Hand sewing

For the last two weeks I have been looking over forgotten projects and planning how to finish them. I did not remember how relaxing and fun it is to sew by hand. Lately I have been hurrying through projects on the sewing machine just to get them done not worrying very much about how they look. I forgot that I am actually good at sewing, especially by hand. I make beautiful quilts, clothing, and even toys when I take the time to slow down and use my hands instead of a machine. I am also able to do this and still spend time with my family and it takes very little concentration.

I have started a new scrap quilt made only from fabrics I already had at home and have designed (by this I mean copied most of a design I found online and changed it a little) a scout quilt that I am going to make for my husband for Christmas. I pulled out a quilt I pieced while I was pregnant with Lola and started to quilt after she was born, but put it away when I found out she could not be set down until she was asleep for the night. I am quilting the one now and then when I get cold, but it is too hot to have a quilt on my lap for too long. I am piecing the scrap quilt while I wait for the fabric for the scout quilt to come in the mail.

I have looked forward to the time when I could teach my daughter how to sew from the time I found out that my first baby was a girl. I thought that it would be a long time in the future even now because of time and the dexterity of the girls, but even my three year old can sew a running stitch if I thread the needle for her. I am really enjoying being able to teach them something that I am actually good at. We are having fun and I am really looking forward to them being able to finish something that they can actually use, such as a blanket for their doll or a toy.

I will post some pictures of the quilt that I am quilting now and the others as they come together. I love to document not just the end, but the process as well.

Sorry about the bad pictures, taking them by myself was not a good idea.


Here is a close up of the quilting.


Another close up.

A different kind of scholar

I have tried for the last two weeks to continue with my scholar studies like I always have been, but have found it impossible. I guess that my weak, little, pregnant mind was not meant for those things. What I mean is that I am learning more about seasons and how they differ from person to person and over a lifetime. This pregnancy has been a trial to say the least, but I am finally learning lessons that I am sure I could not learn any other way. Most importantly how much I need my Father in Heaven and how little I can actually accomplish on my own. I have learned to slow down and trust my body. I am learning to let myself not be in control of everything. There are many more, but that will be for another time. One very important idea that I have been reminded of is that I have talents other than those the world considers scholarly, but are scholarly none the less. The Lord has reminded me that these things are important as well and that now is the time to revisit them and cultivate them. None of these things take much concentration and so they are perfect for me right now because I have the attention span of a gnat (I am worse than my baby sometimes).