The Hidden Art of Homemaking {Chapter 12: Clothing}

So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.   Matthew 6:28, 29 NKJV

We are instructed not to worry about clothing, but to trust God for its provision. However, Mrs. Schaeffer suggests that if we consider the flowers (as Jesus invited us to consider), we will be amazed at the beauty, the variety, the amazing splendor of color, shape, and form that is to be seen. The Master Artist, our Creator, has arrayed the flowers in glory!  

 As Christians, we know that true beauty is not simply what one looks like on the outside. 

Your adornment must not be merely external...but let it be the inner person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.  I Peter 3:3, 4 NASB

When my two oldest children were in a 4-H club for homeschoolers, a visitor once remarked to one of the moms about the beauty of her daughter.  The mom simply replied, "As long as she is beautiful inside." I have often thought of the wisdom of this mother, who declared that inner beauty was more valuable.
Yes, inner beauty is "precious in the sight of God", and we know that He "looks on the heart" (I Samuel 16:7). But does that mean that we should neglect external beauty altogether?  Mrs. Schaeffer asks this question:

...is there any reason why a child of the One who designed, created, brought forth and clothed the flowers should set out to look ugly and drab? Are we representing him by being unattractive?

What are some ways that the homemaker can display creativity in clothing herself and her family?

Certainly, sewing clothes would come under the category of creativity. I have made some clothing for my daughters (and some for my grandchildren), and it is a joy to see them wear something that I have created...a calico dress with a crisp white collar, a pink gingham flannel nightgown, a romper sewn in a garden print and "leaf" buttons. I have not mastered the art of creating clothing suitable for adults. My talents lie mainly with "cute."

Knitting or crocheting clothing is a beautiful form of creativity. I would love to learn to knit, but I am an old dog who had difficulty learning that new trick. My two younger daughters have learned to knit some, and have made hats and scarves. We are all a long way off from being able to create that cable knit sweater my son has always wanted.

Can a homemaker still be creative with clothing even if she doesn't make clothes from scratch?  I think so.

fabric flower on a Walmart dress

My girls and I have had fun embellishing ready-made clothes. Adding a fabric flower, someribbon, a bit of cross-stitch, a touch of embroidery...all are ways of adding a creative and personal touch. Often such details are the difference in inexpensive and boutique-style clothing, so you can save a bunch by adding the special touches yourself.



Speaking of cost...I think that it takes great creativity to clothe yourself and your family beautifully on a budget!

There were years when we had no money, and yet my children were always clothed well, and the casual observer would not have known that we were dirt poor by how my children were dressed. My parents bought them something beautiful to wear as part of their birthday gift. We would also go shopping before Christmas and Easter, and Mom would buy them a nice outfit. In between, we shopped yard sales and took advantage of hand-me-downs. We scoured the bargain racks. I found a wonderful gently used children's clothing shop. On a couple of occasions, I purchased some beautiful church dresses from ladies in our church who had older daughters.

Old habits die hard, and even today when we are no longer dirt poor, I very rarely buy anything that is not on sale. Now it's more like a treasure hunt...and it's great fun to find a bargain and dress on-the-cheap.

Creativity can also be putting outfits together with color and accessories.  

Scarves, jewelry,shoes, purses, jackets, layers...all ways to create an outfit and stretch the wardrobe.

Lastly, creativity is individual style!

Bekah is a dress girl (like her Gammy). She has always loved dresses. As a small girl, she wouldn't

even wear pajama pants, only a nightgown! I respected her need to express her individual style, but

there were a few really cold days in which I insisted that she wear pants to keep her legs warm...and she had an emotional meltdown! I had a brainstorm and bought her several pairs of leggings to wear with her beloved dresses...and the struggle was over. (Whew!) At 12 years old, she still wears mostly dresses, but she has added jeans to her wardrobe for certain occasions...and she doesn't cry when she wears them.  :)

See my "hiking clothes"?

For me, jeans are my wardrobe. I dress them up, dress them down, wear lots of black and pops of color. My family laughed at me when we went hiking in Maine. I was wearing jeans, a black shirt with a ruffled front, and a purple sweater (for which I had paid $5.00 on clearance at...yep, Target). Those were my hiking clothes.  (And any-other-day clothes.)


Kati also wears mostly jeans, but with cute colorful shirts. She knows what she likes, and when she finds the right thing, she buys it in multiples. This summer she bought six(!) of the same shirt in different colors and prints.

Kristin has more variety in her wardrobe than the rest of us. She wears dresses, skirts, skinny jeans (in my dreams!), layers, and lots of color, and she is great at accessorizing.

Kristin and her girls

Kati in one of the 6 shirts :)

What do you think about clothing and creativity? Does it matter? Do you think much about clothing?

 

Continuing the book club discussion of The Hidden Art of Homemaking at Ordo Amoris...

Click ~here~ for all the posts in the discussion. 

Fruit On Tuesday ~ Week 6 {Key Lime Pie}

A cool sweet-and-tangy pie is a refreshing summer dessert!

