Quilting makes my world spin!
I have been getting so many great customer quilts in lately. I have quilted modern, traditional and memory quilts the last few months. Please check out my page on facebook so you can see all the pretty tops in my machine almost every night. Nikkitty Quilts and Crafts 
I have numerous quilt projects in some sort of step toward completion.
I can't sew all the time,  I have 5 kids remember! Some how I have managed to fit in one more ME activity. Recently I was able to enjoy a great book.

The Waiting by Cathy LaGrow

 

 

This is one of those books that once you start reading it you don't want to put it down for any reason.  It is the story of Minka, a milkmaid in South Dakota in the early days of the 20th Century who as a young teenager is raped.  She is from a hard working, Christian family and when she finds she is pregnant, the only solution that seems viable is to send her away until the baby is born, adopt out the baby and then let her return to her life on the family farm.  Despite the fact that she is a victim of rape, she falls deeply in love with her baby and giving the baby up for adoption is the most gut-wrenching thing in her life and it changes her forever.  For many years, Minka remembers this child at every holiday and birthday and wonders where she is and what she is doing and what she looks like.  Minka eventually marries and has a couple of children by her husband but she still prays daily for that lost daughter.  Over the years, many changes occur and grandchildren and great-grandchildren come into her life and eventually both her siblings, her husband and her mother have all died and she is living alone in her 90s and still going strong.  That's when her miracle happens and that long-lost daughter's son gets curious, does some research and finds Minka.  The reunion is much more than either she or her daughter expected.  Now over 100 with a daughter in her 80s, she has doubled the size of her family with her daughter's six children and their children etc.  This is a true story and an amazing testimony of a mother's devotion to her child. 

 

This book is very well written and keeps you glued to the pages wanting to know what will happen next.  It is an extraordinary story of an extraordinary life.  The author is the granddaughter of Minka.

 

I received a free copy of this book from Tyndale for the purpose of reviewing it.  All opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for the review.

Busy Busy Busy

I wanted to share with you a little of what has been in my longarm and I have pieced the past few months.

 I made this for a friend of my daughters who has a medieval theme for his room. 

This was a New York beauty quilt for a customer. 

 A car seat quilt for a friend I grew up with that had his first child. 

 This is a memory quilt made from clothes. I like to make these a little different than others. I find a pattern I like and change the main focus fabric for clothes. I pick a fabric line that makes me think of either the person we are remembering or the person who will snuggle under it for warm memories. 

 These two are are part of the same customers order. They do have slight differences. 

 Last in the memory quilt series for this customer. 

A customer gave me the little fabric postcards and a painted center block. She wanted something for her granddaughter  I was given 10 days to get this done so I was pressed for time and had to work from my stash. 

 This is a customer quilt. I quilted "Roll Tide Pride" all over it with footballs. 

 I really love what one of my customers did with this tradional pattern. This quilt is all hand pieced. I quilted baseballs, bats and a glove all over. It was such a fun quilt to quilt. 

Fun listen for the whole family.

Oliver Twist is a delightful and gripping story, well told in this Radio Theater presentation from Focus on the Family. Even our youngest turned off her movie to listen and our teenager took the music out of her ears to listen. Hearing the original story in this manner was so much more rewarding than movies and plays inspired by Mr. Dickens' book. The story has been told many times and many ways but the best rendition of it is the original. We listened to this as a family (3 generations) driving back and forth to church and appointments. It was sad when it ended because there was not another one to take its place. Here is hoping that Focus on the Family puts more classics on disc for families to enjoy. This is a great tool for homeschoolers but it is also just pure entertainment for anyone who will take the time to listen. If you would like to order a copy or hear a sample please visit Focus on the Family for this title and many more. 

Tyndale gave me this product free of charge to review.  I did not receive any compensation for such and all opinions are my own.

