This n that, a recipe and button bracelets...

 Hello dear ones, thanks for dropping by today. How are you doing?? Being a blogger it seems that I am regularly letting you know how I am doing, but I'd also like to know what you've been up to.  

The past few weeks, months really, there's been a lot happening within the family, things we choose not to share, things that in the big scheme of things are ours alone to manage, leaning heavily into the Father's arms as we wait on results, directions, provision and refreshment. As a family we all pull together, especially when the children or health are involved, and sometimes it's a mixture of both. So when I stop blogging for a bit, just know there's a family life to be lived, and loved, behind the screen. I think many of you would understand this (especially introverts like Blossom and I)...we process things quietly, pray and discuss between ourselves, always encouraging and being there for one another, always drawing on God's Word and His love to carry us through. There's no greater place to be than in His perfect care. 

My theme this month is TIME and that's exactly what God has made me aware of. Everything lately has needed time - time to sit quietly with Him, time for family, time for healing, time for rest, time for caring, time to consider the future, time to give thanks, time to sit in the sun and warm up, time to tend the garden.

At home, this is what I've been up to in the quieter days -

Baking biscuits. Cully May loves packets of Rich Tea biscuits, as do Blossom and I (they are especially perfect for dunking in a cup of tea!) so I found a recipe which was quite similar and made 54 of them - a huge saving on buying a pack, and everyone said they were delicious so these will need to be added to my regular baking schedule. 

The new sour dough bread recipe I mentioned recently didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped. The steps once kneaded were great and I will continue using them once the weather warms a bit (we have no heating in our home and the nights of late have dropped to an unusual 6 - 7C, around 45F). I had to use heated rice sacks sitting under the bowl to help things along, and eventually got a fairly nice loaf, though a bit dense from such a long rise. 

The other thing I realised about this recipe is that even though it asked for 170g of sour dought starter, not everyone has the same consistency of starter. I have mine quite thick (like peanut better) whereas others have theirs runny or somewhere in between. I used to have a fairly runny starter until I learned that a thick starter is actually stronger and sours the dough better. So I shall go back to my old recipe, mostly judged by eye and feel as I go along, but use this new recipe's technique for kneading and rising.

Last weekend my computer crashed and dear husband with all his tech know-how spent his only day off work that week re-installing everything and setting it up as good as new. How blessed I am that he can do that stuff.

While he was busy at the computer I decided to 'finally' baste my Virtuous Wife quilt (the free BOM I shared last year)....

I also made the binding, and found my spare rolling pin to be perfect for storing it...

It was my intention to start hand quilting this week just gone, but the weather has been so cold (for the tropics) that my fingers really hurt pushing the needle through the three layers, so I have put it aside until the weather gets back to our normal warm dry winter. 

Please note that I have kept this pattern free far longer than I'd intended, but it will be going in the shop soon. If you want to download any of the blocks, or the ones you may have missed, they are all HERE. I'll keep them free until July 31st. 

Whilst quilting through three layers was difficult, regular stitching was fine, and I did manage to complete the first block of PROMISES as there were only a few words left to embroider.

These are the fabrics I'll be using for the project. They are bits and pieces collected here and there over the years - not all are quilting fabrics, but they have been washed so should be fine one day when the finished quilt gets a wash...remembering that I am doing this as a slow project that may take a couple of years to design and share with you. If you missed the first block it's HERE

More sewing, but not the creative kind. My lovely cotton cardie has been getting a lot of use during this unusually cold spell and I caught the back on a nail out back, which left a hole that needed darning before it grew any larger. 

I haven't darned in a long time, but I have very fond memories of Nana darning Pop's thick woollen hand knitted socks. They were made with love and cared for with more of that same love, because he worked shifts on the wharf back in the day when they often climbed ropes to get on board, and the winter harbour nights in Newcastle (where we lived then) were icy. His socks, balaclava and gloves were all made by Nana. xx

Since hubby pruned a lot of the trees this winter, the birds are dropping by for a feed more regularly. Their feeder had become almost hidden between the Ixora, Bottle Brush and Maraya trees, but now it has a wide viewing area so the birds can feel safe. Our old cockatoo friend drops by every day, and his friends join him later.

A day with the girls...

On Thursday I had Cully May and Rafaella over for some crafting, baking, and a sumptuous morning tea. 

We began with a pot of hot chocolate, freshly baked scones, homemade lemon butter and the last of my homemade strawberry jam. We chatted about all the things that matter to a 6yo and an 'almost' 8yo before clearing the table and getting in to some crafting. 

Inspired by Annabel's sewing day with her own granddaughters, I thought it time to give mine some simple and fun ways to become familiar with using a sewing needle, thread and buttons. I have a lot of buttons, mostly vintage, but I also have a large jar of bright buttons the children have used to thread into necklaces.

