Tag Archives: Encouragement

Happy New Year!

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Yesterday by Oswald Chambers

You shall not go out with haste,…for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard. Isaiah 52:12 NKJV

Security from Yesterday. “…God requires an account of what is past” (Ecclesiastes 3:15). At the end of the year we turn with eagerness to all that God has for the future, and yet anxiety is apt to arise when we remember our yesterdays. Our present enjoyment of God’s grace tends to be lessened by the memory of yesterday’s sins and blunders. But God is the God of our yesterdays, and He allows the memory of them to turn the past into a ministry of spiritual growth for our future. God reminds us of the past to protect us from a very shallow security in the present.

Security for Tomorrow. “…the Lord will go before you….” This is a gracious revelation— that God will send His forces out where we have failed to do so. He will keep watch so that we will not be tripped up again by the same failures, as would undoubtedly happen if He were not our “rear guard.” And God’s hand reaches back to the past, settling all the claims against our conscience.

Security for Today. “You shall not go out with haste….” As we go forth into the coming year, let it not be in the haste of impetuous, forgetful delight, nor with the quickness of impulsive thoughtlessness. But let us go out with the patient power of knowing that the God of Israel will go before us. Our yesterdays hold broken and irreversible things for us. It is true that we have lost opportunities that will never return, but God can transform this destructive anxiety into a constructive thoughtfulness for the future. Let the past rest, but let it rest in the sweet embrace of Christ.

Leave the broken, irreversible past in His hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him.

From My Utmost for His Highest

Craftsy Sweetens Up My Quilting Life! – WHOOMP #18

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This post contains ad links.

 Thanks for visiting my stop on the Craftsy Sweetens Up My Quilting Life Blog Hop! and my WHOOMP There IT Is! #18 Linky Party.

For those of you who haven’t already heard of Craftsy, I’m about to take you to school!  It’s an online platform that delivers crafts education classes via full-length, professionally-produced, interactive, high-definition videos. The beauty of Craftsy classes is that they never expire!  AND,  you can watch them anytime, as many times as you like, provided you have a proper internet connection.  Oh, and remember, it’s interactive! This means you can ask questions and/or  post pics to get help from the instructor or other peeps taking the class.  Craftsy offers a wide array of classes, from photography to knitting to cooking…however my class of choice is Quilting! And more specifically, Free Motion Quilting. 

 So how does Craftsy Sweeten Up My Quilting Life?   Craftsy Keeps Me in Motion!

I was very naive when I signed up for Start Free-Motion Quilting w/Elizabeth Dackson.  I thought I’d be an expert FMQ-er by the time it was finished. I couldn’t have been more wrong.  However, I did learn a lot of things from this class.  Important things you need to know before getting started, like needle and thread selection, how to start and stop, how to bury a knot and how to move the quilt. Thanks, Elizabeth!

The Secrets of Free-Motion Quilting w/Christina Cameli  is another class I’m enrolled. It’s also packed w/great information like sketching and stitching, staying in a straight line and getting out of corners. Thanks, Christina!

Help How DO I Quilt It? is my most recent class. This class will definitely help w/the dilemma of how to quilt your quilts.  It will also teach you how to add lots of texture and movement to your quilts.  Thanks, Angela!

All of these Craftsy classes are great and I’d recommend any and all of them. The instructors are extremely encouraging and the classes do exactly what they are designed to; build your confidence as you learn FMQ. They make it look easy but remember, they’ve been doing it for years. They all stress this important point:  Practice, Practice, Practice! And the MOST important point of all…Don’t compare your work to that of others!  Why? Because Comparison is the Thief of Joy! 

 Craftsy is also a place where independent designers can sell their patterns. There are thousands of sewing and quilting patterns to choose from and even a great selection of free patterns! Click here to browse my pattern store and be sure to download my Easy Grocery Bag Catcher, which is free for a limited time.  Thanks, Craftsy!

Here’s the complete line-up of stops.  Be sure to hop over and visit each stop to see how Craftsy sweetens up their quilting lives!