This pie is not difficult to make, but I was a little pressed for time so I took a shortcut and used a prepared graham cracker crust. The small amount of time I saved, I spent in squeezing the key limes! My lemon squeezer gadget was too big for the tiny limes, so they had to be squeezed by hand. After a while, my hands started to cramp (it takes a bunch of those little guys to get a half-cup of juice!) and I enlisted help. 

My helpers were more than willing, but if you're baking solo, you could try using a garlic press to squeeze the limes. Or you could use the larger Persian limes instead. The Key lime is tarter, but Persian lime juice makes a good pie too.  

Original recipe ~here~ Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs 6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled 5 tablespoons sugar 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk 4 large egg yolks 1/2 cup freshly squeezed Key lime juice 1 tablespoon Key lime zest 1 1/2 cups heavy cream Directions: Heat oven to 375. Combine graham cracker crumbs, 3 tablespoons sugar, and butter in medium bowl; mix well. Press into a 9-inch pie plate and bake for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely. Lower oven temperature to 325. In a medium bowl, gently whisk together condensed milk, egg yolks, lime juice, and zest. Pour into the prepared, cooled crust. Bake until the center of the pie is set but still quivers when the pan is nudged, 15 to 17 minutes. Cool completely on wire rack. Shortly before serving, combine cream and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in bowl of an electric mixer. Whisk on medium speed until soft peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Spoon over cooled pie. Garnish with zest, if desired. Serve immediately.

Do you have kitchen gadgets for squeezing the juice from citrus fruits?  

Looking for a recipe from another week?

Week 1: Strawberry Shortcake

Week 2: Blackberry Pavlova

Week 3: Fire and Ice Salsa

Week 4: Raspberry Sauce

Week 5: Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Sunday Snapshots: The Bargain

A few weeks ago, Owen (6) had a little accident with his earbuds.  (Actually, he had a little accident with his brother's earbuds and had to give his own to replace them.)  His parents told him that he would have to save his allowance until he had enough money to buy another set for himself.  

Today, Aunt Kati, who had an extra pair, offered to "sell" them to Owen. The price? One hug. And Owen said, "No." (Aunt Kati is the "kissy-face aunt" around here. She is always trying to get hugs and kisses from her nephews, and they are always trying to avoid them.)  

Everyone tried to convince Owen to accept this bargain.  "Owen, that's three weeks of your life!"  "Owen, you'll be sorry if you don't."  "Owen, one little hug and you get the earbuds!"  

But my favorite response was from Gavin who said: 

"I'LL give Aunt Kati a hug and sell the earbuds to Owen!"  

Now that boy understands a bargain! 

(He might take after his mama...who might take after her father.)

In the end, Owen reluctantly gave Aunt Kati the quickest hug on record, and went home with the earbuds.  

Also this afternoon...  

The boys talked "robot" through the fan,

the girls had some horse play, 

and we tried a new ice cream recipe.

(That doesn't sound like a big deal, but I've been using the same recipe for 30+ years!)

The children made ice cream creations, took their bowls into the dining room, and had their own version of American Baking Competition.  Both of our families have been watching the competition on Wednesday nights, and now the kids are regular food critics.  We adults eavesdrop and overhear such things as, "This is a good consistency" and "I like your flavors."  

Paul Hollywood had better look out!  

Bekah's Freshened-Up Room

After our Saturday Morning Chat last week, I had a couple of requests to see Bekah's updated room.  I waited for a sunny day to photograph her space, which meant that I had to wait for days, and even so, it was a sunny couple of hours in between rain showers.  

I had told you that Bekah was unsure as to whether she liked the changes. Well, it's all growing on her and she's feeling more at home...although she still may flip that duvet back over come autumn. ~smile~

There are pictures of the "old" room in ~this~ post.  Since then, we replaced the quilt with a duvet and a Shabby Chic cover purchased on sale at (can you guess?) Target. We used the floral side until last week when we did the room updates.  (As an aside, I had to talk Bekah into the duvet when the quilt was worn to a frazzle. She really wanted to keep the quilt. But when we started talking about getting something different, all of a sudden she loved the duvet. The girl just does not like change.)  

The colors are a little off in the left photo; the true colors are more like those on the right.

Here is the "new" room!  

The inspiration came from the banner I had made for Bekah's birthday party.  She chose all the colors, so I knew that she liked them. When we were putting her room back together after the big clean-out, I thought of the banner, then thought of reversing the duvet to the striped side and...voilà!  

If in your little tour of Bekah's room you thought you saw some black cats, you would be right. Some are faux.  One is not. 

Pinky kind of thinks that it is her room too. 

If you stuck it out all the way to the end, then you must be a 'house-y things' kind of person too! Thanks for taking the tour!  

Linking to: 

Home Sweet Home #127 at The Charm of Home

All Our Days Link-up #95 at All Our Days

Best DIY Projects of July at Beneath My Heart

The Hidden Art of Homemaking {Chapter 11: Creative Recreation}

I suppose I should begin my ramblings on this chapter by sharing Mrs. Schaeffer's definition of "creative recreation."

