A sneak peek and keeping things simple...

It's less than a week until I share the next free design in this year's BOM "The Love of Home" so I thought today you may like a little peek at my progress so far?

My colours were inspired by some sweet "Bunnies & Cream" fabrics purchased earlier this year and I'm thinking of using more to feature this design as a project to hang in my home.

But how? I'm pondering that...

Another new project has already been completed and sits outside on the back deck in my old wicker chair where I have a late afternoon cuppa before preparing dinner. 

The stitchery I've used as the centre of this simple strip bordered pillow was in the April 2016 issue of The Stitchery Club (just in case you're a Club member and want to find the pattern) ...

(the stitchery pattern is also here in my shop)

I'd recently designed a mini quilt using the new Tilda Harvest fabrics which you'll see here on the blog this coming Friday during the Tilda Australia blog hop, and when it was finished I still had a few leftover fabrics to play. 

The colours were a perfect compliment to my stitchery...

...so over the weekend I pieced and hand quilted the cushion front, and on Monday I completed the back with a simple button closure.

I think mismatched buttons are beautiful, don't you?

I'm really enjoying digging through my rather large box of stitcheries and giving purpose to one every week or so. This new cushion certainly adds colour and life to my old wicker chair, as well as providing a comfy back rest when I sit down with tea and cake amidst the palm trees and birds.

The nicest thing is that I didn't complicate the final design, but kept it simple and do-able. Makes me think that life itself flows easier when it's simplified.

Food for thought, eh?

And speaking of food,  I certainly did a good deal of baking yesterday!

It's seems to have become a pattern each week that Tuesday is baking day and I manage to do enough to bless us for the week, as well as give to Blossom and her little family.

My little kitchen bench certainly tells a tale of activity...

First off I made Matrimony Slice, then a Lemon Drizzle Cake, Blackberry Swirls and a Savoury Pie which we had with salad for dinner last night...

One after the other they made their way into the oven. 

And one after the other baked beautifully.

Are you downloading my weekly "Living The Domestic Life" recipes with simple bonus stitcheries?

I decided to go back through all the recipes which have been shared here on the blog the last 8 or 9 years and re-make them one by one as I do tend to tweak things over time and the recipe might be a little different now.

This week you can download the recipe for Blackberry Swirls.

It's a favourite in our family and one which my daughter Aisha taught her own daughter to make, Now 16 yo granddaughter Ebony carries on the tradition. Isn't that lovely?

It's very quick, with just a few simple steps and only a handful of ingredients...

Mr E loves his served with lashings of creamy custard, but I like mine with thick cream or ice cream...

The recipe and accompanying stitchery pattern can be download here from my shop.

Blossom and Cully May are coming for afternoon tea today so I'd best be away and set the table.

Think we'll have some lemon drizzle cake with strawberries on the side, and squares of matrimony slice with a nice big pot of Earl Grey.

We may even sit out on the deck in the cool breeze...yes, that's what we'll do.

May your day be sweet with many blessings too,

hugs

The new BOM...

...is almost ready to start.

I've been taking photos and putting the pattern for Block 1 together today, so I might just show you a sneak peek or two??

The monthly patterns will begin on February 1st and will be free all year.

They don't make a quilt and they don't 'go together', but will be individual blocks or projects you can use any way you like.

Some months there'll be a pattern with the block to make a finished item, other months it will be a stitchery you can display in a frame, on a cushion, or in some way that suits your home.

But each month's design will celebrate a love for HOME. 

I've set myself a challenge with this BOM to use only fabrics I already own and decided the bundle of "Bumblebee" by Tilda that I received before Christmas from Fiona at Tilda Australia would be perfect. I'll add in bits and pieces from my older Tilda stash and use hanky linen (a 55% cotton 45% linen blend found in most Australian quilt shops) for the stitchery or applique backgrounds.

These fabrics are delicious, aren't they?!

I'll list the thread colours I've chosen to blend with these fabrics in the pattern for Block 1.

They are DMC stranded cottons because they seem to be the easiest for everyone to source...

So, will you be joining with me to make 10 lovely projects for "The Love of Home" this year?

If you'd like to share photos of your work as you sew along come and join our Gentle Domesticity Facebook group. 

This group began last year when I shared the "Gentle Domesticity BOM" but it's become such a delight that we've kept it going and the membership continues to grow daily!

Join the group here.

It's Thursday and in the Gentle Domesticity group as well as here on the blog it's our day for the weekly chat question!

Today I'd like to ask you what it is about visiting someone's home that makes you feel welcome, comfortable and at ease?

I've been in homes where the hostess is quite cool and everything is so 'sterile' that I find myself being careful not to make a wrinkle in the tablecloth or leave the smudge of a footprint on their floor. The experience can leave me exhausted because I'm never relaxed or fully enjoying the visit, my mind constantly on whether I've stained something belonging to the hostess.

