Summer '12

It seems my blog has succumb to the fate of others I've read: "has it really been x months since I've written anything??" yea...guilty...lets move on

My summer has been busy with work, church activities and time with friends.
At church, I've been involved with our 5 yr old sunday school class, media team with photography for baptisms and service events and other ad hoc events including those supporting new members and marriage. Definitely a variety which I enjoy. On a more consistent basis, I've been hostessing a Bible study and co-leading it with a friend. It's been a good season to get to know some other women in the church, encouraging and comforting each other through some pretty life-shaking challenges. We studied Hebrews and Mark Driscoll's doctrine series. We've had some wonderful discussion and I've seen the Holy Spirit turning on some lightbulbs as I've watched the ladies' eyes. So encouraging to be part of growth.
Though, for everything there is a season. In a few short weeks, I'll start an MBA program and have thus elected to no longer host or lead.  I feel at rest about this decision though. Career-wise and personally, its time for a new season.
Work has grown more challenging yet has its moments of also being encouraging and rewarding. I've been recognized as a diligent, competent worker. Definitely something my often self-deprecating, female brain needs to hear! 
Time with friends has been a blessing. It's been a long time since I've had friends who have known me so well (through taking the time to observe and get to know me) that they can tell me why I'm struggling with something based on how my personality handles it. They've also been some of the most encouraging people in my life. They've reminded me of my strengths. (repeatedly.... making sure I accept and use God's gifts of ability and character)

Here's a brief overview of the last few months' events

 Elaine's Bridal Shower

 Company "Family Fun Day" at a local park. Pictured is part of my work team.
This was actually very nice. They rented one of the buildings so we ate and had a quarterly meeting inside then went outside for kickball, blowup obstacles courses and enjoying each other outside the office.
For Memorial Day, my group of friends decided to copy this idea (without the building and obstacle courses) Apparently very few people know that if a building isnt rented that day, its park benches and grills are first-come, first served. We had a great time in the area right behind the group in this picture. Great tree cover to grill out, sit at the benches and chat or cheer on the volleyball game we threw together. Definitely one of my favorite group gatherings!

 The end of a sweet season. Bittersweet to watch Katie and Nick end their time with the company and move on to bigger things. They're each still in town so Katie and I still catch up fairly regularly and even explored a new "hole-in-the-wall" coffee shop/lunch spot a couple weeks ago! Cant wait for the next lunch date with this awesome sister :)

 Oh Ken... A staple group activity is Friday movie nights. I think this was after Brave or maybe Snow White?? (Avengers, Brave and SpiderMan win for me this summer!!!) He put on one of the girls' headbands and channeled Jordy LaForge... I really love time with this group especially considering how much I laugh! Such great medicine for ANYTHING! This may have been the same night that I heard one of the guys say they needed to use the restroom on our way out of the movie.....so I purposely blocked his path (they bring out the mischief maker in me hehe) He very adeptly placed both of his forearms under my armpits and escorted me to the theater door at speed! I was carrying a half-full small popcorn. You may be able to assume the rest.

For those wondering about the quilt...
I'm still working on it. Havent had the time necessary to really focus on it :( At the moment, it is completely basted! (this means that there are thick threads loosely running through each row and column to hold all three layers (front with the shirt squares, middle batting and back sheet) together. I've bought more thread, template plastic, a template pencil, a quilting hoop and quilting needles. I'll have to go total things up but that probably added another $40ish... (in case anyone is still following about how much this costs and what steps are involved. As this is my first adventure in quilting, I know I've bought some items I didn't end up using or using as much and of course tools I didn't previously own so I'm expecting this will be one of the more expensive routes...)

And lastly, fourth of July!!Food, a slip-n-slide, FOOD, Fireworks, hanging out and chatting, oh and food ;)

 My favorite picture from the day. My coworker, Doug, and his son on the slip-n-slide

 Blogger is insisting on not rotating correctly but this is little man wearing my shoes. This little one can consistently capture the attention of a room full of adults. So much personality! 

Easter surprise

I discovered ducklings with their momma in the pond close to where I live on Easter Sunday.
Enjoy some pictures of these cute little neighbors!

