Fourth Sunday of Advent

The 4^th and last Sunday of Advent, the big day of delivery is coming for Mary and Joseph, joy to the world is so near.  Mary, an unwed mother to be at age 14 (so scholars tell us) must be so tired and gosh knows the back is not feeling so great as the baby drops to ready for birth (I am reminded the gospels were written by men and I wonder what the gospels would read if written by women?)  Yet in this story we do not see anything but wonder, majesty and love of God for his children and Mary will become blessed and given high status among women as we honor her commitment to her calling from God to bear a child in this way.  Joseph was brave, but Mary, my Mary was so brave.  How we respond to God’s calling for us makes us brave too.  We cannot deliver his Son as Mary, but we can deliver HIS Son - we can give hope to the world we live in, we can be there hearing the cries of babies wanting; we can give not as Mary and Joseph gave, but as we can give. We wait with Mary and Joseph, we wait with the world, we wait with GOD.  I can see God smiling in and around that day to come, the birth of his Son, the Savior of our world then and today.  Come, Come baby, bring joy to the world and peace.  COME, COME LORD JESUS.

Easy Street Flying Blue Geese

It is those pesky geese again.  Geese are starting to fly however and I will get them all done but must take a break to finish some Christmas gifts that are due tomorrow.   Easy Street is keeping my interest and I look forward to the pattern and play to start showing itself



Use the link below to see all the fun everyone is having!

http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2012/12/mystery-monday-link-up-part-4.html

Third Sunday of Advent.. Mary a young women in her last week of pregnancy was most likely uncomfortable and could have even been a bit quick to confront Joseph as to where they would stay and where their baby would be born…born with out midwife? Without the women of her family? In reality we do not know the details of who would be with her as she went into labor, as she cried out in the pangs of birth pains, as she first heard the baby’s cry…the cry of Jesus, a child’s cry, an infant breaking into a world to bring God into the world; joy to the world. It is hard with the events of the week to think there can ever be joy in the world as suffering and evil take it from us, but Mary waits, one more week for her time, our time. We wait one more week. Come, come Lord Jesus we are in desperate need of Joy. Give us this week hope, peace and comfort. Come, come Lord Jesus we are in desperate need of Joy.

Quick Gifts for Christmas

I love using what I have and not doing a lot of fuss or work.  I find sting piecing a perfect way to use what I have and it is not fussy or a lot of work.  Sewing straight and trimming is as easy as it gets.  I had a lot of scrapes from a Christmas quilt I did last year.   I can say for sure the fabric line that gave away the free pattern for the tree quilt made sure you had to buy a lot of material and then you wasted a lot of it in the cutting.  The quilt was extra cute, but golly the fabric left behind.  So, hot pads were perfect and string piecing perfect....a marriage in the making.  I used muslin for the base for the string piecing, cutting 4 1/2" squares.  Using the squares to make a four patch; using insulated batting between and simple quilting together with a fast binding on the machine.  Christmas Hot Pad!

I have to admit that Christmas is coming and I really have not gotten my head around it yet.  I know, I know, what is there to get around?  It comes every year at the exact same time/date, but this year just seems to be a bit slow mo in my mind.  My mind has it coming in slow mo and I know then it will speed up lightening fast.  I am still in slow mo with only hope I can get lightening fast.  My  Advent Thoughts:

First Sunday Advent ...Awaiting the birth. As a mother I can certainly understand the "count down" to the coming of a child. I know Mary as she rode a donkey to a land that was not her home must have been counting down the days before she gave birth. Praise you God for Mary's faith and trust, not only in You Lord, but a man named Joseph.

Come, Lord Jesus! Come and visit your people. We await your coming. Come, O Lord.

Second Sunday Advent...still waiting; still counting the days till her child is born Mary still holds faith with God and the man called Joseph. Mary can feel the life within her, feel her baby move, kick, hiccup, sleep...all those things women feel as they wait the birth. Men can put their hand on the stomach and feel it move as it grabs their heart with longing to see the baby. God has us waiting for the birth as we are asked to "feel" it coming in our body and our mind and our soul. Come, come Lord Jesus; we await.



