Last post, BOM blocks and an extra pattern...

 

As promised in my previous post, today I'm sharing the final two blocks in this year's free BOM, Joy in the Ordinary. 

The Sewing Machine - Block 11...now where would the world be without equipment to sew?? Dresses, curtains, bedding, repairs, baby wear, furnishings...it's a true 'maidservant' in our homes and I'm so very grateful to have a good solid machine to help me create and mend in this wonderfully ordinary life. 

Baking Essentials - Block 12...when I was a child watching Nana 'whip things up' in her tiny kitchen, it was like magic. How she could take a few plain ingredients and bring them together in a marriage of flavour and lightness never ceased to amaze my little girl mind, and I knew that when I grew up I wanted to be just like her. 

So I chose flour and sugar for the final block in this Joy in the Ordinary project in honour of Nana and the JOY she gave me watching her at work in her little home. We never know what little eyes are watching us as we go about our daily chores, but it is important to remember that if they see us grumbling and annoyed about cooking, cleaning, tidying, and serving our families, they will never want to do it when they grow up for it will be to them a burden that makes mummies (or Nanas) grumpy. 

Nana showed me there was JOY in caring for Pop and I, and her little home, so I grew up knowing this was the life I wanted one day too. And God blessed me. 

Use the links below to download the free patterns -

DOWNLOAD Block 11 

DOWNLOAD Block 12

Another free pattern I would like to bless you with before I take my extended leave from blogging for this year, is another Scripture design from the Promises series I began in early July. 

Like the first pattern in this series, I chose another Scripture about God being our light in the darkness. So many of us see the world through an ever darkening lens, and it can sometimes be a trigger to fearfulness and anxiety about what's going to happen in the months and years ahead. 

But God will always shine His Light to dispel those emotions, if we just trust in Him, look to Jesus - the true Light which came in to the world - and rest in His promises. 

As I said in my previous post, I do not know whether I'll continue blogging in 2025..and from today I am taking an extended blogging break for possibly a few months, or even till the end of the year, when I will have an answer for you all. So there will be at least one more blog post later in the year to share what direction the Lord is taking me in...and I am prepared for that to mean the end of the blog, if it be His will. The thing is, until I walk away for a good while, I will not know for sure. 

Use the link below to download the second free Promises pattern - 

DOWNLOAD Promises 18:28 free pattern

(the first pattern is HERE)

In regard to answering the questions which have come through in emails or comments, I have emailed many of them this week with my responses, but there's a few which I was unable to answer that way so here they are...

Q: How do you make the closure on the button bracelets? 

A: As the bracelets are made from felt, I only needed to cut a buttonhole through the felt as felt does not fray.

Q: What Bible do you read? 

A: I read a number of translations, though I do not read paraphrase Bibles. Mostly I read the ESV, NKJV, CSB and the CJB. 

Q: How do you study the Bible?

A: I read it. Every day, slowly, with a concordance to learn the exact meaning of the words. I also read the Bible in context, so I ignore chapters, but read through in the way it was written originally (with no chapter or verse or headings) to discover the full meaning of a passage/message, which can sometimes run for many chapters without a break. 

My husband and I also use the Complete Jewish Study Bible, and the Jewish New Testament Commentary, both which are compiled by Messianic Jewish scholars to teach in depth the meanings behind many of the events in the Bible, especially the New Testament and the teachings and miracles of Jesus as understood by His first century Jewish audience. 

For example - after the feeding of the five thousand the disciples gathered up twelve baskets of bread scraps. Over the years I have heard numerous sermons and teachings on this event, each one spiritualised in one way or another, but the simple purpose for that gathering up is that according to Jewish law in Jesus day, the destructions of food was prohibited. In feeding the 5000, our Messiah honours the edicts of Judaism by stating, "Gather the leftover pieces so that nothing is wasted." 

These are wonderful tools for really opening up the New and Old Testaments. Here's an interesting observation about the woman with an issue of blood...

Q: Am I still using spelt flour for my sour dough? 

A: Not at the moment. Spelt grain is four times the cost of local wheat grain. 

Q: Is your sour dough starter made from Spelt?

A: Not anymore. Just regular milled wheat flour.

So my friends, this is a good bye for a while. Let me pray for you...

Dear Heavenly Father, 

Thank you for every kind and caring heart which has been revealed to me through this blog over the past fifteen years. Thank You for bringing us together, from far and wide across the globe, to share our lives, our crafts, our recipes, our ups and downs, our prayer needs, and most especially our love for YOU.

Lord, in my absence, may you grow each dear woman here, and myself, closer and closer to the truth in Your Word, and to your Son. 