I Couldn’t Love You More

I Couldn’t Love You More

By Jason Ingram and Matt Hammitt

This is a beautiful illustrated hardback picture book for your little one or even just for you! The message is simple.  Jesus is always with you and Jesus loves you more than even your parents can. It expresses the complete love of the parent for the child. The illustrations in this book are just gorgeous.  I would like to purchase another copy of this book just so I can remove some of the pages and frame them for my wall.

This book was inspired by one of the author’s child’s diagnosis with a heart defect.  One of the pages especially touched my heart.  It says, ”You are mine for a moment but you are His Forever His.” I lost my middle daughter minutes after she was born to the birth defects caused by anencephaly. After carrying her for nine months and giving birth to her, she was literally only mine for a moment, but I was comforted by the belief that she went immediately from my arms into the arms of Jesus.

Also, being a foster parent who is hoping to adopt, it is always gut wrenching when a child that has been in my care is placed with a family member and leaves our home. It is comforting to know that no matter where that child goes, even though I can’t be with them anymore, Jesus is always with them.

This would be a lovely book to give to departing foster children, to your own child, or to a new grandchild. This book was provided to me by Tyndale publishers for my review. They have also given me a coupon for another copy so I can share this book with one of my blog followers. If you would like a chance to own a copy of this book Please leave a comment telling me who in your life you would like to ensure knows that Jesus loves them more than anyone on earth. I will randomly choose a comment on Monday morning July 2,2012. 

Quilt Block Fun

My first quilt in a magazine

I am finally getting settled in my new Quilting space. I have so much more room to spread out and sew. I am looking forward to all the fun things I will be creating in this space. I have big plans. My first big project to come out of my new sewing space is a Quilt for Quiltmakers 100 blocks volume 5. I have been testing blocks for Quiltmaker,for the last three issues. While I was working away testing blocks for issue 5. I was asked if I wanted to make a quilt using blocks from that issue. I was tickled! I got to work right away looking through the blocks to pick just the right ones for my quilt. I tried a few different ones out. When we test for the magazine we work on 12-15 blocks. For this project I had about 30 blocks to choose from. After playing around I finally settled on one. I then made a simpler version of that block to be my alternate block. I think the two make a great pair.

I am so proud to have a quilt pictured in a national magazine. My hope is that this is the first of many.
Her is a hodge podge of some of the blocks I have tested over the past 2 years.

Some of these are from previous issues but I wanted to share them. All these patterns can be found in Quiltmakers 100 blocks volumes 3,4 or 5 Please feel free to ask me if you want to know about a specific one.

A marriage book that will be of benefit to all.

 

I recently read Happily Ever After by Gary Chapman. The book is by an author that I have enjoyed many titles from. I read this book looking forward to more good advice. I was not disappointed. I feel this book is a culmination of all his other great books. It had highlights from his other books along with more great new advice to benefit anyone no matter what season of marriage he or she is in.
The book is broken up into chapters that each deal with a different area of marriage and family. One can skip to the section that would be of most benefit at the time or can read the whole book to get oodles of good advice. I like how each chapter has a review of the concepts shared and also has action steps that one can start applying right away. I have taught marriage classes to a military ladies groups for the last 10 years and this will be a great book to teach in the near future because of how all inclusive it is in dealing with situations that all married couples face.
This book is a must for anyone. I think it would even be great to give as a wedding gift to a newly married couple. I will be purchasing a few copies to share. I have already purchased the audio version so I can share it with my hubby when we are riding in the car. The audio version has a pdf file with it that contains all the additional tools and resources that make the book so wonderful.
I was given a copy of this book to review by Tyndale.

Kids in your own neighborhood are seeking adoption

Wait No More by Kelly and John Rosati

Please read this book if you are interested in adopting a child through your State’s Social Service Agency. It can be a rewarding experience. My family is a foster-adopt family in my state. I chose to review this book for Tyndale for that very reason – it is a subject I am very interested in.

The Rosati’s wanted a family but found that adoption was going to be their only option. Since they were stationed in Hawaii with the Air Force at the time they decided to pursue this option, they adopted there. The process is much the same in all 50 states. Eventually they adopted 2 boys and 2 girls, although that was not their original intention. The many twists and turns of the process and the various situations are what make this book interesting reading and strike a chord with others who have gone through or are going through this process.

The Rosati’s had several career changes and moves within the U.S. during the course of this book. The thing that shines out in this book is their love for and dedication to the rights of our country’s orphans. There are a lot of children right here in the U.S. waiting for a forever home and many of them will never have one because the need is great for people to choose adoption. Birth parents are not always able to be there for their kids for a variety of reasons, but the child is an innocent victim of the circumstances and deserves the love and stability of a family.

You will find as you read about the Rosatis’ experiences that the going gets really tough really fast and there are many hurdles to overcome with each child, but the rewards are great. If you are interested in adopting or have adopted, you will want to read this book. And maybe, if you weren’t even considering it, you will consider adoption after reading this book. In any case, you will enjoy reading it.

A DVD series you should watch with your teen.

This is a set of 2 DVDS containing 10 lectures on the reliability of the Bible. Dr. Stephen Meyer is conducting a college course of lectures and each section is one of the lectures. It covers from the Patriarchs through the New Testament account of Jesus’ trial.  There are 5 25-minute lectures on each DVD and also included in the set is a 96-page discussion guide.

These lectures are very much in the same format as Dr. Del Tackett’s Truth Project series and made by the same people. Although this is a college course, it is easily understandable by laymen. In fact, my pre-teen daughter found it very interesting. Dr. Meyer explains the minimalist view and talking points and then gives archaeological and historical evidence which backs up the Biblical Truth.

While I take the Word of the Bible on faith, it is still very satisfying to have some evidence and facts to back it up and give an answer to the naysayers. I will listen to this series multiple times to try to gain all the information that I can from it and will incorporate it into my daughters’ homeschool studies so that they too can gain this knowledge. This series was sent to me by Tyndale for review but I would have purchased it myself at some point anyway when I learned about it.

PLAN to be touched by the unPlanned Truth!

Abby Johnson was raised in a Christian home and led a storybook life. At 17, she went off to college and as an impressionable and inquisitive girl she looked for causes that interested her. She developed a relationship with a man and found that she was pregnant.  He took her to have an abortion and made it seem very normal. A couple of years later, she was pregnant again and took the abortion pill. Then the relationship ended. About the time she finished college she started volunteering for Planned Parenthood because they presented to her that she would be helping women make important choices in their lives. Eventually, much to her parents’ chagrin, Abby became an employee of Planned Parenthood and eventually became the director of the facility in Bryan College Station, TX.

Working in the Planned Parenthood facility she was constantly faced with fielding the Right to Life people outside the fence. She noted that the ones that wore bizarre costumes and shouted evil things to the women coming to the clinic only enforced the stereotype of the crazy right to lifers. Those that really made an impression on her though were the quiet, respectful, dedicated people that stood out there and prayed every day and counseled the women that were entering the facility. She made up her mind to get along with those people, rather than be confrontational like previous directors had been.

One day Abby was called to assist an abortion doctor in the clinic who was doing an ultrasound as he did the procedure.  She was shocked and dismayed to see the child on the ultrasound and watch it sucked out in pieces. She immediately knew that what she had been telling people for years and what she had been told was not true. She also knew immediately that she could no longer be a party to it.

She resigned from Planned Parenthood and sought counsel from the Coalition for Life people that she had conversed with in front of the clinic for years. She has become an advocate for Life and speaks all over the country. Planned Parenthood tried to intimidate her by filing an injunction against her but it was dismissed in court.

You can see a trailer for this life changing and thought provoking DVD on YouTube. I encourage you all to watch this DVD. It is so eye opening. Share it with friends and also watch it with your kids. I believe boys need to be educated aobut this just as much as boys. 