Quilt update!

It seems I'm overdue for an update...
I actually have been working on the quilt! Since the last update, I finishing sewing the front panel together, bought the batting (about $15) and decided to fold the back material around to the front instead of using a separate material for edging (thought I did buy a deep purple fabric for this purpose). I've been working on how to get the three layers sewn together and the get the quilt finished! Here are some pictures of my progress.


Rows sewn

Top layer finished!

Three layers together with the batting layer cut to fit the top layer

Getting close! I'm currently hand-sewing the the brown back layer to the edges of the front. I'll fill with the batting and pin like crazy to finish by sewing along the lines to create the quilted effect.

Transparent

Some things are just not appropriate for a public forum but there are times that I think its good to take down some "good Christian" facades and acknowledge that life in this faith was never guaranteed to be "perfect".

My spiritual footing has been a bit shaky lately. Various areas of my life are just frustrating. So logically, I get spiritually apathetic.... yea.... because that's really logical and oh so helpful...
I've known for a good few weeks now that issues would cease to have such an impact if I set my priorities back in order. And yet, here I am.....Looking forward to finding out the benefits of this God-given stubbornness someday... Today, it seemed multiple women, most I don't know very well or at all, were all being used to shout the same message, in unison, directly to me.
First, I read a blog post from a wonderful mom I go to church with:
She wrote of her baby girl, Lacie, who has a horrible fear of getting her nails trimmed, having splinters removed or anything else involving a sharp object and trusting her mother to take care of the issue..... This hit home....hard....
Sarah realized in the battle to trim a piece of skin near Lacie's fingernail that the lesson was actually for her:

"All of a sudden, I looked down at my girl – and saw a very familiar ‘me’. This is my exact reaction when there is something that I know I need to take to the Lord. Though I don’t literally scream and cry – inside I do fret and worry. I tense up and while I start to hand it to Him – I immediately jerk it away – scared to death of what it’s gonna take to remove it from my life and convinced that it is going to bring unbearable pain. I sat on the bathroom floor with my baby girl and so gently held her hand in mine. I stopped to reassure her that I loved her. I had no desire to hurt her – that was not my intention. But if I didn’t remove this little bit of skin – it would only get worse. It might sting for a second, but then it would be over and she would feel so much better. Her little heart had such a difficult time processing this information. I looked at her again, and said, ‘Baby girl you have got to trust your mama.’ Over and over, I just whispered to her ‘trust’. Through tears she looked up at me and said, ‘But I’m scared of you. You’re going to hurt me.’ Everything in me switched into a calm and peaceful frame of mind (which was unusual as this carrying on is usually more frustrating than endearing) as suddenly the Lord stepped in to make sure I was paying attention – cuz all of this was for me
How many times have hard things come up in my life, but I’m too scared to take them to God? A God who loves me, delights in me, would do anything to protect and strengthen me. On good days, that’s so easy to believe – it’s so easy to climb into His arms, much like my baby girl would in mine – and trust and believe anything He said. But allow something to go wrong; have something more difficult and scary…something that I don’t know the end result to? And suddenly I’m throwing a fit on the floor doing anything I can to keep Him away. How many times have my actions screamed out ‘I don’t trust you’? How many times have I looked up at Him and confessed ‘But I know to get rid of this means it’s going to hurt?’ "


I immediately saw myself in little Lacie.... the things I've been carrying around.... guarding the equivalent of a festering sore.... I get home knowing I desperately need time with Lord and watch tv instead. Anything to just not address the issues, not acknowledge that I'm worried, frightened, frustrated.....I'd rather be distracted than have to deal with anything God may have to say to me. I don't want to see the clippers. My loving parent has told me the solution: I need to come to Him and trust. I'd rather run and hide. I somehow think that if I cower around my hurts long enough He'll somehow take pity on me and give me what I want instead of whats best for me... where oh where in all my recollections of experiencing God have I EVER known Him to do anything less than whats best for me??

Also like Lacie, I return to the same response when again faced with fear:

"when I needed to trim her sharp nails…and back to square one we went. The entire conversation…trust, I won’t hurt you, etc etc. All with the same ending down to the bear hug on the floor.

