A time to be silent...

Nana always said, "If you don't know what to say, don't say anything", and lately I haven't really felt like writing or talking. 

Apart from a three-day migraine that kept me quieter than usual, and between spring cleaning the house (though it's autumn here) I have been reading books from the 1800s. During our homeschool years I studied and taught my children quite a lot from that era, but these past few weeks I have learned new things about the tenacity, faith, hard work, and ingenuity, of those who lived in a time when things were indeed simpler. 

Simpler in the context of less decisions to make, less to own, less to buy, and living a regular rhythm of days and seasons and years. They had less than we do now, but I truly believe they had more that mattered, and they appreciated the little they had, something we in a consumerist society find difficult, especially when bombarded with advertisements and huge shopping centres/malls.

To say my mind has been elsewhere recently is to state a truth. The more I read of lives lived 150 years ago, the more I look at my own, and the more I seek out the teachings of Jesus about what matters most. 

I am a regular declutterer, as I do not like to feel crowded by things, but just the fact that I routinely declutter shows that I am still 'collecting' more than I need. And that was a bit of an epiphany for me the other day. 

Jesus clearly directs us not to 'store up' - not to worry about tomorrow, not to build a bigger barn to hold what we've accumulated, not to store up earthly treasures...He tells us that we need not be concerned about what we will eat or what we will wear, for our Heavenly Father knows these things and will provide for all our 'needs'. He teaches us to store up true treasures in heaven. 

You know, I thought I had a good understanding of all that, but the more I look around our home, the more I ponder my earthly treasures, and the $ spent on them over the decades, and I've asked myself "Has this brought me joy?" the answer is almost always, no. 

I was thinking about Nana's grocery list, and how short it was, how she'd only written very basic items, and then remembered the meals we happily shared around the table in her small kitchen - simple, nourishing - and memorable because I still remember them! No wonder she laughed a lot, no wonder we looked forward to a simple meal of scones, butter and jam on Sunday evening, no wonder she never needed a delivery man to bring her groceries, and no wonder the only 'pantry' she had was a small half-cupboard beside the stove with curtains instead of doors. The top of it was her kitchen bench. It was all she needed, and I never heard her complain about needing more space or wishing she could buy different things. She lived contentedly. What we had was all we needed, and though she worked hard every day to keep things clean and tidy, she knew how to enjoy a 'smoko' break with a big pot of tea and perhaps some bread, butter and jam. 

'Smoko' is what we used to call morning tea and afternoon tea. There was always tea, and always bread, butter and jam, but sometimes we'd have cake or leftover baked custard from the night before. She enjoyed those 'smoko' breaks with me, and Pop if he was home (he was a shift worker all his life on the wharves), and never felt the need to fuss it up. Plain and simple ingredients, made for delicious simple meals. 

This week so far I have deep cleaned the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, linen cupboard, and floors. Whilst cleaning out the fridges I decided to make more jam from the last of the season's plums. I always label them, and did so with the May 25 labels, but instead of printing up a fourth May 25 label, I used the leftover label from February. Its funny, but I have begun thinking about the little insignificant things which havent't really mattered to me before, and wasting one leftover label from February wasn't something Nana would have done...so I used it. How many small and seemingly insignificant things can I take note of moving forward? I think there will be many. I hope to follow Nana's example in new ways I've previously overlooked, or forgotten. 

You see, I just want to simplify, and remove as much of the life and mind clutter as possible, and hopefully live my life out in greater peace, contentment and gratitude. 

So, I am taking note of Ecclesiastes 3:7b and will be taking a blogging break for a couple of weeks. 

I'm enjoying the silence, and not needing to communicate much at all...my husband is like me, we're both rather quiet naturally at home, but this break for me will be one of observing more than talking or writing. I look forward to learning more as I read from times gone by, remembering Nana and her gentle ways, seeking the Lord and being taught from His words, tending the garden, slow stitching, remaking old clothes into new, simplifying our meals more than I have ever done before, and enjoying our dear dachshund Kelly.

I shall be praying for you all, especially that the Lord will open your own eyes to the things He wants you to learn (they may be very different to this season of my own learning), just as He opened mine. Who knows how these changes we make will affect our lives? But what I do know, is that it can only be for good, for everything from the Lord is for our best. 

