Herbing and sewing...

HERBING...

Herbing? Never heard of it before? I think I may have just made it up. ;-)

I have been herbing in the garden this past week, preserving and enjoying some of our fresh greens in various ways. We currently grow twenty-six different herbs in the garden, and whilst some will only flourish in our tropical winter, others bloom abundantly in spring, and the remainder prefer the hot and humid summer for displaying their bounty, it's actually a good system because we can harvest something tasty to add to meals, teas, or preserve all year through. 

This past week I wanted to do a bit of dehydrating so I began with the Tulsi (Holy Basil) leaves which we use in herbal teas...

The best time for picking is when the new leaves turn purple, and as Tulsi has numerous health properties I use them fresh, or dry them. In fact I made some herbal tea bags for my daughter Kezzie from many dehydrated herbs and they worked so well that I have just posted her a big batch.

I love having Dill growing through our winter season as it's wonderful chopped fresh for the Greek dishes I make my son-in-law, or stirred through fresh mayonnaise, or dried and crumbled for summer recipes. I also use the large dill seed fronds in a vase on the table with my roses...

Cinnamon Myrtle makes a beautiful tea, but also becomes a lovely spice rub when dehydrated and crumbled...

...and with such an abundance of Basil in winter, Pesto is always on the menu. Blossom's children could eat a jar of my fresh pesto with a spoon and still ask for more, so we make it go further by stirring it generously through pasta. 

Hubby loves salmon patties so of course I made some fresh mayo. In some of the mayo I added fresh chopped dill and it was so good we emptied the jar. Ha ha!! I told Blossom and now she wants some so I'll make more later today. 

Guilty confession. In between all the herbing I quietly finished off the last of a baked rice pudding (Nana's recipe) because it was taking up space in the fridge. Nah, just joking...I simply could not resist the temptation and gave in, adding some yummy raspberries for added health benefit. ;-)

SEWING...

I've been working on block one of Promises and it's coming along very nicely. I ended up doing two thin borders, instead of a second border of squares. As I explained last time, this is a gentle slow stitching project so I will take my time even with the bordering or fabric choices for each block. I chose the tealy blue second border because it blends with that same colour in the first border - oh, and I thought that vintage fabric was from a tablecloth, and now realise it's part of a curtain. Wish I had more, but I shall endeavour to make the small amount I do have go far. 

I chose the thread colour for the verse to match the tealy blue as well. 

Another lovely thing about stitching a slower project, is choosing the stitches along the way. For this block I've stem stitched the wooden borders, added double French knot buds around the applique flowers...

...and sewed my favourite blanket stitch embellished leaves. You can see the tutorial I made for those HERE and there's a free practice pattern as well. 

I've made a page for this project (link in the sidebar and also under my header) in case you ever miss a block. Go to the PROMISES of God page here.

The other bit of sewing I am currently working on is that cross stitch I began back in May. It's coming along in spits and spats, mostly in the evenings, but I will be very honest here and tell you that at this point I am quite over all those bricks...

...but I am pushing on to get the roof and steps completed, plus the mortar between the rest of the bricks (I have done about half of it so far) so that I can stitch the pretty bits. I took one break to stitch a leaf the other day because I have had enough of orangey bricks and needed to see some green. 

I am enjoying cross stitch again, after more than a decade of just hand embroidery, but I will be mindful of the patterns I choose in future. I really love this pattern, but I do not love sewing a million bricks. In the end it will be worth it, and Blossom keeps dropping hints about how much she loves it... ;-)

SOMETHING NEW...

I am trying a new sour dough bread recipe, a smaller loaf than all my other recipes as there's only the two of us here now, so hopefully it will work out well and become a regular bake. The instructions were very simple so I pray it really does bake deliciously. 

It can rise for the rest of day while I potter around and do other things, like visit the doctor for my echocardiogram results, water the garden, and cut up some old linen garments for usable stitching fabric. It's giving me a lot of joy to repurpose old garments this way and soon I'll have a shelf of them (after I sell some of my quilting fabric). 

I hope you have a gentle week, and that in those precious quiet moments when there's a quiet stillness all around, that you let the presence of God surround you and rest in His care. 

God bless, and big hugs,

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The close of autumn in Australia...

 It's the last day of autumn here, and though in the tropics we don't get the golden falling leaves, or the chilly days and nights, we do notice the temperature drops to a lovely temperate degree which means the air conditioners are no longer needed, and we only use the ceiling fans from mid morning to late afternoon. We can sleep with windows open again (though the traffic noise takes adjusting to) and look forward to soups, casseroles and custard veiled puddings. 

Thank you to those sweet ladies who emailed to check up if I was alright as it's been more than two weeks since my last post. With the theme this month of...

...I made the decision to only post on the blog if I had something to share, show, or felt like chatting. Thinking back on my earlier blogging years, when I was writing them 4 or 5 times a week, the purpose in those days was often sewing, stitching, gentle domesticity, or recipe related - things I did a lot of at the time and enjoyed sharing about on the blog. My favourite posts though, were the regular Sunday devotionals I shared for a few years, but they were for a season, and as time went by I found myself more openly including the Lord in every post I wrote, and that continues today. 

Though I still sew, stitch and cook, keep house and live a gentle domestic life, I also have three gorgeous grandchildren living nearby who I see often with their mummy, my dear daughter Blossom (whose real name is Elizabeth in case you didn't know). I also garden, create as much as I can from scratch, spend precious time with a beloved husband when he is home from work, care for our young pug Molly and aging cat Sophie, and go for long country drives with my darling on his one full day off each week. I also immerse my life in the Word of God, because without that I would not function well in all the other areas that take my time. 