And wasn’t that just like me as well. How quickly I forget the lessons that God just finished teaching me. How much did He prove Himself trustworthy? And yet my mind still goes to ‘well, that was then…this time it could really hurt.’ And yet His patience far outweighs my doubt and disbelief. Oh, that I would just trust – and operate in that trust. He is a God who loves me. All that He does for me, all that He allows me to experience, everything is intended to grow me, protect me and ultimately demonstrate His love for me so much so that I demonstrate it to others. I am His baby girl, but it’s time I stopped behaving like a child"

As I was reading the end of her blog post, I was also listening to a spot on the WAYFM. One of the DJ's, Melissa, was sharing about her battles with an eating disorder. She made a point that Christian women tend to have great fear of being found out for what we struggle with. We cling to the ideal of having it all together. We compare to others often overlooking the truth that they have their own struggles going on even if they manage to keep it behind closed doors. There's a great power of bondage in stigma and fear.

Later in the evening, I read a blog post by another wise woman from a church I attended. She wrote of breaking the bondage of comparisons among women stating that we're all on the same team. I knew just what she meant when she wrote of feeling freed when another woman tells you they struggle with the same thing. One of my favorite quotes from pinterest echoes this: Friendship is born when someone says "You too?? I thought I was the only one!" There's perhaps a greater power in joining what the enemy seeks to separate. To band together for support and to present a united front.

So where does all of this leave me? Honestly.... growing in understanding doesn't always have any affect on "feeling" better.....Like Lacie, I remain guarded the very next time the issue comes up. I quickly forget what God has done and return to my default of distrust and fear of the hurt. I look at the next instance as failure. I didn't battle well enough the last time... Its back to hurt me again. So, I get worn out of battling at all. I refuse to trust the heart behind the arms that are holding me and the healing power residing there. I've been presented with the truth of what needs to happen, what will make me better. I've been here before, I've heard that same truth from the lips of my Heavenly Father. He's explained that its not His intention to hurt me. Yet, somehow, my default is to run back to a state of fear and disbelief that He's still just as caring, still just as gentle, and just as set on my well-being. So we'll continue this routine as He repeats the words and the motions: it's not my intention to hurt you, trust me, even though you don't know the ending, your hands are in mine. I'll make you better.

Quilt Update

I haven't forgotten or given up!
I found a brown cotton flannel flat sheet from LL Bean. Ended up needing a queen size and there's only a couple of inches of extra material on all sides. Apparently I'm creating a little more than a throw blanket ;) It takes over the living room floor as it is now haha. Before the edging, the quilt squares put together are about 85"x85"! I have all 7 rows sown. (7 strips of 7 squares each) This includes a middle square I spent some time deciding on.
I'm working on getting the rows sown together to form the whole front panel. Still excited to see it put together! I was having a little trouble with the machine when I started sowing the rows so I'll get some help from more experienced seamstresses and get back to it!

cost update:
tshirt for middle square (on sale!) $12
flat sheet $29
For a total of $41
Costs are slowing down. I'll just need the batting for the middle and to choose a fabric for the edging.

Getting so close!

birthday blessings

Celebrations for my birthday landed over the long weekend. I had a truly wonderful time with several sweet friends.
A college friend went with me to brunch after sleeping in. I really love a good breakfast sandwich and fruit but so rarely have the time. Yummy treat to start the day!
I made a couple appointments for hair and such with a local salon. It was fun to do something special to get ready for a birthday girls night out.
I had just enough time to get ready at a relaxed pace before Kristin arrived to pick me up for painting and dinner.
We met the group at a social art studio for our group painting class. By far one of my favorite birthday parties!

This is our artist, Kate, with her original "Battery Sunset" painting. I found it on the January calendar and requested that it be the painting of the night. The studio was so kind in honoring the request. I was so excited to get to pick the painting for the party!

Over the course of the two our session, the artist started with a white canvass and walked the class through the painting, step by step! We all commented how impressed we were with the other instructors roaming the room giving tips and advice. They answered specific questions as well as making observations to not only help you finish the painting but develop sharper skills as an artist. I learned technique for blending colors to transition (as we did with the sky and water) and had to laugh when one of the instructors had to repeatedly remind me not to be timid with the paint. They made it so much fun while we also walked away having learned.







