This n that, a recipe and button bracelets...

 Hello dear ones, thanks for dropping by today. How are you doing?? Being a blogger it seems that I am regularly letting you know how I am doing, but I'd also like to know what you've been up to.  

The past few weeks, months really, there's been a lot happening within the family, things we choose not to share, things that in the big scheme of things are ours alone to manage, leaning heavily into the Father's arms as we wait on results, directions, provision and refreshment. As a family we all pull together, especially when the children or health are involved, and sometimes it's a mixture of both. So when I stop blogging for a bit, just know there's a family life to be lived, and loved, behind the screen. I think many of you would understand this (especially introverts like Blossom and I)...we process things quietly, pray and discuss between ourselves, always encouraging and being there for one another, always drawing on God's Word and His love to carry us through. There's no greater place to be than in His perfect care. 

My theme this month is TIME and that's exactly what God has made me aware of. Everything lately has needed time - time to sit quietly with Him, time for family, time for healing, time for rest, time for caring, time to consider the future, time to give thanks, time to sit in the sun and warm up, time to tend the garden.

At home, this is what I've been up to in the quieter days -

Baking biscuits. Cully May loves packets of Rich Tea biscuits, as do Blossom and I (they are especially perfect for dunking in a cup of tea!) so I found a recipe which was quite similar and made 54 of them - a huge saving on buying a pack, and everyone said they were delicious so these will need to be added to my regular baking schedule. 

The new sour dough bread recipe I mentioned recently didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped. The steps once kneaded were great and I will continue using them once the weather warms a bit (we have no heating in our home and the nights of late have dropped to an unusual 6 - 7C, around 45F). I had to use heated rice sacks sitting under the bowl to help things along, and eventually got a fairly nice loaf, though a bit dense from such a long rise. 

The other thing I realised about this recipe is that even though it asked for 170g of sour dought starter, not everyone has the same consistency of starter. I have mine quite thick (like peanut better) whereas others have theirs runny or somewhere in between. I used to have a fairly runny starter until I learned that a thick starter is actually stronger and sours the dough better. So I shall go back to my old recipe, mostly judged by eye and feel as I go along, but use this new recipe's technique for kneading and rising.

Last weekend my computer crashed and dear husband with all his tech know-how spent his only day off work that week re-installing everything and setting it up as good as new. How blessed I am that he can do that stuff.

While he was busy at the computer I decided to 'finally' baste my Virtuous Wife quilt (the free BOM I shared last year)....

I also made the binding, and found my spare rolling pin to be perfect for storing it...

It was my intention to start hand quilting this week just gone, but the weather has been so cold (for the tropics) that my fingers really hurt pushing the needle through the three layers, so I have put it aside until the weather gets back to our normal warm dry winter. 

Please note that I have kept this pattern free far longer than I'd intended, but it will be going in the shop soon. If you want to download any of the blocks, or the ones you may have missed, they are all HERE. I'll keep them free until July 31st. 

Whilst quilting through three layers was difficult, regular stitching was fine, and I did manage to complete the first block of PROMISES as there were only a few words left to embroider.

These are the fabrics I'll be using for the project. They are bits and pieces collected here and there over the years - not all are quilting fabrics, but they have been washed so should be fine one day when the finished quilt gets a wash...remembering that I am doing this as a slow project that may take a couple of years to design and share with you. If you missed the first block it's HERE

More sewing, but not the creative kind. My lovely cotton cardie has been getting a lot of use during this unusually cold spell and I caught the back on a nail out back, which left a hole that needed darning before it grew any larger. 

I haven't darned in a long time, but I have very fond memories of Nana darning Pop's thick woollen hand knitted socks. They were made with love and cared for with more of that same love, because he worked shifts on the wharf back in the day when they often climbed ropes to get on board, and the winter harbour nights in Newcastle (where we lived then) were icy. His socks, balaclava and gloves were all made by Nana. xx

Since hubby pruned a lot of the trees this winter, the birds are dropping by for a feed more regularly. Their feeder had become almost hidden between the Ixora, Bottle Brush and Maraya trees, but now it has a wide viewing area so the birds can feel safe. Our old cockatoo friend drops by every day, and his friends join him later.

