New Bag!

I've really been on a sewing kick lately. Yesterday, I saw a tutorial for a super cute new clutch on one of my regularly enjoyed craft blogs. It looked so adorable (and easy!) that I had to make one right away. And then I decided to make four of them. Because, you know, when you're making one, making four really isn't that much harder. I'm only posting the photograph of one since the others may be making appearances as gifts in the next few months, but this one is mine, all mine. I was totally digging the chevron fabric and bright spring colors. I bought this fabric at a quilt shop a while ago but had been hoarding it to use on something really cute and then it got hidden underneath some less cute fabric. I was happy that I found it while digging through my stash to find fabric for this project.It makes me want to buy a light colored flowy dress for spring and some cute new flats as well. I guess a new bag can have that effect sometimes.

I guess it's my new favorite bag pattern. I didn't follow her directions exactly, but also relied on this fantastic tutorial that I've used numerous times before. Hooray for new bags!

Oreos.

Today Judah learned a very important lesson.

 Oreos are best eaten when dipped in milk.

Mmm....

Books!

I've been doing quite a bit of reading lately thanks to my kindle and our local library. Here is some of what I've read:

In the middle school/elementary category:
1. 100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson - I actually read this entire series a few months ago and couldn't put them down. The author is the son of Doug Wilson, a well-known pastor/author. These are such great books full of adventure, drama, and truth. Christian elements are present but not in a cheesy or forced way. I think anyone would enjoy it, but I do think it's an especially great book that boys would enjoy. Here are the second and third books in the series as well.

2. The Girl who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her own Making by Catherine Valente is another fantasy/quest/adventure story that is somewhat reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland, but in a less creepy and stoned sort of way.

3. the Girl who Ruled Fairyland - for a Little While is a short novel that is a prequel to the previous book and only 0.99 on kindle!

4. The Dragon's Tooth - also by N.D. Wilson - I just finished this book this week and I am also adding it to my list of books that I want to own actual, physical copies of. I loved it and can't wait for the rest of the series to come out. This is another that will be a fun read aloud with Judah in years to come.

Speaking of great read-aloud kid's stories, Did you know that Andrew Peterson has a series of kid's novels out? Called The Wingfeather Saga, these are similar in feel to Nate Wilson's books but even better.  Right now there are three of them, and he plans to write one more. I only mention them here because I was looking back at the blog and couldn't find where I'd ever blogged about them before even though I finished the third one months ago. These are probably the best reading I've done in the last year. (Although The Emperor of Maladies (see below) was outstanding in a totally different way.) Andrew Peterson is super talented because not only did he write the books, he also illustrated them. Writing + singing + guitar + drawing = more talents that one guy should have. Anyway, if you don't get anything else I post about, please, please do yourself a favor and get these.

Regular fiction:
1. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson is a fantastic book about family and relationships. I thought it started a bit slow, but I definitely go into it by the end. I had debated about purchasing this for the kindle, but then found it at the library. As much as I enjoyed it, it's not one I'd rush out to buy, unless you can find it used.

2. The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai. Another library find. I stuck it out and finished it, but can't say I really enjoyed it. It won the Booker prize so I thought it would be good, but it was a little too disjointed for me, and then ended without any kind of satisfying resolution.

3. The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht -  There are some fantastical elements in this story within a story that I really enjoyed. This was a bit of a slow start, but this would be a good library pick up.

Non-fiction
1. Harry Truman's excellent adventure by Matthew Algeo -  Honestly, I read this one because it was cheap on the kindle. I did learn a lot about Harry Truman (did you know he was the last person to be president who only had a high school diploma?) and the stories of his road trip adventures are somewhat quaint and humorous. The writing left a little to be desired, but it was a fun read.

2. The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee is an incredible biography of cancer - as a disease, in society, treatments, research, etc. As a doctor I thought it was some fantastic medical history, but I think anyone could enjoy it.

3. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand - The Biography of Louis Zamperini, olympian and WWII POW. An incredible story of survival and finding faith. I'm not normally a big biography person, but this was a great story.


So there you have it. Anyone else read anything good lately? I decided to re-read all the Borrower books since a new movie just came out. As Jeff and I never make it to the movies, I probably won't see it, but I'll enjoy the books regardless.

Quilt update.

Remember that quilt that I started almost 18 months ago? The one I hoped to finish by Judah's first birthday??

