A Little Festive Wish♡

 

Hello lovely lovelies; lovely friends♡ How are your festive preparations coming along?? Are you ready for the Christmas festivities or are you busy, busy, busy with decorating...cooking...or  perhaps, putting those finishing stitches to those gifts??

Surprisingly, here at my little place everything is calm, and everything is bright in a shimmering and sparkly kinda way. Here in my little abode, Pete and I are ready for Christmas to knock softly on our front door. Today, I've enjoyed a lovely day visiting markets and driving through the summer countryside with Pete and my lovely friend, Trish; and as they chatted in the front, I sat in the back contentedly stitching a few more squares to my 'Trippin' Around The World quilt. Yes indeedy, this week I've enjoyed trippin' around the world several times.

But now,  I'm relaxing among the Christmas sparkles and enchanting glow of the tree, and the myriad of candles. The candles and scintillating lights effuse a festive glow. I cannot help but be peaceful.  And, as I sit here, the light of dusk  fades outside my window and the night sky dons a cloak of darkness. There is nary a star to be seen tonight but it does not matter as the reflection of fairy lights and candles in the window casts a magical glow in the inky darkness. It is the night-time where my little Christmas vignette transforms, illuminating the room into wondrous wonderment, sparking joy; sprinkling a little magic. Ahh......such is the ambience of my little Christmassy room.

Thank you for your generosity of spirit and kindness each time you visited my little place throughout this year♡ Thank you for the gift of your visits; your uplifting words♡ Thank you, lovely lovelies who each week encouraged me,  as we delighted in our slow stitching at Kathy's lovely place♡

I know there will be many moments this week, where I will gaze upon our tree bedecked in all its wonderful wonderment and think upon the Christmas story. The story of Jesus' 'Birth'day on that first Christmas morning long, long ago. The story of love and grace that is woven throughout. I am ever thankful for the love of Jesus; His grace; in the good times, the bad times, those impossibly difficult times.

My little festive wish for you is for your Christmas to shimmer and sparkle as your joy touches and brightens others' lives. For it is you in your little corner of the world, and me in my little corner who can each day, in our own unique and small way make someone else's life a little brighter. And, with the evil that seems to have had no bounds this year, you and I can be the miracle in another's day. Let us, you and me, keep our little light shining♡ My little festive wish for you is for you and your loved ones to enjoy a blessed Christmas as you celebrate the joy of the festive season, together♡

Until next year.........

Scrappy Delight♡

 

Hello lovely lovelies, lovely friends♡ A little Sunday love to you♡ 'Tis early Sunday evening, and after a little slow stitching was enjoyed this morning, whereafter a pleasant day ensued, I'm now sitting in the parlour soaking up the Christmas ambience. It's peaceful in here. All is bright and a-glowing with candles.

This week I stitched a dolly quilt, mattress and a pillow, for a wicker pram which Pete and I bought sweet Riley for Christmas. It's a pram designed by an Australian company, Olli and Ella which is owned by two sisters. There are so, so many pretties in this shop to delight a child......and a granny. =) Riley has a few dollies she loves to play with so when she is not pushing her dollies in the pram, the pram will be a fabulous (and pretty) way to corrale her dollies. 

I stitched the wee quilt using strips of pretty fabrics in my stash and for the backing, a scrappy, pinwheel fabric was used. Just strips with oodles of flowery patterns and happy colour dancing across the width. I machine quilted flowers here and there and this morning I stitched the binding. The mattress was again made from fabrics in my armoire. To make the mattress thick and puffy and soft as a feather, which any dolly would love to sink into, I doubled a thick polyester batting. I stitched a little pillow and a pillow case for dolly to rest her weary head.

My daughter did say......."don't go to too much trouble Ma............". Well, we can't have a boring and plebeian dolly's pram, now can we?? Surely said pram has to dressed with all the fancies??

This week I started two new English paper piecing pretties........just because I can. =) A hexie lap quilt dancing allover in Liberty prints and a Trip Around The World quilt, dancing in colourful squares.

The Liberty pretty is for my daughter's birthday in August next year, so there's no rush to finish. As I still have a few more fabrics to purchase, not a stitch has been stitched. At this stage I've just been playing; covering hexies in Liberty gorgeousness.