Before they arrived I'd sewn together two long narrow strips of felt (on top of each other - a front and a back), one each for them, one for me to teach with, and another that they could use to make a gift for Blossom. We were making button bracelets! 

Felt is lovely and soft for children to begin sewing with, and there's no fraying. The girls slowly became comfortable with the needle and thread, and then began the process of sewing on the buttons, using the tying method to secure them. Cully May was excellent at sewing, and Rafaella made the best knots when tying the buttons in place.

I ended up using Green and Orange colours for my teaching model because they are Charlie David's favourite colours, and I knew he'd want one when he arrived with mummy later to pick up his sisters. He loves the character Blippy, from the same titled children's program, and he certainly did get excited about his Bippy bracelet when the girls gave it to him. The fourth bracelet was for Blossom and she was so chuffed to see all the girls had made. Everyone left wearing their handmade button bracelets, smiles all around.

After the bracelets were made we spent an hour in the kitchen baking tart cases, and once cooled we filled some with caramel, some with lemon butter and the rest with jam. Then the girls set the table for a late lunch as they knew Mummy and Charlie David were on their way, and I made pizzas from leftover garlic naan bread (delicious!). After we all polished off the pizzas, it was time to feast on tarts...I thought I'd have some leftover, but noooo. Ha ha!! 

Before I sign off, I was asked to share Nana's baked rice custard recipe...

3 eggs, room temperature / 750 ml whole milk / 4 tablespoons sugar / 1 teaspoon vanilla essence / 1/2 cup cooked medium grain white rice (it's not as good with long grain rice) / grated nutmeg or cinnamon

Mix together the eggs, milk and vanilla in a bowl. Add the sugar, stirring well to dissolve as much as possible. 

Grease a small baking dish or casserole dish with butter. I use an enamel dish usually, just like Nana did. Spread the rice across the base of the dish, then gently pour over the custard mix. Sprinkle nutmeg or cinnamon over the top of the custard (we only ever use nutmeg, but some people prefer cinnamon).

Make a water bath by pouring 1" of hot water into the base of a larger baking dish. Place the rice custard dish into the larger dish and place in a preheated oven at 160C (320F) for 40 minutes. Check after 30 minutes because not all ovens are the same - if there's no wobble, take it out. If there's only a slight wobble it's okay to remove it as well...but if there's a good wobble, give it ten more minutes. 

My husband loves this with jelly. Blossom eats it out of the baking dish. I eat it with tinned pears, or out of the baking dish. ;-)

Hopefully blogging will be back to a more regular routine next week, and hopefully our nights will be warmer. I bought my first doona in fifteen years today because the weight of blankets on the bed lately has not been comfortable. Hubby has some issues with his legs and feet, so a light doona will be wonderful for him tonight. 

God bless you so very much. I pray that if you're having a time of struggle, ill health, family concerns, loneliness, stretched finances, sorrow, or just in need of a good hug and a cuppa, that the Lord will provide what is needed in the way it is needed most, and through the care and concern of those who love you. But may we all keep our hearts open to recieve from a stranger, or an unexpected source, for God uses many different avenues to answer prayer or bring a blessing. And if like me, you prefer to be the giver, humble yourself to receive...He taught me a lesson about that recently. As long as we have breath, God has a lesson to teach us, to grow us, to guide us in the ways of Jesus. 

I also pray that we each ask the Lord how we can be of help to another, for being His children involves both being cared for, and being a carer; being a giver and being a receiver; being His hands of love and allowing others to love us through Him. 

Love you all, 

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Sewing now, sewing soon, new kits...

I think it's been ages since you saw the grandkids? Thousands of you have followed Blossom, and then her children, through this blog since 2008, and emails often arrive asking for updates and new pics. 

The Children...

Well, a couple of weeks ago Blossom and I were out with Charlie, who turned 2 in December, and we were shopping at Big W for some new shoes. I was taking photos of him trying on a few pairs and then texting them off to Ross, when I captured the cutest pic of our young lad and thought I must show you. My husband always wears a collared shirt when going out, even to the supermarket, something he learned whilst being raised by his grandparents. Our young Charlie wears a collared shirt too, and so did my Pop when leaving the house. Our handsome little man is proudly carrying on the tradition...

The two girls are both at school now, and loving it. Their teachers have nothing but praise for them, and marvel at how polite, kind, and respectful they are to the staff and other children. It's a wonderful reflection on Blossom and Ross, which makes me very proud of them and their little family. 

Cully May is 6 1/2 now, and Rafaella is about to turn 5. Gosh, I love these children! They are sunshine and happiness, love my cooking, and most importantly, they love Jesus. 

SEWING now...

