Block 6 in The Love of Home BOM...

I've been sitting on a bit of news all week, taking it in, letting it roam around in my heart and allowing increasing doses of joy to season my thoughts.

You see Mr E and I had come to a place of accepting that due to our ages (we are in our 50's) a bank would be unwilling to give us a housing loan, but just to be sure we made an appointment to have a face to face chat and see if there was indeed a glimmer of hope before we laid the dream aside for good. We've never bought a house before so we're unusual 'first home buyers' but not unheard of. 

Imagine our surprise when we were told that if we can save a certain amount for a deposit (based on the home loan amount we will be able to borrow) and we do this in the not too distant future (because age is indeed an issue the more time passes) then we can build or purchase a dwelling to make our very own.

It was that hope 're-ignited' which inspired me to share this particular design with you as the next block in our "The Love of Home" BOM.

It's not a new pattern, initially appearing in a 2015 issue of The Stitchery Club, but it has remained one of my favourite designs and this week I finally took the stitchery and created a little quilt to hang in my 'one day' new home, God willing.

In order to make our dream come true we must tighten our belts and budget wisely for the rest of this year, trusting the Lord to guide us. You know this means lots more home cooking and thrifting, and my oh my, how happy that makes me!

I want to shout for joy every day, but another part of me is very calm and ready to work hard beside my husband month by month until we have what we need to take the next step. 

As Mr E said, "First priority save the deposit, then we'll open the next door and walk through."

Joy, calm resolve, hard work...what a wonderful recipe.

If you'd like to stitch this month's block you can download the free pattern HERE in my shop. 

And speaking of recipes, a few ladies asked if I'd share the one for those Oatmeal, Raisin and Orange cookies I baked earlier this week for Mr E.

Not a problem, in fact you can have the recipe and as an extra treat I've included a simple little 'cookies with tea' stitchery too, so you can prepare fabric and threads while the cookies bake.

Download the recipe with bonus stitchery pattern HERE.

I'm taking the next week off from blogging to make the most of Mr E's final week of school holidays.

It looks like we won't get away after all so while he continues with car repairs, garden pots and outside chores I'll bake and sew and plan some new projects for around the house.

Most everything I make these days has a purpose and that reminds me of my Nana, who enjoyed the fruits of her labour by choosing to make or bake for a reason, always with a smile, a song and a whistle. I do tend to be a little more frivolous than she was and that's okay because I am me, but the lessons and examples she poured into my life are bearing good fruit - more with each passing year. 

My daughters, Aisha and Blossom, would like me to embroider them a cardie each so that could well be my hand sewing at night next week (I'm trying a different technique than the one earlier this week, but more about that another time) and I still have a knitted bear for Cully May to complete, as well as a quilt 'in progress' and recipes to print and store in a new covered binder...but that's life. 

A good and useful life by my reckoning.

May the coming days overflow with goodness and grace in your life too.

hugs

A verdict and other doings...

Gosh it was nice to read all your comments about my trial with the Sulky Solvi, both from those who had used it and those who have been wondering about it. 

My heart was overjoyed for those of you who love this product and have found it to be exactly what you need.

But for me, it was a completely different experience. Oh, dear. I hate it.    

Honestly, I've taken a couple of days to write this post because I needed to ponder 'why' my experience with this product isn't what some of you described in glowing praise?

First though, let me show you my completed cardie. 

I'm smiling ear to ear, heart bursting with vintage happiness....

Honestly, I can't wait to pop this on and stroll along the Strand by moonlight with my true love tonight. 

But...back to the soluble embroidery stabiliser.

It gummed up more than I though possible, my needles needed to be cleaned every few stitches.

My backstitch is tiny and I think that made the process worse because I had to push through gummy stabiliser and fabric with barely space between each entry and exit point of the needle which distorts the stabiliser and pushes gum into ridges.

The gum is so thick that my hands ached from the resistance war between stabiliser, fabric, needle, thread and Jenny's fingers. In fact, I ended up doing the satin stitch in single strand thread to see if that helped (less thread to pull through) and it did, but only slightly. I think if you have arthritis in your hands this would really aggravate it. 