A day with the girls...

On Thursday I had Cully May and Rafaella over for some crafting, baking, and a sumptuous morning tea. 

We began with a pot of hot chocolate, freshly baked scones, homemade lemon butter and the last of my homemade strawberry jam. We chatted about all the things that matter to a 6yo and an 'almost' 8yo before clearing the table and getting in to some crafting. 

Inspired by Annabel's sewing day with her own granddaughters, I thought it time to give mine some simple and fun ways to become familiar with using a sewing needle, thread and buttons. I have a lot of buttons, mostly vintage, but I also have a large jar of bright buttons the children have used to thread into necklaces.

Before they arrived I'd sewn together two long narrow strips of felt (on top of each other - a front and a back), one each for them, one for me to teach with, and another that they could use to make a gift for Blossom. We were making button bracelets! 

Felt is lovely and soft for children to begin sewing with, and there's no fraying. The girls slowly became comfortable with the needle and thread, and then began the process of sewing on the buttons, using the tying method to secure them. Cully May was excellent at sewing, and Rafaella made the best knots when tying the buttons in place.

I ended up using Green and Orange colours for my teaching model because they are Charlie David's favourite colours, and I knew he'd want one when he arrived with mummy later to pick up his sisters. He loves the character Blippy, from the same titled children's program, and he certainly did get excited about his Bippy bracelet when the girls gave it to him. The fourth bracelet was for Blossom and she was so chuffed to see all the girls had made. Everyone left wearing their handmade button bracelets, smiles all around.

After the bracelets were made we spent an hour in the kitchen baking tart cases, and once cooled we filled some with caramel, some with lemon butter and the rest with jam. Then the girls set the table for a late lunch as they knew Mummy and Charlie David were on their way, and I made pizzas from leftover garlic naan bread (delicious!). After we all polished off the pizzas, it was time to feast on tarts...I thought I'd have some leftover, but noooo. Ha ha!! 

Before I sign off, I was asked to share Nana's baked rice custard recipe...

3 eggs, room temperature / 750 ml whole milk / 4 tablespoons sugar / 1 teaspoon vanilla essence / 1/2 cup cooked medium grain white rice (it's not as good with long grain rice) / grated nutmeg or cinnamon

Mix together the eggs, milk and vanilla in a bowl. Add the sugar, stirring well to dissolve as much as possible. 

Grease a small baking dish or casserole dish with butter. I use an enamel dish usually, just like Nana did. Spread the rice across the base of the dish, then gently pour over the custard mix. Sprinkle nutmeg or cinnamon over the top of the custard (we only ever use nutmeg, but some people prefer cinnamon).

Make a water bath by pouring 1" of hot water into the base of a larger baking dish. Place the rice custard dish into the larger dish and place in a preheated oven at 160C (320F) for 40 minutes. Check after 30 minutes because not all ovens are the same - if there's no wobble, take it out. If there's only a slight wobble it's okay to remove it as well...but if there's a good wobble, give it ten more minutes. 

My husband loves this with jelly. Blossom eats it out of the baking dish. I eat it with tinned pears, or out of the baking dish. ;-)

Hopefully blogging will be back to a more regular routine next week, and hopefully our nights will be warmer. I bought my first doona in fifteen years today because the weight of blankets on the bed lately has not been comfortable. Hubby has some issues with his legs and feet, so a light doona will be wonderful for him tonight. 

God bless you so very much. I pray that if you're having a time of struggle, ill health, family concerns, loneliness, stretched finances, sorrow, or just in need of a good hug and a cuppa, that the Lord will provide what is needed in the way it is needed most, and through the care and concern of those who love you. But may we all keep our hearts open to recieve from a stranger, or an unexpected source, for God uses many different avenues to answer prayer or bring a blessing. And if like me, you prefer to be the giver, humble yourself to receive...He taught me a lesson about that recently. As long as we have breath, God has a lesson to teach us, to grow us, to guide us in the ways of Jesus. 

I also pray that we each ask the Lord how we can be of help to another, for being His children involves both being cared for, and being a carer; being a giver and being a receiver; being His hands of love and allowing others to love us through Him. 