Here's what I'm working on at the moment. It's a remake of a design which was included with one of my clubs in 2020. I had been given Tilda fabric to promote and it really wasn't one of my favourites, but I went ahead with an idea and loved it (the idea, not the fabric). Now, almost three years later I am remaking it with fabrics and colours which I really like, and the more I stitch, the happier it makes me.

The verse is a favourite with many of us, I'm sure, so once it's complete and I have re-written the pattern, I will have it available for those who are interested. 

The fabrics have been sitting on my shelf for years, and I think the red and green together are quite striking, so decided to keep the colour palette to those two, plus a brown to lift the whole effect.

I do a little each afternoon and sometimes in the evening, as there's no rush - but having said that, the further along it progresses, the more eager I am to complete it! 

Do you like the simple palette of red, green and brown??

SEWING soon...

In a few weeks I shall be starting a new project, one I have been excited to do for ages. It's one of Anni Downs older quilt patterns, Gossip in the Garden, and one of my friends will be sewing it as well, which makes the whole project even more fun.

For fabrics, I chose the lovely Blume and Grow prints by Natalie Bird. Buying fabric is pretty rare for me, but I decided to treat myself for this quilt, and think these will be perfect.

NEW kits...and a pattern too!

I've mentioned before that my aim the past few years was to use what I already had in my sewing room, and only buy when there was a need, or if I had a specific purpose and project in mind.

Last year as I pondered this decision more and more, I was able to spend time going through all my bits and pieces to see what could be donated, what could be re-purposed, what would Blossom be able to use, what do I still love and want to use, and lastly - what could I make up into kits.

I get messages a lot through my Etsy Shop asking if I sell kits, and if I was an actual fabric shop that would be an easy thing to do...but I am an embroidery designer selling digital patterns, and don't buy large quantities of fabrics and threads to sell. However, I have been known to purchase two or three metres of special fabrics which made my heart go pitter patter, every so often...though not these past few years.

Anyhow, I have decided to make up a few kits here and there every so often, when I have a little project/tutorial to share here on the blog, and my recent tutorial for the Sew Simply Sewing Pouch was so very popular that I decided to make the same pouch with a different stitchery cover and create some kits! You can see below how the same sewing pouch can feature a different stitchery cover...

"Made From The Heart" was stitched in one colour to blend with the fabric I chose, an old Tilda print from her Apple Butter range of prints in 2019. Inside the contrast lining is an even older Tilda print, from about 2014 I think...

The downloadable stitchery pattern for Made From The Heart is available HERE in my shop, and includes the sewing pouch tutorial.

But you may already have an orphan stitchery tucked away somewhere that you can use, and if so, HERE is the free tutorial to make the pouch which I shared on the blog last month.

Perhaps you'd like the complete kit to make one of these pouches? Well, guess what? I have them in my shop, a limited number, in this blue version, but also in a lovely red (also Tilda fabrics)...

And just for fun, I've included the stitchery printed on Sticky Fabri-Solvy because I know many of you use this. I prefer to trace my embroideries onto the fabric, but have used the Sticky Fabri-Solvy for embroidering on cardigans for my daughters and know that it's especially helpful for those new to embroidery, or who don't like tracing.

The kits have everything you need to make the sewing pouch, except a needle and a sewing machine. If you'd like to purchase one of these kits pop over HERE to my Etsy Shop.

Next week I'll have a pre-tutorial for the Little House Corner Stitch-a-long so you can prepare for the first embroidery pattern (all free!), plus I have a yummy recipe to share, and an update on our very sad late Australian summer garden.

Love to know what you're sewing right now, and if you have a big project ahead in your plans? 

Also, have you ever made something that you ended up not really liking, and wished you'd made it differently? Maybe you could plan to do that this year?? I can tell you from my own experience that it's very satisfying. 

God bless you and keep you safe in His wonderfully strong arms where you can rest any time of the night or day and be assured of His perfect love for you. 

hugs

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This week, a book study and a finish...

 This was a warmer week than we've had of late, perfect days of winter sunshine with temperatures that are what we experience in a 'normal' tropical winter - nights around 15c and days of 26c (60f - 79f).

I love the cooler months because it's easy to make sourdough. In our very hot and humid mid-spring to mid-autumn weather the yeasts in the sour dough starter simply die. So for now, I'm definitely enjoying a few months of real home-baked sour dough!

I usually make the sour dough loaves from white unbleached flour on the weekends when hubby is home...

...and gather fresh greens from the garden, make some quick pickled onions, boil some eggs, and bring it all together for a lovely open sandwich lunch eaten out in the garden.

On weekdays I grind my own grain for flour, and bake a regular loaf of bread with added flax seeds and sunflower kernels.

