May God Bless You this day beyond measure! May He pour out His richest blessings in lavish ever-increasing abundant overflowing blessings of LOVE, JOY, PEACE, HOPE and PERFECT HEALTH upon YOU!!! May your every need be met and may everything you put your hand to prosper. Know that you are His chosen child and you are Loved and Treasured by the King of Kings. God Bless You!

Sunday, March 31, 2013

The Legend of the Dogwood


    You are highly favored and cherished!
               Happy Easter!


                        The Legend of the Dogwood

At the time of the crucifixion, the dogwood had reached the size of the mighty oak tree. So strong and firm was the wood that it was chosen as the timber for Jesus' cross. 

To be used for such a cruel purpose greatly distressed the dogwood. While nailed upon it, Jesus sensed this, and in his compassion said. "Because of your pity for my suffering, never again shall the dogwood tree grow large enough to be used for a cross. Henceforth, it shall be slender, bent, and twisted, and its blossoms shall be in the form of a cross–two long and two short petals. 

"In the center of the outer edge of each petal will be the print of nails. In the center of the flower, stained with blood, will be a crown of thorns so that all who see it will remember."


from "Sower's Seeds Aplenty: Fourth Planting," # 29, p. 22

with Love as always,
Beulah

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Pom poms & Peanuts

The days are getting longer the weather a tiny bit warmer and with spring...new creative ideas are sprouting! One of my new favorite ways to watch movies...making pom poms! Our local Hobby Lobby had a very limited supply of pom pom makers, so I bought one of each![Thank you Hobby Lobby for the awesome coupon!] I now have a total of 6 different sizes which equals hours of creative fun!


I have also started collecting Peanuts fabric in anticipation of the hop in the fall.


               I Love Snoopy!






Happy Easter!
with LOVE as always,

Beulah

Friday, March 29, 2013

New Neighbors

We have new neighbors in the neighborhood!

 A pair of Eastern Bluebirds arrived recently and have established their nest in a bluebird box on our mailbox.
I say that they are new simply because of evidence of their behavior, the pair that nested in the box at the mailbox last year, would sit in the Redbud Tree when not in the nesting box.
The photo below tells all, we have new neighbors! :)
They are spending their day
"training" the van to stay away from their new home.
 

with Love as always,
Beulah

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

A Double Portion of Joy

I love getting mail...Real Mail...from the Post Office, especially when what is in the box is not a bill, or junk mail. And on those wonderful times when the Yellow Card [notification that we have mail too large to fit in the tiny metal box] sits quietly in the box...Happy Dance!
Yesterday was such a day but instead of 1 Yellow Card there were 2!
   A Double Portion of JOY!

I enjoy reading Blogs, I have learned new methods and creative ideas from so many folks! These Wonderful Creative Artists run circles around me blindfolded and backwards!! Recently I was admiring creative Blog Posts at Soma's blog WhimsandFancies and at Vickey's blog Gingersnaps Quilts. If you haven't read their blogs you should take a moment one day soon  they are both Very Creative!! :)
You probably heard my squeal when I saw my inbox, I was randomly selected!And yesterday on the First Day of Passover, in the mail arrived 2 packages of creative delight!

   A Double Portion of JOY!
 
From Soma of WhimsandFancies
This adorable Zip-Pouch


From Vickey of Gingersnaps Quilts
Her scraps from the Nancy Drew Blog Hop
I will be using this fabric ASAP on some of those awesome ideas on my "I want to make that!" list.
Soma and Vickey Thank You so very very much!

Happy Passover! May your year be blessed and filled with Joy and Provision as we go forward into the Promised Land!


with LOVE as always,
Beulah

Monday, March 25, 2013

Spreading LOVE through TEAMWORK

I am joining up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict: Hands2Help
 
I have chosen to participate and assist Quilts Beyond Borders. Sending LOVE across the oceans in the form of a quilt!
I will be part of the team providing quilts for these beautiful children in need overseas.
 Below is a brief bio of the Quilts Beyond Borders.


 


A charity providing quilts to children in underserved areas of the world





Our second charity is a new one this year, at least to me! I read about Quilts Beyond Borders recently and was captivated by their mission. Here’s some information from their website...

