Thoughtful Tuesday. To Do Tuesday.

Thoughtful Tuesday
As some of you may have noticed, I link up to several inspirational link-ups from which I discover deeply encouraging posts.  Soon I had a collection of these posts and Thoughtful Tuesday was born.  

I was surprised to see this next post in line for today - the timing is perfect.  


It's Inspired by the Abandoned Nest by June of Inspired by June.  June addresses the age old question:  Why don't we do what is good for us?  Why do we do what we know is bad for us?  It reminds me of this:

June's post inspired me to try and choose the good and healthy habit over the opposite.  Truth be told, I'm not always successful, but progress not perfection is the goal.  

June ends her post with an amazing exhortation:  Be gentle with ourselves as we begin to make better choices.  

Progress not perfection.

To Do Tuesday

1) Do a fabric pull for the new Y-seams Tumbling  Blocks prototype with my new Accuquilt Die.  Fingers crossed! Not Yet!

2)  Finish joining Row 3 of my afghan - the Maria's Blue Crayon Spring Granny Afghan Crochet. Not Yet!

3) Finish a pillow I started last year.  Not Yet!

4) Complete 13 Comfort Dolls.  I've made some progress on them!  Done!

There were actually more dolls, but I was blessed to be able to some to the ladies in my Cancer Care Group.  I think I even saw a man take one as well!  

No discrimination here - I'll be making some male dolls as well.  One question though - what would he wear?  How would I make easy pants for this dolls?  What would you do?  
What was truly a blessing was that my son-in-law (who hands hands the size of Texas) and three of my grandchildren helped stuff and make the dolls!

5) Contact the organizations to give out the drainage bags.  Not Yet!

This Week's List

1) Finish the Covered in Love squares.  

2) Finish a pillow I started last year.  

3) Contact the organizations to give out the drainage bags.  

4) Make progress on my afghan - the Maria's Blue Crayon Spring Granny Afghan Crochet. 

5) Do a fabric pull for the new Y-seams Tumbling  Blocks prototype with my new Accuquilt Die.  

 Onward and upward!

I hope you check out 

these fun link ups!  

To Do Tuesday @ Stitch All Things

Linky Tuesday @ Freemotion by the River

Here'a a new to me link-up:

Women Helping Women@ Teaching What is Good

Saturday's Song. Still Stitching #4. Stash Report. Slow Stitching.

Happy Easter!

This is the day 

that the LORD hath made; 

we will rejoice 

and be glad in it!  

Psalm 118:24 KJV  

Happy Easter!  

Let us rejoice!

via GIPHY

Saturday's Song

My week started with brokenness, tears and a sacrifice of praise.  So this was the song I chose:

Then, as I continued praising through tears this was my song:


Hope was building!  Yup...the pain was still there, but so was God - and as a dear friend once said, "God is bigger than the boogy man!"

By the time I heard this song, I was dancing through my pain into joy! 


Try a sacrifice of praise and see how God will move!  Remember:

I realize I am sharing some of the same Scriptures, points, and songs repeatedly.  Sometimes, we have to be frequently exposed to an idea for it to saturate our hearts.  

Still Stitching #4

Still Stitching #3 Still Stitching #5
I do believe that Psalm 30:5b will be added to my #1yearofstitches.
Last time we ended with a new tip I learned from someone who briefly attended our Al-Anon meeting.  It was:

Another tough hitting, but excellent point that hit me like a ton of bricks, and then more gently.  Far be it for me to get between my loved one and God!  I recalled the Scripture:

I have been working on this for a long time as you can see from this post which is part of a 4 part series.  

It’s a process.  

Progress, 

not perfection 

is the goal.

I never want to be between anyone and God, so I had to get out of the way.  Painful as it was, I had to detach with love.  We all have to allow others to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling – as we do the same.

Slow Stitching
My son-in-law, bless his heart, and my grandkids helped me finish some Comfort Dolls!  I took them to my Cancer Care Meeting and they were recieved with love.  I did forget to take pictures, but but here are the ones left with a few new additions. The dolls were hand-stitched shut and their skirts gathered nicely with embroidery thread.  

Stash Report
I did finish the first batch of Comfort Dolls!

