Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Something special...

Last Friday I packed some sewing and headed out of town to spend the day at Heather's.
It had been about 7 or 8 weeks since we'd last caught up face to face due to puppies, spring colds, school holiday child-minding and work...but once we're face to face over a hot cuppa it's as though our last catch up was only yesterday. Isn't it a blessing to have a friend like that?

Heather's daughter (and another of my close and treasured handful of friends) is Barb, and as it was her day off work she was visiting too so all three of us spent the day laughing, chatting, sewing and eating - Heather is an awesome cook! 

I can't show you what were stitching at the time because Heather is working on a design of her own for Christmas which you'll see soon (check her blog HERE regularly) and I was working on a new Club pattern for November - but I can show you what Heather made using four of my blocks from The Christmas Wreath!
It's gobsmackingly gorgeous... 
 I'm so glad she used the blocks completely different to my wreath because it shows how versatile they are.
Has Heather's table runner given you a fresh idea on how to use/display The Christmas Wreath blocks?

(the first five blocks are HERE as free downloads until October 31st - final block next Monday)


 Yesterday Heather dropped by my house for a few hours between errands in town, and I showed her a new design I'm working on as a freebie to share later this week.

  "Free To Be Me" will become a stitchery you can make as a gift for those you know and love who  have been through, or are currently facing, breast cancer. Heather was keen to get stitching on this too so she chose a skein of thread and needle while I traced it up for her on hanky linen.

  As we stitched through the morning we chatted about how very blessed we are.

We realised that the trials we both face in life may seem big to us, yet in reality some of them can be let go of and others can be calmly accepted and walked through over the course of life.
 This means when we come up against the true biggies we will have a greater internal and emotional strength to draw from.
I'm going to ponder this more in coming months because I sense there's a wonderful unburdening waiting to happen by examining the depth of what a true trial is, and what's simply a bump in the road. 

 Here's a couple of sneak peeks of "Free To Be Me" in variegated pink on cream hanky linen as I was stitching  yesterday...


The plan is to finish it today and have the pattern ready for you late Thursday.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and the idea to offer a free stitchery to support this cause was prompted by a slightly different request over the weekend from Kerry Smith and her sewing group here in Townsville.
I thank the Lord for all these design 'nudges' because they allow me to use the gift of creativity He gave me as a blessing for others.

Drop by late Thursday to grab the pattern, ok?

hugs

14 comments:

Jacqueline said...

Glad you had some time to renew friends and laughter. Both so important to our mental health. I am looking forward to the new stitchery. Thanks.

Createology said...

You are very wise dear to visit your besties and enjoy good laughter, food and shared interests. Lovely table runner. Pink Booby Bird will be a wonderful bonus. Creative Bliss...

Anonymous said...

I will definitely be here on Thursday, for your post, and to download this perfect pattern for a friend of mine who just got a diagnosis last week that her cancer is back. Thank you so much for the timeliness of this one, Jenny. I will even use pink! I loved seeing Heather's version of the blocks in that runner. I traced the five designs yesterday and Jesus is almost stitched! I'm so happy to have started finally!

Baa. xxx said...

Glad you had a lot of fun and laughs with your beasties! The new design looks beautiful!

Ondrea said...

So lovely to catch up with stitching friends. Love the table runner. THanks for the time and effort you put in to create your beautiful designs and for your generosity in sharing some freebies. Angel Hugs.

Sharon - creativity and family said...

Hi again, I have nominated you for the Encouraging Thunder Award. Please don't feel you have to do it as I know time is precious but I wanted you to know how inspiring I find your blog. You so often come right where I am in your Sunday Posts. You have a special gift and it is lovely to see and feel it used and blessed. You can find my post here
https://creativityandfamily.wordpress.com/2015/10/14/where-do-i-start/
Sharon xx

Lida said...

Finally time to see your new creations and I love them all! Hugs
Lida

Marla's Crafts said...

Very pretty piece.
I am 12 years cancer free this month. It was a ery hard year but it changed my life. We decided to travel that year instead of waiting to we retire which was a great thing as now that we are retired at 55 and 57 my husband will not be able to travel with his silicosis, just short trips. Those trips will always be a special time in our lives. Maybe it was a way for God to get us going sooner in our life to see this beautiful world.
I don't know where the time went but was glad for all the excitement of the last 12 years with my four beautiful grandchildrens. I couldn't imagine not knowing them. There has been a lot of excitement with them.
We just went to Cape Breton for the weekend with our oldest son and his family to the Celtic Colours. The music was so good. My husband was pretty tired but he really enjoyed it. Even with all the health problems we are very blessed. Life is good.

Jackie said...

I always love to see what others do with your beautiful designs. (Gets me to think outside the box.) Looking forward to seeing your completed stitchery on Thursday.

sandys7118 said...

Good Friends are treasures we should all value in life. I love your blog and it serves as a inspiration to me for both stitching and life itself! You are truly a beautiful person and I am so thankful I found your blog! The new stitching pattern looks gorgeous and I can hardly wait to get started on it. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and your talent with us!

Sharon - creativity and family said...

What a blessing to have such amazing friends but how much more blessed when we have Jesus as our Friend. Yous stitchery is a lovely idea and I shall be looking out for it tomorrow. x

Brenda said...

Friends truly are a gift from the Lord. My BFF of close to 28 years just went through Chemo this past year from colon cancer and colon surgery. Turns out I could not be with her hardly at all, except by phone, because I developed a sinus infection that eventually lead to an entire 6 months of feeling awful with walking pneumonia. I would love to make this wonderful project specifically for her and give it to her at Christmas. Thank you so much for every tiny detail that you share Jenny, because for those of us who can not draw it really does mean the world opens up. I hope that you have a wonderful creative day!

Lin said...

What a great use of your blocks is the table runner - lovely. Looking forward to seeing your new stitchery complete. xx

Águeda said...

¡Qué pena estar tan lejos de esa bonita cocina llena de amistad y costura! Pero muchas gracias por compartirla a través del blog. Es como si un poco del calor de ustedes llegase hasta aquí :) Besos.