A New Sunday, A New Year♡

 

Hello, lovely lovelies ♡ From my little home to yours a blessed New Year to you♡ How did you see the new year in?? Did yours enter with a shebang, an explosion of fireworks, or, like me, did it creep in stealthily while you were sleeping?? I can't seem to stay up until the bewitching hour any more. 

A new year.  I wonder what stories we will write this year?? I wonder what stories will be inked into the history throughout the world. I just know with everything that is going on in this world of ours, it will be an interesting year. A very rough ride for some countries, and hence rippling throughout the world.

Before I chat about all things stitching, I want to say that I feel sadness at the passing of Jimmy Carter. Sad, though you would not wish him back. I'm sad that America, nor indeed the world will never see the likes of this wonderful statesman ever again. In the messy arena of politics he was a man of faith who never  lost sight of who he was; or his deep faith. A most amazing man, whom with his equally amazing wife spent their years after the presidency in service of people, making millions of lives throughout the world better; living his faith, his love for God through his actions. No bangs and whistles, no noisy gongs and cymbals, no look at me, look at me, look at me; just going about his life showing humility, compassion, decency, selflessness; and grace to all. A shining beacon of graciousness. He once said,  "to me, faith is not just a noun but also a verb". This encapsulates Jimmy Carter perfectly. I have no doubt, upon entering heaven, and as Jimmy Carter looked deep into the eyes of Jesus, the phrase "well done good and faithful servant!" was  lovingly said. No doubt at all. 

But, to all things slow stitching. Here in my little place where January meanders by with one perfect summer day after another, I've started the new year with petting pretty Liberty cottons. Bundles of twenty pretty fat quarters of sweet Liberty prints. And as I petted, and ooh-ed and ahh-ed over these pretties.......of course I had to take a few happy snaps before I snippety-snipped into them.

Swans gliding in pools of Liberty pretties♡

Two swans a-swanning♡

But what to do with these Liberty pretties?? An EPP pretty perhaps?? As I haven't an EPP pretty in the works I decided to skip down the flower-lined, tessellated EPP path once again. I've decided upon stars this time. I've never fashioned a quilt where a cluster of stars twinkle and shine. I'm using diamonds and hexagons; the templates which I used in my Sweet Sunday quilt, many moons ago. I'll mix the Liberty patterns with Kona solids. Names such as Cantaloupe, Ballerina, Gum Drop, Banana, Capri, Blue Jay, Helliotrope......so, so tantalising; all dancing rhythmically with the Liberty prints. Of course, I won't have enough Liberty fabrics to make a large quilt, so I'll sneak in some other fabrics which have the same look as Liberty and throw these into the mix. I have a wide assortment of Kona solids which is fabulous, so I won't have to acquire any more. Though, I will need to purchase a Kona solid for the hexies dancing between each star. I don't know what colour. Perhaps a grey with a lavender tint would work. 

A new quilt for a new year. One of a few; perhaps?? Though, I never seem to churn out many quilts in any year. Just ambling, sometimes skipping, along the flowery path of slow stitching on many a Sunday.

From my little home to yours, sending you a little love sprinkled with sweetly fragranced sweet peas on this sunny, summery Sunday♡

Until the next time......

There once was a dolly named Dolly, who lived in a cute, little cottage...........

Hello lovely lovelies♡ Christmas has shone it's light brightly and twinkled away, fading for yet another year. It's been busy, busy, busy here at the bottom of the world, with both frantically finishing Christmas gifts, and entertaining my sweet Riley and her mummy and daddy. 'Twas such a joy to spend precious days with Riley, my daughter and son-in-law. Truly, it was the most precious Christmas gift. But goodness me, this caper they call granny-ing is for a younger age, me thinks. =) I'm exhausted, but oh so contented.

 I hope you had a lovely Christmas day celebrating with your loved ones. For some it would've been a difficult time. The festive season can be bittersweet can it not?? As we age and grow older and our loved ones pass from our little world, it seems to me ambivalent and conflicted emotions, both sorrow and joy, sit on our shoulders concurrently, to-ing and fro-ing. It's never easy. 

There was much joy in our little home this Christmastime♡

For weeks before Christmas I locked myself away in my sewing room and stitched away on Riley's dolly and the fabric cottage. But oh my, even though I started this pretty many, many weeks before, it still came down to the wire when finishing for the big day. There was soooo much tiny intricate stitching to be done. Dolly is only six inches tall and it took seven hours to create her alone. Then there were the clothes to be fashioned. Oh dear, the tiny armholes, the waist and the hems of the pants.......goodness, they all took an age. So finicky. So time consuming.

