Kicking off my BOM early with a bonus pincushion pattern...

 

My "POSIES" quilt is finished and hanging on the wall of my office area and now all I need do is write the twelve monthly patterns to share with you through 2021.

But before doing that I wanted to gift you a bonus "Posies" project that you can make between now and the end of this year, in time to use on January 1st when I'll launch the BOM with block 1.

My pattern for the Posies Pincushion has full instructions for the embroidery as well as making the pincushion which has a lovely sleeve which slips over the body of the pinnie and holds your scissors.

If you're not joining the "Posies" BOM in 2021 (some of my readers quilt but don't embroider) but still like the idea of a sleeved pincushion I have an alternative option for you which I've written about in the pattern...

Honestly, this style of pinnie really is one of my favourites and I wanted it to be something that tied in with Posies for next year, and hopefully a pinnie you'll make many times.

Oh goodness, imagine using all the twelve Posies stitchery blocks next year as pincushions...you'd have twelve sleeved pinnies to gift by Christmas 2021! Though you may also decide to simply make the quilt instead. Or both? Time will tell.

Blossom is rather taken with both of my new pincushions, saying "Wow, I love them, they are so bright and beautiful!" so I may just pass one along to my girl. 

Use the link below to download the free pattern.

DOWNLOAD THE POSIES PINCUSHION PATTERN

If you look hard you can see a peek of my completed "POSIES" quilt hanging on the wall behind my pinnies (above and below)...

Something I keep meaning to write about is the filling I use when making pincushions. Probably for around five years now I've been buying bags of crushed walnut shells from the pet shop as it is used to line glass reptile enclosures. Now however, the pet shops have a different product for that purpose so I went hunting online early this year and discovered the same product, and cheaper too, was sold by BBQ stores for smoking meat.

I use a small funnel to fill the pincushion to avoid spillage and mess. Though admittedly I have still been known to scatter the cutting table with some if I overfill, but I just scoop it up and pop it back in the bag for the next pinnie.

If you google 'crushed walnut shells' you'll be able to find a local supplier or somewhere you can buy online. I highly recommend this as filling and it keeps your pins and needles sharp and clean.

The heat and humidity has sucked the life out of our early summer garden, though we've been very blessed to still be gathering vegetables in our tropical 'off season'. 

The wet season is late in arriving at our part of the tropics, though it's been flooding in other areas, and this is why we've been able to extend the growing time of cucumbers, tomatoes and even rockmelon...

But we picked the last cucumber and melon the other day as the rest of them are actually cooking on the vine due to the extreme heat and fierceness of the sun. Fortunately the tomatoes are soldiering on and our supply of spring onions (green onions) is still abundant. 

But once the rains arrive that will be it. Water and heat will bring mould to the garden and that's why we don't grow here in summer or early autumn. 

A jolly wonderful thing at this time of the year for me is plum season and as well as eating them like lollies I love to scatter slices over simple cakes because they almost caramelise during the  bake.

Day to day...

Thank you to some lovely readers who sent me cards and words of encouragement recently. I don't have your email addresses so can't thank you privately, but know your kindness meant the world to me. ((hugs))

It's been a very exhausting past few months with family accidents, a sick neighbour, barometric migraines off the scale due to the high humidity and heat, Blossom's pregnancy and the birth of Charlie David, caring for our precious granddaughters at times...

(fun with nana and poppy in the pool)

...diffficulties with my husband's employment, full time homemaking, keeping the garden going through water restrictions, four days with virtually no water in the home due to a critical rupture in our town's water treatment facility...and running a business single handed in the midst of it all.

Running on high adrenaline for a long period of time is not new to me and I knew from experience that once things settled I'd come crashing down - and I did. It began on Wednesday night and continued to carry me deeper into the valley of depression the next day. By Saturday I could not even smile as the darkness which shrouded my mind kept sucking me deeper into that awful mental space I want to avoid. 

As I write this I'm not out of the woods yet, but as this bout of depression is triggered by extreme weariness over a long period of time I know that it will pass quickly...as long as I rest, as long as I  make myself a priority for a little while, as long as I sleep and as long as I take a break from work.

I have emails waiting to be answered which I've decided not to. I have people to call which I am also not going to do. Being a 'doer', which I naturally am, has driven me these past months, but it's time to step away for a little bit in order to rest and recover.

