The creative ways of a homemaker...

 We woke around 5am this morning to flashes of lightning, loud rumbling thunder, and then the wonderful, cooling rain which soon followed. On days like this I love to stand at the front window and watch the transformation of our dry, and often parched summer gardens, to a lush green as it soaks up the gift of heaven and hydrates once again. 

As hubby starts work a half hour later on Saturdays, I took the extra time to make gluten-free waffles and a blueberry compote for breakfast, served with homemade strawberry jam and sour cream on the side. I often see Olesya, in Belarus, making pancakes served with jam and sour cream, so this morning we tried something similar. I shall confirm it is delicious to have the compote, or jam, with sour cream. 

You've heard me speak often about watching Olesya's YouTube channel. Her simple life, creativity, positive and caring character, along with her sewing skills, all combine to inspire my own homemaker heart. Recently I started over with the videos she has made over the past two years, with the intention of writing down many of her recipes, and saving a lot of her sewing tutorials and patterns. There's no fanfare with Olesya, just a happy smile and straight forward instruction and encouragement for the homemaker. 

So, with my own homemaker heart inspired, I thought about the things I'd like to do this year in our home, and what I'd like to make that is pretty, useful and practical. There's a number of items I am sorely in need of for the kitchen, such as pan liners for the ceramic cookware my husband bought me for Christmas 2023. In the year that we've had them I have used old cloths to place between the frying pans, baking pans and saucepans. The brand is Greenpan and I LOVE them. They are the best investment we have ever made in cookware...

...but as they are ceramic, you can't stack them without a liner, or you will crack the ceramic coating. These old facewashers and dishcloth have saved the pans over the past twelve months, but I really want to sew some proper pan liners this month. 

Blossom recently gave me a huge piece of soft and thick white terry towelling, so my plan is to use this between my pots and pans...probably bound with scraps of fabric that I save for just such a project. 

Another thing I need in the kitchen are oven mitts, as my old ones fell apart many months ago and I've just been using a folded tea towel since then.

Yesterday and this morning I watched Olesya make two styles of oven mitt HERE and HERE and her method was much nicer than others I have seen, as hers are lined, and she also shares the template to download. I have it printed up and waiting on my sewing table right now! Fortunately there's still a good size piece of Insul-bright on my shelves, and that will be wonderful for padding and insulation inside the oven mitts.

Another kitchen project is to make a cover for the KitchenAid Bowl Lift Mixer that my husband bought me for Christmas 2024. Perhaps you see a trend in his gift giving at Christmases? He always asks what 'big thing' I'd like, and we both know it will be something useful that is meant to last a very long time. 

We got it on special for less than the cost of a regular KitchAid stand mixer and as we are facing an exceptionally lean year in 2025 while he completes a year of study for a late-in-life career change I at first declined his offer...but he was insistent and so it was purchased. I shall make jolly good use of it, too. Having the stand-lift is wonderful for arthritic wrists. :-)

For now I just have a tea towel covering it...

So there are three projects for the kitchen which shall be made, hopefully before February, as I'd like to focus on one room at a time, wisely making things that add to the homeliness of each space, whilst also being very practical and useful. 

I'd also like to make some microwave bowl cosies, something my clever friend Rosie makes a lot of as gifts, and I shall also be sewing bowl covers - I made my first two for Rosie at Christmas, and I lined them, so even though they were fine, I believe the pattern needs tweaking because they do not need to be lined. 

I have a Pinterest Board HERE, "Homemade Stitched With Heartstrings"  that has loads of links saved over the years to inspire and instruct me in sewing for the home, and sewing for gifts as well. People can share so many wonderful tutorials and patterns for the things we enjoy making, or need to make, on Pinterest, that its always where I look first for ideas and sometimes answers. You may find some useful things on my board for your own homemaking plans.

I also gain inspiration from books. They may not necessarily have instructions for things to sew or make, but they often give me ideas about what I could make and how to bring even more homeliness into our dwelling. These books have been saved over the years, some purchased new, others found at garage sales or the op-shop. I have more on my shelf, but these are the ones I mostly peruse on a rainy day with a hot cuppa.