After the painting class, we headed off to one of my favorite restaurants. They had taken my favorite entree off of the menu but the waiter told me that the head chef was in that night and could make it for me! (extra spoiled much?!?!)
I felt so blessed and spoiled in so many ways that night! The company was wonderful! The ladies with me were from various aspects of my life: church, work --all friends that God's somewhat surprised me with. All at the perfect time and more of a blessing than I'll be able to explain to them. I connect with each in different ways and learn so much from them. It was a sweet blessing to watch them meet, interact, and enjoy each other - seeing just an evening's snapshot of the qualities I've come to love about each of them.
I told them at dinner that it may sound "cheeseball" but that one of my favorite gifts was realizing how blessed I am to share not only the evening but friendships with so many strong, capable, intelligent, beautiful and genuinely caring women. From the depths of faith to career direction to the fun of food and fashion, I love our conversations.
A few friends who couldn't make it that night joined me another day for lunch. I spent the weekend surrounded by so many friends. I was reminded of how blessed and loved I am.
Thank you everyone for a wonderful birthday!

25 Rules of Order

Stole this from an email from Dad. Author Unknown.

1. I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow is not looking good either.

2 . I love deadlines. I especially like the whooshing sound they make as they go flying by.

3. Tell me what you need, and I'll tell you how to get along without it.

4. Accept that some days you are the pigeon and some days the statue.

5. I don't have an attitude problem, you have a perception problem.

6. Last night I lay in bed looking up at the stars in the sky, and I thought to myself, where the heck is the ceiling?

7. My reality cheque has bounced.

8. On the keyboard of life, always keep one finger on the escape key.

9. I don't suffer from stress. I am a carrier.

10. Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.

11. Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.

12. A pat on the back is only a few centimeters from a kick in the butt.

13. Don't be irreplaceable - if you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted.

14. After any salary raise, you will have less money at the end of the month than you did before.

15. The more crap you put up with, the more crap you are going to get.

16. You can go anywhere you want if you look serious and carry a clipboard.

17. People who go to conferences are the ones who shouldn't.

18. If it wasn't for the last minute, nothing would get done.

19. When you don't know what to do, walk fast and look worried.

20. Following the rules will not get the job done.

21. When confronted by a difficult problem, you can solve it more easily by reducing it to the question, "How would the Lone Ranger handle this?"

Judge and Father

The sermon this morning was so fitting for me. The message was certainly consistent with things God's been addressing in my heart lately. Will spoke from Luke 18 about the widow coming before the unjust judge first addressing the example of persistent prayer-seeking our Father for the provision of needs and desires. The widow represents the poor, the oppressed, the lowest in society. She had to seek justice for treatment of adversaries from an unjust judge. The judge made decisions based on personal comfort and not conviction. He had no regard for God or people which is a disregard for the great commandment to love God and people. We're supposed to relate to the widow in that we have no place or rights before God until we are adopted into His family. Even then, we can't appease God with our works.Unlike the widow, the judge we appeal to for justice, mercy and provision is also our Heavenly Father.
The message most resonated with me as Will pointed out that we so often look at God as the dealer of punishment and not nearly as much as a loving Father. I struggle with fear of man (people pleasing) which has also translated to my relationship with God. I love the truths God's engraving on my heart right now. Reminders that He is not only just, He is my Father. He wants me to come to Him when my heart needs gentleness and compassion as well as when I need to be refined.
Further into the passage, Will addressed Jesus' story of the Pharisee and the tax collector. He said this addresses a common lie so many Christians believe at some point in their walk; that works can earn favor with God.
My small group is currently doing a John MacArthur study on Hebrews. The lesson on Hebrews 4 echoed the truth of God's rest the same week.
"Applied to our relationship with God, to rest means no more self-effort as far as our salvation is concerned. It means the end of trying to please God by our feeble, fleshly works. God's perfect rest is a rest in free grace.
Rest can also mean a freedom from whatever worries or disturbs you. It means freedom from guilt over sin. It means no more shifting about in frustration from one thing to another, no more running in circles. It means remaining confident, keeping trust. To enter into God's rest means that for the remainder of our lives and for all eternity we can lean on God. Such rest is full, blessed, sweet, satisfying, and peaceful. Amazingly, this is what God offers us in Christ."
"Those who exercise faith in the message of God will enter into their spiritual rest. At salvation, every believer enters the true rest, he realm of spiritual promise, never again laboring to achieve through personal effort a righteousness that pleases God. God's rest includes His peace, confidence of salvation, reliance on the strength, and assurance of a future heavenly home (see Matt 11:29)"

The year ahead...

