Block 11 "A Year in the Garden" BOM and some garden friends...

I'm about three hours early (Australian time) sharing our November pattern but I'm sure you don't mind?

I love hydrangeas. Really love hydrangeas.

They're not easy to grow in the tropics but a few very green thumbed gardeners around the place have had some success which proves it's not impossible. A couple of years ago I attempted to keep a potted hydrangea and it did rather well over our very warm tropical winter and into the start of spring, but then the intense mid-spring heat and humidity returned and that lovely hydrangea promptly died on me.

At the weekend Mr E and I were back at Bunnings again (we should buy shares in Bunnings) as he needed a chain saw to trim the trees under the power lines and to reduce one entire tree to a stump. Man stuff, man toys. I on the other hand wandered over to my favourite Bunnings department - the garden centre - and strolled up and down rows and rows of bonsai, shrubs, trees, flowers, herbs, vegetables and succulents, wishing I could load a trailer and take all that flourishing greenery home. 

Suffice to say I bought a bag of fertiliser and nothing else. Though I did look longingly at the hydrangeas in full bloom and toss back and forth reasons why I should and why I should not buy a pot or two. 'Should not' won that day, but perhaps not the next time I visit Bunnings which given our current obsession with all things garden related could be tomorrow or the next day or the next day. 

Anyhow, this month's feature flower in our Block of the Month is the hydrangea and I'm jolly happy about that because it is permanently in bloom and impervious to weather changes, pests or neglect.

Download the November pattern HERE in my shop.

It will be free until November 30th when it will become a $2 purchase.

The previous month's blocks can be seen here and are all available as a $2 purchase from my shop. 

We're almost ready to make our quilt!

Next month I'll share the final block and the quilt instructions. Honestly, I cannot wait to see your quilts!

In our garden there is an abundance of bird life, all day, every day. 

Tom the Cockatoo turned out to be a girl (girls have red eyes and boys have black) as you can tell in this photo...

...and is now respectfully known as Betty.

Still quite territorial about our yard and 'her' feeder she has begun to fly right down near us when she leaves, as though saying thank you for the meal.

Double Trouble still shoo her away when they visit...

...it seems they enjoy being bossy.

And they never say thank you.

Other feathered friends dropping by today were Mr Sparrow and Miss Pigeon.

They got along famously. Not a cross word spoken.

Lovely and polite, welcome anytime.

Is it any wonder I love sitting out the back with my coffee?

A few months before Rafaella was born my dear Blossom packed away her sewing things and turned her hand to preparing their tiny cottage for the arrival of baby number two.

Rafaella is almost eight months old now and an absolute delight, and Cully May is a bright and bubbly and endlessly chattering 2 year old...so Blossom thought it was about time she began sewing again.

Her precious family have now moved out of that tiny cottage and into a lovely large home which has the added bonus of a designated sewing room. They have been there for almost three months now, but just the other day sweet Blossom tucked her little ones in to bed, kissed hubby on the forehead, and with excitement in her heart opened wide the double sewing room doors, uncovered her sewing machine and began to create.

First project, a 'twirling' dress for Cully May.

Finished that night and hung near her little girl's bed so that it was the first thing she saw upon waking the next morning...

I visited Blossom, Ross and the girls today and was once again impressed by the exquisite workmanship in my daughter's homemade garments. 

We who can craft, and that can be ANY craft, are so blessed to enjoy working with our hands, creating beauty for ourselves and others, aren't we?! 

What have you made this week?

hugs

The blessing of weary eyes...

As the number of my years pass by, the more I have grown to know that God's Word must be where I search for life's answers, where I wrap myself in Hope, and where I weary my eyes.

King David's words in Psalm 119:123 profoundly challenge me -  

"My eyes fail from seeking Your salvation". 

 David knew the Word of God, he studied it and drank in every promise and truth with his eyes as well as his heart. I cannot imagine my eyes being so weary from reading the Word of God, yet they have often wearied from reading emails, sewing, browsing books, watching television or skimming magazines.