God bless you, and I shall hopefully chat again late in May....

Hugs

You will find my design account on Instagram HERE @jennyofelefantz

And my other Instagram account, just for homemaking, HERE @elefantzhome

Subscribe to my free Friday newsletter HERE and never miss a blog post, pattern or tutorial

Stitch my free 2025 block of the month 'The Sewing Room' HERE

Free Pantry Staples ebook, and a new little stitchery for you...

 

As promised, today I have the pantry staples ebook for you to download. It's taken a bit of time, but I really hope you find this useful.

Growing up, Nana always served homemade-from-scratch meals. I never saw her buy a box of anything, apart from custard powder, which she used to make a pouring custard over sliced bananas, and quite liberally sprinkled grated nutmeg on top before serving as dessert one night a week.

Everything else was made from individual ingredients she grew, bought, swapped or had been gifted. Her meals were simple fare, but so tasty, and most of them we ended up having for breakfast the next day, because like I said, Nana didn’t buy boxes of food, so cereal never appeared at our breakfast table.

These days we have recipes, herbs and spices, from all over the globe to choose from. We have television shows and social media sites where we can watch different exotic recipes being made, and we have innumerable restaurants, markets and take-away shops to try food from just about anywhere in the world. I sometimes wonder what Nana would have thought of that? Knowing her as well as I did, I’m fairly sure she’d have enjoyed trying something new every so often, but it would never have made it to her regular menu.

The only meal she ever made that was a bit different to the Australian fare she grew up with and which she made for Pop and I, was a meat sauce she poured over spaghetti. As a recipe she was given by a family member, this ‘experiment’ was huge to her, having never tried pasta in her life, but encouraged by other family members who said it was good, and discovering the only thing different she needed to buy was long spaghetti, she made it for us one Friday night.

This was around the time I started high school, maybe 12 years old, and really was delicious. Simple, but delicious, and she continued to make it every month or so after that. Just in case you ever want to give it a try, here it is. At the time, we called it Spaghetti Bolognese, but years later as a young mother of two moving away to the big city, I learned what real Bolognese sauce was…and yet, I still love this recipe and the memories associated with it. In case you ever want to give it a try, here it is…

Someone’s Simple Bolognese sauce (from the early 1970’s)

·         400g minced beef

·         One, 400g can Heinz Big Red tomato soup

·         One onion finely chopped

·         One small can of pineapple pieces, drained

·         One small can of green peas, drained

·         One heaped teaspoon of mixed herbs

·         One tablespoon of butter or oil

Sauté the chopped onion in a frypan with the butter or oil, and when it begins to soften and become translucent, add the minced beef to the pan. Break up the mince and cook till brown. Stir through the mixed herbs and the can of tomato soup. Add the pineapple and peas, and stir until everything begins to bubble. Turn down to a simmer for 5-6 minutes. Add some black pepper (and salt if you like) and stir in.

Pour over cooked spaghetti, and sprinkle grated cheese across the top. Mmmm…simple. But good. Kids seem to really like it too.

I have gathered most of the recipes in the ebook over decades, but the seasoning mixes and bulk pantry staples only began a few years back. In the first section of the ebook I’m sharing what I have already tried and enjoyed, much of it things I make quite often. You'll find those on pages 3-7 of the file.

In the second section, pages 8 -13, I’ve added recipes I intend making this year to build up our pantry, and they include bulk pre-mixes for things like cakes, puddings, pancakes and hamburger helper type things. These are mixes I want to make up for my daughter Blossom and her family too. I made a huge amount of pancake pre-mix for her last year and it really made life that little bit easier at breakfast with three children, but I lost my recipe notes, so have started over with a new one.

I hope they give you some ideas, or help with your own pantry building. Like Nana, I’m simple and enjoy living that way, especially in the kitchen. It’s also important to us that we make food without nasty additives, but keep things as basic and natural as we can. The more our family follows this example, the better we feel, and the more satisfied. 

It's taken a lot of googling and reading to find a number of these recipes and pre-mixes, and then I needed to try things, read reviews, swap some ingredients out, and generally simplify if I could. 

