Winter Knitting

Over the weekend I had a chance to photograph some of my recently completed knitted items. One of my favorite knitting projects over the winter was this bonnet for Jemimah. I was able to learn some new knitting techniques, such as knitting an i-cord and an attached i-cord. I was a little concerned about the attached i-cord, but after watching an instructional video on youtube I was able to easily finish off my bonnet.

The yarn I used was a blend of Merino wool and silk. It was definitely a pleasure to work with and I hope Jemimah will find it a joy to wear. : ) Here is a link to the pattern I used.

You may remember the heartwarmer I knit for Jemimah last fall. Well it was such a sweet little garment that I could not resist knitting another! This time I used a blend of alpaca and wool. I much preferred the outcome, as it has more stretch and drapes nicely when worn. It is super cozy and perfect for the spring evenings ahead.

         I was delighted to discover these buttons at JoAnn's, they compliment the yarn perfectly!

 Before Jemimah was born I knit a little pink sweater using this free pattern on-line. I loved the details that added just the perfect feminine touch to the design. Unfortunately the pattern was only available up to size 6 months. I decided I would try knitting the sweater with a larger needle size and thicker yarn, this resulted in a generous size 18 months! It is so thick and cozy knit from 100% wool.

 Last summer I found these Beatrix Potter buttons at a Mennonite fabric store. I thought they were the perfect finishing touch.

Around Christmas I knit a pair of little mitts for Jemimah to match her scarf. They have been so useful over the past couple months! The pattern was very quick and easy as there was no thumb. A link to the pattern can be found here.

 I also knitted two more shawls to my Etsy page. One in the ruffled style that I usually knit and one in a simpler style as shown in the picture above. I added a few new aprons, dish towels and vintage cook books too! : )

Currently I am spending more time in front of my sewing machine and less time knitting as I am busily working on new spring clothes for Jemimah. There are so many cute patterns for little girls that it is hard to decide which I should use!

"The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy." Psalm126:3

Easy White Bread

After enjoying a relatively snow free December it is a pleasure to look from my kitchen window and see the yard covered with snow! Almost every night this month we have enjoyed eating homemade soup and bread for dinner. There is something about the snowy, cozy evenings of January that seem just perfect for soup and bread. Generally I attempt to find recipes for wholesome bread made with whole wheat and/or oatmeal, but every now and again I like to bake some white bread. This particular recipe is very quick, easy and delicious! It is the perfect addition to a dinner of vegetable soup, and even better toasted with homemade jam.

Easy White Bread:
5 1/2 cups warm water

3 tbsp. yeast

4 tsp. salt

4 tbsp. butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

14 cups flour

Place in large bowl water, yeast, salt, butter and sugar. With a wire whisk, whip until smooth. Add flour. The dough should be very soft and sticky. This keeps your bread soft. Put a little vegetable oil on hands and work dough until it looks smooth. It does not need kneading. Let rise once, punch down and form into loaves. Makes 4 loaves. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

The recipe makes 4 loaves, but unless I intend to share I usually cut the recipe in half.

 Jemimah enjoys eating her bread toasted with the plum jam we made last summer. : ) Over the weekend we purchased a booster seat for her, and she loves being able to sit up at the table with us. We both enjoy watching the birds eat at the bird feeder outside the kitchen window. Every day one or two Red-bellied Woodpeckers will come to our feeder, and Jemimah seems especially captivated by them.

It is hard to believe January will soon be coming to an end. It has been a cozy month, and productive. I hope to share some of my recent projects with you soon.

Matthew 4:4 "Jesus answered 'It is written : Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. '"

Christmas 2015

This Christmas season was so filled with joy! Jemimah is now at an age where she can enjoy all the beauty and excitement of the season. Each morning she woke up delighted to rediscover the Christmas decorations about the house.

She did her best to help Adam put the lights on the tree! : )

Mom and I were quite busy sewing this past month, and we were very grateful to have been able to have all of our orders out in time. There were many mornings when I would have a stack of boxes ready to ship sitting on the kitchen table. But once the last of the orders were mailed....

I took some time to sew two new dresses for Jemimah. I like this simple pattern as it is easy to sew, and I hope will last her a while. She is growing sooo fast! Jemimah wore the cozy flannel dress on Christmas day.

In the evenings I have worked on my knitting. Jemimah was in need of a scarf now that it is growing cooler. But a regular scarf would have been too easy for her to pull off, so I was delighted with this pattern I found on Pinterest. I thought the pattern was very clever with its keyhole design. It was such a pleasure to knit that I decided to knit a similar scarf for my grandmother. For my grandmother I used the Miss Marple scarf pattern.

Christmas is the perfect time to enjoy tea and scones! To make my scones extra special I added chopped up fresh cranberries and orange zest. It was a festive combination that I would definitely make again.

      I hope you all enjoyed a beautiful Christmas season! And I pray that the New Year ahead will be filled with blessings and joy!

"The steps of the godly are directed by the LORD. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will not fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand."

                                        -Psalm 37:23-24

Christmas Baking

So far I haven't had time to begin my Christmas baking. But I have Christmas tins set aside just waiting to be filled. : ) In the mean time I thought I would collect some of my favorite Christmas recipes from past posts to share with you.

