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Grateful Mondays 11/14/2011

14 Nov

Well, last week it wasn’t the change in seasons I was sharing, it was some of the current struggles I am experiencing and what I was hoping for. This week I have already had some positive changes come my way. God’s goodness is very real! I am changing jobs next week, and yes, this is a positive thing. I’ve really needed a change, and everything opened up for me on Wednesday. Yay! I am still planning on making some vision boards with the girls, and moving forward with a couple of personal business ideas: alterations and maybe some sewn creations as well as continuing with Juice Plus. So the new job will be a great place to start my new beginning.

The recent loss of my friends and family members has made me keenly aware of my own mortality. I have always felt like God has a plan for me. A favorite verse of my friend Kathy’s was Jeremiah 29:11- “I have it all planned out – plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.” Maybe I’ll pull a Cowardly Lion line from the Wizard of Oz: “I do believe! I do believe! I do believe! I do, I do….I do believe…!” Here are the things I am grateful for this week:

1 Family: it was youngest Daughter’s birthday yesterday, I am so grateful for my children and my family.

2. Friends that are loving and caring, standing with you when you have problems and concerns. Thanks for checking on me, listening to me and encouraging me through all of this.

3. New beginnings. New job starts 11/21.

4. Other birthday’s for friends this month, time to get out the cards and let them know how much I love them.

5. Celebrating the birthday of grandkids too! My sons youngest son turned 8 last week. It’s amazing how fast the grands are growing.

6. Fall colors! Fall is a beautiful season.

7. I am grateful for my readers. Today I would like to mention Marissa of Me, You and Creamed Corn. I love getting to know you all, and Marissa your encouraging words always touch my heart and bring a smile. If any of you have a chance pop over and say hello.

8. I am very grateful for special moments with the grands. The youngest grandaughter popped into my room a couple of days ago and caught me working on some dolls I hope to make and give them for Christmas. I have a face of one finished, and she grabbed it and said: “I love dis!” It took a little coaxing to get it away from her. Already knowing she will love it really made my day.

9. I’m so grateful for Thanksgiving and Christmas! Two wonderful holidays to celebrate all the things we are grateful for and to celebrate with those we love! It’s gonna be so much fun!

10. I am looking forward to the future I am hoping for. I hope you are too.

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Posted in gratitude, Holidays, lists

Wonderful Spring….

29 Mar

These are pictures from the Botanical Garden in Clemson SC on 3/19/2011

Pond and Turtles!

Flower faces....

Magnolia blossom

Blooming Chinese Cherry

Reminds me of a star...

Lantern Tree, looks like dripping water

Waterfall!

We had a wonderful day at the gardens. It was around 80 degrees that day. It was only around 60 today….brrrrrrr! Can’t wait until the temps stay up….. Hope you are having a great week. Angela

4 Comments

Posted in Spring

Pieces

22 Nov

Pieces
Living breathing
Yearning aching
Moving wanting
Searching waiting
Wondering knowing
Learning lying

Hating dying
Waiting trying
Watching listening
Crying whispering
Drawing pulling
Pushing giving

Earning paying
Needing spending
Suffering emptying
Lurching propelling
Going staying
Molding forming

Washing pouring
Consuming burning
Walking crawling
Running flying
Coming leaving
Helping taking

Suffering hearing
Reasoning whining
Starting finishing
Choosing trying
Losing taking
Going making

Holding yielding
Trembling shaking
Imploding exploding
Confusing distracting
Labeling reacting
Seeing leaving

Firing polishing
Knowing glowing
Sanding smoothing
Washing clothing
Sawing screaming
Maturing growing

Opening closing
Starting stopping
Sowing reaping
Birthing dying
Beginning ending
Finishing completing

I have been known to occasionally write poetry, off and on since 9th grade English class. Very often it comes out when I am going through a difficult time. This poem was written during one of those times. A friend of mine calls it a word string. At the time I just felt like I had so much STUFF built up inside me that if I didn’t find a way to let some of it out I was mentally going to explode. As you can tell I had a lot of questions rolling around inside of me. So this is what came out. No explosion. Everyone was safe again .

Have you released built up emotions in a similar way? How do you deal with your overwhelming emotions? Let me know what you think of my expression, and tell me about yours…..thanks. Have a great week! Angela

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Posted in memories, poetry, Ponderings

Trees and Patches, Blocks and Tops

11 Nov

Red Tree

Fall is here, or isn’t it? The color of the leaves tells me it is, but sometimes 80 to 90 degree temperatures tell me it’s not. Oh well. I’m happy to see all the beautiful colors of leaves around me. I spent part of my lunch hour driving around taking a few pictures and just getting some fresh air. Don’t we all need that sometimes? I have an idea for using a leaf design for a full sized quilt one day, but I’m not starting that until the current one is finished!

Anyhow, this is the blog I promised to show you my next step in quilting. It kinda surprised me when I realized I had finished all the blocks for this. I really have enjoyed learning the new patterns, and fighting with the designs to hopefully get them mostly correct when they were finished. A couple were very challenging, but all were fun and interesting to do. I’m realizing I could use the very same materials in different ways with the same patterns and end up with a completely different top. But this is the one I want to finish now! So as promised, here that next step is.

At my last class my instructor Stephanie helped me begin to lay out all the quilt blocks I had made so I could begin to get a feel for the final design. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. I had only been looking at them in little piles, and didn’t realize I needed to just lay them out to see what they were going to look like as a whole. I played around with what was there, decided on rail fence in the corners and friendship stars in the center. I tried to break up the purples and aquas, seemed to be to many laid out together or something. But this is the way I finally decided to start….

After I decided that the layout was appealing to me, I began to sew the individual blocks into strips, as you can see 5 blocks in each strip, which made 5 strips. The size on some of my blocks was off, the log cabins were smaller than some of the other blocks, so I had to adjust some of my stitches to absorb the difference as much as I could. When I started thinking about sewing the blocks together I realized I wanted it to have more of a framed effect so I decided to put some 1 inch strips between the rows as I sewed them together. I really liked it! It gave the quilt a different look and feel. What do you think?

I am still working on adding borders. I am planning on surrounding the quilt in a small 1 inch border of the green fabric, adding a 2 inch border of the blended blue batik print, finishing with a larger border with a few leftover quilt blocks mixed with the butterfly fabric. I am getting very excited to be this close to finishing the top! I can’t wait to see it when it’s finished….

Let me know what you think so far of my project, and share any personal things you might be working on too! I would love to hear about it! Talk to you soon, Angela

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Posted in sewing