May we shed all those things that hold us back from walking in the bright Light of Your ways, and fill our hearts to overflowing with HOPE, gratitude, repentance, kindness, self-control, courage and selfless love. 

May we have Your purpose for our lives revealed each new morn, that we may know just how unique and lovingly created we are by Your design, no matter how many years have passed behind us. 

Use us to Your glory, Lord, and keep our minds fixed on the promise of Christ's return so that we do not become foolish and let our lamps go out. 

May every heart here know that YOU are God, the God who saves, the God who cares, and the God who sent His precious Son to die for us. 

To Him be all Glory and Honour and Praise forever more...

Amen 

From my heart to yours...

your friend, and sister-in-Christ,

EARLY - blocks 9 and 10 Joy in the Ordinary BOM...

 

Yes, these blocks are very early, but for a good reason. After much prayer, I have decided to take a break from blogging beginning September 1st. Not sure how long yet, but time is needed to wait on the Lord, and prayerfully consider whether to continue the blog in 2025, or to gently close the door instead. After 16 years, I do believe that a blogging break will do me good, regardless of the final outcome. xx

As many of you are working on my free Joy in the Ordinary BOM this year, and as I'm not sure whether it will be a one, two or three months blog break I'll have before sharing my decision moving forward next year, I shall share with you Blocks 9 and 10 today, and then Blocks 11 and 12 in a few days time. 

Block 9 - The Coathangers...such normal, ordinary things to be found in our homes. How reliable they are, and how very needful too - yet they are so ordinary that I rarely give them a thought other than to hang, or remove, items of clothing. I think it may be that way with the people in our lives sometimes - we're so used to them being around that we may forget to stop and take notice as to how they're faring right now, or to encourage them by sharing what we appreciate about their character, and perhaps how they inspire us. A seemingly small thing like this can lift a precious heart from the valley, and fill it with kindness, care and love. Who do you know that needs to be checked on, or may need a boost of loving care?

Block 10 - Reading...this year I have begun to read more from an actual book, and not much from the internet. Our local library has become a regular place to visit and as I browse through subjects which interest me (a mix of herbal medicines, Mediterannean cooking, gardening, healthy living) there's a delightful joy in coming home to brew a cup of herb tea and sit quietly turning the pages of a real book, discovering new things, whilst carefully sifting out what is uneccesary. Learning this way is gentle, and slow, and quite enjoyable. If I find a book that would be valubale to my studies in various areas, I try to find a second hand copy, and if that fails, only then do I purchase a new one. 

My book shelves have slimmed down over the past year, as I have donated and sold many of my sewing/craft books, but now they are slowly being refilled with books on topics which my husband and I find welcome in this season of life. After all, why hold on to what is no longer of interest or required? Having less these days is proving to be 'more' because what we have, is what we will read or reference from. 

One shelf which never slims though, is our collection of Bibles, as we enjoy comparing versions next to our Concordance, and the Jewish commentary we have on the culture and traditions at the time Jesus walked through Israel. It's incredibly eye-opening to understand so much of what He spoke and did through the lens of who He was minstering to (Jews), and how they would have known exactly what He meant. 

Use the links below to download the free blocks 9 and 10

DOWNLOAD the free pattern for Block 9

DOWNLOAD the free pattern for Block 10

I will be back on Tuesday with another blog post, and the patterns for blocks 11 and 12. In that next post I'll answer some of your questions too.

God bless you all!

hugs

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Block 8 Joy in the Ordinary...

 

As I write this blog post August is just hours away, and so we edge closer to the end of another season. Each year I long for August to move slowly so that I can enjoy every moment of winter's farewell, and especially this year as the season has been a tad cooler than usual in our tropical corner of the country, and with it I felt my body able to rest more, giving in to the weariness accumulated over the previous long, hot seasons. It's been lovely to snuggle my feet into socks and slippers when I rise and move around the kitchen preparing our breakfast whilst still dark outside, a thick cardigan warming me as I work. Oh yes, I truly love this time of year. 

Being the end of a season, with spring only a month away, my mind gears up to re-organise spaces in the home, and this past week it was time for a jolly good scrub and scuttle of my sewing room. Measuring 100 sq feet (or 3 metres x 3 metres) I have a lot of things to squeeze into a small space that doubles as sewing room and Elefantz office. There's nowhere for my computer so that is out in the living room.

The "before" photos are below. Many cups of tea and a lot bit of chocolate sustained me as I worked here for three days...

