Quilt label and a giveaway!

Isn't blog world great?!  Thanks to Elizabeth (check out her blog - it's lovely!), I did a label for the quilt in cross stitch. Don't know why I didn't think of that before as I have done many a cross stitch project.  I did some binding on it and then hand stitched it to the back of the quilt. 

Now it's in the washing machine getting that lovely soft and aged look.

I have been enjoying reading so many lovely blogs lately.  When Wendell and I were first married we told each other how we used to look at young families and dream of the day that we would have a little family and home of our own.  Family was, and still is, something that is very important to us and dear to both our hearts.  To this day, if we go for a walk in the early evening and the lights are on in people's homes, I love to peek inside and see the coziness of a home.  Call me nosy, but I just love to see people at home enjoying all that goes with family life (I don't mind seeing how they decorate either!).  I think that's one of the reasons I love to read blogs.  People often say that they are writing just mundane, everyday stuff - but it's the everyday stuff that makes up our lives. At the end of it all, it's what we do with our time here that matters.  If we have spent it trying to serve others, we will find that in doing so we have found true joy.  A great King once said that "When ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God".  I believe that with all my heart. As women and especially as Mothers, we serve a lot, and I think that's why we love our families so much.  We love those we serve. So don't get bogged down by your everyday responsibilities.  Especially young Moms, remember that you are doing the greatest job in the world.  Enjoy every day and find joy in the simple things in life. 

Now, because I have had so many lovely comments on my blog lately, and have been introduced to many new people, I have decided to have my first giveaway.  So I have a copy of this little book for someone.

There are some really cute projects in here.  These wrist warmers are lovely (I actually love the bag!)

Love the soft colours of this blanket

This looks like a bag I would have carried as a teenager.

And these teddies are adorable

So here are the rules.  Follow my blog and leave a comment on this post.  I will mail overseas, so don't let that stop you. I will choose a winner on December 3rd, so you will have it in time for Christmas.  Good luck!

New sewing room

This is what Rebekah's room looked like a few weeks before she moved out and got married. 

Everything was ready for moving.  We had already moved her double bed into our guestroom, so that they could have the queen size bed that was in there which, we bought when Andrew & Kelsi got married, so that Rebekah could take it when she got married (are you still with me?!) So as there was no longer a bed in her room, we moved her into the guestroom,

 This was actually her bedroom before Andrew got married two and a half years ago, so she felt very much at home in here.

Our plan for her bedroom was a sewing room for me so that I could move everything up from the basement where there would be so much more natural light.  Wendell wanted to put hardwood flooring down before I moved in, but I just wanted to get it moving.  Remember last year, when we were planning on painting our front porch and ended up building a totally new one, re-paving and intelrocking the drive, putting in a new front door and back shed? HERE.  Well it happened again.  We found some very well priced hardwood so ended up having all four bedrooms done, new bedroom doors, new closet doors and all freshly painted!

We are very happy with the results!

What do you think? This is my little sanctuary! One of our bedrooms is Wendell's office, as he frequently works from home. So now, when I am sewing or on my computer, we don't have to use the phone intercom to communicate - I'm just across the hall!  Love that!

See my growing fabric stash.  I have lots of projects planned.

This little lot in the basket is for the next quilt I want to make, which is for our bed.

This is my reading nook and also where I cross stitch.

When we were in Maine in the summer I found this beautiful little book about women in the US and their history of quilting.  It's the perfect bookshelf addition for my room.

I love this space and tell Wendell at least once a day!

A life lesson!

Yesterday I said I was thinking about making this bag.  Well after sewing a baby blanket I decided to give it a go.  Very easy to put together but extremely small.  This bag is called a "shopper" in the Cath Kidston book, but I don't think you'd get much shopping in it!  Here is the finished result.

It really is a nice shaped bag and now I have made one, I will enlarge the pattern and make another.  Just to give some perspective on size, look at this...

It is more a little girl's size bag.  I did make the strap a little longer as I thought my daughter might want to use it, but it really is too small.  Oh well, it was a good experience and I look forward to making a larger one.  Kind of like life really, sometimes things don't go as we plan, but all things give us experience.  If we learn from our mistakes then we are moving in the right direction.  We are not perfect and will make mistakes, but thanks to repentance, we can get back on the right track.  What a loving Heavenly Father we have!