A special pincushion and some not so good news...

I'll begin with the good stuff, yeh?

When I was considering what sort of pincushion to make for Q and U it seemed fairly obvious.

Those two letters go together like butter and toast so why not use them to create a rather lovely pincushion for those who like to quilt?

I had a very small piece of elegant cream floral fabric leftover from my Robyn Pandolph phase many years ago and married with cream cotton lace it was only a matter of choosing thread colours to sew a very special pinnie for you this week...

To be honest, I've stitched a number of words using my alphabet pattern in the past but I do really love this one the most (so far).

I chose two Cosmo Seasons variegated threads to keep the overall appearance soft and simple.

Sooo, guess what!?

This week I'm giving you the Q, U and T as your free download!

I and L have already been shared and are now part of the $2 sets you'll find here in my shop.

Here's the diagram for my new pinnie but you'll also find it in the pattern for reference later.

Download the triple pattern for Q, U and T here or here until January 3rd as a free gift.

The link to download patterns for O and P can be found if you scroll through my blog for the previous two Fridays. They are also free until January 3rd.

The pattern sets for A-E, F-I and J-M are $2 each here in my shop.

Pincushion BREAK

I won't be sharing an alphabet letter or pincushion idea next week as you received a triple blessing this week, but the first Friday in January I'll have R and S ready for you.

Now the not so good news.

Craftsy have decided to close many of the online pattern shops they have hosted for a number of years.

Fortunately mine is not one of them, however, they will be taking control of my shop and making changes that I will have no say in.

From December 28th they will be removing many of my patterns, their choices and not my own, and I will no longer be able to upload any new patterns or freebies until much later in 2019 - Craftsty have not given any dates for this except to say 'later in 2019'.

This is happening to all remaining Craftsy shops after December 28th, but I feel rotten for those lovely craft designers who have just been told their shops will close at the end of the year.

So here's my advice.

If you have purchased a pattern from my shop or any other shop make sure it has been downloaded to your computer and saved.

If you have had your eye on a pattern go to the relevant shop and purchase it now for the shop or the pattern may not be there from December 29th.

If you're after some of my freebies or any of my other patterns, go HERE to my shop and grab them now as I do not know which ones will go or which ones will stay. I will find that out on December 29th when I check what Craftsy have left on my shop shelves.

What has made me angry is being given just ten days notice that this will occur and not being allowed to choose which of my patterns to keep there and which to remove. I do not even know how many patterns are allowed only that they will be removing a lot.

Two close designer friends have caught up with me this afternoon and sadly one of them has lost their shop and this has huge ramifications for her. Fee still has one other shop, a new one with just one pattern, but it's her main shop which she's had for years that Craftsy have chosen to remove. If you'd like to check her patterns before the shop vanishes hop over here.

My other friend is Allie and like me she has no idea what patterns Craftsy will remove so if you'd like to visit her shop it is here. 

We're praying for wisdom in choosing a new path forward as we all work hard as self employed designers. 

I had more lovely things to share today but this rattled the cage a lot and as there's only a very small window of time before these changes take place I needed to tell you now.

God bless you, and just as I am doing, may your own troubles or anxieties be handed over to the Lord for He knows exactly what to do and can bring calm to the storms which tend to blow through our lives when we least expect them. 

Trust Him.

And breathe.

hugs

Take a bow tie block and look what you can do...

Mug rugs they did not become, but I did make a mini quilt over the weekend with my two little mug stitcheries and I even took photos along the way to show newbies to patchwork how easy it is to make a sweet bow-tie block.

The stitcheries were trimmed to 6 1/2" square so I needed two of the same sized bow-tie blocks.

For one block you'll need to cut -

two, 3 1/2" squares of red floral 

two, 3 1/2" squares of cream floral

two, 1 1/2" squares of red floral

Draw a diagonal line across the back of a 1 1/2" red square and position in the corner of a 3 1/2" cream floral square as shown below.

Machine sew a seam along the drawn line. 

Remove the excess corner section by cutting 1/4" away from the seam.

Press the seam open to make a new square.

Repeat to make another square.

Position the four squares as shown below.