I didn't include my Rosemary Salt, because all it is are those two ingredients - rosemary and salt. You could make Sage Salt, Parsley Salt, or some other kind of salt the same way, but just remember to dry the herb first before mixing it with salt in a processor, and don't overmix. :-)

Of course, I had to include a little stitchery for you with a kitchen theme. While I sipped a morning cuppa I sketched it up and added it to the ebook. I'm hoping to stitch it with a bit of applique later this week, and would love to know if you'll be stitching too, and how you'd display it. The stitchery is on page 2.

Use the link below to download the free ebook...

DOWNLOAD Pantry Staples (& a few recipes)

It's been quite a week so far, starting with an earthquake here on Saturday night that shocked us all as the epicentre was less than a kilometre from us under the mountain next to our river. The BOOM of the quake was quite literally deafening and we though a plane had crashed nearby, and the house shook like a giant had it in his hand...but apart from some things falling inside, and some suburbs losing power, all was fine. In thirteen months we've had a cyclone, a monsoon, and now an earthquake. Blossom said, "Mum, I knew about cyclones and floods living here, but I never signed up for an earthquake!" She has her dad's sense of humour and gave us all a good laugh.

It was Rafaella's 7th birthday yesterday, and despite a dreadful autumn heatwave, we celebrated well inside. I spent a week sewing more of those teeny tiny doll clothes for Rafaella's 6" bunny, and my fingers ache, but she was so happy, and that made it all worthwhile. She loves the lime curd I make, so it was only right to bake a swiss roll and fill it with more of the curd, then serve with fresh whipped cream. 

There were eight outfits made for the little bunny this time - and included were a mermaid tail and bandeau top (like Ariel from The Little Mermaid, which is her favourite), a shell embroidered ruffle edged dress (she collects shells), and a dress with matching butterfly wings. I wrapped them individually in cellophane bags, and then popped them into a pretty floral bag, as though they came from a dress shop. ;-) I find some of my very small scraps of vintage Tilda come in handy for these outfits too. 

Included with her presents was a gorgeous tutu with little dancing fairies around the edge, and a kit to make bead bracelets. The entire gift cost me $12. And that's because I plan ahead, and buy beautiful things when they are on clearance for future birthdays or Christmas...and the little bunny clothes cost nothing more than my time. What a treat!

Another thing we use every birthday, is a birthday box. I no longer need to buy wrapping paper or pretty gift bags for the children. They all know that on their birthdays, Nana and Poppy will arrive with the birthday box, and inside will be special gifts for that special birthday child. It's a lovely big box! I found it about three years ago at TK Maxx for $12 and it was Blossom who suggested I use it as a birthday box - such a clever young woman she is. (did you know that in the US the same store is called TJ Maxx, but everywhere else in the world it is TK Maxx)

Now that birthday sewing is done, I have traced up another Yumiko Higuchi design to stitch in the evenings. It's from her book 'Seamless Embroidery' which hubby gave me for my birthday last month, and is called The Life Cycle of an Apple. The fabric background she used in her original is a very deep pink, gorgeous, but as I have to use what I already have, my background is a soft pink linen, recycled from an opshop shirt purchased years ago. 

This is the photo from Yumiko's book...

And this is my progress from last night.

My thread colours are similar to hers, but not the same as I need them to pop a bit, so hopefully they will do just that against the soft pink background.

Well my dear ones, its time to water the front garden as it's in shade on the east side of the house now, and then I'll do a bit of a tidy up before my beloved arrives home from work. I do enjoy the familiar rhythm of our days, and the little pleasures scattered through the hours God has given us. 

Remembering that each day is indeed a gift, something to embrace and live out with enormous gratitude, helps me stay grounded in the midst of unforseen challenges and life changes. Never take your life for granted, sweethearts, for it is precious in God's sight. 

Until next time, may He bless your coming in and going out, and show you great and wonderful things that He has done in your life. 

Until next time, love and prayers, 

You will find me on Instagram HERE @jennyofelefantz

And my NEW IG account just for homemaking HERE @elefantzhome

Subscribe to my free Friday newsletter HERE and never miss a blog post, pattern or tutorial

Stitch my free 2025 block of the month 'The Sewing Room' HERE

Changes at home and Block 3 of The Sewing Room...