                                                                                              Christmas Mint

                                                                                              Frosted Butter Cookies

                                                                                             Toffee Bars

                                                                                            Grandpa's Molasses Cookies

Please don't forget to stop by Lilacs in Spring as I mentioned before everything is 15% off if you use coupon code LILAC15 .

Christmas Sale!

This week I am offering a special sale of 15% off everything in my Etsy shop. To take advantage of tise special offer use coupon code LILAC15 when checking out.

              Recently I began making felt Christmas ornaments. They are so old-fashioned and quaint!

 And shawls make wonderful Christmas gifts too. : ) The coupon is good through Saturday the 12th.

                                    I hope you are all enjoying a lovely start to December!

Last Month

Last month just flew by! Since October tends to be the last month of nice weather where I live, we spent the last month wrapping up outdoor projects, preparing for winter and taking day trips to enjoy the beautiful foliage.

 In the evenings I have been working on my knitting again. Currently I have another heartwarmer for Jemimah in my work basket, as well as two shawls I am knitting for my Etsy shop.

  October is always a very busy month for my mom and I. Many schools study pioneers in the fall and visit one room school houses. We were very busy this fall sewing pioneer outfits, and German outfits for Oktoberfests. I have many fond memories of studying pioneer history when my sisters and I were homeschooled. One fall my mother used the "Little House" study and we made homemade butter and bread to take with us to the one room school house. We had such fun shaking our mason jars of cream and a clothes pin to the "Little House" fiddle music cassette tape. : )

 October is also a great time to bake bread. During the summer months I tend not to bake bread very often, but with the arrival of cooler weather there is something extra cozy about the smell of baking bread. Plus it is great to have a fire in the wood stove for the bread to rise by. Here is a delicious bread recipe I baked last month.

  Lately I have enjoyed trying new recipes I have found on Pinterest, that do not call for white sugar or flour. This recipe has been popular with my family, as we all love bananas and peanut butter.

  In October I also finished up my canning for the year. I made applesauce and apple pie filling. What a lovely treat to enjoy the fragrance of simmering apples and cinnamon! I used this recipe to make my apple pie filling. I liked the fact that the author provided different options for sweetening the filling; I used brown sugar.

My "pantry" is now stocked with my home canned jams, tomatoes, peaches, apple sauce and apple pie filling. I am so grateful for the LORD's blessings on the fruit and vegetable harvests in our area this year!

                                     I hope you all enjoyed a blessed and beautiful October!

"Surely, Lord, You bless the righteous; You surround them with Your favor as with a shield." Psalm 5:12

Pleating and Smocking

 

Over the years I have always admired smocking. Some of my favorite dresses as a little girl were the Polly Flinders dresses my mom would find at thrift stores. The soft calicos accented with complex smocking were a pleasure for me to admire even as a five year old.

The idea of learning to smock never occurred to me until I was around 19. It was about that time that I was introduced to Sew Beautiful magazine, which is truly a wonderful resource to those who enjoy sewing, embroidering or smocking. Through Sew Beautiful I learned about the process of smocking, and found ads for companies that provided pleaters. At first I was a little reluctant to purchase a pleater, due to the price, and decided to hand pleat my first smocked creation. It was a christening gown with slip and bonnet. It was not perfect, but I was pleased with the results. The set actually won best of sewing that year at the fair. : )

After that I knew smocking was an art I wanted to pursue. At that time I sent away for a pleater. The pleater is handy tool, as it saves hours of work over hand pleating. Sometimes I have found my little pleater tricky to use, but over time I learned a few tips that have made my pleating more successful.

Here is my pleater threaded, and my fabric neatly and evenly rolled. It is important to make sure your fabric is well pressed and evenly rolled. That way it can more easily be fed through the pleater without bunching.

 The middle bar can be removed by pulling out the little knob, allowing you to replace the needles. It is vital to have perfect needles. Over time needles can become bent, and a bent needle can spoil your pleating. I discovered this the hard way, more than once.

In this picture I have begun pleating the fabric. I always find it remarkable how the needles and grooved bars, working together, can so quickly and neatly pleat the fabric! I stand over my work while pleating, and go very slowly. I always made mistakes when I tried to speed through this step; the fabric would stretch out unevenly or the fabric would bunch.

All done! You can now just slip your thread off the needles, ties it off and start smocking.

The fabric is perfectly pleated and I have "lines" of thread. As I move the pleats I can see the thread lines, and this is a guide for my stitching. It is kind of like lines on a paper, you want to keep your pattern within the lines.

My favorite part of the process is the actual smocking. It is relaxing work. To create the pattern you simply pick up part of the pleat with your threaded needle. Here is a terrific tutorial to make the wave stitch.

It is always fun to add some roses and leaves! You attach your smocked section in a manner similar to attaching gathers, only you want to make sure your pleats stay even and don't become crushed.

           Jemimah's first birthday dress! It was such a joy to be able to create this special little dress for my daughter.

          I hope that those interested in learning more about smocking found this post useful! It truly is an enjoyable handicraft that I would recommend. : )