May the Fourth is not just Star Wars Day this year (“may the fourth be with you”); it is also Merri Community Shed Market Day. A great place to shop local for those in the Northern suburbs of Melbourne, and pick up a gift for Mother’s Day (which is the following Sunday 11 May) that supports local small businesses, makers and artists. (You know, like me :-))

An April encounter with the new strain of flu has left me shorter on time than I had planned, so I’ve been panic-crafting this week to make all the things I had in my head for this market.

But I did have a few things already mostly done, which is why this collection is called “Mother’s Day In the Bag”. A little while ago, my wonderful friend, Jo P, gifted me an amazing upholstery fabric sample book, that included a few coated versions of thick, gorgeous cotton prints. I went on a ‘bathroom bag binge’ using an elaboration on this pattern to making some zip up bags suitable for toiletries, and for setting down in wet places. The outside of the bags is made from the cotton upholstery samples, with the bottom quarter using the coated fabric, so a wet bench won’t ruin your bag.

I also lined the inside with advertising banner material which is water resistant, so nothing is getting in or out. (exploded toothpaste will not get on your clothes if you travel with this bag)

And because I can’t help myself, I added a little matching zip pull tassel handmade from some leather samples. These bags take time and care to make, but I think they look great, and they work great too.

The other thing I got inspired by was a lovely scarf gifted to me by the incredible sister who visited with her family over Easter.

I wanted to wear it more, so I turned it into an upcycled throw-on layer, similar in process to the tablecloth-to-top and scarf-to-top upcycles I have made in the past, but more suited to the cooler weather, which suits the darker colours and print.

Then I challenged myself to see if I could wear it all year round. Yes! I’m keeping it.

So what other textiles could be upcycled into winter throw-ons for an extra layer? Well, it turns out, a mohair lap blanket and a sofa throw sourced from the Sacred Heart Op Shop in Preston:

I’m going to try and make a few more to sell before this Sunday’s market.

But I got distracted by my order of candle refills from Kanuka Candles arriving. You just microwave the pack they send you, the wax melts and your pour it into whatever you want. If you’ve ever made candles you know it can be a messy business, and this made it a lot cleaner. I refilled my empty candle container then remembered the time I made tea cup candles for my kids’ school Mother’s Day Stall. So back to my second home (Vinnies Coburg) with an excuse to buy some of the super cute tea cup sets.

I superglued the cup and saucer together (because I don’t want anyone accidentally drinking out of this tea cup once the candle is burned!) and made a cute little matchy matches box. So I used up my whole candle refill order but if the teacup candles don’t sell, I’ll still have candles, and if they do sell, I can buy more refills. I also have a bunch of candles that have gotten a but dusty that I might melt down and re-pour. I don’t know if that’s a thing, but surely worth a try. Have you tried this?

And I put some info on the tags about refilling the teacup candles, so they can be used and loved into the future.

I’ll also have a few other bags and earrings and things for sale, so hopefully I will see you at 19 Harding Street Coburg, this Sunday 4 May, 2025 for the Merri Community Market.