The January tea towel post...

 Every year in January I replace all my kitchen tea towels and if you've followed along here for a while that will not be news to you.

It's also when I share a free tea towel stitchery or project, and why should 2021 be any different?

This year I have the 'Flourish' stitchery for you; a simple and quick embroidery that would be just as sweet sewn onto a variety of different displays but I love it sitting pretty on one of my favoured flour-sack towels and edged in soft florals. 

One very important tip which has helped many of my readers and fellow stitchers over the years is to choose your feature fabric first, and then choose thread colours to blend in with it. Can you see in the photo how my thread choice matches the fabric colours? 

It's also fun to throw in one colour that causes the stitchery to pop. For 'Flourish' I chose yellow and just that one small addition has brought the design into it's own so that it blends with the fabric but is also separate to the fabric.

In this free pattern I have also included a link to my tutorial for basic fabric trimming of tea towels. Use the download link below to access the Flourish pattern.

DOWNLOAD FLOURISH

Most years I buy many of my new tea towels at Bed, Bath & Table during their after Christmas sale because the quality is gorgeous and the designs lend themselves to becoming beautiful backgrounds for contrasting trims, and can even be made into the sweetest aprons. Sadly, with all the import issues since Covid our local store had not been able to replenish their usual stock in time so I had to look elsewhere. 

After a bit of thought and three days pacing the kitchen to think, I decided to purchase a few thick and inexpensive blue striped tea towels from Best & Less instead. I have this idea you see, to make over the kitchen in blues and lemons (think French Country?) and whilst that may not work given the rather drab caramel brown cabinet doors (they cannot be painted) I surged forward anyhow and finished one new blue tea towel.

The idea for a patchwork fabric trim across the bottom came about after an afternoon spent sewing a number of different snowball blocks for a project I'm including in The Homemakers Heart digital magazine.

I had made extra snowball blocks so that I could play around with their placement in the project and once that had been decided and the layout sewn together I had six blocks left over...so three became a feature on this blue striped tea towel along with a length of lovely white cotton lace for old country charm.

(Aren't the wooden spoons just delightful? They were a gift from my friend Margaret.)

It was only afterwards that I realised this is not going to blend with my dream blue/lemon country kitchen makeover during 2021, but it is just right for a friend.

I took some photos as I made the snowball blocks, just in case you'd like to make a few yourself.

To make one block you will need a -

One, 5.5" square of floral fabric

Four, 2" squares of contrast tonal fabric

Draw a diagonal line across the back of the four 2" squares and pin them into each corner of the floral square.

Sew along the drawn line and trim 1/4" outside that seam.

Press the corners away from the floral fabric to create a snowball block!

Make a few and sew them together for a larger project, or make one and it can become a mug rug or pincushion. You can also alter the size to suit your needs.

They are fabulous for scrap busting because they only use small amounts of fabric.

I also enjoyed the process of choosing two fabrics which blended so nicely together and knowing that I was reducing my stash of small leftover pieces gave me great satisfaction.

Below - hand quilting the project for my new magazine. I am thrilled that I got to use the last piece of my Tilda bunny fabric on something which will eventually be displayed in our home.

Now, something often asked over the years -

Question: "What do you do with all your smaller scraps of fabric?"

Answer: I keep them for applique.

I never waste my fabric scraps and leftovers. If the piece is still sizeable (a bit smaller than a fat 16th but larger than a charm square) it goes into a box labelled 'large scraps', but if it's smaller than a charm square it goes into one of six colour-coded jars in my sewing room. I display them along my shelving because they're so pretty to look at but also near at hand for new designs (because you know I love tiny pieces of applique!)...

Here's a peek at one new Homemakers Heart design in the making that has lots of little applique pieces sourced from those jars...

Now about The Homemakers Heart.

Because my email inbox overflows with questions about when it starts I thought it best to update you in today's blog post.

It's a monthly digital magazine which will be emailed to all subscribers.

I am launching it next week and that's when subscriptions open so you need to be patient just a little bit longer.

Inside the magazine are articles to encourage women in many aspects of the homemaker life such as - health, gardening, homemaking tips, sewing patterns, stitchery patterns, decorating, faith, recipes, gift ideas, plus a NEW block of the month!

Next week I'll give you a peek at what's inside the first issue so stay subscribed to the blog (there's a little box in my sidebar which says "never miss a blog post" which you just need to pop your email address in) or -

Follow me HERE on Instagram

Sign up HERE for my free newsletter

Follow along on Bloglovin' HERE

I shall sign off on this very wet (hasn't stopped raining since Christmas) Wednesday morning with a picture that may melt your heart almost as much as it melts mine...

Cully May, Charlie David and Rafaella Lucy. 

My little treasures. 

Blossom and the children all came down with head colds late last week and though the two girls are now much improved our sweet Mama Blossom and little Charlie are still snuffly so I've not seen them for over a week. 

Mr E started his new job last week and we can't take the risk of spreading that head cold around the family...but goodness, we miss them so. How blessed we are to have phones where the children pop in and out of the conversations between me and my girl. "I miss you Nana" and "I love you Nana" are the sweetest of words to hear, aren't they.

Oh, one more thing...I mentioned turning tea towels into aprons. If that idea sounds like something you'd like to try HERE is a tutorial I did last year - very, very simple. And now I want to make more aprons too! 

God bless all you lovely ones!

