Tag: lifestyle

Anger Into Art

After being awakened numerous times during the night by my dog, instead of taking my anger out on him, I decided to express it in another way.

I remembered my husband telling me some thirty years ago that I did my best work when I was emotional. The work at that time was songwriting. Frustrated with him over some issues that I don’t even remember now, I reached into my pocketbook, pulled out a piece of paper, and finished my first song.

The result of my frustration today didn’t turn out too bad.

War Paint

I pray my Native American friends won’t be offended. It is just what popped into my head at that moment.

I have learned over the years that it is okay to be angry but is healthier to direct that anger in a more productive way.

When you are angry, take the time to do this:

Controlled breathing – breath in slowly for 7 seconds and then slowly out for 7 seconds and release. Repeat as needed until calm.

Redirection – Write, draw, play an instrument or whatever creative outlet you have, and put all that emotion that you were feeling into it.

Anger we know can be very destructive and unhealthy. If you don’t have a creative outlet, think about taking a class or teach yourself something new.

Take the time to care about YOU!

Have an awesome day. Jesus loves you.

Awaken The Body

Let me just say for the record, I am not Buddist nor afflicted with any mental illness. I have touched on natural healing before. Traditional medicine is fine for broken bones and extreme conditions, but to stay healthy, you need more.

I have had arthritis since I was twenty-five, and over the years, I have tried traditional methods that did nothing more than mask the symptoms. This week, unfortunately, been one of those weeks when the pain has been so bad that it has just sucked the life out of me. Today, I fight back! I get out and walk.

Now, resting and listening to my frequency music, the pain is already subsiding.   To get the best use of frequency therapy, sit in a comfortable chair. Relax every muscle in your body down to your toes. With headphones on, so you can shut out other sounds, plug into Amazon music, or your favorite streaming service and search for frequency music, it is not hard to find.

While the music is playing, just let the music guide you into a more relaxed state. You can even fall asleep if you need to.  Allow the music to take you to a state of consciousness that awakens and relaxes every muscle, every cell even down to the bones.

Even after ten minutes, you will feel more relaxed and your pain a lot less. It did not put chemicals in your body or put you through the anxiety of a doctors’ visit. It simply helps you to heal yourself.

Feeling less pain myself now, I wish you a blessed day. Take the time out of your busy life to relax and breathe…

Quilt Of Self-Worth

In the beginning..

Even in the beginning, we were not perfect since Adam was missing a rib to make Eve. For whatever reason mankind has striped to be perfect and failed miserably.

The first row of the quilt I am starting today is seen above. Yes, before you even comment, the hearts are off centered on purpose because the theme of this quilt is self-worth, that even though we are imperfect, we are worthy of love.

Why is this theme so important? It is important because this lap quilt will go to a cancer patient to comfort them during treatments. Hopefully, it will remind that person that regardless of what they are going through, they are valued and loved.

It is time to start showing love. I’m not talking about the Valentine kind of love that you maybe show once a year but the deep love that we should be showing all of humanity.

It begins with one single act of kindness. Begin today. What can you do to make a difference?

❤️ 💙 💜 💖 💗 💘

Have a blessed day!

Love

If you look the word up in the dictionary you will find that it refers to an intense feeling of deep affection.  Sounds simple enough but is it?

In the Bible, there are more than 165 passages that contain the word.

It is used in songs more than any other word and yet society still does not act in a loving way.

In 1965, the song “What The World Needs Now” was recorded by Jackie DeShannon. A catchy tune, it woke the world up at least temporarily to what love might be. I grew up in that era. The era of flower children and free love ultimately was why my generation is now referred to as “baby boomers.” It was a time of free spirit while also being a time of war. It was a time of free expression, but was this love?

Our children were born in a time of transition. Where there was a shift away from free love to a world on steroids and acid. Where had the love gone.

All you have to do now is look at the news to see everything that love is not. The beautiful thing is that despite wars, pandemics, and pharmaceutical murders love does still exist. If you doubt it, just look at the outpouring of love our Appalachian people have received over the last year as they struggle to recover from the worst catastrophic event in the history of this country. Look at how our neighborhoods are changing. Revivals are taking place everywhere. Love is seeping into the very crevices of towns that were once lost.

God gave the world a number of gifts, but the greatest of these was the ability to give and receive LOVE.

Open your eyes, ears, and mind to the idea and intense feelings of love.

Have a great day.

Knitting In The Round

Typically, when I say these four words, it means I am using four or more double pointed needles to knit in a continuous circle. Well, today, I am using a loom to get the same effect!

The rows are not actually connected because I am making a blanket.

The loom is simple enough to work. You simply take your yarn and wrap around each post. When you are done with a row you continue wrapping.

The hook!

This strange little hook is used to pull the bottom loop up, over and off the post to complete each stitch.

The result.

And yes, it does knit. For me, it is a little frustrating because I can actually knit faster.

I started this project when someone suggested it because of a shoulder issue. Almost gave up on this project but decided to continue even though it is a slower process.

If you have shoulder problems or arthritis and miss knitting, you might want to consider a loom. The looms come as a boxed set of various sizes, but you can also find some individual looms.

