Old Fashioned

English Paper Pieces (top photo) Finished...

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 09:34:10 -0400

English Paper Pieces (top photo)

Finished “Poinsettia” (bottom photo)

English Paper Piecing

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 09:32:01 -0400

The current set of squares is taking me quite a long time to complete. They are constructed almost entirely by hand and I love it. Doing something by hand is what attracted me to quilting in the first place! I am always in a rush, expecting everything resolved and fixed quickly. Quilting forces me out of this mentality.

Hand stitching shapes together is a slow process and it’s called English Paper Piecing. After cutting each shape I had to baste it to a set of paper pieces which I then whip stitched together into a “poinsettia”.

This task has taught me the value of patience, of going slow, of enjoying the lack of instant gratification. Slow down, be calm, be deliberate. To rush would ensure that I would make mistakes.

4 Flawed Squares

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 18:18:28 -0400

I finished my first four squares. These wonky little 10.5” x 10.5” bits of folk art represent quite a bit of learning for me. I’ve never quilted before. I’ve sewn dresses, purses, blankets, but never a quilt. Never have I cut small pieces of fabric and stitched them together only to find that they don’t match. Never have I un-stitched, restitched, and stretched, pulled, shoved fabric together hoping that it would look somewhat like the picture in the kit.

These squares have a few flaws…or a lot…but I like the flaws. They represent discovery, learning, struggle, and eventually triumph. They keep me humble; they make me strive for more.

Each time I get frustrated, each time I’m tempted to pull the pieces apart and restart, my mom kindly stops me and says:

“You’re learning. That’s what’s important.”

And such is life. The flaws in life keep us humble, striving, and remind us that we are always learning.

Month 1 completed. 4 squares total.

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 18:11:55 -0400

Month 1 completed. 4 squares total.

“You don’t choose a life…you live one.”...

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 00:29:19 -0500

“You don’t choose a life…you live one.” Great movie.

Fabric and Zen

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 21:55:00 -0500

Saturday morning I started to cut fabric. I had never cut quilting fabric with the special blade that resembled a pizza slicer. My experience with fabric at this point had been only for clothing and i was used to cutting along pattern lines rather than on grids and geometric layouts.

First, we washed the fabric to let them “bleed” if needed. My mom carefully tested the water, “Get it as hot as you can stand and add a dash of Tide.” She then dipped the first yard of fabric in the soapy water and swirled it around. After a few moments she pulled back some of the fabric to see if the water had changed colors. It hadn’t.

“This fabric seems fine. Repeat this, rinsing the fabrics twice and then drying them a bit.”

I spent the next thirty minutes swirling fabrics until my hands were a bit raw from the hot water and soap. Each piece had to be seperately washed to make sure none of them bled on the others.

MOM TIP: Don’t completely dry the fabric, that way it’s damp for the ironing.

The next step was ironing. As I laid out the damp fabric over the ironing board my mom spoke with almost a zen-like philosophy about the fabric.

“Remember, fabric is in many ways alive. It was fully alive once. It can change on you.”

I delicately ironed them out. Then I made the mistake of laying the hot pieces over the Windsor chairs in the dinning room to cool. When I picked them back up I realized that they had stretched a bowed a bit while hanging over the arched backs.

Disappointed at my rookie mistake (which my mom quietly allowed), I ironed them out once more and laid them flat on the dining room table until I was ready to cut.

I studied the instructions, and quickly got to work creating squares of different sizes. It was hard work, using this pizza cutter thing (I’m still not sure of the correct term). I was used to my Singers, maybe I should have switched to them, but I was intent on doing this “right”.

Going into the project Mom asked if this was a quilt I wanted to learn on or if I’d rather create a masterpiece. Can’t it be both? Let’s do it right. No short cuts, no fudging. I want to learn but I don’t want to be flippant about it. If you can’t do a great job while learning then what’s the point. Sure there are mistakes but that doesn’t put the final masterpiece at risk. Mistakes create opportunity to stretch, redesign, and correct. Sometimes a mistake can make the most positive difference.

Cutting turned out to be long, tedious, and a work out. With one hand I pushed down hard on the straight edge, the other hand pushed hard on the blade. My arms hurt. It took over two hours to cut out the pieces for the four matching squares I was required to finish this month.

Mom: “This type of work is not for instant satisfaction.”
Me: “Good, this is the type of work I need.”

First run of fabrics - Month 1

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:20:27 -0500

First run of fabrics - Month 1

Apprenticed

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:19:30 -0500

My mother is a quilter. Not just any old quilter, but a craftswoman, an artist. Her quilts are slowly and deliberately designed (along with my father who has an eye for design). They are machine pieced but hand quilted. She’s a purist about the hand quilting part.

When she begins a quilt, the fabrics are all laid out and slowly a pattern is created. She cuts each piece, then relays it out, makes any shifts, tests border ideas. Everyone makes known their opinion until the best possible combinations are decided upon. My father usually draws out the finished product as some what of a blueprint. Nothing is left to chance or haphazardly decided.