Sew them together to make one blow tie block.

Such simple blocks and very festive as they remind me of big gift wrapped bows on top of Christmas presents beside the tree.

(those two sweet mug stitcheries are here if you'd like to embroider them yourself)

I completed my mini quilt on Monday with binding and simple machine quilting but the storm yesterday blackened the sky when I was ready to take photos so I had to wait until this morning for the sky to 'light up'. 

My new mini quilt is now hanging in the sewing room...

...the first touch of festivity for this Christmas season.

This is not the first time I've made a bow tie block, but I do admit to forgetting about it until the planning of what to make from the two stitcheries began in earnest.

For Christmas 2011 my grandson Calab asked me to make him a pillow of his very own and I discovered that if you play around with a bow tie block you can create a variety of patchwork finishes.





A touch of applique can add another element to the simple bow tie!

Inspired by my dear Nana who raised me this table runner design from 2013 is still a favourite in my home. I call it the Phyllis May table runner because that was her beautiful name.

If you'd like to make it I've just added the pattern to my shop.
You can make this up in a day, truly.

Next year you'll discover a number of "Phyllis May" patterns popping up on the shelves of my Elefantz shop. Nana has long gone from this world but is still treasured in my heart so I thought it was time to honour her with the work of my hands and the creativity God has gifted.

These will tie in with the new Block of the Month for 2019 which is vintage inspired, as well as the year long journey we'll be taking through the pages of my well worn copy of The Gentle Art of Domesticity.

I'm SO excited about next year, but I think we should enjoy the final weeks of 2018 first.

Before we close today I wanted to tell you about some wonderful tutorials my friend Fee is sharing on her new blog to help you with gift giving and also to teach some very basic paper crafting projects for those who haven't tried it before (like me!).
Drop by and say hi, okay?
visit Fee here

I'll be back in about 24 hours with another alphabet pincushion...where did the week go??

Bless you heaps,

Mmmmm, let's stitch more pincushions...

We're halfway through the alphabet!

Thirteen weeks and we've stitched A to M and made thirteen pincushions...well, I have, and after today so will you.

According to statistics taken last year, M is the second most popular first letter for a girl's name, which makes me think this week's design might be stitched a number of times if you're making them for friends or family. 

A was number one and E was number three just in case you wondered. 

I've given M a lovely soft flow and finished it with a climbing rose.

The borders are sewn left to right around the M block so that the end of one is overlapped by the following border. I love how such a simple change in piecing adds something sweet to this pinnie, and it's a bit different to the sides first and then across the top that I usually do. 

The green spot is an old Lecien basics and the cream background floral is Vintage Picnic by Bonnie and Camille, both from my scrap box!

I've already prepared the next two alphabet stitcheries ready to embroider on their pincushions and as I was choosing fabrics for them my heart was warmed by the fact that I only need small pieces and a few threads to make these little projects. It's become a joy to make something useful and pretty from my scraps. Have you discovered that too?

Download the pattern for M here or here.

The pattern will remain free until December 6th, along with J, K and L. Just scroll my blog for the links to those patterns.

The sets for A-E and F-I are $2 each here in my shop.

It rained last night which was wonderful for the gardens, however, it has brought the most horrid humidity to the tropics where I live and now we're bracing for a super dooper heat wave with temps hotter than our normal hot.

Funny thing about our cat Sophie, though. She loves the heat, sleeps outside under a bush in the middle of the day and only wanders inside at tea time for her supper.  As I was checking the large hedge bushes out back this morning she fell at my feet and would not budge...think it was her hint for a photo shoot because as soon as I took her piccie off she went to explore more garden places to spend the day and I haven't seen her since.

Interesting cocoon I found in what I thought was a lily pily...

...so I'll keep an eye on it and see what emerges.

Caterpillars really are incredible architects.

Anyhow, the not-a-lily-pily shrub has me stumped. 

It's been dropping these little green balls that look like extremely miniature limes, or a lime skinned mini pomegranate.

Any ideas?

