Don't let the difficulties of the present moments overshadow the reality of God's promises. God's promises still stand. And God's promises are stronger than our failures.

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Meow

I've had this little pattern for a long time - I don't even remember how long!  But it was one of my UFOs uncovered when searching for something else.  I love when that happens...it's like I just made a trip to the quilt shop since I'd forgotten I had it.  :)


The cats are fused down and then stitched with one strand of white embroidery floss, using the blanket stitch.  The scalloped border was done like no other I'd seen.  I added it just like I would any other border, then cut the scalloped edges, then the lighter border was put on, not as a border but as a whole piece almost like it was a backing.  Then I blanket stitched the scalloped border with two strands of purple.  This is how the directions showed to do this and it worked fine with one exception.  Because the background of the cats is white the floral showed through.  The easy fix for that was to cut the center of the back piece out at about where the green sashing is.


The colors are actually a little lighter than is shown in either of these pictures but if I lighten them then the cats fade too much.  :(  These are 1930s reproduction fabrics and I would almost swear that my grandmother had dresses/aprons made from some of these exact fabrics!

Monday, April 28, 2014

With A Heavy Heart

Tornados - just the word has the power to take my breath away.  Devastation, injuries, deaths, broken lives....my heart is heavy for fellow Arkansans as well as those in other states who were affected by these storms last night.


Sixteen lives were taken by this tornado - perhaps more.

As many of you know my husband and I are members of the United Methodist Church and are frequently volunteer missionaries at a facility in south Louisiana.  At UMCOR Sager Brown we put together Cleaning Buckets, Health Kits (toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, washcloth, soap, etc.), school bags, baby layettes, bedding kits and more.  These kits are sent to areas of crisis here in the United States and all across the world.  When I see the aftermath of not just tornados but also floods, earthquakes and wars I know that the work we do truly reflects the love of Christ.  We try to be His hands and feet where people are hurting.

I am not soliciting anything....but for those of you who have asked me I want you to know that 100% of all donations given to UMCOR go directly to disaster relief.  Administrative costs are covered another way.  If you so desire the way to donate is at www.umcor.org.  But please, please say a prayer for those who have been so profoundly affected and for those who are already at work helping to restore, rescue and serve.

Monday, April 21, 2014

A New Series

I've started a new series - wool candle mats from Primitive Gatherings.  This is the first one I've finished.  I'm using it as a mug rug on my desk.  :)



As you can see from the closeup I'm using variegated Valdani threads with a blanket stitch.  My next one in this series will be a patriotic one...red, white and blue.  These are small enough to finish in an evening or two!

Sunday, April 20, 2014

He Is Risen!


May your Easter be blessed!

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Did You See It?


It didn't look exactly like this at my house - it wasn't this bright red - but it was really gorgeous.  I set my alarm, got up, bundled up in wool socks and a sweatshirt over my pajamas, wrapped up in a thick, fuzzy acrylic blanket and sat on my deck looking up through the trees for about an hour.  We have lots of trees but the leaves are just budding so I was able to see through the branches.  At my house it looked more like this.


Was it worth getting up at 2:00 a.m.?  Definitely!  And as I look at this image my brain is simmering....I wonder how I could make a quilt that looked like this?  :)

Saturday, April 12, 2014