some help from Caroline!)

I really enjoyed making these and only wished I could have found time to complete the many other foam blocks I had cut. One day...
He had some other handmade goodness - a gorgeous corduroy hoodie from Caroline and a very sweet knitted bunny from my Mum. I will share these with you when I have managed to take some photos.

So here is our family celebrating Will's Birthday. This little boy has brought so much more love, laughter, happiness and just a little bit more chaos into our lives!! We wouldn't want it any other way.

We started the morning with chocolate.

We hunted for eggs in the garden.

Can you believe our Mums made us wear matching Tshirts?

We made and ate hot cross buns.

We had a fabulous day but we were sad that Lizzy wasn't well.

We'd like to thank our Mums, Dads and the Easter Bunny for making this day possible.

Mums please note - it won't be long before we refuse to do the Tshirt thing.

Right now, I'm loving the look of doilies.  I love their pretty charm and the way they remind me of my grandmother's house.  What I love most of all, though,  is the new ways in which they're being used to adorn clothes and for all sorts of crafting projects. The Haby Goddess currently has a doily fest on her blog, and Luvinthemommyhood featured a gorgeous doily craft round up last month.

Unfortunately, I don't have a stash of vintage doilies at my finger tips to use, and even if I did, I'd be a little reluctant to put them on my kids' clothes.  Attaching them is tricky and I'm not sure that they'd survive the amount of washing and soaking that the kids' t shirts endure.

Last week, the postman brought me a huge box  - inside? A Silhouette SD.  I'm loving it, and my favourite creation so far?  Some faux doily t shirts for Lizzy.  They've got the vintage look, but they're a whole lot more durable.

And guess what? Although it's been the quickest, easiest project I've done in ages, it's been the only thing that Lizzy's been desperate to put on... sigh...

Spring seems to be progressing quite nicely in the Northern Hemisphere. Beautiful spring clothes are blooming on all the blogs I love. There are sweet Easter dresses on Aesthetic Nest, Jessica at Me Sew Crazy has created three (!) very sweet spring collections for some special little girls in her life, and Jess at Craftiness is Not Optional has been making some gorgeous warmer weather clothes.

I can not complain about Sydney weather right now. We have had some magical days recently - no longer hot, but brilliant sunshine and the most lovely hint of Autumn. My thoughts about sewing though have turned to corduroy and denim - winter stables for my girls. I do love making them winter clothes but there is something really special about the gloriously bright, happy prints of spring and summer. I miss them in the cooler months. So I thought I would squeeze just one more Spring dress in! It is cheating a little because it won't be worn until our Southern Hemisphere Spring later in the year.

It is a gift for a little friend of Will's who turns one next week. I know Will is much too young to have any little friends, but Bianca is as close as you can get. They share a birthday. Bianca's Mum and I shared an obstetrician and we shared (not quite at the same time!) an operating theatre for our caesarians. I was being wheeled out of the operating theatre having just delivered Will and Bianca's Mum was being wheeled in. Will is 45min older than Bianca. Bianca is my sister in law's brother's daughter - a little complicated there I know!! I imagine them many years from now, still being each others friends, maybe even helping each other out if they don't have that sometimes elusive date for their end of school formals!!

And if I want to satisfy my hunger for Spring sewing, I find there is no better project than a little girls dress.

Some very pretty floral material and a few inverted pleats........

some puffed sleeves.......

a little scrap of pink gingham bias to finish the neck and three sweet heart buttons......

all combine to make a dress that has allowed me to to leave the warmer sewing months behind and embrace the pile of corduroy that the postman delivered yesterday!

Happy Birthday little Bianca for next Friday!!

The idea of me writing about sewing room organisation is hilarious.  I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  I am the most disorganised person ever.  I know a lot of people say this about themselves, but it's really true about me.  No really, it is.

My sewing room has finally come to fruition - it's gorgeous and light and sunny (and there will lots of pictures to come, I'm sure).  It has lots of built in shelving, perfect for the big stuff- fabric, wool, pieces of felt, patterns and books.

It's the little things that do my head in, though, and sewing certainly has a lot of bits and pieces associated with it! Sewing machine needles and hand sewing needles, safety pins, bobbins,  straight pins, bodkins, bits of bias and ric rac, sewing machine feet, buttons - the list goes on and on. 

Take a look at the contents of my 'bits and pieces' box....

There had to be a better system!

Searching in the spare room (Lizzy calls it the 'messy room' for obvious reasons!)  for Martin's shoes, I came across 24 metal tins that were the perfect size for all my tiny sewing bits.   I spent the afternoon sorting and loved the fact that all of my things were neat and organised.  But then, how to organise the tins?

I found my solution at Ikea.  (is there anything you can't find at Ikea?) A magnetic metal board and some tiny magnets.   Add some spray glue and some grey spotted fabric from my stash...

and voila - a magnetic bits and pieces wall storage solution!

I love it and it's inspired me to keep the whole sewing room under control.  Does anyone have  any tips and hints  for a girl who needs a bit of organisation remediation?

I am a very disorganised person. I will often go and buy a new set of knitting needles even though I know I have the size I want, because no matter how hard I try I can't find them anywhere, or even more frustratingly I can find only one of the pair. So over the last few days I have been making myself a knitting needle holder - big enough that I will be able to store all my knitting needles in one place and bright enough that I shouldn't lose it (but anything is possible with me!)

So here it is:

I have seen patterns for some very snazzy knitting holders out there, with individual pockets so you can store and see your matched pair of needles in a wink. Getting all my knitting needles in one place is a big enough achievement for me, so this barrel shaped case works just fine. If you are ultra-organised and have one of those flash knitting needle organisers or you are not a knitter but still want to give this project a go, this tutorial will also show you how to make the little sister - a pencil case:

Just for some further inspiration and encouragement I should let you know that these cases are fully lined and that the lining is made on the go. There is no hand slipping it in at the end.
I also thought I would show you these:

Pippa's school bag, that dreaded (!) heart shaped zipper purse and Madeleine's Rapunzel backpack (that I have never quite got around to writing a post on) all use the same construction technique. By varying the shapes and sizes of your fabric pieces and the direction in which you place the zip, you can use the techniques in this tutorial to make a bag of almost any shape you like.

If you would like to give it a go, just click on read more.