Sunday, November 22, 2009

Prayers, and a declutter for the summer holidays...

Where I live, hot weather is a day to day thing. You accept it and you learn to live with it. You also learn to respect the conditions, and the danger such temperatures have the capacity to bring about to the surrounding countryside. But we are in the very top end of Australia.
Right now, down in the southern states where a cooler and moderate climate is the 'norm', Australians are sweltering under the highest recorded temperatures for November, and that makes a lot of us concerned that a repeat of the horrific bushfires from early this year could be repeated. Already there are out of control fires burning, and some of them deliberately lit! How does a person become so unconscious to the horror of what they are about to unleash?
Pray that our country is spared such tragedy, please, and that all potential arsonists are caught before they strike that match.
~~~~~
The school year here at All Souls has wound down with all lessons and exams over. With only four more school days left the students are free to enjoy a variety of morning and afternoon activities until they leave the boarding dormitories and return home to their families for the long summer break.
Blossom spent all yesterday (with Slicer's help) sorting through her room - tossing out, rearranging, refreshing - giving it a holiday feel. Once the boarding students have left there will only be a handful of teaching staff, like us, who live on campus and can take full advantage of the swimming pool, tennis courts and large green grounds for dawn and sunset walks.
So like Blossom I decided to clean out my sewing space, but this time rather than tidying or rearranging, I have boxed up all the fabrics and 'things' that have sat in plastic tubs or on shelves for a year or more and put them aside to drop at the local charity store in the morning. It's time I used what I have or give it to someone else to play with.
It was hard, but very freeing at the same time! I still have my large bookshelf of fat quarters to sort through, but once that is done I know I will only have fabric I want to use.
Do you have lots of fabric you bought because you loved it at the time and now it sits unhappily in your craft space with no chance of a better life? Perhaps you can be brave and sort through it - I'm sure there is somewhere your fabric would be welcomed with open arms.
~~~~~
While my husband and I watched the V8 car racing today on telly, I stitched up the blocks for the Natalie Lymer bag pattern in this month's Homespun magazine. I used different thread colours than she did because I'm using my Snippets honey-bun, so brighter colours were in order.
Hopefully I'll have the bag finished by the end of the week, ready to be used through summer.

And what's this? Another sneak peek of something new in the Shabby Roses range...I promise, you'll love it!


Fiona at Mother's Cupboard has finished her version of my Shabby Roses quilt, in fact she finished it a couple of months ago because she graciously agreed to be my pattern tester.
She loved the design so much that she has made available a number of KITS to make the Shabby Roses quilt! The kit includes the complete paper pattern, and ALL fabrics for the quilt top! The photo below shows the fabrics she has chosen, and you can see her completed quilt top HERE on her blog.

