needle & thREAD

I'm finding my sewing rhythm again. I've picked out a few hours in the week that I can predictably sit in front of the sewing machine. That's a really good thing:-). This week, I made the Oliver + S Picnic Blouse in a Sandi Henderson floral from my stash. I made the 6 for Karoline. All her other Oliver + S clothes are 5s, but I wanted this one to fit until next summer. The sleeves are more like elbow-length sleeves on her than 3/4 length. Silly me, I should have had her try it on before I hemmed. Other than that, it's just as I'd hoped. It will work as a good layering shirt over a long-sleeved t-shirt or turtleneck when things turn cold. Karoline loves it and Sarah has already requested one. My sewing to-do list has grown quite long all of a sudden. Another needle &thREADer suggested that this pattern could easily be lengthened into a dress. I can see that in my near future.

At the suggestion of a friend to whom I confided my deep and earnest desire to live my life outside and turn my suburban half-acre into a farm, I have begun to read The Backyard Homestead. And the dreaming for spring begins anew:-). This time, those dreams will have concrete plans attached to them.

 

Does autumn call you into your sewing space? Are you thinking flannel pjs or cozy quilts? Or are you embroidering? Pulling a needle with thread through lovely fabric to make life more beautiful somehow? Would you share with us just a single photo (or more) and a brief description of what you're up to? Will you tell us about what you're reading, also? Would you talk sewing and books with us? I'd love that so much.

Make sure the link you submit is to the URL of your blog post or your specific Flickr photo and not your main blog URL or Flickr Photostream. Please be sure and link to your current needle and thREAD post below in the comments, and not a needle and thREAD post from a previous week. If you don't have a blog, please post a photo to the needle & thREAD group at Flickr. 

       Include a link back to this post in your blog post or on your flickr photo page so that others who may want to join the needle and thREAD fun can find us! Feel free to grab a button here (in one of several colors) so that you can use the button to link:-)

A Ridiculously Long Yarn Along

~California Car Knitting~

Hello, there! I haven't yarned along in a long, long while. It's good to be knitting again. In a most encouraging note, Beth observed that the old ladies at the quilting store and the yarn shop have gnarled arthritic hands. And still, they create their art with them. (Seriously, Beth herself is such an inspiration. She knits and quilts and trains for a  triathalons--all with arthritis.). So, I'm knitting. It hurts in the beginning and I can't go for very long at at all, but I'm doing it. 

I started a much bigger version of this shawl while in California. I chose the yarn ahead of time--a Pakucho cotton in Forest. Pakucho cotton is 100% organically grown in Peru by rural artisan and Indian farmers, using sustainable methods, on small farmyard plots. And it's entirely fair trade. But, wait! There's more. It's not dyed. It's naturally colored yarn that grows in eight earthy colors. Colored cotton has grown in Peru for 4,500 years but it's recently been revived. Intrigued? Read all about it here.

The poet in me was pretty thrilled when my yarn perfectly captured my impression of the hues of California's landscape. It's a lovely gray-green-with-a-touch-of-brown.

I've made a little--just a little- progress on it since arriving home. I'm still settling into a workable fall routine and part of that is seeing where my knitting pockets are. I finished reading Interrupted on the trip. I have to admit that I was very inspired by  7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess and very bothered by Interrupted. [Caveat: among the heavy influences listed in Interrupted was Richard Rohr.]. What bothered me, I think, was the impression that somehow we are all called to flee the suburbs and serve the poor somewhere else. After reading the book, I looked at my homeschooling-mother-of-many-life and wondered if I wasn't totally missing the mark because I wasn't feeding the hungry in Africa or at least in downtown DC. Somehow, taking a baby from a weary mom at our dance school and rocking her for awhile didn't seem as worthy as rocking an orphan in Ethiopa. But God loves that mom at dance and He loves that baby, too. There are spiritually starving people right here in my midst. I know them and He calls me to love them well. To love them wholeheartedly. Some of us might be called to encourage and love and educate and support and feed and disciple right here in the midst of the minivans. Interrupted distracted me from my vocation. I don't think that was the author's intention. I think it was my overzealous interpretation. There's probably much more to say about that. I tend to get distracted...