And I really want to sew a pretty ruffled liner for this basket, something I have watched Olesya make (I truly do get SO much inspiration from her!)...but I shan't make one until I am very sure about what fabric to use from what I already have. 

One final thing which I shall be making, though not for the kitchen, is a cover for my ironing table in the sewing room. Today is the day for this project! As you can see below, the old faded pink fabric has just been folded around a block of wood hubby had in his shed (there's also a layer of Insul-bright and cotton quilt wadding), but I'd like to make a fitted cover with elastic edging, similar to an actual ironing board cover. 

Wish me luck with this, as it is an experiment. First though, I need to choose the fabric. Perhaps I can use some of the recycled linen sheet which has been so great for other projects this year? I shall have a play around today and share the results next week. 

Tell me, what would you like to make for your kitchen? Or for your home? I'm ready for more ideas as this year is well underway now, and having rediscovered the joy of using my sewing machine (a big change from designing hand embroidery patterns and focusing almost solely on stitching them for fifteen years) I am actively looking with fresh eyes around our home...I just need to get those kitchen things done soon as they are rather needful. 

Along with this year's blog theme of...

...I am also focused on my role as a Bible-believing homemaker, and the accompanying blessing and warning for women found in Proverbs 14:1. 

I dearly long to be wise with regards to my God-gifted role in our family, and that only comes about by being in God's Word every day, and being still long enough for Him to illuminate new truths through the sixty-six books of His Divine Word. The last thing I want is to tear down my home through a lack of integrity, wisdom, godly character, and Biblical instruction. So Proverbs 14:1 is another verse I shall ponder and pray over in 2025 (the other is John 2:5 which I wrote about HERE)...

I wonder if you have a verse or two that you'll be focused on this year? Or perhaps a quote that resonates with you? 

Whatever we do, sweet friends, let us love our homes and families, love the Lord, and make our dwelling places somewhere we, and our loved ones, long to be. 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Love,

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Removing old layers to see what matters now...

Life is meant to be lived, and as you edge closer to the winter years that truth becomes far more valuable than in younger seasons. You know, it can be quite confronting to ponder the long time passed, and the much shorter time ahead. I'm definitely not thinking negatively (or morbidly) about this truth, but rather taking notice of it in order to wisely choose how I use the days God continues to gift me from now on. 

And that's why I've been absent from blogging for a couple of weeks. I found other things to do, things that were not only productive, but joyous and fun. Even the regular domestic tasks of my simple life took on new delight, and I woke up excited to go about my chores and put things in order around home. There's also been fresh creativity in my days, and truly, this quite surprised me. 

I took my own advice about 'walking the room' again in April, and discovered what I had suspected for a while. 

My style has changed from the overabundance of pretty things around the home (most of which I made and designed) to being considerate of what my husband and I genuinely like. I think simplifying can do that, perhaps? The past few years my personal decluttering of things that have no value, or take up time or space unnecessarily, has helped me look at all aspects of the life I have chosen to value and pursue...and when those layers are lifted away, its much easier to see what is left in a new light. 

Taking away from the 'scenery' within our walls meant that I am able to consider and plan what I can make or build or re-purpose, to create a home atmosphere that really reflects who we are in our little home on a quarter acre, not just me.

It's also easier when some things are stripped away to recognise what offers satisfaction, enthusiasm, and purpose, for both my husband and myself. Much of what is displayed around home is there because I designed and made it over the past fifteen years of creating my business, Elefantz Designs, but it's quite a mismatch now if I'm honest because there's a variety of style changes which follow my growth as a designer, and it simply never was a reflection of my husband's rustic Australian country style. So...I'm removing items I'd not considered previously, and giving prominence to the artwork and colours which hubby and I both like. Naturally, some areas are more me than him - the kitchen and laundry for example! But that's okay, a homemaker makes a home for herself and her husband, so it is natural to bring some of him and some of her into the home, right alongside the 'we'. 

Over the past few weeks I've really enjoyed using up smaller fabric pieces and making reversible jar covers for my homemade jam...but over time this spread into many jars in my pantry. 

Not every jar has a cover because I like them scattered around, bringing a very homely look to the kitchen. I also made some for Blossom but 3yo Charlie absconded with them, insisting they were hats for his dinosaurs and the girl's dolls. Ha ha!! 

