Easter Greetings♡

Fond greetings to you, lovely lovelies, this Easter time♡

Easter ♡ Thankful. Grateful. Humbled. Appreciative.  Saddened. Indebted. Overwhelmed. Despair. Joyful. Blessed............

As I sit here, crocheting for Slow Sunday Stitching, so many emotions deep within my innermost being, the quiet of my soul this Easter time; but I think the most constant emotion is one of thankfulness. Thankful for so many things, but this Easter time, thankful that Jesus loves me and I love Him. Thankful for His sacrificial love and new life on that first Easter, so that I might have a relationship with Him for eternity. Thankful for each day  walking in His steps, following Him. Thankful for  walking along the path of life with Him, sometimes skipping, sometimes dragging my heavy feet along with me. And, in those times when I just can't pick up those heavy-laden feet of mine, when I simply cannot take another step, I am thankful Jesus carries me. For, as Larry Crabb once said, as a Christian 'it's not for me to ask Jesus to solve every problem I face but for me to move through my problems to find Jesus'. 

Thankful for His daily, saving grace. Thankful that over a half of a century ago Jesus whispered my name and in the deepest chambers of my heart, my soul,  I heard and answered, 'yes Lord??'. Thus, began my faith journey, my walk of faith.  So very thankful for that Friday afternoon, in a maths lesson when my friend told me about Jesus and how His love for me cost Him His life. It was as if the scales fell off my eyes and I saw life differently.  So very thankful for His  mercy and love which will follow me all the days of  my life. Yes.....just so thankful♡

I've often  imagined what it would be like to look into Jesus' eyes. What it would be like  to hear his voice....gentle, calming, peaceful, understanding, forgiving....reverberating with kindness and love. What it would be like over two thousand years ago, to  sit on that dusty hillside scrambling for a vantage point with thousands of others waiting to hear Him speak His pearls of wisdom of the sermon on the mount,  His voice filled with love; with me hanging onto every word.  I will hear His voice one day. I will look into those tender, compassionate, forgiving, love-filled eyes. I will see Jesus face to face. I will see the scars in His hands. Those torturous scars He suffered for me....and you. This fact, this truth, fills me with overwhelming emotions, but again, ever so thankful ♡

May you, this Easter time, hear when Jesus whispers your name, ever so softly♡ May your Easter be a blessed one♡

Until the next time.........

A Finished Flimsy♡

Hello lovely lovelies♡ 'Tis Sunday morning here at the bottom of the world and by the looks of it, it's going to be a cloudy and windy, autumnal kinda day. Just sitting here in front of the fire with a cuppa. An open fire to ward off those early morning chills. Yes indeedy, the mornings are in need of a little heat to warm my tippy toes. 

I hope you all enjoyed a pleasant week. I did. Parcels were sent to Riley, and to Maggie. I love sending parcels. I love wrapping parcels in pretty paper, or perhaps fabric or an embroidered fancy; and adorning with ribbons or whatever pretty takes my fancy. The art of gift wrapping is very serious business to me; as important as the gift itself.  There is nothing better than receiving a gift that has been lovingly wrapped. A beautifully wrapped present is a prelude as to what awaits hidden inside. True to form, like babies and toddlers since time immemorial, my sweet Riley was fascinated by the wrapping.  Oh, and I have it on good authority she loves her pretties, too. Why, she has been seen out and about wearing her crochet pretty.

I managed to finish making the rest of the blocks for the fundraiser quilt and assembling these into rows, eventuating into a finished flimsy. It was fun to play with each block, switching them here and there to see which ones played nicely together. Though, I find when there is a plethora of jewel-like colours and floralicious florals all dancing together, you  can never really go wrong. The result is always a delight to my eyes.  I've not yet fashioned a quilt where there's an explosion of colours and prints that it has not been pleasing to my eye. The exuberance of vibrant colours dancing a merry jig is what makes my world go round, as I've always viewed the world through a kaleidoscope of gorgeous colours and prints. Pattern on pattern and colour on colour truly makes my world spin on its axis.