My birthday's coming up...
As with any given year, the past 12 months have been filled with a lot of highs and lows. I'd unfortunately say that I'm not terribly sad to see this age year go....the last 8 or 9 months have had a lot of challenges. Some I'd honestly prefer to forget. But.... I'm also sensing God bringing me out of a tough season into some beautiful truth that I think will shape my next year more around Christ and less around my broken, flawed view of the world.

So ....in the next year:

1. I want to walk in more freedom.
I overfocus on what "should" be, creating ideals that, quite frankly, were never meant to exist this side of Heaven.

2. I want to keep exploring what I'm passionate about.
I'm finally allowing myself to explore and enjoy the talents and interests God's given me and stop concerning myself with what I should do or be. I have a unique identity as a creation of God. About time I started appreciating that and using it to pursue more avenues personally and professionally. This means committing to what I truly want to do and not feeling guilty about the rest.

3. I want to recognize my strengths.
I don't often enough acknowledge what I do well and praise God for those abilities.

4. I want to invest the most time and energy in what I'm meant to have influence over
To focus on whats good around me and let more of the not-so-wonderful fade away, particularly if its something I have no control over. I sometimes look at taking care of myself, standing ground for what I believe is best for me personally, spiritually, emotionally to be naive or selfish. I'm starting to recognize it more as poor stewardship and lack of faith.

5. I want to become a more balanced realist.
Its fine to be a realist but you have to acknowledge when things are good not just look for what could go wrong. I want to embrace change as exciting opportunities for something better!

6. I want to trust God more that I am who I am for a reason.
Exploring my weaknesses and discovering how He's meant them for His glory. Giving myself grace to be who I am and not wishing away the trials.

It goes without saying that I want to be a stronger believer, a better friend and more focused professionally by my next birthday....these are my personal birthday wishes for a year of growth and commitment to good stewardship of the time, talents and ambitions God's entrusted me with.

God is Able

God is Able-Hillsong United
God is AbleHe will never failHe is almighty God

Greater than all we seek

Greater than all we ask

He has done great things

Lifted up, He defeated the grave
raised to life, our God is ableIn His name, we overcomeFor the Lord, our God is able
God is with usGod is on our sideHe will make a way
Far above all we knowFar above all we hopeHe has done great things
Lifted up, He defeated the graveRaised to life, our God is ableIn His name, we overcome[ From: http://www.metrolyrics.com/god-is-able-lyrics-hillsong-united.html ]For the Lord, our God is able
God is with usHe will go beforeHe will never leave usHe will never leave us
God is for usHe has open armsHe will never fail usHe will never fail us
Lifted up, He defeated the graveraised to life, our God is ableIn His name, we overcomeFor the Lord, our God is able
Lifted up, He defeated the graveraised to life, our God is ableIn His name, we overcomeFor the Lord, our God is able
For the Lord, our God is ableFor the Lord, our God is able

Forward Motion

It takes me awhile to accept change. It's not that I don't like new things- more that I miss things I've grown accustomed to when they're no longer there. Over the last few days, I've been praying a lot about some coming changes that I'm not looking forward to or honestly, a little scared of. As I came before God with a heavy heart, He sweetly reminded me that what I'm seeing as painful for little reason is meant by Him for my good. Asking God to return things to my comfort zone is asking Him to leave me where I am, to stop growing and forming me to look more like Him. Asking to go back is a rejection of the good that resulted from changes of the past. With each big hurdle in life, I've found with time a new normal is established. Most of the time, I like it more than the last and mourn when it changes. This will be no different. He's teaching me trust, stretching my faith, and reminding me that there's nothing to fear in His plans for me.

