Final GIVE THANKS verse....

I hope you have enjoyed stitching my little Give Thanks verses this year?

I wonder if you made them to display on the Give Thanks hanger I shared in January, or did you use them in a different way?

 Leave a comment if you've made any or all the verses and tell me how you used them. I'd love to know!

Now, to the final verse...

"for Christmas"

May we all remember to give thanks for the precious gift of Jesus this Christmas.

You can download the final verse HERE.

The hanger pattern and all the verse links will stay up on my blog until January 1st, so be sure to download them while you have time. You'll find them listed over to the left in the sidebar.

~~~~~

In my sewing room tonight I have some finishes to attend to.

My remake of the Shabby Roses quilt has just returned from dear Dawn who did the beautiful stipple quilting for me; now I just have to hand quilt around the appliqued blocks and add the binding. I'm so pleased with how this version has turned out and cannot wait to finish it and show you!

I also have some quilting to do on a special swap gift with Wendy. Both of us loved a particular pattern in last year's Christmas Issue of Creating Country Threads, so we decided then and there to make one for each other this Christmas. Twelve months on and the big swap is only days away from happening - but we're still making them so we'd best hurry up don't you think!?

Also on my sewing table is the affirmation design for Issue 7 of Elefantz HOME. 

OOooooo, it's so pretty!! , but I can only show you a peek as I have more to do yet.

At my feet is Bob-the-dog, freshly clipped to manage the very hot weather and high humidity. Honest, the best thing to do is stay inside with the air-con and sew.

If Bob had fingers he'd sew too. Maybe.

Hugs

Jenny

xxx

Give Thanks BOM - verse 11...

When I was thinking about what the next Give Thanks verse would be; the thing I was most thankful for at that moment - it was having my husband home with me again. 

The last couple of months, with him away working so much of the time, I would feel a great loss when he rode away. Yet, when he rode in the gate 5 days later my heart would leap and I was more excited than ever!

So the next verse?

I am Giving Thanks....

...for homecomings.

Remember the song, "Tie a yellow ribbon round the old oak tree.."? 

The meaning of the homecoming in that song is different to mine and Mr E's, but the yellow ribbon has certainly become symbolic with the return home of a loved one, so my sketch included one for this tree.

Hope you like it, and have someone to stitch it for - yourself perhaps?

You can download Verse 11, "for homecomings" HERE.

 Have you ever tied a yellow ribbon around a tree to welcome someone home?

~~~~~

Next week I'm going to share the 12th and final verse of my Give Thanks BOM for 2011.

All the verses, and the hanger pattern, are listed free for download on the lefthand sidebar. I'll keep them all up until January 1st, then off they go into history.

Hugs

Jenny

xx

Life has settled. 

The house is in order; just some fine tuning needed in the new Elefantz room and the new office/prayer room.

The kids love their new homes.

Mr E is almost half way home as I write this, so he should be here in around 3 hours.

I'll share a little photo journal of the changes in the rooms over the past few days.

This used to be Blossom's room; the dust strewn empty one I showed you on Friday.

Please come inside...

 

 

 

 

 

This was Sam's room, but it's now the new office and prayer retreat. I still need to do things in here (like pretty curtains) etc...

 

 

 

And both rooms have air conditioning!!! \o/\o/ 

This is the first time, after living in the tropics for 2 1/2 years, that I have had air conditioning in my office and sewing space. I am so blessed. It has helped enormously with my menopausal hot flushes! 

~~~~~

During the evenings I've been continuing to stitch the remade version of "A Christmas Story". Four blocks finished, four to go...

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks you to Kris and Chris, who have offered to help me out with some Aviary fabric if I run out of my small stash. The quilt blocks are so pretty in Aviary - very different to my original version with the deep burgundies and winter greens; though it was very pretty too! 

It seems right though. Linda in the US now owns my original 'A Christmas Story', and the colours are perfect for her winter Christmas, whereas this lighter version is perfect for my summer Christmas in Australia! Isn't that great!?

~~~~~

The quilt I've made using some of my Give Thanks blocks is ready to have the binding sewn down...

It's just a simple square-in-a-square design, but looks quite pretty. 

