When doubt tries to bully us

 I saw this at Proverbs 31.org.  It was so good I had to show you!  It is written by Renee Swope and is from chapter 6 of her book "A Confident Heart".

"What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31 (NIV)

One morning I woke up feeling beat up by discouragement. My mind was being bullied by thoughts of doubt: I can't do it all! I am not cut out to be a wife, a mom, a daughter, a speaker, a writer and all the other things God has called me to.My thoughts were against me, and my feelings were too.

As I lay in bed feeling completely inadequate, my radio alarm came on. Suddenly my thoughts were interrupted by Twila Paris singing to me. With confident assurance, she spoke truth to my soul, telling me this was no time for fear, but a time for faith and determination. She challenged me not to lose my vision or be carried away by my emotions, but to hold on to all that I had hidden in my heart, and all I believed to be true. Then she reminded me of the most important truth of all: God is in control. [1]

As I heard these words, my thoughts aligned with God's truth. It changed my whole perspective. I went from feeling afraid to feeling determined and from feeling out of control to knowing God is in control.

We have the choice either to let doubt beat us up or to let God's truth build us up.
If we have Christ in us, we have full access to God's power and His promises to live with a confident heart. But it won't just happen because it's possible. We have to take action.
When my alarm came on that morning, I was so glad I'd set my radio to that station the night before, so I would wake up hearing encouraging music and truth. Just like I tuned into that station, we need to get intentional about tuning our thoughts into God's thoughts toward us, every day.

In the same way a radio has AM and FM frequencies, so do our thoughts. They are either AM (against me) or FM (for me) thoughts. The truth is, we are often our worst critics and have a lot of AM thoughts.

Find this book here

And if our thoughts are against us, our feelings will be too.
So, the next time you get those feelings of uncertainty and self-doubt, stop and ask the Holy Spirit to show you what you are thinking that is making you feel that way. Then compare your thoughts about that situation to God's thoughts, which are reflected in Scripture. Do they match? If not, find a promise in God's Word to replace the lie that has filled your heart with doubt. Here are few to get your started:

• When doubt comes against me, saying I'm weak and all alone, I will focus on the truth that God is for me! I can be strong and courageous because the Lord my God is with me. He will never leave me nor forsake me. (Deuteronomy 31:6, NIV)

• When doubt comes against me, saying I'm not good enough for a certain role or position, I will remember that God is for me! He says I am His masterpiece, created to be new in Christ so that I could do good things He planned long ago. (Ephesians 2:10, NIV)


Power Verses:
1 Peter 2:9, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." (NIV)

Deuteronomy 20:4, "For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory." (NIV)

Romans 8:37, "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." (NIV)

[1] "God Is In Control," © 1993 by Twila Paris. All Rights Reserved. From He Is Exalted: Live Worship CD.

Janome JW8100 Sewing Machine Review

I had the opportunity to review a Janome JW8100 Sewing Machine recently and I found it to be a wonderful, computerized machine!  The technological revolution has made it to the sewing industry, and basic machines no longer cut it. Unfortunately, most computerized sewing machines are usually very costly.  This one is only $370!

It's one of the most affordable computerized machines I've come across and works great for both beginners and experts. Here's the specifications:

The Janome JW8100 has all the benefits of a computerized sewing machine but is beginner-friendly. It’s entry-level and has a lot of features compared to mechanical models, but it doesn’t have so many gadgets and options that you get overwhelmed.

It only weighs 12.7 lbs and measures 16 x 7 x 12 inches. This makes it easily portable. It has a digital LCD screen that displays important details such as the width & length of the stitches, the type of stitch being used, and the recommended foot.

It’s hard to find a stitch that isn’t included in the Janome JW8100 sewing machine because it has 100 built-in stitches! They are divided as follows:

Heirloom style stitches: 27

Basic and fashion stitches: 20

Quilting stitches: 18

Button holes: 7

Home decor: 28

The machine comes with a stitch chart which means you don't have to keep checking the manual every time you need to change a stitch. This feature is so handy. You can, however, remove it if you don’t need the chart.

 Janome JW8100 has an automatic needle threader. You can see it in the photo above, it's easy to use! It comes with a detachable table to extend your working area and has a free arm when you remove the storage compartment.

The photo shows the accessories that are included with the machine.  There is a cute little pin cushion you can place on top of the machine while you're sewing!  Additional feet available for the machine, which you can order by going to the Janome website or any online quilt shop that sells Janome. Quilters will probably want to order a 1/4" foot.

Some of the features that make this sewing machine easy to use include:

Start/stop button: this feature allows you to use the machine without pressing on the foot pedal.

Locking stitch button: this button ties off the thread ends which means that you don’t have to backstitch to lock seams.

Easy reverse button: this feature is used when you’re securing seams by backstitching.

The machine has the drop feed to control the speed and direction of the fabric when you’re using free motion.

All in all, this is a fabulous machine for only $370!

Click here to download a copy of the Janome JW8100 manual!

My latest quilt project

 I've been working on a king size quilt for a few months now.  All I need to finish the top is add the borders.  This one will go on my bed when/if I get it finished.  The fabric collection is by Melissa Gilbert, of Little House on the Prairie fame.  

True Story

 

Video: How to install Butler robotics on the KQ II Longarm

 

Change the foot on a King Quilter II Longarm

 I'm feeling sheepish today.  I've owned my King Quilter II Elite longarm for 5 years and just today learned I can raise the presser bar up to make changing the foot easier.  All this time I've been finagling and fussing to change feet and saying some not so nice words!

