July 30, 2013

Sure as the Dawn


“Come, let us return to the Lord;
for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.


 After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will raise us up,
that we may live before him.


Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord;
his going out is sure as the dawn;


he will come to us as the showers,
as the spring rains that water the earth.”
Hosea 6:1-3 




He will heal.  he will bind.  he will revive.  he will raise.  he will come.

Let us return!  Let us press on to know the Lord.

Press on.

He will come.

Sure as the dawn.

July 28, 2013

Golden Saturday


I'm thankful for
-Sleep-overs with friends and long talks
-Rain and wind and 60 degrees temperatures that make you reach for a blanket and cup of warm liquid
-Voices that can speak and sing
-Beautiful flowers


-Rainbows that last for 30 seconds and then quietly slip away
-Grasshoppers that don't jump away, but climb onto you hand and just sit a while
-Cleanness.  Of Person and house and soul.
-Golden hour.  There were no words.


-This beautiful soul and her friendship to me.
-Wood-working with Daddy again
-Talks with Mom
-The words of hymns that speak clearly amidst my raw emotions
-My dear siblings, even though they are all gone right now.

July 23, 2013

Tie-front Blouse Refashion



Before // After

I grabbed this lovely old blouse with shoulder pads, embroidered collar and cuffs from my Grandma's going-to-goodwill bag.  The color was perfect and the hand was beautiful.  Grandma told me how beautifully it draped and washed up.  So I stashed it away.


Inspiration hit a week or so ago and I took the shoulder pads out, un picked the collar and cut off the sleeves.  Presto tank-o!  

I took in the sides, bound the arm-holes and modified the neckline so that I could add ties.



I was able to cut the both sleeves in half lengthwise and have enough fabric for the ties.  Yippee!

I attached it in the back like a collar.  All in all it only took approx. 2 hours!  And now I have a neat blouse and some more experience with ties. :)  I absolutely love them.  I find myself wanting to add ties, cut-outs, or buttons to everything.





 And I'm back to studying!  :-)

July 11, 2013

Black and Blue - Outfit Post


Black and White top: hand-me-down from Grandma
Pepsi Blue Skirt: Made by me
Necklace: Garage sale
Belt: Thrift store
Sweater: Hand-me-down
Tights: borrowed
Shoes: Sam's Club *gasp* something retail?!  :-P





It's the middle of July and these were taken in March.  There was snow on the ground.  Better late than never?  I hope so.

July 10, 2013

Tee with a Twist


Post 500 folks!  Check out the poll to the right and vote on what you like most about the blog.  I'm going to be starting a professional photography blog in the near future, so I'd like to know what you want to see more of here. :-)

I've been becoming increasingly interested in all things nautical.  Stripes, red, navy, blue, white, anchors, knots, rope, boats, hats you name it!  So when Mum gave me a way-to-large-but-super-comfy navy tee I saved it.  

Exhibit A: with the side already pinned. (and a bunch of recent garage sale finds strewn all over the room)


Cutting based on a well fitting shirt that has cute little raglan cap sleeves.  Leaving room for seam allowance!


After it was all sewn up, I found some macramĂ© cord (it looks just like rope!) and hand-stitched is in a swirly pattern around the neckline and sleeves.  Easy peezy boss!


July 8, 2013

Happiness is...


...unloading every. last. little. plate. we. own. after a lovely night of hospitality.  "There will be 20+ extra for dessert this evening!"  Or something like that.

July 7, 2013

The Remembering Flower


I fell in love last year.  No, not with a person, you silly gooses.  I fell in love with a thing.  

Well, a thing and a place, but that is another story.

While traipsing through England and France last year I acquired quite a taste for poppies.  Beautiful flowers like the one below, which rests beneath the victory statute in the American cemetery connected to Omaha beach.  Does D-Day ring any Bells?  Normandy?  (Or Normandie, if we're to be linguistically correct)


Because of the rich history or successes and failures and life in Europe there is an amazing atmosphere of reverence for the past and the people who made today possible.  It illegal to pick poppies in France because of what they represent.



The story goes like this...
Scarlet corn poppies (popaver rhoeas) grow naturally in conditions of disturbed earth throughout Western Europe. The destruction brought by the Napoleonic wars of the early 19th Century transformed bare land into fields of blood red poppies, growing around the bodies of the fallen soldiers.
In late 1914, the fields of Northern France and Flanders were once again ripped open as World War One raged through Europe's heart. Once the conflict was over the poppy was one of the only plants to grow on the otherwise barren battlefields
http://www.bbc.co.uk/remembrance/how/poppy.shtml 



While I was over there a dear friend bought me a packet of poppy seeds to bring back, but unfortunately I had to surrender them going through customs.

Not to be dissuaded, I purchased a variety pack of poppies from the Eden Brothers late in the year.  They lay dormant in my dresser drawer till this spring, when I went and broke ground and planted my own Remembrance Garden.  A little over a week later there were sprouts!  Many evening waterings and afternoon weedings later, 3 little flowers have emerged.


I love these flowers.  They easily stole first place on my flower list.  And now I can walk down to my little garden and remember.


My heart does a little flutter every time I see them out my window.  

July 6, 2013

Hawaiian Shirtdress Refashion


Today I have a quickie sewing project I did a couple weeks ago.  Knee deep in studying I decided to finally clean my "studio" room and all the open spaces triggered my creativity. So textbooks flew off the agenda and out came the tape measure, scissors, and sewing machine!



Mom bought this top for my Dad at a thrift store because she like the print and it was high quality.  I knew Daddy wouldn't wear it, so we agreed that I would make something else out of it.



I preserved the original collar, hem, pocket and button-holes. It went super quickly.


Instead of sleeves I pulled out some lace trim and added it to the cap sleeve hem with a zig zag stitch.


That's my twirly girl!



I unpicked the pocket and sewed it right back on 5 inches lower.


Add some piping and gather up the skirt and that's the end!


A new summer dress for Emily.  The best part?  I did it while my Mom was gone, and when she got back she saw it hanging in the bathroom and asked my Grandma how much she owed her for it!  She thought my Grandma had picked it up for Emm at Khols!

P.S.  Emily got saved 2 weeks ago!  We're ecstatic over here.  Praise Jesus!