Getting to the Good Part - Easy Street Mystery

I am trying to keep up with this mystery and I have to say it is really challenging.  I have other Christmas sewing that I have to sneak in with the mystery.  I have now completed all the four patches and flying geese, cut the rectangles of black and white, and am working on the shaded four patch.  I was struggling to get my mind around these shaded four patches not sure why.  Made 3 trial patches and they would not square up to the needed 3 1/2 ".  Cutting was off?  I took a break to clear the mind and remember what my Mother would have done.  My mom was the best sewist I have every known and I miss being able to call her to just whine.  She would have said, "clean up your work area, take one step at a time and just focus on it, nothing else and remember this only gets you to the good part....the sewing".  Breath well, give total focus to the cutting and don't think ahead or about the end product."  I did what my Mom said to do, I cleaned up my cutting table, read the instructions again, worked on the simple process of cutting one cut at a time AND in just that long all the pieces were laid out, ready to sew.  Sometimes it takes us to clear our minds and focus on the now that get us to the good part.  Clink here to see all the fun :  Link up Monday see the progress

WHAT DAY IS IT?

Yes, I like totally feel this as Christmas comes faster and faster and I quite frankly think I will be looking at my Christmas tree and saying this on December 25.  I have the following sewing projects to finish and I am not prepared to even know if I can get them done. 

1.  finish machine quilting Alaska Round Quilt and bind it. 

2.  Finish flying geese as the next clue comes out tomorrow and I had promised to be caught up each week

3.  Hot pads for office people gifts and cookie mix in jars

4.  pillow cases for Christmas gifts for 7 people

5.  Make a pin cushion for gift exchange for guild party

6. AND there is probably something I have not even remembered to put on this list~

Must get off this computer as that is one way I do not get sewing done, but I do love my tech time. 

Merry Christmas and off I go dashing through the house, up to the sewing studio to get my Santa on. 





Easy Street Mystery continues

The Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt Easy Street

the links will get you to the link-up for week 2 and week 1 incase you missed it.  FUN, FUN
http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2012/12/mystery-monday-link-up-part-2.html
 http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2012/11/easy-street-monday-link-up-1.html
is underway and I am sewing.  I have all the first week four patches done and 5 of the flying geese.  I only have 5 geese at this time because I am not one who has much fun making flying geese, I have in fact not ever enjoyed the piecing of flying geese.  So, I decided to wipe the brain free of all the ways to do geese and follow the one described by Bonnie Hunter using the strips I had cut.  It had been forever that I had done this method as the new methods out there have become so popular.  I loved going back to the cutting of the triangles and the piecing process of speed piecing.  I think I will enjoy making these now and putting aside my old negative reaction to making geese will certainly be freeing.

EASY STREET MYSTERY QUILT with BONNIE HUNTER

I have started to follow Bonnie Hunter on the new mystery Easy Street.  Easy Street Mystery Quilt
I have chosen my fabrics that I have for now in the colors of purples, teals, limey greens, back/white, and grey for the constant.  These are not colors I would normally use but I really do like them together and using the paint "chips" from Lowe's was the perfect way to focus material choices.  I will make this process a part of my routine in taking color needs with me as I shop.  I can now get ready for the first installment to get cutting and working.

Boneyard Off the Needles

The Stephen West workshop I attended and cast on the Boneyard Shawl challenged me to a new type of cast on.  Getting past that then it was all about getting the rhythm of the shawl.  Two skeins of Malabrigo DK weight in .......... it was done.  Now the issue I have  it seems it is very "small" and I am not sure what to do with it.  If it were really cold here and one needed a great coat neck scarf it would work.  It is really nice and very pretty, but once again I am not sure I would wear it much.  I have not blocked it and I think that will help for it to lay flatter and be more pliable and possibly I could extend it more.  I am going to do that and then see what it brings.  I really did enjoy knitting it and it is  fun knit and easy to do while visiting with my knit sibs.  A few pics of how it is now. Stephen West