something new from something old

I’ve been wanting to do this little project since last summer and have finally gotten around to it.  I love to see all the creative things other people think of and it inspires me to think outside the box.  My Sis-in-law had given me these two matching shirts she’d picked up at a yard sale or somewhere.  They were pretty, but the style just made for an awkward fit.  Since I have two little girls I saw two little skirts in these shirts.  I used the bottom hem for a casing and just threaded elastic through it for the waist.  The gathers at the bodice made a nice ruffle along the bottom of the skirts without any extra work.

  I love using a tight zigzag stitch while stretching the fabric.
 It's such a quick and easy way to make a ruffled hem.

Wondering what the cut off bottle is doing by the sewing machine?  My mom really should have worked for a magazine like Real Simple (love some of the simple creative hints in there!) or something like that.    I think they would be amazed at her genius. She can think of quick fixes for all kinds of little complications that come up.  She taught me to use an old 2-liter bottle, with the bottom cut off, as a guide for the large size spools of thread.  It’s much more economical to buy the large spools, but they don’t fit on a regular sewing machine.  This trick works like a dream!

Ring Around the Rosy time!

And yes, we do still have fall pumpkins sitting by the garage! J

Hope

For me, there are few things more full of Hope than springtime!  This is not a Fool’s Hope I’m talking about.  It’s not even a Hopeful Hope.  It’s a Knowing Hope.  It is not in my control, but it will happen.  The dead of winter will not be forever.  It is an unwavering fact.  It is truth.  A Hope that does not disappoint.

The brittle leaves of last year's oregano.

When I looked more closely I saw new leaves down close against the soil.



Honeysuckle blooming in a protected spot by the house.

One of my very favorite early spring flowers... Flowering Quince.

When I see the little shoots pushing up through the dead ground, buds coming out of bare sticks of branches, and even flowers braving the hard cold, it reminds me of this Knowing Hope.

 

The braver of winter, Hellebore.

 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. II Cor. 5:17

Reality in a Teacup

In a corner on the kitchen counter I have a little white Teacup.  We have odds and ends of pens, sharpies, and pencils there ready to grab and jot down a note or mark a date on a bag of something-or-other headed to the freezer.

This Teacup had been overflowing for a long time, months and months, actually.  A lot of the pens wouldn’t write and the pencils were on the blunt side of dull. I saw it every day and didn’t sort it out.  I had learned which pen to grab and which ones to avoid.  I’d think to myself, “I need to go through that stuff”, but I just didn’t do it.  In my mind it was a job, a task I could put off.  I was being unrealistic. It was an undertaking that was warped in my mind.  In reality it would take only five minutes or so to give a little scribble with each pen, toss the ones that refused to write and to sharpen up those dull pencils.


 

My mind is not always as in touch with reality as I wish it would be. Why wouldn’t I do that Small Thing that would make my life easier almost every single day? 

I’ve noticed that often the way we respond to the little situations in our lives represents the way we respond to the big situations in our lives.  Lately I’ve been impressed by the thought, “The way we live our days is the way we live our lives.”

Are there Big Teacups in my life?  Places and situations I’m not willing to approach and clean out because they look too big, but in Reality it is quite possible.  In the cleaning up I would be freed. 

A Big Teacup will likely take time.  Maybe one pen each day.  Sometimes pens might even jump back in and be dealt with again the next day.  But it is achievable!

I think I’m pretty sure I know what my Big Teacup is.

Do you have some Teacups sitting around?

"Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit," says the LORD Almighty.         
                                                        Zechariah 4:6

Why Not?

Well, here it is, my First Blog Post.  Totally unplanned and unexpected today.  But as Solomon said, “there is a time for everything”, and there are those times you just need to say “why not?”

This morning was bright and sunny and we got a call asking if Kadi wanted to go squirrel hunting with Uncle Matt.  So I said “why not?” and kindergarten lessons were pushed off till this afternoon.  If the Older Sister is doing something special, the Younger Sister should feel special too, so we went to the attic and got out the tea set.  It doesn’t take much to enthrall a two year old!

Honey Bear, Kitty Cat, Smarties and Gingerbread cookies left from the Christmas nativity scene - that’s all you need for a lovely tea!

"Kitty Cat" is special.  I made her in all her whimsy and lankiness before Cassia was born.  She's made from the lining of the bassinet I slept in.  My mamma had sewn and quilted the lining and after lots of use it was worn in places, but I couldn't bear to throw it away.  So now it is Kitty Cat.  Becoming worn again by much love.