Friday, November 1, 2019

Scrappy Vintage Kitchen quilt assembly and around home...


Now that all nine stitchery blocks have been shown it's time to bring them together as a pretty wall quilt for your home.

Honest, I love my finished Scrappy Vintage Kitchen and as it's been pieced with scraps of favourite fabrics which span over a six year period there's also a lovely touch of 'stash nostalgia' as well as the nostalgia of a life growing up in Nana's kitchen which was the original inspiration behind every stitchery and the eventual vintage-retro quilt display.




In the first week of this 18-week journey of sewing together I gave a tutorial for the bright hopes block, because that's how I've framed each stitchery, and made a new pincushion using the same measurements as the completed blocks ...




If you missed that tutorial you'll find it HERE




Then we continued stitching and piecing one block every second Friday until the final block was shared with you last week.

Along the way I had sewn all my blocks together, added a border and begun to hand quilt.




Today you can begin these final steps too.




Once your stitcheries are pieced inside a bright hopes block using the measurements I gave here, sew them together in three rows of three.
I chose my block placements to balance the flow of colours and fabric, but mostly it was about the whole quilt being pleasing to the eye once it was bordered and bound and hanging on my wall.
There's no set sequence to the order of the stitchery blocks though I did begin with 'My Vintage Kitchen' at the centre and moved other blocks around it until I was happy. 

Once the nine blocks were sewn together I added a 1" red gingham border.

After that, a 2½” wide second border was added using a soft and sweet floral on white print from Elea Lutz's 'Bluebirds on Roses' range, before adding wadding and backing.
My quilt was all hand quilted with cream Perle #12 thread.




I toyed with the idea of red gingham binding but decided to stay with the same fabric used in the second border because this allowed the stitchery blocks to really stand out, and I'm so happy I went with that decision because the final display looks beautiful in our home.





 Have you enjoyed this stitch-along? 
Are you making a quilt or using the little designs in other projects? I'd love to know.

If you've made any of these blocks and want to show them off leave a comment below with a link to your blog or Instagram page so we can come have a look. 

If you haven't found my own Instagram page yet it's HERE. Tag me with your Elefantz stitchery photos please, I'd love to see them!


AROUND HOME

It's been so dry for many months and though we water on our allotted days (council water restrictions) mostly it's just keeping things alive, not thriving. Last week I removed some struggling plants from the ground and potted them until they can recover when our wet season arrives. In the meantime they are getting some good worm soup from Mr E's worm farm and gaining health again. 

We have a particular cockatoo whom you've met here before. Betty. She has recently begun sitting quite near us each morning at breakfast, and when Mr E talks to her she always replies in her own cockatoo language. It's rather lovely having her just six feet from the outdoor table where we have meals, never fearful, and always content to sit and chat with us until I clear the table and we go off to our day's chores or work. 




There's another cockatoo who's become a regular visitor to the feeder, mostly when the other birds have left for the day because the healthy, younger birds push him aside. As you can see he is getting on in years so I add more seed when he arrives so he doesn't miss out.
Haven't named him yet as I can't settle on one that suits him.




This week we had two nights where it rained, not a lot of rain, just about 20-30 minutes of fairly light drizzle but enough that there's a noticeable difference in the garden. 

Where we are in the world, the tropics of northern Australia, many trees lose all their leaves in spring and not autumn. Our tabebuia trees are like that and it was sad to see the pink one we planted late last year bare and forlorn looking recently. But now it's beginning to flourish again and my husband is thrilled because we are still new to growing trees and did not know it was normal for them to lose all their leaves so at first we thought it was dying.




Just as we were about to mulch the old winter beans into our garden this little bit of rain has revived them and suddenly more flowers have appeared.
I love how the rockmelons which self seeded from our compost happily live under and around those beans.






This one's an odd shape, very elongated...




...but the rest of them are round and we've got this one almost ready to eat.




Yesterday Blossom, Cully May and Rafaella visited for the morning and after we supped on fresh scones and homemade strawberry jam I took Cully May outside to check if the chooks had laid their eggs. She was so excited because she loves our hens and always wants to pat them.
Well, even more exciting was collecting her first, warm, freshly laid egg...




Her delight in accomplishing new things, discovering something fresh, being read to, hugged, smothered in kisses and given treats from my cupboard - all of those things remind me that this is how God wants us to be with Him, like little children still untainted by the world...and I want Him to be as delighted in me as I am in Cully May.

I must away now to Friday's chores.
I cooked a roast chicken dinner last night and there's a lot of leftovers so after I hang the washing and scrub the shower I'm going to prepare a big bowl of chicken, vegetable and pasta salad, bake some rock cakes and put a loaf of sour dough in the breadmaker. Mr E likes to have fresh bread with his dinner every night and I too often forget that...note to self: serve bread with dinner.

In case you've missed my recipe for Rock Cakes here it is again.


2 cups of sifted self raising (self rising) flour
90g soft butter
1/2 cup castor (superfine) sugar
1 cup mixed dried fruit
1/2 teaspoon mixed spice
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup milk

Preheat your oven to 200 C (390 F)

Sift the flour and mixed spice into a bowl.
With your fingertips rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs.
Stir the sugar and dried fruit through the flour.
Mix the egg and milk together.
Make a well in the centre of the flour mix and pour in the egg/milk mixture.
Using a knife quickly mix everything together but don't over mix.

