Rose Tattoo - a free design...

Remember back in June when I embroidered a little posey onto my blue cardigan?

Well my daughter Aisha thought it was beautiful so I asked if she'd like me to stitch another for her and she said, "Oh Mum, would you?! I'd love an embroidered cardie of my own."

I bought a black cardigan because that's a useful colour for any woman to have in her wardrobe, and sketched a spray of roses to stitch as they are Aisha's favourite flower. 

Last time I'd trialed the Sulky product but this time I used the Legacy brand.

It was a little easier on my hands, not quite as much gummy resistance to push the needle through, and it washed away quicker as well. 

I still don't like either product though.

They are not kind to arthritic hands but they serve a good purpose for projects like this when you're embroidering onto dark clothing and cannot easily trace the design in place. 

The three large roses are chain stitch and the rest of the design is a mix of backstitch, blanket stitch and colonial knots.

(I made these leaves)

Simple red and green on black.

Very effective, and Aisha was thrilled with her mum-made cardie. 

It doesn't take long to stitch this up so I thought you might like to have the pattern.

Embroidered cardigans would make lovely Christmas gifts...or embroidered mittens, gloves or scarves?

Blossom would like a grey embroidered cardie so at the moment I'm thinking of designs that would suit her.

A little stitchery certainly adds something special to a cardigan, don't you think?

You can download my free "Rose Tattoo" pattern HERE.

Hubby and I had a fairly relaxed weekend. Did you?

On Saturday morning we visited Blossom, Ross and Cully May, before returning home to finish our work - Mr E assessing his student's final end of year projects and me writing patterns for the next issue of The Stitchery Club.

As sunset drew closer my beloved asked if I'd like to go out for dinner and you know I said yes, right?! He took me to our favourite Thai restaurant and afterwards we drove along the water's edge with the cool evening breeze blowing around us. It was incredibly relaxing, so much so that we were in bed asleep by 9 pm. 

On Sunday morning we headed north to visit my dear friend Rosie who is recovering from a double knee replacement.  I baked blueberry muffins and took them along...

In spite of her pain and discomfort we laughed and laughed. 

Mr E and Rosie's son had us in stitches (they are both cheeky fellas!) and it was so good to see Rosie being just as cheeky back to them. She keeps us all on our toes!

You know, I've been fighting depression for a few weeks and it got so bad last week that I almost deleted my blog...but I have learned over time that I must not do anything extreme when depression has a hold of me, that I must be patient and wait until it lifts to make any big decisions or changes. 

Seeing Rosie yesterday was a tonic for me, as was a long phone call the other day with Fee. 

Having good friends (and I only have a few) who know you well and love you through the good times and the bad, can be the difference between sinking deeper into depression or reaching for the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm blessed to have these two women in my life and I hope I am a blessing to them as well.

If you're feeling like I was reach out to someone who knows you, a friend or family member who can come alongside and cheer you. It's not always as easy as that, I know, but being reminded that life has so many good moments that you can both laugh about and reminisce over is a tonic not to be overlooked. 

Don't forget to be that friend to others as well. 

Something I've just realised is that when the dark end of life takes hold of me I stop eating healthy, snacking on sweets and ice cream instead. I know that having good nutrition is very important to mental health so it surprised me to acknowledge I'd blindly forgotten all about this and done the complete opposite for three whole weeks.

Today I put aside the sweeties and chose to get back to the delicious natural foods which nourish my body and my mind.

I started by making 2 litres of fresh veggie juice and then prepared some roast vegetables to use in lunchtime salads through the week. 

I cut pumpkin and sweet potato into small pieces, then tossed them in coconut oil and salt before roasting them on trays until they were soft inside and slightly golden on the outside.

Sometimes I blend the roast pumpkin with chicken stock, roasted garlic and a little curry paste and heat it up in a saucepan for a spicy pumpkin soup lunch.  SO delicious!

I don't waste the pumpkin seeds either.

Removed from the pulp I toss them in coconut oil, salt and Cajun spice before roasting until they are golden and crisp.

Seriously, these are better than every other snack food I've tried.

In fact, these disappeared in 5 minutes.