"You Lead"

I've got waves that are tossin' me,

Crashin' all over my beliefs,
And in all sincerity, Lord,
I wanna be yours,
So pull me out of this mess I'm in,
Cause I know I'm wanderin'
Lead my soul back home again,
I've always been yours,

And this world may push, may pull,
But your love it never fails,

You lead, I'll follow, Your hands hold my tomorrow,
Your grip, Your grace, You know the way,
You guide me tenderly,
When you lead, I'll follow,
Just light the way and I'll go,
Cause I know what you got for me is more then I can see,
So lead me on, on, on and on,
Just lead me on, on, on and on,

As a child I heard your voice,
But as a girl I made my choice,
There is no other way for me,
I'm devoted to you,
You're my peace on the heavy days,
You're the warmth of an autumn blaze,
Your love carries me away,
And it's never to soon, no...

And this world may push, may pull,
But your mercy never fails,

You lead, I'll follow, Your hands hold my tomorrow,
Your grip, Your grace, You know the way,
You guide me tenderly, yeah,
When you lead, I'll follow,
Just light the way and I'll go,
Cause I know what you got for me is more than I can see,
So lead me on, on, on and on,
Just lead me on, on, on and on,

Sometimes when I wake up, I don't wanna rise up, Out of my bed, to many thoughts in my head,
Don't wanna be who I used to be,
Gonna take the back seat and let you lead,
And I...
Need to stop, need to stop,
Cause I'm going to fast,
And I...
Know my God is still God, And you got my back,

You lead, I'll follow, Your hands hold my tomorrow,
Your grip, Your grace, You know the way,
You guide me tenderly, yeah,
When you lead, I'll follow,
Just light the way and I'll go,
Cause I know what you got for me is more than I can see,
So lead me on...
Lead me on...

And I...
Need to stop, need to stop,
Cause I'm going too fast,
And I...
Know my God is still God, And you got my back,
You got my back,
I know ya got me, I know ya got me,
I know ya got me, Lead me on...

~J. Grace


The line: "Your hands hold my tomorrow" especially came to mind today. I have a hard time releasing control over circumstances despite knowing that control is His with or without my unnecessary striving.

Quilt update!

I was on the first steps just until this week (cutting out the squares and putting anti-fraying backer on them) I didn't work on it every night so timeframe is slightly misleading as far as how long it takes. I really started the 2nd week or so in Jan so for where I am, it's great progress!

The friend who's doing a quilt of her own with me told me to use the flexible, plastic cutting "boards" to cushion the cutting space. Definitely much smoother cuts!


All squares are now backed and in the pattern order I want. This includes 6 specially designed squares (more than one piece sown or patched together)!


The whole thing is 7 squares wide and 7 deep. 6 of the 7 rows are sown together!I'm waiting to finish the middle row because I'm still crafting the very center square. I'd love to find a Clemson girl patch or get a child sized shirt with something about Clemson girls on it. The material currently in that space was is a fabric I found that I really like! It's somewhat girlie and cute! I'm thinking of making fabric flowers out of it to attach as accents if I dont use it as a whole piece.

Supply/cost update:
More fusible backer (4yds): $20 (love my fabric store! Always a sale or a coupon!)
2 yds Purple fabric: $10 (used for the special squares. I bought it thinking I may end up making some extra squares to fill out space.... not needed!)
1 yd of white fabric $3
1 yrd of a nice Clemson patterned fabric -$10/yd

400 long quilting pins $7
slidable metal fabric ruler $2
patch-making no sew material- $3 (for the special squares)
for a total of $55 additional dollars

The main reason this has been so expensive is that its my first project so I' ve had to buy supplies and I'm doing more experimenting.

So excited about how its coming together!

