Makers Journal and February UFO...

 

A MAKER'S JOURNAL

I was recently watching a vlog from Moran of Mdays on YouTube and saw that she had a Makers Journal where she adds photos and notes of all the projects she completes. Immediately I was inspired to create something similar, and as I'd already started the 2026 UFO Adventure project (here) it would be fun to do a month by month journal of all the completed projects, both UFO and new, that I make this year. 

I had an unused dot-notebook with a soft blue cover that I have saved for no particular reason since about 2020, and this was perfect for my plan.

My completed January UFO project was the Japanese stitchery from one of Yumiko Higuchi's books, and here's how I put that first month's display together...

Some printed photos of the stitchery, scraps of cotton lace, washi tape, stickers, samples of the fabric and threads used, as well as the pattern sheet which had all my notes...

I am so happy with the final display, and can't wait to add more pages as the year flows on! 

The thought of making a cover came and went a few times, but this week I sketched up a simple design and stitched this embroidered ribbon closure in colours that blended nicely with the soft blue dot-notebook cover...

If you'd like to use the 'makers journal' stitchery you can download it HERE

Now that its February, its time to choose my next UFO project to complete within the month and I have chosen this partially made applique pincushion. It is a Hatched & Patched pattern I purchased about four years ago, and when I finally decided to make it last year, all I did was the applique, because I love applique! Once that was done, my attention was distracted by other things (like knitting!) and it got relegated to my 'projects to complete' tub. 

I'm looking forward to completing the pincushion, but may use part of the other pinnie option in the pattern set, and embroider around the sides - perhaps the same words, or perhaps something else. Either way, it will be lovely once completed. I'll give a photo update as I go along. 

How did you go with your January UFO?? What did you complete? What will you make or finish in February?

BREADMAKING

I am still baking sourdough loaves, and experimenting with different flour mixes. This one was SO delicious, and made using a mix of regular wheat and rye - about 50/50. My starter is all rye now, and no matter what flour mix I play around with there's that wonderful backdrop of rye in the flavour profile. 

I'm going to make this one again today and tomorrow, as it will go through the first rise this afternoon, and the second will be overnight in the fridge. I cannot tell you how good it is to make sourdough loaves without a recipe and just using basic steps and instinct. 

GARDEN

It's difficult to do much in the garden with my increasingly painful knee injury, but last week I decided that a lot can get done when you keep doing a little each day, so that's how I approach each morning now.

Just small things like emptying pots that have held non-productive plants and use that soil to begin topping up the raised beds; planting out spring onion (green onion) bottoms for a continuing crop over the next year (I do this every year); planting dried zinnia seed heads in open soil where they will quickly sprout and give us an even greater display of colour; mulching raised beds with sugar cane (again) to protect the plants still growing in them; and keeping the native birds happy with bread crumbs, fruit tops, and seeds.

BIBLE STUDY

My husband just finished a long and deep dive into Isaiah, using David Pawson's very thick commentary on it, whilst I am almost half way through David's book on 1 and 2 Corinthians (a gift from a very kind blog reader)...

I highly recommend all of David Pawson's commentaries on the books of the Bible, for digging deep into the culture, the history, the writer, the message, and how it all comes back to us becoming more like Jesus. Every one of his New Testament commentaries that I have studied through has grown me, and extended my understanding of even the smallest things when looked at through the lens of Jesus and the first century AD. 

Currently I am still writing part 3 of the Abigail study, but will share it in the next blog post. :-)

God bless you all, each and every one of you precious souls! May the Lord make clear His purpose for you in this season of life, for as long as we have breath we have purpose. Do not let anyone call you useless, or too old for God to use you...we are like children to the Lord, still able to learn and grow as we lean on His Word, pray for His wisdom and guidance, and follow His statutes. May you be blessed in all you do to glorify Him, dear one.

Until next time...

Simple things at home...

 

It's the last day of January already, and I find it hard to believe it's been three weeks since I last drove my car - but one thing we cannot do is slow time, or go back and redo what we wish we could. Every morning when we wake, it is a new day, a fresh moment, to look forward and perhaps make better choices. At least that's how I have come to see it recently. 

Our family (hubby and I, Blossom and Ross, Kezzie and her eldest boy) are struggling in a few areas - mainly health, employment, and transportation - but you know, it brings my heart so much joy when we laugh about the simplest of things, pray over what matters, look at our various situations with a glass half-full attitude, and always always encourage each other. For in the midst of it all is Jesus, and when Jesus is included in our challenges as well as our joys, we have peace in our souls.