But, the architects and builders, and designers and decorators have picked up their tools and have waved goodbye to Dolly wishing her fun, fun, fun in her new cute, little cottage.

And what a cute little cottage it is. The walls of each room are prettily patterned, and coordinated furniture, furnishings and tchtochkes abound; all the pretties that make a home....home. Dolly has all the comforts of home. It is a wee cottage though, with only four rooms. But to Dolly, it is her Goldilocks home.....just right.

Inside the walls of the cute, little cottage there is an oh-so-comfy bed covered with a pretty hexie quilt and a pillow to rest Dolly's weary head after an exhausting day. A wardrobe too, bursting with pretty garments....pyjamas, blouses, pants, dresses....and there's even a knitted little sleeveless sweater. Dolly is known around town as a fashionista so she likes to keep abreast of fashion trends. There's a pretty lamp to cast light upon Dolly when she snuggles down in bed and escapes within the pages of a book. A teddy bear, too. Oh look, there's a kitty snoozing happily in the sunny window.

Across the way there's a bathroom with a clawfoot bath in which Dolly can soak, relaxing; putting at rest her concerns for another day. There's a toilet. Well, every bathroom has to....just has to have a throne......a vanity and a mirror. There's a washing basket that can be filled with clothes waiting to be washed in the washing machine. An ironing board and iron are always ready to be put into action because Dolly rather loves to iron. She is that dolly who loves all her pretties to be neatly pressed.

Downstairs there is a kitchen where Dolly loves to cook up a gastronomical storm in her oven for her friends. She loves to bake. There always seems to be yummy cakes as there is many a visitor popping in to spend time with Dolly in her cosy home. I mean.....just look at those cakes in the fridge! It makes me want to rat-a-tat-tat on that pretty front door. Some chocolate cake smothered in chocolate frosting would go down very well, right about now. But then, there's strawberry pie, too. Oh, what the heck, Dolly and I can enjoy a slice or two of each cake; can't we?? Oh, may I have a glass of icy, cold milk with my cakes, please, Dolly??

Dolly has decorated her kitchen with pretty plates, teacups, a clock......as Dolly can lose track of time while cooking up a storm. And, as she washes the dishes she can look out her window to the view beyond.

And, after all the baking and tidying up of her pretty kitchen is done, Dolly can collapse on her pretty blue sofa and squishy, squashy cushions and read a book with the sunshine beaming through the prettily curtained window. Dolly does love a good read. Of course, on the coffee table nearby there's a teapot filled with English Breakfast tea to enjoy in a pretty teacup. When it came to purchasing the perfect dining setting, Dolly went all out and splurged on a Saarinen, Tulip table and chairs. After all, nothing but the best will do. She's glad she spent the big bucks as the suite does rather 'maketh' the room. Oh...and there's a tulip armchair, too. Nothing but the best for our Dolly.

But....there's one glaring omission though. Can you spot it?? There's no garden!! What??!! Really??!! Not one single flower sashaying in the breeze. "How can that be", I hear you ask. I mean, I'm the flower lady who overdoses on all things flowers; right?? There was always the intention to have both a front and back garden blossoming with many a flower, but I just ran out of time. I don't think Dolly will mind though, as she would much prefer to whip up gastronomical delights in her kitchen, or laze around on her comfy sofa reading a good book or two, rather than weeding in a garden.

I enjoyed designing, problem solving and stitching Dolly and her cosy cottage. Would I fashion another? Probably not. =) As there weren't any patterns I made it up as I went along. At times, it took a lot of time throughout the process to figure out how I could accomplish what I envisaged. Everything is so tiny. Dolly is only six inches long and she took an age to make. Seven hours....and yes I was counting. =) Turning the arms and legs inside out created a bit of angst and stuffing these components were a nightmare. Then there were the clothes which  were a pain. Ordinarily one would think one could whip up a collection of garments quickly. Not so. Being so tiny there were a lot of bumps along the garment making road. But, I persisted, and I must say Dolly's sweet garments do make me smile. Stitching the miniscule details.....the teapot, cups, plates, books etc etc took an age, too. The sewing machine dawdled, the needle barely moving as I navigated around each item. There is so much detail in the little cottage which took oodles of time to complete. A friend, when seeing Dolly and her little cottage said "oh, you should really sell these". Of course I replied with a resounding "Nooooooooooo". There is not enough money to induce me to fashion another. One dolly and her sweet, little cottage is quite enough for my lifetime.=)