The second EPP pretty is for me. A Trip Around The World where little squares of lovely pattern and colour will promenade around and around dancing a merry jig. It would of course be a lot quicker if I were to machine piece this quilt but as I'm not in the mood to accurately match little two inch squares ad nauseum on the machine, I'm going to hand stitch. Crazy?? Perhaps. But then I love, love, love to stitch by hand. After all, 'tis summer here (well.... at least the calender tells me so) and long, lazy days of gentle and mindful stitching, in some secret corner of the garden, sounds rather relaxing to me. "And the secret garden bloomed and bloomed and every morning revealed new miracles." Francess Burnett Hodgson Ahh yes......so, so many miracles to be seen in the garden each new morning♡

The Christmas tree is twinkling, the candles are a-glowing and I think I'll enjoy a little promenading, a little world trippin' with colourful squares. Yes indeedy, as the sunshine beams upon the Christmas tree, a little slow stitching will be enjoyed by moi. From my Christmassy Home Sweet Home to yours, have a beautiful day, lovely lovelies, lovely friends♡ May sprinkles of joy find you♡ Sprinkles of sunlit joy are ricocheting here♡

Until the next time......

Home Sweet Home♡

 

Hello lovely lovelies, lovely friends♡ Home sweet  home♡ Pete and I are back home again after a fabulous holiday with our girls and their wee families. Oodles of cuddles with Riley and Lenox, too. Oodles of fun and laughter. Oodles of precious memories to tuck away until the next time we are blessed to holiday together.

'Tis wonderful to be home again. 'Tis wonderful to be back home in my little far rural outpost. Though it's always wonderful to visit with friends when in Sydney, I must say I'm ever so glad to be away from the cacophonous din that is Sydney.  The traffic!! The crazy drivers!  Each time we go away both Pete and I agree that packing up all our worldly goods and chattels and moving to Tassie eighteen years ago was an inspired decision. It seems we've both become rather accustomed to this quiet life of ours.

And, what was the first thing I did upon our arrival home?? Why, enjoy a stroll in the garden to drink in the garden, of course. And, to snippety snip bounteous bunches of sweet peas and roses which had bloomed while we were away. Yes indeedy, vases, jugs, bowls and teapots over-spilling with sweetly perfumed roses and sweet peas. Ahh....Home Sweet Home♡

Outside the picture windows the garden is beginning to burst into summer delight. Wish oh wish the weather would burst into gear, though. It's still a wee bit cool here. =) Roses, buddleias, nigellas..........sweet peas, are the flowers that are beginning to delight.

A froth of sweet peas. A profusion of jumbled joy. An overflowing mass of intoxicating fragrance, all jumbling together in deliciously effervescent colours; the tendrils weaving and climbing up, up and away to the heavens to be kissed by the sun. And, just because here in our serendipitous garden, the wind has swept up the tiny seeds scattering wherever they fall, ensuing in a carpet of sweet peas trailing along the earth in a floralicious display. I love the 'wherever-they-will' way Mother Nature scatters seeds.

While I was away my 'San Fransiscan' daughter gifted me a Cabinet of Curiosity Advent  Calender where during December, one day at a time, one opens a 'cabinet door' akin to an antique story book, with gorgeous hand-illustrated artwork; to reveal a teabag of delicious ambrosia for that day. My daughter knows that her dear ol' mum and dad like nothing better than to relax with a refreshing cup of tea in a pretty teacup. Throughout this festive month of the year, Pete and I are enjoying sipping curated, new-to-us teas. Flavours such as Christmas Breakfast, Irish Breakfast, New York Breakfast, China Jasmine, Gorgeous Geisha,  Sweetest Dreams; just to name a few. 'Tis the perfect gift♡

My Christmas fusion quilt is finished just in time for the festive season. 

 

There 'she' is sprinkling a little pastel joy among the Christmas pretties. She adorns the Christmas parlour, perfectly. 

As it's Sunday, the day all things slow stitching is celebrated I suppose I should go and find something to stitch....or perhaps crochet. Later that is, as it's early morning here. First things first. I'm off to open a door of my T2 Cabinet of Curiosity, on this seventh day of December, inquisitive to discover which new tea will be revealed; and enjoyed. =)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas here at my little place♡ 'Tis peaceful. 'Tis calm. 'Tis merry and bright here at my Home Sweet Home♡ 'Tis a pleasure to have you visit my little place♡ Thank you♡ Enjoy your day lovely lovelies, lovely friends; joying in something that puts many a smile into your day♡

Until the next time......