Sunday at home...

Freshly picked passionfruits for breakfast...

Cappucino in my favourite Robert Gordon cup...

A lovely thought to ponder hidden in my Bible...

 

 Sophie asleep on our bed...

...and maybe a book to read later?

Another block remade for my Shabby Roses quilt...

Four done and eight to go. 

A third block finished in the 50's BOM I bought a long time ago...

Love those pretty little buttons...

Time now to play with some more pretty bits and pieces. 

I wonder where that will lead me?

 What did you do today?

Hugs

Jenny

xxx

Friday Show & Tell, and I give something old a fabulous makeover!

I really love Show & Tells because I get to see how you chose to make one of my designs your very own!

Catherine has been busy with two of my stitcheries, "Family", and "Roses". She is thinking of making them into table runners. They are so pretty, Catherine!

 

Debra is almost finished stitching the nine blocks from "Springtime". She sent me photos and this one is of Blossom's block, "Freebird". I am so proud of my daughter's design! Thanks for sharing this pic, Debra.

Karen and her daughter Hannah have really been sewing up a storm lately! Hannah made my Ellie into the prettiest cushion...

...and Karen has finished not one, but TWO "Believe" hearts,  as well as every block in the "Things We Love" BOM!

 

I am looking forward to what these two make next! Well done, girls. :-)

Also finishing her own version of "Believe" is Caroline!

Ladies, you are wonderful! Thank you for taking the time to stitch my ideas...what a blessing you are. 

~~~~~

I have been back at the sewing machine today to finish off a few new designs, and to give an old design a new home. 

I'll share the new ones next week, but for now I'd like to show you how I framed one of my "Sweet & Shabby Little Roses" stitcheries. A friend gave me some very old plastic frames recently, the kind I remember my nana having in her home when I was a child. I wasn't sure how they could be used, but this afternoon an idea grew and I just had to see if it would work. 

This is the stitchery...

It's one from a set of 5 small stitcheries I released in March HERE.

Look how some cotton lace, Aviary fabric scraps, and a very old plastic frame gave it that something extra...

 

I love it!!

I may have to design more little stitcheries like this because I have a few of these frames and they are crying out for a new lease on life. It's so much fun to make use of things others discard. :-)

I was going to do some more sewing tonight, but someone has taken over my machine....

Ah well, maybe tomorrow.

Have a wonderful weekend!!

Hugs

Jenny

xxx

Issue 2 is on it's way - but a couple of you need to update email addresses for me...

Issue 2 has just been emailed to all my subscribers! Yay!!

I am having problems with two email addresses that keep bouncing back at me, though. 

Beth B, and Rachel B, could you email me with a current email address please? The one listed with Paypal just doesn't work, and I can't wait for you to receive your magazine issues as soon as possible. :-)

~~~~~

It's time now for me to make a fresh decaff soycinno, and sit a while. My brain has been at whirlwind pace these last few days, and I apologise for not answering emails or bloghopping but my free hours have been more precious than usual this week and I saved them all for family.

Speaking of family - it is only two more weeks and my eldest daughter Kezzie and her family arrive here to live just a few blocks from our house!!!!!! \o/\o/\o/ 

Do I sound excited??? You bet I am!!! :-)

And so is Bloss. Big sis living just around the corner and two nephews to spoil. Family nearby after all these years. Wow.

Our grandson's, Cal and Dee. 

Life is about to get even better. 

Have a wonderful day! I'll be back later with some Show & Tells. 

Hugs

Jenny

xxxx

20 hour countdown to Issue 2!!

64 pages filled with projects, hints and tips, articles, a recipe, guest designer, tutorials, and me.

Only 20 hours until it arrives in email boxes.

Subscribe now for just $4 AUD so you don't miss out! Once it has been emailed to my subscribers it can only be purchased through my Etsy Shop ($7 AUD)

Excited Hugs,

Jenny

xxx

NOTE: Apparently Paypal won't process subscriptions if you have not shared your credit card details with them. If this applies to you and you would still like to receive the magazine each month, please email me and I can send you a Paypal invoice on the 27th of each month for the $4 AUD. This has worked for some other ladies already. :-)

Wendy visits at last - and other lovely things!

My dear friend Wendy had to postpone her visit last week, but yesterday she finally made it - after battling through a myriad of roadworks on the 170klm trip between her house and mine. One of the sweetest things in the world is to catch up with a friend you love, espcially when those visits are too few. 

To add to the delight of spending time with her, she came bearing gifts - totally unneccesary, but oooooh, so pretty!

Cottage Garden hand dyed ric rac (in my favourite colour!), and the cutest pussy cat charm...

(She also brought me a container of her hubby's wonderful Tiramisu!!! I confess, I did not share it with anyone...and I have nothing left of it to show you either. It was amazingly delicious, Joe!)

We also shared our 'show & tells', and I had to share with you these pics of a foundation pieced small quilt Wendy made to exhibit in her local quilt show. It has beautiful little feet and shoes!

 ...and here is Wendy holding her gorgeous work for you to see!

Too soon our day was over and already we have plans for my trip down to her in a few weeks - Blossom is insisting she tag along too. She loves her Wendy-fix as much as I do! 

~~~~~

As we chatted, drank cappucinos, and generally enjoyed ourselves a lot, we stitched. Wendy stitched down the binding on the quilt above, and I worked on something pretty and new that I'll share next month...

I also finished a third design based on 'All You Need is Love". This one is a small framed stitchery...

 

No  more stitching for a few days now, though. It's only three more sleeps and Issue 2 of Elefantz HOME will be published, so I have some late nights ahead of me to write articles and fine tune the layout, patterns and tutorials.

If you haven't subscribed yet, you can do so over HERE. 