For those with the same machine, here is a video showing how to do this...

The Best Explanation of Thread Spools and Cones

 I found a video on the Superior Threads website that explains the need to pull thread off of a spool differently than a cone.  I highly recommend this video!  

I ordered the thread holder shown in this video because I need a thread holder with an 

adjustable spool pin, one that can be placed vertically or horizontally.  

This fits the bill quite nicely.

A Cross Stitch tip

I thought I'd share a tip for those of you who cross stitch using black linen or aida cloth.  Use one of the little lights you tap to turn on and off underneath as you stitch.  The light makes seeing the little holes easy!  I use it with all dark colors of linen or aida cloth.  In fact, the light is too bright so I taped Kleenex over the light to dim it a bit.

Here are some pieces I made.

I made this one around our 20th anniversary.  
We've been married 36 year now!

I made this one when my daughter was 3 months old.  

She's 34 yrs old now!

 

2026 Christmas Drawing

 Attention all clients!  I have a set of tools from Missouri Star Quilt Company I'd like to give away at the end of 2026.  Everyone who brings a quilt for longarming gets an entry, 1 entry per quilt brought during 2026. This is a high quality set of tools all stored away in a metal tool box. For example, the rotary cutter has ball bearings in it and you use less pressure to make your cut!

I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New Year!

Durham Charter Academy

 A few of you know I am the founder of the first Charter Public School in NC. I wanted to let you know the school has added high school and also changed the name to Durham Charter School. My school opened in 1997 with K-3rd grade... and now it's 28 years serving children K-12! They also built a new school building which houses grades K-12. You can click the photo below to check it out:

Christmas Rush is winding down

 It's been a busy couple of months for me what with all the quilts needing longarming before Christmas!  Here's a photo of one quilt for a client.  She chose the Bossa Nova pantograph for her quilt.  This is one of my favorite designs.

Cricut

 I had a couple days off from longarming so I spent the time using my Cricut cutting machine.  I love this thing!  I made several cards, including 20 Christmas cards I plan on sending out this year.  

If you are interested in buying a Cricut cutting machine, this pdf booklet has ALL you need to begin right away.  I used this booklet and it was very easy to follow and understand.  It's written by Jennifer Maker.  Click here to see her Cricut Coach Playbook.

And the inside of this card is below, it's so cute!

New WIP

 I spent some time this morning, Small Business Saturday, and bought some patterns from Etsy.  This is one of them, and I pulled fabrics from my stash to make it.  I hope to get some time during December to make it.  It's a pattern I found on the CottonBerryQuilts sales page and the pattern is called Pumpkin & Bloom Applique pattern.

Ode to Sewing Machines #49

  Many of you follow my "Ode to the Sewing Machine" posts.  We've all seen the ads on craigslist, ebay and elsewhere.  The clueless sellers give those of us who sew a belly laugh, or two!  

Just when I think I've made enough Ode to Sewing Machine posts, I see another "can't believe this one" and I have to share it with you. Here's installment #49!  

The 1st one isn't a sewing machine but I had to post it here.  My jaw dropped open when I saw this...

This is the only photo of the machine!

And another one, it looks like she didn't have the time to take a 
decent photo as well...this is the only photo of the machine!

A winning quilt

 I entered my quilt in the Hearts and Hands Guild quilt show this weekend and it won a 3rd place ribbon.  The quilt has 560 HSTs in it.

Cricut Maker 4

 I had a Cricut Maker machine for years and decided to upgrade to the new Cricut Maker 4.  FedEx delivered it 4 days ago and I've been having a great time using it.  It is lighting fast, much faster than previous Maker models. For those unfamiliar with Cricut cutting machines, they coincide with an app called Design Space.  Using the app, you can create just about anything you can dream up.  

Here are some photos of projects I've made the last 4 days:

I made the following projects using my Maker 1:

If you are interested in buying a Cricut cutting machine, this pdf booklet has ALL you need to begin right away.  I used this booklet and it was very easy to follow and understand.  It's written by Jennifer Maker.  Click here to see her Cricut Coach Playbook.

Under my needle

 I've been a bit overwhelmed with quilts needing my expertise, I think the Christmas rush began early this year.  I already have 22 quilts in the queue and I've decided not to take anymore quilts from new clients until I get caught up.  I am always accepting current clients' quilts so if you're already a customer of mine don't hesitate to stop on by!

Isn't this a great Autumn quilt?  I stitched a design that looks like the breeze blowing across the quilt.

And this quilt was loaded on the frame just this afternoon.  I will begin stitching it tomorrow morning.

Quilted Needle Fabrics class

 I visited a new quilt shop this week in Pittsboro, NC.  It's the Quilted Needle Fabrics store and it opened a year ago.  The owner, Jackie, is a treasure!  She is so friendly and knowledgeable... and funny!  
I attended a 2-night Jelly Roll Rug class taught by Jackie.  This photo is one Jackie shared on their facebook page, it was taken while I was stitching my rug...

Here's the finished rug!  I will be giving it to my granddaughter! 

I hope you'll stop by this great quilt shop.  350 East Street, Pittsboro, NC

Under my needle

 It's time I posted the latest quilt tops on my frame!  The first one is a customer's quilt and she made a 2nd one just like it only with a blue theme.  I used a pantograph called Let Love Bloom which has hearts and swirls in it.

This quilt top is also a customer's quilt.  It's a wonderful Christmas quilt called "Over the River".  I used a pantograph with snowflakes on this quilt.