After about fourteen fabric covers, I made one with a crochet edge...

...and then progressed to an embroidered cover, which I absolutely love and shall be making more of. I'm thinking of cows, ducks, birds, and little garden scenes. I  may even use some of the stitcheries from HERE or those I've included in this year's free Joy in the Ordinary BOM. 

But this little bee pattern was a purchase I made on Etsy last week. I was looking for different jar cover patterns and bought this one - however, I did not realise it was only a pattern for the bee. Still, I do love how the designer has displayed it on linen with a lace edge in the photo. 

The jar cover pattern I have been using came from Olesya on Youtube, who shares THIS wonderful tutorial! If you fast forward to around 16 minutes you can watch it (be sure to turn on the subtitles)...but I never fast forward as I am inspired by her homemaking and enjoy every minute of her videos from Belarus. 

I completed the first crochet rug of the year and look forward to using it if winter arrives, as that is always a surprise in the tropics, and have begun a second rug in much earthier colours. 

After months of contemplating how to use some kookaburra fabric Annabel sent me for Christmas, I decided it would be perfect for the French Press we use for de-caff coffees on the weekend. 

I love kookaburras, have done so all my life. Our front door has a stained glass kookaburra, and there's a hand painted canvas of a kookaburra just inside our front entrance. When they visit in the garden I am enthralled! Last week I had three 'laughing' in the Poinciana tree, and then another sitting on the edge of a potted rose. 

They seem to frequent our home mostly in autumn and winter so I expect to see them often over the next few months. Never heard a kookaburra? Well, have a listen and you'll understand why we say they laugh...

I have definitely been keeping my hands busy. Here's a few more occupations I have applied myself to this month...

(first cross-stitch project in more than a decade!)

(protein balls for hubby's lunch box)

(the garden out back, focusing on herbs, flowers and greens)

(garlic rolls using Olesya's recipe here)

I have also completed the final Dresden block for Blossom's 30th birthday quilt and will be sewing them all together with white borders this week. 

I wrote an April to-do list at the beginning of the month, and as I wrote about back then, I included some self-care to-dos as well...hence the sewing! I have been so happy making time to sew things for home, try new recipes, and grow new things in the garden. 

But there are other to-dos that pertain to home-maintenance, correspondence, sorting our cupboards and drawers, deep cleaning under large appliances such as the washing machine and fridges, and emptying the pantry so I can go over all the shelves with pine oil to deter bugs (it really works). Then I will begin some new things like making salve from the calendula flowers I grew last year, making candles for the first time, and painting a very old bookcase. 

I have finished two books so far this month - one of Mrs White's homemaking volumes, and the first of the Rose series by Roger Lea MacBride (these are stories from the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder's daughter, Rose) which I enjoyed immensely. In fact I am taking it over to Blossom's today as she'd like to read it herself, and later to her girls. 

Now here's a good tip if you have old musty books. I bought this first book of the Rose series very cheaply off eBay and it really smelled bad, the kind of musty dusty smell that causes you to sneeze a lot with every page. I remembered something from our homeschool days and decided to give it a try. Put a small saucer of bi-carb soda with a few drops of essential oil (I used eucalyptus) in a plastic container with the book. Place the lid on and leave the book for 3-4 days. After that time the smell should be gone - and for this book, it was. :-)

I read recently - "If I do not take care of myself now, I won't be able to in the future' - and it has given me much to consider. Once again, with the winter season of my years coming quickly, I need to nourish the body, mind and spirit in ways that will help me in the journey ahead. Just yesterday I learned that I have hearing loss, and in one specific aspect it's quite substantial in both ears, so this just increased my awareness of looking after myself better than I have in the past. 

However, God is Sovereign over all my life, and the most important thing I can do for my future years (God willing I have them) is to draw even closer to Him, to study His word deeper than I already do, and to pay attention to that still small voice which no hearing loss can silence. If I do this, then the rest will fall into place because He is my Father who loves me, and Who daily refines my thoughts, desires, character and beliefs. If you are wanting to take better care of yourself, seek the Lord first, and He will show you how. 

Till next time,

hugs

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