Closing in on Christmas

I'm being made very aware that Christmas is just around the corner! I hosted our Home Group Christmas break-up last week and now we won't meet again as a group till after the long school holiday break ends at the end of January.

I did my bit for the Church Christmas Party - made some potato salad and organised two quizzes.

We've had our meeting of musicians and worship leaders to work out what Christmas music we will be singing and playing at Church during this wonderful season of Advent.

The Christmas Tree is decorated!

Pretty fairy lights adorn the rockery:

and sparkle in the patio:

I've sorted out when all the family are arriving, bought the turkeys and planned the Christmas menu for the 20+ of the family who will be with us.

28 Snowflake ornaments to give to our wonderful Op Shop volunteers are completed. It looked like I was baking snowflakes when I did the stiffening!

 

Then there were some Christmas envelopes to prepare to put them in.

Our Christmas newsletter is written (a great way to keep in touch once a year and many more words than will fit on a Christmas Card!) https://bit.ly/LairdLatest2023 

Last night I went to our local Community Carols and now I'm off to a performance of excerpts from the Messiah ... so it is starting to feel like Christmas!

May you find peace, hope and joy in this wonderful celebration of the birth of the King of Kings - the Infinite became an Infant!

Wishing you many blessings,

Val

A quilt for a grand-daughter

When I saw Natalie Bird's 'A Letter to My Daughter' quilt a couple of years ago as a Block of the Month in Homespun Magazine, I felt it was something I would enjoy making with its appliqued and embroidered blocks. 

I also saw it as an opportunity to use up lots of my fabric stash and so I set myself the goal of not purchasing any fabric to complete the quilt.

The focus with this quilt was to enjoy the journey. There was absolutely no pressure to finish, or to keep up with the magazine timetable.

It was a project I could pick up and just as quickly put down at whim if some other craft was calling for my attention. 

I enjoyed putting my own spin on the blocks, with my signature outlining of the appliques, or popping in my favourite Palestrina Knot stitch here and there ...

or adding a scalloped edge:

I enjoyed Natalie's words of wisdom to her daughter.

When it came to putting it all together as a quilt I took some poetic licence and just used the pattern as a guide, rather than following it as written.

The quilt ended up big enough to sit on top of a Queen size bed.

Once my grand-daughter announced her engagement, I knew this was the quilt for her.

My wonderful quilter finished it in time for me to give it to her as part of her wedding present.

Now I pray that her home will indeed be filled with love.

Val

Another family celebration

2023 seems to be the year of Celebrations in our family! A couple of weeks ago another of our grand-daughters was married!

I was so happy that I could travel interstate to attend the wedding. I hadn't been on a plane for six years and not away from home for a long time, so it was a bit daunting to think about travelling again, and on my own. However, all the travel went really well and it was wonderful to be there for the happy occasion.

It was quite a family event and I had the honour of being one of the witnesses to sign the register. One of my beautiful great grand-daughters was a flower girl:

Here I am with my son, the father of the bride:

The flowers were absolutely stunning, arranged by another grand-daughter who is a florist. The bouquets and church flowers were in these pretty colours:

The brief for the wedding reception was 'party', and this riot of colour certainly promoted that atmosphere:

The day after the wedding a 'Post-wedding Brunch' was held for all the family to be together. It was such a brilliant idea, as with a big wedding it is impossible to catch up with everyone. The relaxed hours the next morning gave opportunity to talk and share precious time together, especially with extended family whom I hadn't seen for many long years.

This was the welcome that greeted us at the entrance to the Brunch:

My three-day break away from my normal, fairly circumscribed life was a real joy. Hubby survived without my visits, my plants remained alive and everything was just as I had left it! My body, however, decided it could get used to holiday mode, so motivation to do anything like work flew out the window for a week! Thankfully, the diary allowed for that, so I just accepted the fact that sometimes I just need a break, and that is OK!

Next time I chat I will show you the quilt I made for the bride and groom!

