It's never too early for Christmas sewing!

I'm one of those people who absolutely refuses to put up any Christmas decorations before December! I raise my eyebrows when the shops start draping tinsel in October, and screw up my face when I am told there are only 90 days to Christmas!

However, I'm a realist and know that if we don't start sewing for Christmas soon, we're not going to finish in time for the celebrations!

This year I had planned to design a few new Christmas patterns - but they have not eventuated, so I hope you don't mind seeing some old ones. The Christmas Dove is such a fun and quick design and so symbolic of the peace and love that is God's Christmas gift to us. Then it is always nice to have a new oven mitt and trivet for Christmas cooking. The Ding Dong Merrily Table Runner has always been one of my most popular patterns. I have never understood the reason why, but I am thankful that people like it and want to make it!

The reason why there are no new Christmas patterns to show you is because I have found it really difficult to get the motivation to do anything much at all lately. Once again, I haven't been able to visit hubby for the past eleven days, and don't know when the lockdown is going to end. This time it is a gastro enteritis virus that has caused it. In reality, it means I have many more hours in my week to do all sorts of things, but in practice I don't have much to show for all the extra time!

It has been helpful in recent days to realise that this is all part of my grieving process and it's OK to sit and stare out the window and to transfer all the "to do" list to the next day, or next week! Even finding that my grief has a title - Ambiguous Grief - is helpful, because I know there are other people who understand and have been through it too.

 

Thankfully, I still find great comfort in curling up in my recliner in the evening with embroidery in hand, and if I am in danger of having nothing ready to stitch, then the motivation kicks in enough to at least prepare the next piece of applique or stitching!

I have even done some of the pattern writing for my 2022 Block of the Month Design, so all is not lost! Everything is just happening slower than usual and it's all good, because "All the days ordained for me were written in God's book before one of them came to be." Psalm 139:16 NIV.

Blessings on you,

Val

Colour Analysis

 Many years ago, when I was considerably younger, our two girls and I had a personal colour analysis consultation. It was a really great experience when a professional analysed our skin complexion and eye and hair colour and matched them with colours of clothing that would make us look our best. I was already fairly aware of what didn’t look great on me, and now having a colour swatch to take shopping gave me a greater confidence in buying old favourites and trying new colours. It didn’t surprise me that I was designated a “Summer” seasonal palette, since that was my favourite season anyway!

 From when I was a little child, people would always tell me that blue is a shade that really suits me. There are some colours that drain the life out of me like yellow or black and I know to avoid them near my face and just to use them in small pieces. 

I guess it's inevitable that I will take colours that I like and that are in my colour palette and use them in my designing too. So in the September Gentle Gems Hexies there are two hexies with a lot of blue in them. 

 Our blue butterfly is very simple, but the addition of a pink running stitch inside the wings gives it a pretty look. The yellow body is worked in rows of stem stitch.

I love hats, but I have a quite small head so it is difficult to find anything that looks good. On top of that I have very fine hair, so an hour or so with a hat on and the dreaded ‘hat hair’ looks anything but great! But I can still dream, and so there is a pretty blue hat on the second September hexie. 

 

It’s decorated with beautiful bullion roses and looks as if it is ready for the next ‘Easter Parade’.

The patterns for these two Gentle Gems Hexies have been sent to all who have joined the 2021 Hexies of the Month programme. It’s not too late to join and it’s very reasonably priced, so hop over here for all the details.

My lemon tree has produced loads of lemons this year so I decided to indulge and make some lemon butter. It's decades since I've had any, and I had forgotten how wonderful it tastes!

Now I need to think how I am going to use up the rest of the lemons on the tree!

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you will have seen little sneak peaks of something different that I am preparing as a BOM for 2022. It is coming together nicely and it's always exciting when a project nears completion. Here are a couple of pics to whet your appetite!

Until next time, happy stitching!

Val