After the quilt has been sewn together she bastes on the back and then spends weeks…months…sometimes a year hand tracing and hand stitching the quilting. The image of her sitting in a black Windsor chair, a massive stretch of fabric laying over her lap, and her hand bobbing over the hoop, securing the three layers of her artwork, will probably stay in my mind for eternity.

Up until this point, none of the daughters expressed interest in learning her craft. It wasn’t until I rediscovered the joys of needlework (I had to hem a skirt) that I realized how much I enjoyed it. I asked for instructions.

We decided to work through a “Square a Month” style quilt from Keepsake Quilting. I chose the beginners quilt and she picked the advanced. Together we will create our quilts, square by square, as she imparts her craft.

The French Chef (in training)

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 23:18:42 -0500

I love food. My whole family life has revolved around it. My sister is a trained chef and my mother was the first PR manager of a now national grocery store chain (and a leader among other awesome food related festivals, etc). My other sister is also talented at home cooking. With all these “chefs” dictating the daily food intake, I decided to take a less involved roll and became an expert table setter.

Now, 27, I realized I know little outside of omlettes and basic pasta dishes. Over the past few months I’ve rounded up some random cook books and attempted to set up menus and cook.

Some nights we didn’t eat until 10.

One night I cooked rotten meat.

At that point my mom said, “I’ll buy you Julia Child’s book. It’s specifically for American woman with no kitchen experience.”

Genius.

So I got a copy of the first volume of MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING as well as a copy of her biography MY LIFE IN FRANCE.

I’m half way through her biography and a few pages into the cookbook.

I’m already in love. I’m already thinking I’m French. Here’s to adventure…even the smallest kind.

Photo

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 23:34:44 -0500

Whatever Happened to Manners?

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 00:26:23 -0500

Living in a big(ish) city means good manners are few and far between. I count myself in this mix of poor, self-centered living.

But somethings are just common sense!

For instance, when did it become ok to stop waving to people in traffic? If someone let’s you in, it is polite to wave. If someone does anything on the road to assist you in some form or fashion however small, it is polite to wave.

Thank you can’t be said to often. In fact it is hardly said at all, thus when used it makes a person stand out.

I work in men’s retail. It seems the men with the best manners are actually frat boys/college kids (what they say when not around those of us who are post college, I cannot account for). The worst behaved men are old men.

Using common sense manners takes little extra time, but that small effort can make someones day!

The Great I

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:28:56 -0500

It’s recently come to my attention that my prayers are incredibly self focused. Even if the request seem noble, they are all about me! My world revolves around me and I encounter very little struggle in my life and so it is easy to be wrapped up in silly, self focused frustrations.

So how do I forget myself and be all about Christ?

Is it a matter of spending time …

… in His Word?

… serving others?

… praying for others?

… praying for the freedom to forget myself?

I will strive to focus on Christ, His love for me, and how that translates into my love for the people around me as well as around the world. People suffering, people rejoicing; people in need, people being generous; people in pain, people in joy; people mourning, people celebrating.

Why Worry?

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:28:00 -0500

DO NOT WORRY. This is the heading the publishers put over Luke 12:22-34. We are all familiar with this section of the Bible. We’ve heard about beautiful lilies and cared-for birds and maybe many of us though, “how lovely”, without ever digging into the passage.

I have certainly done this….until today.

This morning I was fretting particularly hard over food and body issues. I was growing tired of food issues and wishing we could all jump back 150 years before large corporations destroyed our simple food chain. I was also annoyed with myself over the decision to sleep in rather than get up and work out. My mind replayed meals and wondered if I should really go gluten free or just forget about the whole thing. Maybe no carbs at all? Or maybe just give up starches? Should I switch to light beer…but really, I hate light beer. Maybe if I just gave up that little bit of lemon curd I enjoy. Or what about all the coffee….. ? I really should have worked out. Maybe it’s too much to expect me to get up early? But will I really work out after I’ve worked all day….?

And on it goes.

After dressing, I sat down and opened my Bible. I had no planned passage, having just wrapped up a Bible study yesterday and feeling a little bit unstructured. So I turned a few pages and my eyes fell on it:

DO NOT WORRY.

And so I read. And then I reread it. And again. How did I miss this? I’ve read this passage many times!

There it was, plain as day. Christ instructing his disciples to not worry about what they will eat, or wear. “Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.”

Life is so much more than these things and these are the things I’m overly worried about. This means I’m really spending way to much time worrying about food and my body, things Christ directly addresses us to NOT WORRY ABOUT! He commands it. After some expansion on his points, he wraps up the passage with this, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.”

We don’t need to worry over the small things, the unimportant things, because we already have the Kingdom which is full of nonperishable treasures.

