March days at home and Abigail part 4...

 

How quickly these weeks pass in 2026. I've been needing to take a number of rests each day, but in between those rests my heart is happy to do precious homemaking tasks, which are essential for my good mental health. 

The Lord assists me to ponder the blessings of life, and to keep up with the essential chores, as well as the ones that are done monthly or seasonaly. Last week I spent hours on and off through Monday to deep clean our laundry, knowing the following day would require complete rest, and my goodness, the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction felt afterwards was akin to enjoying a bar of my favourite Turkish Delight! So naturally I ordered one in the following day's grocery delivery. Blossom and I have spent the past 30 years enjoying these as a treat! Do you have a favourite chocolate bar??

I've had numerous emails and messages asking about my knee and many of you thought it was arthritic in nature. I'll answer quickly here, to avoid more email overload (though I am so very thankful for the prayers, love and concern you show me!)...its not arthritis, but a number of other things that occurred during an accident last July. The main source of the pain however, are two 'bone marrow oedemas' which are akin to very sharp knives stabbing my knee and tibia all the time, but worst of all during the night. I finally get to see an orthopaedic specialist next Tuesday and I am hopeful he will be able to guide me through ways to heal. Would love your prayers - thank you. xx

Above is the UFO project I have chosen to complete this month. The blocks began back in 2024 as part of a quilt project a friend and I were both making at the time. She has continued with it, but I got to a certain stage where the reality hit that I would not be able to quilt it by hand as it is a very large quilt, and living in the hot tropics would make such an undertaking very taxing, and we simply cannot afford to have a quilt top professionaly quilted. 

So last year I chose a few blocks to use in a table runner, as I really love the fabrics and colours. The prints used were many years old, and belong to fat quarters, charm squares and yardage, from Lecien a decade ago (who no longer produce fabrics) and some Mary Englebright from about 2008. There's also some other very old prints, and all together they make the happiest display for a table topper. 

Have you been working on a March UFO project? What is it?

One other project I already finished this month was the bunny I knitted all the pieces for last October and November, but had not sewn together. Finally I did that the first week of March and gifted it to Rafaella for her 8th birthday last week. She absolutely loved it and takes her bunny-girl to bed every night.

There was a lot of purple DK yarn in my knitting supplies after the bunny's dress, shoes and bow were completed, so I thought it would be fun to knit myself a pair of slipper socks in the hope of having a cool winter this year. My mindset was "if you make it, winter will come". Ha ha!! We shall see. ;-)

Not being at all interested in knitting socks on four needles, I came across this pattern for two-needle socks on Pinterest and decided to give it a try. Now the pattern called for DK yarn and 3mm needles, so I assumed (we should never assume, right?) that using the Stylecraft DK yarn from the UK would be the same as what was in the pattern...but nooooo. 

Having never heard of Super Corfou, I did a google and it just said DK, so I googled no further. And admittedly I did not knit a tension square, because I'm lazy like that. Shocked? Don't be. 

Not far into the pattern I could see these socks being rather small for my size 7 feet (EU 37)...

...but still, I knitted on. Once begun, I loved the texture and colours, so I decided they'd fit one of my granddaughters.  

Both feet are completed now, I just need to stitch them up. Before winter would be good. 

Now that I know the instructions I followed, using my DK yarn and not the one suggested, knit up a much smaller slipper sock than I can wear, the instructions shall be modified to fit my dear feet. Sadly I have no more purple yarn, but there are many other pretty colours in the yarn stash to choose from. I shall keep you posted on how this modified plan works out if you're interested. Or perhaps you have some advice to share?? Larger needles perhaps??

Sourdough baking is becoming a twice a week delight, with a third weekly loaf of 'ordinary sandwich bread' in between. My husband can eat bread with anything, and I mean anything. It's what he goes for around 8pm each night, with a thick slather of peanut butter, and is what he likes generous portions of in his packed lunch for work. Fortunately, breadmaking is my delight! 

It's been almost two months since Rosie and I have been able to meet up for a lovely morning tea and chat. One reason is that I am unable to drive with my knee problem so I can't visit Rosie, and another is that our road is being ripped up (been going on for two years, but now they are right in front of our house and many homes on either side) to lay new pipes, widen the road, alter the lanes, tear down trees, put in traffic lights, and various other obstacles to a peaceful existence, and a third is the monsoonal wet season which has brought flooding much of the time. 

But I had a wonderful surprise on Saturday morning, when Rosie knocked on my door for a two-minute visit, and to bless me with birthday and get-well gifts! Non-residents are not allowed to drive into the roadwork constructions areas, so her dear hubby Brian parked up the road and Rosie walked down to my place. What a happy hug!! Seeing her was so good for my heart, and I was incredibly blessed with the bundle of lovely gifts. She knows me well, and included in all the gifts was a gorgeous ceramic pear and a bag of spearmint leaves (I collect pears, and spearmint leaves are my favourite lollies).