Are not the colours truly scrumptious??!!

The quilting?? I will machine quilt this pretty but will have to think about the design. KISS. Again. Of course. =) Ahh...Sunday. The day for picking up my Flower Meadow and delighting in a little hand quilting of some flower hexies with the other slow stitchers over at Kathy's place.

May you enjoy a beautiful Sunday, lovely lovelies♡ May it be one filled with joyous colour and smiles♡

And The Fabric Goes To..........

Hello lovely lovelies♡ Top of the morning to you♡ A lovely welcome to you, this autumnal, Sunday morning ♡

There's a winner for my colour-filled, flowery fabric squares. A small gift from me to one of you,  lovely lovelies♡Thank you all for your beautiful words re my blogging anniversary♡ Each one of you sprinkled many a smile into my day♡ My Pete pulled out a name from the hat and.......Maggie, it seems the fabric squares will find a home with you. That's a wee bit exciting. So, if you can email me your postal address, I will pop these pretties in the post sometime this week to fly over land and sea, to you. How fun to think a collection of my fabrics will be fashioned into something beautiful, in another part of the world. Lovely Maggie, I wonder what you will fashion from these pretties?? Just look at all those joyous fabrics! Makes my heart sing! Oh......and the flowers do, too! =)

I've been playing with a few pretties this last little while. Riley's woolly makes are finished. A knitted jumper and a crochet  vest. I stitched a cute Tilda bunny, too, to be sent with the woollies to Riley for Easter. Goodness, the bunny was fiddly. The pieces were so teeny tiny for my fingers to manipulate. I'm guessing, as sweet as the little bunny is, I won't be chomping at the bit to make another anytime soon. Gotta love a bunny dressed in a Liberty fabric dress, though. A teeny tiny bunny for sweet Riley's teeny tiny hands♡

Remember my flower-filled Flower Meadow flimsy?? The quilt where hexie flowers jostle for space in a vibrant swath of joyous colour?? Well, I decided to begin the hand quilting. I was going to wait until Old Man Winter descended upon my little place to quilt this quilt but what can I say.....I just wanted to fill many moments with hand quilting happy hexies. Simple quilting with stitches skipping around each hexie flower. You know me, the KISS method of quilting is the mantra I live by. =) There are a few flimsies piling up waiting to be quilted, so best not to wait to whittle down the mountainous pile. Perhaps by Spring there will be a few more finished quilts to wax lyrical about. But then.....perhaps not. I'm looking forward to cosying down in front of the open fire and enjoying a little hand quilting,  when the frigid season takes up residence.

As it is Sunday I will enjoy a little quilting of my Flower Meadow quilt later this evening and visit the slow stitching ladies over at Kathy's place. Thank you for blessing my day with your sweet visit♡ Your visits truly are a joy♡ May your day be filled with many a smile♡ Have a beautiful Sunday, lovely lovelies♡

Until the next time......

A Li'l Knitting.....A Li'l Stitching......And A Giveaway♡

 

Hello, lovely lovelies♡ A lovely welcome to you♡ Here, at the bottom of the world we have waltzed into days where cool early mornings greet warm days and at days end there is a slight nip in the air. Old man sun is arising later and nodding off earlier. Autumn. I can smell it. I can see a change in the light. It's a mellow, golden light with the sun's slanted rays beginning to reach further into the rooms of my humble abode, filling it with warm sunshine. One can always sense the beginnings of a new season, can't one??

This week I was lucky to find a few hydrangeas to pop into a few vases. Mostly, the hydrangeas are donning their autumn shades but if one is to delve deep into  the massive bushes there is treasure to be found. =) A few more weeks of blue happiness...how delightful.

A little more knitting to show this week. Throughout this little while I've continued knitting my sweet Riley's jumper.  The back, front and sleeves are finished. Now it just needs to be stitched together and the neckline to be knitted. I might do this later this evening for Slow Sunday Stitching.

