S is not for Cheesecake!

S is definitely not for cheesecake, but is IS for 'scrumptious!'

 This weekend Mr E asked me to make him a Lemon-Lime Cheesecake, so naturally I did.

But he also requested cherries on top.

It's not cherry season. It is winter. 

But, I am a wise wife with a constant store of frozen cherries in my freezer (to make my favourite mid-afternoon snack, a Choc-Cherry-Almond-Milk Smoothie), so he got his wish.

I call this 'The Simplest Lemon Lime Cheesecake Ever'.

Would you like to make it too?

Recipe is ready and waiting for you HERE.

Today, as you may have guessed from above, we're stitching S in our Monogram Mondays.

 My S words are scrumptious, simple, smile, sweet, and Saviour.

What are yours?

My Sampler is coming along beautifully; are you stitching one of your own? I'm not sure how I'll border it yet, but I'd best make up my mind soon, because....

...I'll be sharing all of the remaining monograms by the 1st of July! 

The last seven Monograms will be shared over the next three Mondays because I have something new to share with you later that month. No clues...just get excited.

You can download 'S' HERE.

 

I have finished the two little girl quilts for Pam's wee daughters, and only have the labels to attach to the back. I didn't want to put Pam's name and 1962-2012; the reminder for the little girls seemed so harsh on their memory quilts. So, I printed onto fabric the last family photo taken before she died, and added this...

I'm all out on my own with this one, so I'm asking you all, do you think that is okay?

My mummy died when I was just 3yo, and I think I would have preferred having 'mummy and me' to life dates...but that's me.

Over the last couple of Sundays I've been sharing photos on my Facebook page of words I'm stitching on to a small inspiration pillow in the making. So far I've shown these two...

Can I leave you this morning with a couple of thoughts?

Take time every day to 

~laugh~

...because life has challenges that can bring us to our knees. Let the things people remember about you not be sadness or disappointment,  but let it be your smile, your hugs, and your unique and 'moment-changing laugh'.

~believe~

...in who you are, that you make a difference, that loving you has made someone else a better person, and that God loves you more than you have ever imagined possible.

Hugs

Jenny

xx

Two little girls, and my pear...

Do you remember this post about the little quilts I am making for the young daughters of my dear friend Pam who passed into Jesus' arms last June?

I explained my own grieving process since Pam died, and why making these memory quilts has been such a slow journey.

Well, the Lord is good, and it was by His grace that yesterday I sandwiched the layers, and machine quilted them both. I added the binding, and last night one of the quilts was finished...

 I've added a block I embroidered from Brenda Riddle's "Betsy's Closet" pattern to the centre of each quilt. Perfect for little girls.

Now I just need to stitch down the binding on the pink quilt...

 

 

I have taken fabrics from some of Pam's clothes to make the quilt backings. The girls will be wrapped in their mama...

Lida is a blog reader who has become a friend, and she told me a few weeks back that she was making me a pear. Now, if you regularly read my blog you'll know that I collect pears. 

The mail arrived yesterday and "my oh my" what a pear she made!

The fabric weave is very fine, so those little cross stitches are teeny tiny. Aren't I blessed!?

Thank you sweet Lida. xxx

It's now sharing my favourite shelf with some sister pears...

Blossom has a day off work today so we'll be out car shopping with Mr E this afternoon.

I can't believe it - my baby will have her own car! 

Hugs,

Jenny

xx

Putting things together...

Today I rushed through my housework in order to spend time in my sewing room assembling some projects that have been on the go for a while.

Last year I shared HERE about the sudden passing of my dearly loved friend, Pam.

She left behind two teen sons, and two small daughters. After the initial shock I asked her husband if I could have some of her clothes to make memory quilts for the little girls. A couple of months later a box arrived at my door.

You know, I didn't realise at the time just how the grief I thought had lessened, would rear up so quickly at the sight of that box and leave me shattered and raw again. 

The box sat unopened in my sewing room for two whole months.I would look at it, feel a tightening in my heart, and know I still could not face what was inside.

