The Hussif...and remembrance

 

I think of all my tutorials over the years, and there's been about eighty since 2009, that the 5-day, very detailed Hussif tutorial is the most popular. 

This five-part series of step by step tutorials ran over one week in 2015 and since then I have had hundreds of requests, especially this past year, to release the whole thing as a single pattern. Up until now I've only sold the embroideries featured in the Hussif, but earlier this week I brewed a large cup of Vanilla tea and sat down to do it.

Well, let's just say there ended up being a few large cups of tea, a lunch of avocado on toast with a side of grapes, more tea and some delicious ginger slice to sweeten my mind...and after many hours the 59-page pattern was complete. 

If you've not seen this Hussif before, let me show you inside...

...and perhaps tell you what a Hussif actually is?

Originally called a 'Housewife' (not the you or I kind of housewife)  it held various sewing notions. Today we know this as a sewing caddy or sewing companion - but in the Regency era of 1749 it was also known as a 'huswif' or 'hussive'. Eventually the name Hussif became the common term and is thought to have been a contraction of 'housewife' spoken in Lancaster shire dialect. 

Every household and every sailor had their own Hussif. Some were simply made from scrap fabric or linen, others were quite ornate with brocade, lace, and embroidery.

Hussifs were usually 18-24 inches long with a rounded end and a square end, and folded into three sections, and that's how I made mine.

The lace I used is over 100 years old as I wanted my Hussif to become an heirloom piece to pass along to Blossom, and then to one of her girls.

The newly compiled pattern comes with detailed instructions for every section, step by step photo tutorials, embroidery patterns and a second version of the Hussif made without embroideries. 

Here's the second version using a darker, more romantic style of fabrics. Certain sections were fussy cut, which means I carefully chose pretty sections of the fabric to feature where the embroideries did in my first version.

So now there's two options for making a Hussif of your own from my pattern.

Firstly, you can go HERE and start the 5-day tutorial by scrolling through the relevant blog posts from 2015. Please note that the embroideries are not included, and never were. They have always been a separate purchase.

Or you can go HERE to my Etsy Shop and purchase the complete pattern, everything included.

Last week I received a bundle of Tilda's new Gardenlife fabrics as a gift from the Australian supplier, 2 Green Zebras. They'll be available at quilt shops and online in May.

Now I'm working on an idea for a sew-along that you can join in with, shared here on the blog over a few weeks. Maybe a small Sampler quilt? Maybe something to tie in with Tea Week next month? There won't be any embroidery because I don't have time for that right now, but admittedly the thought of just patchwork or a bit of applique has set my heart a flutter. 

I wonder what you'd like me to do as a sew-along?

I shall sign off today with a grateful heart for our soldiers, serving and retired, who have carried the flag of our nation's armed services with courage and gallantry for well over a century. It's ANZAC Day today, a day when Australians and New Zealanders honour those who fought so bravely, yet unsuccessfully against the odds at Gallipoli in 1915. 

Many of you will have lost loved ones in war, even in friendly fire. I'm praying for you today...

Lest We Forget. 

Blessings

ANZACS recipe and the story behind it...

Last week when I shared photos of the yummy ANZAC biscuits I'd made for Mr E there was a flurry of emails asking for the recipe...

...so HERE it is. Simply download the pdf file and you can save to your computer or print it up and start baking today!

This is Mr E's most favourite  biscuit.

If you're not an Aussie or a Kiwi perhaps you don't know why these biscuits are called ANZACS?

Back in World War 1 concerned Australian mothers of soldiers fighting in trenches overseas came up with this recipe for its nutritional value and also its ability to not spoil during the very long months of transport between Australian shores and wherever their menfolk were fighting.

They chose staples of oats, sugar, coconut, plain flour, butter, golden syrup (or treacle), bi-carb soda and a touch of boiling water to create "Soldier's Biscuits". As eggs were scarce during the war the recipe does not use any.

After the landing at Gallipoli (read about that HERE) they were renamed ANZACS in memory of the Australian and New Zealand soldiers who fought and died there. 

