Things I made for Christmas gifts....

As much as possible I gave this Christmas a hand-made-with-love theme. Below are some of the gifts I made for loved ones - and mostly all my own designs.

For 10yo Calab, a huge pillow of his own because he always uses the one's I've made Kezzie in the past...

 For 4yo Dee a dinosaur bag to carry all his toy dinosaurs around in (it matches the dinosaur quilt I made him last year)...

I also made Dee a dinosaur tail (from THIS tutorial) but Kezzie and Calab had fun with it too!

Using my 'Little Bird' stitcheries,  I designed a sewing companion and needlekeeper for Kezzie. She's just learning to embroider and wanted something special to keep all her bits in. I finally cut into my Denyse Schmidt stash for this present!

 For SIL Bert I made a sketch book cover because he's discovered how much he enjoys sketching. I also made a pencil case but forgot to take a photo, however, I also put pockets on the front of the sketchbook for pencils.

I made a very special mini pillow for Blossom, but it would be perfect as a large pin cushion if she wanted to use it that way. The beautiful stitchery design is by Candlelight Creations.

I also make sure that every year I make jars of my famous Plum & Cinnamon jam to give away, so Kezzie and Blossom both took one home with their gifts.

Remember my Shabby Bag from Issue 5 of Elefantz HOME? You can see the original HERE.

I made another one as a Christmas gift for my dear friend, Fee, and this time used a romantic colour scheme...

For my swap partner Dale, I chose a stitchery design by Tricia Owen and made it into a table runner with lovely Bliss fabric strips...

Now to something made FOR me. 

My sweet Blossom stitched this "Partridge in a Pear Tree" design ( by Julie Lembit) using prim colours and gifted me with it. Isn't it beautiful?

And Kezzie made me a whole bunch of coupons for facials and massages that she is happy to give when I have need...that could be very soon!

 ~~~~~

Because this was a fairly photo heavy blog post I'll wait until tomorrow to do some show & tell photos of what lovely bloggers have made from my designs. 

Right now, I'd best get back to stitching some more of my new free BOM for 2012. More about that soon...

Hugs

Jenny

xxx

And so begins our 21st year....

Did you have a lovely Christmas? I hope so. Ours was quiet, but just right for the six adults and two children in attendance.

It was a very hot day here, so Mr E was head chef, using the BBQ to perfection.

I was spoiled with vouchers for massages and the like from Kezzie, who will be my 'beautician', and the prettiest scented cup and saucer candle from Blossom. Mr E gave me "Jamie's Great Britain" cookbook - actually this is a family tradition of about 8 years running. Mr E always buys me the latest Jamie Oliver cookbook at Christmas! I love them!

My friend Fee sent me a beautiful parcel of goodies which arrived on Christmas Eve...

 I love all her handmade goodies - what a treasure she is!

In my final gift from Peg for our 6 Item Christmas Swap, I received this beautiful table runner, in lush RUBY fabrics - gorgeous!!

 

~~~~~

Yesterday was our 20th wedding anniversary. I still remember our wedding as if it were yesterday - it was the second happiest I felt in all my life! The happiest was the day I became a Christian, and this wonderful husband of mine was the reason that happened when it did. On our first date he took me to church, and I've loved the Lord ever since.

My man has never taken our vows before God lightly, but lived up to them over and over again. We have had hard times, sad times, struggling times, but our love for each other and Christ got us through. The numberless times of delight over twenty years were the icing on our marriage 'cake'.

He proposed to me atop a mountain in the midst of a bushfire, and we had to be escorted out by the fire brigade when the car engine died. Just before he asked me to be his wife two shooting stars flew across the sky...a night I will always remember. I love you Mr E. You are my Knight in shining armour every day.

Daughter Kezzie loves to cross-stitch and she made us this beautiful block that will be framed in the New Year...

~~~~~

The 7th issue of Elefantz HOME magazine has now been emailed out to my subscribers.

If you are not a subscriber, but would like to purchase this issue,you can do so by using the Paypal button below. The cost is $6 AUD ($6.05 USD) - normally single issues are $7 in my shop.

To see what patterns are in this issue visit the magazine web page HERE.

~~~~~

I have finished the project I am making from Annie's prim design that she used on a needlebook (in Issue 7). I made mine with shabby colours, and now have a very pretty stitching cushion! I use a stitching cushion to lean on as I do my embroidery....

I embellished it with some vintage buttons front and back - they added that something extra I love in shabby designs - and I quilted the top with a simple cross hatch using Perle #12 threads.