I actually got the top finished this week! The pile of fabric has been mocking me long enough so this weekend I decided that I was going to finish it. I realized tonight that I made it a little too long, so I'm going to take off the bottom row. I'll probably use the extras to make a pillow sham or two to go with it. My goal is to have it totally done by his birthday. We'll see if that happens.... Reading the last post I wrote about this quilt makes me wonder about my math skills. Last time I decided I needed 80 (!!) quilt squares total. I can't, for the life of me, figure out where I got that number. Because I actually needed only 48. Perhaps I should have had someone check over my calculation for how many yards of fabric I needed for the back before I ordered it tonight....

I have just realized that although I like the idea of quilting and like the finished product, they take a longer-term commitment to them that I am normally willing to give. I can only work on it for so long before I want to move on to something else. I like sewing, but even more than the actual sewing, I like the actual finishing of the project even more. And quilting means lots of working on something without actually finishing it.

Pictures will be forthcoming. Now that the end is in sight, hopefully I'll have a little more motivation to work on it.

The pinterest files

This week's fun:

1. Cookie dough truffles. I made these for Jeff's valentines present in addition to some Oreo truffles. I think he preferred the Oreo ones, which was fantastic for me since that meant I could eat a few of them. They taste just like raw cookie dough dipped in chocolate, which is another way of saying that you should make them soon.

2. Headbands! I saw this pin, liked what I saw, and within 30 minutes I had two made. Easy project and a great way to repurpose an old shirt. I love the satisfaction of being able to start and finish a project in less than an hour. I will definitely be making more of these.

Backpack!

Pardon the bad photos, but I was so excited about how this project turned out I couldn't wait to post the photos. I realized the other week that our diaper bag is really too big now. Mostly when we go places, all we need are a few diapers, a cup, and maybe a snack trap. Instead of just getting a smaller diaper bag, I decided to make Judah carry his own stuff. I briefly thought about trying to wing this pattern, but when I saw the perfect backpack pattern already made up, I realized that it would be much, much easier just to buy it.

I bought this robot fabric a while back but hadn't found a project I was willing to use it in. Since it's just a quilting weight fabric, I used a medium interfacing and also made a lining for it. The pattern was fabulous. Great descriptions, excellent photos, and she included a few alterations as well - the optional lining and a larger version that will fit an 8.5 X 11 folder. I think I'm going to make the bigger one next.

I love the padded adjustable straps and the tiny handle to hang it by. The only change I made to the pattern was to add a loop of elastic to the inside so we'd have a place to corral his cup.

Although there is one somewhat fussy part - trying to get the sides to pin up evenly with the front and back - I started and finished this project this evening. I will definitely be making this again. Even though I always complain that there are not very many patterns for boys, I am slowly finding the good ones.

Consider.

Today was sort of a tough day. Nothing overwhelmingly bad happened; a variety of things just transpired in such a way that I spent most of the afternoon sad. I really have been doing well lately. I'm feeling good, getting more excited about what our future holds, and finally feeling like I can move past this. Then today rolled around.

The women's bible study I'm a part of is studying the book of James. We're using a Beth Moore study and this is actually the first Beth Moore study I've ever done. (I feel like I'm going to get kicked out of the female evangelical club for saying that, but it's true.) I was sort of rushing to finish all the homework this week since I missed the last two meetings, and didn't really get to appreciate all the great teaching that was there. Since we are spending two weeks of discussion on each week of the study, we have time for plenty of discussion.I was especially thankful today that the other women could point out the nuggets I'd missed in my hurry to get through.

One such nugget was about James 1:2 - "Consider it joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds..." I'd never really thought about that first word - "consider." I guess I had kind of always assumed that I was to feel joyful when I faced trials, but the verse says "consider." It's not about what I feel. It's about what I think. I cannot feel joyful about losing a baby. I can only feel sad. I can meditate, though, on God's goodness to me and remember what the verse says next: "for you know that testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance have its full effect so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." 

Now that is a hope to cling to.

Valentine's day.

I realize this post is two days late, but hey - I'm working again this week and it's been a long one. Thankfully, I had a light day yesterday and was able to come home early and spend some wonderful time with my two valentines. This cute one here learned an important lesson yesterday - if your hands stay wet for too long your fingers become raisins. He was highly concerned about the wrinkles.

My other valentine ordered some beautiful tulips.

The last few months I have just been so proud of him. He continues to wait on God's timing patiently - much more patiently than I do - while looking for a new job, a task which he has poured a lot of energy into. In spite of the frustrations with our presbytery, he has continued to work to bless our little church even though he is not allowed to do the preaching that he loves. He teaches TWO different bible studies and was recently elected a ruling elder. He also is in charge of our church's search committee and is doing his best to find a good pastor to lead the congregation. I knew when I married him that he was a great guy, but having a front row seat to this trial has made me love and respect him that much more.