Did you make a bookmark last month?
I wonder what yours looks like?
Today I'm sharing the little February design with you. It's bordered top and bottom with old lace and two different types of red fabric - one is regular quilting fabric and the other is a vintage woven linen.
I kept the bookmark in the regular rectangular shape this month, adding white seam binding ribbon for the tag.
I was asked how my bookmarks are sewn together and the best way to describe it is as a tiny quilt finished in the envelope style.
I fuse thin Parlan behind the bookmark cover once it's made, trimming to the size I want; then I simply lay another piece of fabric over the front of the bookmark (right sides together), carefully popping in the ribbon tag, and pinning around the four sides.
Sew around all four sides with a 1/4" seam, leaving a 3" opening along one long side. Pull the bookmark and ribbon right side out and press flat. Ladder stitch the opening closed and your bookmark is complete.
Have you thought about using the little Books & Roses stitcheries for a different type of project?
A friend of mine, Joanne in the Netherlands, is using the designs as the centre of 6" churn dash blocks and it looks lovely!
My friend Julie in NZ stitched the bonus 2022 bookmark I shared in late December, changing the year for the name of her friend Gail, who was the delighted recipient of this bookmark!
Be creative with the little Books & Roses stitcheries this year and you may find yourself with many pretty gifts to bless others.
To download the February bookmark design use the link below.
If you have missed the 2022 bonus bookmark or the January bookmark they are HERE
The other day I showed you my progress on a vintage inspired churn dash runner using an old cross-stitched linen as the centre of the blocks.
Now I can show you the completed runner, which I'm so happy with!
I did the quilting by hand with white Perle 12 thread, which really enhanced the overall vintage look of the long narrow runner. It was specifically made for the small white bookcase we use as extra pantry storage, and once in place I chose which items to display on top - because you know I'm working to make our dull kitchen a vibrant happy space this year.
White and green works so well with red, but I'm glad for the pop of blue in the runner because it livens things up.
The colours worked beautifully with my old kitchen clock and the "Vintage Kitchen" wall quilt I made a few years back (pattern is HERE).
Now I need to sew a curtain to cover the front of this small pantry shelving, but until I'm sure of the fabric design it will stay like this - after all, do it once and do it right.
Last night I also completed the first dishcloth from the cotton blend yarns purchased last week.
Next will be a blue cloth and then a green. The pattern is so easy and very relaxing to knit a bit after dinner each evening. I found this pattern through Julie and if you'd like to knit a few yourself it's HERE
In the kitchen I'm looking for new ways to use up all the fresh plums which are cheap and readily available at this time of the year. Usually I make the 'once a year cake' (because it's a very indulgent recipe!) and lots of jars of plum jam, but last night I decided to bake a plum crumble for dessert.
This is the recipe I used, though I added a teaspoon of vanilla paste to the fruit along with the sugar, and had more fruit than the recipe suggested as we prefer just a bit of crumble.
Served with custard it was delicious.
This year I'm re-reading The Simple Home month by month...
...and enjoying it again. Each time I read the book something fresh resonates with my homemaker heart.
The chapter for February is on finances, and even though we are very mindful about being debt free (apart from the mortgage which continues to shrink), there's ideas in Rhonda's book which I can work on.
I also love the Winston Churchill quote...
"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give."
If you've never visited Rhonda's blog or read her books, pop over HERE as there's much information for living a simpler life in the posts she has shared over many years.
Giving is just as important as making, receiving and saving.
Having a generous heart brings happiness, and when you have young ones to teach it's important that they learn more about giving than getting - after all, this world today has become far more self-focused and self-indulgent than when I was a child. Let's do what we can to foster a giving heart in our children and grandchildren.
It's time to get started on dinner now. Tonight we're having marinated salmon, Hasselback potatoes and a tossed salad...and this is definitely one of my favourite meals to make and enjoy.
What's cooking in your kitchen today?? I love to hear of new ideas.
Bless you heaps,