Fabric used this week	1.42
Previous total	37.57
To Date used	38.99
Fabric in this week	0
Previous total	44.50
To Date in	44.50
Net in the red (more bought than used!)	-5.51
Yarn used this week	0
Previous total	0
To Date used	18.10
Yarn in this week	0
Previous total	148.70
To Date in	166.80
Net in the red (more bought than used!)	-148.70

NO changes in yarn,

but fabric is getting slightly better!

Linking up to

Spiritual Sundays

Sunday Stash @ Quilt, Paint, Create

Sunday Slow Stitching @ Kathy’s Quilts

Sunday Scripture Blessings @ Peabea's Scribbles

Thank you for your comments!

Saturday's Song. Still Stitching #3. Slow Stitching. Stash Report.

Saturday's Song

Hillary Scott's song, Thy Will Be Done, was written through heartbreak.  But, she found peace and victory!  His will be done as we continue with Still Stitching.

Still Stitching #3
Still Stitching #2 Still Stitching #4

In my last post, I left off mentioning the first of 5 points that got me through a very dark time in my life.  Note, I wrote that sentence in the PAST TENSE.  It WAS a dark time - but NOT ANY MORE. It's one day at a time, my dear, one day at  a time.  But I digress.  

Back to our first point:

I noted how it was so familiar to Joshua 1:9. 

As

grueling,

excruciating heart-rending

as this process was –

and can still be,  

I began the journey of walking away and searching for peace.  

BUT FIRST, I prayed, read and memorized Joshua 1:9.  Then, I leaned into God’s everlasting arms as He carried me away from His loved one (my qualifier) and into His grace. He is still doing this as I write this post.  

It’s a daily battle.

One day at a time.

But, with God’s Word, faith-based music, wisdom found in the rooms of Al-Anon, support from loving friends, I am growing in courage and strength. 

My dear reader, try this one step.  We are not in control of anything but our own actions.  All the pleading, tears, arguing and even shouting will not change our loved ones. 

Which leads us to the second point I learned: 

Ouch.  Ouch. Ouch.  Another tough point to ponder.  

I am sharing what has worked for me.  Most of my days are filled with prayer, music, friends, grandbabies, family,  sewing, crafting, blogging, walks and yes, even laughter! I even get to enjoy drop in visits from my qualifier (loved one struggling with addition/alcoholism) in which we visit and share a meal!  

Most of the time, my spirit is light and joyful - truly it is!  After all, the joy of the LORD is indeed our strength (Nehemiah 8:10).  

Sure there are moments of sadness and sometimes even tears.  But weeping lasts only for a moment - joy comes in the morning!  It really does.

Until next time, my dear reader.  

Sunday Slow Stitching

I am glad to say that I've almost completed 13 Comfort Dolls!  Here's the first one!

I'll be finishing up the rest today and into next week and then I can take some yardage off - finally!  :)

Stash Report  

My LQS picked up a new line of digitally printed fabric and I love it!  I'll find the name of this digitally printed fabric and update this post when I have it!

Instead of purchasing stash building fabric, I purchased two pre-cut pillow case sets!  I get to enjoy a fabric I love without a lot of time or financial investment! Win - win!

No changes in yarn usage/purchases - yet.  My current prayer shawl should be finished soon!

Fabric used this week	0
Previous total	37.57
To Date used	37.57
Fabric in this week	2.00
Previous total	44.50
To Date in	46.50
Net in the red (more bought than used!)	-8.93
Yarn used this week	0
Previous total	0
To Date used	18.10
Yarn in this week	0
Previous total	148.70
To Date in	166.80
Net in the red (more bought than used!)	-148.70

Linking up to

Spiritual Sundays

Sunday Stash @ Quilt, Paint, Create

Sunday Slow Stitching @ Kathy’s Quilts

Sunday Scripture Blessings @ Peabea's Scribbles

You make my day with your comments!  

I love reading and responding to them!

Thoughtful Tuesdays. To Do Tuesdays..

Thoughtful Tuesdays
Today's Thoughtful Tuesdays post is perfect for our new study - Still Stitching.  Debbie from Blogger Loves The King writes about surrendering.  She certainly has triumphed over great challenges, yet still writes as a faith-filled woman of God.  Such faith and strength are not easily gained.  

I hope you give her blog a visit and follow the link to her post about her grandson, Colt.  

We look back to see where God has brought us from, but we look forward, straining to win the race.  

