Bee Day and a new SRE Rose

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Yesterday was Sewing Bee day and we had a wonderful group. A couple of the ladies brought lunch, which was delicious, and meant we didn't have to go out and get something; we could continue to sew, sew, sew. While I continued working on my Memory Pages (which is slow going), most of the group worked on little felt needlebooks and a new silk ribbon rose creation. I won't show the needlebooks because they may be used in a current online swap and we don't want to spoil that surprise, but the rose technique is just gorgeous! A rolled ribbon rose is created and set aside - then foundation petals are laid down with the Japanese Ribbon Stitch. The rolled ribbon rose is tacked into the middle or side - however you want to place it and then loop stitches and curled loop stitches are added to the outside of the rolled ribbon bud on top of the foundation petals to fill around it....isn't it just beautiful! Everyone's looks a bit different, but all gorgeous. We are always excited about learning something new. (sorry, in my haste, pictures aren't the greatest, but the roses are exquisite!)

Another nice thing about having a standard sewing day, time and place is that we get visitors who stop by just to say hello and see what we are doing - what a treat for us. We had several visitors yesterday and it just added to the overall enjoyment of the day.

Here is a snap of Barbara taking a picture of me taking a picture of her :-) "War of the cameras!" Now that we both have blogs - we have our cameras ready at all times! We were both after pictures of the lovely work Jan was doing and just had to laugh! You may see a picture of me taking a picture of her taking a picture of me on her blog.....that's a mouthful! I think I said that right. Barbara's blog is Roses on the Water, listed to the left in my favorite sites. She is a delightful and encouraging friend and her work is just beyond exquisite - do give her a visit!

I was able to get some roving dyed (using Rit Dye) to start my FiberGoddess project soon. I needed navy, but used some of the excess to dye a couple of lighter batches of blue.

My sewing may slow down a bit in the next days and weeks since the weather is warming up a bit and my flowerbeds are calling me! After the winter (and in coastal Texas it is usually not the coldest winter so weeds still abound), I usually have lots of weeding, picking up sticks and overall cleaning to do to get the yard shaped up. I try not to just kill myself, but you know....once you are dirty, you don't want to waste time getting cleaned up...you usually keep on going longer than you should so you don't waste already being dirty :-) And, boy do I get dirty! I get right down on the ground or on my little stool and get so dirty that I have to strip down in the garage before I can go in the house when I am done. It also means, you usually have a pretty good back ache by the time you quit working for the day. Now through March and early April is the best time to be in the yard here in Texas - then it starts to get a bit HOT. So, I like to have things cleaned up the best I can before it gets stifling.

My DH went to visit our duck across the street yesterday and much to his surprise was able to pick her up and bring her home. We fed her to her fill and she settled on our pond for the night. We were so excited to have her home, but alas, this morning, she was back across the street. Guess she just feels safer there :-(

My studies in Matthew continue to be so wonderful. They are really helping me be more aware of my tendencies for self-rightousness and thinking that I can control my circumstances. Perhaps my perception of myself or others may be a bit idealized....

In those moments that I can "let go, and let God", my life is so much more peaceful and rewarding. But, I am such a control freak. I tend to grab the reins again and again. Letting go sure takes practice....that aweful "P" word! But I am learning that self-righteousness blinds me from seeing my need for grace in my circumstances - and I certainly don't want to miss out on God's grace.

I am steadily learning that God brings us to places, among people, and into certain circumstances to accomplish a definite purpose through the intercession of the Spirit in me. God always has a plan and my part is not to agonize on the "how to fix" in these circumstances, but to pray for the intercession of the Holy Spirit and allow Him to intercede for me or whoever I may be lifting up in prayer. I try to ask myself, "Am I making the Holy Spirit’s work difficult by being vague and unsure, or by trying to do His work for Him? " Unfortunately, the answer is more times than not - yes. So, I continue to ask God to do what I can't do for myself and open the eyes of my heart.

Here's a wonderful statement I saw in my readings today - the more you read the Bible, you more you'll love the Author.

Now, off to put that "P" word into action in many, many areas of my life!