Monday, September 11, 2017

Moving right along...

After almost four years in this house (the longest we have ever lived in the same abode) we are on the move...




The Lord blessed us with an 'easy' choice on our first day house-hunting for a new rental, but first we needed to go through the application process with the estate agent.
That too was trouble free.
(thank you to those who prayed xxx)

Within a matter of days we had walked through the home, assessed it's suitability for our needs, filled in a lot of paperwork, been accepted as tenants by the owner, and signed the lease.

It will be a couple of weeks before we move all our belongings over as Mr E needs to finish the school term before we pack up this house, pattern writing for the next Stitchery Club issue must be completed and there's also the issue of pacing myself each day as fatigue and increased migraines are already my constant companion.
But we're very happy, very excited, at the prospect of moving into a lovely low-set home with plenty of shade, a large kitchen, room for Elefantz and a study for my beloved husband. There will even be a spare bedroom for visiting daughters and their littlies to stay. 

Because I love to christen a new home with something special for the kitchen, over the weekend I traced two of my free patterns (available here in my shop) onto flour sack kitchen towels and added pretty fabric trim across the bottom before beginning the embroidery.





The designs are quite simple and can be made up in an afternoon...







My thread colours were chosen to blend with the pretty Tilda 'Cottage' prints which trim the ends of the kitchen towels...





These fabrics will be in quilt stores early October but I was blessed to have received them early as they proved perfect for edging the cream flour sack fabric...





I intend preparing a few more to keep my hands busy in the evenings during our pack & move week.





Might even use some of THESE stitcheries as they'd be just right for my new kitchen and I've always wanted to stitch them in colours anyhow.





I'm glad our plants are all in pots on the back deck as we can transfer them from here to the new house without a problem. 
My schlumbergera cacti are in full bloom now...





...and the hydrangea has flourished with the onset of spring.





Mr E's azalea, which produced multiple flowers all through winter, is still blooming profusely.
His Granny had a large azalea this colour right beside her front door so I always think of her when a new flower opens.





It might not be quite so easy for the cherry tomatoes to move from here to the next house though as the vine runs through the wire railing and hangs down below the deck.
Hopefully I can harvest some fruit before we make that decision.





One thing I will be extremely grateful for when moving our pots of herbs 'out of here' is leaving that darn grasshopper and his relatives behind.
They particularly love my parsley and this last plant was not spared even though I've been monitoring it carefully the past few weeks...




...but fortunately they don't like oregano so three pots of that herb are thriving.


What have you been making over the weekend?
Any tips for transporting potted plants when moving?

hugs



28 comments:

selina said...

tips for moving with potted plants, water really well then keep in shade in new place until you have scoped out the sun positions.
you could try putting one of those food cover netting thingys over the parsley to protect it from the grasshoppers? i grow italian parsley, they don't seem to like that much either.

good luck in your move hope it all goes very smoothly

lovely tea towels & thankyou so much for the pretty patterns (& recipes)

thanx for sharing

Anonymous said...

Hi JENNY,I am pleased for your scoring a new rental to suit your requirements.Are flour sack materials available here in Australia? We have bunnies hopping around the retirement village I am in and they love parsley! Next door had only the stems left after bunny snack! Can!t think of a deterant off hand,I probably would buy fly wire and do a cone shape to cover the parsley

Little Quiltsong said...

Really excited for you and your new move coming up. The new place sounds wonderful. Love that you can take your potted plants along and how you are making things for your new kitchen. Wishing you lots of fun as you pack up and transfer everything in the next few weeks. A new place for Cully May to explore soon :)!

Kezzie said...

Jenny that is exciting news! So glad the house visiting and application process were straight forward. I am glad to hear that you are pacing yourself and working around the migraines and fatigue. It must be hard to cope with these. I pray God's blessing will give you comfort, peace and strength.
I love your fabric choice for the tea towels. You are certainly very talented at both your stitching and in choosing the right fabrics, as well as the putting of it all together.

Blessings to you

Kerrie

Little Penpen said...

I'm happy for you that you found a new place so quickly. I hope you love it there. Your homes are always so charming!

Nanna Chel said...

Goodness me, you do move a lot, Jenny. We have been in the same house for almost 40 years :-) Mind you, if you do move frequently you do tend to get rid of clutter I would dare say. I hope you cope okay with the move and start feeling much better soon.

Suzan said...

I am so very happy for you. Finding a new home sounds exciting, God bless this move and your new home.

Sorry to drop baby news in her. Baby Mia Grace came home today. Three women and baby adoration have filled the day.

Unknown said...

Wonderful news, Jenny! So glad that you have found a home you really like. Is it close enough for you and Mark to walk to the beach/foreshore? Miss Cully May will be intrigued .... new p,aces to explore at her nan's. As for plants - Mostly we use cardboard boxes for pots we are taking places ... try to keep the plants dry and then water well at destination. I have curly and Italian parsley here .... all self sown. There is a huge clump in the front side garden and I couldn't bring myself to pull it out - it's in a bed with four sasanqua camellias, allysum,petunias, verbena and a plant like eccanasia. Snails killed most of the first lot of petunias😕and I also found a grasshopper. It will be lovely to see photos of your new garden. Best of luck with the move ... may everything go smoothly. Margaret xxx

Elaine said...