Other things that try to distract me from hearth and home and this needy bunch of kids who all look astonishingly like my husband are opportunities to write and speak and work in the online and between-the-covers world of Christian publishing and ministry. In order to go to California, I had to say "I'm sorry, I can't do that." Again. Twice. I couldn't go to the Catholic New Media Conference in Dallas, despite prior plans to do so. And I couldn't join Sally Clarkson and the other writers from MomHeart at Sally's home for a leadership intensive.  Both were good things. Very good things. A week in California with my husband? It was the better thing. It was the thing God intended for me. Sally was so very encouraging when I told her about the trip. And I know she's held me in her heart and her prayers. So, I'm revisiting my copy of The Ministry of Motherhood.

I can hear Sally's voice reminding me that God calls me home. I keep saying "no." Or "not just yet." Just as I was certain all those many years ago that God was calling me to raise a large family for His Glory, I am reminded that He still wants me here. There are many, many opportunities to serve Him in my neighborhood and on the soccer field and even in the grocery store. My children are learning to recognize those opportunities right alongside me. I am still wholeheartedly investing in my home and family because my family still needs me. Their needs are numerous and important and my job is far from finished. This is my Africa. 

Join Ginny for more yarns:

God in the Vineyard

There is a large statue of Our Lady overlooking the vineyard, a chapel on the grounds for daily Mass, and a wine named for Pope Benedict. This is Trinitas. And it is beautiful. Trinitas Cellars has a small vineyard of its own, but sources out for most of its grapes. On the grounds of the Meritage Resort and Spa is the Trinitas Tasting Room, a cave that is home to a beautifully appointed bar. There, we met an incredibly personable (and knowledgeable) young man named Michael, who introduced us to the wines. 

Among the Trinitas wines is one called ratZINger. Every year, the founders of Trinitas travel to Rome to present bottles of the wine to Pope Benedict. Steph and Tim Busch are very active in Catholic ministries and organizations in the United States and this winery truly reflects their authentic Catholic sensibilities.

A sweet picture book on the shelves amongst the wine bottles captured my attention while Mike was chatting wine and baseball with Michael. The Grapes Grow Sweet is the story of a family bringing in California grapes at harvest time. Beautifully illustrated with rich, watercolor pictures, the book tells the story of Julian and Adrienne Rossi, two children growing up in the fourth generation on a Napa vineyard. The story is tenderly told and every time I read it aloud to my children, I'm drawn into the warmth of this family and the love and respect they have for the people who work with them. The pictures are incredibly detailed and with each reading so far, we've noticed something new. My girls were so inspred by this book that we took off last week for an impromptu visit to some Virginia vineyards, hoping to see the harvest gondolas. 

But back to Trinitas:-). After we spent a very long time learning ever so much in the tasting room, Mike and I walked the vineyards. We read each of the placards and got to know the grapes a little better. We also introduced ourselves to an impressively large jackrabbit. I was surprised by how large and muscular those rabbits are compared to my Virginia garden bunnies. Alas, no picture. He was much too fast for me!

In a place like Trinitas, it's impossible not to think of the first part of John 15. I was disappointed in my (in)ability to recite it from memory on the spot and have since endeavored to commit it there. 

The Vine and the Branches.

 I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.  Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends,  because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you: love one another.

This time away with only Mike gave me the space I needed to really consider what God has been trying to prune and how He calls me to lay down my life (and for whom). We don't, of course, need a vineyard and a wine named for the rosary to do that, but I am astonished at the generosity of both God and my husband, who provided them well before I even knew to ask.

needle & thREAD

Hi, this is Elizabeth's friend Ginny, just saying a quick hello, and introducing my husband Jonny. He is guest posting for needle & thREAD today! I'll mostly keep quiet and let him tell you about our latest project:

I was much too young and fickle the first time I bought a rotary cutter. I only have a slight memory of the excitement that went along with that purchase. But I do remember standing in Joann’s trying to pick just the right cutter for so much and no more money. Simultaneously I procured one of those flexible cutting board things and a handful of fat quarters. You see, I had it in my mind that I was going to make a quilt. Where that idea came from, I am not really sure. I must have been about 21 years old. I was either freshly married or just about to be. Back then, Ginny did a little bit of crocheting. She taught me how to make granny squares. Once I made a couple, I decided I would make enough to put together a blanket. Somehow making those granny squares heightened my craftiness. Just about the time I made enough to actually put something resembling a blanket together, the idea of making a quilt came into my head. So, naturally, the granny square blanket was sidelined, and the trip to Joann’s ensued.