May you never feel alone, never feel hopeless, and always be assured that God loves you and will never leave you nor forsake you. Put your trust in Him, take a deep breath and embrace each new day.

Loving hugs

PS: Impirtant...one lovely lady who joined my Let's Stitch Again Club has an invalid email address. If you joined the Club and have still not received an email from me would you please use my contact details (here) and get in touch. Thank you. xx

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

A birth notice and some project tutorials...

Would you like to see what I gave Blossom and her DB for Christmas?

In celebration of their first child's arrival last August I designed and stitched a birth notice, something 'just for them'.

They had no idea about this gift so their delight on Christmas Day upon opening it was spontaneous and heart warming.

Blossom re-arranged their home over the weekend and sent me a photo to show it hanging above Cully May's cot in their room. This time it was I who received the blessing.

Don't you get the most wonderful feeling when you make a gift for someone you care about? 

One of my daughters, Anita, was very taken with all my door hangers when she and little Aminah came to stay last September so I'm planning to make a couple for her in the next week or so. 

She especially liked the positive messages I stitch on the ones displayed around our home and as I have scores of completed stitcheries in my design box that have not yet been used in projects they will be my starting point. 

When I stitch a design I cut my background fabric 4 inches wider and higher than the size of the stitchery so there is enough space to trace and stitch the words I want to use. From there I can finish them as lovingly made door hangers. 

I'm also going to make some as a gift for my daughter Aisha. She and hubby Tim celebrate their wedding anniversary in February so I will make sure the messages on their door hangers focus on 'love'.

Tomorrow morning I'm off to babysit Cully May for an hour or two while Blossom does a deep clean of her bathroom, but then I'll head home to give my kitchen an even deeper clean. You see, every January I give my kitchen a makeover.

Creating a 'fresh' kitchen early in the New Year is something I look forward to once Christmas has passed, but to be honest, with Mr E  home these past few weeks the timing hasn't been right and I've delayed my plans a bit. 

However, this delightful chore can no longer be put off and tomorrow I will begin removing items no longer needed, re-organising the pantry and drawers, laying fresh lining paper on the shelving, sewing a few pretty trimmed tea towels, sorting through all the recipes I've printed up from the year before and filing them in a newly bound recipe folder, scrubbing the oven, and washing the fridge inside and out. 

I'll also do a check of all my spice jars for freshness and a purge of anything out of date in the pantry and refrigerator.

Once all that is done I can clean the hard surfaces and windows, vacuum,  mop, and lay a new kitchen mat.

By the time Mr E starts his new job on Thursday the kitchen should be just right and I can begin working on a 4-week rotating menu and baking plan. 

I should also make a new apron...yes, that would be nice. 

If you're needing a little 'kitchen inspiration' perhaps these older tutorials and blog posts of mine will come in handy?

Sew some new kitchen/tea towels HERE.

Sew a 'bag bag' HERE

Lining pantry shelves with 'scrap' paper HERE.

Sew a simple half-apron HERE.

What will you be doing around the home this week?

hugs

Tea towels anyone?

On Wednesday I took Blossom out for a special pre-baby 'pamper day'. We went to the hairdressers for a shampoo, cut and blow dry, then to the nail salon for pedicures before lunch and cappuccinos at the Coffee Club. 

Opposite where we were having coffee was a discount store with a big stand of gorgeous country style tea towels out front so after lunch we headed over for a browse. 

Now, I *love* fresh new tea towels and regularly update my stash because we do a lot of cooking in this house and my poor kitchen towels bear the brunt, so I purchased half a dozen whilst Blossom cooed over the baby wear display nearby. 

Whilst these new purchases won't require any extra embellishment from me, I do still have a supply of tea towels standing by which are destined for embroidery or applique. Why? Because I love to have a few 'special' ones for use when guests come to visit. 

Earlier this year I did a tutorial on how to make this pretty appliqued tea towel (read the blog post here)...

 ...and at the time I was hoping to create a new one each month.
Unfortunately 2016 (so far) has kept me on my toes with family health challenges so the plan has not yet come to fruition, but last night I remembered some applique bird pieces I shared with you last year and decided they'd be perfect for a new tea towel project!

Here's the little applique shapes (read the blog post here)...

...and here's the tea towel and fabric I pulled from my stash last night.

They're a perfect background for the bright little bird shapes!
I'll hand applique the birds in place on a strip of the peachy/pink gingham before I sew the completed section across the bottom of the green towel. The preparation didn't take long as I already had the applique pieces ready to use...

After mixing and matching body, wing and chest sections I peeled away the Vliesofix and fused the birds onto the gingham...

Once the shapes have been blanket stitched I'll attach the gingham trim to the bottom edge of the tea towel using the same method I showed you in this tutorial...

If you'd like to make some embellished tea towels over the weekend those little bird applique shapes are a free download here in my shop.

My "Bird in a Pot" pattern is normally $1.50 but until August 1st I'm sharing it as a freebie in my shop too!

Thought you might like to see sweet Blossom at almost full term...

She had taken a beautiful photo of the two of us earlier in the day, reflected in her vintage mirror...

So close.
Counting the hours till she and her DB hold their precious daughter.

Have an especially lovely day.
I'm off to Heather's for some stitching and to swoon over her latest craft makeover and to eat delicious food and drink endless cups of tea and coffee whilst trying to contain laughter and not split my sides! I know I'll fail dismally, but it's worth it for the fun we'll have.

hugs