Congratulations!
I look forward to seeing your vintage kitchen designs in color, Jenny.
Praying for your wellbeing.

Simply Ann said...

Congratulations on finding a new place. We moved just over a year ago from a home we lived in for 33 years to a much smaller space to be debt free. I am still dealing with stuff and where to put it.

I get migraines as well and was down most of the day yesterday.

The towels are beautiful! I have several projects in the works. A cross stitch, an afghan to match a window seat in my new little home and a grandmothers flower garden quilt. I plan to embroider each of my grandchildren's names into the quilt. I have a fall table runner that I plan to dig out today and hopefully finish it so I can actually use it this year.

God Bless,
Frankie Ann

Tammy said...

Congrats on coming move with a spare bedroom...That is wonderful...Love the new tea towels too...Very pretty.

Allie-oops Designs said...

Thank You Lord!! So pleased for you hon - love your new towels, can't wait to see them in your new kitchen! You can get dollies for potted plants, wheeling them up a ramp would be easier than lifting. Or kids' wagons - watch garage sales.

Gretchen Weaver said...

I'm glad finding a new home went so smoothly. Your new items for your new home are lovely, very pretty. Blessings!

Lesley Gilbert said...

I would suggest some bubble wrap or folded newspaper to help protect your plants in the tubs during the move. 2 or 3 sticks pushed into the soil first and then the paper wrapped around etc. Also, some old curtain netting put over the top of the pot to protect your parsley - would allow the light and rain to get through. I've lived in my house for 25 years and can't imagine moving anywhere else - it's lovely having no more mortgage to pay! Wishing you both good health and lots of happiness in your new home - looking forward to seeing some photo's :)

Unknown said...

Yay! That is such great news Jenny. A study for the Mr too. So excited to think it all went so easily and you have the fun of looking forward and decorating a new place. Blessings
Karen, Miss H and Baa. xxx

May said...

Such wonderful news Jenny, Your New home all went though very smoothly...Moving can be stressful so take it easy a little packing at a time and rest in between... your tea towels looks amazing... gorgeous stitches and fabric... I'm working on one of your wonderful stitchery's I'm enjoying myself immensely... God Bless... May x

Guida said...

Congrats Jenny to you and hubbie. Goodluck with moving, after 3 mths I am still unpacking so no tips here, except take lots of deep breaths. Take care, Guida.

Jacqueline said...

I am excited for your upcoming adventure. Moving always makes you sort, purge, re organize in a nice way. Sorry to hear your health is still suffering. Prayers coming your way.

Joyce Stratton said...

Jenny, I am so happy for you getting a new home. I once traveled 1500 miles with several potted plants in my car. I set them in cardboard boxes so they wouldn't tip over and gave them a good watering before leaving. When I got to the new location I really babied them for the first week or so keeping them in a not too hot area and giving them extra attention. They all thrived and 10 years later I still have some of them. My father gave me a bromeliad as a house warming gift when I got my first apartment. I still have 3 of it's many times great grandchildren.

Love you new dish towels. I do like embroidering on flour sack fabric. Thanks for the pretty patterns and good luck .

Susan said...

Congratulations on your new rental home. I am so happy for you.

Anonymous said...

I'm so excited that you got that house and it was more or less effortless. The Lord has blessed you, but you had faith he would. This house sounds perfect. I hope the owner is more flexible and you have a wonderful relationship for as long as you need to rent. Your towels are gorgeous, of course. I keep thinking I need to buy some of that toweling, but I'm so short on time, having added school on top of everything else, that I haven't done it yet.

Anonymous said...

Hi Jenny. Really happy that you and Mr E have found a new home that suits both of your needs. Thank you for all the love and care that you always share with others. Sending prayers and blessing your way, feel better soon.

Winifred said...

That's such good news, so exciting getting a new home. Hope we get to see it soon it sounds lovely just right for you.
Hope your health problems reduce less stress and starin knowing what's happening in the future.
A grasshopper, that sounds fun but not for the herbs! I only have horrible slugs that ate my lovely hostas this year. I just don't have the heart to put pesticides down and who knows what other damage they do. I'm repotting & moving the hostas to the front garden and hope I can leave the slugs behind!

Robin in New Jersey said...

Congratulations on the new home. What a blessing! I'm so happy for you and Mr. E.

Martha Roberts said...

So excited for you and Mr. E!! Praying for an easy moving in process. Praying for your health and migraines. Hope you are still going to be close to that little grandsweetie. Your tea towels are going to be beautiful in your new kitchen. Thanks so much for sharing your news with us!

Lin said...

So exciting Jenny- and so pleased for you both. Looking forward to seeing pictures of your new home and hope the move goes smoothly. xx

Julie said...

Such wonderful news about the new place Jenny. It sounds perfect. I imagine you will be busy packing up all your lovely things ... your new teatowels are just gorgeous & will be perfect in your new kitchen. Happy Thursday to you my friend Xxx

Createology said...

Congratulations Jenny and Mr. E. Your new home sounds wonderful. Moving plants is a slow and careful process. I like the suggestion of placing sticks in the pot and wrappping kraft or news paper around it all to keep foliage safe from breakage. Lovely tea towels and sweet Tilda fabrics to match your very sweet stitch designs. Prayers for your energy and strength to allow you to move and keep everything done and completed. No migraines for you dear. Blessings...xo