Weekly Word - Isaiah 65:22-23, My Reading Life, Stash Report, To Do Tuesday, Gratitude Journal, FT&BC

 

Hello Everyone!

I hope you all have had a fabulous week!  My week was very productive and yet still filled with time with family and friends.  After losing my fur baby, precious Mia, I've been a bit lost as she was my sewing buddy.  

To refresh my sewing room, I began with a minor reorganization and packed up all but 10 UFO's in boxes.  Then, for the last month I've been trying an experiment and I love it!  

I've decided that my machine sewing time is Monday - Friday in the daytime.  Then, on Friday afternoons I begin my machine embroidery projects.  As they stitch out, I do a quick clean up, prep the next week's projects and then sit and read as my machine does all the work!  My evenings and the weekends are devoted to slow stitching, reading and writing.  I'm loving this new routine!

I hope you enjoy this weekly post!  Take good care!    

Here's is an index should you have a special interest you like to read first!

  

The Weekly Word - is a short devotional that sometimes becomes a Bible Study series.  

My Reading Life - is filled with current, completed and upcoming reads as well as an occasional short review.      

Stash Report and To Do Tuesday is where I'll share share stats regarding my fiber usage and acquisitions, Slow Sunday Stitching projects, goals met/lack thereof and photos of my projects. 

Gratitude Journal - Sometimes I get lost in my own stinky thinking.  This digital journal reminds me to count my blessings! 

Faith, Trust and Breast Cancer -    Here you will find updates on life after Triple Negative Breast Cancer.  I was diagnosed in November of 2014 and my last day of treatment was in November 2015. 

The Weekly Word

This week my husband finished a lengthy project:  restoring a home that we will be renting out.  He has put in long days and has been exhausted.  We are not as young as we used to be!  😉

One his final week of work, the LORD placed this verse in my path...how appropriate.  "For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the work of their hands.  They will not labor in vain, no will they bear children doomed to misfortune; for they well be a people blessed by the Lord, they and their descendants with them. " Isaiah 65:22-23

I sent my husband this verse and he was encouraged.  

Many of you dear readers have families to care for, work outside/at home, volunteer, craft for charity, minister to those outside your family, craft, write blogs....oh!  The list goes on and on!  

I hope you know the Lord sees you and has this promise for you.  Be encouraged, loved one!

Also, just as a side note, I hope you all take a bit of time to simply play this week!  As we age, we sometimes forget the joy of simply playing.

My Reading Life

Currently Reading

 Finished Reading

"An orphaned boy raised by a survivalist wends his way into the real world in an emotional novel about hope, fears, and found family by New York Times bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde.
Out there is chaos, the collapse of society, and so much to be afraid of. All that matters is freedom.
That’s what Remy Blake has been taught by his survivalist father. Raised off the grid in the middle of nowhere, his own survival skills not yet honed, Remy is days shy of his eighth birthday when his father unexpectedly dies. As seasons pass, supplies run out, and fending for himself grows more desperate, Remy sets out on foot, unprepared for the great unknown of civilization.
He is found—near feral, silent, and terrified—in the small rural town of Blaire. To Anne, a nurturing mother of two adopted teenagers who’s still dealing with her own childhood rejections, Remy is not a lost cause. Just a challenging one. As Remy cautiously adapts to his new foster home, his family wants nothing more than to reassure him that he can trust the world. But to do so, they must first reexamine how much they trust the world themselves, and how much they should. As Remy’s journey into the real world begins, figuring out how to navigate it becomes a path they will have to learn to walk together." - via Goodreads

*****Just a Regular Boy by Catherine Ryan Hyde, a phenomenal author, is definitely a five star read!  The plot was well developed, the characters were realistic and the various settings had the perfect amount of description.  I rarely come across an eBook that I can barely put down, but this was one of them.  The chapters were told in the various perspectives of the main characters it worked well.  

I fell in love with Remy, our "regular" boy as he made his way through some difficult years with strength beyond comprehension, wisdom and vulnerability.  His foster parents faced their difficulties with wisdom and love.  Hyde used just enough description of the various settings to enhance the story line, but not bore the reader.  And the conclusion?  Beautifully and honestly realistic.  Highly recommend.  

*I won this book as part of a Goodreads Giveaway, but this review is my own. 

Slow Read

Stash Report

There's no change in my yarn stash which is good because no yarn came in this week!

Fabric Numbers

I've been on a fabric fast this year, purchasing only needed fabrics to finish projects.  My exception is Lella Boutique's Christmas Eve line.  Tada!  I picked up these precuts to make her Chandelier Quilt (free pattern).  I'm hoping to purchase the background, backing, binding and extra fabric for my own added borders (maybe).  I also may make one other quilt and some table toppers.  I've held off all year and am excited that this line is out!  

Naturally, all other projects will be on hold so that these fabric become quilts and other lovely items vs. sitting in my stash.  

To Do Tuesday

Perhaps the changes I've made in my crafty life (see the introduction note) are paying off - last week's list is 100% finished!  Yeah!  

Last Week's List

1.  Slow Stitching

- Bee Humble - Complete the hand embroidery of Sections Four and Five  Done!  I've finished Section Four, these bees and hexagons.

Now I'm hand embroidering the details on the bee house.

2.  Crochet

- Fall Granny Square Afghan:  continue making another 16 patch row.   Done!  I'm making progress!  I've used up all the orange and am working on finishing the green yarn.  Next up?  This varigated skein.   