Over the next few days, I want to really dig into this passage. There is a ton of instruction and encouragement and peace in Christ’s words….words that point us away from a path of meaninglessness to a path that glorifies HIM!

Crashed

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:06:06 -0500

Of course moments after I made my New Year’s resolutions my computer downloaded a nasty virus that left me offline for quite a while. After some time at the computer fixer upper store I found out i had managed to get 77 viruses. But now my computer is back in action…. and my resolutions can no longer be put off so here goes!

"More purity give me, More strength to o’er-come; More freedom from earth stains, More..."

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 10:26:56 -0500

“More purity give me, More strength to o’er-come;
More freedom from earth stains,
More longings for home;
More fit for the kingdom, More used would I be;
More blessed and holy; More, Savior, like Thee.”

- P.P. Bliss (as quoted in BECOMING A WOMAN OF EXCELLENCE by Cynthia Heald)

Resolutions

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 09:44:10 -0500

Discipline is not something that comes naturally to me. I may make declarations from time to time that I will work on this or incorporate that into my life, but within an hour I will have forgotten all about it. And so my life continues on with little change. Knowing this about myself I have never been one to make resolutions. I might ponder some in my brain and roll them around in my thoughts, but I never right them down or let other people know.

This year, I feel different. I feel compelled to make some resolutions. I like to think that in 2011 I grew up a bit and this is having some effect on whether or not I can effectively make and carry out resolutions for 2012.

I have one main resolution that is spawning the rest.

Main resolution (dare i call this a personal mission statement?):
To stop wasting time on things I am not good at and focus my energy and time on the talents that God gave me to be used for His glory.

Now for the detailed resolutions:

Commit to the Christian disciplines that will help me grow in love for God and acting on my faith in daily life.
Resume piano lessons and commit to growing as a pianist.
Resume writing (both blog and fiction) and cultivate my abilities.
Learn Korean.
Remove activities that are wasteful of both time and money.
Act upon my beliefs about food (aka - start eating as close to Weston A. Price’s findings on “traditional diet”) and walk daily.
Be a better friend/sister/daughter.

Some of these resolutions need goals to assist me in follow through (but I’ll not bore you with that).

Christians and the Election Season.

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 12:44:52 -0500

As election season is in full swing, I’ve been sad to see how we as Christians (left and right) respond. This is a great opportunity to show the world we are different and yet, so often we fail.

I see a lot of frustration (in myself and others) directed into making fun of politicians in a degrading and personal way rather than healthy, informed debate about their policy and opinions. We must remember that Jesus said to love and pray for our enemies (this includes politicians not just the “cool enemies to love”). Personal attacks both angry and humorous only further the anger and hate rather than pull us out of it. They are distractions that do not do anything to sort out what people actually stand for.

Also, both sides craft their own version of Jesus to use against the other side and to further their own agenda. This is taking the Lord’s name in vain! So how about instead of insulting people on a personal level lets rise above the broken system and focus on policy and encouragement. Some of the people we are bashing are our brothers and sisters in Christ and we are supposed to love them.

Beautiful taste @Barley Swine (my friend’s “last...

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 18:43:00 -0400

Beautiful taste @Barley Swine (my friend’s “last night in town”)

"I was coming to understand that what it means to be real is to love and be loved until there is..."

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 18:34:36 -0400

“I was coming to understand that what it means to be real is to love and be loved until there is nothing left. And when there is nothing left, and we feel we’re all in pieces, God begins to make us whole. He makes us real. His love sets us free and transforms us.”

- Katie Davis in KISSES FROM KATIE

Change my heart.

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 18:38:49 -0400

I recently picked up two books that have given me fresh perspective. My heart has been refreshed.

The first book is Henri Nouwen’s SPIRITUAL FORMATION. My church is currently exploring the established/ancient spiritual disciplines so I picked it up to further my understanding. I am only a few chapters into it as I am forcing myself to read slowly for understanding. Reading this book is like having Mr. Nouwen as my personal spiritual director. Each chapter speaks so much to me. I am constantly underlining sentences and highlighting paragraphs. The exercises at the end of each chapter are helpful for deepening my understanding of the practices as well as my own spiritual journey.

The second book is Katie Davis’ KISSES FROM KATIE. Again, I am only a few chapters in, but it is highly inspiring. Katie Davis moved from America to Uganda to love on children. She fell in love with the country and the people and even though she was only going for a year long mission trip she ended up staying. She adopted children and ended up starting an orphanage. Reading this book makes me want to throw off my apathy. No longer do I want to sit around wishing for things to change, no longer am I ok with just thinking about how there is so many problems in the world. No, now I want to do something - even the smallest thing - to show the world love.

Between these two books I feel incredibly refreshed. I am reminded that each person is unique and needs love. I am not alone in this world, nor does this world revolve around me. I know that I am blessed far more than I deserve and because I have been given much, much is expect of me. Out of the generosity of Christ towards me, I want to show generosity to others.