Murphy Was a Quilter

I know this because the bobbin always runs out an inch or so from the end.....

Have a Heart this Christmas

Once a week I go to a small study group associated with our church. Last week we had a visiting speaker, the daughter of the couple that lead our group. Jess had been to Thailand for a trip recently and came to share with us about that. She made this trip with World Vision with the particular purpose of finding out more about the slave trade or human trafficking. You can imagine the stories she brought back with her....

This isn't a subject that we hear a lot about... but when you do hear what is going on, it is very confrontational! By the end of the evening I think most of us wanted to hop on a plane and go punch some people on the nose! Or go and open an orphanage to save some of those little children who are stolen from their parents and made to work in factories or worse places. If I was a millionaire, that is what I would do. Snatch these children away... and care for them. How I wish I could go over there and save them from a fate worse than death... but I can't.

What I can do is ask you to join with me this Christmas in raising some money for some of the children that Jess visited who have been saved from the slave traders. I had been working on a Christmas pattern that I hoped I could sell one day..... and after the meeting felt that I should finish it by this week and put it up on the web as a fundraiser.

So I present to you Joy's Christmas Hearts:


It is a quick, simple wallhanging to make for Christmas and your purchase this month will show our LOVE for children in Thailand, give them some HOPE, and us some JOY in giving this year.

This is a pdf pattern and if you would like to buy one for yourself and as a gift for somone else, please treat it as a paper pattern and buy two copies :) It would make a great gift as an attachment to a Christmas email for a quilting friend.... or you may still have time to make one for a friend before Christmas. You can also save it to work on throughout the year for next Christmas :)

Many thanks to Yvonne and Alice for helping me proof the pattern on such short notice!

ALL the money from the patterns bought this December will go to Jess who will pass it on to the project she is working with in Thailand.

If you have made it this far, thank you for reading and I do hope you are able to help out with this special cause. You can go HERE to buy the pattern and make a small difference in the life of a child saved from slavery.

Please take the button from the top of this post and spread the word this month. We can make a difference, little by little.....

Buy Joy's Christmas Hearts Here

Finishing Instructions for Fruit of the Spirit BOM!

Yes finally, they are here. I should have gotten them up earlier, but I am not confident about writing up patterns yet, so it has taken a little longer. I can't say the photo is that great either. The colors are not like they are in real life :( I tried to take another one in better light, but would you believe it, I couldn't find it! LOL! I think I packed it. What was I thinking?!

Anyway, I do hope you have all enjoyed this bom as much as I have. I would like to make it in another colorway... and setting... if only I had the time!!!

So go HERE to download the instructions. They are way down the bottom of the page. If anyone out there ever finishes this quilt, please do send us a photo!!!! We would love to see it!!

I have a few belated photos to share with you. A while back I got a parcel from Fiona from BubzRugz. In it was this:


A soft, soft, SOFT face washer!!! Just for me! I'm not sharing! She sent it to me as a thank you for running Finishing Stitches, now wasn't that sweet? It was my pleasure to host that and I am hoping to do it again next year, because I don't know about you, but I still have HEAPS of projects needing finishing.... :) Thank you so much Fiona!

I also got a little pressie in the mail last week from my sis. I had made her some table runners, just simple ones, but they took a bit of time still. She sent me this cute covered notebook as a thank you:


Aren't I lucky?! It will fit nicely into my handbag :) Thank you Christie!!!

Come back tomorrow sometime for something to do with hearts, hope and Christmas!

Hello Blogland!!!