Many blessings

Val

 

On being thrifty

I was born into a loving, caring family in the middle of World War II. My father served as a soldier in PNG and he didn't see me until I was seven months old when he was able to come home for a short time on leave. My mother used to tell me that he would not buy anything but absolute necessities on the field, so that he could send his pay home to help us survive. Rationing of food and clothing was in place and it took quite a while to save enough coupons to purchase essentials. Butter was the first thing to be rationed in Australia so the dripping from the mutton roasts was the substitute. Some of the rations continued for four or five years after the war. By the time I went to school, dripping on fresh bread was one of my favourite after-school snacks!

My father had employment after the war, but when I compare my life with that of many of my school friends, I realise that we were really quite poor. There was no room in the budget for any extras. Mum virtually never bought anything for herself, she sewed all our clothes where possible, and we didn't own a car. Mum and Dad were both very clever with their hands and between them they could mend, patch, remake, remodel and repair almost anything and most of the time my brother and I were blissfully ignorant of the struggles our parents went through to give us the happy childhood that we had.

Ignorant we might have been, but the thrifty pattern of life was set before us every day. Is it any wonder then that I grew up with the same frugal, careful, mindset? Nothing was ever wasted in my childhood home and to this day I absolutely abhor waste, and spending unnecessarily just doesn't fit into my economic plans!

So, when I received from two different friends some bags of crochet/knitting cotton, which included quite a few small end-of-balls, my brain went into overdrive working out a practical use for these lovely threads. On their own, these small amounts of cotton are almost useless, but put them together and we have a different story.  

Useful and pretty is how I have always wanted my craft work to be, so what could be more practical than a bag, and more pretty than the colours of the rainbow? You can imagine the fun I have had playing with all the different hues and working a basic design that didn't require much concentration or much reading of a pattern, as most of my crocheting is done while I sit with hubby in Aged Care.

I use the word 'most', because I have enjoyed the process so much that some nights I have put away the needle and thread on grand-daughter's bee wall hanging and just relished the rhythm of the crochet hook. Here's the link to the free pattern on which I based the bag above: http://www.kristinescrochets.com/2022/06/crochet-tote-bag.html 

I adapted this lovely free pattern: https://kamecrochet.com/2020/07/29/laica-market-bag/ for the bag below. I am so thrilled to have found a use for something that might have been discarded as worthless. 

The tally is two bags so far - both have been lined. One will be a gift, but I have decided to keep the second one for myself to replace the much-used old tote bag I made eighteen years ago. 

I love my thrifty life!

Val

Getting wisdom ...

I've just had one of my grandsons stay with me for a few days. I'm always thrilled when one of the younger generation wants to come and spend time with their old grandmother! We always have great conversations and often talk about the deep issues of life and of our Christian faith. It's a blessing to watch him grow and gain wisdom.

The last block in our Timeless Truths BOM gives us a great idea for becoming wise with its message from Proverbs 19:20:Get all the advice and instruction you can, so you will be wise the rest of your life. Being humble enough to realise we 'don't know it all' and being willing to learn from others is a valuable trait to have in our lives!

That's the completion of our 2023 Block of the Month programme, but the design is still available in one complete pattern on the Wall Quilts and Hangings shop page.

There are plenty of instances as I look back over my life, when I wish I had been a lot wiser! All the regrets and failures can pile up high sometimes, but I am thankful that I belong to Jesus and He has forgiven all the sin, and there is no longer condemnation. He can even turn all those bad things around for good!

One of my lovely grand-daughters asked me to make her a wall hanging with bees on it. She went through my fabric stash and chose pieces that she wanted me to use to match her bedroom décor. I am appliqueing and embroidering all things 'bees' onto hexagons and using Perlé cotton to outline the appliques. 

I remember seeing a documentary about bees once. Every bee has its own specialised duty; they are able to communicate in amazing ways with each other and work together for the benefit of the hive. They are very clever and wise little creatures.

... and now the process of getting wisdom starts all over again for the latest arrival in our family. One of our grand-daughters just had her first baby - a boy. So the tally of great grand-children is now 4 girls and 1 boy, with two more on the way! We are so blessed!

Happy stitching!

Val

A kind word cheers the heart

This week I was the recipient of some kind words. Wow, they made a difference to my day! I felt uplifted and appreciated and cared for and there was a spring in my step.

The Bible gets it right when it says, 'Anxiety weights down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.' Proverbs 12:25 NIV. There's a lot to weigh down people with anxiety these days. Where I live in Australia cost of living has risen so much and people are struggling to pay mortgages and put food on the table. Insufficient low-cost housing has meant that many people just can't find somewhere to live. There's plenty of room for a kind word to lift people's spirits! 