I am reminded of Elijah who after a fierce spiritual battle (and success) was so depleted that he ran away into the wilderness to collapse under a Broom tree and wished God would take his life...but the Lord knew what Elijah really needed was sleep, food, water, and more rest. You can read the story in 1 Kings 19.

So I'm taking a leaf out of God's Word and allowing myself the gift of rest before beginning fresh in 2021 with a number of fun things that I hope you'll join me for.

My sweet husband took me out to dinner last night to our favourite Indian restaurant and what a delight it was to have a lovely meal cooked for me! It's simple things which lift my spirit - flowers in a vase, eating a meal I did not prepare, sitting by the beach with my husband as the sun rises or sets, cuddling close my grandchildren...and going slowly through the day with no schedule or timetable to follow.

You may have been struggling lately too?

If so, know I am praying for you as I pray for myself, for despite the darkness which still hovers, I KNOW that my God is greater than the darkness and I TRUST Him to lead me out of the valley and into the Light of His hope for my future. 

May we all go slow as this year winds down and be at peace with one and all. May our hearts turn to Jesus and the gift He still is to everyone who calls upon His name. May we find the path out of our valleys and climb the mountain which leads to Light and life. 

God bless you one and all, and merry Christmas. I'll see you closer to New Year...

loving hugs,

PS: Memberships to Let's Stitch Again close on December 30th. Pop over here to find out more...

Blocks 5 and 6 plus a sneak peek for 2021...

 

 
Today we'll continue the nativity story with block 5, Star of Wonder, and block 6, Gifts.
The star played a huge part in drawing attention to the miracle of Jesus birth. It was a sign which wise men in a far away land had waited for, for their own books foretold a special star would be the sign of a King's birth. 

 

Leading the wise men on their long journey to Bethlehem, it stood over the home where Jesus was now a toddler, lovingly cared for by his mother and Joseph, and to that humble abode they came and worshipped before Emmanuel "God with us" and bestowed gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

 

Those gifts were  more important than Mary and Joseph knew at the time because soon afterwards God, in a dream, directed Joseph to take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt because King Herod had heard of  His birth and wanted to kill Him. Those gifts would have been their provision for the years spent hiding in Egypt.

There are so many hidden lessons in this story.
Lessons about trusting God to lead us from where we are to where we need to be, worshipping at the feet of Jesus. 
Lessons about His unseen provision and direction before we face a trial.
Lessons about faithfulness to 'go' when He tells us now is the time.
Lessons about not changing course in our time, but in His.

In our home right now we are living through some of these lessons - seeking the Lord, trusting in the new directions we are being led to follow, knowing that He will make a way of provision as we transition from one path to another, giving thanks for His prior warnings and clear promises.

 I don't know about you, but I find there are no wasted verses in the Bible. Everything God wrote is alive and living and powerful...and can surprise us with its wisdom and truth at the most extraordinary moments.

 
Use the link below to download blocks 5 and 6 of Joy to the World

DOWNLOAD BLOCKS 5 & 6

Next Friday I'll share the final two blocks and the quilt assembly.
For those who have asked, it measures 22.5 inches square. 



NEW in 2021

 After such a busy few weeks I was grateful to have some down-time yesterday. 
There was no rush to go anywhere, or to bake or to be...I was gifted a day all to myself.
After making my beloved's work lunch and feeding the chickens we sat outside and shared our regular breakfast of fruit, home-made granola, home-made berry compote and coconut yoghurt... 

The same, but different, my husband and me. He enjoys his fruit on the side, whilst I like everything in the one bowl. 

Once I'd waved him goodbye it was back inside for a cup of tea and a couple of hours spent sketching little posies.  Twelve little posies.
I have already designed and stitched one BOM for 2021 (subscription only - more about that another time) and really needed to piece the blocks together, but as my plan for that one is a February start I knew taking time now to create another BOM, a freebie this time, would be time well spent that morning.

Inspired by my dear Nana's love of posies the small sketches came to life fairly quickly, a little tweaking here, erasing there, and by lunchtime they were ready to be traced onto fabric.
Threads were chosen and small applique scraps as well. When I was going through my scraps I found a lot which had small motifs such as birds, bunnies, bees and houses so I chose twelve tiny pieces and added them to the traced jugs and vases.

