A nice wintry day...

 Finally, and I say this with a heart full of joy, winter has arrived. Some years it only lasts a week or two, other years a month. But today it is nice and cool, and I needed to put a cardigan on over my nightgown when I got up, as well as slippers to cover my feet as I walk around on our tiled floors - though in the sun outside it's lovely and warm (perfect for gardening).

It's been nine days since my last blog post and back then I wrote of my plans to get back to the hand-quilting of Simple Days, expecting to complete the remaining eight blocks by the end of August (only one block had been quilted, and that was last September). Well, can you believe that in those nine days I have completed another six blocks already! Only two more to go and I'll be able to sew the label in place and add the binding. And with the weather bureau predicting a a week of cool temperatures ahead there's a distinct possibility I'll have the quilt all finished by the time our short cold snap is over. 

I settle down each afternoon with the quilt, my needle and thread, and a murder mystery - rotating through Poirot, Marple, Midsomer Murders, or Rosemary & Thyme. 

Today as the morning was so nippy I decided to quilt until lunch and then do all my chores in the afternoon. 

My pretty purple slippers added an air of elegance and royalty (Blossom has a red pair) because I'm celebrating with the Queen this week. 

I've also brought out my favourite Royal Albert mug and enjoyed it full of hot tea, with a side of toast, for morning tea each day. I am an unashamed monarchist and love the faith and enduring constancy of our Queen.

I've been milling spelt grain lately and baking bread, muffins and biscuits (cookies) with it - my, so delicious and hearty! Hubby loves it, and it loves his digestive system, which is an added bonus.

Lunches for me, when he is at work, are pretty much the same each day - nourish bowls. With a base of brown rice, I top that with black beans, salad vegetables, grated carrot, macadamias (or cashews), greens, homemade Korean chilli sauce and a sesame drizzle. Delicious and very filling! 

Every day I swim my laps in the pool, even now that it's winter and the water is icy, because I love how refreshing it is to swim in cold water, plus its good for circulation. I normally have my swim after a bit of gardening, which at the moment consists of pruning, weeding, fertilizing vegetables, and extending the areas where I cover the ground with cardboard and sugar cane mulch. 

I have pumpkins growing out front and also out back. The plant out in the sunny front yard already has some little pumpkins appearing, but I think the one out back is not far behind. Today I extended the cardboard/mulch area under it as it's grown a lot in the past week.

We dismantled the worm farm in early autumn as we'd not had the success with it that we'd hoped, but it gave us three large trays complete with many holes across the bottom, and today I filled one with soil and planted out coriander (cilantro) seeds. We eat a lot of fresh coriander, but it's too hot for it to grow in the tropics most of the year so winter and early spring are the only time to sow. 

Hubby bought me this Gorilla Cart about six weeks ago and it's my gardening buddy. I don't have to carry heavy things very far now, just put what I'm using in the cart and off I go. This has certainly been a blessing for my back! ;-)

I'm reading a few different books, especially at night, but am considering hosting a book study on this one, as it's brimming with home wisdom and ideas, and so much is based on a home that honours the Lord. If this interests you let me know in the comments below. :-)

I like to change the living/dining/office area around every season, and that's usually just moving my desk or swapping the blue couch with the dining table...but this time I did something new. 

As I still run a business from home, it occurred to me that perhaps I could separate my desk from the living room by moving the blue couch further in, away from under the window, and using it as a sort of divider...thus giving me a slightly separate computer area.

It's actually made the 'living' area a lot cosier.

One of the other things I've been working on is a new issue of The Homemakers Heart magazine, and here's a peek at one of the projects I'll be including.

All previous issues of The Homemakers Heart from 2021 are still available and free to download HERE just in case you missed them. 

I wondered if you may like to sew a Union Jack cushion? I have made three or four in the past decade, and intend to make another over the weekend, in pastels, like my Royal Albert mug.

HERE IS A LINK to the free pattern/tutorial I shared back in 2017. I used some Tilda 'Circus' fabric in this version...

And this is another Union Jack cushion I made using pretty Robyn Pandolph florals. This one had hemmed edges to the stripes, whereas the other one (above) has blanket stitch applique over raw edges.

Now, I'd best announce the winner of my hand-stitched Books & Roses block!

Thanks for all your entries, and the comments about how you would use this little block. I really enjoyed reading them!

The winner is....

JANNI HARLICK

Congratulations to you, Janni. I have sent you an email and once I have your address this little block will be popped in the mail and winging it's way to you. 

That's it for this week, which I hope has been a good one for you?