Fortunately Mr E doesn't like pumpkin so I never have to share.  

It feels much better knowing I'm doing something positive for my health again.

Later in the week I have some great Christmas planning and Christmas gift ideas to share with you, but for now I have to trace pattern sheets and check them for accuracy before putting Friday's new issue of The Stitchery Club to bed.

Memberships for this issue close on the 16th so if you'd like to join just head over HERE.

Have a blessed week, and be sure to stop and enjoy the view.

Life is too short not to smell the roses.

hugs

Familiar comforts...

Many years ago a dear friend introduced me to the most wonderful book.

We were house sitting for her family so I had a week to immerse myself within those pages and the seed planted in the soil of my creative heart back then has never stopped growing and bearing fruit. 

The book was Jane Brocket's "The Gentle Art of Domesticity" and though it didn't expound on the virtues of living a domestic life (something I added to my life and blog in 2013) it does embrace the domestic 'arts' of baking, painting, reading, knitting, crochet, quilting, embroidery and other such pursuits. I quickly bought a copy for myself and over the next few years gifted more copies to some dear homemaker friends whom I thought would also find it inspiring.   

This past week has been personally challenging for me in a number of areas and I felt the need to take moments of rest and refreshment for an hour or two each day, time to separate myself from the many 'must dos' that never seem to disappear, and the 'need tos' that keep tapping on my diary door. 

So each afternoon with a cup of tea by my side, I settled down to re-read "The Gentle Art of Domesticity"...

Tea and this book are a marriage of serene bliss during times of weariness.

I find myself copying some of Mrs Brocket's quotes, the ones that lift my soul, onto paper and slipping them inside my journal for further contemplation another day, especially the ones which I could have spoken myself, so personally true they are to my life and experiences.

My bible in the morning and this book each afternoon...they've carried me through the week, gently nourishing my fragile heart and filling my thoughts with joy and hope and inspiration for each new day ahead. 

I love her conversational wit in describing the simplest things - like icing a cake, filling a vase with flowers, or spreading fabric across the floor to plan a quilt.  She makes me laugh quite a bit, but then I'll be captured in a thought and sit gazing out the window for ten minutes allowing my mind to travel where it wants, personal inspirations revealing themselves as I do.

The book could be called a springboard I suppose...because it has a tendency to be a starting point from where I launch my thoughts and let them fly free to land where they may, often times creating a new approach to my domestic endeavours. 

I wonder if we all have a book like this, one we gather close when something comforting, familiar and cheerful is required? A book we can get wonderfully lost in, which has the ability to bring a smile to our cheeks, reassure us that all is well, and give us inspiration to try something new or practice things we'd like to improve in. 

Do you have a special book like that?

I'd love to know what it is. 

Something else I've found relaxing this week has been the making of those coasters and finishing a design from last year as a cover for my sewing cushion.

I like all my designs but there's a few which I like more than others so after they've been stitched I store them in a special box where they wait to be made into a project when the time is right. 

 "The Flower Thieves" is one such stitchery.

I use cushions to rest my hands on as I embroider (I don't use a hoop) and one is rectangular and one is square. I have two covers for the rectangular cushion but only one for the square so it's been on my to-do list to make another for quite a while. 

The stitchery block was trimmed and simple borders added before the addition of some hand quilting around the applique sections and machine quilting in the green border. 

The back has a zipper closure and I finished the cushion with quilt binding around the outside edges.

I love how this cushion turned out, but I think it's just too pretty to be hiding under my hands as I stitch.

Perhaps I'll pop it on our bed.

And make a different cover for my sewing cushion. 

Creating. 

Some things don't turn out the way you expect and other things turn out better than you'd hoped. 

I think that's rather lovely as it keeps us creating, and creating is a gift we should cherish and use.

I pray you have a lovely weekend, that you find a book to inspire your dreams and a project that's in need of your wonderfully creative touch.

(and a relaxing cuppa while you're at it)

hugs

Moving right along...

After almost four years in this house (the longest we have ever lived in the same abode) we are on the move...