3.  Machine Sewing

- A Road Trip Quilt:  make progress on putting it together Done!  I'm working on this project bit by bit and enjoying the process.  Sections 1 - 3 are complete!  As I put this quilt top together, I'll be getting in some practice with partial seams.    

Sections 1 & 2

Section 3

- Fall Into A Quilt: Stitch up the Bonfire Block Done!  Actually, the Bonfire Block was finished a couple of weeks ago.  I meant to finish the Sunflower Block.  Here are both blocks!

- Teacup Critters @ Days Filled with Joy :  – Stitch up the bear block Done!   It came together very nicely! 

Bonus Project:  I got the buttons sewn onto this cute little machine embroidered tea towel by Kimberbell, Get Ready to Bumble!  

4.  Machine Embroidery 
-Make four labels for the various finished projects Done!  I've saved a few templates on my machine, so the process should be a bit smoother.  

This Week's List

1.  Slow Stitching

- Binding - I have four quilts in the queue to bind.  I'm currently stitching my Pieces in the Garden from Melva Loves Scraps QAL in the evenings and weekends.  

- Bee Humble - Make progress on Section Five's hand embroidery 

I made this sewing kit several years ago when I had just started sewing.  Lord knows I've looked for the tutorial to make it again, but no luck.  I think it will be simple enough to make using my  sample.  It sure keeps my supplies organized!  

2.  Crochet

- Fall Granny Square Afghan:  continue making another 16 patch row.   
3.  Machine Sewing

- A Road Trip Quilt:  Finish Section 4 which is 7 steps and part of Section 5 (steps 28-39) 

- One Gift a Month Challenge (Day's Filled with Joy):  I'd been meaning to join this challenge, but kept forgetting.  I'm going to prep the fabric basket (January's gift) by Ayumi at Pink Penguin and some soup bowl cozies (May's gift). Joy at Days Filled with Joy gives several options to make these.  

4.  Machine Embroidery 

- Prep kits to make some Christmas mug rugs

- Pick another UFO to finish

Gratitude Journal

the song

The verse

For me, these verses fit this song.

They are some of the few that cemented

my faith in Him who loves us.

The story behind the song  

(Update:  I'm sorry, but I'm forever getting my weeks mixed up - I know ya'll forgive me!  😊)

LeeAnna at Not Afraid of color hosts an "I Like" link up every Thursday.  She provides her "regulars" with a prompt, and here's this week's prompt: "Do you have a favorite musical style?  For fun:  what kind of music calms you, makes you want to dance, or stimulates you creatively?"  I love most types of music except hard rock.  My dad introduced me to Big Band music and the artists of that era at a young age and I loved it.  He taught me to slow dance to the likes of Sinatra, Nat King Cole and such.  Of course, Los Panchos, Edie Gorme and other Mexican artists were part of our lives.  I would stand on his feet as he danced....happy memories.

My birth mother was more into country music, so Hank Williams was the artist I loved and still sing his music to this day.

I love the soft pop and disco of the 70's, Bread, the Carpenters, Linda Ronstadt  and especially Jim Croce.  They sang my heart.

I love, absolutely love Christian praise and worship music as well as Christian pop. Songs with a strong beat are what I listen to at a loud volume when I'm cleaning house.  I love to listen to a radio station on Amazon Music called Christian focus during Bible Study, writing my blog and working on my planners.  Music is indeed healing to the soul.

This Week's Moments of Gratitude

1.  I had the best lunch with a friend this Monday.  We chatted away and then I got a tour of her garden!  So much fun!

2.  I'm enjoying meeting my goals of wrapping up UFOs and not allowing new UFOs in my life.  It's an amazing feeling to wrap up even the simplest UFO!    

3.  On Saturday we had a great lunch with a guy my husband worked with before retirement.  It's so nice to be meeting with friends!   

Hello From Chico

as he sits on my doll's lap!

Faith, Trust and Breast Cancer

I've been sharing a bit about the first few weeks of my journey into the world of cancer.  After I was diagnosed and started chemo, my memories are vague.  I do remember being amazed at God's work in my life and the lives of my loved ones.  My grandbabies were beautifully loving to me...I was blessed - and still am.

After chemo and surgery, I had 7 weeks of daily (Mon-Fri) radiation treatments.  The techs were wonderful and my radiation oncologist was the second best in Texas.  I am so grateful to her.  

I used Aloe-Vera on the site where I had the radiation, but made sure my skin was very clean before treatments.  Fatigue was my constant companion.  Eating healthy and rest were my friends.  

On one of the last days of treatment, my sister and brother-in-law took my husband and I out to eat to celebrate.  We were treated like royalty at a very posh, top floor restaurant.  It was a beautiful evening.  

Enjoyed this post? 

Never miss out on future posts by following this blog!

Your comments are so appreciated! 

I read each one and will respond by email.

You can also expect a visit from me as well!

Here are some blogs I sometimes link up to!

Sunday Salon @ Readerbuzz

Slow Sunday Stitching @ Kathy's Quilts

Sunday Stash @ Quilt, Paint, Create

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? @ Book Date

Sew and Tell @ Melva Loves Scraps (Mondays)

To Do Tuesday @ Carol's Quilt Schmilt

I Like @ Not Afraid of Color (Thursday)

The Loop Scoop @ Moogly and Petals to Picots (Thursdays)

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict