And then there were two...

Did you stitch the free *make do and mend* block I shared a couple of weeks ago?

Yesterday afternoon whilst recovering from a long morning of 4WD-ing along bumpy, uncharted mountain roads with Mr E, I had this idea to reduce the size of the little block even more and stitch it with a single strand of thread. 

So I did. 

The pink and green Tilda fabric used to border the original block had well and truly captured my heart so I really wanted to make good use of the small scrap of it that still remained....

This is turn led me to look through my stash for fabric that complimented the green and pink Tilda floral print because my scrap simply wasn't enough to make something with.

"Tilda, meet Nellie Hill..."

Look what they became after striking up a friendship...

Some Tilda selvedge made the perfect trim for an offcut of bamboo quilt wadding inside the needlebook...

It seemed only right to use more of the pink spotty Nellie Hill to finish my larger block and create a cushion...

The cushion is mine and the needlebook is for a friend.

What a lovely way to begin a new week!

Have a lovely one too, won't you?

hugs

 

The mending of self...

In the late afternoon I was embroidering the free stitchery design I'd printed up for yesterday's tutorial, and a few things came to mind as green thread became leaves and pink petals appeared between stitches...

I thought about the words.

Make Do.

In sewing terms, and frugal living, it applies to being content with what we have on hand; the things that don't need to be purchased or sourced, but are right now in our possession and at our disposal. Making do with what we already have.

And Mend.

To repair, make useful again, restore purpose to - give a purpose to.

I looked beyond the practicality of the 'make do and mend' in my stitchery as it applied to repairing things and being content with what is on hand, and I thought about how these four little words were speaking into my heart.

Being authentically human on a blog, with all my failings, fears, triumphs and struggles, isn't the easiest thing to write about, and yet it's me being me with you, my readers.

For 18 months I've been going through a period of brokenness and in that time I've gradually withdrawn from my handful of friends and tried harder than ever to fill the ever widening cracks that appeared in my heart with the busyness of work.

Somewhere in this minefield of emotions I found it helped me cope...I was gathering more stuff to occupy my time so I could cover my grief with overfilled hours of 'doing'.

But then I started stitching this simple little block yesterday and the words went deeper than practical instruction and into the realm of emotional direction.

It's time for me to step back for a week or two and take in what it means to 'make do' with what I have right now in this precious life God has given me, 'and mend' some of the painful cracks that have been covered over with far too much enterprise this last year and a half.

So for the next little while, the blog will be still and quiet as I gather my thoughts, slow down, make do, and mend.

If you're going through your own time of trial, this is for you... {{{{{{hugs}}}}...perhaps you also need time out to make do and mend.

Jenny

xx