Once Upon A Time...

...there was a poor tan jumper. The poor, old thing was so boring and worn that not even the homeschool mom, who undoubtedly donated her to the local Goodwill, could find a use for her. She was left hanging on the rack with all the other, once-loved, but now useless, jumpers, being sold for a meager $3.49. One day, a kind-hearted, jumper-loving, Goodwill-fanatic came across this poor, lonely jumper on one of her Goodwill rampages and took pity on the unloved thing.

And this is how the story went....

I have had this jumper sitting in my closet for about....oh....2 years. I really like it. It's so cute, but there's something about it that, every time I think about wearing it, makes me think, "No. There's just something not right about it." So, about eight months ago, I bought some fabric to see if I could fix the problem.

My two main clothing philosophies (these are broad strokes, folks. Aside from modesty, etc., etc., these are my clothing philosophies):

1. ruffles fix every problem. More is more when it comes to ruffles.
2. denim makes everything cuter.

Well, in the past eight months, I've used the fabric I bought for the poor old jumper....and I didn't use it on the jumper. I think I just didn't have a very clear idea of what I wanted to do with it. Uninspired, you might say.

But this past week, the inspiration suddenly came to me. I went to the fabric store. I was hoping to find some fabric which I LOVE from about a year ago, but they didn't have it anymore (to see the fabric, it's the top ruffle fabric from these skirts). So, I had to make do with something else. I found some fabric that was really cute but it had a stripe to it, which wasn't goin' places for me. But then I thought, "Hey, the stripe is wide enough. I can just use the part I like and leave off the part I'm not so keen on."

I also got some buttons, to replace the old buttons (three on the back and 2 for the straps). New buttons were all part of the inspiration.

(these are the old buttons)

So, late on Thursday night I started my project. I cut off the hem of the jumper and made a ruffle for the bottom.

I made a ruffle to adorn the top of the pocket on the front.

I made a little patch for the front, which is not a pocket, just a patch, because I've always thought that looked cute :) And I crosstitched it to the pocket, at the corners.

I made four ties (two for each strap) to tie the jumper closed instead of buttons.

And I sewed three buttons on the back.


I got all of that done and the ruffle on the bottom was cute, of course...it's a ruffle, after all. But it had to be wide enough to make the jumper as long as I wanted which involved part of the stripe I wasn't wild about. So, the remedy? Another ruffle. (This is Philosophy One.) I cut out another ruffle, but this time only the flower part of the fabric. I hemmed the edges first (note to all you ruffle fanatics: this works much better than hemming it after you gather it.) and then pinned it on top of the other ruffle, closer to the top of the first ruffle, than the bottom. Then I sewed it down and took out the gathering stitches. The only problem is that the top of the ruffle is wanting to fall down and reveal that awful stripe that I was trying to hide, so I went around the top about every three inches or so, and made a little, tiny stitch to hold the top of the ruffle in place, but still leaving it free enough to be ruffely.

And, just so you know that my second clothing philosophy is still, "denim makes everything cuter": here's my outfit for tomorrow:

As I was taking these pictures Leah and I had this conversation:

"Do you really think anyone cares about your jumper?"
"It's not about my jumper. It's about my sewing projects. I always post about what I've been sewing. I mean, if no one wants to read it they don't have to. It's their choice whether they read the post or not."
"I guess that's true. But you might lose readers."
"Yeah, and we have so many of those. One of our main readers (at least who comments) is Brite and she would want to see this."

So in case no one else reads this post, Brite, I wrote it for you :)

The only problem is that those ruffles sure are troublesome to iron. But it's worth it. They are ruffles, you know?

Book Club ~ God's Passion For His Glory

I've been drafting a post on my reading goals for this year, but I'm not ready to post it so I'll do this post in the meantime. Lily and I have been doing our Book Club via Skype lately. We have our weekly chat on the phone and then we go downstairs and fix our cups of tea and call each other on Skype. We drink tea and read to each other for a little while. It's almost like the coffee shop moments we wish we could have all year 'round. This afternoon we were reading and twice Lily and I stopped our reading and said, "we need to post that quote." So, I'm posting a couple of quotes from our reading in God's Passion For His Glory, this afternoon.

