I did a lot of stitching in 2021, but as it turns out I didn’t have a lot of finishes. I am not complaining though. I was able to make all four of my Grands a quilt for their birthday. And I am very grateful for any time I get to spend stitching and making things.
Here are my finishes in reverse order.
A patriotic table topper w/foldover binding.
This is a baby quilt for a friend’s first grandbaby.
Birthday quilt for my eldest granddaughter.
I made this small lap quilt for a challenge during Build A Quilt. I won $100!
Christmas things I made during the summer; stockings, table topper, and wallhanging.
An apron I made for myself. I had always wanted to sew a kitchen towel on an apron to have something readily available to wipe my hands on and to double as pockets. There’s a better pic later on this post.
I finally made a quilt out of some Half Rectangle Triangles my friend Katy cut for me back in 2016! I gave it to my youngest son for his first apartment.
Birthday quilt for my youngest granddaughter.
A long-time-coming quilt for a friend. =)
A bargello wallhanging. This is currently hanging in my office at work.
An apron for my daughter.
Birthday quilt for my youngest grandson.
Birthday quilt for my eldest grandson.
Oh, I almost forgot, for the Goodreads 2021 Reading Challenge I finished 121 books!
That’s all folks!
A Thread for Life
The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives melife. Job 33:12 ESV
Hello! I’m happy to report I already have two finishes this year, and before the month is even up!
I can’t remember having blogged about this first one, but I recently posted this pic on Instagram.
The HSTs in this quilt were cut for me by Katy Quilts on her AccuQuilt Studio 2 when I visited her in Michigan in August 2017. Last year when I joined a monthly Featherweight Group I decided this would be my traveling project. I think we had 2 meet ups before Covid hit and we may have met 2 more times at the end of summer so I didn’t get much work done on it. Partly, because I visit and talk more than anything at sewing groups. Anyway, I had always planned to make this for my oldest grandson. He turns 14 years old in February and I thought it would be the perfect b-day gift to bring him when I visit next month, so I pulled it out and got to work. And voila! It is beastie approved! These are my beastie boys; Moe (chocolate & peanut butter) and Wonton (vanilla & chocolate).
This next one I started in December. I wrote about it in this post. My first Bow Tie Quilt. I immediately thought of my younger grandson who turns 6 years old in February. He will be getting this one for his b-day. I wasn’t sure how big to cut the corners that make the knot in the Bow Tie. I made them a variety of sizes in this quilt but you can’t really tell for the scrappiness of it. I quilted both on my long arm and I will wash both to bring out the crinkly goodness before gifting.
Thanks for stopping by. Until next time, God bless and Happy Stitchin’!
A Thread for Life (this one is kind of long but such a good reminder)
THE ENEMY OF YOUR PEACE by Pastor James MacDonald
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God (PHILIPPIANS 4:6, ESV).
When Paul coaches us, “Do not be anxious about anything,” it’s easy to react with indignation. “Really, Paul?! Have you looked at my life lately? Don’t be anxious about anything?” Since these are hard words to apply, let’s consider Paul’s advice thoughtfully to see how it bears up when the rubber meets the road.
The core of the word anxiousness is the idea of “a dividing care.” Worry, fear, and anxiety are like troubled sisters. But anxiousness evokes the idea of a dividing care—something that wakes you up at night, a distraction so nagging you can’t fully enter another conversation, a trouble that overshadows all your interactions. A care that divides your mind.
There is no peace in that. When you have peace, things are in their right place—entrusted to God—and no care divides your mind. When Paul tells us, “Do not be anxious about anything,” he is instructing us not to allow a dividing care about anything.
We tend to rationalize our anxiety. Well, Paul’s advice applies to most people in most situations, but if Paul considered what I feel anxious about, he would make an exception. Clearly, I should be anxious about my burdens. But are our anxieties really so unique?
We can all agree that anxiety is natural and understandable, but many things are understandable that are not excusable. Because we believe that God’s Word is inspired by the Holy Spirit, we believe every word is specifically chosen by God—even this word anything. So we must accept that the God who made us wants us to hear, “Do not be anxious about ANYTHING.”
The decision to be anxious is the decision not to trust God about the specifics of your situation, the decision to give up your peace.
When we choose to sin, we choose to suffer. When God tells us not to be anxious, He is not trying to rob us of something satisfying; He’s warning us about something self-destructive. Anxiety has nasty, proven side effects: irritability, depression, insomnia, fatigue, migraines, muscle pain, elevated heart rate, high blood pressure, ulcers, weakened immune system, susceptibility to overeat and overwork. The side effects of anxiety seep into every area of our lives: physical, emotional, mental, spiritual. Anxiety is obviously not healthy.