So shedding some blogging time has freed me to live my joyful, very ordinary life, in an even more relaxed, and yet very productive way. I was going to say that this was fairly normal to pursue simpler days as you age, but I don't think it's about being older as many women are still very outgoing and social at my age, but more about maturing in my thoughts, and no longer feeling the need for affirmation. Hmmm, that was a big revelation. When I began designing in 2009, my family encouraged me but they did not like my style. I had my patterns published in magazines more than a hundred times over a period of seven or eight years, and that, along with blogging, gave me the affirmation I needed to continue designing. 

But (praise the Lord) I grew up and the past few years it hasn't been important to be affirmed, but it has been very important to learn more about gardening, homemaking, natural health care and repurposing - all with a desire to care responsibly for my home and family, in order to glorify the Lord. 

I wonder what stage of life you are in? Are there changes happening in how you're approaching things? Have you been 'shedding' things in your life throughout May?? 

Around home it has been a very productive time this month, especially in the garden as I am doing things differently this year, 'shedding' the things which have progressively failed in previous years. I'll do a post on the garden in June.

I've also been busy completing Blossom's 30th birthday quilt with the binding and a label...

As the quilt is a Dresden one, I decided to make a chubby Dresden block for the label and stitch a wreath and words of love in the centre circle. The quilt itself was quilted with a leaf design as my girl loves leaves and requested this. It turned out beautifully...

Her birthday was last Sunday and it was a wonderful celebration! Ross had bought her a gold chain with a beautiful gold and emerald pendant, and the children and he had decorated the house very early in the morning and would not let her get out of bed until it was all done. We met for lunch and had a marvellous time together, the first year we have 'gone out' for a birthday since her 21st...but she wanted us both to not have to worry about cooking or cleaning up, but to just relax and celebrate. It truly was special.

A second celebration on that day was news that my 16yo grandson Dee (Kezzie's youngest son), who lives on the opposite side of Australia to us, had accepted Christ as his Lord and Saviour. Mothers and grandmothers, do not give up praying for your family...God works in His own way and in His own time. All we need do is pray. xx

Many years ago, before I taught myself to embroider and quilt, I did cross stitch, and loved the designs of Australian heritage homes by Olga Gostin. The one above is called a Queenslander because many homes in my state 'back in the day' needed to be cooled and kept dry due to our heat and wet seasons and cyclones. You lived upstairs, but the underneath was open for the breezes to cool the house, or the water to pass through. I love these homes and have been fortunate enough to live in some when we were still renting. The home we bought in 2018 is a small low set house as my husband has serious arthritis in his knees and could no longer use stairs. But we have this hanging in our home (he loves it too) as a reminder of the Queenslander beauty. 

After a break of about fifteen years I am once again enjoying the slow pace of cross stitch, and the pattern which has my time at the moment is coming along nicely. I watch an episode or two of The Great British Sewing Bee (on Britbox) after lunch each day as I stitch. I have some hip issues and this afternoon break is wonderful for the essential rest I must have after homemaking and gardening in the mornings.

I put a lot of care into my husband's work lunches as his hours are long, but recently I'd not been as mindful of my own need for a healthy lunch. We do not have an evening meal Monday to Thursday, hence the need for a hearty and healthy lunch. Now I not only plan for his work lunches six days a week, but also for my own...and I really enjoy using leftovers, like in this simple fried rice full of veggies and made with brown rice.

Some days I heat up pre-baked vegetables and some chicken in bone-broth from the freezer, other days it might be avocado and salad on sourdough with a boiled egg, or baked beans with a parmesan sprinkle and toast. If I've been out grocery shopping and running errands, or spent the morning at Blossom's with her and the children, I might opt to steam some pre-packaged frozen dumplings when I get home. 

But I always finish with a bowl of watermelon chunks, which is available in the tropics all year through. As I'm taking an extended break from sweet home baked goods, I get my sweet treat this way for now.

Making my own protein balls for hubby is another important change for me. I have made them for him over many years, but I don't have them myself. Why?? No idea! Now I do. 

In the sewing room, I have bound a very large piece of wonderfully thick woven fabric I found for $8 in the reject bin last year at Spotlight, for Blossom's trio to use as a picnic rug in their backyard at lunchtimes...

....sewn a few more jar covers and crocheted the edges...

...and am working on creating new kitchen curtains, and a laundry curtain, from six identical tea towels. I have a kitchen tea towel in the same print with a crochet edge (which is what gave me the idea!) and it is always on display over the oven door as it's so cheery and pretty, so now I'm going to recreate it as two curtains, also with the crochet edging. The hems have all been unpicked now, and the towels are washed and ironed. Hopefully I shall make a start on them over the weekend.

What are you making?? Anything specific as a gift or for your home?? I'd love to hear about your own month of May before we move into June. :-)

Next week I'll have the free June pattern for this year's block of the month, "Joy in the Ordinary". If you have missed any of the blocks shared so far they are HERE, all free. 

God bless you and keep you safe, well, and cared for in every way you have need. May His joy be abundant in your days, His provision always at hand, and His love so firmly full in your heart that no matter what happens, you know you are loved and cherished by a Father who only ever has your good in mind.

Lots of love

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

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