Becky's Bouquet

Yesterday I spent the afternoon in the kitchen preparing some delicious dishes for dinner. I paused to gaze over the pasture out the window and James 4:14 popped into my head. (OK, I had to look up the reference, and it wasn't exactly as I remembered it, but it is the one I was thinking of.) "[Your life is] a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away." A lot of work can be spent on making and baking an apple pie. And then what? It vanishes. God created this earth for us. He gave us physical bodies with which to enjoy it. And in the grand scheme of things, it is all like a vapor. It will vanish like an apple pie. But in the end, the reward for the faithful will be far better than apple pie.

Last night I was blessed to witness the birth of triplets. The first goat we ever bought, Muffin, gave birth for the sixth, seventh, and eighth times. This is her third freshening. I'll spare you the details, but if you are interested, I have some good pictures of her first freshening. The kids arrived after ten but before midnight (those are the times I left the house and went back into the house, respectively, and thought to look at a clock). This afternoon I took Monkey, Panda, and 'Roo out to meet them. The black and white one on the left is the girl/doeling. The other two are boys/bucklings. I need some suggestions for names! I have been trying to name the kids in the same category as their mothers. For example, some of Muffin's other kids have been named Brownie, Ginger (aka Gingerbreadcake), and Tort. Of course, there have also been Tiger and Smokey. Another doe on our farm was named Snowball. Her kids were Frost, 'Flake (as in Snowflake), and Storm. It gets ...

My public has spoken and they asked for an update. Hehe. I have public. Yippee! I have been trying to take the easy way out: Why should I clean the refrigerator? I already cleaned it this year. But not all of it. OK, I'll clean the parts that I didn't clean this year. And ask Mom to handle that science experiment in that canning jar I don't want to throw away. (Thanks, Mom!) I move the garbage can close to the 'fridge. I dump a bunch of stuff. I wipe down places and shelves that don't look clean. I remove the veggie drawers at the bottom. Underneath one is a drying puddle of brown that dripped down the back wall from a bag of spinach that was, uhm, gross. I retrieve my bottle of plain distilled white vinegar and a microfiber cloth. I spray the brown with vinegar. You would think it is a puddle of baking soda the way it is fizzing and foaming. OK, this is fun. I wipe up the surrounding crumbs, then return to scrub the brown puddle. It wipes away with one pass. I lo...

Some friends and I are taking the " 31 Days to Clean: Having a Martha House the Mary Way " challenge. We were going to start May 1st, hoping to end May 31st, but decided that if we want to take Sundays off and still hope to end on May 31st, we should start today. Today's Mary Challenge was to create a list of why I want to have a clean house, then write a mission statement "in the form of a paragraph, a poem, or a list." Here is mine. It is a condensation of my "why I want my house to be clean list." When pondering what type of wording to use, I considered that the worthy woman of Proverbs 31 was a woman of action. When reading the verses about her, notice the quantity of verbs describing this busy lady's activities. I desire to emulate her (which to me is not that overwhelming because we know she wasn't perfect--only Christ was and we are supposed to imitate Him--there's a thought can be overwhelming), so I chose to use words that woul...

In the past, I thought tatting would be fun. I had heard it was difficult. So I had no desire to try it. (What a bad excuse and a poor attitude!) Then some folks started talking about it on an email list to which I subscribe. The focus of the list is people powered sewing machines (treadles and handcranks). Some were wanting small doilies to put on the spool pins of their machines. Usually there is a felt disc at the bottom of the spool pin--doilies are prettier. The purpose of such is to create friction so the spool doesn't spin free and let the thread get loopy between the spool and the tension assembly. If you watch sometime when you are sewing, the thread doesn't not feed evenly off of the spool, but rather in short jerks. So, back to tatting: some of these folks crochet little doilies, and some are tatting them. Someone pointed out that needle tatting was much easier than shutting tatting. Others began posting links to tutorials and videos. I excitedly followed along and ...

I am participating in a block of the month "class" in which I am making the chain blocks in this pattern . When I saw this Mini Irish Chain on Terrie Sandelin's blog , I thought it would be fun to make one and use it as one of my setting blocks. I'm hoping it will look like a quilt-within-a-quilt. It was so much fun to make! The teeny squares in the nine patches started as one inch squares. They finished just under half an inch. I am in the process of designing other chain blocks that incorporate one or more mini nine patches for the other setting blocks.

I cannot seem to comment on my own blog. Why? How? Is it possible for me to reply to comments? Do I need to change a setting or more? I'm confused. and frustrated. I have few enough followers at present time, I suppose I could just reply to your comments with new posts. This one's for you, Norma : Thanks for your comment about the minis. I like working with batiks for minis. They seem to be more thin and crisp than other quilters' cottons. edit(4/19/2011): I did some research on this problem. I learned that I had my browser set to "do not allow third party cookies." In order for "blogger" (where google blogs are edited) to communicate with "blogspot" (where said blogs are published), this must be allowed. Such communication is necessary when commenting on blogs. If you are running into strange problems (such as being logged off when switching between certain blogger/blogspot thingies), this can be an indication that you need to "allo...

