There and back again (with Posies block 8!)...

 Hi my friends!

How are you? What has been happening in your life these past three weeks that I have been absent and on my own personal retreat from blogging and writing?

Truly, taking this extended break was a gift to self which was sorely needed, and though throughout the past twenty-three days life had it's hectic moments, just knowing I had time to focus on family needs, regular morning and afternoon tea times, bringing the garden into order, and really seeking and hearing God - well, it was life altering in a number of ways. 

My mind is rested, my thoughts and plans are much clearer going forward, and life in it's entirety has slowed somewhat...and at age 62 I am very grateful to have finally come to a place in my heart where a gentler balance of home, family, designing, writing, and that always deepening walk with Jesus, does not overwhelm my introvert nature.

Placing God above all is the key to any change, but it's hearing that still small voice speak to you through His Word, ever teaching, ever correcting, ever directing, ever chastising, ever forgiving, eternally loving...the voice which will right a detoured path, bring clarity to confusion and courage to the faint hearted. 

During the July break I did a lot of re-organising, deep cleaning and decluttering around the home, but my first task was to sew this lovely table topper from pretty green and pink fabric scraps. You see I wake earlier than my husband, long before dawn, and I needed a little space with a lamp in a secluded corner of the living room where I could sit in the old leather recliner and read my Bible. 

Our home is small and light travels everywhere, especially from the main living/dining area, so my plan was a small space, hidden away where a small light wouldn't cast too much of a glow towards the bedroom.

It's been such a joy to have my little morning space! 

In the garden we had our cucumbers and zucchini demolished in a matter of days by an army of green vegetable bugs, but they were the only casualties. 

Our spinach, rocket and sorrel greens, and various abundant herbs, are flourishing in this very hot mid-winter (average daily temps are around 30C - 86F). Oh my how I am lamenting the non-appearance of winter this year!

The  lemon and lime trees are set to bring forth their best crops yet, the tomatoes which were planted late this year are all producing (though everything is green right now, so we wait for them to ripen), the passionfruit vine gave us at least 120 yummy passionfruit (some were given away, more were frozen in ice cube trays, and the rest cut in half and eaten with a sprinkle of sugar the way Nana taught me as a child), and the pumpkins, spring onions, chillies, sugar snap peas, pigeon peas and strawberries are coming along wonderfully.

This morning I picked fresh parsley, dill and spring onions to make Spanakopita for Cully May's 5th birthday lunch today. Ross is Cypriot and loves for me to make this or Tiropita for family celebrations...

Cully May will turn 5 on August 4th, but the family party is today and she's so excited! It will be a wonderful afternoon to celebrate with her.

My three new roses are bringing such beauty to my eyes each day, blooming in vibrant reds, white and pink, filling the air with such sweet fragrance. Cully May and Rafaella love the garden and spend hours 'watering' and 'tending' it, but mostly they adore the roses.

I found these lovely napkins for a dollar at the op-shop recently and it took a while, but my husband now thinks they're much better than paper towels. Ha ha!! And let's face it, they're much prettier...

Breakfasts in winter are usually porridge, but as it's been so warm this year I opted for an old favourite from many years ago. It looks (at this stage) like a Bircher muesli but is slightly different, though you do soak it all overnight in apple juice. I lay it out in a tray and bake it early in the morning and wow, it's delicious served with fresh strawberries and yoghurt...

I'm making more this week so I'll write up the recipe and show you the 'after' photos in case you'd like to try it.

Other things happening here lately are plans for an inexpensive revamp of our kitchen, and the first change will be to remove the solid green blind from the large window over the kitchen sink area and replace it with a roman blind, using this Emma Bridgewater fabric (photo below) from Blinds Online. Rosie came over the other day for morning tea and I asked her opinion about it (wonderful that the company send samples!) as my husband just said "whatever you like, sweetheart". 

Well, she loved it as much as I do, so next step is have hubby measure the window and put in my order. 

And I've also begun stitching next year's free block of the month, the theme being roses and books...

New flowers have been planted in the garden and also in an old wheelbarrow...

...and the Schlumbergera cactus are blooming again on the laundry window.

The cockatoos, rainbow lorikeets and black-faced ibis keep me company through the day, always noisy (and hungry), but also lovely to watch. The pair of Ibis which have begun to visit each day are no longer wary of me but go about the yard and through the back patio whilst I'm pottering around with plants or hanging washing. 

I snapped this pic of the Ibis from inside the back door, which explains the exposure. It likes to march up and down the patio numerous times a day - perhaps keeping guard while hubby is at work? 

Anyhow, that's enough catch up, yes?

Today I'm sharing Block 8 of Posies, so use the download link below the photo to access the pattern. You can see I chose a bird to fussy cut for the vase this month...and you're not surprised are you. Ha ha!

UPDATE...

POSIES was free until January 1st 2022.

The complete 2021 POSIES quilt is now available from my ETSY Shop.

I'd really love to know how things were for you in July. Our country has lockdowns all over the place, though not where we are and I pray it stays that way. 

And thank you to everyone who has been praying for Blossom. She ended up in hospital with her pneumonia a couple of weeks ago and we wondered if it would ever end, but she's finally recovering after two very long and ill months. Bless you!!

Till next time, may the Father's love envelop you so deeply that all your concerns wash away in the knowledge of His care and everlasting love.

Hugs

Resting to thrive...

I've been quiet here since last week for a reason.

Rest was needed. For the mind, the spirit and the body.

I'm sure you have seasons like this too.

We went away last weekend and instead of being a lovely relaxing time it was fraught with trials we never predicted. 

My beloved and I came home physically weary and sunburnt from walking around the Camping expo in the blazing sun all Saturday, sleep deprived from our budget accommodation's ancient springy bed, and frazzled and (more) sunburnt after hours of being stranded on the country highway when our Jeep broke down.