This design when I originally stitched it on linen with my favoured Weaveline permanent stabiliser fused behind  the fabric took 3 hours to stitch.

On the cardie it took 8 hours and my fingers are still throbbing. 

It's also difficult to get perfect entry and exit for my needle as I am not looking at the fabric, but the Solvy. Not having clean sight on my actual fabric also meant I wasn't able to swap and change thread colours (I do that a lot during the design process as I view my threads working or not working together), and when I needed to unpick a few threads it wasn't easy.

Another issue is that when the Sulky dissolves away after washing the fabric the stitches are loose because that extra 'padding' between stitch and fabric has disappeared. 

For those who missed the last blog post and what the Solvy on fabric looks like before you stitch, I'll show you again...

There's a lot of gum residue on the fabric after you complete the stitching because as you stitch your fingers are pressing the Solvy to the fabric over and over. It did wash away though.

Obviously linen and this thin acrylic cardigan are two very different fabrics, but there was no escaping how thick the gum is on the Sulky Solvi. I shall not be using it again.

Washing out the Solvi after I'd completed the embroidery was fairly easy, although it did take three attempts. I needed to have the water very warm for the Sulky Solvi to break away from the cardie and disperse into 'flakes' through the water. Unfortnately the flakes then settled on other areas of the cardie and stuck, so that's why the extra rinses. I also had to rub the embroidery to remove the Solvi from behind the stitches.

Once I had it all removed I rolled the cardie in a towel and squeezed away the water before laying out to dry.

Honest, I am thrilled with my 'new' $7 cardie now that the embellishment is complete, but it was definitely a labour of love to keep going and not throw the whole thing aside after the first backstitch/blanket stitch leaf.

Sad to say I won't repeat the experience of Sulky Solvi again. 

Some girls asked on Instagram if I fused another stabiliser behind the stitchery and the answer is no. (My heart is beating harder just imagining what a nightmare for my fingers that would have been - very glad I chose not to).

Here's what the back looks like. 

    

   So away with the Solvy, but I still have the Legacy brand to try. They both feel the same weight, but the Legacy soluble stabiliser 'feels' like it has less gum. 

I'll try that one on cotton fabric, but not for a while as my hands are in need of normal 'Jenny-style' stitching without all the fuss, wear and tear.

You know, I find it SO much easier to trace a design myself, fuse Weaveline behind the design and just stitch. When it's done, give it a press and you're finished. 

A number of girls have told me they find tracing a design tedious and that's why they like using printable soluble sheets like Sulky Solvi. Fair enough, if that's your bug bear and it puts a smile on your face to take that route, bless you! Sewing, in any style, should include a big glass of happiness and contentment, so choose the techniques YOU find work best.

For me, I love tracing a design. I get to examine every little section in all it's prettiness, acquainting myself with the ebb and flow of lines and curves before I stitch them, then when I thread my needle and prepare to make that very first dab of colour I say to myself, "I remember you, little bird, let's bring you to life".

Most important to remember isn't it? 

ENJOY the process, breathe, sigh, smile, create - your way.

My other doings this week?

The breadmaker cover is made and it's brightened my kitchen/dining area.

Now I need to sew a curtain to cover the appliances underneath. 

I'm thinking something like this (from Dottie Angel's blog ) using some of my vintage doilies...

When I thought about Dottie Angel's wonderful use of the humble doily I remembered her book (co-written with Ted & Agnes) which dwells in my bookcase...

...so a good hour was spent inside the pages yesterday while a certain little angel I was babysitting slept by my side...

Cully May and I had special time alone together yesterday while Blossom ran errands and Mr E worked on the Jeep.

When she woke she immediately decided my Dottie Angel book was hers and spent a good 15 minutes turning pages on my lap squealing "Oooo!!" at every pretty thing.

More books...

...inspired baking.

Mr E was most delighted to find a big cookie jar filled with fresh baked Oatmeal, Raisin and Orange biscuits prepared 'just for him'.

Today I'm baking bread and perhaps another Strawberry Shortcake because Mr E requested it.