The biscuits were transported in air tight tins, such as those used to store tea leaves, and groups such as the CWA (Country Women's Association) would gather to bake thousands ready for packaging and sending to our troops.

 

Today they are a beloved biscuit in our nation and you can usually purchase vintage/commemorative style tins full of them at the supermarkets in April as ANZAC Day draws near (April 25th).

I was out visiting 'Marci's Quilt Shop' yesterday for a look at Marci's new Tilda room (it's gorgeous), and on the way home I stopped at the Salvo's op-shop to see if I could find some useful treasures.

I'm still smiling over what I discovered...

Isn't this THE cutest elephant?!

Look at his ears...

As I handed my $2 coin over to the counter attendant a plan was forming to use this sweet guy as a thread holder for stitching projects. Those ear holes looked perfect for securing lengths of floss cut from different skeins.

But alas, that plan did not work out as the ears are thick and it's not easy to thread the floss through them after all.

Plan 2...

His official position has now been elevated to 'Guardian of the Earrings'...

Obviously he was made for greater things.

On the stitching front I've made a start on my secret project  for Mdm Samm's April blog hop using Cori Blunt's "Tea For Two" stitchery....

...but that's as much as you'll see between now and April!

Have a day filled with blessings,

hugs

Getting well, sneak peeks of lovely stitching, and my books...

We have turned a corner.

Yesterday was 'hump day' for our flu, and today we're genuinely feeling a 'whole' lot better and walking down Recovery Avenue!

I want to go running around and do all those household chores that have been neglected for more than a week, but Mr E is sensibly holding me back because regaining health and strength (and some sleep would be nice) is top priority at the moment.

So what is a girl to do? More stitching?

Here are a few peeks at new designs I've been working on...

I'm also playing a bit in the kitchen again.

Raw Bliss Balls for healthy sweetness and energy...

...and Chicken & Quinoa patties for dinner last night (even though I still can't taste or smell, Mr E said they were nice).

I also bought a book to read over the weekend, but couldn't put it down last night so it was read cover to cover before my head hit the pillow!

The Simple Life (Penguin Specials)

I love Rhonda's down to earth (and that's the name of her blog) approach to living a simpler life. It's commonsense and the kind of wisdom my Nana grew up with. Her books are incredibly easy to read because it's like sitting across the table sharing a pot of tea and fresh scones with your best friend and mentor.

I read her first book (Down To Earth) back in 2012, and then again in 2013, and I'm about to re-read it once more. Each time I go through the lessons and conversations I gain new insight into life, myself, and what really matters to me.

Down to Earth: A Guide to Simple Living

If you read my latest issue of Elefantz : The Magazine, you would know that one of my goals for getting back to the things that matter in life - the simpler things - is to read books once more.
I was once an avid book reader, and even when my youngest children were 15 and 16 year-old I always read to them from wonderful authors for at least an hour each day. Reading for pleasure and for education was a true delight. But then stitching, designing, blogging...it all kind of invaded my reading time - well, the 'book' reading time that is, as I still read my Bible each day and do Bible studies.

Making the choice this month to pick up a book and read for 30 minutes each day 'just for pleasure' has been invigorating to my soul - I had no idea how much I'd missed this routine!

I can see a theme coming through my choice of books, too. Can you?
When I got this flu last week the first book I grabbed as I collapsed on the bed was Jane Brocket's "Gentle Art of Domesticity". I *love* that book. Mine has the original cover from it's first release, so if you went looking for it and thought you had found the wrong book because it looked different to the one in THIS blog post, don't fret. It has a new cover, but it's the same marvellous book.

The Gentle Art of Domesticity: Stitching, Baking, Nature, Art and the Comforts of Home

(Australian and New Zealand readers, if you click on the links under the book covers you'll find where to purchase them locally)

It's ANZAC DAY in Australia and New Zealand today - this is the start of the 100 year anniversary of our combined troops landing on the Turkish beach of Gallipoli, where too many of them died.
You can find out about the 2014-18 Centenary Commemoration here.

Lest We Forget.

 hugs