Arriving home late Sunday after my creative husband used kitchen parts to get the car moving again was a relief beyond words.

All we wanted was rest.

But haven't we all had weekends like that? 

You can have high hopes of a fun time away but elements come into play which rob you of the good memories, crowding them out with less enjoyable ones.

So I just didn't feel like talking, blogging, or housework on Monday. 

On Tuesday I still didn't feel like doing anything other than drink tea and sleep, but I'd promised to take Blossom and Cully up the mountain for a few hours that afternoon. 

So I did.

And that was the best thing for my state of mind, even though I didn't think it would be.

Under the trees in the mountain breeze I let the cares of the world fly by. Surrounded by greenery, birds darting hither and thither, a little child to make us laugh...rest found me.

Dear Blossom had also been in need of refreshment and those hours away from the city and the obligations of housework brought joy to my darling  girl.

I realised something as I drove down the mountain to take us home later that afternoon. When we're burnt out and weary from a stressful situation, family responsibilities, business, health or various obligations the best gift we can give ourselves is a time of rest. 

That night I felt the stirrings of calm, a restoring of my internal peace, and I knew the next day I'd be back to normal again. And I was.

That's when I drew up the little "Rest" stitchery to remind me how important rest is and not to ignore it.

Today I drew up another little stitchery, "Thrive".

Because once you have rested, your energy will return and you'll get moving again. 

You'll be refreshed, and that's when we find it easy to thrive.

Are you in need of rest?

Don't keep pushing on sweet gal, stop and give yourself a gift of time to refresh, restore, rest.

You're worth it. xx

Bless you heaps,

(the stitchery patterns will be in June's issue of The Stitchery Club)

Simplifying projects...

I'm still full up with this head cold, and it's made me slow down a lot.

Slowing down is something I need a refresher course in on a regular basis, so I'm thanking the Lord for grounding me this past sneezy, croaky week and for however long it continues.

Slowing could also describe simplifying if you looked inside my sewing space. I put this fat quarter of "Wiltshire Daisy" fabric aside a little while ago with the idea of using the floral in one piece, no cutting or patchwork - just letting it shine.

Feeling the need to freshen the living room with 'spring' I chose to sit down with my tissues and numerous hot cups of tea to create my vision of a simple vintage style cushion cover.

 After fusing cotton quilt wadding behind the fat quarter I hand quilted around the five floral sprays with Perle 12 thread. 

This 30 minute task took about 120 minutes because I was watching one of those 90's disaster movies at the time (Sudden Impact) and being interrupted by frequent sneezes so my head was bobbing up for extended periods.

When the quilting was done I sewed an envelope back and added a French seam around the four sides to enclose the raw edges.

 The resulting sweet vintage effect was just what I'd hoped for.

Simple, yeh? In style and in the making.

Love it.

Just as this cold kicked in last week my precious 16 month old granddaughter Frankie was released from hospital after four days of a mystery illness. She'd had an extremely high temperature and needed constant monitoring, though the doctors were at a loss to find the cause. Aisha stayed at the hospital with her and waited for her little girl's fever to subside over those four long days, but then just as the doctors were preparing to do a lumbar puncture her temperature began to drop - praise God!

Once they were sure she was stabilising Aisha was allowed to take her home with strict instructions to keep her away from other people in case this was just the start of something else.

Now they've both got bad colds and needing even more rest.

As a get well gift I thought I'd use a new little stitchery I'd done a few weeks back as the centre of a small quilt for Frankie's dollies.

Again, I chose a simple display because children love simplicity, which is why toddlers are more interested in playing with the wrapping paper on Christmas Day than their gifts. All seven of my babies were like that, and when Frankie was here in July I discovered she is just the same.

So a bunch of 3" squares plus the stitchery became a quilt for Frankie's beloved dollies to share...

It's already posted and on it's way down south to put a smile on her angel face. 

We'd love it if you'd pray for her full recovery please? xx

Do you find yourself delaying the making of gifts for your family, or never feel you have enough time to create a fresh home display from your stash?

Simplify.

More and more this year I'm drawn to simplicity when it comes to making for the home or gifts for those I love. 

Next year you'll see even more simplicity in my decor because I feel most relaxed and content when things aren't fussy, and as I'm slowly sorting through the contents of our house this spring it's becoming easier to let go of all those knick knacks and excesses because  of the contentment growing in my heart.

As a very visual person with a touch of life-long organisational OCD, having 'free' space around my home, and areas that don't crowd me in, is soothingly therapeutic. I think more clearly, breathe calmly, and my spirit lifts. 

But you know, some people thrive in clutter. I'm not one of them but I know people who are, and really, it comes down to knowing what gives you a peaceful state of mind.

Have you thought much about that?

Well, I must be off to hunt down a fresh box of tissues and pour another glass of fresh veggie juice...I've expended as much energy as I can today. Rest, simplify, slow down...bliss.

Have a lovely day,

Block 4 ~ "REST"...

I have to tell you that I love an old boot spilling over with flowers. Don't you?

It speaks to me of old traditions, wise words, peace for the soul, and 'r e s t' ...

One day, Lord willing, I'm gonna have me a verandah filled with old boots...

Roses, geraniums, gerberas, and sweet daises.

They can all tumble over the side of my old boots and make me smile when I 'r e s t'  in my comfy rocker and sip my fresh coffee every mornin'...

I might even have this quilt laying over my lap in the autumn as my flowers and me greet a new sunrise.

We're a third of the way through the quilt now, so here's the layout for the top half...

 

 Hope you're loving this project as much as me.

The pattern for 'r e s t'  is $2 here in the shop.

Have a sweet r e s t f u l  weekend, won't you?

bless ya heaps,