This is a story of how God can turn a life around in an instant. Just as Paul’s life was changed in an instant on the Road to Damascus, Abby Johnson’s whole life’s course was altered in front of that ultrasound monitor that day.

Tyndale House sent me this DVD to review and I am having a contest on my blog to give away a certificate for a free copy to one lucky winner. Please comment on my blog to have a chance to win this certificate. The drawing will be Monday, May 23. If you don’t win that is OK. The day after my drawing for this DVD there is going to be a Unite for LIFE webcast. It is a free webcast featuring Abby Johnson that will benefit pregnancy care organizations. You can sign up to participate on May 17 at 8:00 p.m. (in all time zones) at www.uniteforlifewebcast.org. Unplanned the book and the DVD will be available for purchase as a package deal and 33% of each purchase will go to crisis pregnancy centers like CareNet, the National Institute of Family & Life Advocates, and Heartbeat International.

The best way you can help those in need and help them choose life is to know the facts and find out all you can. Always have a compassionate and sensitive heart to those in need. Most of all Pray! 

Great Book for long winter nights and a Giveaway!

I used Random.org to find the winner of my giveaway. Congratulations to Veta! 

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:4Powered by RANDOM.ORG

I have been at it again reviewing another great book from Tyndale. Read all the way to the bottom of this post for your chance to win a copy of you very own. 

Boone Drake is a Chicago cop, a family man and a lifelong Christian. Life seems to be on a blessed track until an unexpected tragedy takes most of that life away. Boone’s personal journey back to God and the development of his career in the Chicago PD make up this engaging story.

This book had me hooked from the first chapter. The story of an officer whose goal is to take on organized crime and the street gangs makes for an interesting read.  The addition of the officer’s spiritual journey made for a fascinating read. I didn’t make it through this one without a lot of tears shed, but it was well worth the read and I would recommend it highly to anyone. Jerry Jenkins never disappoints!

In Boone’s personal journey, his inner searching eventually leads to his being able to witness to a new Christian – one of the biggest, baddest gang leaders in the city. His personal courage in that instance was an inspiration to me and brought home once again the fact that as Christians, that is our calling on this earth: to witness to the lost, no matter who they are, what they look like, how we feel about them or how hopeless it looks.

Jerry B. Jenkins was co-author of the now-famous Left Behind series and Left Behind for Kids. He also authored the amazing story of a prison chaplain and the prisoners he served, one in particular. It is called Riven and after you read it you will have a new appreciation for your Christian faith. He has written many other books and you can see a list here: http://www.jerryjenkins.com/books/fiction/ and here http://www.jerryjenkins.com/books/non-fiction/.

If you would like to find more books by great authors like Jerry B. Jenkins check out Tyndale's website. Tyndale provided me with a copy of this great book to review. I am part of their blog tour as well. So in celebration of that I am giving away a copy of THIS book for you to enjoy. All you have to to be entered is tell me what book or books you are reading right now. You must answer the question to be entered. I will draw a random number on Tuesday February 22nd around noon. Even if you don;t win I hope you get a hold of a copy of this book to enjoy. 

Great start to the year.

I was slow this year in mailing out most of my Christmas gifts. I still have a few packages to mail. ( hiding my head in shame) So most of my packages arrived after the new year had begun. I think it was a great way to start the year! This is just a sample of some of the things I made. I can;t post all pics yet because some packages have not arrived. 

First things first. I made some more of our reusable gift bags. I really enjoy making these and sharing them with others. My hope is that one day I will have given enough to family and friends that all our gifts will be wrapped this way when we exchange gifts. 

I made a few of these reusable grocery bags that roll up quite small to fit in you purse. Head on over to Daisy Janie and get the instructions to make some. 

