All things happen for a reason...

You know, I don't believe in conincidences. I really don't. I seriously believe that everything that happens in my life is a result of God and His hand at work. For example, the day I got stuck behind an awfully slow car on the road meant I was 1 minute late in missing an accident at an intersection up ahead. Something that I was impatient and annoyed about probably saved my life.

And it doesn't just happen to me either. I am sure alot of you have similar stories. My friend stopped at a red light a number of years ago late at night. When the lights turned green, his car wouldn't move forward. The car was running, but no matter how hard he pressed the gas, it would not move. (And no - he didn't have the hand brake on!) A few seconds later, a massive truck ran through the intersection in the opposite direction on the red light. As soon as the truck passed through, my friends car moved forward. True story! How great is our God?!

And it's not just in the big things of life either that I don't think coincidences exist, but in the small, seemingly unimportant bits too. Like with my sewing for Sew Blessed. See the pink dress up above? The pink material was a pillowcase I found at an Op shop a few months back. I wanted to use some of Mellys gorgeous fabric to 'pretty it up,' so found the lovely oval shaped fabric that matched in perfectly. That fabric from Melly was already cut into rectangles. I had to have a chuckle when I realised that the rectangles were the exact same width as the pillowcase, even minus the seam allowances!

I know some people would say that's just sheer luck and a coincidence, but no. I believe God has a hand in it all. Sometimes we just need to be open to let Him work. And open our eyes to see Him work.

So I just had to share some of the bits I have been making of late! Yay for finally having some time to sew!! The blue shorts were the first ever pair of shorts I have made. And I am so chuffed with them! I didn't have a pattern, but just sort of drew and guessed - and yay, they worked! Once again, I used some of Mellys fabric to smarten them up. I think I'll be making alot of shorts as the boys are constantly wearing them for playing and swimming etc.

I made the pretty green dress yesterday, once again using a pillowcase and some of Mellys donated fabric. I love this dress! I just added a simple casing around the middle with some Amy Butlers Daisy Chain, and threaded elastic through. Just to give it some shape and body. We think this dress should fit an 8-10 year old.

Oh, and some other big news. A dear friend of mine is going to Indonesia in March next year, and I am hopefully going to tag along with her! She is going to Bali and Papua for 2 weeks, which is exactly where I wanted to go. So I am now madly sewing items to be ready in time! I can't wait!!!

So I shall leave you with a photo of a beautiful beach in Papua....
... and the damaging after effects of such a beach, with sunburn!!

I still have scars on my shoulders!