The Lord blessed us with an 'easy' choice on our first day house-hunting for a new rental, but first we needed to go through the application process with the estate agent.

That too was trouble free.

(thank you to those who prayed xxx)

Within a matter of days we had walked through the home, assessed it's suitability for our needs, filled in a lot of paperwork, been accepted as tenants by the owner, and signed the lease.

It will be a couple of weeks before we move all our belongings over as Mr E needs to finish the school term before we pack up this house, pattern writing for the next Stitchery Club issue must be completed and there's also the issue of pacing myself each day as fatigue and increased migraines are already my constant companion.

But we're very happy, very excited, at the prospect of moving into a lovely low-set home with plenty of shade, a large kitchen, room for Elefantz and a study for my beloved husband. There will even be a spare bedroom for visiting daughters and their littlies to stay. 

Because I love to christen a new home with something special for the kitchen, over the weekend I traced two of my free patterns (available here in my shop) onto flour sack kitchen towels and added pretty fabric trim across the bottom before beginning the embroidery.

The designs are quite simple and can be made up in an afternoon...

My thread colours were chosen to blend with the pretty Tilda 'Cottage' prints which trim the ends of the kitchen towels...

These fabrics will be in quilt stores early October but I was blessed to have received them early as they proved perfect for edging the cream flour sack fabric...

I intend preparing a few more to keep my hands busy in the evenings during our pack & move week.

Might even use some of THESE stitcheries as they'd be just right for my new kitchen and I've always wanted to stitch them in colours anyhow.

I'm glad our plants are all in pots on the back deck as we can transfer them from here to the new house without a problem. 

My schlumbergera cacti are in full bloom now...

...and the hydrangea has flourished with the onset of spring.

Mr E's azalea, which produced multiple flowers all through winter, is still blooming profusely.

His Granny had a large azalea this colour right beside her front door so I always think of her when a new flower opens.

It might not be quite so easy for the cherry tomatoes to move from here to the next house though as the vine runs through the wire railing and hangs down below the deck.

Hopefully I can harvest some fruit before we make that decision.

One thing I will be extremely grateful for when moving our pots of herbs 'out of here' is leaving that darn grasshopper and his relatives behind.

They particularly love my parsley and this last plant was not spared even though I've been monitoring it carefully the past few weeks...

...but fortunately they don't like oregano so three pots of that herb are thriving.

What have you been making over the weekend?

Any tips for transporting potted plants when moving?

hugs

Lemon tree quite delicious...

I've had a few run ins with infection and migraine the past week so I've kept my distance from the computer as much as is possible, though we've still needed to go out house-hunting.

On Monday we submitted an application for one rental home near the beach which as Mr E says, "ticks all the boxes", and are currently awaiting a response. If that fails we have another home (on the beach) to inspect on Thursday. 

During our travels far and wide to look at prospective homes I noticed many lemon, lime and orange trees full of fruit and as is always the case when I see luscious round balls of citrus and smell their fragrance on the breeze, my thoughts turn to the kitchen and what I can make or bake with one or all citrus fruits.

My head was feeling much improved Tuesday morning so after brewing a large pot of tea I browsed through a few older style cookbooks and found a "just right" new-to-me recipe.

Usually I tweak a few ingredients and steps in recipes and this one was no different, but not because I was being extra creative. In fact, my kitchen now works on the 3 - 1 principle. 

For three weeks I will do one normal grocery shop every Wednesday, but in the fourth week I 'shop from the pantry' using up what we have already in the fridge, freezer and pantry supplies. I still need to top up with extra fresh fruit and veg, but everything else I can make or use what's on hand. 

Things like bread and almond milk are easy to make and as long as I have the basic ingredients always in stock we never run out.

When tweaking this new recipe I replaced tinned passionfruit with the fresh ones I had leftover from last week, and used more lemon because I had plenty on hand and love to add extra tartness where I can.

I don't think I shared a "Living the Gentle Domestic Life" recipe during August but as it was a month of intentional slowing and planning for the future everything non-essential was laid aside, but when Mr E and I tasted this Passionfruit and Lemon Slice it immediately became a priority to share with you!