Is there anything lovelier than homemaking?

I think not. 

Sewing! 

I've continued playing with the sewing machine and decided to use two of the big granny square blocks I made last week as a runner for under the telly in our bedroom (we have no tv reception in the bedroom but we can still watch dvds on a lazy weekend afternoon)...

...and I've finally begun piecing my pink and green quilt using the stitcheries from last December's issue of The Stitchery Club.

And did you notice my new iron?

I was given a 40% off voucher at Spotlight by my sweet Blossom and decided this would be perfect as I couldn't afford it otherwise. 

This iron is amazing, truly. 

Even Blossom squealed when she 'played' with it yesterday.

Goodness, you must be parched for a cuppa after this long blog post!  Sorry if I've kept you, but I thought it best to do a big post today as I'm taking a little break for a bit while Mr E's on school holidays so I can continue to potter around the house and bake things for him, sew for our home, and generally amble through these relaxing days until school resumes on July 10th.

The July block of The Love of Home BOM will be shared as usual on the 1st, though.

One last thing.

"Be still and know that I am God." That Scripture came to mind as I was about to sign off so perhaps someone needed to hear it?

We probably all do.

How reassuring, thank you Lord.

hugs

Trying something new...

I know of a few embroidery designers who like to use printed fusible soluble sheets to stitch their patterns (onto fabric) instead of tracing the design directly onto the fabric itself as I do. 

In fact I'm seeing it more and more so I thought I'd investigate.

The upside is to simply place the soluble sheet, which has a backing you peel off later, into your printer and print out the design you want to stitch. Then you can cut around the design area, peel off the backing and stick it directly onto your fabric background. 

Sounds really good!

But I've also heard mention that the embroidery needle becomes gummy from the adhesive used to stick the printed design onto your fabric and regular wiping down of the needle is required. 

Now I think for a small design or for people who embroider with medium to large stitches this may not be too much of a problem, but I stitch rather tiny and wondered just how annoying this technique may become?

The only answer was to give it a go, right?

This is one of my new July Stitchery Club patterns, stitched onto a beautiful linen background fabric...

...and these are the two types of soluble adhesive tracing papers I purchased to practice embroidering this same design onto a slightly different background.

I don't like wastage so I printed four copies of the design onto one A4 sheet of the Sticky Fabri-Solvi and if I don't use them all I may just give some away. (hint hint)

The background fabric I've chosen is one which has long tempted me, a fabric I think is well suited to this technique. 

It's a very basic plain cardigan.

Three plain cardigans in fact!

I found them at K-Mart for a whopping $7 each (only joking, what a bargain!) and decided they would be perfect for my experiments.

First off I'm going to embroider the blue cardie as I'm rather partial to a blue cardie. 

After printing the soluble stabiliser sheet I cut around one of the berry designs, peeled away the backing, and positioned it on the left shoulder of the cardigan.

Then I chose the embroidery threads...

Now all I need to do is embroider the design, then sit it in warm water and watch the fusible paper 'disappear'. 

I'll let you know how I go with the gummy needle and whether I like this technique or not.

Go here to see all of the July Stitchery Club patterns.

Have you used either of the soluble stabilisers I've purchased? 

How did you find them to work with?

Mr E is home now for two weeks as it's the winter school holiday break so I may or many not be around much. I like to keep myself free in case he wants to do something, but as the Jeep is being repaired and we're waiting on parts from the USA it's doubtful we'll be travelling far. 

I'm still admiring the beautiful bouquet he gave me yesterday.

Flowers, my husband at home and a bit of news I'll share soon...all's quite lovely in my world.

May your week be wonderful too!

hugs

Tapping in to the Creator...

This morning my husband surprised me with a beautiful bunch of flowers, an act of faithful and long-suffering affection from his heart to mine. He knows me very well after more than a quarter century at my side and this knowing includes an understanding for how much I appreciate the beauty of flowers and the Hand that created them.

This month I have spent a lot of time re-reading Genesis, especially the first two chapters which I study almost daily. So drawn am I to the glorious description of Creation and how His own incomparable handiwork pleased the Lord because this was no small miracle, no small achievement. This was making a perfectly ordered, functional and breathtakingly glorious earth and solar system from nothing. 