Get into the loom of things and find your project.

Don’t forget to like and share or buy me a cup of coffee.

Crafting Sources

With the demise and death of yet another crafting giant, it’s back to the drawing board for supply needs. If you are going to rush out to Hobby Lobby or Michael’s, you might want to ck their websites before as both may not have what you want. Yarn, in particular, is in demand. Hobby Lobby has a very limited amount, and I was told by Michael’s they are not buying any more. If you shop FB Marketplace, you will most likely get ripped off. What’s a crafter to do…. get creative, of course.

For crafting tools, you need go no further than your local hardware store. You will be surprised what you can not only find useful but also cheaper than conventional craft stores. My favorites are Ace and Harbor Freight.

For yarn and bead lots, check the following: Dollar Tree and Five Below.

For other buys in quantity, check your local auctions both in your local area and online. Over the years, I have literally bought thousands of dollars worth of yarn, beads, and pattern books, all for pennies on the dollar. If you have a lot of yard sales in your area, these are also a possible source of supplies.

For other retail sources, there are these:

Amazon.com – While I hate this is a China company, I do still support them because they have a distribution center here locally, so I get some things in 24 hrs.

https://123stitch.com/ for all your cross stitch and embroidery needs.

https://www.equilter.com/designer/39/rubin-design-studio/page/2 This site is great for quilters.

https://www.bearwood.com/live-edge- An interesting site for small project woodworkers.

Will post more links as I find them. Until then, happy crafting.

Pet Posh!

As silly as it may seem, one of my favorite things to photograph is my dashund Roco. He can be incredibly silly, express sadness and disappointment. Most of all, he expresses love.

Most people photograph their adventures, their children, and family members but fail miserably at including four-legged family members that follow them, admire them, and love them.

My aging friend and fur baby.

These endearing creatures pass through our lives for a short period of time. They deserve to be captured while they are here.

You don’t need props. Just capture moments. Our Roco is now twelve. While we don’t know how much longer we will have him, I want to always have these memories of him.

Making a path.
He loves being near water but doesn’t like getting in it!
He loves going camping in our travel trailer.
He knows how to bait me with this little sad face.
He loves snuggling under quilts and found a friend to snuggle with.
A walk on the beach. He loves the sand but hates the water.
Finds a friend on the pier.
I think this is my favorite of Roco. This was when he could still see.

Thanks for taking this journey with me. While we hope Roco will still be with us for a long time to come, I will have these and more photos to capture his life and journey with us.

Don’t forget to like and share with your friends. Have a great day in Christ, our Lord.

Machine Quilting – A New Adventure

While I have been hand quilting for many years, I decided to try my hand at machine quilting. The project is a rag quilt.

After seeing pictures and videos online, I decided to take the plunge. I really have always been against machine quilting because that takes the art out of quilting. What made me decide to try this is I want to make some lap quilts for donation, and to be able to serve more people, the speed of machine quilting would be beneficial.

The picture above is just the first row of this baby rag quilt. For adult quilts, you would use 8-10″ blocks, but for this baby rag, I decided to go with a 4″ block.

The only thing I hate about quilting is cutting out the pieces. I just happened to have a 4″ template, which made the chore easier.

For the middle of the squares, I chose a nice fleece instead of batting so that the thickness would be consistent.

I wanted it reversible, so I put equally bright blocks on both the front and the back. To join the blocks, just stitch the seam after you make a sandwich of (top, fleece, and bottom) to the next block. After you get the seam done, clip the seam roughly every quarter inch, making sure you don’t clip the seam you just made.

When you decide to stitch, the Xs across the block is up to you. If you are working on a larger quilt, I would probably do it before you go to the next block. Because I am doing a small quilt, I am doing by the rough.

Things you will for this project:

1. Fabric for top squares (amount depends on size quilt you want to make).

2. Scissors

3. Rotary Cutter

4. Cutting Mat

5. Ruler (to help in trimming rows)

6. Filler (batting or fleece) the amount would be the same as for the backing.

7. Fabric for backing

I am looking forward to my next day of quilting. How about you?

Have a great day!

Final Stitches…

You might recognize the center of this sampler as a throwback to an old nursery rhyme. The pattern for this particular cross stitch design is by Pam Johnson and is called “Home Sweet Home,” as depicted in the smaller block below the shoe.

While I have enjoyed working this piece, I can’t wait to make that final stitch. If you look at the toe of the shoe, you can see where I am in this piece. This is the largest piece I have stitched so far and has taken me almost a year to complete. I’m pretty sure most of you could do it quicker!

What happens next? I’ll wash it, stretch it like a canvas, let it dry, pin it to a mounting board, and frame.

This is a vintage pattern, so it may be difficult to find. Could not find a date on it, but I purchased a really long time ago. Vintage copies of this magazine do appear on both eBay and Amazon. It is published in the UK and it contains beautiful patterns.

If you are new to cross stitch there are videos on YouTube. I rarely pay full price for the fabric and supplies but acquire them through yard sales, auctions, and thrift shops. You don’t have to go broke  to create beautiful works of art

Get stitching!

Have a great weekend!