Having moved into our first home just five weeks ago I'm reflecting on the hidden blessings we never asked for but which some days take our breath away. Like the beautiful view from the back porch where we sit and open God's Word each morning and have our minds washed in grace, mercy, goodness and truth before we go our separate ways to work and chores. 

These days as dawn approaches I eagerly push aside the sheets, plant my feet on the floor, head to the kitchen to brew a quick coffee and step out back where one of my big old Bibles and a pair of reading glasses wait for me on the soft blue couch. Some days I read chapter after chapter, other days it's just a verse or two which leads me in to a time of personal reflection and prayer - but still, my eyes have not yet wearied from reading God's Word. 

Daily household activities will always draw me away and that is normal of course because people must be fed, washing done, floors mopped, work accomplished, but my hope for the days to come is that I increasingly choose to pick up a Bible before I reach for my iPad, phone or other reading material, that I at least rest my eyes and heart on a few Scriptures and ponder them.

It was only this morning I remembered a wonderful habit followed during our homeschool years. I would leave a Bible open on the kitchen bench at a particular chapter and as I walked past during the day I'd stop and read a few more verses. Moving on I'd consider those verses whilst folding the washing or attending to another task and as the weeks and months passed my delight in God's Word just kept growing. 

Mmmm...may be time to revisit that beautiful rhythm of daily study?

I pray the Lord will increase my love for the Bible so much that all other distractions fade away, and that my testimony one day will be that of King David's - 

"My eyes fail from the constant reading of your perfect Word, Lord."

What about you?

hugs

Well look here - the I pincushion after all!

We still have no actual home internet due to a big Telstra bungle but hubby showed me how to hotspot my phone to my laptop so I could at least give you the new Alphabet Pincushion - and it's only a day late.

Yes, I know most of you will say "Jenny, you needn't do that, we could wait." and that's because you're all wonderfully kind and caring - ((thank you)) - but I don't like 'collecting' projects and then having to share a few all at once (it's only a few days until the next of this year's BOM blocks is shared) so let's just rejoice that now you can download "I" and stitch it over the weekend after all. 

For this pinnie I've used a simple two colour fabric palette of grey and red, and then followed through with the embroidery in grey and red as well.

In the ditch between the border print and the embroidery block I've sewn a line of red backstitch to give a clear definition between the two seas of predominantly grey fabrics. Must admit I made that decision with the help of two lovely Tuesday sewing group friends.

(thank you Lynelle and Karyn!)

Download the free "I" pattern here or here before November 2nd.

Scroll through my blog posts for the links to F, G and H which will be free until November 2nd only.

The pattern set for A-E is here in my shop as a $2 purchase.

Mr E is out front working on our sound barrier garden wall this weekend and I've got loads of sewing to do so hopefully I'll be ahead by three pincushions come Monday, but at the moment I'm still adding finishing touches to J. 

Sneak peek at the back, which is very different to the front...

My middle daughter Anita and her own precious daughter, 4yo Aminah, will be arriving the week after next so my plan is to quickly get ahead with pincushions and the end of year Stitchery Club designs so I can enjoy her visit with no other commitments. 

Anita will be staying with Blossom while she's here and we're all very excited because it's been two years since we were together so I'm sure you can imagine how much we girls have to catch up on.

Now, if you haven't checked out the November Club patterns yet, here they are...

The November patterns will be emailed out to all members on the 17th so if you're not yet a member you still have time to join if you'd like to!

Visit the Club page here

Before I go here's one of my older tutorials you may like to work on for a Christmas gift.

I have collected doilies for years and when Blossom left home I inherited all her beautiful beads from a hobby she lost interest in...so I began to make beaded doily jug covers.

They are simple, useful and quite lovely...

Visit the tutorial here.

God bless you always and may your heart lighten each day as you seek His presence for He is the giver of true peace and the lover of your very precious soul.

hugs

Time out...

We have a faulty modem and will be without internet service until later next week. 

Looking at this in a positive light I shall take these next few days as time out from most of my online and work commitments, catch up on sewing, watch some movies, read, bake and garden. 

