Free Christmas pattern number 4...

 

Christmas 'firsts' can be a reason for extra celebration, such as when Blossom had Charlie David in early December 2020, and the joy we experienced welcoming that new wee babe to our clan. This blessed gift from the Lord after a year of challenge with covid lockdowns and restrictions made that Christmas even more special for our whole family. Holding newborn Charlie David in our arms, Blossom and I considered the moment Mary held her own newborn Son, Yeshua (Jesus), in her young arms and the enormity of her heart now overflowing with favour, gratitude and joy for a safe delivery and a promise fulfilled.

But Christmas 'firsts' can also be touched with sadness for those who have lost loved ones throughout the year. I believe God's comfort is the only healing balm which can hold a broken heart together during times of celebration, when those around are rejoicing.

This Christmas I have two dear friends who lost their mothers during the year, and many others who have asked for prayer in comments and emails, after the loss of their husbands or family members.

Let us be mindful of those around us who will struggle in this 'first' Christmas without their loved one, and hold them in prayer. And let us also pray for those who do not know the Lord yet, and have not sought His gentle comfort. 

I am praying for all of you who have faced loss this year, and asking the Lord to magnify His great comfort and love within your hearts, that you may lift teary eyes to heaven and be able to rejoice also in the gift of Christ our Lord.

Use the link below to download this free pattern

DOWNLOAD Comfort and Joy pattern

Thank you for your prayers for little Charlie David. He is still unwell, as is Cully May now too. When we visited yesterday, I sat holding 7yo Cully May for a long time in my arms as her body burned with fever, and Blossom held her little boy as he struggled to sleep. We have prayed, and glorify God for His hand upon each of their lives, for nothing is allowed without His approval, and sometimes sickness must run its course before the healing is sure. 

I shall be back in a few days with the 5th free pattern for Christmas 2023. In the meantime we're expecting a lot of rain as Cyclone Jasper edges closer to the coast. There's still uncertainty as to where it will make landfall, but it's unlikely to be close to us. However, it's a slow moving cyclone, and that means it gathers a lot more water, so heavy rains over areas below the cyclone are expected, and that's us.

God bless dear ones,

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Late October garden and two new patterns...

 It's been a while since I did a garden post, mostly because we've been flat out keeping things alive as the dreadful high temperatures return for our long summer, which will not recede until close to winter next year. 

Over the past month my husband dug up a large concrete slab in our backyard, which the previous owners used as a boat support. Then he had to fill it all in with soil, and top it with hay. I took these photos early yesterday morning before the sun rose over the mountain, as once the sun appears my photos are startlingly white and overexposed, so they are a little dark...

These are some of the concrete pieces he cut out. We're giving them away, and half have already been taken, but the rest are waiting there until we find someone else who wants them.

The grass has died away and when you walk around the yard all you hear is the crunch under your feet. We have added more hay across parts of the lawn, in an effort to save the soil from complete hydrophobia before the rain arrives - though we're told to expect a long drought, and for the past few months that is indeed what we have had. 

I always plant pumpkins this time of year because they survive regardless of the heat and humidity. There are four Queensland Blue plants here, and before planting out the seeds I dug holes and filled them with really good quality potting mix (far better than our rock hard clay soil). I just have to keep up the water every day...

The cucamelon vines died off once the days got over 30C (85F) and now where we are the days have already climbed to 34C (94F)...and it's only the middle of spring. Trying to keep some nutrition in all the gardens I have planted sunflowers of all varieties *everywhere*. We won't let them go to seed, but do a cut and drop over garden beds and soil. We will also plant more in successions of about 4-6 weeks until early Autumn. 

The small raised bed on the left below is now clear of the cucamelon vines and I have sunflowers coming up at the base of the wire. The angelonia and marigolds continue to thrive in the worst of heat as long as they get water. So do the geraniums, dianthus and coreopsis, and of course, the weeds. Sweet potatoes are also doing very well in three separate areas as long as they get watered regularly. Honestly, we will take anything good we can get in the garden right now. Herbs like rosemary, spring onions (green onions), parsley, thai basil and perennial basil are also surviving - but they usually manage okay in summer with good rain - this year we'll just hand water. 

The corn failed dismally, so we're leaving it there to drop and become part of soil nutrition.