Since buying the grain mill a few months ago, I have noticed a big change in our digestive issues. No longer do we suffer from IBS, because our bodies are thriving on bread made from freshly ground whole grains. It's been such a game changer in our home and we praise God for discovering a better way to make bread.

It's definitely getting harder to source the whole wheat grains, but I have found a place that sells local grain from the Atherton Tablelands (about 3 hours north of us) and we're using that now.

On Tuesday I had Cully May and Rafaella for the day. The girls wanted to grow some flowers in their own back yard so we began our morning browsing the seedlings at Bunnings. They chose the Strawberry Blonde Marigolds and a ceramic pot each. They only have a small backyard in a rental home so all plants must be in pots.

The girls took turns filling their pots, then added the marigolds, and after I carried the heavy pots out into the sunshine they watered them (along with my own plants) ready to take home later that day.

They had also chosen a miniature rose and a green ceramic pot for mummy (Blossom) so I helped pot it for them as even though they wore garden gloves the little thorns made the girls hesitant to do it alone. 

My granddaughters LOVE fresh cucumbers, so I grow a lot of them! They chose one each to cut from the vine, to serve with lunch...

Lunchtime.

I had made pizza dough early in the morning after hubby left for work, so when lunchtime rolled around the girls were excited to roll out their own pizza bases and top them. 

Children add a lot of excitement to simple meal making, don't you think? If you ever get bored with cooking, invite a child or two to help. My girls have the best time creating on the kitchen benchtop.

Once baked, I chopped some cucumber and placed them beside the hot pizzas. Both girls devoured the cucumbers first, and then enjoyed the 'fruit of their labour' - the pizzas.

Our homeschool nature and cooking lessons for the day were done, and now it was time for language arts, with a touch of music. Blossom teaches this subject using a curriculum I had used with her and older brother during our own homeschooling years. 

The book for this lesson was Lentil, and what a wonderful book it was! The boy in the book is named Lentil and he has the worst singing voice, but his harmonica skills save the day during a huge welcome home parade for the town's leading citizen.

 I bought two harmonicas at the beginning of the year knowing at some point we'd be using this story as a launch pad for many lessons. The girls asked me to film them playing their harmonicas, so I did, and if you'd like to watch (and listen) for 15 seconds just click on the YouTube video below...

Our next lesson was arithmetic and we focused on addition using a floor puzzle I'd found at the op shop recently. To finish the day I went through some spelling with Cully May while Rafaella played nearby. 

This Nana was pretty tired after her wonderful day with the children so after packing up and dropping the girls back home with their flower pots and Blossom's rose, I sat and finished my second crochet blanket this winter (using the Cosy Stripe pattern from Attic 24)

I have since given it to Charlie, who loves it, and now all three of Blossom's children have their own crochet blankets from Nana. 

Naturally with a bit of winter still remaining I went hunting through the remainder of my yarn stash and began a new blanket, using the Sweet Pea pattern from Attic 24 (I had previously made this blanket for Rafaella)...

....but then decided I did not like the pattern as much as the Hydrangea pattern I'd used for Cully May's blanket earlier this winter. So I unravelled it, and started over to make another Hydrangea Stripe blanket (also by Attic 24).

The same colours will be used in this new blanket as in the one I unravelled, just in different order. I realised how much I liked beginning a blanket in green, and the Pistachio DK yarn is one of my favourite colours. The second colour is Boysenberry, another favourite. 

What have you done this week? 

When I asked you to share about your day a couple of weeks ago, you each inspired me so much! Those glimpses into your life, as I suppose the glimpses into mine, create for us a virtual kitchen table where we learn about each other. I sat with my cuppa and read all your comments, twice! I feel very privileged that you would take the time to share a peek into your life with me and those many thousands who read each blog post. 

In this Covid era, when many of us don't go out unless we need to, there's a chance that lonely days will come along every now and then. I know this because I have felt it myself at times (even though I'm an introvert who happily stays home), so for those of you who are naturally more social than I it must be very difficult to be bound to home day after day when you want to step out with friends. 

This is why I ask "how's your day?" I genuinely wonder how you are managing, what you're doing around home or in the garden, whether you're well or in need of prayer, what simple things are bringing you joy?

NEXT WEEK...

I shall begin the book study of Emilie Barnes "Simple Secrets to a Beautiful Home" next week, and hope you'll enjoy the journey. There's no need to buy the book (unless you want it) as I'll be focusing on the theme of each chapter and how it can inspire us today within our homes. 

I'll also have a free pattern to share with you, something which ties in to chapter one and which you can stitch as you ponder what we're studying. I pray it blesses you. 

May the Lord surround you with His presence in the days ahead and draw you hearts to all that is good, holy, kind, and joyful. 

bless you heaps,

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