 

Once again, as appears to be my habit this year, you're receiving the next block in my 2025 BOM, The Sewing Room, a day early. But I do not think you're compalining about that. ;-)

I had a few things I wanted to chat about in blog posts this past week, plus the recipe file I promised many of you, but a lot has been happening here and time got away from me. The Lord has allotted us just so many hours in the day, and lately my days have been full with homemaking, food storage and family.

But first today, let me tell you about Block 3 of The Sewing Room. I chose my sewing machine as the theme in the March pattern, as what is a sewing room without a sewing machine? It has so many functions and can be used to make almost anything to do with fabric decor, clothing, patchwork, dolls, mending, alterations and useful items around the home - and I'm sure you can think of other ways your sewing machine earns its keep. 

MACHINE OPTIONS:

Now, you may not have a Janome like I do, and be disappointed that I've chosen 'my janome' to stitch above the applique machine - but do not be concerned, for I have eight different options on your pattern sheets! 

You can choose from Janome, Singer, Husqvarna, Brother, Juki, Elna, Pfaff, or 'my machine'. 

I wish my own machine was decorated with pretty roses like the fabric used in the applique. It looks so pretty. 

Use the link below to download the pattern-

DOWNLOAD Block 3 of The Sewing Room BOM

If you have missed either of the first two blocks they are HERE

Just out of curiosity, what make of sewing machine do you have? 

Back to what's been happening here at home (interspersed with photos of some homemaking things from this week...)

On Monday hubby went to work at the car yard as usual. On Tuesday he handed in his notice. On Tuesday afternoon he accepted another job offer. On Thursday he started working in real estate. 

You remember I wrote about the course he was doing to retrain in a different profession (risky when you're hitting 60)? Well the course ran for twelve months, but he completed it in two months. After all, the age clock is ticking and he's an intelligent bloke.

(lime and coconut tapioca pudding with fresh mango and lime zest)

With nudging from the Lord, he heard "Just do it now" instead of waiting to start a real estate position in May...so he rang the company again and asked if he could start now. They were excited and said YES! This firm has mostly older employees, and many of them have left the 'cut throat' RE businesses around town to build a firm of agents who encourage and support each other. Just one day in and my man told me how lovely it was to work with generous and hard working people all wanting each other to succeed. 

(one of the bulk pantry items I've been putting together from individual ingredients - this is spaghetti sauce seasoning)

There's also been Bible study, yard work, preserving, bulk pantry building, Blossom and the children, deep cleaning, sewing - and very importantly, a new budget to plan because hubby is on base wage traineeship for a few months before receiving his full registration from the government to sell real estate. Hence my increased desire for conscious thrift and building up the pantry with homemade products that reduce trips to the supermarket. I am loving it!

(some of the bulk items for cooking made on Wednesday, and more are in progress - I was able to make them all from supplies already in my pantry)

After three near misses with his life this year, God stepping in every time to save him (two times when the tree split and fell in the monsoon, and another time I never told you about when he drilled through electrical wires in January), God's voice is strong and clear in my man's heart and head, and he knows that this path forward in our future is the one with God's light shining ahead of him. 

(plum jam and tomato sauce, or you may call it ketchup, made this morning)

One thing I have often said to family and friends, is that if we're still here, God hasn't finished with us yet, and He still has a plan for our life and work to do, and hopefully we will live that life and work in that life for His glory. 

(watching Olesya's latest video while I prepare strawberries for the freezer, and stew peaches)

Around the home I am busy as usual because there's always something to do, new ways to build up our home economy with common sense frugality and careful planning, a desire to learn and try new things, and a willingness to put my hand to the plough so to speak. 

(yesterday's stewed plums with fresh yoghurt for lunch today)

Something I hadn't noticed until today is that the more work I do around home, on a daily basis, the easier it is on my body. There's a lot of pain in my hips (I have hip bursitis on both hips) every day and night, but I have found myself managing better a little more each day by working for a few hours, then sitting for one. Then more work for a few hours, and another hour of rest to follow. Every few days I take a breather, and rest for a whole morning or an entire afternoon, keeping my hands busy with sewing while I watch YouTube for homemaking ideas that tie in with running a home economy, preparing pantry staples in bulk, gardening or some solid biblical teaching for women. 

It's wonderful how the more I do, the stronger I feel and the better I manage the pain. Praise God. 