Hopefully I can get back to short sessions on the sewing machine next week, as what I intend making only requires a few minutes on the machine, and the rest can be hand sewn and crocheted. You know I love making jar toppers, and as well as sewing a lot for myself, I have gifted quite a few at Christmas and birthdays. They are so simple to make, and quick too. Some have lace sewn around the edges, some do not, and others I have crocheted around the edge. Some jar toppers are just fabric (lined so that both sides are different), and some have embroidery on top. You can get quite creative with how you make them, but the best thing is how lovely they look in the pantry or on a shelf. 

The photo below was taken in January and you can see what I mean about how lovely they look on jars, especially when they are together along a shelf...

...but this week, I did a huge pantry stock-up shop (home delivery is such a blessing right now) and all my shelves have had to very slowly be emptied, cleaned, and reorganised to accommodate extra supplies.  I decided to use one of those shelves to house all my dried and medicinal herbs, the ones I use for herbal teas. Right now the jars look so very plain, but in coming weeks some new pretty toppers will make everything pleasing to the eye. 

I've quite adjusted to doing everything slowly now. It was hard for many months, and I did my recovery no help by being frustrated and pushing my leg beyond it's ability more times than you'd know. Finally, after my latest MRI in February, I was content to go slowly, to consider my capability and pain level each day before beginning a task. Knitting has been a true delight, beyond any other crafty pursuit since my accident last year. I hope to get back to crochet when winter arrives in June, and eventually complete the blanket I began in 2024, but for now, those hand stitched UFO projects each month are satisfying, and the small knitted items are easy to pick up and put down. Breadmaking is a joy, and so are the simple wholesome meals of old that nourish us and are quick to make, or easy to languish in the slow cooker. I have even learned to roast a whole chicken in the air fryer and it's delicious! 

The garden is too often flooded this wet season, and completely overgrown with weeds, but it can wait until I am healed and functioning. Some things just have to wait, while other things take priority, and there's no need to feel bad about that. Life is a series of seasons, and when you accept that, and choose to work with whatever season you're in, your mind can be calm, your heart at peace, and you know that you know God is still in control. That truth is what I lean on, it's what gives me hope, it holds me steady when the storms of life swirl around, and it is what I hope you know too. 

ABIGAIL: part four

The final part of our study has been published and you will find it HERE on the Abigail page of my blog.

What a blessing this study has been in putting my own character under the microscope of God's Word! May it be a source of blessing to you as well. 

Until next time my lovelies, 

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15% off all Elefantz patterns HERE in my Etsy Shop until March 20th.

Everyday life while convalescing...

 

Well, February is almost over, and this week I played around with my Makers Journal, adding two new pages to show some of what has been made this month. 

Charlie David's "Misselthwaite Mitts" were completed and he wears them every day, even in our ghastly hot and humid summer. He sends me voice messages every few days to tell me he loves me, and as all Nanas know, that precious grandson melts my heart. 

He loves sunrise and sunsets, so this yarn was perfect. They only took me two days to complete, and as they are small I chose to knit on small double pointed needles instead of my long stainless steel ones. To avoid losing stitches or stabbing myself, these very cute little elephant needle toppers were employed.

I always make a few batches of plum jam during February and March each year, and last week the first batch were ready.

I'll plan another batch in a few weeks, as for now I must stay close to the couch. Pots of herbal tea, made with herbs from the garden which I dried last year (ginger, tulsi, mint) and some I purchased online (rosehip and willowbark), are very soothing during this newly extended period of convalescense as I knit and hand sew...

Our Kelly-dog just turned two, and is definitely no longer a pup. He's a sleeper, a snoozer, a fellow who just loves to watch and rest, especially at the front window. Our entire road is being ripped up and new pipes laid, so out front we have trenches 8 feet deep by 8 feet wide and 20 feet long, right across the front of our house (and the neighbours homes too) and it's a bit of a minefield for hubby to get in and out with the car each day, especially as this is the wet season. We have no drains right now and watching those trenches fill up and flow over with mud and down our driveway is not easy. But, many months from now this will all be complete and life on our road can return to normal. 

Kelly-dog loves to watch the workmen and machinery from the front window, resting his long dachshund head on the sill...and then promptly falls asleep and snores. It's the funniest thing! 

It's been two weeks since my last blog post, and I wasn't sure if I'd even blog this week - not because I didn't want to, but because I've had more tests on my knee recently, and the level of pain increased to such a point that sitting at my desk to use the computer wasn't easy. In fact, the key to my recovery now, given the latest results which show a new problem inside two of my bones, is to rest for quite a few months. I must avoid as much weight bearing as possible, and be rather strict with myself if I am to ever recover and get back to 'normal' activities. 