Love you all, 

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Herbing and sewing...

HERBING...

Herbing? Never heard of it before? I think I may have just made it up. ;-)

I have been herbing in the garden this past week, preserving and enjoying some of our fresh greens in various ways. We currently grow twenty-six different herbs in the garden, and whilst some will only flourish in our tropical winter, others bloom abundantly in spring, and the remainder prefer the hot and humid summer for displaying their bounty, it's actually a good system because we can harvest something tasty to add to meals, teas, or preserve all year through. 

This past week I wanted to do a bit of dehydrating so I began with the Tulsi (Holy Basil) leaves which we use in herbal teas...

The best time for picking is when the new leaves turn purple, and as Tulsi has numerous health properties I use them fresh, or dry them. In fact I made some herbal tea bags for my daughter Kezzie from many dehydrated herbs and they worked so well that I have just posted her a big batch.

I love having Dill growing through our winter season as it's wonderful chopped fresh for the Greek dishes I make my son-in-law, or stirred through fresh mayonnaise, or dried and crumbled for summer recipes. I also use the large dill seed fronds in a vase on the table with my roses...

Cinnamon Myrtle makes a beautiful tea, but also becomes a lovely spice rub when dehydrated and crumbled...

...and with such an abundance of Basil in winter, Pesto is always on the menu. Blossom's children could eat a jar of my fresh pesto with a spoon and still ask for more, so we make it go further by stirring it generously through pasta. 

Hubby loves salmon patties so of course I made some fresh mayo. In some of the mayo I added fresh chopped dill and it was so good we emptied the jar. Ha ha!! I told Blossom and now she wants some so I'll make more later today. 

Guilty confession. In between all the herbing I quietly finished off the last of a baked rice pudding (Nana's recipe) because it was taking up space in the fridge. Nah, just joking...I simply could not resist the temptation and gave in, adding some yummy raspberries for added health benefit. ;-)

SEWING...

I've been working on block one of Promises and it's coming along very nicely. I ended up doing two thin borders, instead of a second border of squares. As I explained last time, this is a gentle slow stitching project so I will take my time even with the bordering or fabric choices for each block. I chose the tealy blue second border because it blends with that same colour in the first border - oh, and I thought that vintage fabric was from a tablecloth, and now realise it's part of a curtain. Wish I had more, but I shall endeavour to make the small amount I do have go far. 

I chose the thread colour for the verse to match the tealy blue as well. 

Another lovely thing about stitching a slower project, is choosing the stitches along the way. For this block I've stem stitched the wooden borders, added double French knot buds around the applique flowers...

...and sewed my favourite blanket stitch embellished leaves. You can see the tutorial I made for those HERE and there's a free practice pattern as well. 

I've made a page for this project (link in the sidebar and also under my header) in case you ever miss a block. Go to the PROMISES of God page here.

The other bit of sewing I am currently working on is that cross stitch I began back in May. It's coming along in spits and spats, mostly in the evenings, but I will be very honest here and tell you that at this point I am quite over all those bricks...

...but I am pushing on to get the roof and steps completed, plus the mortar between the rest of the bricks (I have done about half of it so far) so that I can stitch the pretty bits. I took one break to stitch a leaf the other day because I have had enough of orangey bricks and needed to see some green. 

I am enjoying cross stitch again, after more than a decade of just hand embroidery, but I will be mindful of the patterns I choose in future. I really love this pattern, but I do not love sewing a million bricks. In the end it will be worth it, and Blossom keeps dropping hints about how much she loves it... ;-)

SOMETHING NEW...

I am trying a new sour dough bread recipe, a smaller loaf than all my other recipes as there's only the two of us here now, so hopefully it will work out well and become a regular bake. The instructions were very simple so I pray it really does bake deliciously. 

It can rise for the rest of day while I potter around and do other things, like visit the doctor for my echocardiogram results, water the garden, and cut up some old linen garments for usable stitching fabric. It's giving me a lot of joy to repurpose old garments this way and soon I'll have a shelf of them (after I sell some of my quilting fabric). 