Not alone in the struggle

I just discovered a blog written by a friend of mine. Of course, the first thing to do with a new blog discovery is to start exploring! I love this post! I have previously written about encouragement in living out Biblical manhood and womanhood. This is another in that thread but the quote focuses on a mature Christian man keeping faith that God has a Godly woman in mind for him and prays for her growth and sustaining while they both wait. I find this so encouraging as a female. We more often hear about women being encouraged in our wait. Don't settle, pray for a Godly husband, cultivate the attributes of a Godly wife.... All good and encouraging but I find it refreshing when I hear or read of a man struggling through the wait as well. It's all too easy to get discouraged and assume that men don't feel the heart longings that women do. We were built with different emotions and reactions but men who are seeking the Lord as they seek a wife are looking for women who are truly in love with our Savior. How encouraging to know that God works mightily in those He's given the responsibility of pursuing and these Godly men are still worth waiting for.

Love this!!!

Admittedly, I take things too personally sometimes. Negative comments towards those I care about (family, friends, my alma mater, my church....) are one of those things....
Especially in the fall football season, I need to be reminded that nasty comments about my university are centered around competitive football. No one will be able to take what God did in my heart and life during my four years at a wonderful university. A fellow Alum said it so well here.
(I've also previously written on the topic here)

This is more a continued lesson for me.... Identity in Christ! Nothing else compares and should not therefore be able to affect me.

Tshirt quilt!

I've been wanting to make my college tshirts into a quilt since before I graduated. So excited to begin the process. My sweet friend Shannon has made one before so we'll be making some "crafting dates" to work on our individual projects together! So looking forward to time with her and seeing our projects progress!

For the sake of curiosity (b/c I know its one of my biggest questions) I'll try to record not only the process but also some idea of how much the whole project costs. I've done a little research on paying to have the quilt made by a "professional". I'm betting I can do it cheaper and more fun ;)

So far:
A fabric store close to work has a sale this week!
I bought a pizza cutter looking device to help with the fabric cutting
Originally: $30 but on sale for $21
a 12.5x 12.5 omnigrid (a square, clear piece with gridlines to keep everything uniform) on sale for $16
3 yds of fusable backing The sales lady was so nice and gave me a 40% off coupon! Originally $7/yd but with the coupon the material and a pair of fabric scissors came to $21!
To protect my floors, tables, etc for the cutting process I picked up a couple of foam presentation boards 2/$5
So totals for tools and supplies: about $60
I still need to pick up the batting for the middle and choose what I want to do for the back. It will likely be a jersey knit sheet or I'll pick up a few yards of fleece material.
I want this to be very cozy and well loved for snuggling on the couch so I'm leaning towards a fluffier batting and fleece back!

Here are a few pictures of some initial steps:

Here you can see several shirts I had labeled as to which sides I wanted used as well as a piece of remnant I picked up forever ago...Not sure if it'll be used or not. Its fleece so the shirts are a different material. You can also just see the guide square and cutting tool sitting on the fleece.

Getting to the cutting! I found it easiest to face the back of the shirt up and cut along the seams.



I started with the sleeves then cut the color from the back. I found this to be best as I accidentally cut a little of a back design while the front was facing up. (the collar on the front side is lower than in the back so if you cut looking at the front, the back design you do want may be underneath the front collar you don't want. Thankfully, it wasn't damaged too badly but definitely a lesson learned!

I have a few more shirts to do initial cuts on before using the grid to get the 12.5x12.5 squares cut. Its 12.5 to allow some room for sowing. After the squares are cut, I'll iron the backing onto the pieces and prepare them for Shannon and I's first sowing session!

One DIY finished and another begins!

The pillow cover from this post is finished! :) I had a wonderful time getting a couple sowing lessons from Jean, one of the ladies in my small group. She was so kind to host me in her home for a couple of evenings to finish the project. Here's how it turned out!




I love the piping, the hidden zipper and the cute paisley accent! The pillow now much better fits the decor of the room. I'm excited to have a cute accent piece that will add to the rest awhile theme of the room. My dad has described my color scheme and overall feel of the living room to be an invitation to "come down a couple notches", to be calm and rest. I love that :) I hope my guests do feel like my home is relaxing and inviting. It's certainly been so for me. I especially love that I'm gathering pieces that not only provide fashion and function but sweet memories of those I spent time with to create them. I do believe I've been bitten by the home decoration, crafting bugs!

Next up: a tshirt quilt with my college shirts!