Tuesday, September 8, 2020

Pillows and pincushions and a hexie bookmark...

 A couple of weeks ago I showed you some slow hand quilting I'd been enjoying during a time of rest. The stitcheries were from my December 2016 issue of The Stitchery Club...


...and they've been patiently waiting (quite a while) for their moment to shine. Way back then I'd already bordered the centre design with a pretty pink spot and stitched the long triple heart block four times intending to use it in a second border. 

It was such a delight to finally bring this idea together and create a beautiful pillow for our precious 2yo granddaughter, Rafella...




I took it over when I visited Blossom last week and little Raf (as we call her) was first out of the front door to come hug me. When I handed her the pillow and said "This is for you, baby girl"...well, you would have thought I'd given her the world. 




She cuddled it and loved on it all morning, her little exclamations of "Nana made a pillow for meeeeee!" melting my heart. Raf is a quiet little thing in comparison to Cully May, and also a very joyous child who gets excited when her big sister gets a gift (as in Cully May's 4th birthday last month) with no hint of jealousy.




Which is why this Nana wanted to give her something extra special of her own. One day she'll understand the words I chose to add in the pink spot border, but for right now she just knows she's loved and that pillow is cuddled each night. 




When I showed those photos of my hand quilting in progress last month there was great interest from many ladies who contacted me to ask for the embroidery patterns, so I've added that entire issue of The Stitchery Club to my Etsy Shop. It contains six designs which I think would be just gorgeous displayed within a quilt. 


So what else can you make from these stitcheries?
I featured one on the pocket of a pincushion which was gifted to a friend overseas...









I have shared quite a few pincushion tutorials over the years but if you like pocket style pinnies have a look at THIS tutorial. It will give you an idea how to create something similar from a stitchery or fussy cut piece of fabric.



I quite seriously LOVE pocket pinnies!
They're great for taking with you on a sewing day because you can pop scissors, threads, pins and needles all together in one pretty place. 

Another bit of hand quilting I completed recently was this smaller fussy cut hexie-centred pillow, a 'just right' pillow to rest my hands on while I stitch. A decade ago I realised embroidering with a hoop wasn't working for me so I began resting the heels of my hands on a small pillow as I stitched and it made all the difference to my level of comfort and also brought about a lovely soft sense of calm. 




Aren't those fabrics sweet? They are a new release here in Australia through Devonstone Fabrics and the designer is Elise Martinson. A number of the prints have sections which can be fussy cut into quilt blocks, applique or displayed like this in a hexagon.

Because I was so taken with the sentiment of HOME (no surprise to you, right?) I decided to use more of the same print as a bookmark.




All I did was take two 1.5" hexagon papers (mine are very thin cardboard) and using the blue fabric, centring the 'home' design into the centre of one, I basted the fabric around each one.
Then I sewed the two ends of a "6mm x whatever length you choose" piece of elastic together and placed the join in between the wrong sides of the fabric hexies before stitching the two hexies together around the outside with whip stitch.
Once that was done I removed the basting stitches and voila, I had a cute bookmark. 




Next time I might cover the elastic but this was a spur of the moment idea and I actually had to get some elastic from Blossom because it's hard to find any these days due to home sewing face mask production around the world.

I also made something else last week (what a productive sewing week it was!) but I'll show you that next post. 
This week I'm busy with spring cleaning, garden maintenance and creating a very simple menu plan...like in the old days. And that dear friends is something else I'll write about next time. Mr E and I have had a little mind shift of late and reassessed what's going to carry us through the next year, what can be put aside, and what we can genuinely do at our age because the years are adding up and we'd like to stay healthy and strong for the long haul and not burn our bodies out before their time. 

God bless you lovely friends, and I say that with complete honesty - I pray often that He will bless you, that His presence will bring you hope and strength and joy. 

I'll leave you with this photo of my latest vase display...dill fronds. Aren't they marvellous?! I had to harvest our dill plants and as we already have 'thousands' of tiny seeds for future planting these beautiful green heads could be brought inside for a different floral display. They last for weeks and smell wonderful....




...and a photo of Blossom and Rafaella in the new dress Bloss made her. Honestly, my daughter can sew like a dream and has just decided she's going to spend time smocking in the future. She finds it calming.
I don't think I'd say that, but then again she thinks I'm strange for choosing hand quilting as my calm pastime. Don't you love how God made us all so unique?





Loving hugs


16 comments:

Joanne said...

Hi Jenny,
Right fabrics, right pattern, right stitchery, great colour threads all coming together! Some things you just can't force...when it just seems to happen, it happens with beautiful results!
Love fresh dill flower heads in the garden...swaying in the breeze :)
hugs,
Joanne

Janene said...

What a beautifull child that pillow will be treasured for ever

Tammy said...

What a lovely post to read first thing this morning...Love your Hexi book mark. I remember when you did or showed those stitcheries online...I always thought they were absolutely gorgeous and still do.....Your pillow for Rafaella turned out to be stunning. I know she will treasure it always

gail said...

Oh Jenny, such inspiration. Thank you sweet friend.
Blessings Gail.

Angela said...

I look forward to your ideas you mentioned in your next post as we too are in that season of life! Have a blessed day!

DIGBY said...

Wonderful post! I can see and hear little Raf cuddling her new pillow! Blossom is quite the sewer. So glad she is enjoying making things for her girls. She will have to start working on boy items for that new baby. Also good to read your posts and hear how you are doing.

Julie said...

How lovely to see you pop up on my blog roll this morning Jenny. I was gardening (weeding!!!) & thinking of you earlier & hoped all was okay in your world. Isn't there something so calming about the combination of pinks & greens - have always loved that gentle combination. Everything you make is SO beautiful my friend ... I can just hear Raf's delight when she received that beautiful cushion. Have a lovely day dear Jenny - thanks for all that you share with us here. xxx

Susie said...

All so beautiful, take care.

Ondrea said...

Gorgeous pic of Blossom and Rafaella. Great idea using hexies for bookmarks especially fussy cut. Rafaella will wear that cushion out from so much use. Beautiful projects.

Debby in KS said...

What a beautiful gift! She'll treasure it. I still treasure a quilt that my paternal grandmother made me when I was born. I even took it college! Sadly, I never met her. Imagine how special it will be for a little girl that knows and loves her grandma!!

Dots said...

Hi Jenny, I do love uniqueness of people and things. Beautiful work. The pillow is very lovely. Delights that little girl's heart, I am sure. She has a special grandmother.

Anonymous said...

How lovely how appreciative your delightful little Raf was of her handmade gift. That is so heartwarming. Blossom seems to be doing an amazing job with her girls' upbringing but then she has had such a wonderful role model mother herself. Your granddaughters are delightful. As for your designs and stitching they are divine and so inspirational. Thank you Jenny. Glenise M.

FlourishingPalms said...

Everything - your stitcheries, your pillows and pocket pinnie, and children and grandies - are as sweet as can be. I like the idea of bringing dill inside, and can imagine the scent. Just reading your blog post makes me feel peaceful.

allthingzsewn said...

Jenny do you still have the stitches club?

Jenny of Elefantz said...

I have had the Faith In Hand Stitchery Club since last December. The original Stitchery Club ended at the end of 2018.
http://www.elefantz.com/p/faith-in-hand-stitchery-club.html

Allie said...

I have always loved those designs of yours - yay that you made them available again! Oh sweetie such gorgeous stitching in this post, (well, ALL posts, ALWAYS). That picture of Blossom and Rafaella is so darling!!!!!!!!!!!!!