This means no gardening, no using a sewing machine (due to the sitting, and the foot pedal pressure), no driving (haven't driven for about six weeks already), and now not even sitting as a passenger in the car as this causes more pain than I can handle these days - and many other must-not-dos for around six months.

Last week in the early morn, after a few days of feeling quite sorry for myself (though some of that was from the constant lack of sleep and painkillers not working) I cried out again to God for help in coping with the constant pain, physical limitations, inability to ever leave the house, and the 'aloneness' (not loneliness) of life when my husband is at work six days a week...when I heard a kookaburra laughing nearby.

You know they are my favourite bird. They bring me so much joy whenever they visit, but their visits are rare now since the huge poincianna in our yard split twice last year, and is no more. They would often rest in the tree, and sing their laughing chorus as I hung the washing on the line...oh how I've missed that in the past year. Yet last week, one returned and sat on that clothesline, singing it's laughing song. I stood outside under the elder tree and we watched each other for a good ten minutes. I was praying and giving thanks to God for it's visit, when I sensed deep within me these words from the Lord - "I see you, I hear you, I am with you." Hubby came out and I cried on his shoulder, tears of joy for the comfort received from my Father in Heaven.

I turned to go and get my camera, when it flew from the clothesline to the fence and posed for a photo.

My outlook changed right then and there. Yes, this is a difficult time, but it's not as bad as many others experience, and hopefully healing will occur eventually. Accepting a lot of extra help from my husband has been a lesson in humility I'd rather not learn again, so I will be a jolly good student this time round. Having always been the one to care and tend for our home while he works long hours, and making sure he returns home each evening to a space that is calm and beautiful and welcoming, this season of life has turned things around in many ways - but let us not forget, a welcoming home, a sanctuary, is more about the attitude of those who dwell within, and the presence of the Holy Spirit in every corner. 

So I have slowed a lot, with intention, and surrender to my current disability. In fact, it occurred to me that sewing can still be done, but it will be by substituting the sewing machine with my very own nimble fingers. Which is what I did yesterday with my 2026 Adventure UFO project for February. 

At the weekend I stitched the gusset of the pincushion with a row of cross-stitches and running stitch, in the same thread colours I used in the top.

The round top and bottom, plus the gusset, were all backed with Parlan, so hand sewing them all together was a bit on the bulky side...

I used a lot of pins to secure the top and gusset together, but then decided to baste the two sections together instead and remove the pins before properly hand stitching the seams. The main reason for this was the mess made when some of those pins took aim at my fingers...

Fortunately, the blood was on the wrong side of the fabric, apart from one teeny tiny spot amidst the applique. 

Once it was all sewn and stuffed, I added cross stitches around the top edge. It turned out to be a wonderful little pin cushion and I'm so glad to have persevered and completed it all by hand. 

Tomorrow I shall display it in photos on a new page in my Makers Journal, and that will probably be my final finish for February. 

It was my 67th birthday on Saturday and hubby very carefully drove us over to Blossom's so the children could give me a party, bless them. 

I am excited about the future, and not because I'm focused on healing, but because this life is temporary, and I know what is yet to come far exceeds what is behind. There was a time when we were homeschooling and the kids use to talk about all the things they'd like to achieve one day, but you know how they'd say it?  "If Jesus hasn't come back yet, I want to..." We taught them from birth to number their days, and now Blossom teaches her own children to expect the second coming of Jesus one day.

My Nana always said "Lord willing we shall..." which made me aware of God's sovereignty over all things, and having grown up with that in my mind these past 67 years, even before giving my life to Christ in 1991, there is a realisation now of how much closer I am to seeing Him than ever before, and I am excited. 

When He returns on the clouds of heaven with the loudest trumpet blast the earth has ever known, and all the angels, I hope to see Him in all His glory - no matter whether I am alive still, or sleeping in the grave - I pray that I'll be with those who are lifted up into the air to meet Him and be with Him forevermore. May that be your hope too. 

In the meantime, I shall make it my intention to lead a quiet life, to mind my own business, and work with my hands, just as the Bible instructs us. Funny how this has become so relevent to my current season of life. I have always tried to live this way, but now it has taken on a deeper meaning. God's life lessons never grow old... :-)

Not sure which UFO project I shall decide to complete in March, but it will all be hand stitched so I shall choose carefully. 

How about you? What have you been making lately in the kitchen, sewing room, garden, pottery shed...?? Are you hindered by an injury and if so, what changes have you needed to make?

God bless dear ones, and know you are held in my heart and in my prayers.

Until next week,

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Jam, fingerless mittens and Abigail part 3...