I was listening to a podcast this week; two Norwegian knitting designers, Arne and Carlos, who said knitting and crocheting lowers blood pressure. Normally I would agree with them. The steady rhythm of knitting needles or a crochet hook does usually calm me, lulling me into a meditative mood, but this jumper, for some reason or other I would say there were moments when my blood pressure soared to heights not considered within a safe reading. I have no idea why this jumper caused angst in parts for it's the easiest of patterns. I have knitted many more complicated knitted woollies than this one.....I just kept putting wrong stitches in the wrong place. Let's just say I'm glad this pretty is knitted!

I've started a crochet pretty for sweet Riley. Another granny square pretty in the softest baby alpaca wool. These soft pastel shades are my daughter's favourite and with Riley's red hair these colours will look perfect on her. Another make-it-up-as-I-go pretty.

This week was my blogging anniversary. Twelve years ago I started this blogging journey, boring the 'world' with my musings of my life down here at the bottom of the world and the taking of much too many happy snaps of whatever it is I'm fashioning at the time; and.....flowers......oh the flowers. I thought to celebrate this 'momentous' occasion I would have a giveaway. I've been cutting 4" squares for a charity quilt and as I did this I thought wouldn't it be fun to gift one of you lovely lovelies a bundle of 4" squares from my fabric stash. So, out came the rotary blade and a glut of fabric squares eventuated. Let me know in the comments if you would like a sample of my fabrics. If you are not adverse to square after square of florals and 1930's fabrics, then you may just like this pretty bundle. There are about 160 fabric squares.....which equals 4 packets of charm squares.....so, not bad. Oh, I must mention that there is a little fraying on the edges but that should be okay. I know not why this is so as the fabric squares have been sitting in my armoire and have not been handled at all. Perhaps there are little beings who come out in the early hours of the morning and play with my fabrics within the confines of the armoire?? Yes...that must be it. =)

I mentioned I'm stitching a charity quilt for a fundraiser. It's a simple quilt with 4" floral fabric squares framed with bright and happy complementary kona solids. Florals again. =) Well, I am trying to use up my stash. A simple quilt which will be easy and quick to piece together and then machine quilt. Hopefully, my quilt will find it's way to someone who loves bright and happy colours, and pretty flowers. Surely there is someone out there who will not be adverse to my little quilt. =) I kid you not, there are many who live in this far rural outpost who are colour-phobe! Browns, browns and then some reign supreme in these environs. Oh dear, perhaps if the quilt finds its way into their home it will persuade them to see colour, colour, colour in a new light. Perhaps they will gingerly tickle their toes over to the other side....the land where glorious colour abounds. Perhaps they'll take a walk on the wild side. Forgive me....I'm being a tad mischievous.

Little jewels of colour glowing in the sunshine♡

Flowers and glorious colour! Just heaven!

As I sit here and reflect upon this blogging caper it strikes me what a wonderful place 'The Land of Blogging' is. There are those of you, who though I have never met in person it is as if I have known you all my life. I get a sense of "oh.....you too". I feel you and I would have many a merry natter, drinking tea in pretty tea cups as we while away the hours. The Land of Blogging is an inspiring and supportive place where from the comfort of my armchair I visit other lovely blogs and become energised by others' fabulous imaginations and the amazing creativity that is showcased each time.  I cannot believe that I have been blogging for all these years, prattling on with stuff and nonsense and that you lovelies keep visiting my little place time after time. I am humbled. I am continually amazed that you do. May I say a very BIG thank you♡ As I wander through my posts over the years; my journal; it brings to mind  the pretties I have fashioned, the words I have written.....the photos.  Now....if you would like to receive my little fabric squares don't forget to say so in the comments. I will let you know in two weeks time as to whose name was drawn out of the 'hat'. Have a beautiful day, lovely lovelies♡ May there be moments of glorious colour♡ For we all must have a little bright and happy colour in our days♡ May there be many beautiful moments that cause you to smile♡ 

Until the next time..............