These are some baked potato bags for the microwave. I used multiple tutorials when deciding how I was going to make these. You can find some good instructions HERE

These are origami bags that were fast and fun to make. I also made one for Lillie with Japanese Cats on it. Mairuru has this and some other great projects on her blog. Her blog is interesting to read. She has a new wee one and it is quite fun to see the similarities and differences in how we raise our children. 

In what has become a tradition I made my hubby some PJ Pants. I use a standard McCalls pattern for these each year. They are very quick to sew up. My sweet hubby bought me a serger for Christmas so now I can make them even faster. 

I made our youngest a new stocking this year. She has a thing for Olivia. Of the three gifts from us this year two of them were Olivia related. Who knows what will pique her interest next year. Only time will tell. 

Drum Roll Please!!! My favorite gift I made this year was!! 

Tilly's Messenger Bag

I had so much fun making this bag. When we visited my brother's family this summer my niece showed me this piece of paper that she had doodled all over. All I could think was that it would be great as fabric. I asked her if she could send me a scan of it. I told her nothing of my idea. I sent her scan into Spoonflower and had it made into fabric. I had them print it on a heavy weight cotton so it could take a lot of abuse. Then I searched through my bucket list of tutorials to find just the right one to use with this fabric. When I came to MMMCrafts I new I had found the perfect thing to make with this fabric. I made it in one afternoon. I am so proud of it. Ok I will quit bragging on myself. 

I have been busy sewing this last week and will be sharing with you all soon my newest quilts. I also have recently been asked to be a pattern tester for Quiltmaker's 100 Block Magazine. I am so excited. I am busy working on my first two blocks. More info to come later on this. 

Little Stocking Ornament Tutorial

This past week I worked very hard to get my annual ornament completed. With the help of my Mum I was able to get them sewn up and most of them sent out. I think they came out pretty cute. 

 To make these little cuties you need one charm pack, 1/2 yd of coordinating fabric and my Stocking Pattern. You will also need 48 inches of ribbon cut into 4 inch lengths. (not pictured.) This will make 12 little stockings. 

 Fold your fabric so you have 6 layers. The selvage should be at the top. 

 Use your scissors and cut out the first set. Then you will re-pin the pattern and repeat 3 more times. 

Now you have a stack of cut our stocking shapes.  

 Choose 12 sets of coordinating charm squares. Because I am using one charm pack I don't have matching tops but I tried to choose ones with the same primary color for each set. I think this adds to the versatility of the stocking. You can hang it on the tree either way. 

 Fold the squares in half. 

 Center them on the top of your stocking piece. Sew across with a 1/4 inch seam. 

 Do the same with the coordinating charm square on the reverse of the stocking piece. You should have a set like this when you are done. They are basically a mirror image. Do this step with all your stocking pieces. 

 Iron each piece pressing away from the stocking body. Go ahead and press all your stockings. 

I am sorry but this picture is not quite right. I finished all of mine before I realized that my picture was incorrect. I am going to explain the proper way to trim these up. The theory above is right. The only difference is you are going to take the two mirror stocking pieces and place them face to face (pretty sides of fabric touching) before you trim. The picture shows them stacked properly. It is just hard to see that there are two stocking units there. I try to angle my cut a little outward if possible so I can have a tiny flair at the top of the stocking. 

 Now after you trim you should have two mirror pieces stacked on top of one another ready to sew. 

 Place your piece of 4 inch ribbon between the two layers and pin in place. This is your hanger. Pin the rest of the way around your stocking. 

 Sew around the edges leaving the top open. 

 You are almost done. It is looking great. 

 This step is very important to make your stocking look nice and smooth. Make little snips around the edges on all the curved areas. make sure not to cut too close to your stitching. Only snip about an 1/8 of an inch in. 

 Turn your stocking right side out and press. Yay! You now have  a great ornament for your tree. Or, you can fill with candy and give to a neighbor or friend. 

The first person who makes this ornament and sends me a picture along with any pattern corrections. I will mail you a fat quarter of your choice.