 

 

I used 5" charm squares for the four blocks, so the finished cushion is 9.5" square, just right for my hands to rest on. Thank you for your pretty stitchery design, Annie!

~~~~~

Tomorrow I will show you some thing I made for family and friends as Christmas gifts, plus some show and tell from some of you!

Hugs

Jenny

xxx

Gifts

Making good friends, through this wonderful craft I enjoy so much, has been the icing on the stitching cake, so to speak.

With so much going on this week, my head in a thousand places, and a magazine to publish in 7 days and not a word yet written, time to quietly sit and give thanks for my friends all over the world is cherished indeed.

Let me share with you today these photos of gifts I have received this week from beautiful and appreciated hearts. Every gift sent with love, kindness, and a knowing of what tickles my fancy; every gift so beautiful, so cherished...

From Peg in a private Six Item Swap....

(visit her blog to see in close-up every special gift!)

 From Joy, Shell and Vikki, these treasures...

From Melody....

From Carrie...

From Linda (no idea why there is an empty Turkish Delight wrapper - it wasn't when I opened the present)

Thank you from the bottom of my heart, dear friends!!

~~~~~

Yesterday Mr E took us on a ride to Ayr so I could visit with my friend, Wendy! It was a long, hot ride via Townsville, but worth every minute to see my good mate.

Last year Wendy and I both spied a table runner pattern in an issue of Country Threads magazine that we wanted to make. With no time left before Christmas last year, we made a pact to make this design for each other as gifts to swap this Christmas time! 

The pattern is "Stars of Bethlehem" by Karen Gledhill, and this is the one that Wendy made for me....

This is our favourite block of all...

Wendy's stitching is beautiful, and she added little tiny beads along the ribbon trim. This will decorate our dining table on Christmas morn because I'm not taking the chance of putting it out now and dropping something on it. ;-)

I completely forgot to take a photo of the one I made Wendy, but it's obviously the same design, but I added 80 year old cream ric rac braid as my trim. 

~~~~~

One of the gifts Peg gave me was a journal, and so special is it that I have decided to use it for the next year to record one thing to be thankful for every day for 365 days. I started on Tuesday when it arrived...

~~~~~

If you're still feeling stitchy this pre-Christmas week, Wendy has designed the sweetest little stitchery design that she'd like to share with you for Christmas!

Just pop along HERE to her blog to download, and remember to leave her a comment and say thank you. :-)

~~~~~

Do you like the pretty prim stitchery that Annie designed? She has used it to embellish a needlebook, and the pattern for it will be in Issue 7 of Elefantz HOME (which I have to write in the next few days!!! eek!!)...

I really wanted to stitch this up before the next issue so I could show you how versatile this design is. I finished mine today, all in shabby pastels - 

I am using mine to make a pin cushion. It's such a cute stitchery - thanks Annie!

There is still time to subscribe. Just visit the magazine webpage HERE.

~~~~~

I may not post again until after Christmas, so may I wish each and every one of you the most joy-filled, and treasured Christmas ever!

 From our home to yours - be blessed as we have been blessed with the richest of all gifts, Jesus.

Hugs

Jenny

xxx

My not-scones....

Mr E and I have been patiently waiting for two very long weeks to ride our bike. The gear 'thing' broke and needed to be replaced but the part was not here in Australia - it was languishing in a Honda parts warehouse in the USA and would need to be posted and may not arrive too soon with all this Christmas mail between their shores and ours.

So, as I said, two looooong weeks, and no riding for us. 

Drives him bonkers, and I turn into a workaholic. 

Yesterday, as I'd just finished writing that last blog post to you, I heard a whoop from the lounge room. It was Mr E's phone call, summoning him to come collect that gear 'thing'! Oh yeh!! \o/\o/ 

Bless his heart, he spent the next umpteen or so hours fixing the bike gear 'thing' (you can see how well versed I am in motorcycle fixin' ) so that he could take me far, far, away and loose me from the dramas of the past few days. 

As soon as he headed out to do that gear 'thing' fixin', I wanted to bake something special for him, to bless him for standing right beside me the last few days and not expecting anything more than a piece of toast and a black coffee for dinner. 

He loves my fluffy scones, and they are quick and easy to make, so I gathered all the ingredients and turned on the oven.

This time I wanted to add something extra, to make them really 'spesh' for my man, so I opened a vanilla pod and scraped out all that lovely fresh vanilla paste and added it to the milk and egg mix. I even sprinkled my homemade vanilla sugar across the top for twinkles of my love.

 Don't they look sparkly just about to go in the oven?

A few minutes into the baking, and feeling quite pleased with myself, I began to gather up my utensils for washing; replaced the flour canister, the vanilla sugar, and the milk container - then I turned to put the butter back in the refrigerator.

But wait a minute? The butter?? Why was the butter still on the bench?!

Yep, no butter ( a major star of scones ) in the scone dough. I looked through the glass in the oven door at my already rising beauties and knew it was too late to do anything now. 

Jenny's Not-Scones had been born.

They continued to rise, and then slowly gather a soft golden hue...I had to make a quick decision. Do I toss them out, or do I give these little unknown not-scones an edible chance?

I'm a sucker for the under-dog. They deserved a chance.

Lathered in butter, and my favourite Analoth "Cherry Berry Jam" from New Zealand, I presented them to Mr E. 