Firstly, it is recreation which produces creative results, stimulates creativity, refreshes one's ideas and stirs one to 'produce'.  Secondly, it is recreation which is the result of original ideas, creative because someone has creatively planned an evening, a day, an occupation which in itself is fresh and different.

Next, I will confess that I am not a nature girl.  Never have been.  Even as a child, I was more often found inside with my nose in a book or playing paper dolls or sewing clothes for my Barbies than I was found outside looking at bugs or gazing at the stars or digging in the earth.  

So when the first half of this chapter was all  about getting out of our "insulation" of walls and taking walks for miles (miles!) across fields and beside lakes and over hills and maybe even taking a sleeping bag and sleeping under the stars wherever the walk has taken you...  Well, I must confess that these pages made me squirm uncomfortably in my arm chair in my air conditioned haven.  

When I have taken the time and the effort to "get out" of my comfort zone, it has always been well-rewarded.  When we take off for the day (or for a few hours) and go to the park, or take a hike, or lie on a blanket in the back yard and find constellations, I always wonder why I don't take the time more often.  It is my ideal, but I rarely get there. 

One particular school year, I had determined that we would go on a nature walk once a week.  That doesn't sound like a lot, does it?  On week two, Kati nearly stepped on a snake, and we lost our resolve to go on nature walks. I know that sounds pathetic to some of you nature gals (and Charlotte Mason mamas who are reading this because of Cindy's book club), but that is the reality of it.*

Now that my confessions are made, I can agree wholeheartedly with Mrs. Schaeffer that children and adults alike would be far better served by creative recreation than by sitting passively in front of the television for hours at a time.  We have never been a "no TV" family, but we have always had strict limitations on viewing--on the quality of the programming, of course, but also on the quantity.  Even good television shows and movies can dull the brain if they replace other pursuits.  (We remove time limitations under certain circumstances such as illness.)  

For young children, I prefer open-ended toys.  By open-ended, I mean that the toy is not a specific character nor must it be played with in a certain way.  Open-ended toys encourage imagination and creativity, not simply a recreation of someone else's imagination.  Blocks (wooden, Lego, foam) are a perfect example.  Blocks can be anything...houses, farms, cities, bridges, tents, forts, people, food.  A box of dress-up supplies are open-ended and encourage all sorts of imaginative play.  Craft and art supplies also supply creative fun.  

Ryan played for hours at a time with his little Fisher Price people and the barn and town. They survived the test of time and now belong to his children.  

Bekah played for hours at a time with her Fisher Price doll house. Just last week, it was packed up and taken to the attic to wait for her own children.  She also loved her Woodkins, which she played with in church. 

I think that "creative recreation" can also include

• playing with and caring for pets
• performing skits
• playing house or town or doctor
• playing games
• jigsaw puzzles
• sewing, knitting, crocheting
• building
• gardening
• drawing, painting sketching
• playing an instrument, writing music

All of these are thoughtful or meaningful or productive ways to spend one's time.  

I warned you that this was going to be a rambling post!  Ramble I have...and now I'm just going to land.  

* Although I am an "indoor" person, my husband is an "outdoor" person, and some of my children are too!

Do you have any thoughts on creative recreation?

 

Continuing the book club discussion of The Hidden Art of Homemaking at Ordo Amoris...

Click ~here~ for all the posts in the discussion. 

Fruit On Tuesday ~ Week 5 {Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake}

When you're choosing a fruit recipe to share for Fruit On Tuesdays, 

and the day is rainy and dreary (again), 

you just might make this Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake 

and indulge in a middle-of-a-rainy-afternoon snack.

(So you can get some good photos, of course.  You will do such things for your readers.)

Cake Ingredients: 1/2 cup butter, softened 1 cup sugar 2 eggs  1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 cup milk 2 cups all-purpose flour, divided 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 8 oz. package cream cheese, cold 1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen) Streusel Ingredients: 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 cup flour 3 tablespoons butter, cut into cubes Directions: Preheat oven to 350F.  Cream butter and sugar in large bowl.  Add eggs, vanilla, and milk. In separate bowl, combine 1 3/4 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to butter mixture and blend well.  Cut cream cheese into small cubes; set aside. Combine blueberries and remaining 1/4 cup flour in small bowl.  Add blueberries, along with cream cheese cubes, to cake batter.  Gently fold in.  Spread in greased 9x13 pan.  Topping: Mix brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour together in small bowl. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly.  Sprinkle over cake.  Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Do you ever indulge in a mid-afternoon snack? 

June

June was a busy month here at the farmhouse!  

There were gatherings galore...

a baby shower

an ice cream party

a Father's Day celebration

Sunday afternoons with family

a ladies' dinner party/game night

our home church fellowship
(while our usual hosts were on a family vacation)

and even coffee gatherings on the patio...for two.

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is 

for brethren to dwell together in unity! 

(Psalm 133:1)