Saturday, June 8, 2019

This weekend only...



A few unexpected days this week left me a wee bit behind on work so this weekend will be a catch up at my desk to get the first double pattern of Phyllis May's Kitchen emailed out to BOM members on Monday.

Must admit, I was disappointed when we first moved here because there was just no way I could fit my computer work desk and file shelving into the sewing room so we had to create a little corner in the living room. But you know, I really like sitting here to write patterns, do the bookwork, write blog posts and stay on top of Elefantz and personal correspondence now! It's a pretty corner, a cosy and inviting corner...




Once the front garden is established and in bloom I'll even have a gorgeous view out of the front window to my left. That's something very special to look forward to. 

Poor Princess Sophie, who is almost nine years old, struggles terribly with our winter - even though it's very mild and does not require any heating in the house. Born here in the tropics she thrives on our very long humid spring/summer/autumn months but come winter she looks for places to hide away and warm up. I found an almost new $1 baby blanket at the op shop recently when I was dropping off a box of donations from Blossom and after a good wash Sophie claimed it as her own.




Must admit, I love having her inside with us right now as most of the year she spends all her time out in the heat, sleeping under one of her two favourite trees. Bob-the-dog on the other hand, is twelve years old and was born in very cold Esperance (Western Australia) and though moving to the tropics with us in 2009 he has never acclimatised, preferring to be inside spread out under the air conditioner. With the cooler temperatures at the moment he's quite in his glory. 

These days I'm keeping my hands busy each evening with crochet. After the success of Rafaella's 1st birthday blanket using the Sweet Pea pattern from Lucy at Attic 24 I decided to order the yarn pack for her new pattern, Dune. 

But I soon realised after going through the instructions with Rosie (who is progressing beautifully with her Dune blanket) that I should make the decision to switch patterns and make an older one of Lucy's - The Cosy Stripe Blanket. 




My design day is spent concentrating on patterns - planning, sketching, fine tuning designs, stitching, machine sewing, pattern writing, pattern promotion etc - and the Dune pattern would require me to concentrate at night too, and that's why I chose to use the beautiful Dune yarns in the much simpler to keep track of Cosy Stripe.

Loving how this is coming along...




I'm also hand stitching a brand new design of my own during afternoon breaks but as it's still in progress I will wait until I'm further along to show any sneak peeks.

The other night Mr E came home from work and discovered our shower taps were ready to perish. We knew when we bought this house last September that the bathroom needed a lot of work but we had other more important things to update and repair first.

Deciding not to wait any longer we headed out to Bunnings and bought new taps which he fitted as soon as we got home (which meant dinner was rather late on Tuesday night). We also bought matching taps for the bathroom vanity and hubby will replace them over the weekend as well. They were inexpensive compared to most of the taps we saw but they were also our favourite. 




The taps look really classy in our old bathroom but in time we'll decorate and replace everything else around them.
Who'd imagine starting a bathroom makeover with the taps first? Us of course!




We've decided to get back in the habit of visiting garage sales on Saturday mornings, looking especially for planter pots and garden ornaments. I rarely buy anything for inside the house because it's a small home with minimal storage so why clutter the place? If I really love something at a garage sale I take a few minutes to consider carefully these three questions - where can I put it, is there storage room available, and can I donate something in it's place to make room.

You know, so far everything we buy and bring home after those Saturday jaunts has been for the garden so I'm really good at walking away from lovely things that I cannot find a home for. 

But last week there was a garage sale with lots of crafting things - bag handles, buttons, patterns, fabrics etc. My initial response was to 'grab a bargain' and fill my bag, but then I applied those same three questions to what I was holding in my arms.

Mr E even looked with surprise as I put things back and came home with just a couple of lovely large pieces of fabric. The bird print will be a simple spring outfit for Rafaella and the lovely textured print will become a tote bag for me.




THIS WEEKEND ONLY

In my newsletter which was emailed out yesterday I shared the news that I shall be giving my Etsy Shop a makeover next week. 

Some of the single patterns will be removed, such as the six "Alphabet Pincushion" patterns which will be re-released as a full 26-pattern set instead.
I'll also be removing the twelve single "A Year in the Garden" patterns and re-publishing them as one single pattern with a quilt layout.