May the Lord stoke the flames of your homemaker heart, give you peace and delight in your gentle domestic responsibilities, and fill your thoughts with fresh ideas for creating beautiful spaces around your home where those who dwell within or come to visit may find sanctuary from the weariness of toil and trial in the outside world.

Biggest hugs,

your friend...

Laundry room tidy up...

Earlier this month I wrote about May being laundry month in the book The Simple Home by Rhonda Hetzel, and how it inspired me to get into my own laundry and give it a tiny makeover in order to create a more efficient space. 

Our laundry is very small, with three doorways (into the kitchen, hubby's study, and the backyard) and two windows. There are no cupboards, or worktops, for things like storage, sorting or folding laundry. When we first bought this home late in 2018 I had no idea how I would manage with such a small space and no storage or work areas, but bless his heart, my husband installed a set of wire baskets in the only available space, under the small louvre window.

During his three weeks holiday break he worked like a trojan in the yard and house, removing old internal doors, painting new doors and installing them, clearing garden trimmings, chipping pruned tree limbs, installing a third permanent pump and well trough which also needed extensive pipe work (especially after the recent heavy rains)...and on it went. Meanwhile, I made my way through various rooms in the house to deep clean, and when he saw me pulling apart the laundry to clean and refresh everything we decided to add another wire basket to the three already installed, and that one small thing made such a difference to the space. I'll show you a few before and after pics of the space and how much nicer it has become to work in.

The wire baskets BEFORE...a cramped corner wedged between the study door and the back door.

AFTER...a prettier corner with better organisation.

Have to admit that plants make a huge difference to any space. We have over 40 indoor plants throughout the house and by the end of this week there will be three more.

Even adding a plant to sit on top of the indoor vegetable scraps bucket (below) lifts that sad laundry corner into a more welcoming space.

On the other side of the laundry, which is lodged between the back door and the wide kitchen entrance, live the washing machine, dryer, and the laundry sink. The only way I could make more space here was to add a rolling craft caddy and park it in front of the sink, which genuinely made a big difference to storing things I use every day.

Here's the BEFORE...

...and AFTER. 

Not a lot of changes, but more of a reshuffle of a few things due to the extra wire basket in the other corner, and also a declutter of excess cleaning products which I no longer use. The cordless vacuum has now been removed to the rubbish bin as it completely died last month (perfect timing as hubby bought me a wonderful new Miele vacuum for my birthday in February), and I no longer needed two baskets on top of the machine, or to store my extra washing powder there. Adding another plant in that space once again lifts the overall space.

Years ago, I was watching a video by Aunt Ruthie (Sugar Pie Farmhouse) and she was in the laundry, prettying up the space. She showed how she used a pretty china teacup as a scoop for washing powder and ever since then, that's what I have been using. 

Whilst refreshing the laundry I realised there were more ways to 'pretty things up' other than my usual go-to of plants and a tea cup. We use Colour Catchers in our wash because as there's only two of us at home we don't have a lot of washing, so I usually wait until I can fill the machine (all colours and whites) and throw a small square of the colour catcher sheet in with everything. 

I had this beautiful trinket box gifted to me by Wendy many years ago, and thought how pretty it would be to store my little squares of colour catchers! 

I used to just tear off a bit from the Colour Catcher sheet for each load of washing, but last week I cut one Colour Catcher sheet into 24 little squares, and popped them into their new pretty container.

It's so economical too! On the box you are instructed to use one whole sheet for a load of washing, but I assure you just a tiny square is all you need to do the job. 

I still don't have a nice bench to fold washing, and I never will, but that's okay as I can use the dining table or our bed for that task. 

I enjoy all aspects of washing - the sorting, soaking, washing, hanging on the line, taking off the line, and folding everything on our bed or at the dining table. I even enjoy ironing! Do you? 

If you'd like to read a Laundry excerpt from Rhonda's book The Simple Home, she shared it on her blog a few years back and you can find it HERE

What is your laundry like? Have you thought about ways you can freshen the space or make it more efficient to work in?

Increasingly as the year flows on, I am becoming more and more contented with life, with my home and even my limitations. There's really no way to hold back age, and it's only natural that some things become a little more difficult to manage the way we used to. At first I felt frustrated by the 'new' limitations of my body, but as the months go by I am delighting in the slowing of days, and the renewed interests I have in reading, crochet, writing, gardening, HOME - more so than I had when running Elefantz Designs full time. 

I also love to clean and declutter, so one day a week is especially put aside for that purpose. Though the home itself is cleaned and maintained daily, I choose one room or area per week to give extra attention to. Last week was the laundry. 