I told him the story before the first sticky clump of jam touched his lips. He smiled, and ate one. I ate one. They were great!!!

And the moral of my story?

So you don't quite get the result you planned when you're trying with all your heart to do something really nice for a person you love, and you feel like a total dufus.

Don't let it get to you. 

Tell them what you did. 

And you just might surprise yourself. 

Cause they'll love you all the more.

Hugs

Jenny

xxx

PS: We went for that ride today and it was perfect. I'll share more about that tomorrow. 

The final chapter on copyright and the needlebook

Before I go any further, I would like to say a huge and heartfelt thank you to the hundreds of ladies who have emailed, left comments on my last blog post, and responded to my newsletter. Not a single one was mean – every one was filled with support, encouragement and concern.

In the midst of some rather nasty internet stuff, the true spirit of caring craftswomen rose to the fore, and on behalf of Annie and myself we are humbled beyond words.

Bless each and every one of you.

Now to the final chapter on the needlebook saga.

I was blessed all night and day with emails from people who owned such a needlebook, had purchased a pattern for the needelbook design, knew of places to purchase the same design, and even a published book title with the design featured.

It’s not new. It is as Annie claimed – a vintage needlebook design. It actually dates back to the 1930’s, but I wonder if that was a copy of one even older? We may never know the absolute origin, but we do know that it’s a popular design that has been around for at least 80 years.

Online you can purchase the same simple design at Nordic Needle…

 …or buy the cross-stitch version by La-d-da designs…

 …or track down the gorgeous pattern by Jackie du Plessis. This photo is from the Starry Eyed Stitcher blog.

 The design is also in the Lark book, “100 Pretty Little Projects”

The question of design ownership and copyright has been a big part of this dilemma, so I would like to address this. A talented designer, Angie, has sent me a copy of the International Copyright Laws, and in a nutshell, this is what is says –

"What is the distinction between a protected work and a mere idea?

The distinction between protected works and ideas lies at the very heart of copyright law. The protection of a given work applies to the expressions of ideas that are contained therein. Mere ideas found in a work cannot be protected by copyright and may be used freely. Accordingly, in order for copyright in a work to be infringed or violated, one has to copy the form in which the ideas are expressed. The mere use of the ideas found in a work does not represent a copyright violation."

Download the document HERE for further reading.

What this means is that those who have seen an original version of the needlebook, and then drawn up their own copy of the design and written their own instructions, are not violating copyright.

If you cut and paste what someone else has done, or you photocopy the design to use and call it your own, you are in violation of the law. If you write down their instructions you are in violation.

To be free from violation you must do all the drawing and writing yourself, making sure you write the pattern in your own words and not repeat the original author. I also believe that if you know the name of the original designer it is courtesy to give them credit for the inspiration. Even if you just saw the needlebook in someone else’s possession and were inspired to write your own copy, state that when you do your pattern.

This is exactly what Annie did in the pattern she sent me for proof-reading, and it’s what my subscribers would have read when it appeared in the magazine.

So, Annie did not violate copyright, nor did others who have made a tutorial or a pattern after seeing one the same – as long as they wrote the pattern in their own words and drew up their own template.

I hope this clears all misunderstandings. I can now safely publish Annie’s needlebook pattern (in its entirety) in Elefantz HOME as she openly states in the pattern that she saw the design, then went home and drew it up and wrote the instructions. 

I was reminded by a friend yesterday that this duplicating of a common design can occur in so many ways. My friend Dawn made me the prettiest strawberry pincushion as a scissor keep last year....

 ...and I thought I’d like to make some for gifts so I went to google to find a pattern or tutorial – I found so many! Just type in ‘tutorial strawberry pincushion’ and make your choice from a long list.

But where did the design originate? I have no idea. I look at this needlebook design in the same way now.

You can use any of the links above to purchase the pattern in simple form, beautiful cross-stitch, or buy the Lark book to grab 100 great sewing ideas -  or visit these sites to make one from a tutorial or pattern:

Carson Valley Quilt Guild

Sew Prim Khris's tutorial

 Quilts and a Mug tutorial

(for a whole bunch of free needlebook designs go HERE to tipnut)

Copyright is a very tricky one these days, and sadly many people who really are the first to write something or make something get burned by less scrupulous people.

Visit Kerryanne’s blog to read of her experience. I was deeply saddened for her, but also very impressed with how she handled it.

The most important thing for us all is to respect anybody's original intellectual and creative work. If you use their tutorial, say so on your blog, and if you use a book or an item for inspiration to make a design, tell others that as well. I have been accused of copying another, but it turned out my designs pre-dated hers by two years. I could have said she copied me, but I do not believe she did. There were similarities, but really? There is nothing new under the sun….

God bless you all.

I am closing comments for this blog post as I am needing time to stop and stitch, to quiet my mind for a while, and to make scones for my husband.

But feel free to visit Annie HERE and give her a hug.

Hugs

Jenny

xx