I'm nursing two cucumber vines in the shade, three potted blueberry plants in fruit under the cover of an old net curtain, and the last of our roma tomatoes and snow peas (very shocked that they've lasted this long).

Our little green tree frog is still alive and happily living in the raised bed by the pool. Turned out it's a she, so we named her Peaches. When the children were little we used to sing a song "Gonna move to the country and eat a lot of peaches..." because we all had a dream to do that. Unfortunately you can't grow peaches in the tropics, but now we have a Peaches of our own living close by. She's looking much better than she did back here and happily sits in her pink bowl of water if she's not shading herself under the sweet potato vine. 

New Patterns...

I have added two new patterns to my Etsy Shop this week, and I hope you like them. Both were a joy to create and are now displayed in our home.

I find this verse to be quite uplifting, and at times needful to remember. 

I've really enjoyed the penny rug style these past few months, and though there are no penny circles on the little tongues which hang from the bottom of this mini quilt, the small mother-of-pearl buttons added a lovely vintage touch and were a perfect replacement. 

As I said in my last post, designing in future will only happen when I have time, inspiration and can fully enjoy the process. The few new patterns I am currently writing and adding to my shop were all joyful creations, and made for our home. Perhaps they'll be joyful additions to your own sewing? 

This table topper is square and has a cute little house sitting atop a double heart sewn into each corner. I made this in subdued colours, and thought later it would be perfect to display around late autumn when the weather begins to cool...in late autumn and winter I love having more subdued colours in the house.

Both new patterns are HERE in my shop if you'd like to make them. :-)

I shall sign off now as it's time for my afternoon cuppa, and dear husband will be keen to have one too. I baked some delicious banana, apple and blueberry muffins this morning so they'll be just right to have on the side. 

Before I go - I was reading 1 Thessalonians this morning and wanted to encourage you with Paul's words as I sign off today..."Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1Thessalonians 5:16-18

Then I read this from one of Charles Spurgeon's sermons and it fit perfectly with that verse so I'll share this with you too...

"When joy and prayer are married, their firstborn child is gratitude." Charles Spurgeon

God bless you dear ones, and may we together always rejoice, pray, and give thanks, to our Father above Who loved us so much He sacrificed His only Son to save us. That truth must never be watered down, ignored or altered to suit the world. 

Love and hugs

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Molly, Tilda and a kitchen makeover...

 Time is passing swiftly this September, but probably because there's been a lot going on at home, with family, designing, sewing, the garden - and a new companion for me.

MOLLY

In January Blossom and Ross became owners of two 6-week old pug puppies, Molly and Barnaby. In their huge house there was plenty of room for two dogs, three children, and two offices for both Ross and Blossom to work from home. We all adored those two mischievous pugs, but Molly especially took a great liking to me, almost beside herself with excitement each time I visited. 

Then their rental home of five years was to be put up for sale and the owner would not renew their lease, so, as you know, the prayers went up for a new home to be found quickly as rentals are very scarce in our town. Praise God, who at the eleventh hour provided a new dwelling for them last month, not far from where they already lived. The house was half the size of the one they currently rented, but it is lovely and cosy, in a good area, and the family love it. But...it was far too small for two indoor dogs. Living in the hot and humid tropics is not the best climate for pugs, so keeping them outside is not an option. 

We had rehomed Harry the dachshund back in March to a young woman training to be a vet (he hated being indoors, terrorised our old Sophie cat to the point her health went downhill, tore up more garden than you'd believe, created a lot of stress day and night with his endless barking, and quite simply was not the right puppy/dog for us at this stage of life) but the prayers were still going heavenward for a 'real' companion dog that would be my buddy each day while hubby was working.

And so, Molly came to live with us. This made everyone happy as she can see her brother Barnaby often, plus be loved on always by Blossom, Ross and the children when we visit them or when they visit here. 

She's exactly what I needed, and truly, she adores me. Her and I were already buddies, but now it's so much more. She's a curious little thing and follows me everywhere, rarely is she away from my side...in fact, the first day here she wanted to know exactly what I was doing in the sewing room so I popped her on the pink chair and she was completely mezmerised! Though eventually she curled up on the chair and fell asleep. 

Her first outing to Bunnings with hubby and I in his Ford Ranger was very exciting, and once again, she was mezmerised by all the activity, sights and sounds around her. Bunnings is a huge hardware store in Australia (for those overseas who haven't heard of it) and you're allowed to take your dogs in there.

