Quiet Life stitchery, news and a tutorial...

Remember I showed you a progress photo of this little stitchery last week when I shared my "A Quiet Life" mini quilt pattern?

You can make this yourself as it's on the pattern sheets for "A Quiet Life" (download here) - all I did differently was applique the door, add a button for a door knob, change the flowers to daisies by switching the colonial knots of the mini quilt version for lazy daisy stitches, and sewed scattered cross stitches and running stitches here and there to fill out the effect for a single block instead of a set of nine.

Small changes to a single design can give it quite a different appearance, and this sweet and tiny block makes me happy hanging beside my desk where I love to have a bit of colour against the cream walls, whereas the pale blue and cream of the larger mini quilt works beautifully in my sewing room.

See what I mean about how different one block can look by changing a few things?

I finished this little one as you would a quilt with wadding and backing, but I chose not to bind it but leave the edges raw, just a single line of stitching half inch inside the edge. A tiny hanger was stitched to the back. Final measurement is 6" wide x 6.5" high.

After it was completed this morning I was packing things up and tidying the cutting table when I spied a pack of small notebooks I bought recently. My intention was to sew some covers for them as they make very simple and useful gifts, easily posted too, so I thought before I stored away the fabrics used on the little house block I'd use some to make a cover and share a tutorial with you at the same time.

You will need:

One 3" x 9" (opened) notebook
One 4" x 10" rectangle of fabric for the cover
Two 4" x 6.5" rectangles of the same fabric for the sleeves
One 4" x 10" rectangle of lining fabric
buttons optional

Fold the smaller sleeve pieces in half across the centre and press the fold.

Lay the folded sleeves on top of the lining with the raw edges to the outside.

Lay the cover fabric right side down over the sleeves and lining. Pin all around.

Sew the layers together with a 1/4" seam around all sides, leaving a 2" opening at the middle of one long side.

Fold right side out and whip stitch the opening closed.

Iron the cover flat...

...and insert your notebook. Ta dah! (as Cully May says very often)

I decided to sew a few buttons on the front after I'd finished because they look cute (and match the little house block) so if you want to add some be sure not to stitch through the sleeve.

Have you started the mini quilt yet? Or do you think just a single block mini-mini-quilt would be just right for your home (or as a gift)?

When Blossom and Ross went off to the ultrasound on Monday I had the delight of babysitting the girls and what fun we had! I'd made them a tablecloth for their little table and chairs beside the cubby house and they feasted on strawberries, jam roll, cheese cubes with milky tea in their tin teapot and cups while I read to them.

We were all very excited waiting for mummy and daddy to return because they would tell us whether Cully May and Rafaella would be welcoming a baby sister or baby brother in early December.

It's a BOY!

Cully May was not at all surprised and declared, "I know, I told you!" (which she has been telling us for weeks) with the biggest grin. Aaah, what fun we have ahead.

Well, that's enough for today. Dinner is in the oven and the bell will go off soon so I'd best be off to slice the bread and warm the plates.

God bless you dear ones,
Loving hugs

A Quiet Life series: places of rest...

Taking time to stop, rest and refresh is something many of us don't do often enough. For me, home is not just where I live, care for my family, work in the garden, prepare nutritious meals and tend to numerous and varied housekeeping chores - it's also my place of employment. This means it can be difficult much of the time to 'switch off' from the joint responsibilities and privileges of living and working in the same space as my eyes too easily fall upon what needs to be done, what can be done, and what I want to do. It took a long time (with many reminders from my husband) to finally comprehend living this way was keeping me exhausted and distracted both mentally and physically, and overall was robbing me of the rest my body and thoughts needed. 

This past year a lot has changed for hubby and I, but one major change which has made an enormous difference to our lives has been embracing the sabbath rest...resting from work, resting from chores, resting from all the overthinking, planning, and driving need to achieve everything on a to-do list by dinner time. And you know, we found it very hard to stop for a day - which is why it's taken so long for me to write about it. We needed a mind-shift, a heart shift. We had to discover for ourselves the difference it made to truly rest that one day a week and not feel guilty doing so. 

I can honestly tell you today that we achieve just as much in six days as we used to in seven, but we no longer rush, we no longer push our bodies beyond their limit, we stop regularly for a healthy snack, cup of tea, a chat about God or life or what we need to do next in the garden, and we even take a short nap if our bodies need it.

