Where has the time gone?

Really???!??

I haven’t posted since the end of May 2015. Where has the time gone? Do you think I haven’t done any stitching or anything at all? Well I have been busy so I thought I would give a little year end recap of the last half of 2015. (Okay it was suppose to be a year end post but I was having trouble finding all the photos I wanted to use and then my computer crashed.) Finally got it back from the geeks and so here we go! Warning there are a lot of photos, not sure if there will be a lot of words.

First a little collage of the Block of the Month quilt blocks made for the quilt guild I belong to. It was hard keeping up with these and I think I may not participate officially (as in being part of the year end exchange). I may decide to do some of them though as they are to be stash busters and I could really use some stash busting.

Blocks of the Month

Then a quilt I finally finished for my grandson in time for his fourth birthday. It features monster trucks, one of his favorite things, and he kept asking me when it would be done because he wanted to use it. 

Monster Truck Quilt

His party was a super hero theme and so there were capes to make including a Superman cape for him.

Super Hero Capes Ready

Then there was a birthday for a sweet little girl and this rag doll finally was ready.

The Evalyn Doll

Tutu Apron and Hat

Fabric Paper Doll

Another birthday loomed for my granddaughter and a last minute decision to have a kitchen/baking theme brought forth a tutu apron and a chef’s hat. And then to round out the theme some fabric “paper dolls” as part of the decoration.

Then it was Halloween and the need for family costumes which the four year old decided should be a family of trees. The addition on an acorn hat for my granddaughter was the topping of the forest. The tree costumes became a forest of trees surrounding his tent.

Tree Costume became a Forest

The Wounded Warrior quilt was pieced and finished (quilting by my dear friend Kathryn Pate).

Wounded Warrior Quilt

Before Christmas there was a request for a nap mat similar to the one I made my grandson. This one was for a little girl so cupcakes and pink were in order. You haven’t quilted until you’ve stitched through 8 layers of batting (it really should have been only six but I thought it should be eight) on your home sewing machine.

Nap Mat

Christmas brought a set of six microwave bowl holders for my daughter and then 16 (well only 14 got finished) linen placemats for her table. 

Linen Placemats 

Place Mats in Use

My grandkids received a play campfire with hot dogs and marshmallows.

Play Campfire

Oh and sometime between Halloween and Christmas the dog received a warm cover for his kennel and a new bed cushion. This had been on my list for over a year and then it came off the list. Why?, because he escaped on my watch and had to be retrieved from the local animal shelter. Guess I was feeling a little guilty and so decided to put it back on the list and actually do it.

Dog's Kennel Cover

 And finally to round things out I designed the new bookmark for our 2016 Quilters’ Guild ofArlington program list and the 2016 Quilt Show postcard for the same guild.

I will say though with all that I did get accomplished very few were on my move it on and finish it list of projects. In my favor though, I did not start anything new on Friday. I may have come close by getting it started on Thursday but I avoided the temptation to start anything on Friday. See this post for the reason that is important.

Keep on stitching!

Rose 

My 2015 Word

Embroidered Card - Every Day Is A New Creation

Last year I chose a word for the year - Celebrate! I didn't really pursue the word or even try to live it daily. This year I have decided to be a member of His Kingdom Come and follow along with the Logos365 group. No promises now but I hope to be more consistent and will post now and again about my progress. So here goes!

Originally my word for 2015 was going to be discipline. Or to be more specific - self-discipline. I felt that would help be get more organized and orderly. But today in service the guest pastor spoke about getting one word for the year. The word she chose at least for the church was contentment. I thought that was a good word and one that I could certainly work on but as she developed the message she mentioned James 3:16:

Where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is also disorder and every kind of evil.

Something hit me; I had been a very jealous and selfish person. The LORD helped me to see the root of my jealousy (it was aimed at a certain type of people who I saw as better than myself) which stemmed from a traumatic childhood experience. With HIS help I overcame that jealousy but still live in a world of disorder. I began to wonder during that service if that was the direction my thoughts and my word should take me. It was still dealing with the area of my life that I felt I needed to work on but it put it in a different perspective for me. Could my disorder be a remnant of my past where jealousy and selfishness ruled?

Originally I thought it was just a lack of discipline and I think a part of it is still related to that area but sometimes we need to dig a little deeper and find the cause or root of the problem. So I have decided to make order (the opposite of disorder) my word for 2015. My desire is by the end of 2015 to have disorder removed from my life and order restored.

What about the last part of that verse? Every kind of evil. I know evil exists in the world and that it would like to take hold of us. But I believe since giving my life to Christ and being baptized in Jesus name and filled with His Spirit that evil has no hold on me. However while working on the disorder in my life I will be asking Jesus to also reveal to me any evil that may be in me or trying to inch it’s way in me.

For now though I looked up the opposite of disorder and this is what I found on wordhippo.com:

What's the opposite of disorder? Here's a list of antonyms for this word.

As a verb:

Order, arrange, calm, clarify, clear up, comfort, compose, enlighten, explain, neaten, organize, soothe, tidy, conform, regulate, systematize

As a noun:

Order, method, organization, rule, system, tidiness, arrangement, conformity, health, orderliness, calm, harmony, peace, quiet, agreement, calmness, happiness

I like that, both as a verb and a noun. I think by addressing the disorder in my life in 2015 I will find more calm, more harmony, more peace, and more happiness. 

Looking forward to what 2015 and Jesus have in store for me!
Rose