Writing about buying herbs in bulk reminded me of a price comparison I once made: bagged tea versus bulk tea. There is a brand of tea known as "Traditional Medicinals." Our kids ask for their "Lemon Echinacea Throat Coat" when they have colds. They have one tea called "Raspberry Leaf." The only ingredient is raspberry leaf. At the store where I usually buy herbs in bulk, this box of 16 tea bags sells for $5.25. That is 33 cents per "serving." Raspberry leaves may be purchased in bulk from the same store. You scoop out how much you want into a little zip-top bag. It is sold for $21.19 per pound or $1.32 per ounce. We need to do some math to be able to make a good comparison. I'll spare you the nitty-gritty. I think I worked it out correctly. I used the net weight of the box of tea divided by the number of tea bags to calculate the serving size. Oops, spilled some gritty. Raspberry Leaf Bulk Traditional Medicinals Price ...

I have three herb/spice mixes that I use regularly. I was recently asked for the recipe of one, so I thought I would share them with the whole wide web too. Based on my recent experience, I believe it pays to buy dried, organic herbs in bulk. The "health food store" where I purchase them seems to refill their containers often so the products are always fresh. They seem to be more aromatic and flavorful than their counterparts in bulk at the "not health food store." Either way you go, buying in bulk means you can fill up your spice jars with an amount that you will use before it begins to loose its flavor. I can't afford to do my grocery shopping at a health food store, but I think it's worth it to spend a few more pennies on the herbs to make the "regular" food taste extra good. And you never know, you might be getting some extra protein too. This recipe I found when I was looking for a substitute for "one envelope of taco seasoning."...

When I started using my new-to-me Pfaff 7570, I was a little frustrated with the two pre-programed blanket stitches. Stitch number 12 takes two stitches forward, then one stitch to the left and right (or right then left if mirrored). Stitch number 13 takes one stitch forward, then two stitches to the left and back two to the right (or vice versa if mirrored). As a beginning machine appliquer, I still don't understand why either of these would be desirable. I was looking for a stitch that took one forward, then one "in and out"--a "better blanket stitch." If you have the Creative Designer, you can design your own stitches. You can also edit pre-programed stitches. However, you don't have to have this "box" to have a better blanket stitch. Even without the Creative Designer, you can delete points backward from the end of a pattern. Clear as mud? What follows is the sequence of buttons to push to edit and save your own better blanket stitch. (I wo...

Here I am, back for my yearly post. teehee. I mentioned some tiny triangles in an earlier post.  I've always liked the look of miniature quilts but I've never felt like I have the patience to sew anything by hand. So, when I found the book "Miniatures in Minutes" by Terrie Sandelin , my curiosity was piqued. Terrie presents a method for piecing miniature quilts on one foundation. It's like speed piecing and paper piecing combined. I found I love to piece these using my handcranked Singer 28K . I can control exactly where and when the needle does what. This yields precise seams. These quilts are best viewed in person. I sent the first picture below to someone whose kind critique was "your points don't match." Then when she saw it in person, she retracted her statement and said, "the picture doesn't do it justice! I call this first one "Seven Cousins" because a seventh cousin was born on each side of the family the year that I mad...

Well, I missed my goal of one post per month and since today our camera is off in the mountains, I cannot show you what I've been up to. So, I'll give you a hint: one inch triangles. I talked to someone this morning about teaching children to sew on handcrank sewing machines. I told her I would post some pictures so here we go. This first picture is a Singer model 28K. The K means it was made in Kilbowie, Scotland. It is a three-quarter sized sewing machine. While still pretty heavy, it is more portable than its full-sized sister, the model 27. The serial number was commissioned in 1906. It still sews wonderfully. It uses a long bobbin in a shuttle instead of a round bobbin in a bobbin case like modern machines. There are fewer parts for thread to get caught in, and fewer parts that need adjusting. It's easy to clear when things get tangled up. I love using this machine for paper piecing. I can put the needle exactly where I want it. I backed off the pressure on the press...

. . . blog post. I know, I'm behind the times. I like it that way. I don't Tweet. I don't Text. I sew with treadle sewing machines. I milk our goats. I bring in eggs from the barn. That's all true. I once told this to a stranger on a ski lift and he suddenly became very quiet. So, I thought for my first post it would be fitting to show you the first project I made using my first electronic machine: a Pfaff 7570. (If anyone wants to show me how to better edit pictures for blogs, I'd be grateful. :-) ) This is the first time I have ever done fusible applique and blanket stitched around it. It's the first time I have ever made a disappearing four-patch block. (Thanks, Sally, for the tutorial .) It's the first time I've used a sewing machine's memory to create a stitch pattern (the flowers with straight lines between). It's not the first time I've used a sewing machine to sew words, but it is the first time I've done it on a quilt. ...