I'm sure you'll see plenty of Miss Molly on the blog in future. 

Next thing which has taken up a lot of my time is a double project I designed from a bundle of fabrics soon to be released in shops this coming October. You may remember that I have often been gifted fabric from manufacturers or distributors over the years, but I did decline all the offers last year. However...

TILDA HIBERNATION

All those sleeping little creatures, and the warm autumnal tones, caught my eye so when I was offered a bundle of the new Tilda Hibernation fabrics to play with my answer was an easy 'yes'. 

For three weeks I've been sketching, erasing, sketching again, erasing again, and finally set my mind on an idea that stemmed from the The Two Towers by JRR Tolkein (second book in the Lord of the Rings trilogy). There's a scene in Fangorn Forest where the ancient Ent, Treebeard, in the cool autumnal air of early evening, settles two of the little hobbits down at the base of a huge tree and says very softly, "Sleep little Shirelings..." (for Hobbits were known as people of the Shire). Here's what I eventually made. 

A table topper which featured circles of little hibernating mice, birds and squirrels...

...and an embroidered hoop inspired by the words of Treebeard. I wrapped the outside of the hoop in more of the Hibernation fabric.

What do you think?

I'll have the patterns ready on October 1st when the Tilda Hibernation fabrics are in quilt shops. 

Funny thing about the leaves I used in the photos. In the tropics we don't have pretty autumn leaves, as everything is green...but in spring, yes, in spring, we have trees whose leaves turn vivid orange, red and brown! We have one such tree in our front yard, but to give you a better view of these trees in all their splendour my husband took a photo near a picnic spot we stopped at during a recent day trip away. 

KITCHEN MAKEOVER

If you've been here long enough you would know that when we bought this house, our very first, five years ago, in the midst of my joy was the disappointment of having a brown laminate kitchen. Brown is my most detested colour for home decore, and especially in a kitchen. 

This is the kitchen when we first bought the house...

On the right hand side I have already given it a makeover with pretty green floral curtains, hanging plants, potted plants, pictures...it looks lovely now, yet for some reason I can't find a photo so I'll just reshare one I took recently in that area when Rafaella and Charlie spent the day with me.

Now have a look at my makeover of the opposite side. First thing you'll notice is that I've removed two cupboard doors - and for the life of me I do not know why I haven't thought of this before! It has completely opened up the area and brought light and beauty to my eye. 

I have a few more ideas, but for now, this makes me so happy every time I walk through the kitchen! And the whole makeover cost me nothing more than $7 for the tin of fake flowers, and the next day I spent another $3 for a new coffee mug decorated with a garden scene (which is not pictured). 

There's going to be a few more budget makeovers in our home over time, but I shall not do any of them until inspiration strikes and I know exactly what will work. This small makeover took me five years to achieve, but once the idea was there, it took only a day to bring it all together. I wonder if you are inspired to create a budget makeover in your own home? If so, what room would it be? I'd love to hear your ideas!

Okay, that's enough for today. Next time I shall let you know about the new Stitchery Club, but it's not at all like it once was. I've decided to do a lot more things simpler, easier, less fuss...and to enjoy them more. 

I shall leave you with a sneak peek at one of the new designs I am working on right now...it's a house blessing. After all the autumnal colours of the Tilda designs, I decided to bring some spring colours to life in the home with a blessing to hang on our living room wall. 

God bless you my friends! May His favour be felt all around you, His presence fill each room, and His voice heard clearly as He directs you in the paths you should follow.

hugs

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August arrives, Cully May turns 7, and a memory...

 Yesterday was Cully May's 7th birthday. Can you believe it? Many of you have followed along here since Blossom was 14 (she'll be 30 next birthday) watching her grow into the beautiful woman, daughter, wife and mama that she is now. Along the way there was so much excitement when her long-held dream of becoming a mummy became reality with the birth of precious Cully May in 2016...and now that ever-smiling cherub is seven. 

The most often expressed comment on the blog when I share photos of Cully May is her smile...and to be honest, it has brought me to tears at times when I read how her God-gifted smile made someone's day, or lifted them out of a dark place. What you see in this young lass is exactly who she is...a positive ray of sunshine, happiness and fierce loyalty, and a girl who loves Jesus. We are so blessed that she was born into our family, and I give thanks also for the times she has brought joy to some of your own hearts. If you're a believer, would you join us in praying that the Light of Christ will shine brighter and brighter through her life with each passing year? ((thank you))

AUGUST GARDEN...