By mid afternoon I'd stitched one little block and had just begun the second when I realised my day of leisure was almost at an end and it was time to begin dinner preparations. 
But what a lovely creative and slowing day I had enjoyed!
Here's a little peek...

My plan is to launch the free POSIES Block of the Month on January 1st, 2021, and it will run all year.
This will be a small wall quilt made entirely of scrap fabrics so there is no fabric requirements list, just use what you already have. I'm all about using what's already in my stash these past few years and find that I rarely need to buy anything more.

A few people have asked how I store my stitcheries in progress. Quite often I have four, five or six stitchery designs prepared at once - this is especially true when designing for my various Stitchery Clubs over the years as I've needed to have three to five new patterns ready each month. 
The easiest way I have found to keep everything together for each individual project is to store them in plastic containers.

At any given time I have a number of these stacked in my sewing room and when it comes time to write a pattern all I need do is open the particular container which holds a completed stitchery and it's threads, and from there I can list the thread numbers on the pattern and write accurate embroidery instructions. 

I also write rough notes in my pattern book along the way as well as pencilling thread numbers onto the pattern sheets before I begin. This keeps me on track, especially when stitching during the evening because sometimes I may use a few different greens or blues or pinks in one design and at night it can be difficult to tell which one I'm using. By writing the thread numbers onto the pattern sheet I don't make mistakes...
(though I have been known to change my mind on a colour and unpick it)

Reading

I'm thoroughly enjoying audio books. Over the past six months or so I've listened to a number of Agatha Christie books and loved all but one. You see as much as I enjoy watching my favourite Poirot or Marple episodes on DVD it takes me so long to stitch a design because I keep looking up to watch (even though I've seen the same episodes twenty times over) and then once the episode is over I see barely any stitching actually got done.
In normal times that wouldn't be too much of a problem, but time has been sparse of late and sitting quietly at my work whilst listening to a book has seen me get right back on track with Elefantz Designs. 

One book I was unable to get as an audio is now an evening read before bed.
I first heard of this book, The Servant Queen and the King She Serves (published by the British Bible Society) in a Sally Clarkson blog/podcast and knew both Blossom and I would love to read it. 
Very hard to find but eventually I tracked down a copy through World of Books (Australia) and it was quite inexpensive so I felt doubly blessed.

Christmas Patterns

There have been SO many messages arriving recently asking if I could add some of my older Christmas patterns to the Etsy Shop, so this morning that's just what I did. 

 

Six Christmas Stockings (2018 Christmas issue of The Stitchery Club)

 

The Holly Bird projects - six stitcheries with projects

The 2017 Christmas issue of The Stitchery Club

You'll find all of these in my shop now, plus many other patterns, as instant digital downloads. Use the link below to visit...

Elefantz Designs at ETSY

I think that's enough for today, don't you, but before I go let me share the simplest apple jelly (jello) recipe that I originally shared over five years ago. This is something Cully May asks for all the time and can be made using any pure fruit juice you like. 

I made it with blackcurrant juice the other day and she gobbled it so fast!

You'll need:

These are Australian measures-

400 ml of fresh apple juice 

(or the 100% cloudy kind like Nudie Juice that you find in the cold section of the supermarket -you can also make this using fresh orange juice or other juice that you like)

100 ml boiling water

1 tablespoon powdered gelatine

Dissolve the gelatine in the boiling water.

Pour the apple juice into the gelatine water and stir well until dissolved.

Place in your blender for 30 seconds (this creates the foam top, kind of like marshmallow!)

Pour into a tray to set. This takes about 15 -20 minutes.

NOTE: you can skip the bender step and just mix it very well with a spoon.

US measures are:  1¾ cups of juice / 7 tablespoons boiling water / 4 teaspoons gelatine powder

You could also add fruit to the jelly before it sets, and that's something I'll do next time the girls come to visit. They love tinned Two Fruits which is a mix of pears and peaches and would be lovely in apple jelly.

Bless you lovely ones! May the Lord's joy be mightily upon your hearts and minds this weekend. Let everything else go and focus on the good and kind in each other, not our differences. 

Loving hugs