"It appears that all that is ever spoken of in the Scripture as an ultimate end of God's works is included in that one phrase, the glory of God....In the creature's knowing, esteeming, loving, rejoicing in, and praising God, the glory of God is both exhibited and acknowledged; his fullness is received and returned. Here is both an emanation and remanation. The refulgence shines upon and into the creature, and is reflected back to the luminary. The beams of glory come from God, are something of God, and are refunded back again to their original. So that the whole is of God, and in God, and to God; and he is the beginning, and middle, and the end." ~Jonathan Edwards in The End For Which God Created the World

"Edwards describes the person with truly gracious affections like this:

'As he has more holy boldness, so he has less of self-confidence...and more modesty. As he is more sure than others of deliverance from hell, so he has more of a sense of the desert of it. He is less apt than others to be shaken in faith, but more apt than others to be moved with solemn warnings, and with God's frowns, and with the calamities of others. He has the firmest comfort, but the softest heart: richer than others, but poorest of all in spirit; the tallest and strongest saint, but the least and tenderest child among them." ~Jonathan Edwards in Religions Affections

Fifth Sunday

I have several posts I've been wanting to write but haven't found the time lately. So, I'm catching up on them right quick, before dinner, and I guess I'll start with last Sunday's menu. It was a Fifth Sunday. Did anyone notice?

I had my list of things to do on Friday night; Saturday; Sunday morning; Sunday afternoon (including the list of which food goes in which dish); my menu; and my list of sermons to listen to while I was preparing on Saturday. That sermon list was so helpful. I chose sermons (that I've listened to before) that would stimulate me to think about the Lord's Day (what a gift!) and the saints and the great privilege of allowing them to rest by laboring in love for them. It was a great weekend of getting things ready, and the Lord's Day was a blessing. Good food (the bread turned out so beautifully, if I do say so myself, after many times of making this bread and it failing every time) and the cake (which, I have never made a layer cake before) was gorgeous. Even Mama, a long-time cake expert, said it was beautiful. High praise, indeed. But even better, the fellowship was rich and sweet. What a precious way to spend the Lord's Day. Never out of sight of the Lord's people!

And, this particular Fifth Sunday was my dear friend, Cassie's, birthday. So, a bit on the late side:

Happy Birthday, Cassie!

(each list had a quote or verse on it, too, so that every time I looked at my list I was reminded of those things "of first importance." I would type them all out for you if I could remember them. As you can see, one of them was Psalm 103:2.)

Menu
(I've made this exact meal before so all the links are to the same post :)
Cayenne-rubbed Chicken With Avocado Salsa
Mashed Potatoes (not just any mashed potatoes, though. These are "Mrs. Sears' Mashed Potatoes" which are probably the most awesomest mashed potatoes I've ever had!)
Fruit Salad (bananas, kiwi, red grapes....made a nice color combination)
Avocado Salad (known as "THE Salad" around here)
Almost No-Knead Bread
Chips and Salsa (for appetizers, but then I move them into the kitchen when it's time to eat because the salsa goes really well with the avocado salsa on the chicken, and then it's really yummy to clean up all the left-overs with chips :)
Triple Layer Devil's Food Cake (know as THE Cake ever since I can remember)

In His Place, At His Pace

Dear Friends,

We read this in family devotions this morning. I think you will breath deeply of the Lord's care and goodness as you read this soul refreshing passage from Octavius Winslow's Morning and Evening Thoughts:

“My times are in your hand.” Psalm 31:15.

Let this precious truth divest your mind of all needless, anxious care for the present or the future. Exercising simple faith in God, “Do not be anxious about anything.” Learn to be content with your present lot, with God’s dealings with, and His disposal of, you. You are just where His providence has, in its inscrutable but all-wise and righteous decision, placed you. It may be a position painful, irksome, trying, but it is right. Oh, yes! it is right. Only aim to glorify Him in it. Wherever you are placed, God has a work for you to do, a purpose through you to be accomplished, in which He blends your happiness with His glory. And, when you have learned the lessons of His love, He will transfer you to another and a wider sphere, for whose nobler duties and higher responsibilities the present is, perhaps, but disciplining and preparing you. Covet, then, to live a life of daily dependence upon God. Oh, it is a sweet and holy life! It saves from many a desponding feeling, from many a corroding care, from many an anxious thought, from many a sleepless night, from many a tearful eye, and from many an imprudent and sinful scheme. Repairing to the “covenant ordered in all things and sure,” you may confide children, friends, calling, yourself, to the Lord’s care, in the fullest assurance that all their ‘times’ and yours are in His hand.

Blessings,
Lily

This Morning

"O Lord, Thou hast searched me and known me."
~Psalm 139:1

(this picture was taken in our back yard this past fall.)