Next week I’ll have two pincushions for you as I am unable to upload this week’s pattern at the moment. 

May your weekend hold opportunities to rest and relax too, though hopefully for a simpler reason. 

hugs,

Jenny

PS: I’m back on Instagram and fortunately I only need my phone for that. 

Follow @jennyofelefantz if you want to keep in touch. 

The weekend...

We had a wonderful day celebrating Ross's birthday on Saturday. He, Blossom and the girls came by late in the morning and after cool drinks and the opening of presents we settled down to his favourite mother-in-law birthday meal - chicken pasta salad. Ross requests it every year and I have to tell you my heart swells with joy about that.

I had made a huge amount so they could take the leftovers home, as well as raspberry coconut slice and a banana cake with passionfruit icing. I don't think anyone leaves my kitchen with a hungry tummy because there's always plenty to go around and usually more to take home...

At first Cully May patiently waited for us to take her into the pool, but then she impatiently reminded us over and over again as it became obvious to her that lunch was drawing to a close. Gotta love a persistent 2yo! 

We ended the day with a good long swim followed by coffee and cake, then bade our fond farewells as the little girls yawned and our precious daughter and her beloved took them home.

Next morning Mr E and I headed out early to visit a few garage sales our council had organised. We'd gone to a few the previous morning but returned home with nothing so next morning we traveled further afield and came home with some lovely plants, a brand new electric hedge trimmer ($10!) and a book on growing cactus and succulents. 

Mr E trimmed the hedges later that afternoon and was very pleased his purchase did such a good job...

...and I am still deciding where to plant the dwarf bougainvillea and the cordyline negra.

Quite possibly they'll become part of the front garden.

I may not have mentioned this before but we live on a main road and though the back of the house is beautiful and peaceful, the front is very loud from traffic and it does hinder one's desire for a restful night's sleep as the main bedroom is right near the front door. 

So my beloved is working on a noise barrier, but instead of something ugly we shall be creating a rock garden on the road side of it, and put lily pily shrubs in pots on the bedroom window side. (we cannot plant on the bedroom side as there's a pump under the ground for removing excess water during the wet season)

It will have a slight V in the centre when complete but at the moment hubby has just begun painting all the wood so it may be another couple of weeks before we're ready to add rocks, soil and plants - all depends on how much time he has as this is a busy term at school.

We'll also close off the gaps in the front fence, but one thing at a time as we must save first - our purpose is not to create extra debt but to pay off the mortgage as quickly as we can and save for everything else we need.

My rescued lemon tree is thriving but a few unwanted visitors had to be removed the other day...

Fortunately welcome visitors took their place.

The cuttings I took a couple of weeks ago from the Elephant Bush (Jade) were ready to plant yesterday so I've got quite a few prepared and hopefully they'll all take root as Blossom would like some for her backyard as well. 

SEWING...

Well, I am behind which is no surprise after the house move and all that's gone on around the garden and unpacking and the settling in during the past month...but it was definitely time to take a breath and get back to work because we do have a mortgage after all.

The check print is from Bonnie & Camille whilst that vibrant floral is by Tilda.

I was looking for a few fabric duos to make more alphabet pincushions when the idea to use these two in a design for November took over my thought process so out came the sketch pad and by the following afternoon I had a design traced and stitching was underway!

Once the household chores were done this morning, and all emails had been answered, the coffee machine delivered me a steaming soy cappuccino and I was ready to let my stitching fingers get back to work. 

Of course I did make a mistake first up. I chose to watch the movie 'Florence Foster Jenkins' and as I'd not seen it before I hardly got any stitching done at all! 

It was obvious I need to pull out my Marple and Poirot and Jane Austen DVDs if I am going to get work done. Fortunately, tomorrow is a new day and I shall be staying home and hopefully catching up with work at last.

I can hear hubby calling me for an evening cuppa so I'd best say "Bye!" for tonight and finish my thoughts in the next blog post. 

What thoughts, you ask?

Plans for 2019...

Big hugs

The Booby Bird and the H pincushion...