Quilts Beyond Borders reaches out to under-served children, mainly orphans, across the world to provide a handmade quilt and spread love and hope... We have focused on Ethiopia where in 5 years we have delivered over 1,000 quilts to orphans... Since 2009 we have also provided quilts to people in need in Japan, Haiti, Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, Cameroon, Burundi, Uganda, Russia, Thailand and Mexico, and we plan additional distributions of quilts to those in need living in other places where the warmth of a quilt is needed at night.

They are currently in need of 500-600 quilts to distribute this fall to orphanages in Ethiopia and Romania. I'm hoping we can make a significant dent in their need, and spread the word to others who many not know of this worthy cause as well!

For this charity, the finished quilts should be 40-45" wide by 48-60" long. This size best fits the children's beds. Quilts need to be quilted sufficiently to handle rugged conditions - used by children, and washed under rugged laundry conditions (unfortunately, tied quilts won't hold up to these conditions). Fabric can be cotton or cotton/polyester. Batting can be cotton or polyester. Please bind the quilts entirely by machine, so the binding will hold up longer.

Please include a label for each quilt you send for Quilts Beyond Borders. The label should read:

Quilts Beyond Borders
Made for You with Love
By: (quilter's name)
Belongs to (space for recipient's name)
 
 


There are several methods in which you can help! 

1. Join the Team! [see the button on my sidebar]


2. If you do not have time to create a quilt but would like to help...You can donate fabric or batting for the quilts. And you would be part of the Team blessing these children. You can email me if you would like to participate in this manner...
My email: sowingstitches[at]gmail[dot]com

I will also give you 'credit' on the quilt as being on the Team.

3. If you would like to assist in shipping costs this is also a means to be a Team Player for this Great Mission!


Please consider joining the team! There is no greater task than showering children with LOVE.

with LOVE as always,
Beulah

Thursday, March 21, 2013

I would love to know what you think!

*I love the input and advice Ladies! I will be posting what I have been gleaning next week! Thanks for all of your input!!! Makes planning so much easier! You're the best! Thanks!!!

I am throwing ideas around this morning and would love your feedback.

1. When participating in a class do you prefer to meet once a week, monthly, daily for 5 days or in power sessions/seminars ex. Friday and Saturday?


2. Do you like to have all supplies provided and ready for you or do you prefer to add your own style and flair?

3. Do you enjoy brainstorming ideas or a step by step approach?

4. IF classes are a power session/seminar would you be willing to bring snacks or food, prefer food to be catered or take a break and go grab something to eat?

5. Forget the class...but want to come along for fun and fellowship?

Yes, I have something up my sleeve....
Q
uite busy plotting & planning this morning. 

Hint: Art & Sewing


Thanks for your thoughts and ideas!
Have a great day!

with love as always,
Beulah

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Stitch Me Up Blog Hop


YIPPIE!SKIPPIE! HIPPITY HOP!
Today is the FIRST DAY of SPRING!!!!
Warm sunny days, budding flowers, baby animals, green leaves, Easter fast approaching, my corner of the world is awakening from a long winter's nap! :)


Oh wait, in the excitement of SPRING I almost forgot....

There were many Friday nights of my childhood spent at Mammaw's and Nangy's house. [my mom's parents]Mammaw had a small end table with drawers where she kept toys and activities filled with hours of creative adventures. My sister always had to play a dozen games of Old Maid...it was a love hate relationship...
She loved to play but hated to end up being the Old Maid. She even went as far to mark the cards! Nangy, my grandfather went behind her and 'fixed' the cards...I can still see her face the game she Lost after she had marked the cards. She still loves the game to this day, and yes, she still plays with a marked deck! :)
Another standby that was always in the drawers were sewing cards. I would stitch and stitch way for hours. My favorite was actually not one of the sewing cards but a cloth image of the circus in a plastic frame. And it was on that cloth image I learned my embroidery stitches. What a nightmare it must have been for my grandmother! Before we returned to spend the night, my primative embroidery stitches would be removed...each and every one....so I could sew again the next time we spent the night on a 'new' project!


Stitch Me Up. Mercy!
This seemingly innocent theme unlocked multitudes of memories from my childhood!:)
Madame Samm of: http://www.sewwequilt.com/ and  

Jane of: http://janesfabrics.blogspot.com/  Thank you! Thank you!! Thank you!!!