When I finally did open the box, I sat on the floor and piece by piece held Pam's skirts and shirts close to my heart and cried. Minutes later, the clothes bundled back into the box, I knew I still could not cut into any of them.

Another month passed before I decided it was time to wash the clothes, and once that was done, back into the box they went. I felt so guilty about this long delay in making the memory quilts, but I simply couldn't progress any faster. Grief kept taking over.

We moved house in January, and it was later that month before I opened the box once more, and this time I gathered strength and cut as much usable fabric as I could from the dozen articles inside. Then, you guessed it, back into the box the pieces went.

Each step has been a process toward healing, and I thank God for the gentleness with which He leads me forward. The other day I objectively looked over the fabrics I'd cut from the clothing.

Pam's clothes are not 'bright' or happy colours, so I really hit a brick wall in how to make pretty quilts for the two girls. Then, in a dream the other night the Lord showed me to use the fabrics for the quilt backings...the girls could have pretty quilt tops with my own fabrics, yet with Pam's clothing making up the back of the quilts these two cherubs would be "wrapped in their mummy". 

So today I made one of the quilt tops...

...and tomorrow I will make the other. 

Once they are done, I'll open the box again, make two quilt backs, and finish the promise. It's the right time, and my heart is ready.

This week I have been stitching a new Christmas design.

Last year I did a small redwork stitchery for my e-zine, and I loved it so much that I have re-worked it into a larger project in pastel green and salmon, with extra detail and additional blocks...

Honestly, I just love it!

I started with these blocks today...

...and an hour later had the wall hanging pieced and ready to be hand quilted!

This should be all finished tomorrow, then it's time to write the pattern - which should be in stores next month. Nothing like an early start to Christmas stitching, right?!

Thanks for listening today.

{{{hugs}}}

God bless you lots and lots!

The loss of a friend....

In my life I have been able to count my true friends on both hands. Apart from one friend I made in my teens, the others I did not meet until my 30's and 40's.

One of my dearest friends is Pam.

Pam is a prayer warrior, one of my three prayer circle friends. We met in 2000 through an email group when we began homeschooling. It wasn't (isn't) easy for me to make friends, but she persisted until I let go of my fears and took her hand in friendship. I know she has a habit of doing that to women. She reached out and showed the love and grace of Jesus, and captured our hearts.

During the night, my lovely friend passed away suddenly into the arms of our Saviour.

She would not have planned to meet Him this way...she is a loyal and loving wife, and the mother-of-all-mothers to four children aged 3 - 18. Having two little girls in her mid and late 40's was a joy for her that words cannot describe, and in every conversation we had she expressed that delight. Her four children were her world.

Most of our 13 year relationship has been conducted over the phone. We've only met face to face a handful of times, as we've never lived in the same city, and rarely have I been in the same state, but those times were filled with love and laughter, and hospitality as I have never before or since, experienced. 

Opening my heart to Pam, I knew there was safety. She cared so much about all people...and I never doubted her care for me. In another life I would have wanted her as my mother...

Pam, 2008.

In an earlier issue of my magazine I shared the "Prayer Circle" block...

I also explained who the three friends were that I'd stitched into the block.

Pam was one of them. 

We four - Pam, Elizabeth, Ruth and I have held each other in prayer through the brightest and the darkest of days...

Each one of these ladies is a gift to me. Sisters not by birth, but by the Lord's hand.

Pam was a woman so gentle, so forgiving, so gracious. She has left a gaping hole in our lives and hearts.

But we know where she is today. We know that she stands before her Saviour in all His glory, and we know that He welcomed her into His presence with, "Well done, my good and faithful servant".

As you can imagine, the lives of her girls (ages 4 and 6), and her sons (ages 16 and 18), and the life of her husband, Gordon, is now a train wreck of grief.

PLEASE pray for them. Please pray for Pam's mother, her sister, and her brother. 

PLEASE, hold them in prayer for a long time because the journey ahead will be long.

I will be gone from blogging for a bit.

I know you'll understand. 

Love

Jenny

xx