A couple of weekends ago we packed a picnic lunch and flasks of cool drinks before driving north to Mount Fox, a place we've long wanted to see. Situated in the Girringun National Park, to get there it's a long steep drive with far too many hairpin turns up a very dangerous single lane road that hugs the mountain on one side with a sheer cliff face drop on the other. But once you get there...aah, the serenity. 

Before the ascent we came across some relaxed cows who shared the road and weren't very keen to move to the side and allow our station wagon to pass so we slowed right down and gradually made our way through. To be honest this did not bother me at all for what I love almost as much as rolling mountain and fields in the country are the cows.

Jesus would often remove Himself from the crowds and His followers to be alone and soak in the presence of God, but He was also very aware that the disciples also needed down-time away from the day to day interactions with people and responsibilities.

...He said to them, "Come with Me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." Mark 6:32

I used to think it was better to be a very busy person and though I naturally have a lot of adrenaline and need to move my body in order to break it down and use it up (or I'd never sleep), that desire for busyness had within it an element of pride which I've also encountered in many other people throughout my life - they work, work, work, viewing their achievements as evidence of their value, forgetting or not realising that whilst the labour of our days is important it's not the most important thing. 

Time given to God, to relationships, to caring for our individual needs and being present in each moment whether that moment be with others, alone hanging up the washing, sweeping the kitchen, or quietly watching a sunset with my husband as we share a pot of tea out the back after dinner - these are the most important things. These define our character and are what others will fondly remember about us. 

I'd rather be remembered for loving hugs, the scones and tea we share in the garden, laughter with my grandchildren as we snuggle together reading books, really listening when loved ones or friends share their stories, and my blue eyes looking into theirs and that person knowing I was truly present in our conversation. Wouldn't you?

We're planning more picnics while the moderate tropical winter is still with us, more restful days of exploring and relishing nature. More cows and wallabies and kangaroos, more green fields, more winding roads, more places of rest.

Rest doesn't have to be away from home, though.

I'm discovering that just stopping from our labours one day a week, and on other days being mindful to take breaks as they are needed and truly interact with those around us, allows rest.

Alone at home most days of the week I now brew myself a cup of relaxing tea twice a day using fresh mint from our garden and I sit for twenty minutes or so, without distractions, to enjoy it. Often this time is spent on the comfy blue outdoor couch watching native birds, butterflies, dragonflies, bees and our chickens going about their ways. Other times I'll play some quiet music and rock back and forth in my recliner.

It's wonderful to have discovered this lesson because it's changing my life for the better. 

Peace like a river flows through my thoughts now, and increased gentleness is filing away at the old sharpness in my character. It's easier to let go, easier to forgive, easier to accept disturbances or changes to routine...and it's given me more time in my Bible, more time to ponder what I read and study what it means. It's brought me closer to Jesus and to my husband. 

And I wonder is this one reason why Jesus called the disciples away for periods of quiet rest? To allow their minds to rest from the hustle and bustle thoughts of the day, that by quietness their understanding of what they saw and heard from Jesus would be magnified? So they could really hear His voice and look into His loving eyes and truly know Him? Maybe so.

We will each have our own version of what can be a place of rest, and I realise for some of you that Covid restrictions have for now closed or restricted any opportunity to get out in the country and enjoy a wider expanse of nature...but I'd like you to consider how you can take a time of quiet rest just where you are for now. 

Sitting quietly with a candle flickering and soft music; one chapter of a favourite book to read or perhaps listen to on audio; giving yourself a pedicure and painting those toenails in your favourite colour; scented hand cream massaged slowly into your tired fingers; sipping a drink whilst watching birds flitting to and fro outside; picking flowers from the garden and arranging them in a small vase or glass jar beside the bed or on the kitchen windowsill...can you think of other ways to take a time of quiet rest? Please share them in the comments below because you may have the perfect idea for someone who is far too weary or stretched to think right now. 

Bless you, dear ones.

Before closing today I'd like to remind anyone who has been interested in stitching patterns from my Faith In Hand Club that there's only a few days left this month to join. Memberships close on the 30th because the next set of patterns are emailed to all Faith In Hand stitchers on the 31st.

Here are the three designs you'll receive on Friday...

To find out more pop over HERE to the Club page.