I began on Saturday morning, pulling almost everything out of it's place in order to decide what to keep and what to let go of. It was also an opportunity to gather the many stitcheries from my original designs over the past 10-12 years and sort through them - some to use in projects, some to re-photograph for patterns, and others to sell in my Etsy shop later this year. The huge job of sorting/organising 'stuff' came to a conclusion mid-Monday morning, and then it was time to sort through all my paperwork and business stuff. Everything was completed by Monday evening, at which time I sat down and made plans for selling, donating, using and creating storage. 

I'll show you the "after" photos in another post sometime in August. 

Tuesday morning I gathered the pile of UFO's which had been put aside as I cleaned out the room, and made decisions on what order they'd be completed in coming months. The large quilt projects are now also in order so that I can focus on one at a time and hopefully (slowly) complete them over the next couple of years for the grandchildren or daughters. I also spent a couple of hours re-photographing some of my older designs, the ones I really love, to pop in MY SHOP soon. 

But back to the newest pattern in this year's free block of the month, Joy in the Ordinary

It's was quickly sketched and stitched last Friday, but it was only yesterday that I realised how well the little embroidery hoop and needle marries with my new theme for August! With a pile of small UFOs (small in comparison to a quilt) carefully sorted on my cutting table at the moment, it really will be a month to "Finish what you started"...

I'd love to know if you have a pile of unfinished projects too? I chose not to count the large projects that take many months or perhaps a year to complete, like appliqued quilts (of which I have five in various stages of progress, plus two of my own ongoing BOMs being shared here on the blog with you), but am focused on the smaller UFOs which easily accumulate, because (for me) the fun part of applique or embroidery is finished but the sewing together of the whole project has barely begun. 

IMPORTANT NEWS...

I'm going to share another blog post tomorrow or Friday, with a very special 'extra' free pattern for you, as an encouragement to begin working on your own UFOs, so be sure to drop by or go HERE and subscribe to get my blog posts via email. 

Please note, this is NOT the same as the newsletter I send out a couple of times a month - that will be ending August 30th, as my newsletter provider is closing and the cost for me to move to another newsletter provider will triple what I pay now. 

Use the link below to download the new pattern

DOWNLOAD block 8 of Joy in the Ordinary

Missed the previous seven blocks? They are HERE

I will leave any other news for the next post, which will be before week's end. I have finally gotten myself organised to blog regularly, and as the focus in August will be finishing what we started, there'll be a lot of different things to share - and not just sewing. Golly, I am so excited to be able to regularly blog throughout the next month and hopefully on through the rest of the year. God has put many things on my heart and you'll hear about those along the way too.

So, my dear friends, I shall sign off to day with a prayer and a blessing over you all...may the Lord who is so gracious, provide for you in the way you most need through August, and gently nudge you if you're stuck, redirect you if you're going the wrong way, and speak words of life and encouragement if you are wandering in the valley. 

Okay my lovelies, go gather those UFOs and let's begin a month of finishing some of them. Let me know in the comments what you are planning, what UFOs you've completed, and any other news about your life right now. 

God bless and sending you the biggest hug, 

Don't miss out on any Elefantz news or free patterns. 

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Tea Towel curtains and the next stitchery block...

 

July has arrived, and in our town it is a public holiday for the Annual Show. We've had loads of rain (finally) this past week so the first couple of days of this four day event was quite wet and gloomy, but yesterday was better, and today, being the final day, it's expected to be clear and blue skies. I'm sure the families with young children will be happy about that as this is the middle of our winter school holiday break. 

My garden is loving the water from heaven, and it makes me so happy to see things growing again, and the flowers glistening with raindrops. Of course, this all made me think about how important preparing, planting and tending a garden can be in any season - so seeds became the theme of the July "Joy in the Ordinary" stitchery block. 

When I picked some herbs, flowers and snow peas for this photo early this morning, we were shrouded in a deep fog, so even the tiny things glistened. 

Use the link below to download this month's free pattern.

DOWNLOAD Block 7 of Joy in the Ordinary

If you missed any of the previous blocks in this project they are HERE

The Garden and Food...

I've really fallen in love with this pretty flowering Pentas, and after trialling it through our horrendously hot and humid wet season this past spring, summer and autumn, I will be planting it in many spots. It did surprisingly well through the worst of conditions, and that's what I am looking for in flowering plants now. It's a waste of soil, time, seeds, money and work to be tending plants that just can't cope with our tropical climate. 

I'll also plant more Vinca, Snapdragons, Calendula and Angelonia, along with Sunflowers again. Normally I have a lot of Marigolds but they did not like all the rain we had, so I'll have another think about that. 