~~~~~

As I have mentioned before, we live in a very small town. There are many things I cannot get here, so frequent trips to Townsville are essential - but as most of those trips are on Mr E's motorbike I still can't bring anything bulky home with me. 

Buying ingredients for a healthy diet is difficult, however I discovered a wonderful online store where I can get everything I need and it was postage free! Yesterday my first delivery arrived and I was very impressed! Now I can make some wonderfully healthy fare again, with the knowledge I can replenish my supplies easily in the future...

Last night I made one of Blossom's favourite meals, "Chorizo & Chick Peas on Mash"...

 

 

It was a recipe from an old Donna Hay magazine, and fast became a regular on the menu for Bloss and I. 

Unfortunately the boys are not interested in even trying it. Men. ;-)

Bloss is recovering once more and this time we're praying it is a full recovery so she can enjoy the lovely, sunny days of our tropical winter before it gets too warm.

~~~~~

Have you chosen your t-shirt(s) for my "T-Shirt Challenge" yet?

These are the two I will be using...

They'll have to wait until after the magazine is published, but I already know how I am going to use them. So tell me, what will you make with your t-shirt??

You have until August 31st to enter, and this must be something you have made during the length of the Challenge (July 22nd - August 31st). I need to see a photo of your completed challenge project either on your blog or you can email me a photo, and I will show it on my blog.

One random winner will be chosen from the entries and win a 'Ruby' charm square pack! I will post worldwide, so come on and show me what you can do with a t-shirt. :-)

Okay, I'd better get back to working on the magazine. After a nice cappuccino. And maybe some chocolate bikkies. Yes, definitely the chokky bikkies.

Have a lovely day.

Tell someone you love them, and tell them why. 

Hugs

Jenny

xxx

PS: Something new happening next week on the blog! Let's get stitchy with Basics 101....

Norway

May the ever loving arms of God comfort and carry you.

Love

Jenny

xxx

A beaded bag, and then some more beads...

If you haven't figured it out yet, I must confess to a love for beads.

Today Mr E and I went for a sunny walk through Centennial Park to view the Sunday market stalls. Apart from an occasional jar of pickles and jam (or my favourite lemon butter!), we don't usually purchase anything because Mr E is a very restrained spender and it helps me to have him around so I don't impulse buy. ;-)

However! 

Today, there was an unfamiliar stall in view. Such pretty silver and pearl jewellery, gorgeous ironwork hangings, and this...

An exquisite beaded evening bag for $12. 

I didn't buy it immediately. I fondled it, and walked on. After our rotation around the markets, and as we turned to head back to the car I stopped. "I am going to buy that bag!"

And so I did. And if only you could see the smile on my face. It's wider than usual. ;-)

Here it is gracing the top of my fabric-case (it sounds silly to call it a bookcase when it's full of fabric - know what I mean?), waiting for the next invite to dinner so I glam up with it. 

There is even an extra long chained shoulder strap inside if I feel like a change from the beaded handle. Two bags for the price of one - almost. ;-)

~~~~~

This afternoon I finished the 2nd version of "My World Is Beautiful" for Issue 2 of Elefantz HOME magazine. Be still my beating heart - I love it!!

I played around a bit more with this one, and decided to keep it squared at the top instead of rounded like the first version. 

Here is 'Version 1' which I made a couple of months ago...

...and here is 'Version 2', which was finished today.

Which one do you like best? 

This time I added extra coffee-dyed doily flowers and vintage lace (over 50 years old!)...

 

 

 Both finishes will be in the magazine, but my personal favourite is 'Version 2'. 

~~~~~

Yesterday Mr E rode us into Townsville. Both bikes and our car needed new oil filters, and that seemed a good enough reason to ride the 270 klm round trip, besides, I don't need much persuasion for a sunny ride on the bike!

We had lunch down on The Strand, with the blue beach waters just across the road...

You can still feel winter in the slightly chilly breeze, but out of the wind it is gloriously warm! What we love apart from the beach at The Strand, are the huge fig trees along the sidewalks.

You can see my 6 foot tall husband to the left of the photo, taking his own pics of the mammoth tree...

I almost imagined seeing Elves at rest within the branches (especially after watching the extended-extended-edition of the Lord of the Rings trilogy recently)...

Holidays are over now and Mr E is back to work tomorrow, so our trips out riding will not be as frequent over the next 9 weeks, but in the next school holiday break we're planning a trip up into the Gulf of Carpentaria before the wet season arrives once more. 

 Until then, it's our usual Sunday afternoon ride each week, with a nice lunch thrown in. ;-)

~~~~~

Due to the changes I am making in Elefantz, I am shedding many of my older patterns from Etsy, so if you'd like to grab a bargain before some of them disappear for good, I have 40% off everything in my Etsy Shop until next Friday, July 29th.

Just click HERE to visit my Shop, and add the coupon code ELEFANTZ at checkout, before you pay. 

Remember, you must add the coupon code to receive the 40% discount!

Have a wonderful day!!

Hugs

Jenny

xxx

PS: Now you can also keep up with Elefantz happenings HERE on Facebook!