Well, I must be away as this morning I was blessed to babysit Cully May and Rafaella and I'm rather tired now as they have a lot of energy and we played for hours, gathered tomatoes and capsicums, read books, chatted with the chickens and fed them spinach and porridge, gathered eggs and drank a lot of tiny cups of tea with jam roll and fresh strawberries. 

They were here because their mummy and daddy went off to have a middle-of-the-pregnancy ultrasound where they discovered bubby is a healthy and big baby (Rafaella was 9lb 6oz so we're wondering how big this baby will get) and also found out whether our little cherubs would be welcoming a baby sister or a baby brother.

We all know now but I shan't say anything on the blog until I check with Blossom first. 

We had the most wonderful time together and the girls went home at lunchtime with shining faces, red carnations and orange hibiscus flowers firmly grasped in their small hands. Their delight in the simplest things is a lesson we can all learn from....

Till next time, loving hugs and an armful of blessings to you,

A Quiet Life series: meal preparations...

Since my last post on living a quiet life I’ve had more time to consider the many and varied ways we can bring a sense of calm rhythm to our days, and I think that’s the key word – rhythm. Routine conjures up images of following a timetable, but rhythm has a swaying gentleness to it – in my mind at least.

I’ve often used that word to describe how I embroider. The rhythm of hand embroidery for me has always been an unrushed and quiet rhythm of needling one stitch after another without the pursuit of a quick finish, but rather an enjoyment of process and a delighted satisfaction at the end.

And that’s what I’ve been pondering with regards to the living of a quiet life, a life of purpose and productivity which is unhurried and lived day by day, a life that enhances our spirit and the hearts of those around us.

So I’m going to write a series of blog posts over coming weeks focusing on the many and varied aspects of living a quieter, simpler life, remembering that there is no one size fits all and what is simple to me may not be to you and vice versa – but the sharing of ideas and thoughts about this topic (please write about your own experience, ideas or thoughts in the comments below) will give us a wider view and hopefully encourage each of us.

Today I thought we’d begin with meals because of all the responsibilities around the home its menu planning and meal times which are an endless dance we must partner with.

You know, I’ve been well and truly sucked in to many different styles of diet, health and fancy cooking over the past twenty or so years, and whilst a ‘new’ way starts off well it rarely takes hold for more than a few months before I’m researching and experimenting with the next one.  Now, I’ve spent a little while thinking and praying this through recently and one question really resonated in my mind – “What do you keep going back to?” Such a simple question and surprisingly to me there was an equally simple answer - fresh fruits and vegetables (mostly raw), eggs from our own chickens, no meat, homemade bread, whole grains, minimal sugar and very little dairy. When I shared this with my husband he agreed.

We don’t need the chia seeds, the protein powders, acai, sprouted buckwheat, numerous nut oils, ground flaxseed, psyllium husks, pasture raised beef, kimchi, sprouted grains  etc etc…when we eat plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts, bread, eggs, wholegrains and the odd sweet our tummies are satisfied, our taste buds happy and our health improves. All the things we enjoy are easily sourced locally, whereas with some of previous trips down ‘alternative lane’ I was buying ingredients online and even from overseas. I quite honestly shudder to think of how much money I’ve wasted over the years on products, powders and books that were purchased in the pursuit of health yet didn’t really make any difference.

We have achieved our greatest health benefits with those basics I mentioned as an answer to the question – “What do you keep going back to?”

This past week I’ve responded to that Q & A and prepared food we always go back to, and wow, how much simpler life in the kitchen became! I ditched the new recipes marked in a notebook and looked at what we had on hand, purchasing only fresh fruits and vegetables to supplement what was already in our fridge, freezer and pantry - because regardless of fads I still stock most things we enjoy and return to.

 Breakfast did not change; it always includes a variety of fresh fruit for both of us, and while hubby enjoys a bowl of cereal with coconut yoghurt after our fruit, I relish a bowl of porridge. From start to finish breakfast takes ten minutes or less to prepare and though I’ve made different things occasionally we both agree there’s no need to do that anymore…we love the simplicity of fruit and porridge/cereal and shall leave that meal as it is.

Last Friday the girls were here and I cut open the first of our recently harvested pumpkins. Cully May thought this was wonderful and after giving some to Blossom and our neighbour I still had half a pumpkin to play with on Monday when I prepared meals ahead for the week.