I hope you have a gentle week, and that in those precious quiet moments when there's a quiet stillness all around, that you let the presence of God surround you and rest in His care. 

God bless, and big hugs,

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TIME and a new free stitch-along...

 

THE PROMISES QUILT – 2024/25

A slow stitching project…

I’ve begun designing a new version of the Promises & Borders quilt I made and shared back in 2012, and thought you might like to slowly stitch along with me? At first I was simply going to re-release the original patterns, but most of the photos have vanished in the ensuing years as now three computers later, many photos and folders were regularly deleted. So I decided to begin a new version, similar in some ways, but also quite different.

This first block is the beginning, but as my intention is to make my new Promises Quilt a slow, unhurried project, the blocks that follow will not be shared on a weekly or monthly basis, but only when I am inspired to design one. 

In my mind I think there will be nine blocks overall, each with a Scripture that declares a promise from God – which in these darkening times is an oft needed reminder of how close He is to us day by day, and not to fret nor be troubled, but to be assured we are never alone or without His help.

I’m using a bit of needle-turn applique, and hand embroidery to embellish each block. I chose the threads to blend with the fabrics I shall use for borders, most especially a piece of vintage tablecloth which I will need to use sparingly.

The first block has it featured as a border, and then I’ll probably add some varied fabric squares for a second border, but may change my mind as the project grows.

It is up to you how you border your blocks, and whether you want to house them inside a quilt layout or use them for individual projects such as cushions, runners, bags, or perhaps framed.

You may choose to use blanket stitch applique, needle-turn applique, or completely hand embroider the blocks. Just do what you’re comfortable with, and what brings you joy.

This could become a nice project for a sewing group at church, or with friends in your home or online. Think about the Scripture verse and discuss your thoughts, share burdens, and encourage one another with faith and trust in the Lord. 

Feel free to email photos of your progress as I'd like to share them here once a month - that's another way of you encouraging others.  So often we need to see the work of another to be inspired with our own. My contact details are in the pattern download.

Use the link below to download this free pattern.

DOWNLOAD Promises block 1 Micah 7-8

The next tea towel curtain...

I completed the second crochet edged tea towel curtain this week and love how it has brightened up our small laundry. 

I chose to use a turquoise cotton yarn for the crochet this time, and think it's just as nice as the coral I used HERE on the kitchen curtain edging. Both windows are now covered by six pretty tea towel curtains...if you are looking for a change in your own curtains perhaps you might try shopping for tea towels? 

My friend Julie told me she calls these type of curtains a 'valance' and I can see why as they do resemble one, and of course neither of them cover the whole window. I love learning new things!

Up the mountain again...

Yesterday Blossom and I took the children 'up the mountain' for the morning and had the loveliest time together. It's been two years since our last trip there, and we were so relieved to see the relaxed atmosphere of a decade ago has returned. We had stopped going because things changed with new owners and you needed to book a table for 90 minutes and then leave...we had always arrived and stayed as long as we liked, often all day. But it's back to normal, and we'll be visiting there often again...

But now let me tell you all about TIME...

This is my theme for July. It came to me one afternoon in late June, when I was thinking about how good a stew or soup or curry is when it's been simmering away for eight hours in the slow cooker. 

Letting my mind ramble a while, it occurred to me that when given time, and not hurried, many things in life turn out better than if we'd rushed them along. 

I suppose stitching is an example that naturally comes to mind. The most common question I am asked is "how do you keep your stitches so small and neat?". It's because I take my time, I don't rush, and I will happily unpick some stitches if they're not tidy and and redo them. 

Gardening takes time. A seed planted may take months to bear fruit, or a tree can take many years, but it should not stop us from planting. In time there will be a harvest to enjoy, and it will all be worth the time and effort invested. 

Reading a book takes time, though some prefer to watch the movie instead, not willing to slow down and savour the story in its written form. That used to be me...but now I love to read again, and enjoy a couple of chapters each night before bed, not wanting to rush through, but giving time to the journey. 

Hand quilting is a slow process which cannot be rushed; it needs time. I find this measured rhythm of working needle and thread through a quilt top to be meditative, soothing, good for my soul. There's also a joy in putting it down and picking it up. 