Place heaped spoonfuls of the dough onto a lined biscuit tray (makes 24) and bake for 15 minutes.

Cool on a rack and enjoy! 

May your weekend be one which is abundant in the Lord's refreshment,

hugs


12 comments:

Kay said...

Your comment about Cully May has really made me think, does my Heavenly Father delight in me as He could, do I make Him happy with my daily life. Food for thought. x

Joanne said...

Hi Jenny,
Thanks for the fun vintage kitchen stitch a long! I'm looking for a few kitchen themed fabrics before I start stitching. First the fabrics then the threads. Thanks Jenny!
Your garden is sure looking good! fruit, veg, wild life and more!
Enjoy the weekend!
hugs,
Joanne

Allie said...

Well how lovely is that - I really love the way you finished your mini-quilt, my dear! So darling and nostalgic! Love seeing the pics of your garden, but the picture of Cully May brightened my day no end - what a sweet, beautiful little girl she is!!! THAT SMILE!!!!!!!!

Dots said...

Hi Jenny,your rockmellons look like our cantaloupe. My dad called them muskmellon. I never heard them called by that name before. Cully May is wearing a pretty gingham dress. I like that color on her. I love this quilt you made.I like the way it looks with the embroiders in the center. I have embroidery patterns of Snow Globes. I wondered how to use them. I think that block may make a pretty pillow. I might just try that and see. November here already. A lot of holidays ahead for us here.
I am trying a diet of meat and water for 30 days. It is not at all hard to do after you get through the first couple of weeks. After the 30 days I can continue on with it or I then start reintroduce foods I normally ate to see if I have a reaction to it. It is an easy way to discover food sensitivities. It works well for that. So many things we eat can cause many autoimmune disorders. So I will see how that goes.
Betty is one big Cockatoo. She looks pretty on that post. I have seen them in pet stores, and my neighbor use to have one, but he wasn't as big as Betty is. I like them. I can't imagine them in my back yard,though. A red tail hawk, or noisy crows, owls, or cardinals and turkeys would be common here. All our other birds fly south for the winter.
Good blog today. A lot of interesting things to think about.Thanks for sharing your world today.

Farm Quilter said...

I would love to see what the inside of a rock melon looks like!! Dots said her father called then muskmelons...I haven't heard of them either!! Cully Mae looks so proud to have found a fresh egg!!! What a sweetie and you are so blessed to have some of your grands so near. Your garden is so lovely, even when it is thirsty. Betty is beautiful, but the poor old gentleman looks as though he has been abused. Your quilt is beautiful, but all your work is beautiful. Enjoy the march into your summer as we here in the USA are rapidly sliding into winter and freezing temperatures.

Susan said...

I love the look on Cully Mae's face, over the egg. I wonder if I show as much awe and excitement over all the gifts my Heavenly Father bestows. Do I take that kind of joy in bird song, a pretty wildflower, a sunset, a new discovery? I hope I will think of her face and picture each time there's something for me to see and give gratitude as well as delight in the newness of the gifts of God. The quilt came out delightful, and I'm so glad you did this one. I will have one myself one of these days. =) Your garden is already rewarding you with hope and newness, and soon with food! Thanks for the Rock Cakes recipe - I always mean to make it, and it's now getting cold, so I think this weekend would be a good time!

Karen said...

How excited is Cully Mae! Gorgeous! The kitchen quilt looks beautiful all made up. I am very excited about next year and all the beautiful things you will be showing on the blog. Blessings.

selina said...

lovely post, love your food photos
Cully Mae is so cute too
i have stopped having sugar in all my bakes, i find the fruit in them is plenty sweet enough
thanx for sharing

Ondrea said...

Your quilt is so pretty. I still like your 1st version that is hanging in my kitchen. Water restrictions does make it hard but perhaps some mulch would help. Lots of straw and shredded newspapers. Hmm that poor cockie looks like an Edgar to me. Lovely pic of Cully May. I use your alternative rock cake recipe a lot. Raining here... sorry lol.



Lin said...

Many thanks Jenny. I have so enjoyed this stitchalong and love my quilt. Yours is so pretty when I love the way the border frames it all. I kept mine without the border as I wouldn't have a space large enough for it! Great picture of your elderly friend on the bird table. Xx

Sara en Marie said...

I've stitched a few of your panels, and printed out the rest. Over the last few weeks I've been cleaning up my sewing mess, taking stock of the projects, preparing to get a few finished by the end of the year. I have a lot of hobbies: sewing (quilts and garments), gardening, playing the clarinet and baking. And I also have a job, four young children and a household to run. I have a very full, very blessed life! It does mean that sometimes, certain activities have to take a back seat for a while.
So now I want to get some projects done, before continuing with your stitcheries. I had the idea of making little "sewing snacks". I plan to make some drawstring pouches (or even just use plain envelopes) and fill them with a little hand sewing or embroidery gift, like one of your panels (complete with fabric and thread), a small chocolate and a teabag. Then, when I feel like a break, or need a little comfort, I can take out a sewing snack, brew myself a cup of tea, and settle in the sofa with my sewing snack!
But first there is a lot of cleaning and organizing to be done around our house! Early Christmas preparations!

Winifred said...

That mini quilt is lovely. What a delightful photo of Cully May she looks so excited & happy bless her.
How lovely having cockatoos feeding in your garden.The older chappie is lovely too, nice you look after him so well in his senior years.