So how do we banish anxiety? “But in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” We start praying. About what? Everything. There’s no wiggle room or creative way to parse this: pray about everything.
Your money, Your children, Your relationships, Your health issues, Your job. There is no such thing as The Unimportant Prayer Request List.
Be anxious about nothing; pray about everything. Out with anxiety—in with prayer.
Dare I call myself a blogger if I let two months pass between posts? And I was doing so good for awhile.
Anyway, hi! How have you been? Me, I have been busy w/work and life.
I’ve also been doing some sewing and quite a bit of quilting. I did really well the first part of the year, working on one project at a time for the most part. BUT, I haven’t really followed that rule as of late. And honestly I can’t tell if I’m more or less productive so I’ll let you be the judge of that.
Here are my makes since I last posted.
I was inspired by my favorite apron to make these, so I copied it a little and winged it a lot. The loops at teh waist are for hand towels.
A scrappy trips table topper. This is an awesome pic if I say so myself.
This little ghostie wall hanging was a kit I had for at least 4 years. It was so simple I felt silly for not making it sooner.
I made these 2 pumpkin wall hangings/table toppers. I realize they resemble apples but they are orange and one is made w/pumpkin fabric, so there! 😉 I combined a couple of patterns to make these. I got the measurement of the pumpkin and the stem from Patchwork Pumpkin Block by Farm Girl Vintage and the rest from Pumpkin Wall Hanging on Quilters Cache.
I finally finished the Build A Quilt quilt. I say finally because as I was quilting it, Esperanza locked up on me. Thankfully, w/my son’s help, we were able to get her off and back on the frame w/o taking the quilt completely off. Missouri Sewing Machine Company had her all fixed up in less than a week’s time.
My latest finish is this wee quilt, 30″ x 36″, made from cutoffs of my niece’s quilt. It reminds me of Origami Cranes.
I swore I wouldn’t make another mask…until I saw Svetlana’s video tutorial for 3d masks. This is the simplest mask I’ve made and the only style I’ll make from now on.
And these are my works in progress.
A patchwork runner for my dresser, designed by me. I stitched in the ditch and now I’m adding hand quilting. It’s the hand quilting that is keeping this in the WIP status. I’m making quicker progress than I thought I would though.
The next wip is from this book. I have several quilts in this book marked to make.
This one is called Fall Frolic and is primarily made w/Thimbleberries fabrics. It is also currently on the quilt frame.
And on deck, waiting to be quilted is Winter Quilt.
It is a free-form block project from this book. I adore this book and I have even more quilts marked to make in it!
Besides quilting, I did a couple of home improvements, but my absolute fave is the fireplace makeover. What do you think?
Another thing I’ve been doing a lot of lately is cooking! I started a low carb/keto lifestyle in mid August. I have since lost approximately 15 lbs. I’ve done more baking in the last few months than I have in my entire life. Most of the recipes I’ve made are from Wholesome Yum which I found on Pinterest. I had a completely keto Thanksgiving which consisted of roasted Cornish Hens, spinach balls, cauliflower mac & cheese, keto fathead dinner rolls, and sugarfree pumpkin cheesecake. But a couple of my fave go-to recipes are fathead pizza crust and chaffles.
And now I’m ready for Christmas!
And here’s a close up of my Starburst Tree Skirt.
If you made it all the way down here, good on you! Thanks for stopping by! Until next time, (hopefully it won’t be 2 mos from now), God bless you, Happy Stitchin’, and Happy Holidays!
A Thread for Life
Think on These Things Amos R. Wells
No Way to Christ
Once, during a revival, a minister was hailed by a young man who asked, “Can you tell me the way to Christ?” The minister’s reply was astonishing; “No, I cannot tell you the way to Christ.” “But I thought you were a minister,” the young man stammered; “I beg your pardon.” “I am a minister,” was the answer. “Well then,” the young man urged, “I don’t see why you cannot tell the way to Christ.” “Because,” the minister said earnestly, “there is no way to Christ. Christ Himself is the Way. Christ is here. All you have to do is to believe Him, and you have Him.”
There is a great truth in this story. Too often we go blundering around in our search for Christ, trying numerous paths, all of which prove to be blind alleys. We try the path of philosophy. We try the path of human counsellors. We try the path of good deeds. We try the path of our own will power. And none of these lead to Christ. Now why not cease from all these vain trials and try Christ Himself? Why not go to Him, and not to any substitute for Him? Why not simply say, “I am here, my Savior, and You are here. I yield myself to You. Lord, what will You have me to do?” No one ever came to Jesus in that spirit and failed to find Him.
Pray- Our blessed Redeemer, we know that You are seeking us more earnestly than any of us can be seeking You. Come to us, Lord Jesus, and make us Your own, today, tomorrow, the next day, and forever. Amen.
A Quilted Passion 