Fresh Butter!

 

Saturday, I skimmed the cream off the milk for Mom, who was going to make mozzarella cheese.  What does one do with an abundance of cream?   Why, make butter of course! 

So I did, and ended up with1 pound.  =)

Delicious!

Sewing a Vintage Pattern!

 Last week I was feeling the urge to sew a Summer Dress.  (For some reason this often happens to me in January.)  I pulled out my collection of vintage patterns and decided to make this sundress.  

This was the first time I've put a zipper in a side seam, which was a bit confusing since I kept thinking that was the back of the dress, which is where I usually put zippers.  But other than that, this was a fun, easy, project!

 Since I'm not one for wearing sleeveless dresses, I was going to make a bolero to wear with it.  But then I remembered this white sweater that I have, which works very well.  I think I still might make a black bolero though....someday. 

Oh yes, and one other thing!  I had found a 'puffy' slip at a thrift store last summer that I am wearing under the dress; it helps the full skirt stand out more. It also makes a delicious rustling sound when I walk! 

  I'm guessing that this is a 1950's pattern, due to the fullness of the skirt, but I am not sure.  There is no date on the pattern.  Any ideas anyone??

 I love this dress!

.....Waiting.....

{Picture from AllPosters}

"When God asks you to wait, what happens to your spiritual muscles?
While you wait, do your spiritual muscles grow bigger and stronger or do they grow flaccid and atrophied? Waiting for the Lord isn’t about God forgetting you, forsaking you, or being unfaithful to his promises. It’s actually God giving you time to consider his glory and to grow stronger in faith. Remember, waiting isn’t just about what you are hoping for at the end of the wait, but also about what you will become as you wait."

~ Paul Tripp  

From the article Spiritual Muscle Development. I would encourage you to read it!

This was just what I needed to hear today.
 

It's a Shower!

I'm behind in posting this since the shower was the Sunday before yesterday (!)...but here are some pictures from the baby shower for our friend Mrs. Schuller and baby Giselle!

Ana brought along cupcakes to decorate for the shower after church, and as soon as she started working on them, she had a bunch of  little girls who wanted to help!  They loved adding the flowers and edible pearls. :)

Ana and Elise making crepe paper roses for decoration.

~~~~~~~~~~

Mrs. S. read a devotional from one of Mrs. Schuller's dear friends who could not come to the shower.

The clothes line game.

This pictures makes me smile!  

One little face in a 'sea' of blond/brown hair!

Cute little Eva!

 

Three young ladies visiting. :)

 Giselle says 'hi!".  :)

Lily enjoying a cupcake!

Gabrielle

Opening gifts....

Ready with the next one!

Ireland and Lily watching the gifts being opened.

Mrs. Z. :)

We enjoyed the day very much!

...a summer dress in winter....

I had to laugh today when I realized I was working on sewing a summer dress on one of the coldest days of the year!  And it is snowing out.  Did I mention I am sewing a SUMMER dress?

Well, it's one of those old patterns farm wives could send for and get in the mail, that I found at a garage sale one year.  I love the style and thought I'd give it a try.  Makes me hopeful that warm weather is indeed coming soon!  :)

Election

"I believe in the doctrine of election, because I am quite certain that, if God had not chosen me, I should never have chosen Him; and I am quite sure He chose me before I was born, or else He never would have chosen me afterwards; and He must have elected me for reasons unknown to me, for I never could find any reason in myself why He should have looked upon me with special love."  

~ C. H. Spurgeon

Old Photographs

I enjoy looking through the piles of old photographs at antique stores and wondering who the people were, and who the picture was for.  Although is seems a bit sad to see these pictures just tossed into an old drawer with the price marked on the back in pencil.  Sometimes I 'rescue' some from the pile and bring them home to admire!  :)
I like the classic black and white and the sepia tones these photos have....

...and I love to see the clothing and the hair styles the ladies wore years ago. 

Even the furniture is often pretty.

I wonder what their names were?

Eeyore on thinking...

The old gray donkey, Eeyore, stood by himself in a thistly corner of the Forest, his front feet well apart, his head on one side, and thought about things.  Sometimes he thought sadly to himself, "Why?" and sometimes, "Wherefore?" and sometimes he thought, "Inasmuch as which?" - and sometimes he didn't know what he was thinking about.

~ Some days I know how he feels!! ~

Now this is drawing from memory!

 Stephen has 3 days to draw a 5.5 yard drawing of what he saw on a 45 minute helicopter ride. Wow...

Of a quilt with spliced batting....

Last summer, when we were at one of the quilt stores in town, I saw these two new fabric lines and immediately loved them!  They reminded me of the English countryside and home decor, which I really like. I bought two 'charm packs' and Mom got me another two!  (Charm packs are sets of 5 1/2" squares of each of the fabrics in a collection or line.)  I sewed them up into a lap quilt in the 'Trip Around the World' pattern.

 

 Last week I finally got it basted with the backing I got at JoAnns when they were closing, and my spliced batting (see below)!  The backing is a cream color with small soft green polka dots.  :)

About the batting....

I had some batting left over from other quilts, but nothing big enough to use for this quilt.  I remembeed that in one of my quilting books (The Art of Classic Quiltmaking) I had seen instructions for splicing batting.  I had 3 pieces of batting that were the same weight and fiber content so I tried it.  I should have taken a picture before I basted the quilt to show how I did it, but here is an explanation: I overlapped the batting 6-8" and cut a serpentine line through both layers.  The gradual curves butted together perfectly once I removed the end of each layer.

Then I used the herringbone stitch to gently hand stitch the batting together.  And, to quote my quilting book, "This serpentine-stitched splice will eliminate any unsightly evidence of where you made the splice."  =)  I love using up 'leftovers' like this!!

Now I am quilting it!

I love to have a project to work on in the evenings!

Fixing and Patching

The patch, ready to be sewn on.

Last week a neighbor asked if I would be willing to fix her brother's badly torn Carhartt Coveralls.  I like to mend things so I was happy to try.  They are bulky and heavy, so I felt like I was in wrestling match, but it was a fun challenge. =)

Replacing the top of one of the back pockets.

Finished!!  =)

Working in the Kitchen with Friends

Last week our friend Jodi came up to stay for a couple days and we had such fun working in the kitchen together. We baked and frosted a cake and then made supper; home-made noodles and meat balls.  Yum!!

Ana and Jodi working on the cake.

The beautiful roses!



Rolling out the dough for noodles.



Tossing the noodles in flour.



A lovely sight!



Amy mixing up the meat balls.

There is something about working together in the kitchen with friends that is such fun! 

Happy New Year!

{Picture from Allposters}

When I think back over 2010 and remember all the fun times, the hard times, and all we've learned by God's grace, I am thankful for a loving Heavenly Father who has everything under control in a world of uncertainty. Dwelling on the sovereignty of God is something that has been a great comfort to me throughout this past year.
 
I am looking forward to seeing what the Lord has for us in the days ahead!