(A day before the monsoon began on February 1st, I hard pruned all my rose bushes...and that's what saved them. Two of them are already blooming again.)

It's really all about balance, and being reminded of those women who lived before us, the ones who never had an easy life, but worked hard and prepared season after season for the family from what they had grown or purchased in cheap abundance, and genuinely kept the home fires going, whether resources were abundant or scarce. 

That's what I remember about Nana. I never realised just how poor we were until I was an adult, because it wasn't obvious. Pop worked hard for a low wage, and Nana stretched that wage to create for me the most wonderful childhood abundant in LOVE and simplicity. The older I get, the more I appreciate her example and the values she taught me along the way. 

(Blossom saw this pattern in one of my Japanese embroidery books, so I stitched it for her and will complete it as a key holder over the weekend)

I shall definitely share the recipe file requested from last week, with some extras from this week's kitchen joys, in my next blog post. 

How are you all doing in your corner of the world? Today is the last day of summer in Australia, though for us living in the top end of the country, summer heat won't subside till the very end of April or early May. I can't wait. I literally dream about the slightly cooler months of May, June, July and August, when we finally get to enjoy soups and stews for a while, and luscious hot puddings with vanilla custard. Oh, and hot chocolate before bed! I think I need to put aside a few wintry books to enjoy in those months as well, and I shall definitely be re-reading The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder as its one of my all time favourites at that time of the year. 

May the Lord bless you day and night, keep watch over your dwelling place, and provide for every need. May His presence be felt in your coming and going, His ear attentive to your prayers, and His grace in a measure we cannot fathom. May your heart rejoice in His love for you, and in the faithful promise of eternity in His presence. Oh dear ones, bless you so much, and thank you for visiting with me here...you bless me. 

I shall leave you with this thought which I found on Pinterest. It made me stop and consider many things...

Until next time, love and prayers, 

You will find me on Instagram HERE @jennyofelefantz

And my NEW IG account just for homemaking HERE @elefantzhome

Subscribe to my free Friday newsletter HERE and never miss a blog post, pattern or tutorial

Stitch my free 2025 block of the month 'The Sewing Room' HERE

Sewing with a touch of crochet...

Do you remember back HERE when I first began my obsession with crocheting the edge of all my teatowels? I made them for gifts, for family, and lots for myself. I simply could not stop crocheting edges for months! And then I took a break. 

But...the break is over. Ha ha! And this time it's not tea towels that are given the pretty vintage trim of crochet. It's my own stitchery designs. 

About four months ago a parcel arrived from Fiona at Tilda Australia, and inside I discovered a 1/4 metre bundle (10" wide x WOF) of Sunday Brunch. These fabrics took me back a lot of years to the lovely florals of Tilda's early design days, when I bought them from Europe because we could not buy them in Australia. When they eventually did hit our shores I was thrilled, but also blessed because that's when I began to receive some of the Tilda ranges to design with. 

Now I only get them sporadically, and sometimes I decline the offer, because her style changed a lot and the colours were too bright or even 'garish' for me...but though some of the colours in Sunday Brunch are brighter than I'd personally choose, specifically the orange if I'm to be honest, many of them are simply beautiful. 

And so I needed a design that would work with the fabrics freshly opened out of the postbag. It's always a big thing to plan a project when you've been gifted the fabric, because you have a responsibility to the supplier, and also to Tone Finnanger herself, to 'show up' the fabrics in the best possible way. I pondered all this for about a week, and had many ideas drawn up, but then I had an idea. After so many years designing embroidery patterns, I have a large plastic tub full of my original stitcheries, all waiting patiently for their moment to shine in a project. Well, I found one that was a favourite, and it was in just the right thread colours to blend perfectly with the Sunday Brunch prints.

I've always loved this prim style crow design which was included with my July 2016 Stitchery Club patterns, along with the other prim style designs I offered that month. Now I could finally let it shine as a small wall quilt. A number of mini-quilt sketches were drawn up, and I eventually chose this one, as it displays a lot of the lovely prints in Sunday Brunch.

The decision to add a crochet edge around three sides came easily, as did the half-inch crosshatch hand quilting - they both gave this sweet wall quilt a bit more impact, and it's definitely a special project for me personally. The addition of the applique pear was a nod to my quirky love of pears and the lovely ones I've collected and been gifted over the years. Yep, I love pears!