I harvested our ginger, which was a surprise due it coping with all the rain. Every year I plant it and every year I harvest more than the year before. My husband laughs at how excited I get when pulling it out of the old worm farm tray that was repurposed just for ginger. The ginger corms, once trimmed from the stalks weighed 1.5 kg (3.3 pounds)...

...and because of the plentiful harvest I replanted about 200g (more than I usually replant each year) for the next growing season. 

After curing them in the open air for a week (undercover due to the rain) I scraped the skin away with a teaspoon (why have I not tried this before, it is SO easy!) and then sliced it evenly.

I ended up with around 1.2 kg of sliced ginger which I then dehydrated for herbal teas over the next year. 

Our kitchen garlic began to sprout and although our climate isn't known for growing garlic I decided to pop the cloves into another old worm farm tray with some marigolds to see what would happen. Hubby raised his eyebrows with that knowing expression of "this has never worked for us, Jennifer"...but...

...miracles do happen. Will they continue to grow? No idea, but I shall keep you updated on my little experiment. 

My precious man has been quite unwell this past week, succumbing to a bout of salmonella poisoning from seafood he had when we took a beautiful day trip to Mission Beach last Sunday week. It has knocked him hard but he's slowly, oh so slowly, beginning to recover. 

Yesterday I made a huge pot of chicken bone broth, as I figured this will be good for him. Last night he had a small bowl with egg noodles and has so far kept it down. Praise God. 

This past week I also made my own peanut butter. In the past I've made almond butter, but my family much prefer the peanut variety, so it's strange I have not thought to make that as it is by far the easiest nut butter to make yourself. Our state of Queensland is renowned for it's Kingaroy peanuts, and naturally that is what I used...

All I added was a little Celtic sea salt, and it is very yummy indeed. It's also much cheaper than buying jars of peanut butter off the shelf, or having it made by the health food shop. And we are tightening our belts now, more than ever, so making as much of our own favourites as we can is important. Even when you're only saving a couple of dollars, those dollars add up when you're saving on multiple food items made by your own hands. 

Sewing...

I showed you recently the tea towels I was going to use for a new set of kitchen curtains. The past week with hubby unwell and unable to eat barely a thing, I decided to put some time towards the curtain project, and just make small snacks for myself instead of meals for two.

There are four identical tea towels sewn together, and I used French seams to join them. Across the top back edge is a rod pocket made from a cream solid which has long been on my shelf, and then across the bottom (after hemming) I sewed blanket stitch along the edge with a Perle 8 cream thread. 

Next step was to crochet through the blanket stitch with a lovely coral coloured cotton yarn, with one row of single crochet, and then a more decorative row to finish. Honest, I am thrilled with my new kitchen curtains!!

The curtains are a deeper colour than shown in the photo above, and so cheery in our dark room. 

Next I had two more of the matching tea towels to complete as another curtain, but this time for the laundry window. The laundry is right off the kitchen and there's no closing door between them, so at first I was going to use the coral yarn again for the a crochet edge, but then decided to use a turquoise one instead. I'm so glad as it looks lovely.

Today I'll scrub the small laundry window and do a bit of shuffling around with the way I've stored things in the wire trays below the window, before hanging the curtain. Next post I'll have a photo to share. 

Shop...

I get requests every week to add older patterns to my shop, and it's only time that has prevented my doing so. Lately I have slept less due to hubby's illness, so in those wee small hours I decided to start way back in 2012 and choose some patterns to reformat and pop on my Etsy Shop shelves. I also added another section, also from many requests, which includes some of the patterns from my 2017 "The Love of Home" series. You'll find everything HERE

As I have time more will be added, and not because I've been asked to, but because I discovered there's a lot of enjoyment for me as I go through hundreds of patterns and choose specific favourites to reissue via the shop. How blessed am I that the Lord gave me the ability to do this in my later years (I did not design until I was 50) and made it an instrument to share His Word, express my love for hand embroidery, and contribute to the deposit on our very first home just a few months before my 60th birthday. We must always remember that while we have breath, God can use us, change our path, or give us a new talent to share with others. 

Drop back on Wednesday for a special post when I'll be chatting about my theme for July. In the meantime, be blessed in all you do, and remember that no matter what's going on in your life (and our family have a lot happening in the background right now) God has not deserted you or turned away. He is right there, working behind the scenes in ways you'd never expect or comprehend. His ways are so much higher than ours, and whereas we see less than a postage stamp glimpse of our lives, He has seen the panorama from beginning to end and knows what is better than our own idea of best. Trust Him. 

Hugs

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Block 6 Joy in the Ordinary BOM...