On the other hand, I've been in homes equally as clean and tidy but the hostess has created such a welcoming atmosphere by her own nature that the entire visit is one of delight and calm.

So I thought perhaps we could put our heads together and share what it is about visiting someone's home that makes us feel welcome and at ease, or uncomfortable and wishing we could get out of there as quickly as possible?

You can join in the chat over in our Gentle Domesticity group, or share your thoughts in the comments below. 

I suppose my answer should be given too?

I think there's two ways of approaching a welcome home. 

If it's a friend you know well you're naturally more comfortable with them, as they are with you, so visits to each other's homes can take on simpler planning. For example, when Rosie and I first began visiting each other for stitching days quite a bit of effort was put into the lunch we'd prepare (seriously, it was like restaurant food a lot of the time, delish!) and on my part I always felt the need to push myself in that area the next time she came to my place.

But years pass and you realise you just love spending time together and the things that used to matter don't anymore. Now we focus on the delight of sewing together, catching up on family news, and looking over what we've each made since our last visit. 

Lunch is usually a sandwich, and we're fine about having a bought cake for morning tea if we've been too busy for baking...the welcoming atmosphere comes from knowing my friend cares about "me" and not my home.

Naturally we clean and tidy before a visit, but not to show off in a prideful way, rather to do what we domestic homemakers naturally  do...keep our house pleasing to those who live within and welcoming to those who visit from without.

But what if it's someone new? A person who has never visited before? How do you ensure you and your home will be welcoming and comfortable to them?

There's no perfect answer here, but I think it's best to be who you are every day, greet them the way you will greet them in six months or two years down the track. Be today who you are everyday, then there are no surprises or disappointments ahead. 

Last week I babysat Cully May for a few hours and after a long play she fell fast asleep on the living room floor...

She's been quite fractious the past week and Blossom has barely slept, but this morning the issue was resolved when Bloss discovered Cully May's first tooth had broken through.

She seems to do everything early! 

Not yet 6 months and she has been sitting up by herself for a month and now a tooth. She started swimming classes for 6 month olds but they had to put her in the 1 year old class because she can already do what they learn in the younger class.

I think Blossom and her DB will always be on their toes with this little girl.

It's Australia Day here and Mr E is home for the day, so we're relaxing and later we'll cook lamb for dinner as is our Aussie tradition.

I hope your day is wonderful too!

Gentle Domesticity BOM - the final block...

One of the greatest personal lessons I have taken on board this year has been to listen more and talk less.

I guess it kind of runs contrary to this social media driven society we find ourselves enmeshed in these days, and that's why it's more important than ever before that we switch off our mouth and turn the dial down on our over active thoughts and 'listen' to what those around us are actually saying.

I remember when I was 21 with a three year old and a new baby and had moved to the other side of the country, far away from my beloved Nana and Pop. We would write letters back and forth each week or so and Nana would question me about what she was 'reading between the lines'. 

She knew my personality very well from the many years of conversations and shared stories as I grew up and that gave her genuine insight into what was truth and what was not when it came to our written correspondence. 

I found it impossible to hide my troubled life behind a 'happy' letter when it was being sent to someone who had given of her time to listen, given attention to look into my eyes as I spoke, invested of herself to care for me, about me, and to love me unconditionally even when it was inconvenient, exhausting and financially beyond her ability.

So making time to listen to my own loved ones is becoming more important than it has before, because I want to be like Nana, I want to be able to 'read between the lines' the way she did and I can only do that if I take time to listen, look into their eyes, and truly know the person I'm spending time with. 

This year of twelve Gentle Domesticity designs has been dedicated to my Nana and the lessons I've learned from her, lessons I'm still learning. 

When I was young I didn't appreciate the wealth of womanhood I'd been gifted with by her example, but now I do, and I hope I remember more things even though I'm getting older and my memory is fading. Writing them down in this blog and making designs that honour some of those lessons help me focus on the good things from the past I can carry into tomorrow.

Nana's life makes me think of kindness, courtesy, making do, laughter, cleanliness, simple delicious meals, washing flapping in the breeze, gingham, aprons, making jam and pickles, jam tarts baked on saucers, Sunday night scones with pots of tea, flowers growing at the front door, polished taps, the radio, cooked breakfasts, scraps given to the dog, darned socks, starched tablecloths, shelling peas on the back step after school, the best and cuddliest hugs in the whole wide world. 

But mostly, her life always makes me think of love.

I hope you've enjoyed this year of Gentle Domesticity too. 

Thanks for joining me on this very special journey.

Download Block 12 here.

Want a peek at my 2017 BOM?

Next year I've decided to keep the home fires burning with another domestic based BOM to share with you. It will begin on February 1st and is called "The Love of Home".

Here's a peek at block 1...

Have a wonderful week everyone!

hugs