Knitting and crochet take time, especially for larger projects - but what beauty in the finished rug, or cardigan or shawl!

Babies grow quickly, but it takes time for them to mature and age and eventually be little people we can share thoughts and ideas with. Looking back on these years of watching my own grandchildren pass each new stage in life, the time it has taken for each milestone...such a gift. And to be able to call precious daughters my best friends, our relationships built over decades in love and trials and hope. 

I'm currently working on a cross stitch, my first in more than a decade, and compared to my love of the hand embroidery which I've designed and stitched slowly for the past fifteen years, it takes more time, and is even slower to complete a large piece this way...but worth it in the end. 

Prayer...oh the years of prayer given to my family members. Many prayers still not answered, or not answered the way I had hoped, yet other prayers answered more abundantly than I'd asked of the Lord. Just last month, sixteen years of prayer over a grandson was granted with his heart turned to Jesus and his life given over to our Saviour. Don't stop praying, don't get weary, give it TIME.

Relationships take time - for trust to grow, and familiarity to flourish. Like a garden they need tending, but not with water - they need encouragement, kindness, ears to listen, and TIME.  

There are so many examples of TIME being needed to see fulfilment in varying aspects of this life, and in order for this to occur, we of course, need patience. Blog posts take me a long time, and over the past year especially I have often thought of writing a 'final post' and stepping away, but then the Lord nudges me to give it TIME and lean on Him in this season a while longer. I do not know how long, but He does, and as long as He gives me something to share I expect I'll be here. 

I am enjoying how this year my mind has become increasingly geared to step back, slow down, think more carefully about my plans and choices, and treasure the time given me each day. I like intentionally slowing, and giving myself more time to be about my business, because the benefits to my relationship with the Lord, my husband and family, my health and my home, are increasingly evident with each passing month. 

What about you? How are you using your time these days? Have you been rushing, or are you also moving into the season of slow? 

God bless dear ones, and I pray that you find much joy in this season of life as you intentionally seek His will and follow the path He has opened before you. Follow Jesus and you'll always be going in the right direction.

Love and hugs,

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Tea Towel curtains and the next stitchery block...

 

July has arrived, and in our town it is a public holiday for the Annual Show. We've had loads of rain (finally) this past week so the first couple of days of this four day event was quite wet and gloomy, but yesterday was better, and today, being the final day, it's expected to be clear and blue skies. I'm sure the families with young children will be happy about that as this is the middle of our winter school holiday break. 

My garden is loving the water from heaven, and it makes me so happy to see things growing again, and the flowers glistening with raindrops. Of course, this all made me think about how important preparing, planting and tending a garden can be in any season - so seeds became the theme of the July "Joy in the Ordinary" stitchery block. 

When I picked some herbs, flowers and snow peas for this photo early this morning, we were shrouded in a deep fog, so even the tiny things glistened. 

Use the link below to download this month's free pattern.

DOWNLOAD Block 7 of Joy in the Ordinary

If you missed any of the previous blocks in this project they are HERE

The Garden and Food...

I've really fallen in love with this pretty flowering Pentas, and after trialling it through our horrendously hot and humid wet season this past spring, summer and autumn, I will be planting it in many spots. It did surprisingly well through the worst of conditions, and that's what I am looking for in flowering plants now. It's a waste of soil, time, seeds, money and work to be tending plants that just can't cope with our tropical climate. 

I'll also plant more Vinca, Snapdragons, Calendula and Angelonia, along with Sunflowers again. Normally I have a lot of Marigolds but they did not like all the rain we had, so I'll have another think about that. 

I harvested our ginger, which was a surprise due it coping with all the rain. Every year I plant it and every year I harvest more than the year before. My husband laughs at how excited I get when pulling it out of the old worm farm tray that was repurposed just for ginger. The ginger corms, once trimmed from the stalks weighed 1.5 kg (3.3 pounds)...

...and because of the plentiful harvest I replanted about 200g (more than I usually replant each year) for the next growing season. 

