Prayer circle (with free pattern)...

Have you ever wondered what it must have been like for the disciples to pray with Jesus?

I am often envious of the years they walked with Him, talked with Him, prayed with Him, ministered with Him, studied at His feet, ate and laughed and cried with Him.

More times than I can count my heart has yearned to be there, one of His specially chosen group from all walks of life, sinners all, forgiven all, students of the Master each and every one of them. 

At the moment I'm in a season of questioning God about what has been, what is, and what will lie ahead. Without sharing actual personal challenges I will say that much of this season contains grief, regret, confusion and trepidation...and as I lay awake night after night talking to Jesus I ache to have Him there with me, face to face, so I can gather more strength, more courage and renewed hope.

I want to wrap my arms around Him like a child and have Him comfort, correct and heal...quite simply, I want the time with Him that they, his disciples, had. 

Early this morning my husband and I, feeling that the weight of life had become more wearisome than before, went and sat at the beach watching the tide go out and soaking in the quiet beauty of God's handiwork around us. In that stillness, emotions raw and open to Jesus, this Scripture came to rest on my heart...

"For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."

(Matthew 18:20)

There under the trees beside the beach, Jesus was with us, in our midst, right beside us, part of our conversation, thoughts and prayers.

My ears may not have heard His voice, not the way the disciples had, but my heart heard and my spirit encountered Him. I knew He'd been there from the start and felt every sorrow, heard every request and understood all our confusion. 

He filled us with perfect peace to keep going, speaking 'patience' while He worked out the plans that were written for our lives before we were born. 

I'm not envious of the disciples anymore. Their paths in life were brave, fraught with trials and persecution far beyond what I experience. 

But I do rejoice in what I share with those men - relationship with a Saviour who is always there, who never changes, always listens, and answers at the perfect time in the perfect way.

The 'prayer circle' pattern is my free gift to you.

May it be a reminder that He's inside your prayer circle too, praying to the Father on your behalf.

No greater prayer can we ask for.

Download the free pattern here.

Your sister in Christ,

The beginning of endings...

I'm sure it's no surprise to you that I have many, many orphan stitcheries stored away. 

With 5, 6, 7 or even 8 new designs each and every month I don't often have time to display them as finished projects.

But that's about to change.

At the end of last week it was refreshingly cool and overcast so I settled myself down for a long day of Stitchery Club pattern writing, enjoying lots of hot decaf tea in my oversize cup while birds sang in the trees outside my office window and butterflies distracted my attention flitting back and forth among the geisha girl bushes in next door's garden.

I think those calm and delightful distractions in what is ordinarily a rather busy day when I write Club patterns helped open my mind to the idea that followed.

I mentioned recently that the June patterns are my favourite set of stitcheries, and as each one was examined, notes studied and step by step instructions written, I felt a tinge of sadness about storing them away with the hundred or more other embroidered blocks from months and years past.

Not long afterwards I made the decision to week by week give them life by displaying each one in simple projects. Not the intricate or time consuming projects which had been my original intention 'way back when' but sweet and uncomplicated displays.

I admitted a tendency to set the bar too high with my dreams of detailed quilts, pillows, runners, bags, all embellished with stitcheries, and wondered how much easier it would be to let the embroidery shine in simpler settings?

So I began with a free stitchery which I'd shared with you earlier this year.

Adding two floral borders around the "His Strength in My Heart" stitchery I finished it as a pretty cushion cover for the bedroom.

The fabrics were perfect because I'd used the colours of the large floral fabric to choose my threads when preparing the design to be embroidered and had fortunately stored it with the completed stitchery, along with the pink tonal print, when I packed it away.

Another under-utilised resource in my sewing room were the rather large collection of vintage buttons I've been gathering for many years so I chose three pink ones for the back closure.

One stitchery, two fat quarters, three buttons, two hours of playtime on a Saturday afternoon and I now have a beautiful new cushion.

What began as just a stitchery ended as a useful item for our home.

I wish I'd thought to simplify my ideas years ago, but perhaps now is the right time after all?

This cushion will be the beginning of many endings I hope.

We've decided to move house sometime in the next month or so if we find the 'right' rental home, and I'm thinking how lovely it will be to have some new handmade items ready for decorating - another valid reason for setting myself the enjoyable task of using what I have to create beauty in the home, right?

Have I inspired you to look through your orphan stitcheries and finish them as simple projects?

If you'd like the free pattern I used for the stitchery block it's here in my shop. 

It's Sunday afternoon as I write this and the house is filled with the aroma of lamb and potato korma simmering away in the crockpot. Mr E just popped his head around the office door to say "smells yummy!" so I'm glad the pot is full because we can have it again another night this week.

I might relax with an old movie and return to my knitting this afternoon. This welcome cool weather definitely inspires working with wool. 

So far I've finished two legs and made a start on the body of Cully May's bear.

Must be time for a cuppa, so I'll let you go.

Have a lovely day, and may the week ahead be filled with special moments too.

hugs

An Easter gift for you...

God bless you this Easter as we celebrate the greatest gift we could ever receive through the death and resurrection of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

To Him be all glory, honour and praise forevermore.

Download the free "Guard Your Heart" pattern here.

hugs

Vintage linen embroidery...

