Creating Good Soil is my attempt to share the journey of growing a family, and creating beauty in Oregon. Thoughts of faith, parenting, and an occasional artistic endevour will be posted. I'd love to hear your thoughts as we travel together.
Thought you all might like to see why I haven't updated this for a while....We were partying! Happy Birthday, J-bug! Birthdays are big around here. The birthday kid chooses a theme and away we go! J-bug chose a Rainbow Party. Take a look....Each kiddo got to choose their own color of the rainbow for an Italian Soda. (That's what happens when your folks are opening a coffee house.) Pretty gift bags all in a row! We made ribbon streamers, danced to Somewhere over the Rainbow, and hung rainbow curling ribbon everywhere!
I’ve been quilting a bunch today. It’s what I like to do in the winter months when it’s too cold and blowy to garden. That and scrapbook. I’m a part of this block of the month quilt club. Well, I thought it was a block a month, turns out its usually 4 or 5 blocks a month. And to top it off, I was indecisive about which color scheme to choose, the modern colors or the more traditionally, so I chose both. Now I’ve gone from 1 block a month, to 8, even 10. Why do I do this to myself?It’s something I love to do, but then I end up in overkill, and the perfectionist in me won’t let go.
Here’s the irony: I love quilting and similarly scrapbooking because of the boundaries. I usually limit myself to 3-5 colors. Might have 4-5 patterns of each color, but there is still a limit. Then there are size constraints. A quilt block or a scrap page at 12 x 12 inches is an easy finish for me. I can start and finish one in a day if all the planets align. (As a mom of three, a business owner (2 business in fact), a crazy work schedule for my husband, and one who takes seriously her call to be a minister to all, there’s not a lot of hang time.) I want to see a finished product once in a while. I’m not even thinking about the finish quilt on a bed or a whole years album done, just a single block or page.
I’m seeing some parallels here, in my approach to crafting and life. Bite off a whole lot more than you can truly handle. Then step by step, scrap by scrap, find a small accomplishment. Enjoy the process of colors and chaos. Every once in a while step back, admire where you're at, make a brief plan and keep trudging through.My challenge is to know that it’s not my great artistic ability or my amazing organizational ability that pulls the whole thing together. It’s finding and relying on boundaries. If I start throwing in a different color in each block, the chaos becomes overwhelming and the patterns get lost.
In life, it’s learning the boundaries that God has given me. Like recognizing when my body needs iron, or my spirit needs quiet or my family needs “just us” time.I need to rely on God’s boundaries while I come through each crisis with a friend, all the scraps of her life that just got jumbled up….Maybe I will even get to help her put them back in order, in the pattern God has in mind. Through stitches of prayer help her hold it together. I need God-eyes for both of us see the joy in the process. (That is so easily said, harder to do.) Sometimes, after much time, I get see the final product of that block in her life. Hang around longer, maybe we’ll see the whole life quilt together. Life blocks sure take a lot longer than those fabric 12 x 12 blocks. (I’m sure there is some great lesson about patience in there!)
Maybe today’s boundary is to rest and enjoy my quilting. Speaking of which, I’ve got 7 more blocks to finish.
....door decor is skis, sleds, and snowshovels. ...little monsters take over the house. (jbug & bugaboo made these for boodlebug for christmas.) ....kangas and snow boots are the outfit of the day on jbug. ...snow boy appears. ...baby jesus wears a peruvian hat ....boots out number people.
I feel like such a bad chicken mama! But it did get below zero the other day....Now the chickie girls have a heated water bowl, lots of straw, and daily vaseline treatments. Huh...a hot tub and facials? Sounds pretty good, girls!
Back in my college days, I did the suggested make-a-list-of-the-qualities-you-want-in-a-husband. My list was this: a rugged outdoorsy guy who can sing and play the guitar. Well, to some extent, he can sing and play the guitar. But look at this: 8 degrees out and he's still bike-commuting to work!! That's a rugged outdoorsy guy!
Each kiddo got to choose their own color of the rainbow for an Italian Soda. (That's what happens when your folks are opening a coffee house.)
Pretty gift bags all in a row! We made ribbon streamers, danced to Somewhere over the Rainbow, and hung rainbow curling ribbon everywhere!