If you aren't sure what fabrics to use, or you prefer to purchase kits to make quilts, then Fiona's shop is the place to shop. Don't forget to check the Gum Tree Designers blog in the morning for your 8th Monday Christmas Freebie! This week the surprise design is from Fiona!
~~~~~
It's Sunday night and the sun is just beginning to set, so I'm off to make some poached eggs on Vegemite toast for the family...lovely and simple, like us. :-)
Hugs
Jenny
xxx

21 comments:

Fee said...

OMG - Eggs on Vegemite toast???????????? I am a promite girl myself.....

barb's creations said...

I think I need to be brave like you,roll up my sleeves and be ruthless in my sewing room.
Like you I have many things/fabrics that I once loved but haven't used and have no intention of using.Time to bite the bullet and get real! :) Barb.

Vickie said...

oh yeah Fiona I'm a promite girl too...burritos here for dinner tonight light and easy..too hot for much else...as to cleaning out and up yep big one here in my sewing room yesterday-it's all spruce and dandy with some new things on the wall and a big fluro light on the wall-I feel like I am in a shop front LOL...oh your xmas break will be lovely walking the grounds and splashing in the poool,I like the colours you have used in your stitchery..and your new shabby item looks very chic...
I like very much Fiona' has done your design justice,cheers vickie

Janice said...

An easy tea here as well. Cold chicken salad. It has been just too hot to cook. We have had 41degrees the last couple of days and we are not used to that at all - especially in November. There has been serious fires in our region, but the weather has cooled a bit this evening and the wind dropped, so hopefully the worst is past.
You are so good to have a clean out. I'm just too much of a hoarder, so keep it all for "one day".

Anonymous said...

Have you heard of Corlis from Threadbare, the patchwork shop in Castlemaine? Corlis voluntarily teaches patchwork and quilting at the Women's Prison and is always looking for donations of equipment and material. So if you are inspired to have a clean up, think of donating to this cause. Threadbare has a website that can be easily googled and Corlis would be very appreciative on behalf of the women at the prison - imagine how life changing it would be?!
Yvonne

ozjane said...

Thank you for the thoughts and prayers for our drought fire prone state. We have been blessed with rain over the past couple of days and am praying for more tonight.
It would be lovely to have our lawns green again.....the last 2 weeks put them back to deserts. So praying for safe steady rain right through this unusual weather summer.
Love the embroidery also.

Anonymous said...

hello jenny,

yuo maak soooo wunderful thinks.
i love you patchwork.

greatings from the nederlands conny

Cattinka said...

I don´t think I could give away my fabric, even though I have some pieces that I probably won´t use anytime soon. It must have been hard to part from some of your stash.
KATRIN W.

Rian said...

An another Dutch comment from me. I weekly read your blog. I like to read it. Funny, you write it is summer but here in Holland it is autumn almost winter. We are so use to it, so it is strange to read that it is so warm on the other site of the world.
Your X-mas will be warm then? No Xmas with snowflakes and cold noses?
Greeting from Holland

Maggey and Jim said...

I know what you mean bout the weather.. We here in the midwest have to be ready for anything. It has been unusually warm lately but really appreciate the sun. We have had lots of rain. I pray for your fires that they would be none. What is wrong with people.. Still working on my Shabby and enjoying, love Fi's version too.
Hugs
Maggye

Neabear said...

Funny I should read about you doing some sorting. I was just doing that yesterday. Cutting some of my scraps into usable strips or into fat quarter sizes and discarding the small bits. I still have a lot more sorting to do, but I will get there eventually. Been trying to create efficient storage in my sewing room closet. I have been posting about that on my sewing blog.

http://neabearsewingandcraftmess.blogspot.com

Thanks for all of your wonderful ideas!

~Linnea

~Niki~ said...

I understand hot weather. We live in Arizona, USA, and our temps in the summer get to 120 usually. That's farenheit, very very hot. dry and hot. I hate it here! I have like 5 years left here to live, then we'll move states, more north where it's not so sweltering hot.

Loralynn said...

Oohh...is that a bolster I see with the shabby roses on it??? Can't wait to see the whole thing!

Orcsmom said...

I wish I didn't live so far away, I would show up on your doorstep for dinner! My family thinks I am crazy. but I also love vegemite. They just don't know what they are missing! ;-) I can't wait to see the new pattern. And a big thanks to all of the designers that make up Under the Gum Tree, for the lovely freebies that you all have been very generous with. I am able to share them with my love ones also!
Hugs!
Pam

Chocolate Cat said...

Can't wait to see your bag finished, another project on my 'to do one day' list!!

Allie said...

Please Lord no repeat of the horrific bushfires - Jenny you know I'm praying!
It will be nice for you to have the pool to yourselves, is it lit up at night? That would be refreshing - I love a night swim.

Jenny I do that a lot with my fabrics, go through and give away what I know I won't use. But it always makes me want to go shopping. I LOVE your stitcheries for that bag, and the new shabby rose pattern coming out looks marvelous!
Enjoy your *gulp* poached eggs on Vegemite toast....*shudder*

Myra said...

Prayers for rain for you all down under Jenny! 8-)

I hope your children have a grand summer break...

Hats off to you with your sewing room sorting! ///it is on my list for January sometime... 8-)

My DD2 brought some vegemite home for use to try... I'll take peanut-butter any day!!! lol! Whatever you are used to! 8-)

Happy stitchings!

Wendyb said...

Simple living but not simple Jenny....your creativity and love for humanity is empowering...thanks for sharing it weekly with us!!!! [smooch!] I'm definitely with you on the fire front...let's hope and pray our country remains safe this time around and I love, love, love that bag.....must get me some red leather handles! .... and click onto Fiona's etsy shop!!
I couldn't possibly give away much of my fabric...each piece is like a child of mine!!! ..well maybe there's one or two pieces I could donate!!!(hehehe)
Have a wonderful end of school year wind down....I'm doing the same after report cards this week!
sugary hugs XX Wendy 'o)

Robin in New Jersey said...

Praying for the fire situation.

Terri said...

Okay don't know what Eggs on Vegemite might taste like but I'm sure you enjoyed it.
I just did the same thing with alot of my fabric in Aug./Sept. I sent some to Allie and donated alot to my ASG group for some Charity projects. Wish I was near the place you're dropping fabric off to....I always seem to love all of your fabrics!
I'm praying for no more Bushfires.

Beeeme! said...

At last!!! Someone else who likes vegemite eggs!!!!