The final month of our Australian winter, a month here in the northern tropics where I live when we begin to prepare for the end of beautiful warm days and slightly cooler nights, and plan how to care for the gardens when the intense heat of mid-spring arrives. 

Hubby built a new raised bed near the citrus trees last weekend, so I took the rocket, flowers, herbs and beetroot seedlings out of the very large bed behind the laundry and re-planted them in it. 

Then hubby turned the soil in the original large raised bed and added a lot more fertile soil to it in preparation for late winter planting that will see us into the end of spring. Yesterday I planted out mignonette lettuce and cucumber seedlings in that bed, dwarf beans seeds and winged pea seeds. Today I'll visit Bunnings for flower seedlings and plant them in it as well (no time to wait for flower seeds to sprout as I need good bug attracting flowers before the cucumbers and beans produce fruit). 

I pruned the roses right back in autumn and now they are healthier and producing some gorgeous blooms! One of the ways I give myself a blessing is to fill vases of home-grown roses and display them around the house where they delight my senses with their beauty and fragrance. Do you have a special blessing you gift yourself?

(These roses in the vase are Blue Moon on the left and Perfumed Passion on the right - Perfumed Passion is my favourite rose because it has such a strong and heady fragrance and blooms abundantly most of the year. I bought a second one of these roses last month, a bareroot one, and it's just beginning to burst forth with lots of green leaves and new stems.)

(This red rose is called Black Madonna, and is a long stemmed rose for cutting, As the flower opens wider it gets darker and darker. So lovely!)

(This rose is a Blue Moon and was the first rose I grew about four years ago. It starts off a vibrant pink, then as it opens wider a blue tinge comes into the pink. You notice more if you hold it next to a true pink rose.)

I always know when spring is around the corner because that's when the chives begin to blossom. Last year I made chive blossom vinegar and it is so good...I will make more this year. 

EARLY AUGUST STITCHING

Well, it's been a few years since I had my original online Stitchery Club, which ran successfully for almost five years. The decision to close the Club was difficult, but we'd just bought this house and had a complete blank slate when it came to building gardens because there was none here...so I knew my time would be needed elsewhere for a while.

But, after much prayer, and more than a few in-depth conversations with my dear husband, I have decided to open a brand new online Stitchery Club. It won't start until October, so there are no sign-ups open yet, but I am busy each day working on some lovely projects for the Club which I hope you'll love. But I shan't say anymore about that until September. 

Sneak peek...

EARLY AUGUST KITCHEN (and READING)

Earlier in the week I roasted a whole chicken with lots of veggies for a yummy dinner, then the next day I made a large pot of the most delicious herby chicken noodle soup from some of the leftover chicken meat.

I've never added so many herbs to a chicken soup before, but wow, this was incredible! Into the broth I put generous amounts of fresh rosemary, parsley, bay, sage and native thyme...plus three times more garlic than usual. To serve I scattered more parsley and native thyme across the top. Hubby loved it, and the next day I had another bowl for lunch with some of that delicious grape focaccia bread I'd baked last Sunday. (I cut the focaccia into generous pieces and freeze it the day it's baked and then take out pieces during the week for times such as this.)

One of the books I bought for a couple of dollars at the op-shop recently has become my lunchtime reading. The stories inside have caused me to shed a few tears sometimes, but they are so inspiring, these strong Jewish women who survived Auschwitz and immigrated to Australia to begin a new life, a life which helped them rebuild their Jewish customs and faith through traditional Jewish food. They share their stories and their recipes throughout the book...

The remainder of the roast chicken is in the freezer to be used in a cous cous salad later this month, and the bones are simmering to make bone broth.

We've already eaten some of our own home-grown beetroot, and the next crop is not ready so I had to buy a bunch of good beetroot from the store this week as my husband simply loves the stuff when it's roasted or pickled. What I love most about beetroot are the leaves because I use them to make pesto. 