We have been getting a lot of heavy rain on and off this wet season, and I have taken note of all the flowers and plants which are thriving in the hot, wet, humid tropics where we live, and the ones which cannot cope. Number one with thriving are the zinnias! Oh my, they have taken over a number of raised beds, shedding their seeds again and again, sprouting up zinnias of various sizes and colours, but predominantly these hot pink ones which once blooming will announce themselves in flower for at least four to six weeks. 

They have even taken over the sweet potato patch, but we do not mind as the sweet potatoes are still faring very well beneath the soil. Our Kelly-dog loves sweet potatoes so having a good supply growing through all four seasons of the year is quite a blessing. 

Other colourful successes in our wet season climate are marigolds, morning primrose, angelonia, vinca and pentas. The pentas, morning primrose and vinca are scattered around the yard as well as in pots, but some of them have grown together in the high raised bed where I grow herbs, chillies and spring onions all year through.

I get a lot of joy being surrounded by flowers, especially in a season where it's not as easy to grow them as it is in the warm dry seasons of winter and spring. Scattering seeds is not a difficult task, but you need to know if the seeds you are scattering will take hold in the season you are planting them. A bit like sharing the Word with someone, or cultivating a new friendship. Some seasons nothing will grow, but in others, there may be a good harvest.

This week I continued with the easy way of baking a sourdough loaf, and so far with a very basic/no weighing/no measuring/just go by feel or instinct process, every loaf has worked wonderfully.  I use different flours every time to hone my sourdough instincts, as different grains will require more or less water than each other, plus different proving times. Sometimes I can have a loaf baked by the end of the day, and with others, such as the rye loaf above, it can take two days. 

The rye sourdough loaf was so good, and one I will be baking regularly. It was moist, stayed fresh for ages, and was delicious plain or toasted. Above is yesterday's morning tea - rye soughdough toasted and spread with butter, peanut butter, and my homemade apricot jam. What a yummy way to begin the day!

Today I have a spelt sourdough on it's second rise before I bake it. As we have air conditioning in the main living area of the house, I leave my sourdough to rise in the sewing room where it's very warm and humid. 

The biscuits (cookies) in the photo at the start of this blog post were baked for hubby yesterday. He does not like cake (shame, because I do) but he loves his biscuits, especially in the evenings. These are a Frangipane Jam Drop recipe, made using almond flour, and were very tasty with a cuppa. I'm hoping we can make them last through the weekend. ;-)

During rest times for my knee this week, the number of small squares being knitted up has increased, and now I am beginning some larger squares as my plan (should it come to fruition) is to make a lap blanket before winter, using a patchwork-y mix of small and large squares. Then I plan to crochet a lacey edge around all four sides. In my mind's eye it looks amazing, but in practical terms I am simply winging it and hoping for the best. The yarn is a 4ply fingering yarn that I bought from Temu. Yes, Temu - are you surprised? I was! You see, before my knee would not allow me to drive (until it heals a bit) I dropped off a load of donations from that kitchen overhaul back HERE to a local op-shop (charity store) and then went for a stroll through. In the small crafts section I found a pack of six yarns, unopened, and described as being 92% Australian wool and 8% polyester. I thought this was funny because here I am in Australia, but the package of yarn had Chinese writing all over it, and had come from China. I carefully opened the package to feel the quality of the yarn and it was sublime. So I paid the $9 and took them home. After knitting a number of these small squares I did a search for the brand and found them on Temu, the exact same yarns and in a variety of colours. As this is my yarn project for 2026, and keeps my hands busy during the knee-up rest times, hubby agreed that I should buy what I need. So I bought another three sets of 6 balls, and truly, I am very happy with that decision because my lap blanket is coming along beautifully.  

If you are wondering about the yarn it is called Fancy Dyeing and the link I used is THIS one. Not sure if it will work for you but its the only one I can find on Temu. 

The sashiko block I was working on is complete, and I am pleased how it looks with the appliqued circles. I still have a lot of those circles to use up but for now I will put this block aside until a bright idea forms on how to incorporate it in a larger project. Perhaps more sashiko blocks with different coloured background fabric? For now it is not important, but shall be relegated to the bottom of my UFO list unless that bright idea emerges sooner. 

How did you go with your Adventure project finish for January?? If you missed that post and all the info about our 2026 Adventure, you'll find it HERE

I completed the Japanese embroidery and framed it...

...then completed the sashiko block, and though technically not really a UFO, it used up some of those little circles which were made back in 2024. Of course, now it is a real UFO for another time. Ha ha!

The rest of January was spent knitting squares. ;-)

Next week I am going to kick off February's Adventure by sharing with you what project I shall finally complete that month, but I also have a very different project to show you, one that you may be inspired to make as well. 