Yes, it is me. I am back. I am still somewhat sane. I think.... I have sorted everything out in the whole house, and am almost ready for the packers to come. Good news: they are coming early Jan instead of a few days before Christmas :) So we have taken the decorations out and started putting them up. Here is Pepsi having a rest next to the Winter Lego village:



I have missed you all during this unintentional blogging break! But I have needed the time to spend on the house and getting ready for the big move. Really, the place has never been so declutterd, it is amazing!!! I have started stuffing fabric in all my empty Tupperware containers... which is a bit frustrating because now I can't find what I need for the projects I have started working on this week! Oh well... at least all my fabric will be coming with me - it gets packed in the container first! Priorities, priorities :)

It is summer here in Australia now... I think.... you wouldn't really be able to tell with the weather we have been having. It was nice and sunny this morning and I finally got the washing out. I had a little nap this afternoon and woke up to thunder.... I looked out the windows of my sewing room and what did I see??? This:


Wet washing. You can't see the rain, but it is there, trust me.


These birds didn't seem to mind the wet weather though. They seemed to be finding all sorts of yummies in the grass :) Isn't he pretty:


You know, if I closed my eyes I could almost imagine it was snowing... almost... so I put on some Christmas music and worked on a secret project:


Keep an eye out for more blog posts in the next few days. I am working on the finishing instructions for the Fruit of the Spirit block of the month - better late than never don't you think?? I am also working on a special project that I am going to need your help with... more on that on Monday whenI hope you will join me for

Have a Heart this Christmas...

Until then, I shall head back into my sewing room and do a bit more stippling....

Sunday Sewing...

I have been so busy sorting out stuff and getting ready for the packers to come. Yesterday I was so tired I slept in till mid-day... something I have never done before in my life!!! I decided my body was telling me to slow down and take it easy, so today I spent the day in my sewing room. I think Nina was happy to see me... I haven't spent any time with her for so long!!

Here is a sneak peak of what I was working on:


You know what it is, don't you....? Yes, I finished the top for the Fruit of the Spirit Block of the Month! Yay! I now need to write it up and post it on the web for you all :) I am quite happy with how it turned out... and glad I didn't give up on it, lol!!

We have dates for when the packers are going to come - the 22nd & 23rd of Dec :) What fun! We will have a very empty house for Christmas....! Oh well.. such is life. I am trying to have everything sorted out by the end of November so that I am not stressing at the last minute. So far it is all going well....

Hope you are all well and sewing lots and lots!!! I'll be back later in the week with the finishing instructions...

October Finishing Stitches Winners!!!!

Yes, we have winners for these gorgeous charm packs, and of course I expect to see two quilts done by Christmas... hee heeee :) Just kidding, but I know you will want to sew these up when you get them because they are just adorable!!!

On to the winners! For Part A we have:

Wannabegodly from Homepiecing!!!

Send me an email with your snail mail address please and I will post you one of the charm packs!

And for Part B:

Alice from Alice in Quilterland!!!!

Of course I have your address already, so you don't need to send it to me :)

Thank you to all who have joined in again last month. I didn't get much done, but some of you sure did :)

The reason I wanted to give away two charm packs in October is because I am stopping with Finishing Stitches for the year .... sadly I need to concentrate on getting ready for the big move.... I will start it up again sometime next year when I am settled again though, so don't worry, the challenges will be back!

In other news: Hubby left on Tuesday night for Saudi. It was a mad last minute rush, but we got him to the airport on time :) So now I really do need to start thinking about getting ready to join him...! Even though it will probably be three months, I don't want to be stressing at the last minute... so I should write a list and make a plan, shouldn't I? Somehow I don't think my wonderful Quilter's Moving Tips are going to work for an international move....

I'd better get busy!

And the Hot Potato goes to....

...... ANGELA from Sew Loquacious Angela!!!!!!!

She said:

Pick me! Pick me! Oh, count me in!
Thanks!
Angela

So I did pick her... in a very random way, don't worry :) I cut up all the comments, dumped them in a pile on the bed, mixed them all up (while Pepsi the cat watched to make sure I wasn't cheating), and then closed my eyes and picked one.....

Angela, please send me your snail mail addy and I will send this hot, hot pattern over to you!!!

All those of you who missed out, keep an eye out at Angela's blog for when she gives it away next! It really is a fun pattern :)

Thank you to everyone who commented and especiallay to Sarah from Sarah's Prim Treasures who started all this way back in March!