I never made a quilt. I tried to. I must have cut over a hundred squares out of the fabric. It was actually a lot of fun. I definitely had enough to complete a twin size quilt. But, I lack focus. I mean, I have focus, but only for a little while. And back then, I had less of it altogether. I can start a project with all kinds of motivation. Then, during the course, something happens and the motivation fades. Along with it, my interest goes out the window. Then, a new project materializes, and all my focus goes to it. So, by the time the squares were cut, my interest faded. You might be wondering when I’ll get to the point. Well, here it is. I want to make a quilt again. This time, though, I’ve enlisted the aid of my clever and crafty wife. Whereas my first attempt was solo, this will be a joint effort. This way, I’m hoping to see the project through.

It was totally all my idea to make a quilt (again). But, I have left the pre planning and decision making to my wife. I have feigned involvement. For instance, when we were trying to pick out fabric online, I would point to a bundle and say something like “what about that” or “that looks nice”, all the while knowing that it really wouldn’t do. I had to stand there and wait until Ginny found the perfect bundle. Which she did. Some Heather Robert or Rose or Ross (covering my mouth and mumbling) something or other…which I’m sure is going to make for a fantastic, fun yet practical, color scheme! Yay! (Oh my goodness. It's Heather Ross, dear.)

We are going to make a Log Cabin quilt. I don’t really know much about what that means, but I do know that we will be hand tying it in 99 places. (Hi! This is Ginny. Specifically we are planning to make the log cabin quilt from Patchwork Style. Each square is quilted and then squared up before they are all joined. We don't totally understand it yet. I do know that this doesn't eliminate the need for the entire thing to be quilted at the end, but the pattern calls for tying it, so we can avoid machine quilting, which is good because we aren't equipped for that.) And while I had hoped to actually show off some of my sewing skills, Ginny hasn’t accepted that the fabric needs to be cut. She says it’s too pretty. (Isn't it?) I’m not really reading anything right now. I just finished one of my birthday presents, Confessions of a Bad Beekeeper: What Not to Do When Keeping Bees (with Apologies to My Own). I’m planning on keeping with the bee theme and reading The Queen Must Die: And Other Affairs of Bees and Men next. I don’t really think it’s possible to read too much about bees.

~ ~ ~

What about you? Sewing? Reading? A little of both?  Or are you embroidering? Pulling a needle with thread through lovely fabric to make life more beautiful somehow? Would you share with us just a single photo (or more) and a brief description of what you're up to? Will you tell us about what you're reading, also? Would you talk sewing and books with us? I'd love that so much.

Make sure the link you submit is to the URL of your blog post or your specific Flickr photo and not your main blog URL or Flickr Photostream. Please be sure and link to your current needle and thREAD post below in the comments, and not a needle and thREAD post from a previous week. If you don't have a blog, please post a photo to the needle & thREAD group at Flickr. 

       Include a link back to this post in your blog post or on your flickr photo page so that others who may want to join the needle and thREAD fun can find us! Feel free to grab a button here (in one of several colors) so that you can use the button to link:-)

needle &thREAD

I conquered sewed one of those figure eight scarves at last. It took me far longer to cut it than to sew it. The sewing was simple and Anna Maria's instructions were excellent. I have one more to sew, hopefully today. It really looks pretty when wrapped just right around my neck, but I didn't have it in me to learn how to take a self-portrait just now.

I am listening to Anything again, after I drop the boys off at soccer. I'm learning even more the second time. Together, Stephen and Nicky and I are listening to Kisses from Katie to and from soccer. The two books are read by the same woman and she absolutley nails the tones of both books. I highly recommend the audio versions. Oh, and while sewing, I listened to the first two installments of the Bloom Book Club discussion of 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess. Well written, meaty books all. 

And when I feel like I'm going to burst if I don't talk about the potential for our anythings with someone, I'm finding that Nicholas is feeling much the same way. So we ponder it all aloud. As my children get older, I am ever more grateful for the community I find in this family.

What about you? Sewing? Reading? A little of both?  Or are you embroidering? Pulling a needle with thread through lovely fabric to make life more beautiful somehow? Would you share with us just a single photo (or more) and a brief description of what you're up to? Will you tell us about what you're reading, also? Would you talk sewing and books with us? I'd love that so much.

Make sure the link you submit is to the URL of your blog post or your specific Flickr photo and not your main blog URL or Flickr Photostream. Please be sure and link to your current needle and thREAD post below in the comments, and not a needle and thREAD post from a previous week. If you don't have a blog, please post a photo to the needle & thREAD group at Flickr. 

       Include a link back to this post in your blog post or on your flickr photo page so that others who may want to join the needle and thREAD fun can find us! Feel free to grab a button here (in one of several colors) so that you can use the button to link:-)