Quick Update

I am here and trying to find time to blog and such but to be honest I am trying to spend as much time as I can with Sydney before she leaves. We are having fun and trying to get everything ready but despite starting early we both feel as though we will not get it all done.

We packed up almost all the rest of her stuff tonight and I have to say it was the hardest thing I have had to do in a long time. I am so very proud of her and excited to see what mighty plans God has for her but the thought of her not being here is very hard for me. I find my self constantly praying and asking God to give me strength and the ability to keep my emotions under control. I can not even begin to describe how it feels to help your daughter pack up her stuff to leave, tears come so much easier than words!

I keep telling myself that it is only eight hours away, that is less than a day. Not to mention we have cell phones, e-mail, facebook and good old fashion pen and paper but It is just not the same. You prepare your child to go out and fulfil Gods plan for them, to witness to lost souls, comfort others and to find joy in the Lord in their own life and knowing that God has allowed me to be a part of her life is so humbling but a part of me wants to keep her here with me forever! Selfish I know but it would hardly do any good to lie.

Our plan had been to take her on the 12th, the day before orientation but today that changed to the 8th so we have even less time than we thought. I am hoping she will make early next week her last week to work so that the last week she is here we can spend relaxing and having fun.

Sydney put a post up on her blog in regards to how she is feeling about leaving if you are interested you can find it here.

Mother Daughter Quilt- Memories in the Making

When Sydney first announced last week that she wanted to make a quilt before she left, which is in about a month I thought she was crazy. However it sounded like fun and I knew it would be another great opportunity to spend time with her and make some precious memories for each of us. So my next few post will most likely be quilt updates and include some tips or things to avoid that you may find useful.

So far we have bought our fabric (minus the backing) and cut our squares. For fabric we bought 25 fat quarters in bright colors of Syd's choosing.

To cut them we lined up stacks of 4-5 and used our cutting mat, rotary cutter, ruler and a homemade cardboard template and simply started cutting. We divided it into two cutting sessions and split the cutting so neither of us wore our hand out. It went very fast with the rotary cutter!

Sydney is currently working on the pattern. I wanted her to lay it out since she will be the one cuddling up with it each night.


Tip: Always use a cutting mat when using a rotary cutter and line up your fabric. Being off even a small amount can change how every thing lines up.

New Apron

We have a new apron in our Etsy shop. It is made from some super tasty looking fabric! Every time I see it I instantly want mint chocolate chip ice cream!

My goal at the start of the month was to make an item a day and although that has not worked out I am happy with the items I am getting in there including a cute little sundress made from white fabric and accented with pink and blue flowers.

Here a little there a little. Are you working on anything special? If you have time leave a comment and tell us about it or leave a link so others can visit your shop.

Keeping Your Sewing Machine Going

I have heard so many people say they have a love hate relationship with their sewing machine and to be honest I have even said it.

There you are sewing along, all is right in the world and then all of a sudden you have a mess. The sewing machine is eating your fabric or you find a big wad of thread on the underside of your beautiful dress.

Screaming is what first comes to mind then you contemplate seeing if your machine can fly. I can defiantly feel your pain. I feel so bad when I here Syd sewing along and then I hear a rrrrr come form her room followed by mommmm, my machine has died....again.

Most of the time the problems we face with our beloved machines can be avoided with some basic preventive measures.

1. Keep your needles changed and use quality needles.
2. Keep your machine clean, inside and out. For the outside I use a cloth that has been lightly sprayed with Lysol. The easiest way I have found to clean the inside is with a lint brush and vacuum. I have an attachment kit that sucks away the lint build up. Be sure to also keep under your needle plate clean. Usually you just have to unscrew two screws, lift up the plate and vacuum but check your manual first.
3. Use quality thread. Cheap thread breaks and produces LOTS of lint over time.
4. Wind your bobbin carefully and correctly.
5. Check your owner's manual to see if your machine needs oiled. My old serger did but my new one does not. If in doubt check with a dealer. They often times can tell you over the phone.
6. Keep your machine covered when not in use. You can purchase machine covers at Joann's or you can make one :)
7. Avoid sewing over needles. It can mess with the timing.
8. Avoid overworking your machine. Most home machines were not made to sew three to four layers of denim, no matter how bad you want it to.
9. Get your machine checked at least every two years. You will be surprised how much better it runs after a tune-up. After all you would not consider driving your car for years without an oil change or tune up; your machine should be no different.

Digital Scrapbooking

I may have just found a new addiction... digital scrap booking. For months now I have been collecting layouts and embellishments with the hope of playing around with it.

So this morning I finally had a few minutes and did a couple of pictures. Not an actual full page but I had fun and got to try out a few things.

I became interested in it when we were working on Sydney's graduation invitations; I had so much fun with the layers and thought it would be cool to play with some pictures before printing them to put in her scrapbook. The coolest thing I think so far is the idea of being able to do a page and then print it off three times, one for each of the kids.

Often times while I was buying paper and embellishments for Syds I would go ahead and buy three of each thing if it also pertained to the boys. It got fairly expensive quickly! With digital scrapbooking I buy the set and can use it over and over for FREE plus I have found lots of sites with "freebies". The only problem I foresee is that Scott may have to give me a little more space on our server for files.

Laurel took this picture of Sydney last week at VBS and the instant I saw it I fell in love with it. Sydney has the biggest smile naturally and I love it!

Laurel does beautiful work so if you are in need of a great photographer in the DFW area stop by her site, view her work and then I am sure you will want to contact her.

So if you are wondering how I plan to spend the holiday, aside from Friday when we work on Sydney's car, I will be indoors, under the AC, playing on my computer.

Worthy Of Our Calling

That is the title of our newest devotional in the Ladies Fellowship section of the church website. It is very well written and inspirational as are the other ones we have. I hope if you have time you will stop by and read it.

Each of the devotionals you see up has been written by different ladies of our church. If you have been reading my blog long you will recognize January's because it was written by me and on my blog at the start of the year. April-June is missing because as I told my husband last night life was busy going on. Truth be told that is when I was dealing with my back surgery, planning Syds graduation and the death of my grandmother and the two ladies who were scheduled to write were also going through some major health issues with family members; I was not going to stress over it nor did I want others to.

I pray you enjoy reading them and that the Lord speaks to you through them; while there be sure to check out the rest of the site.