Evening Song – A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

 

Psalms 46:1-3  God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;  Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.

Sew Happy Friday – Placemats Made with 2½” Strips - Jelly Rolls

 

Photo property of sew4home.com.

Sometimes it isn’t easy to decide what to do with pre-cuts.  Jelly rolls, or 2½” strips, are especially challenging, in my opinion, because the size and shape limits the possibilities.  If you don’t want to make a whole quilt with strips, what to do?  Little projects are a good alternative, and these placemats are a very nice idea.  These would make a refreshing change for you décor or a nice gift. 

Here is the tutorial at sew4home:

Jelly Roll Strip Placemats

The Thousand Word Project – Amber

 

Evening Song – I Could Not Do Without Thee

Hebrews 13:5  …he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.



Cades Cove, Tenn.

Sew Happy Friday – Using Your Scraps for An Improv Block

Here’s a tutorial from Melanie  Ham for making an improvisational quilt block.  This is a great way to use up scraps and strips from other projects.  Be creative and let yourself go with this.  I thought that Melanie cut off too much in some instances.  Making blocks will go faster if you just let the big pieces fill space. 

Also, I don’t think that it’s necessary to keep your 90° angle.  Really, you can sew the strips together any way you like until you have a piece large enough to cut out a block the size you want.  If you want a relatively squared look, then the 90° angle is probably a good idea, but if you want a more angular look to the finished block then it isn’t really essential to keep that in evidence.  The truth is that you could start the center with a triangle and work out to a square from there.
Anyway, just have fun with it.  And if you want to mix up the styles of the blocks, by all means go for it!

By the way, you could also incorporate some small “orphan blocks” (those left over from other projects) as the centers of these blocks.  That would be a nice way to use them up and also showcase them as individual pieces.

Tennessee Memories – One Fall Day…

 

Random Thoughts On An Autumn Afternoon

 

Photo taken in Roane County Park, Tennessee, circa 2005.

I didn’t plan a particular post today, so I’m just going to ramble.  There is nothing quite so nice and chummy as a nice ramble through the Fall woods with a good friend talking and looking and breathing in the loveliness of the day and the smell of burning leaves. 

Since I can’t do that, I’ll do this instead –

This was taken two years ago shortly after we arrived in Australia, hence my somewhat disheveled look.

If I could be anywhere on earth this afternoon, I’d like to pop in at my brother and sister-in-law’s house in Australia for tea and a chat.  (I know all about the time difference, but this is just “what if”, so…)  It would be so much fun to see the things my niece and nephew are working on and talk to them about what they are learning.  It would be nice to sit down and talk with my brother and his wife about the things that are on my mind and about family news, to ask them how they are doing and what they are thinking about these days.

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I have thought more than once that I’m glad my husband isn’t particular about the house décor.  He never knows what he will find “decorating” this house when he comes home from work.  Maybe it will be a handful of bean pods laid in a fancy glass bowl to dry.  Maybe it will be a selection of fossils collected from the yard and put in a beautiful glass candy dish for display. There are dried leaves and other bits in several places, and it’s not uncommon to find paper towels with seeds spread on them to dry.  Today it will be a chicken skull that was picked up in the yard and added to the candy bowl till it can be passed on to some kids who will find it interesting.  I admit it’s kind of strange, but I’m glad my husband is OK with it. :-)

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Due to the lack of rain over the summer months, many areas here in Texas have had a very dry Fall and there have been wildfires.  They were asking people to remove dry plant material from around their houses to reduce the fire risk, so I have done a lot of raking and a little pruning.  We have quite a few trees that drop leaves around our house.  I think I’ve raked at least 14 piles of leaves so far.  My husband and I, with the help of my dad, removed 10+ of those piles on Saturday and put them in the garden where my dad can use them for mulch.  I was more out of shape than I thought, so I’ve been really tired between the exercise the the heat (which is, thankfully, reducing now).  I’m trying to keep on doing some yard work almost every day so that I will build back up instead of just aching! :-)  There is a good chance of rain this week, so I’m praying for rain here and in the worst hit areas.

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I read this today:

Jeremiah 39:15-18  Now the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying, Go and speak to Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall be accomplished in that day before thee. But I will deliver thee in that day, saith the LORD: and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid. For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the LORD.

I think sometimes we tend to get the idea that if our country is judged by God, or if the people around us are judged by God for some reason, that we will be judged too.  But, notice that in spite of the fact that he was afraid of the Babylonians, the Lord intended to deliver Ebedmelech because he trusted in Him.  Certainly Ebedmelech suffered due to the judgment that the others received and bad things may happen to us because of other people’s choices or persecution or judgment, but let’s not jump to the conclusion that if God’s judgment falls on a nation around us, that it will automatically destroy us also.  It is certainly food for thought.  How many other examples can you think of where God protected some while His judgment was falling on others around them?  Abraham said in Genesis 18:25,  That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?

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A short poem to end this ramble:

To live above
With those we love,
Oh, that will be glory;
To live below
With those we know,
Well, that’s another story.

- Author unknown