May your weekend be a time of rest and refreshment, and I also pray that if you have a big decision to make, that the Holy Spirit leads you to the right one. Not sure why I am praying that for you, but I trust the Holy Spirit and His prompting.

God bless dear hearts, until next week...

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The gentle art of homemaking...

 

Twelve years ago I began writing about a favourite book, The Gentle Art of Domesticity, and as the years rolled on I referred to it often, and even did a year long book study on the blog with my readers in 2019 (you can still go through that HERE). I had a block of the month with that theme (some of the patterns are HERE) as well as similar themed years for the blog along the way - you see, it really resonated with me as a homemaker and stoked the flames of my home-loving heart. 

I was thinking about this recently, especially during the cleanout of our bookcases last week, where I gathered all my homemaking books on the table, before positioning them together along three shelves, inspired to re-read as many as possible through 2026. No matter how many times I read, or flip through them, there's always something new to learn, or to consider, with regards to homemaking and living a homemaker's life.  

I was pondering the difference between what I once embraced as 'the gentle art of domesticity', and the way I think about it now as the gentle art of homemaking? I can't exactly express the difference in a way that would make sense to others, but in my own heart it is that the first was about the 'doing' (what we did in the gentle domestic life) whereas the second is about the 'being' of a homemaker, the core love in our heart for being at home, for tending the home, for making a home somewhere loved ones choose to be, for creating a sanctuary of safety and comfort that nurtures the creation of heartstrings in those who leave but know they are always welcome to return. 

There was a time when being a homemaker was quite normal, and everyone knew that the home could not function without her. Pop thanked Nana after every meal, appreciating the time and care that went into the dish she'd prepared for us. He was also keenly aware that if not for her, none of his shirts would be washed and ironed, the floors would not be swept and mopped, his lunch and mine would not be packed and ready when he left for his shift at the docks and I left for school, the pets would not be fed, and the various tasks that must be attended to in a home, whether tiny like ours, or a larger family abode, would fall by the wayside. He never held back his gratitude, but showed me by example, that her role as a homemaker was to be treasured and honoured. And I think that's the 'gentle art of domesticity' side of it all, because he saw what she did and loved her for it.

Truly, my own heart grew up longing to be like her, to care for my own home, and to be treasured and honoured in the homemaker role just as she had been - but I too saw it all as things she did, that I also wanted to do one day. And I genuinely did always love keeping house, even to this day!

But the gentle art of homemaking is something else, it requires there to be a deep love and desire in one's heart for the things we do within our walls, that we would pursue the everyday ordinary tasks with delight and joy, not feeling burdened or hard done by, resentful, or looking for a way to escape. 

I read this morning a very wise fact, "there are no greener pastures on the other side", and it made me think of women I have known in life, young mothers of the children I cared for in my home through the Family Day Care scheme. Most of them told me how much they lamented being tied to home and were now following their dream of building a career instead. Sadly, back at that time there were no time restraints on how long they took to collect their children each day, and it was common for me to have the babies and toddlers overnight, and in a few rare cases, it would be days before the mother would be back to get her child/children. They had their taste of freedom and ran with it, going out after work, and not bothering to even call me to ask if it was okay or if their child was alright.  

But some of the mothers changed their minds over time, and as their hearts returned to family and home, they would step away from the hustle of career building and settle back to where they had begun with relief and happiness. Initially growing tired of the 'doing', especially after having children and choosing to step away and escape what they described as drudgery, over time the desire to 'be' within their hearts overcame that negativity and they saw beauty in mothering, and a genuine desire to care for their homes. 

There were also other mothers who had no choice but to work, and oh how they loved their babies! They would linger for a while before saying goodbye to their little ones, and would never be late in collecting them. In fact they would sweep those babies up in their arms and hug them so tight - my heart would always swell with emotion. There was even a single father whose young son I cared for, and he worked a lot of nights so I'd have the 4 year old quite a bit, but he would get to my house as soon as he could to collect his boy, and ask his son a million questions about what he'd done or made or where he'd been during their absence from each other. When they eventually moved away to another state I received a number of postcards over the following months telling me how the boy was settling and what he'd been doing. 

Now I know many of you reading this have had, or do have careers, so you might read all this as me being negative about women and careers, but that is not so. I'm sharing the experiences of my own life, and how examining certain situations that crossed my own path are helping me right now to identify the difference between the 'doing' and the 'being' within a woman's home environment. Over the years quite a number of women have emailed me or left comments on my blog posts to tell me how much they long to 'come home' full time, but must for now continue working for one reason or another, and what I appreciate from this is that they are true homemakers in their hearts, for they long to be home. Isn't that the most important thing? No matter our circumstances, the 'doing' of domesticity can be taught, but the 'being' of a homemaker must be planted and tended in the heart, and that 'being' is not about where you are (whether in a kitchen or an office), but what's in your heart. 