After curing them in the open air for a week (undercover due to the rain) I scraped the skin away with a teaspoon (why have I not tried this before, it is SO easy!) and then sliced it evenly.

I ended up with around 1.2 kg of sliced ginger which I then dehydrated for herbal teas over the next year. 

Our kitchen garlic began to sprout and although our climate isn't known for growing garlic I decided to pop the cloves into another old worm farm tray with some marigolds to see what would happen. Hubby raised his eyebrows with that knowing expression of "this has never worked for us, Jennifer"...but...

...miracles do happen. Will they continue to grow? No idea, but I shall keep you updated on my little experiment. 

My precious man has been quite unwell this past week, succumbing to a bout of salmonella poisoning from seafood he had when we took a beautiful day trip to Mission Beach last Sunday week. It has knocked him hard but he's slowly, oh so slowly, beginning to recover. 

Yesterday I made a huge pot of chicken bone broth, as I figured this will be good for him. Last night he had a small bowl with egg noodles and has so far kept it down. Praise God. 

This past week I also made my own peanut butter. In the past I've made almond butter, but my family much prefer the peanut variety, so it's strange I have not thought to make that as it is by far the easiest nut butter to make yourself. Our state of Queensland is renowned for it's Kingaroy peanuts, and naturally that is what I used...

All I added was a little Celtic sea salt, and it is very yummy indeed. It's also much cheaper than buying jars of peanut butter off the shelf, or having it made by the health food shop. And we are tightening our belts now, more than ever, so making as much of our own favourites as we can is important. Even when you're only saving a couple of dollars, those dollars add up when you're saving on multiple food items made by your own hands. 

Sewing...

I showed you recently the tea towels I was going to use for a new set of kitchen curtains. The past week with hubby unwell and unable to eat barely a thing, I decided to put some time towards the curtain project, and just make small snacks for myself instead of meals for two.

There are four identical tea towels sewn together, and I used French seams to join them. Across the top back edge is a rod pocket made from a cream solid which has long been on my shelf, and then across the bottom (after hemming) I sewed blanket stitch along the edge with a Perle 8 cream thread. 

Next step was to crochet through the blanket stitch with a lovely coral coloured cotton yarn, with one row of single crochet, and then a more decorative row to finish. Honest, I am thrilled with my new kitchen curtains!!

The curtains are a deeper colour than shown in the photo above, and so cheery in our dark room. 

Next I had two more of the matching tea towels to complete as another curtain, but this time for the laundry window. The laundry is right off the kitchen and there's no closing door between them, so at first I was going to use the coral yarn again for the a crochet edge, but then decided to use a turquoise one instead. I'm so glad as it looks lovely.

Today I'll scrub the small laundry window and do a bit of shuffling around with the way I've stored things in the wire trays below the window, before hanging the curtain. Next post I'll have a photo to share. 

Shop...

I get requests every week to add older patterns to my shop, and it's only time that has prevented my doing so. Lately I have slept less due to hubby's illness, so in those wee small hours I decided to start way back in 2012 and choose some patterns to reformat and pop on my Etsy Shop shelves. I also added another section, also from many requests, which includes some of the patterns from my 2017 "The Love of Home" series. You'll find everything HERE

As I have time more will be added, and not because I've been asked to, but because I discovered there's a lot of enjoyment for me as I go through hundreds of patterns and choose specific favourites to reissue via the shop. How blessed am I that the Lord gave me the ability to do this in my later years (I did not design until I was 50) and made it an instrument to share His Word, express my love for hand embroidery, and contribute to the deposit on our very first home just a few months before my 60th birthday. We must always remember that while we have breath, God can use us, change our path, or give us a new talent to share with others. 

Drop back on Wednesday for a special post when I'll be chatting about my theme for July. In the meantime, be blessed in all you do, and remember that no matter what's going on in your life (and our family have a lot happening in the background right now) God has not deserted you or turned away. He is right there, working behind the scenes in ways you'd never expect or comprehend. His ways are so much higher than ours, and whereas we see less than a postage stamp glimpse of our lives, He has seen the panorama from beginning to end and knows what is better than our own idea of best. Trust Him. 

Hugs

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