To Do Tuesday

Last List

1) Do a fabric pull for the new Y-seams Tumbling Blocks prototype with my new Accuquilt Die. Not yet.

2)  Finish joining Row 2 of the Maria's Blue Crayon Spring Granny Afghan Crochet. Done!

3) Do a fabric pull for the new CIL block drive.  Done!

4) Finish the Felt Nativity Calendar. Done!

This Week's List

1) Do a fabric pull for the new Y-seams Tumbling Blocks prototype with my new Accuquilt Die.  Fingers crossed!
2)  Finish joining Row 3 of my afghan - the Maria's Blue Crayon Spring Granny Afghan Crochet. 

3) Finish a pillow I started last year.  
4) Complete 13 Comfort Dolls.  I've made some progress on them!  

I've been hand embroidering the eyes and attaching the hair with a blanket stitch.  Next, I sew the little bodies together, stuff them and make their skirts!  
5) Contact the organizations to give out the drainage bags.  

I hope you check out 

these fun link ups!  

To Do Tuesday 

@ Stitch All Things

Linky Tuesday

@ Freemotion by the River

Still Stitching #2. Stitching with Love. Book Date.

Still Stitching #2

Still Stitching #1 Still Stitching #3

Perhaps you’ve been heartbroken over the decisions of a loved one?

Perhaps your pain is so great you only have strength to move from your bed to the sofa and back again? 

I’ve learned that depression is not all bad, in fact it can be productive.  A friend who has lived with depression told me that she uses that time to ask God what she is to learn during this darkness.  He has been faithful to respond.

So, as I lay in God’s green pastures and quiet waters, I made friends with depression and asked my LORD and Savior to teach me.  And He did.  He brought a person into my Al-Anon group who listened to my story with understanding and compassion.  When it was his turn to share, he shared five life-changing points that he learned from a 80+ year-old lady.  They flamed my flickering hope into flames of victorious faith.  So, I’ll share them with you. 

Point 1:

Pray for the courage and strength

to walk away and

for peace in the midst of it.

As you can imagine, this was grueling – to pray for and to do.  But, God moved and showed me clearly that this was what I had to do. 

Joshua 1:9 kept popping up in my readings and in sermons at church.  Notice the similarity of the wording.

This was no coincidence.  God moved even more, to confirm that this step had to be taken - for my own good and for the good of my dear loved one.

To be continued.

Stitching with Love

CIL Squares 
The current CIL Block Drive will be using blue colors.  I've pulled this fabric and will be making them soon!  

Comfort Dolls

Comfort Dolls are given to the brave women in domestic violence shelters.  The originator, Pat Winters, gave me permission to make them for cancer patients.  They will now have a little softie to comfort them as they go through various tests, treatments, effects of chemotherapy and the year after treatment.  Very little fabric is needed for these dolls.  It could even be considered a scrap project.  They are quite simple - as  you can see by the pattern I drew out on Pattern Ease.

Here's the fabrics I've chosen!

I'm off to sew now!
Book Date

https://www.amazon.com/
NIV-Story-Audio-CD-Continuing/
dp/0310421772

The Story continues to bless me.  I'm seeing God's word in a whole new light as I read through this book.  Just in case you're interested, my church, Heart for the World,  provides some awesome study outlines that enrich my reading experience.  

https://www.amazon.com/
Quilters-Homecoming-
Creek-Quilts-Book/
dp/0743260236

https://www.amazon.com/
Circle-Quilters-Elm-Creek-Quilts/
dp/B000WPOM8E

I not only finished The Quilter's Homecoming by Jennifer Chiaverini, but also A Circle of Quilters!  Both were audio books, so I feel like I'm cheating, but during the university semester, audiobooks are the way for me!  

https://www.goodreads.com/book/
show/835448.Why_the_Sky_Is_Blue

Why the Sky is Blue by Susan Meissner is a deep book filled with real emotions and struggles.  I am so eager to see how the protagonist finds her way through her challenging circumstances.  I am also reading eagerly to see how the LORD works in her life.  



Check out these fun link ups!

Monday Making 

@ Love, Laugh, Quilt

Show and Tell Mondays 

with Bambi

It’s Monday! 

What Are You Reading?

@ Book Date

Moving It Forward Monday

@ Em’s Scrapbag

Main Crush Mondays

@Cooking Up Quilts

You make my day with your comments!  

I love reading and responding to them!