Simplifying life in the kitchen for me is being ahead of things with a number of prepared meals in the fridge or freezer, roasted vegetables ready to use in salads, eggs hard boiled, produce from the garden quickly made into a pickle (cucumbers) or crushed with garlic and onions for an easy bruschetta topping (tomatoes), and stewed fruits which I can scatter with toasted oats for a sweet dessert.

One large bowl of brown rice salad with fresh and roasted vegetables, dried cranberries and a very simple dressing becomes a work lunch for hubby twice in a week and lunch for me three days. Add a couple of slices of bread and half an avocado on the side (we seriously go through so many avocados each week) and both of us are happy as can be.  
Another week it might be a pasta, bulgur or cous cous salad and I'll scatter cashews, macadamias or pine nuts through and swap cranberries for dried cherries or apricots.

That pumpkin was roasted with garlic cloves and became a curried coconut pumpkin and coriander (cilantro) soup, as well as ten pumpkin & chick pea patties which I baked in the oven, keeping a few for small burgers and the rest popped into the freezer for another time. I washed the seeds and tossed them in cajun seasoning and salt before roasting for a delicious crunchy snack.

If I spend three hours in the kitchen two mornings a week the base of seven days meals are complete and I have extras in the freezer for nights when migraine has me relegated to the sidelines.

For more of his work lunches my husband likes rice paper rolls filled with cucumber, avocado, capsicum, carrot, spring onions, cherry tomatoes and fresh coriander (cilantro). It takes me around 12 minutes to make three because I have a rhythm in place now that I've made them so many times, and this is what I find when you begin to make a basic set of simple meals over and over...it becomes second nature and time spent in the kitchen is wonderfully relaxed.  Following Nana's example, I am now choosing to follow a rotation of meals, the kind we go back to again and again, the meals we enjoy and which bless our bodies. 
I'll write a list of them over the weekend and create a shopping list from the ingredients that I can print up and mark off what is needed before I shop.

My own lunches this week have been either a bowl of the salad I made or rice cakes with almond butter and banana with a boiled egg if I'm extra hungry.

Sweets are easy and delicious too, especially using the food processor which I use more now than ever before. These little sugar-free date-based biscuits were mixed together in two minutes, rolled into balls, flattened and scattered with crumbled frozen raspberries. Baked for just 12 minutes we've enjoyed them for dessert this week alternating the nights we had blueberry and apple crumble with custard.

This may look nothing at all like your own simpler living menu plan, but I think you get the idea? 
By choosing to make the meals you naturally enjoy, the foods you return to again and again, you've already simplified your life in the kitchen. Did it drive you bonkers when the kids would ask numerous times a day "Mum, what's for dinner?" - it sure did to me! It wasn't until I wrote a three week rotating menu and stuck it to the front of the fridge that I discovered the bliss of not having to answer that question anymore (or to wonder what WAS I going to make for dinner that night).

But the underlying problem once we became empty nesters and I no longer thought I needed to make a long term menu plan was that I very quickly slipped back to questioning myself each day on what to make for dinner. I would ask my husband and he'd give me a blank look and answer "whatever you like is fine with me"...aah, frustrating because I didn't want to choose, I wanted someone else to tell me what to make. Like the menu plan on the fridge used to 'tell' me.
So looking back I can understand why Nana was never flustered or perplexed over what to make, and why I found meal prep easier when kids were still living at home.

Has this given you food for thought today? Pardon the pun. 
If you asked yourself the same question I did - “What (food/meals) do you keep going back to?” - what would your answer be? 
Do you have ideas for simplifying kitchen time?

I shall leave you today with a photo of Blossom's baby belly and the girls wearing the cardies I knitted them...

...plus a rare photo of me (taken yesterday) because I am often asked to share one.
Apparently it's nice to see who you're talking to or reading from? Ha ha! I understand.

I never wear makeup and my hair is natural but I do love dangling silver earrings - they match my hair.

Bless you dear one, how very much I appreciate each of you!

Loving hugs

A Quiet Life free pattern...

As I've been stitching and sewing this very gentle, very quiet and simple pattern my mind has had much time to ponder the significance of what Paul meant in writing those wonderful words -

"...and to make it your ambition to live a quiet life; you should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody." 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

In my last post I asked for your own thoughts on a quiet life and my heart was enriched by the responses as I was given (gifted) a small glimpse inside your unique day to day living and felt encouraged by many who shared similar thoughts to my own.

