Sorry to those of you who have been checking in faithfully waiting for a post from me! It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks. A few times I tried to start a post, but it all seemed so trivial and mute in light of what I was struggling through that I just couldn't find the purpose of even trying. So I didn't.
What happened you ask? My mom was diagnosed with Cancer shortly after the last post. And while I was actually prepared to hear those words, I wasn't. Even if you think you are ready, it still hits you like a punch to the gut. I raged at the awfulness of Adam eating that dang apple and cursing the rest of humanity with sin and the ravages that come. I cried, in fact I sobbed in the arms of a dear friend whose mom went through a similar journey. I cried out to the Lord in terror at the thought of losing my mom. I am blessed in that I've not lost anyone to death. All of my grandparents are still alive, so the thought of my mom being the first was not a welcome one. The good news is that they caught it in early stages and are predicting a 95% rate of success. She already had her first treatment on Monday, without any side effects, Praise God!
That night after getting the news I was at Bible study and a book was brought mentioned. My friend has mentioned book so many times that I almost turn a deaf ear! But the Spirit had other plans for me, and He prompted me to ask to borrow and read it. I did, and practically devoured it. This book is probably not what you would expect someone who just found a beloved one has cancer to want to read. It is called He Came To Set The Captives Free by Rebecca Brown MD. It's about spiritual warfare, and God revealed a lot to me about what goes on in the spirit realm. Because of that book, the Holy Spirit had me cleaning out a lot of closets, both literally and figuratively. I am so thankful that I listened to the Spirit and read that book, it has brought me to a whole new level in my relationship with my Maker (and gave me a peace in regards to mom's cancer)!
I did read the companion sequel Prepare for War, another excellent read. Now that I've read some pretty heavy material, I'm switching over to something a bit lighter, the next book in the Patrick Bowers series. The Bishop, only a few chapters in, but again another thrilling novel that I have to pull myself away from and return to real life duties.
I did get Wesley's quilt finished a few weeks ago. It turned out great! I opted to not put the turtle appliques on as the fabric just didn't look right against the rest of the quilt. My favorite part (aside from being done!) was the contrast stitching on the satin edging. I was hesitant to try, but Phil encouraged me to use it. Lime green threads on the white edging. I know it sounds kinda out there, but it looks wonderful, and you'll see what I mean if I ever wrangle the camera away from Phil and get some pictures taken. Or better yet, have him take them!
I promised myself that I couldn't start a new project until Wesley's quilt was finished. Now that it is, I've got a few things ready to go. First started (but now on hold until Christmas projects are completed) is a t-shirt dress. My SIL gifted me with a card good at JoAnn's. Since our store is relocating, and everything was 1/2 off or more, I scored two different fabrics totally 3yrds only costing me 16 cents. I have the waistband all cut out, my shirt marked and ready to be snipped. The tutorial I am using is from Elle's Apparel. Why reinvent the wheel, when so many others have done it better than I ever could! Here's the link if you wanted to see her blog. Gorgeous clothes, I'd love to try her maxi skirt someday too!
http://elleapparel.blogspot.com/2010/12/winter-shirt-dress.html
Earlier this week, Phil told me how many days until Christmas. I kinda freaked out, because I have a long list of things that I want to sew for the children (and us!) instead of buying. I love homemade gifts, and want to pass that onto my kiddos. My mom has made us ornaments every year since for about 20 years, give or take. And no duplicates either, isn't that amazing!?! Here is what's on my list to sew up-- holiday dresses for the girls, ties for the gents, doll sling for Wesley, doll clothes for the girls.
Did I mention it was barbie doll dresses? I know, I know, call me a hypocrite. I've always sworn I wouldn't allow barbies in my home. And then magically mom produced a whole plethora of items when she found out I loved sewing--patterns, buttons, old jeans, and a box containing two old fashioned barbies (with shoes that my girls will never know about!), patterns, and enough fabric to fill an entire barbie sized amour. For as much as I loathe barbie, my girlies cannot get enough of her. So I figured--hey, what a great Christmas gift, and it won't cost me anything, except the time to do what I enjoy! Umm, did I mention that sewing seams that are the size of my pinkie nail are a bit outrageous? No? Well, consider it mentioned. Let's just say that my first dress was supposed to be a two arm diddy, ended up being an over the shoulder one are gown. The perfectionist in me would rather burn it than give it as a gift. The husband said it looked great and that they would love it. And I decided that since it actually fit the doll, and she has a little stoll to keep her other shoulder warm, that it would measure up just fine as a gift. One dress down at least 3 more to go!
The coolest thing that I learned from doing that dress is hand sewing on the machine. I don't know what the technical term is for it, so if you do, please enlighten me. Basically I was getting frustrated over how fast the machine was (at it's slowest) with the teeny amounts of fabric I was working with. It dawned on me that I could just turn the wheel (again, you can see I'm all about technical terms today!), and the machine would sew it for me, at a pace I could keep up with since I was the one turning the crank! I sewed half the dress that way, and it worked wonders on my attitude towards the project. Now I'm excited for the kids to go to sleep tonight so I can (hand) crank out another one!
Ok, I know this is a mega post, so I'll just end it with a link to what's simmering in my crockpot. I'm hoping it turns out ok since my 'roast' wasn't firm enough to mold, might just have to stick it under the broiler for a few mins to help with the texture.
http://veganplanet.blogspot.com/2008/03/slow-cooker-seitan-pot-roast.html
What's for dinner at your home?
No comments:
Post a Comment