Recently I purchased a set of three perfect, crochet edged linen doilies from an antique dealer in Victoria who I'd found (of all places) on Instagram. 

She often has lovely linens to sell, but these ones grabbed my attention because I could immediately envision a stitchery sewn carefully onto their starched white centres.

And that's what I began over the weekend...

...using my Bible as inspiration.

I cut a piece of Parlan to fuse behind the fabric before I began the embroidery as it's a tad thicker than my usual Weaveline stabiliser. Linen of this age can pull in different directions very easily so having a slightly dense backing keeps everything nice and straight.

The crochet edging is beautiful, not a single lacy thread missing or out of place...

When it's stitched I'll sew it to the front of a small cushion which I'm yet to make...

It's coming along beautifully.

I just need to finish embroidering the words and sew a couple of pretty heart buttons in place...

...and then I think you might receive the pattern as a gift next weekend.

Would you like that?

Mr E and I are off to parts unknown, and some parts known well, over the next few days.

May your week be as wonderful as I hope ours will be.

hugs

Stitching from the Word...

I find stitching the Word of God very grounding, humbling, calming.

May this free design bless you, and as you stitch I hope it will impress upon your heart His everlasting truths.

Download the pattern here.

hugs

A quiet place...

This is my quiet place.

It's my office, which you normally wouldn't think of as a place of sanctuary or refreshment, but that's because most offices were not created with an aspect of calm in mind.

When I gave my office a makeover last month a priority was that it not just function as the technology meeting point between you and I, or the sketching station, or the daily planning port...it also needed to be a place of sanctuary, calm, refreshment, and prayer.

At morning tea I clear away my paperwork, sketchpad and planner, then close the pages open on my laptop so a beautiful trio of flower filled pots fills the screen. 

My pretty Caroline Zoob apple orchard mug is filled with a fresh brewed cappuccino...

....and I open my new Bible.

That's another thing I did when planning this office, I bought a Bible that stays in here.

This is a journaling Bible with wide lined margins for notes, perfect for the office because I have pens and pencils right beside me if I want to write thoughts or references or prayers.

Being able to 'refresh my mind' in this room, even though it's also a work place, has been a great blessing. It's where the inspiration came to design "His Strength In My Heart". I had been reading the Word and contemplating the verse in Psalm 73 (a long time favourite) as I sipped my mid-morning coffee...and I simply reached over to my sketch pad, grabbed a pencil and drew up the design. It was such a peaceful hour, a gift from He who loved that I spent that time with Him.

I completed the embroidery this week...

...and over the weekend will frame it with fabric as a pillow for the living room. 

Have you downloaded the free pattern yet? It's here.

Quiet sanctuaries can be in the most unexpected places, even a corner of the living room, a wide hallway or alcove. In the movie War Room even a walk in wardrobe (closet) was used. 

I have longed for my own quiet place for years, but until last month it never occurred to me that with careful planning and prayer the most unexpected room could be re-designed with a dual purpose.

Another project I'm finishing this weekend is Allie's "Beloved" stitchery as a cushion (I enjoy swapping cushion covers regularly throughout our home!). 
The borders are on and I'll machine quilt it this afternoon...

Have you any stitching plans for the weekend, or shall you be creating a quiet space instead?

Whatever you do, be blessed,

His Strength (with free stitchery)...

I think perhaps it can seem like I have it 'all together' in my life most of the time, but in reality I begin many days with a heavy heart.

That's why I wake a good hour before my husband, slide out of bed onto the hardwood floor and walk softly down the darkened hallway to pour a cool glass of diluted juice, gather my Bible and my glasses, and go meet with Jesus.

My head will be swimming with all the 'to-dos' of the day ahead but my heart is longing for the kindness of my Saviour and the words of life and strength He has which will lift my countenance and set my feet to higher ground. 

Why the heavy heart as I rise you may wonder?

Nobody's life is free from trial I do not think, and I am certainly not immune. Let's just say that much like yours my life is a cycle of seasons, each bringing their own joys and their challenges.

The Scripture I'm sharing today is one that brings me to tears, because the comfort it offers is real and touches deep into my being.

My flesh and heart do fail me, often, and I can come all undone like a ball of yarn which has been carefully wound and is suddenly snatched up by a willful kitten and in seconds becomes a tangled mess spread across the carpet.

That heavy sense of frailty, vulnerability and being totally overwhelmed rushes in quickly and I feel unable to pick up the pieces and begin again...

...but then Jesus.

My God.

My Strength.

My Comforter.

My hand to hold and my ear to hear and my heart mender. He comes to my rescue. I take one wobbly step towards Him and He runs twelve towards me.

That's why I cherish our morning date. That's why I make each day with Him count. That's why this Scripture means so much to me.

Yesterday I was pondering the words and decided to sketch it as a stitchery so I could display it in my home where my eyes would fall often upon it...and then I thought, maybe you need it too?

 

The pattern is a free gift, for freely He gives and so shall I.

Download "His Strength In My Heart" pattern.

As you stitch let the truth of this Scripture soak deep into your heart and never let it or Him go, because your flesh and heart will fail just like mine and you will need His strength one day, perhaps many days.

He is your portion FOREVER sweet friend and He will never, ever fail you.

Your sister in Christ,