When I was a child and young adult, leisure time, social gatherings and the like were not common everyday things as they are now. Nana, being my example of a homemaker, taught me the importance of caring for home and family by being attentive to the responsibilities and blessings we had in our tiny one-bedroom flat and showing diligence to maintain a good life there by completing daily chores, planning and shopping for nourishing meals that used what was in season or on hand, and being mindful about unnecessary waste.

By today's standards her daily rhythm of sweeping the flat, mopping the kitchen, polishing the sink, hanging the washing (some of it hand washed), airing the bed, beating her small rugs with a broom outside (she did one rug a day so that all had a good beating once a week) and starting dinner early in the day before she stopped for our mid-morning cuppa was completely normal. Just as it was for most of the women in our neighbourhood.

I clearly remember her as a woman who worked hard and did not complain about it, for she'd been born during the first world war, raised a family during the great depression, and taken on me as a 3yo to raise when well into her 50's. 

I learned through her example the absolute bliss of a day well spent, the delight of relaxing after the final dishes were washed and dried at night, the satisfaction of watching a good western on the telly knowing the day's doings were complete and all she needed to do was perhaps brew a cup of tea when the ad was on or share a glass of beer with Pop.

It was indeed a quiet life, yet not solitary.

The friends she had would gather together every second Saturday afternoon in the Lady's Parlour at the local pub for a couple of hours while the husbands met in the Gentleman's Bar. 

This was their time to take off their aprons and dress up! Nana always taught me that a lady should wear lipstick and earrings when she was to be socialising and I think that's what all the ladies believed as well because my young eyes marvelled at these women I knew who normally wore simple house dresses and aprons (plus curlers in their hair after hair washing morning and scarves over the curlers when they headed off to the butcher or grocer) all bright and cheery with red or dark pink lips which left big 'kiss' stains on the rim of their shandy glasses.

So many hints and tips were shared back and forth, laughter and sorrows shared between each other, kindnesses offered and amidst it all was me, loved on by everyone present. That in itself was true kindness.

But then they would say their goodbyes and not see each other again for a couple of weeks unless for a passing hello and perhaps a short chat going to and from the grocer or butcher, or a wave and comment about the weather as the ladies came to their front doors to collect bottles of milk left before dawn by the milkman and saw each other from across the road or the front fence.

There were odd occasions when we made a visit to someone during the week, or someone came to us, but these times were rare and treated as very special.

Each woman took pride in her home, whether a tiny flat like ours or a two bedroom cottage (which to me was a mansion), and day to day went about her business not intruding in the lives of others...unless...

Unless there was a need.

In a time of need or sorrow or sickness, Nana and her friends would gather what was required plus a little extra, taking turns to offer their time and provisions to clean, cook and care for neighbours. 

And this is what I have been pondering as I stitched the little houses, appliqued the double hearts, sewed on my machine and hand quilted with white thread.

Growing up I saw what it meant to keep yourself busy at home, to show respect for another's privacy, to take time and not rush your chores because the true satisfaction comes from a task well done, and to be ready with a full and kind and generous heart when someone had a need.

I did not see gossip, nor busybody intrusions, and I never saw my grandparents dishonour each other.

We were very poor with regards to finance but we were very rich in the things that mattered.

Sadly, I have not followed so closely the example of my Nana through my adult life, the ways of the world nudging its foot further into my life than it should have been allowed...but the older I am, the easier it is becoming to slip into her example and see the great wealth of joy and gentleness and peace and quiet a life can offer when we fully appreciate what is right beneath our roof and within our walls - and who resides there with us.

The pattern above is my gift to you and I am hopeful as you stitch and sew that God will infuse your thoughts and fill your heart with a gentleness that brings you tremendous peace and delight.

Instructions for how I put the mini quilt together is included with the pattern, but you may choose to make this very differently...maybe a simple nine-patch display using the house blocks alone, or perhaps the hearts. 

I'm working on a single block at the moment for a very small little hanger and have simply added 'a quiet life' underneath and chosen to applique the door and change the flower petals to lazy daisy stitch. The wording for this is also included in your pattern.

DOWNLOAD "A QUIET LIFE" PATTERN HERE

Next time I'm going to chat about other ways of embracing a simpler, quieter life.

If you have thoughts to share, please do. I thoroughly enjoy reading your comments as do the many thousands of visitors to my blog each day - and I say that to encourage you because often we think we do not have a voice or anything interesting to share. But we do, all of us.

Bless you ever so much!

hugs