The finished wall quilt measures 17.5" square, and you could skip the crochet and easily turn it into a cushion cover, but then again, you could crochet around all four sides and still turn it into a cushion cover. Hmmm, a new crochet edging idea is forming in my mind!!

The pattern is in my shop now and you'll find it HERE. It's actually a great way to use lots of little scraps too, which is why I'm planning another one, but with a different stitchery. I love collecting small offcuts of the fabrics I use, especially those that are the last remnants of a favourite print. Do you do that too??

But wait, I did not stop there!! 

Going through my collection of original stticheries, I saw another that could do with a fresh reason to shine, and once again, crochet edging came to mind. 

Ten years ago I created this design for Australian Homespun magazine (it even made the cover), and I really loved it, still do, but after a while I decided that the border and the large wooden picture frame I had displayed it in weren't my style at all, so I pulled it out of the frame, ripped off the borders, and promptly added it to my steadily growing stack of original hand embroideries. 

You know, many people love to hand embroider more than quilting. And many people have a lot of UFO stitcheries in their cupboards. I know this because its a common question I am asked - "What do you do with all your stitcheries? I have a lot and can't think how to use them." 

I'm not much help really. As I design and stitch for a living, I can't avoid having lots of my work stored away, but I do make some into gifts, and some become items for the home, but overall they're mostly in the 'waiting room'. 

Anyhow, this is the design I started telling you about, and how I have finally given it a makeover with absolute delight in my heart! Crochet edging too!

This is one of those designs that has a lot of my heart in it, for it's a reminder of Nana and the simple old-fashioned life she shared with me and Pop when I was a child. Flowers, tie back curtains with a ruffle, apple pie and an open window. Everything home baked with love. The addition of the bird was to feature another love of mine. 

The gingham borders just worked so well, adding another touch of the past, a nod to simpler days when gingham meant home and comfort and security and love, and delicious food served in steaming bowls atop the centre of a gingham tablecloth. 

The crochet edging is only along the bottom edge, as it is another reminder of the ruffle-edged curtains in Nana's kitchen. This is now hanging in my kitchen area, pride of place. 

The pattern is in my shop HERE

Now as much as I'd love you to purchase one of my patterns, I'm hopeful that these projects have given you ideas for using some of your own completed stitcheries. Why don't you gather them together, brew a nice cuppa, and spend some time going through them all...let your imagination take over and consider ways to display your lovely work. Let us not allow new projects to pile up whilst the older ones are still waiting for their time to shine. 

I can honestly say that over the past few months I have fallen in love with my sewing machine, and that's a new thing for me, but its allowing me to create from what I already have on hand...not just fabric, but stitcheries, just like the two I have shown you today. 

Already I have a new idea for a number of small ones I completed years ago, and am excited to see if my idea will work. And I am excited too, about how I can incorporate a touch of crochet.

 You know, God created us in His image, and that means we have creative genes from our Father in heaven. I learned that back in 2007 when I first prayed that He would share with me some of His creativity. We were in the final few years of homeschooling and I wasn't sure what I'd do when the kids graduated, but I had only just taught myself to embroider and quilt by reading magazines, and wondered if He would bless me with an ability to design my own patterns. I prayed that for about eighteen months, and in early 2009 I shared my first free block of the month right here on the blog. The fact that He has kept on blessing me for so many years still astounds me. May I always give Him the glory! His grace abounds always. 

So if you're not sure what to do with your own embroidered pieces, patchwork blocks, paintings, sketches, pottery, jewellery projects - anything you've spent time creating with love and joy - just pray and ask for a measure of His creativity.  

I shall leave you today with the final new pattern just added to my shop, and it has a message for you. This is not an old pattern of mine, but it's based on an old, much simpler one that had the same message. Miracles Happen. Because they still do. 

God bless each of you, my precious blogworld friends, and may your life overflow with the gift of creativity, given by the Father who loves you so dearly. 

Next time, it's back to homemaking...see you then.

Hugs

You will find me on Instagram HERE @jennyofelefantz

And my NEW IG account just for homemaking HERE @elefantzhome

Subscribe to my free newsletter HERE and never miss a blog post, pattern or tutorial

Stitch my free 2025 block of the month 'The Sewing Room' HERE