Pieces of Contentment: Etsy.

Showing posts with label Etsy.. Show all posts

Sunday, April 29, 2018

From the Rising of the Sun

There's always something special about watching the changing sky as the sun brings a new day and again as the sun sinks below the horizon. A time to pause in thanksgiving and wonder, realising how small and fragile we are.

From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, the Lord's name is to be praised.

Psalm 133:3

Miss V and Miss E were both water baptised on Easter Sunday - a public confession of their personal faith. It was wonderful to have all the family present for this event - as well as many friends.

A small organic baby quilt has been stitched and added to my Etsy store along with a small selection of cards professionally printed using my photos. Some lovely new fabrics have inspired a few more blocks of my epp hand stitching project too.

We continue to making steady progress as we sort the possessions of my parents' in law, frequently contemplating the role of belongings, our impact on the world and the legacy we leave for future generations. Appreciating the past, making the most of the present and looking with hope towards the future.

*** You may also enjoy my Instagram feed which I add to several times a week. You don't have to join Instagram to view - just click on the little blue square camera logo under my blog profile (top right hand corner).
Karen

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

A Quilt - At Last!

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Peta and I 'met' on Instagram, prompting me to drop in to her shopfront, Zaaton Tea House, late one October afternoon. I soon discovered Peta's passion for supporting the local creative community, locally grown flowers and friendly homestyle teas and refreshments.

Peta enquired about a custom lap quilt for patrons to use while enjoying refreshments in the cooler months. It seemed the perfect project for Indie Folk fabric which had just been released by Art Gallery Fabrics. With Peta's input fabrics, and design ideas came together. I was planning for this to be my January project - but then my mil suddenly passed away just after Christmas and life took a different turn.

This finish may be later than planned, but as our summer continues to linger long and hot, the timing is just right with cooler days sure to arrive sometime next month!

March has come with its usual flurry of cricket finals which overlap with the beginning of training for the hockey season. With Miss E's (10) enthusiasm it looks like we have many more years of cricket finals ahead. She participated in 4 different levels/ages of cricket this summer and would have been eager to even play senior's first grade (mostly men), like her older sister if she had been selected!

Meanwhile I enjoy the birdlife and changing skies while watching a select few hours of cricket.

Further details for some of these photos will appear if you hover your cursor over the image. :)

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Life Past and Present

It's amazing the things you discover as you begin to clear out someone else's home. There is much which needs to be graciously overlooked and dealt with appropriately and then you also find curious old treasures. Trying to find the line between old worthless 'stuff' and intriguing possessions is a difficult one, which is made both easier and harder once the owner is no longer here.

I find my self looking back over the old black and white photos to see if any of my young mother-in-law was wearing any of the dozen hats and fascinators discovered in her hat box - and I haven't found any yet. I didn't even know about the existence of the hat box until just over 12 months ago when she had to have a particular hat (the one with all the little fur tails) to wear to my son's wedding, the same hat (and accompanying dress) which she had worn to her oldest son's wedding in 1983. She and I spent hours looking for the hat box and nearly left her old seaside home without locating it. Once found, she briefly looked through her memory hats that day as we quickly gathered the right hat and headed back into our home town an hour away. And that was all. Life moved on.

Many finds remain intriguing mysteries, other my husband knows the story behind them, like dozens of Fowlers Vacola preserving jars retrieved from the boat shed. These have been scrubbed are now happily in use in our home and a local florist as vases.

Each week we make another trip down to continue the huge task of house sorting, and when time and the weather allow, we enjoy a little time at one of Iluka's wonderful beaches before heading home.

Life continues on amongst sorting my mil's affairs. Early morning walks are still a pleasure, before the heat and humidity of the day linger long. Quite a few new fabrics have been added to my Etsy shop over recent weeks, bringing variety as other fabrics sell out. An organic quilt from my Etsy shop has also made it's way to a new home this month. Nothing seems to mark the passing of time more distinctly than birthdays. Our youngest turned 10 this week - Miss E had a wonderful birthday and is a blessing to us every day!