It occurs to me that over the next while Mr E and I shall be learning a lot about the plants in our garden, whilst also filling the empty spaces with our own green choices. So far he's built two greenhouses behind his large shed and is propagating cuttings from a variety of trees we've come across on our Saturday morning drives.

That one I asked about a few weeks back (here) was in fact a spindly nectarine and the flower died two days after that photo because we do not have any cold weather here so it cannot set fruit. In the big scheme of things we need our garden space to be two things, shady and productive, so it has been removed and hubby will be planting river gums instead (we're not far from the river).

Out front of our home the previous owners filled in much of the yard with compacted road base but we're more the dirt, grass and trees kind of folks. Bit by bit hubby is breaking through that road base and digging it out so we can fill it with good soil and make a start on our garden plans for across the front of the house. Shade trees are high on our list as well as a large noise barrier that will look like a rock garden when it's finished. 

Since staying inside in the cool will be the best way to cope with the high temps this weekend and into next week I've some sewing plans afoot.

No joke, I have about 200 original stitcheries stored away that I intend using in projects - some to gift, some to use here at home and some to sell next year. These little mug designs are destined to be mug rugs by this time next week and I'm thinking a cute little patchwork block added to one side will be perfect.

When I designed them a few months back I chose the predominantly red and green palette for Christmas, thinking they'd be perfect as gifts this time of year in a project or framed. But as the design itself is not festive they could be stitched for any occasion all year long. I mean, imagine them in soft pinks and blues, or in those bright 1930's prints? 

I've trimmed the blocks to 6 1/2" square and will choose a couple of 6 1/2" square patchwork blocks tonight, plus some fabric to compliment the stitcheries. The red floral is an old Tilda print and no longer available so I'll use a little from the piece I still have but not a lot.

Maybe I'll get carried away and have something very different to show you next week! A mini quilt perhaps?? My mind is always three streets ahead of my time and ability. LOL!! I better slow down and remember there's other work that needs completing too.

The double pattern for "Lavender & Rose Mugs" is in my shop.

For those in the US I wish you all a belated Happy Thanksgiving. It's the one holiday you have that I wish was worldwide because it's not about gift giving, but being thankful and spending time around the table with those you love. May all your tables be blessed this year. 

hugs

L is for lovin' these pincushions...

If you could see my sewing room table right now you'd notice two things. 

1. It's messy but colourful.

2. There are many fabrics in piles of two or three prints waiting to become the next pincushion.

I'm thoroughly enjoying this process as I'm discovering many fabric combinations I'd not considered before and once they have been placed int their own little pile on my sewing table I'm quite hesitant to remove them because I love them all. 

This week 'love' is quite appropriately the letter L along with two lovely aqua toned prints which have partnered to give you our newest pincushion idea. 

Stitched onto a cream cotton/linen blend background I rotary cut the completed block on a 45 degree angle before sewing a 1½” wide piece of  aqua floral (from Tilda's Lemon Tree range) top and bottom. Then I added a 3" wide piece of aqua/green floral (from Tilda's Circus range) top and bottom again before cutting the top and bottom straight to give the front of the pincushion an angled appearance. 

Because that Lemon Tree print really has impact with it's beautifully deep aqua background I decided to add a little loop to the side.

Now, the L must be for Ladybug, right?

Embroidered with a mix of chain stitch, backstitch, satin stitch, lazy daisy and french knots (plus a wee pink cross stitch) this tiny L shows you can add a lot of variety within a very small design.

Download the L pattern here or here

This pattern is free until December 6th, along with the J and K patterns. Scroll my blog for those links if you missed the last two pincushions.

The patterns for A-E and F-I are available to purchase here in my shop for $2 a set.

There's a countdown to Christmas happening and when I was at sewing group this week I saw some beautiful handmade decorations. This reminded me I've not made a decoration for this year so had best get to it very soon.

In year's past I've designed some lovely ones which remind me of that year and the joys of our special day as a family with many or few around the table. If you'd like to make your own versions of my ornaments the patterns are temporarily HERE in my shop at the moment as instant downloads...

I hope your weekend is lovely, filled with all good things, people who care about you, something to sew and delicious comfort food that quite simply makes your heart smile.

Bless you heaps,

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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