I was asked if I'd share the new 'Give Thanks' block I made for the quilt, and I thought, "Yes!"...after all, you might like to make a quilt with the blocks too, and this new little Give Thanks is a happy addition.

You can download the block design HERE 

~~~~~

Now to get back to making a welcome home lunch for Mr E! Chicken pasta salad today - protein and carbs after his very long ride home to my waiting arms....

Hugs

Jenny

xxx

Remakes and quiet....

There is an eerie absence of noise in the room next to ours. Blossom is gone. 

Only the dust remains.

She brought friends last night to help fetch and carry, take apart and load up; removing all evidence that she lived and slept in the room next door.

She left with fierce hugs, exacting promises I will be round to her new house for a cuppa in the immediate future. There was heaviness of heart on my part, and I saw it on her own face, yet - she has grown out of her child-life and yearns for her adult life. 

It was evident by the things she left behind to discard or pass along to her nephews, that childhood days have severed their hold.

Mr E sent us separate texts from the mine, but all with the same message, "Good night everyone. I love you."

And so she begins the next chapter.

Tomorrow I'll do this all again with Sam.

~~~~~

 The thing about closing chapters and beginning new ones is that often there is a sticking point that simply won't let you move forward. As silly as it sounds, this has happened to me with the design process of the next 'big' Elefantz quilt design. 

It's in my head, and some on paper, yet I have not been able to get any further than that. A huge mental block just sits in my mind ignoring all attempts to upend it.

And then a memory of something Blossom said (on a number of occasions) this year.

"You have to remake 'Shabby Roses' and 'A Christmas Story', mum...you can't just NOT have them here! They are a part of you."

Wise words; and that is why I haven't been able to move on. As you know I've been in the process of remaking Shabby Roses for many, many months, and have now finished all the blocks - done in brighter Tilda fabrics - but I was putting off 'A Christmas Story' because I wanted to do a new Christmas themed quilt in shabby roses before this very Christmas. Ha! Not to be. 

My heart and mind, and my Blossom, insist I remake the original first, and so I have begun...

 

 

 

The colours are much softer this time round because I decided to use my very loved scraps of "Aviary". I am just praying I have enough of it to do the whole quilt. For sure there will be exact cutting with barely a thread to spare, but the Lord can multiply and I pray He allows me to get by on this one.

~~~~~

The piecing is now complete on a quilt version of my "Give Thanks" blocks. I've used eight of the mini-quilt designs, and added a new Give Thanks block to the mix.

 

 

The fabric line is "Sweet Broderie" - very pretty indeed.

~~~~~

It is only 28 hours until I send out the next issue of Elefantz HOME magazine. 

If you'd like to subscribe for this bumper 6-design Christmas Issue, you'll need to do so by midnight today (28th).

Subscribe HERE or by clicking the button on my left hand sidebar.

~~~~~

I have dust to remove, a floor to polish, and a cuppa with Blossom to look forward to.

Have an exceptional day, 

Hugs

Jenny

xxx

Give Thanks Block 10, and a special spring offer...

LOVE

I think you all understand why that word is uppermost in my mind lately. 

With my own true-love away more than he is home these days, my heart almost stops when the phone rings each morning and evening for our 'good morning' and 'good night' chats. Yes, indeed, LOVE is on my mind, so naturally that is what I am giving thanks for this month. 

 

 

You can download the free pattern HERE.

~~~~~

Spring has really sprung around my home! My petunias are very happy, and I harvest cherry tomatoes every day, along with lettuce and herbs for our dinner. Just simple pots around my dirt-floor backyard, but a wealth of flavour and taste!

 

 

 

 I love fresh basil with my cherry tomatoes!

 The bats are feasting on mangoes falling from the trees.

My walk around the garden inspired me to offer you a lovely Spring themed bundle of patterns this week!

All 7 designs from the "In My Garden" set...

 

...and my pretty "Hearts & Flowers" cushion...

Until next Tuesday you can purchase the PDF bundle of all designs for only $5 AUD (around $5 US) by clicking on the Paypal button below.

I'll email the patterns to you within 18 hours of purchase depending on where you are in the world and whether or not we're awake at the same time. ;-)

Stitching garden things is a very happy pastime, don't you think?

Hugs,

Jenny

xx