 

JAM

It is the end of stone fruit season in Australia, so before it all disappears I have jam making on my calendar. Over the weekend I made apricot jam, one of my personal favourites, but I did have to be frugal about it as apricots are quite expensive. It helps that no-one else in the family considers apricot jam their favourite, so the two large jars I made up will last me a while. 

Blossom's favourite jam is strawberry, and I always make a big batch of that around July or August, as where we live in the tropics, strawberries are in season through winter. 

Cully May and I both love plum jam, and I have about three kilos in the fridge waiting for me to prepare them, but as I've had a very painful few days with my knee and cannot stand very long, they will have to wait a bit longer. 

Rafaella and Charlie David love my Lime Butter, and Lemon Butter. As our lime tree is heavy with fruit right now, they are making the most of whatever I can make them. Apparently Charlie David eats our limes like oranges! I give him a few to take home, thinking he'll have some slices in his water (he loves that) but in fact he's eating them whole. By the way, he eats lemons too. 

KNITTING

Lately I've had a feeling that we may get an actual winter this year - something rare in the tropics. Last year's winter was so mild and very warm, that it was only during a week of cooler temps (23-25C days) that I realised my feet were cold and I needed some warm clothes. I still do not have any closed-in shoes, or warm slippers, but I am starting to prepare for these purchases. 

One thing I am doing, using what I already have, is to knit fingerless mittens. Many years ago I bought this pattern, Misselthwaite Mitts from Alicia Paulson, because I loved how she'd embroidered the little vignette's (inspired by the book The Secret Garden) on all sides of the mittens, but as I only have variegated 4ply fingering yarn in my stash and no solid colours, I simply went ahead and knitted them plain. Such an easy pattern too!

These are the mittens I completed for myself...

On Tuesday I had Blossom and the children visit for the day, and Charlie David absolutely loved my mittens, wearing them around for ages. The he asked, "Nana, will you make me some too?!" and of course I said yes. :-)

He told me how he loves the colours in a sunrise and sunset, so this is the yarn I'll use for his...

I altered the pattern to fit his hands, with room for growth, and made a start this morning. Blossom is very excited because she is sure he will love them. She also requested a pair for herself. It's rather fun to have these projects on hand because I adore knitting, but always need a purpose for it. 

I hope to make the embroidered mitts one day, but for now I am very happy with the plain ones!

SEWING

Another frugal activity recently has been to repair some of my linen/cotton dresses. I wear dresses every single day, and because of this, the hems can become a bit the worse for wear. I hang all our washing out back on the clothes line, and the fierce summer sun probably has a part to play in the wear and tear, but oh how I love the smell and feel of washing off the line!

Anyhow, I've been going through the cotton quilting fabrics for prints I can use as new borders on the dresses which need repair. 

This Tilda print from 2024 was leftover from a quarter metre bundle I was sent to design with back then. It's not exactly the same in colour (nothing in my stash was), but it wasn't bad and the final look is really nice - after all, this is only a day dress for wearing at home. 

Have you done any mending lately? Do you alter or repair your clothes? 

I have a number of items in my wardrobe that will be made-over in the coming month or two, but I will need to purchase some warm things as well. Even if we do not end up having a cooler winter, I'd rather be prepared than regret not doing it. 

ABIGAIL

Part three of the Abigail study is up on the Abigail page today. Looks like I've been sharing one part every three weeks, and so I'll have part four (the final part) in three weeks from now. Have you been following along?

On the Abigial page you can simply choose to read the study from there, or scroll to the bottom of each part to download the file and store on your computer. :-)

Go HERE for Abigail Part Three

The summer is fierce right now, as is usual in February, but I must admit that its really knocking us around this year. I find with each passing year, the traveling forward in age, things that were once easy are increasingly challenging. 

Staying on top of things in the garden is not happening, especially as I am unable to stand for long periods and water the parched pots and raised beds...however I am still doing a bit each day, and that consistent labour, small though it may seem, does reap rewards. As overgrown with weeds as our front garden is, the grocery delivery man this morning said "what a beautiful garden!". I lamented all the weeds which have crowded out the flowers and shrubs quite a bit, but he said, "it's still lovely!" You know, my heart lifted when he said that. 

Too often we see the weeds in our life, and the beauty that still dwells within the weeds is unnoticed until someone else points it out. That's just like the Christian walk isn't it. We are a mix of weeds and beauty - but as time passes, and our walk with the Lord grows deeper, the weeds get less and the beauty becomes more obvious. There is hope in that! 

In case you ever missed this free HOPE patterm I shall share it again...

Go HERE to my FREE patterns page for this and more stitchery gifts I have shared in the past. 

Until next week, God bless dear friends...

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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...