The week before was all the kitchen appliances - coffee machine, dishwasher filter, microwave, cooktop, removing the oven door glass for a good scrub, and pulling out the fridge to clean behind and under. 

I have four new wire baskets to add to our second pantry later this week (which sits against one wall of my husband's study) and shall be able to store all the canned goods in a more efficient manner, by date and size and content. 

Next week I hope to (finally) make curtains for the kitchen window, plus the small laundry window, and perhaps the small window in the dining area. It all depends on whether I find the right fabric - but I'm not going to buy just any fabric in order to achieve my goal. I must genuinely like the fabric and be sure that I'll be content having it on display in my home for many years to come. Otherwise, I'd be throwing money away if I rush and end up not liking what I get.

Today it is time to tidy up the sewing room, and complete a housewarming cushion for my daughter Kezzie who recently moved to Tasmania with her family and has just found a nice house to rent by the sea. I've used sections of a block from Anni Down's quilt pattern, Gossip in the Garden, and added my own layout and borders in the bright colours my daughter likes. I just know Kezzie will love it, as she does anything I make her. 

The hand quilting is finished now so all I need do is add the backing and fill with a cushion insert.

But first, tidying of the sewing room. 

Soon I plan to make a number of fabric, vintage lace and vintage button packs for sale in my Etsy Shop, plus a few kits for some smaller projects as I am so often asked to supply these items.

GIVEAWAY WINNER

The winner of our Oven Mitt Kit Giveaway has been drawn. Congratulations Mary-Louise!

I have emailed you and Xanthe (who sponsored this giveaway prize) so all you need do is reply to that email with your address and she will post you a beautiful oven mitt kit!

In the garden I spent yesterday morning pruning rose bushes and citrus trees as we're only a couple of weeks away from winter. The roses above are my last for a while, but how glorious they are, and their sweet fragrance fills the room. 

Even though it is almost winter, our days are still hot and humid. I am praying hard for a real cooling to arrive soon, the kind of cooling that we all need after a nine-month summer...the kind of cooling that slows you, makes you want to brew hot chocolate, wrap yourself in a pretty cardigan, pull on warm socks, and sup on hearty bowls of minestrone soup with thick slices of freshly baked bread covered in real butter. Yes, that's the winter I long for. 

Final thing for today is what I'm reading. This time it's actually a devotional journal. 

"My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers is a real favourite of mine - oh, how he can speak right into your heart and draw you closer and closer to the Lord! Now I have it in a yearly journal format, with the devotional on one side of the page and room for journaling and reflection in the margin.

It's simply beautiful, the book itself and the words within. 

I purchased it through Amazon Australia here but you can probably get it at most online bookstores or your local Christian book shop. 

What are you reading at the moment?

Okay, best be off and get into that sewing room. It was sorely neglected during my husband's three weeks at home, but I do enjoy tidying up in there and reorganising as a new season approaches, so I am not complaining. 

God bless you and keep you safe in His loving care,

hugs

Have you seen the June designs for my "Let's Stitch Again" pattern club? 

Pop over HERE for a look!

UFO finishes, May homemaking and a storm...

 Well, we thought it had been another failed wet season here in the tropics of North Queensland, but there was a little relief a couple of weeks ago when we got some good rain for a few days, but last night it came down so hard and fast that the yards flooded quickly and all around town streets were going under water. 

One of our pumps wasn't working properly, and hubby went out in the windy torrential storm to dig trenches, empty the pool (which was a sparkling clear blue before the storm, but had now overflowed and was full of yard refuse and mud), pull up the broken pump from the pump well and got it going again (wonderful having a trained mechanical mind as a husband!), then spent hours working on the long pipes which carry the water from the yards to the storm drain in the street. 

The photo below was taken a couple of hours into the storm, looking from our back door towards the pool area, then it just got worse. 

Two trees came down, but they were only about eight feet tall. 

This morning the rain had really settled so with barely any sleep hubby went back out to fix everything and do more maintenance as we're told to expect more storms in the coming days/weeks. He's been back to Bunnings twice already today, and as I write this it is 2.30pm and he's not eaten...he can't eat when there's so much to do. He also went up into the roof because our laundry ceiling (which collapsed during the 2019 floods) is wet again, so that's another thing he's trying to work on. 

I'm cleaning, cooking, washing and drying, and generally having to stay out of his way, and I'm praying hard for him. The upside of all this is that the town dam is full again. It's good to have an upside.

So, let's chat about the good stuff, yeh?

Last time I showed you a UFO project I was just about to begin the hand quilting on. It's completed now and on our bed. Seriously love how it turned out and am really pleased I added cross-hatching around the stitchery. 