But, Riley loved it, though I don't suppose the enjoyment of playing with Dolly and her little cottage for hours will come until she is a little older. I wanted to create something special that she would enjoy when she's able to sit by herself and escape and have fun with Dolly; dressing her, putting her to bed etc etc. Riley has so many toys to play with at the moment that I wanted to make something that will last the length of time and which was a little different from gifts purchased from a shop. A fun pretty which she can sit for hours and play 'lets pretend' with Dolly.

Dolly and I are wishing you, lovely lovelies, a beautiful day♡ Thank you, lovely lovelies for all the times throughout this year you have stopped by my little place and blessed my day with your beautiful words♡ 'Tis always a joy when you visit ♡ A blessed New Year to you♡

See you next year. I wonder what the new year will bring with it?? I'd bet my bottom dollar it will be an interesting one.

Until the next time......

Linking this week to Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching because, with hand on my heart, I very slowly  stitched, from dawn to dusk, on many a December Sunday. =)

Linking also to Frédérique's Quilting, Patchwork, Applique.

And now....back to regular programming.....=)

Yes indeed, lovely lovelies, here at my little place, on this stormy Sunday, it's back to normal programming, where flowery blossoms and a little slow stitching is the order of my day. And though,  egomaniacal leaders whose fragile personalities are  nefariously plotting dark intrigues in their bunkers with like-minded henchman, for today at least, I'm not going to give dastardly villains nary a thought. 

I wonder, are all your comments after you've published a post landing in your emails?? Comments from last week's  post didn't come through to my email and if I didn't reply to you I do apologise. Some replies I sent off to reach the intended person through cyberspace, returned back to me. Mmm.....perhaps dark forces are playing havoc with my blog. I wouldn't be at all surprised. =) We'll see what transpires this week. 

Yesterday, my good husband and my 'good' self went to the annual garden festival in the little town of Longford. It was a pleasant day strolling around people's gardens drinking in the flowery blossoms and heady  scents. The roses, ahh the roses. Each delicious perfume combining together forming a potpourri of intoxicating perfumes wafting through the air. It was a delight to meander through cottage gardens where  lupins, granny bonnets, clematis, peonies...the size of dinner plates, lavender, poppies, foxgloves, sweet peas flourished.

I've been playing florists, too. Bundles and bundles of wisteria, irises, diosma, mock orange, rhododendrons and roses begged to be picked. So snippety snip, I did. The soft entreaty of the garden and the wisteria-laden fernery beckoned me as well. Who am I to resist.

A little designing and stitching for my sweet Riley has been enjoyed this week. Christmas is nudging at my creative door reminding me there are sweet pretties to be imagined for gifts. Ideas are spinning around my muddly head, ricocheting everywhere in the frontal lobes, tinkering with a myriad of possibilities. So, so excited. My favourite kind of play is imagining, designing and then turning  these imaginations into finished pretties.  I'm thinking I'll be locked away in my sewing room from dawn to dusk over the next little while, with Pete leaving food at the door at feed times to sustain the inner woman. 

The first pretty on my list is a little fabric dollhouse which folds down to the size of a large book; complete with an attic bedroom, a bathroom, a loungeroom and kitchen, where a little dolly will hang out. The bedroom is the first room I'm imagining. There's a sweet little quilt resting on the bed which I hand stitched using 1/2" hexies. Why, if I was a little dolly I would love to slip off to dreamland snuggled under this pretty. Oh, there's a soft as soft pillow, too, for dolly to rest her weary head. Of course there has to be a wardrobe for dolly's clothes, so I whipped up one to store all the attire that a dolly could ever need. The dolly and clothes will be designed and stitched later on. I'll be continuing  to work on the bedroom for Slow Sunday Stitching. Me thinks a window with curtains to let the sunbeams in is definitely needed and some other pretties to decorate, but what, I don't really know. I have a concept of a plan. =)  I'll just continue playing.

Sweet Riley's Granny sometimes loves to play dollies, too. =)

Take care lovely lovelies, and don't forget, in these uneasy times, keep shining your little light in your little corner of the world♡ Take care♡

Until the next time......