Wednesday 10 February

Helen @ Midget Gem Quilts

Thursday 11 February

Friday 12 February


Saturday 13 February
Anja @ Anja Quilts

Sunday 14 February

Monday 15 February

Julie @ Pink Doxies

Did you like reading about these classes? Does all this sweetness make you want to join one? Class discounts will be available for one week following each post, and while you’re there you can click through any bloggers in the hop to enter the Craftsy Giveaway.

And now the moment y’all have been waiting for…the giveaway!  Enter here for a chance to win.

Two peeps will win one class each, and 1 peep will win this fabulous grand prize:
1- Boundless Solids Crown Jewels by Amy Gibson Quilt Kit 

Boundless Solids Crown Jewels by Amy Gibson Quilt Kit - None

1-Boundless Solids Modern Brights Pre-Cuts 6″ Strips

Boundless Solids Modern Brights Pre-Cuts - None

1-Boundless Solids Modern Brights 10″ Squares

Boundless Solids Modern Brights Pre-Cuts - None

Enter the Craftsy Giveaway here, or on any site during the hop. One entry per person.  Enter until Sunday, Feb 21, 2016, at 11:59 pm MST.

The winners will be announced Feb 22 at Pink Doxies and Musings of a Menopausal Melon.  

 If you are still w/me and would like to show your stuff, it’s time to link up!

A Quilted Passion

A Quilted Passion

Thank the Host
Everyone likes to hear “thank you” and know their effort is appreciated.
Spread the Love
The more love you give, the more you get. Pick a number (mine is 5) and commit to visiting and commenting on that many link-ups. Let them know where you’re visiting from and ask them to visit you. (This works well for me!)
Direct Link
Use a direct link to a specific post, not your main blog.
Link Back
In your blog post, include a link back to my post/blog and/or grab the WHOOMP There IT Is! button above and put in your post or sidebar. Thanks for spreading the love.
Follow Me 😉
Of course, I would love for all you linky-uppers to be followers, but it’s NOT required.

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A Thread for Life

The Funk Is Dissipating…

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First off I’d like to say Thank You for all the prayer, words of encouragement and well wishes in response to my last post. Between these things and quilting, the funk is slowly but surely dissipating.

Back in this post I listed everything I wanted/needed to complete by Christmas.  All I have left are the small quilted gifts for family, friends and coworkers. I’m about a third of the way through and I am confident I can finish all by/before Christmas.  I’ve got another 4-day weekend coming up this week!  I could have already been finished w/the small gifts if I hadn’t allowed myself to be sidetracked w/other projects, but I think you all know how that goes.
I wrote about two of the sidetrack projects in this post. I like to think of them as rewards. 
Back in August a friend asked if I could do something w/two flimsies (approx twin size) her grandmother had started before she passed.  I quilted them while I was Visiting Greta in October.  I finished them last week. They are both backed w/a jungle print fabric and I chose 2 coordinating calico prints for the binding. 

I even got started on a couple of my 2015 projects!

The 1st is a pattern test that I can’t show pics of yet, but I’ve already COMPLETED the 48″ x 60″ flimsy!  I will be posting pics of the completed quilt sometime in January…so stay tuned.
The 2nd  is a quilt for my grandson who is due on February 18th.  All of the colors and fabrics come from Greta’s stash.  Thankfully, while I was Visiting Greta, not only did she pick out/suggest most of the fabrics, she also cut out all the triangles w/her amazing Go! Baby Accuquilt Fabric Cutter! I’m so very grateful for Greta. My daughter loves all of the colors and fabrics! The triangles are up on the design wall.  I’ve halved the end triangles and plan to start sewing it together today.  Of course I’ll be alternating this project w/the small quilted gifts I still need to finish.  
Until next time, Happy Quilting and God Bless!
A Thread for Life
God will give you strength for every battle, wisdom for every decision and peace that surpasses understanding. – findingsalvation_

Linking up at:
Anything Goes Monday at Babco Unlimited