Thank you for the childhood memories and for releasing my embroidery skills that have been apparently hiding behind other creative projects for many years. I'm not letting these old friends go back into hiding!

On to the project...
I created a mug rug for my morning tea.
There were such wonderful choices of patterns but settled on this particular one in memory of my grandmother...the flowers on the pattern would have matched perfectly the embroidered pillowcases she used to make. 


...with a cup of tea, I gather my thoughts at dawn. clf

Thanks for dropping by...all this chatter of childhood has me longing for a a game of Old Maids...I think I shall get a deck , mark them up and invite my sister over for a game or two after I return from visiting the beautiful work at the other blogs this morning.

                Enjoy the hop!

WEDNESDAY March 20th
 
THURSDAY March 21st

FRIDAY March 22nd

MONDAY MARCH 25th
Beverly @That Other Blog

TUESDAY MARCH 26th

Jeanette @That Other Blog

WEDNESDAY MARCH 27TH


THURSDAY MARCH 28th
Kristin @That Other Blog

FRIDAY MARCH 29th

Patricia @That Other Blog

Happy Spring!May the season burst forth with overflowing creative adventures for each of us!

with LOVE as always,
Beulah

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

The mountain continues to Grow

Yippie! 2 More Quilt Tops [quilt tops 5 & 6] have been completed and added to the 'to be quilted mountain'!  
The images are original paintings with hand lettered text. [I raided the painting studio and used acrylic paints and inks.] 

detail photo  top aprox. 4 x 5 feet
original design "too Much Sweet Tea ain't Near Enough!" by Beulah
Sowing Stitches

original design "Renewed Denim" by Beulah
Sowing Stitches
paintings were embellished with embroidery

I'm not sure that I will make my goal of 7 completed tops by Spring...but I'm getting close...and there are still 4ish hours remaining of winter!


Monday, March 18, 2013

Unexpected Treasure

Saturday was a delight! The weather in our neck of the woods flirted with Spring...beautiful blue skies and temperatures in the70's! Great weather conditions to celebrate Quilt Day,it was pure bliss! However,Sunday was a different story...winter returned...damp gray skies with our temperatures in the 40's reminding us Spring is soon, but not yet. 

I also received email JOY from Carol a.k.a. the Landscape Lady....A PDF pattern and tutorial of her adorable Welcome My Little Chickadee!
 
Add caption
I hope to have pictures of my finish up soon.
Sunday during worship another treasure appeared...on the pew...'quilty treasures'
 


a dear friend had uncovered this bundle and brought them to me knowing that I "adopt"all things related to sewing & quilting.


My push continues this week to try to complete my Winter Projects. This is I think the hardest challenge! I keep dreaming up new plans and want to explore all the possibilities!

Have a great Monday! Enjoy the unexpected and keep your eyes open for hidden treasure. You never know what my be 'hiding' right before you!!!




with LOVE as always,
Beulah

Friday, March 15, 2013

#4 added to Quilt Top Mountain

I did it....well almost...I only started 1 new project all week! Most of my creative time was spent trying to tackle the winter supply of UFOs. Happily 4 quilt tops are now sitting on top of the "These need to be quilted ASAP Mountain". Its embarrassing the stack of quilt tops that need to be quilted, not a total count but let's just say there is several dozen tops waiting to be quilted.

#4 A child's quilt  approximately 4 x 4 feet
 I am going to take the weekend off and enjoy tournament basketball and spring like temperatures.

Have a great weekend!
with Love as always,
Beulah
 

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

I Dared! Dresden is on the Mountian!

#3 is on the mountain of quilt tops to be quilted!! Oh happy day! While not recommended it is nice to know that it is possible to wrangle 2 ufos in one day.



ufo #3 headed to the mountain
This quilt was inspired during the Dare to Dresden Blog Hop. You may recognize some of the blocks from earlier posts.


The plan... 
Finish the remaining quilt tops, add them to the mountain,breaking on March 29th to celebrate Spring...
T
hen...quilt,quilt,quilt!



I hand quilt so it will be a bit before the mountain of quilt tops becomes a mountain of quilts. :)