We taste tested by cutting one piece into tiny squares and there was much "mmmmmm..." and "yummmm" heard around the kitchen as each little bit was savoured.

I've even drawn up a little lemon tree for you to trace and stitch while you bake your own Passionfruit & Lemon Slice. It's on the last page of the recipe sheets (both versions, full page and half page)...

...which you can download for free HERE in my shop.

Over the next few days I'll add all the previous "Living the Gentle Domestic Life" recipes/stitcheries into my shop as well.

Besides house-hunting and baking I've also been working on a new mini-quilt design using the next Tilda range of fabrics, Cottage, which will be in stores October 1st.

I began by piecing some tiny cotton spool blocks for top and bottom borders and then started on the sewing machine which will be the centre section of this mini quilt...

After the applique and embroidery was complete my mind wandered to hexies...

...which will create a side border for the machine block (I think).

I will have a play with that idea later today after Blossom and Cully May have come to visit for afternoon tea. Bloss is eager to try the Passionfruit and Lemon Slice, but she's also excited to open a parcel of pretty fabrics and lace sent to her by my dear friend Susan in the US. 

I'll leave you today with this inspiring story which lifted my heart when Blossom shared it with me.

It also caused a few tears to fall and made me realise a few home truths. It only runs for 5 minutes so I do hope you'll watch...

Never doubt your ability to bring joy to others.

God can always use a willing pair of hands, a heart that cares, and gifts you may not realise you have.

hugs

New season, new seeds, new project...

When we drive around to visit garage sales at the weekend I always look for picture frames, just in case I find a few that will be perfect for framing my stitcheries.

Recently I found a white shabby chic styled triple frame at one garage sale, and the following week a very similar single frame at another sale.

That's when I decided it was time to sketch some seed packets, a set of designs I've been planning for years but never actually put down on paper. Until now that is. 

For the triple frame seed pack stitcheries I've added a vintage white button at the base...

The single frame features the "Best Bird Seeds" design and a yellow vintage button...

They have an air of beauty and calm in these frames, exactly the kind of display I love to see inside a home.

It's the second day of spring in Australia and in most areas new life will be breaking forth from the soil with the promise of pretty blooms to come.

We can't grow many 'usual' flowers in the tropics during summer, but they are beautiful through winter and spring.

However, I think these frames seed packets will add the perfect floral essence to our home all year through...and I do love flowers so very much.

These designs will be in the next issue of The Stitchery Club.

If you'd like to receive them just hop over HERE and find out how.

I also have a lovely 'welcome' gift pattern for new members who join by September 16th...

The September issue also includes two more new patterns, also nature inspired.

I have a rather old but good gardening reference book, another garage sale find, which I'm going to re-cover with "The Garden" block (above) featured on the front and I might do a quick tutorial for you. Is that something you'd be interested in?

The book is an ugly green hardcover at the moment so I think it needs a bright and cheery cloth cover to make it more enticing to pull off the shelf and read. Perhaps with a few lace bookmarks?

Anyhow let me know what you think about this.

Mr E and I have been out house hunting, not to buy yet, but a new rental.

It's time to live on one level and forgo so many stairs. We'd also like trees, plenty of shade, a double garage instead of a carport and access to a beach close by where we can take evening strolls by the water.

One home caught our eye this morning and we have an appointment to see through it next week.

We'd love your prayers for wisdom about this.

((thank you))

Mr E is putting the Jeep's transmission back together this weekend as he's finally received all the parts from across the globe. More prayers please? That this goes smoothly and after ten weeks with no Jeep he shall see the fruit of all his labour and have it back on the road very soon. 

((again, thank you))

My weekend? I shall head in to the kitchen to make bread, meatballs and chocolate brownies before playing with a few quilt block patterns. I downloaded the free app from Missouri Star Quilt Co and am all excited to make a few of Jenny Doan's tutorial patterns!

If you haven't seen this free app you'll find it here on iTunes or here for Android.

You can also watch them here on the website.

My eye is on the Sweet Petunias block/quilt...

It looks easy, and I love easy.  LOL!! 

Hope your weekend has some fun things waiting to happen too.

hugs