You know it's very easy to be distracted by the issues of life, whether that be too much to do in too little time, over-commitment to others, health challenges, or even seasons of sadness, boredom or repetitive drudgery.  

Most of us at some time have life distractions which seek to draw our thoughts to the difficulties we may be facing, dwelling on them until all vision of the goodness we have, right here, right now, fades away.  

Just like in the Creation story, our Father speaks light and life into the darkness we face. 

There is no darkness He cannot dispel, no situation He cannot stand beside you in, no prayer from your heart left unheard by His ears. 

And just like these flowers today lifted my spirit with their delicate God given beauty, time with the Lord appreciating His power and creative handiwork in nature, making something exceptional out of nothing, is often the only tonic a downcast soul needs to find it's way out of the valley.

This same God made you, knows you, cares for you, far more than He cared for creation. 

Take heart dear friend, look around at the beauty which surrounds your place in life and let the Lord overflow your spirit with His perfectly wonderful 'very good'-ness.

Your sister in Christ,

Using quotes to inspire...

I was emailing back and forth with my friend Janice about a month or so ago, and she shared with me this William Drummond quote, "What sweet delight a quiet life affords."

It resonated deep within me so I spent an afternoon sketching a design to frame those precious words.

Hand embroidery is always enjoyable but stitching this pattern brought hours of gentle peace and time to reflect on my own desire for a quiet life. 

So that got me thinking.

Do you have a particular quote which inspires you to ponder the blessings of a gentle life, a quiet life, a joyful domestic life? I'd love to create one design each month for the Stitchery Club to lift the weary heart and paint wonderful thoughts across our minds, and wondered if you could help me with insightful words to stitch?

"A Quiet Life" is the first of this series and will be inside the July Club issue (see more here)...

If you come across something lovely, specifically a quote that delights in a quiet home life or the gentle domestic arts, write it in the comments below so I have a future reference point. 

This would be truly appreciated.

Blossom came by on Wednesday with Cully May and we had such a precious visit!

Coffee and cake, a cat and lots of cuddles, it was definitely a "C" day. 

Cully May is walking now, and talks endlessly! At 10 1/2 months she can say so many words that her conversations with me are quite intense as she engages with such expression, demanding Nana reply and agree. Cuddling Sophie, our cat, she was insistent that Sophie's name was 'dog'. 

Cully May fills our happy tanks over and over, and over again.

This week I've been rearranging things in the sewing room, cleaning out the pantry, baking breads, and choosing fabrics for a table runner and cover for the breadmaker. 

The breadmaker is hardly used because this house has a small kitchen with minimal storage so I keep it tucked away where it's not easily accessible. However, I used to make bread all the time and the family are missing the fruits of my labour so I decided to create a space for it out in the open where I can get at it easily every second day to knead my dough.

I don't bake my breads in the breadmaker but use it for the kneading and first rise.

From there I hand shape or if it's a sandwich loaf I bake in proper bread tins. 

Yesterday's bounty was a Jam Roll and six jam scrolls. 

We shared these with Blossom, Ross and Cully May and they definitely encouraged my return to regular bread baking!

The breadmaker is now atop a small bookcase which holds more kitchen appliances.

It needs a pretty cover and I thought this beautiful fabric (a soft Japanese lawn) would be nice...

I'd like to add one of my stitcheries to the cover and will have a sort through later today to see what I can find that will blend with the floral colours in this print.

Some more fabric on my cutting table at the moment...

Spotlight are having a massive end of financial year sale and after stocking up on a few metres of Pellon a set of 4 place-mats caught my eye just as I was leaving the store.

I thought they'd be lovely on our dining table and was pretty sure I had fabrics in similar colours to sew a matching table runner.

So I guess you know what I'll be sewing over the weekend?

My beloved Mr E will be busy working on our old Jeep again so apart from baking some goodies for his morning and afternoon tea breaks I'll stay out of his way and let the man do what the man's got to do. 

I hope your weekend will be lovely,

hugs