October is breast cancer awareness month and though I have never been confronted by it myself I do have many friends who have come face to face with this nasty and invasive disease.

In 2015 I was asked to design a pattern for a local Townsville group who were holding a stitch-in to raise funds for breast cancer research and for those of us who have friends or family fighting BC you understand the need to give, to do 'something', so this simple design was my way of doing what I could, and though just a small drop in an ocean of many needs I realised how important it is for us on the sidelines to have an opportunity to show how much we care.

Often when someone close informs us of their breast cancer diagnosis, we want to rush in and 'make it better' but knowing we cannot there grows within us a need to express our love and care for them in a tangible 'more than words' way. 

As a quilter or embroiderer, card maker or baker, gardener or yarn lover, we have skills which can be put to use making or doing for the one who is facing this trial; we have love in our hearts and prayers to lift before God as we pour our love (and sometimes tears) into the gift offering we are creating.

I'm offering you this "Booby Bird" pattern today, to stitch for someone you love or know of, who is right now fighting breast cancer or has fought it in the past. In fact you may be that person and need to stitch it for your precious self. xxx

I'll keep this pattern permanently in my shop as a free gift so you're welcome to share the link with all your sewing friends or craft guilds.

Download the 'Booby Bird' pattern here

This week in our Alphabet Pincushions Stitch-a-long we are going to make the H pinnie...

The background fabric I've used with this one is a material which was quite popular when I first taught myself to embroider late in 2005. Perhaps you've used it before?

Osnaberg.

Often it was used in country style designs so as a newbie to stitchery they tended to be the type of patterns I chose to make. I liked the rustic, almost bobbly texture of this more open-weave texture of fabric but when it became difficult to find in local quilt stores I discovered the joy of linen instead and that soon led me on to a love of pastels and shabby chic so I waved goodbye to country style and turned a new corner.

When I found this scrap of Osnaberg in my tub of background fabric materials I thought why not mix it with a pastel floral print and see how they marry?

Quite well it seems!

I like how the round applique sits right in the centre of the square pincushion, don't you?

It's a simple pattern but quite pretty, and all three features shine through - the Osnaberg, the floral print, and the embroidered H.

In your pattern this week I've included the applique circle with the H inside it so you can stitch the H by itself or finish your pinnie as I have done.

Filling your pinnies with crushed walnut shells gives them a gentle weightiness and the pincushion looks lovely and smooth and never puckers or balls up as they do with polyester stuffing.

If you're looking for crushed walnut shells you can buy good sized bags at your local pet supplies store in the reptile section. 

This pattern will be free to download until November 2nd here or here

The A to E patterns are now a $2 purchase for the set here in my shop.

The links to F and G are free until November 2nd and can be found here and here.

Many of my Gentle Domesticity Group members have been stitching the Alphabet Pincushions each week so I thought you may like to see a few. Marie Gibson and her good friend Joy Plumridge like to spend time sewing together and I'm sure they bounce ideas off each other because their pinnies are lovely.

The buttons Marie has added down the borders of her F are so pretty, and the purple fabrics on her G pinnie really catch the eye...

Joy's fabric choices made my heart flutter, aren't they beautiful?

Both Marie and Joy have chosen their threads to blend with the colours in their feature fabrics and I really encourage you to follow that method when embroidering any design.

When you blend fabric and thread there is a beautiful flow from one to the other, but as I often instruct my Club members, blog readers and in my patterns, choose the fabric first because it's much easier to find the right threads afterwards. 

Tomorrow we're celebrating Ross's birthday so he, Blossom and the girls will be here for lunch and to have fun in the pool, but before that our city is hosting The Garage Sale Trail for the first time and you know that Mr E and I will be off to see what we can find. It's on all weekend so we may go hunting a few times between the birthday lunch and the very big front yard project I will tell you more about next week.

God bless YOUR weekend, may it be what you need, whether that is peaceful, celebratory, adventurous, productive or a time of total rest, I pray it fills your heart to overflowing with goodness.

hugs

Follow my blog with Bloglovin