That is the verse that is the focus of Block 8 of the Timeless Truths BOM Wall Quilt.  

Hopefully we can make a difference and someone might be able to soar above their anxieties like these pretty kites because of our kind words.

There hasn't been much crafting going on in my house, but there is always some crocheting to do when I visit hubby in Care. Most of my hand towels and face washers all have a pretty crochet edge now. I think they take a very ordinary piece of manchester up to something to be appreciated!

This lot is ready to stitch on to a towel:

and this will be a pretty edge when it is all complete:

I have to confess to some indulgence this last week! One of our beautiful grand-daughters came to stay. She is an Apprentice Chef so took over all the cooking for four days! I dined on meals like Seafood Chowder with King Prawns, Mussels and Salmon, Vietnamese Salad, and Goat's Cheese Stuffed Chicken Thighs.

Her New York Cheesecake with berry coulis is out of this world!

To go along with the indulgence theme, I spent an hour or so browsing through Pinterest - something I haven't done for ages. It sure got the stitching mojo going! Now for some more time in the day to get started!

Happy stitching!

Val

Friends love through all kinds of weather

'Friends love through all kinds of weather' (Proverbs 17:17 MSG) - isn't that a wonderful quote? True friends will stick around through thick and thin, through good times and bad. What a great blessing it is to have loyal, true friends. The Bible certainly is always spot on where the rubber hits the road!

That's the verse that is quoted on Block 7 of the Timeless Truths BOM Wall Quilt. If you wish to join this project, even at this late stage, the cost is a one-off $20 which covers the whole pattern for the nine months.

One of my friends likes to keep me occupied when I visit hubby in Aged Care, so she is always buying washers and scouring Op Shops for thread, so that I can crochet around them for her. 

In the bundle this time was this lovely variegated thread. It looked quite ordinary on the spool, but it has crocheted up beautifully into this shell pattern:

I like to have a separate purse for my phone. The old one was very daggy so I whipped up this one in a hurry. I think it took me longer to cut out the pieces than to sew it! I'm so happy to have my sewing machine functioning well, after the earlier trauma. 

Happy stitching!

Val

Wedding Fever!

 I've just had two wonderful weeks with lots of family around for a grand-daughter's wedding. 

I thought I was just hosting the family and getting prettied up to attend the wedding, but they decided I needed to be more involved than that!

Father of the Bride needed his tie narrowed - it was the absolutely perfect colour but a bit wide for the current fashion trend, so it was out with the needle and thread! Then the Bride's brothers had bought new suits and needed their trousers taken up. The iron also had a workout, ironing shirts, trousers and the Maid of Honour's dress.

The Bride's mother had grandiose plans of making herself a coat to go over her gorgeous dress as it's the middle of winter here so she needed to have something suitable to keep her warm as night came on. Pressures of work and home life meant that plan didn't eventuate, so she came down from the north with bags of fabric, thread and pattern and just a few days to make a lined velvet coat, in between a High Tea for the Bride, 21st Birthday celebrations for a son and making the wedding cake! 

You don't need to read any more to guess what happened! Yes, I ended up making her coat, with a lot of prayer that it would all turn out well.  I didn't even have my sewing machine back from the repair man till two days before the family arrived! Our daughter had SO many comments about her stunning coat, with a few requests for me to make them one too! She did manage to make herself the cute matching bag in time for the wedding!

My kitchen and oven were taken over to make the six cakes that made up the wedding cake, beautifully made and decorated by our daughter, and all gluten free, since the bride, her brother and her mum are all coeliacs.

The day turned out beautifully in answer to our prayers, sunny, pleasantly warm, and I loved wearing my pretty new blue dress!

After the wedding, I enjoyed having some more family stay with me and also had the pleasure of lots of the wedding flowers gracing the home. The bride is a florist, so some of the flowers were specially sourced and were amazing of course.

And now they have all gone home, the washing has been done, the house cleaned and I'm eating the left-overs that I find in the fridge and freezer, so thankful to God for the many answers to prayer for such a wonderful celebration as the young couple step out in life together as husband and wife.