It's pretty dark here at the moment so photos aren't the best, but I do love it displayed on the bed. You know when you go in of a night to turn down the covers and you read a Scripture that means so much, and you sense that beautiful peace from God? That's how it is for us each night now. I should have made a Scripture cushion for the bed years ago...but hey, I have lots of Scripture stitcheries completed so I can probably make a cushion for every season. Nice idea. :-)

I was asked in a comment about the thread I use for hand quilting and also the needle. Whenever I hand quilt it is with DMC Perle #12 thread, or if I can get it, Perle #16, which is the Finca Presencia brand. The needle I use is my ordinary size 9 embroidery needle. The lady also asked if I used the 'rocking' method to hand quilt? Not really. Hand quilting to me is just running stitch and I sew one stitch at a time the same as if I were doing running stitch on one of my hand embroideries. 

 On my May reading list is a title I am working through this year, The Simple Home, plus a newbie, A Year Without the Grocery Store.

The Simple Home, by Rhonda Hetzel of the blog Down to Earth, is written for the homemaker as a month-by-month discussion and encouragement. Each month has a theme, and the theme for May is Laundry Love.

I like the quotes she adds to the pages because they make me stop and ponder...

...but mostly I like her content. Rhonda writes as though we're having a conversation and shares much of the simple practicalities of each monthly theme and homemaking in general.

So this month, once things settle, I'm going to get working on my laundry room. It's barely even a room to be honest. With three doorways and two windows, this little space next to the kitchen can be rather challenging to work in...but Rhonda wrote some suggestions which made me rethink my oft-used space and has inspired me to do some planning and re-organising (if possible).

The other book I have not begun yet, but it's on the coffee table where I can pick it up each afternoon tea-break as I enjoy a cuppa and a small sweet treat. I'm sure there will be a lot of useful information to glean.

Another finish already for May is the design I re-stitched last month to make a cover for my new Bible. I shared the pattern as a free gift and you'll find the download link HERE

It was pretty warm here last winter and too hot to spend much time with a rug on my lap, or a quilt top to hand-quilt, so these are two projects I have on the go for coming months and intend to complete. 

This is one of Lucy of Attic 24's free patterns, the Hydrangea blanket. I finished about 1/4 of it last year during our supposedly cooler months, and hope to have it finished by the end of winter (end of August). All the balls of yarn are Stylecraft DK from the UK Wool Warehouse, some which are leftover balls from previous crochet projects, and the rest are balls I purchased during the pandemic in colours I liked. 

I should fess up and tell you I have 'another' crochet blanket pattern by Attic 24 partially made as well, but I decided the colours were too washed out so I folded it up and put it aside. But you never know, I may complete that one day as well.

The other project to complete this winter is my Simple Days quilt! I began last September on the hand quilting but after one block the weather got so hot when spring arrived that I put it aside for this year's cooler days. 

Poor thing, all that stitching and piecing, and then I neglect it. However, you can't lay a quilt across your lap in the tropics unless it's a real winter (which is actually like spring, but much cooler than the rest of the year), and I'm thinking with all this rain and soaked wet earth across most of our state, it may be a cool winter after all. Praying! :-)

Lastly to show you are the new curtains I got for one of the windows in our living/dining room. They are sheer with a lovely botanical design in a muted green. We previously had thick cream cotton curtains but they made the room quite dark in the afternoon and I like more light inside, so these were a great find on the bargain table at Spotlight and have definitely made a difference. 

I will sign off now and leave you with two things. 

Firstly, a recent photo of Cully May, Rafaella and Charlie David, because I've actually had emails asking about them. They are real characters with very individual personalities, but they adore each other and do the craziest things, as you can tell by this photo. It's the best job being their Nana!

And the second thing is a video which may inspire if you're low on cleaning motivation in the kitchen. I have watched this five times in the past 16 months for that every reason, and every time I get this burst of energy that lasts for days and my home gets a great refresh. Plus you will love Niamh's gentle Irish voice...

I hope you all are doing well? Let me know, okay? 

I'm sure we all have days, or even seasons, where our homemaker hearts are weary, fatigued or uninspired. 

I love to hear about your lives and the everyday things you do as you go about your business, so tell me, on days when you're not motivated to clean or tidy or do things around home, what inspires you to get up and moving? For me it is videos like Niamh's, or reading an old Country Living UK magazine (I have a collection from 2009-21) where many pages inspire my homemaking creativity with ideas.

Okay, better sign off and start a pot of nourishing soup because I think that's exactly what my soaking wet and exhausted husband will need for dinner. 

Bless you all so very much,