I think that the gentle art of homemaking will be my theme this year on the blog, as it more accurately reflects my heart motivation, than the art of domesticity does. What are your thoughts on this?

THIS WEEK...

I have really struggled with my knee, more than over the past seven months since I injured it, so many hours a day have been spent reclining on the old soft couch with books, knitting, embroidery, old episodes of Agatha Christie, and my iPad. It's been important to get up every hour and walk around, and its in those times that I do the washing, bake bread, give things a dust, or attend to small tasks. 

I'm no longer able to drive as using the accelerator and brake cause extreme pain, but my beloved husband has tomorrow off work and will be taking me back to the doctor and we shall see where things lead from there. Dear Rosie came to visit on Monday, and kindly offered to take me to the doctor any time I need her, which means the world to me moving forward, as right now I have no idea how long before I'll be healed and back to normal movement. 

You can see the photos of my completed Japanese stitchery UFO and I'm loving how it turned out. It's also nice to have my January project in the 2026 Adventure challenge finished and hanging on the wall. I folded it over one of those art canvasses you find at the discount stores, and stitched felt across the back. 

Due to my knee, I've not yet been able to cut out the fabrics for the quilt pattern I chose to work on through this year, but I am enjoying knitting small woollen squares which shall eventually become a lap blanket, so that will be my 'extra' project to work on when each monthly UFO project is completed. 

ABIGAIL STUDY...

Part Two of the Abigail study is now up on it's own blog page, and ready for you to read or download. You will find it HERE and I'd love to hear your own thoughts as you've been studying her life. 

If you have been wanting a Bible based stitchery to work on, you will find "Grow in Grace" (photo below) as a free download HERE. It's quick to stitch up and a lovely project for gift giving, as well as displaying in your own home. Be blessed as you stitch!

God bless each and every one of you, and may He, during the year ahead, assist you to overcome your struggles, heal your heart, provide for your needs, and build your faith in Christ. 

And may we all grow in grace.

Until next week...

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When what was enough has become too much...

 I wonder if you find yourself following an intentional reset with each new season - whether that be seasons of the year, or seasons of life? 

January is always my kitchen reset, where I open wide all the cupboards and drawers to remove all the contents and give them a good scrub. Once that is done, I carefully consider how much of what is now before me on the table and countertops shall return to these cleansed and empty spaces. 

Normally there's always a few things I choose to donate, and the sense of wellbeing that mentally follows my opening the car boot and depositing those items at a local opshop is simply lovely. However this January was a little different. I wasn't sure if it stemmed from the past six months of dealing with the pain of a knee injury that seems not to want to heal and slows me down with household and garden tasks; or perhaps it was something deeper? Maybe both, with a nudge from the Lord to seal it. 

Then a realisation, a sincere knowing, that I simply do not need, or want, much anymore, and that last year's enough, had become this year's too much. 

It's funny how when you're on a self discovery journey, and you've prayed for God to guide you along whatever path He'd have you follow, that particularly relevant and revealing things will catch your attention throughout the days and weeks ahead. I have learned that when I ask of Him, He will use many different avenues to answer or direct me...and it is always for the best. 

Something I heard a woman say recently, stopped me in my tracks. She mentioned how she'd finished decluttering her life, and kept only what she now loved, but because she still had "too much stuff demanding attention" scattered around, she chose to organise her belongings into categories, such as forty notebooks she had scattered through her house now being placed together on one shelf, and so she continued through her home doing the same with other items. Once done she was quite content with all she had in her home.

Now how she meant her statement "too much stuff demanding attention" and how I understood it to apply to my own life, were different - and isn't that often the way? To me, I immediately assessed our home, room by room, and noticed all the things that got in my way, took extra time to care for or tidy; things I'd often thought about in passing but never consciously made an effort to remove or change. And in my heart it became evident that now was the time to release items that made no sense, were not used, were excess or duplicates, or - and this was biggie - that I'd held onto for sentimental reasons. 

Every day so far this week has been spent making decisions about what to keep, what to let go of, and then following through on that decision. I take numerous breaks of ten or fifteen minutes to rest my knee, but in those rest times I am making conscious choices about why I will keep one thing, whilst donating another, for it's not wise to make those decisions hastily. I'll be 67 next month, and I'm not sure about you, but my husband and I find that we don't have many needs (or are they wants?) anymore, and for me personally, I'm ready to let go of far more than usual this January reset. 