Upon cleaning out the fridges I was able to use up the last of the parmesan cheese, pine nuts and a handful of macadamia nuts, along with fresh garlic and plenty of perennial basil from the garden. A good lug of olive oil, salt and pepper, a lemon from our tree, and now I have a large jar of pesto which will last all month. I also added a 1/2 cup of nutritional yeast at the end for some extra cheesiness due to not having enough parmesan. 

Years ago I always made protein balls for my husband, but since moving here in late 2018 I'd succumbed to the store bought versions. Really not as nice, but quite convenient because over time I didn't even think of making my own again. Until now, when I assessed all the 'regular' items on my shopping list and made decisions about what not to buy anymore. 

These are so easy to make, and my husband is a very happy man! In a food processor I blend up natural almonds, fresh medjool dates, cacao, coconut, hemp seeds, vanilla essence and dried cranberries - all ingredients which are permanently found in my fridge or pantry. I can make forty large protein balls for the same price as buying twelve tiny ones from the supermarket. Double bonus - healthier and cheaper. 

I'm a cake kind of gal. Love a good cake. My man is a biscuit fellow (cookie). I do make them for him every so often, though I'm more inclined to bake a slice (traybake/bar) because that's a middle ground we both enjoy...but after considering 'why' I don't enjoy baking bikkies very often, it became clear that I don't want to spend too much of my precious kitchen hours mixing and baking fancy ones. Well, that was eye opening!

So a couple of weeks ago I baked a batch of "plain" gingernuts and hubby loved them. They are simple, plain, and stay crips for about ten days. This week I baked "plain" malt biscuits (cookies) because we've long enjoyed a store bought pack with a cup of tea (and they dunk well, a must for plain biscuits in our house)...

Not surprisingly these were delicious, and so now I'm on a roll of baking bikkies every 9-10 days and no longer buying any. 

I save bananas that are over-ripe in a bag in the fridge, and when I cleaned out that fridge yesterday I counted nine bananas. Oh. Wanting to bless Blossom, I chose to bake two of Donna Hay's banana breads, which quite truly is the best banana bread you could ever eat. 

The banana skins go into a very large sealed jug of water for about five days, then I use in as fertiliser in the garden, especially with my roses...they love banana water.

I also baked more of the Cypriot Pitta bread...

...and made another batch of mayonnaise

We're getting plenty of purple and white sweet potatoes from the garden so I baked what was left of the most recent harvest with some beetroot and carrots, plus leftover baby zucchini and very ripe cherry tomatoes. All of these became dinner last night (with the fresh mayo on the side)...

Lovely Queensland winter strawberries completed the meal! In my state we grow strawberries in winter because it's a lot like spring, and in August especially they are abundant and cheap. In another couple of weeks I'll buy loads and make jars of jam to last the next year.

For those who asked, Charlie was much improved until Cully May's birthday yesterday when he spent much of the day vomiting. His immune system took a beating last week and so he caught a tummy bug rather easily after Cully May had it the other night. She wasn't very sick, and bounced back quickly, but it knocked little Charlie around yesterday so we had to cancel the family birthday dinner for a few days. He's a lot chipper this morning Blossom tells me, but for the time being she's going to focus on quiet activities. Thank you so much for praying. xxxxx

I don't know why, but the past few days I've been remembering my Pop a lot. I have talked and shared a lot about Nana here on the blog, and a little about my dear Pop, but maybe not enough. I was reading from 1 Timothy this morning and in chapter 3:3 this just captured my heart because it perfectly described my grandfather..."not an excessive drinker, not a bully but gentle, not quarrelsome, not greedy."

I started to weep and a concerned look came over my husband as he asked what was wrong. I read this to him and shared a bit about Pop, about how I never once heard him raise his voice, how he was the gentlest man I have ever known, how he adored Nana and I, how he worked a very hard low-paid job to support us and not once did he complain but saw it as a privilege, how his greatest joy was to sit at the table with us every morning and evening and share an unhurried simple meal with a big pot of tea and slices of buttered bread being the ever present side-dish. He was a small wiry man, a man nobody would notice. But I did. And I am so grateful that God chose him to play such a pivotal role in my childhood. I very truly have not one bad word to say about Pop...only praise, through these escaping tears which mirror a heart that still misses him so much. 

Dear ones, tell those who are special in your life just how much they mean to you, and tell them why. 

(Nana and Pop just before I came into their life)

God bless and may your weekend overflow with the goodness and grace of the Lord!

hugs

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