 

It's Winter! Well, in Australia it is, though north in the tropics our winter days are very sunny and warm indeed. The weather is simply perfect at last and that little bit of a nip in the early mornings is the best of all, especially when I stride up to the pool for my morning laps and it's still pitch black outside. It's such a change from the hot humid nights and mornings of late spring, summer and most of autumn. Hubby thinks I'm crazy swimming at this time of year, but it's so good for the immune system, and I think my body is better suited to cold than hot. 

Yesterday was the Eco Fiesta here in Townsville so that's where we headed after lunch. My man wanted to watch the wicking bed demonstration by Hannah Moloney of Gardening Australia, and though I'd planned to have a wander around the various events and stalls, she was so vibrant, funny and informative that I ended up staying for the whole demonstration. It was also great to have those in the audience so interactive with information of our particular tropical climate, as Hannah lives in the very south of our country, Tasmania, where it's cold most of the year.  Afterwards we did have that wander after all and saw lots of interesting things about the garden, bees, and sustainability. The weather was glorious and Hannah commented on how our winter was like her summer. Hope we get to do this again next year! Hubby is now planning wicking beds...

Anyhow, today I'm sharing the next block in this year's free Joy in the Ordinary block of the month project. My theme for June is friendship, and one of things that reminds me of good friends is a cup of tea. My dear friend Rosie and I have morning tea together often, and they are the very best of times with laughter, conversation, more laughter, and always delicious treats to devour with a cuppa or two. Whenever I come home from Rosie's my heart is full of joy, and I hope that's how she feels after a visit here as well. :-)

Blossom and I often have tea parties with the children, using real vintage cups and saucers, and a jolly good amount of home baked treats. As you saw back HERE the girls have their own Cafe in the cubby now, also with real cups and a teapot. 

When I was homeschooling, and the children were very young, I always used precious vintage op-shop acquired tea cups, saucers and plates, because I wanted them to know how special our morning and afternoon teas were and that I trusted them to care for the eclectic mix of vintage china on the table. In all our years of morning and afternoon teas, not a single cup, plate or saucer broke, and to this day my Blossom continues the ritual with her own children. 

I collected tea pots and bone china cups/saucers for decades (along with old doilies) but over the past few years with the regular decluttering I love to do, most have been donated to op-shops or given to Blossom. Today I only have a few for tea, and none of them are vintage, but some are also used around the house or in the garden for holding plants. 

These are my current three tea pots and they each serve a purpose. The green one is for herbal teas only, whilst the white one with gold trim is for special occasions and 'normal' tea. The brightly decorated pot is used when the grandchildren have tea with me...

I purchased this bright and cheery set of cups with a two tier cake display on Marketplace recently, and it's wonderful for when the family are gathered around the table for morning teas. 

Here's one of my op-shop finds that sits on display in the kitchen, a lovely reminder to stop twice a day from my chores and relax with a nice cuppa...

...and this is one of the re-purposed teapots that now serve as planter pots.

I thought you might like to see where I take photos of my completed designs. Due to lots of shaded areas around our home, plus the security screens and block out curtains, it is very difficult to find somewhere with enough light to take photos, so the dining table has that honour...

Use the link below to download the free pattern for Block 6.

DOWNLOAD Block 6 Joy in the Ordinary pattern

Missed any of the previous blocks this year? You'll find them HERE

I'll share more about this month's theme "Friendship" in the next blog post. In the meantime I would love to know if you drink tea, collect vintage china, enjoy tea parties, have been to a High Tea, and what you love to bake when friends come around for a cuppa? 

I enjoyed a few High Teas when we had a lovely little tea shop in town many years ago, but then they closed. Blossom and I would go often on her days off work, and I also went with my friend Rosie a couple of times. I have very special memories from back then. When Blossom became a mum we started our own High Teas with her littlies and the tradition will hopefully be passed on when they grow up. 

I hope you're all doing well, and have some fun, relaxing, and refreshing things planned for this week. I'm working on a new design for the Tilda Club (Australia) at the moment and hope to have it completed by Friday so I can start practicing some dressmaking later in the month. Blossom and Rosie are very competent with home dressmaking and they will be ready to help if I mess up or need tips. I was wise and bought three king size cotton bed sheets for $7 at the op-shop, and plan to 'learn' with them instead of spending money on good fabric and possibly ruining it. I'm all inspired by watching five seasons (so far!) of the Great British Sewing Bee.

God bless and take care, be kind, be thoughtful, and shine the Light of Christ in all you do this week. It's an honour to glorify Him. :-)

Hugs

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