My cupboards and drawers are no longer crowded...

...and yet we still have enough for ourselves to use daily, and enough for when the family visit. 

I have often questioned myself at this time of year "How many coffee mugs do you really need Jennifer??" because purchasing more coffee mugs throughout the year is my weakness. I had drawers of them you see, and more stored in a box under the bed! Now I have one drawer in the kitchen which holds my favourite mugs, a tea pot, our glassware, and the children's mugs. Everything else has gone, along with the all the vintage tea cups and most all of the vintage plates I have collected for more than twenty-five years. I don't feel sad, I feel relieved. 

An entire bookcase, the white ladder one, has been emptied and removed, which opens up more space in the living/dining room. I have a pile or ten or so homeschool books which I'll sell, but all the other books on that item of furniture have been donated. The ladder bookcase is now under cover out back with orphan plants on it's shelves, beautifying an empty outdoor area.

Did I need six vases? No. I donated three. Did I need eight mixing bowls of various sizes? No. I donated four and kept only the ones I use regularly. And so it went on. I have not finished yet, but feel enormously grateful to the Lord for this prompt. Gradually our little house is looking bigger inside, and that's another thing I heard someone say which really caught my attention - "Do you need a bigger house? Get rid of stuff in your home and you'll have more space." How simple a statement, but it made a huge impact on me. 

I do want to point out that 'stuff' is very different to pantry preparedness, or having items on hand that can be used to make things you need, or repair what's been broken. I am very mindful of having a pantry that can feed us for an indeterminate length of time, but even in that I am having to go through all our supplies to make sure they have not spoiled in our fierce hot and humid tropical heat, and also that I am not wasting space on things we don't like to eat. 

I heard a woman say "Don't buy things to stock up on that your family won't eat - it's a waste of money. So spend those dollars on items you know everyone will be happy to eat." This resonated with me when I heard it about four months ago because I have plenty of dried beans, chia seeds, barley and quinoa, among other things - but my husband hates them all and I never cook with them. I see now that though they all look nice in their pantry jars, they will never be used. So that's something else I'll be removing, and thus making space for items we use all the time. 

I could go on my friends, because in so many ways these lessons I am applying pertain to my garden work as well, but I'm not there yet, one thing at a time.

I'd love to know your thoughts on how seasons of life have brought change to your homemaking habits, plans and routines? I learn a lot from the experience of others, and then sometimes my own experience is a help to someone. Homemakers over the centuries have shared so many wonderful methods, tips and strategies for managing homes and belongings and family - and we're part of that today with our own experiences to share with the next generation. 

ABIGAIL...

Part 2 of the Abigail study will be up next week. We had a huge weekend with a cyclone bearing down and that means all hands on deck to clear the yard and tie everything down and no time for anything else. Fortunately, what was initially forecast as a direct hit on our town, did not eventuate, and it made landfall about 100 km south of our house. As this is just the start of our cyclone season, we shall stay on top of everything around the yards and shed so that next time it's not such a big job to prepare for. And of course, that was another prompt for removing what's not needed or wanted.

ORGANISING A COOL SPACE...

Here's just a quick peek at my sewing room, which got the treatment yesterday. Our main air conditioning system broke down on Boxing Day and the smaller unit in the kitchen cannot cool down the large area where most of daily life is lived, so rather than whine about how long its taking to get the unit fixed, I decided to move things around in the sewing room (and remove some things) so that I can sit in there comfortably where there's a small air con unit, and listen to audio books or watch shows on my iPad (Marple and Poirot...yeh, same as always!) while I craft. 

I have good light coming through the window, and I can sit in my comfy white chair looking out at the birds flying back and forth in the trees, while I work on a couple of different projects. I had these two inch applique circles made since 2024 and they are on my 2026 Adventure UFO project list, so I decided to combine them with sashiko...

...and as I have sorely missed knitting, and can now return to it, I have started a blanket made with small squares. There's a horizontal seam through the centre that adds so much to the overall design! It will feature four different coloured yarns by the end, but I'm currently working on this one first.

The embroidered 2026 Adventure UFO project I chose for January is finished, but not yet framed. As soon as that's done I'll share pics with you. 

If you missed the info about the 2026 Adventure, you'll find it HERE. 

Take care sweet girls, and always remember that God is only a prayer away, so if you need help, a direction to follow, comfort or encouragement, just close your eyes, lift your hands to heaven and ask Him. There is no greater help than His, and no greater love you can experience than that which the Father has for His precious children.

Until next week...

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