Now because I'm doing this I felt it only fair to offer you the opportunity to complete any of those sets you may have been partway through with a 25% off coupon which runs from now until midnight on June 10th.

This discount applies to ALL patterns currently in my shop until midnight June 10th. 


From June 11th and over the following week my shop shelves will be updated with new patterns for embroidery, projects and quilts!

Truly, I get excited about updating things like my blog, pattern shop and even my older patterns and covers. One of my little happy quirks. 

Here's a few patterns currently in the shop you may not have seen?






And it's never too early to stitch for Christmas!


If you've never signed up to my newsletter why not do so today?
It's free and you'll be sure to never miss out on free patterns, new designs, sales, news and tutorials.
Pop your name in HERE today. 



LAST CHANCE TO JOIN "PHYLLIS MAYS KITCHEN" block of the month.

Memberships to join at the special reduced rate will close at midnight Sunday June 9th.



Well, I'd best get back to my pattern writing, though first of all I'll get a warming beef curry in the crock pot for dinner tonight. And I should bake a pudding too.

Hope your weekend is a joyful one, the kind that invigorates your soul and is God-blessed with goodness, grace, laughter and memories which can be treasured. 

hugs


7 comments:

Joanne said...

Hi Jenny,
Here, a cozy corner between dining room kitchen and living room with a view out to the backyard! A social laptop corner at home!
I can gaze outside and get inspired!
A very different feeling/look from a computer years ago that took up loads of room and table space! floppy disks, towers and monitors!
That would be something better to have out of sight!
enjoy the weekend!
hugs,
Joanne

Ondrea said...

As usual, you have found a lovely homey way of making the house work for you despite lack of space. Great fabric find at the garage sale. Your crochet is looking beautiful especially with those colours. Elegant tapware. Looks like I have found another pattern to purchase that I had forgotten about. Can't resist your sweet designs.

Farm Quilter said...

Your little work area is perfect and that view of the garden is worth the wait. Poor Princess Sohpie...my pup and I are the same...come the cooler months, we are looking to cuddle up under something warm. Our weather can't decide what season we are in...90+ degree days are followed by those that barely make it into the 60s. Her baby blanket is perfect for her to keep warm under! Your new taps are great - now we get to look forward to the renovation of the bath??

Julie said...

Dear little Princess Sophie tucked up there - so sweet. Your new fabrics look gorgeous Jenny ... also I am not sure if this is a word or not but I definately have tap-envy!! They look wonderful. Happy weekend my friend Xx

Susan said...

What a lovely chat that was! I love Sophie's little blanket. Our cats claim their places, too, and one of their favorites lately is in the laundry basket of quilt fabrics someone donated to me. Fortunately, it's right next to the dryer, so if I take out a bunch, I toss them in there and run them through on air to remove the cat hairs! It's funny your animals are opposite temperature lovers. =)

Your corner is a wonderful one, because YOU made it so. I look forward to seeing a tour of all those new plantings when they've grown and blossom, too. Those taps are just the kind I would pick, too. I need to do both the kitchen and the bathroom before too much longer. The kitchen will not stop dripping, and they tell me that washers aren't involved in them any more. Whose silly idea was that??? =)

The birds for Rafaella's dress are fabulous. I don't even have a granddaughter, and I would have bought that fabric. It's too cute not to own some! I hope you find the time to sew it up for her soon. Your plans for the shop sound exciting. It is fun to clear out and rearrange things ... and lots less physical work than doing the same in the quilt room. LOL

God bless and keep you, Jenny.

Tammy said...

Love your shower taps/ spigot handles....Very nice....I love garage sales but haven't been to any I don't think since we moved here about 7 or 8 years ago....I used to go to them all the time prior to that....You can find the best prices on needed items especially gardening stuff. Love your fabrics you chose....so pretty and love the colors and patterns. I would love to be able to redo my bathroom in the master suite and the down stairs bathroom as well.

Allie said...

I LOVE those taps - so retro!! And I loved wandering your garden in your last post, your Seasons pattern is one of my favorites - still needing to stitch it, lol! Your office corner is awesome. Very inviting. Good choice on doing an easier pattern for the crocheting - you need something relaxing for your down time. I love doing hand stitching for mine, such a no-brainer, lol.
Gosh I wish I could meet up with you locally - face time was heavenly but oh, to give you a real hug!!!!!