Goodness and Mercy

This is a repeat of a post from 2013.  I thought it needed repeating! 

I was praying for a good friend of mine this morning.  She has lived with agonizing pain for nearly 10 years.  A nerve is being fused within a bad vertebrae in her neck.  On a scale of 1 to 10 her pain is an unbearable 10.  But the medications bring it down to 9.

She's been waiting months for nerve block surgery.  They gave her a trial surgery to make sure the electrical box they insert into her body will work.  It gave her a full week of NO PAIN whatsoever, the first time in 10 years.  She's in the military and unfortunately, she's in an area of the country where there are many delays before the doctors will do something.  If she were in the private industry this would have been taken care of years ago... but I digress. 

As I was praying the Lord brought this verse to mind...

Sometimes the 'goodness and mercy' God sends come in the form of 2 sheep dogs, nipping at our heals to get us going in the right direction.

So I prayed, asking God to send 'goodness and mercy' nipping at the heals of those making the decisions for her surgery.  And Lord, if you could sharpen their teeth before they get there?  To make 'em move a little faster?  Father, please send her the relief she needs?  You promised that if we ask anything that is within your will you would grant our request.  I ask you to let Thea get a phone call today, with the scheduled procedure she needs.  Father, you are closer to those broken in spirit and I ask you to be closer still to her today.  Thank you Father for answering my prayer and it is for your honor and glory I ask.  AMEN!

And what did she hear this afternoon?

.... Her surgery is scheduled for August 23rd.  HOW AWESOME IS OUR GOD???

Who do you need to sic the dogs on today?

Peanut Butter SAL

 

I've been sewing a quick project called the Peanut Butter quilt sew along.  I wanted an easy quilt to feed that need for piecing this time and this project fit the bill!  

The pattern is a free one, found here: 
https://mailchi.mp/thencamejune/peanut-butter-quilt-pattern

Smallest quilt I've ever made

 I wrote an earlier post about finding a book filled with 40 patterns to make mini pincushions.  I spent this gray, rainy day sewing the smallest quilt I've ever made.  It was made with 1 inch pieces and it about killed me.  LOL  For those who didn't see the earlier post, the book is called Pin Pals by Carrie Nelson.  I recommend it!  The patterns are spot on and, while it might kill you to sew 1 inch pieces, the end result is so rewarding!

This little quilt was made into the 3rd pin cushion, I'm making 7 of the patterns as decorations for my sewing room.

2023 Capital Quilters Guild Quilt Show

 

About 2 years ago I began stitching tiny 2-1/2 inch blocks for a quilt called the Circa 1880 Nine Patch.  I knew it would be a long process to make a queen size quilt out of 2-1/2 inch blocks and I needed 716 of them!  I starched the fabrics I chose before cutting into it to help stabilize the 1 inch wide strips the blocks were made of.  Finished, the blocks measure 2 inches.

I've entered the finished quilt into 2 judged shows and it has won 4 ribbons, the last one being awarded last night.  The Capital Quilters Guild Show gave me a ribbon for Viewers Choice!  The quilt was chosen out of a possible 130 quilts.

8 mini pincushions

I found a book called Pin Pals by Carrie Nelson and had to have it!  

It has patterns for 40 mini pincushions and they are adorable!  I thought I would share my progress as I make 8 as decorations for my sewing room.

        

I decided to use Civil War theme fabrics on the first one. It went together quickly and I'm happy with it!

The second one took 4 hours to sew all the tiny half square triangles.  Each was 1-1/4 inch!  

Filling for all the pincushions is crushed walnut shells.  TIP:  Buy walnut lizard or bird litter at the pet store instead of the walnut shells sold at fabric stores.  It's much cheaper that way!  This 5 lb. bag was only $8.00!  

Award-winning quilt!

 I entered a quilt in the Raleigh, North Carolina quilt show held by Capital Quilters Guild. It was held on Friday, and I was pleased to see a special ribbon on the quilt when I visited the quilt show. The ribbon was an award of merit for outstanding achievement in quiltmaking. It was given by the National Association of Certified Quilt Judges. This quilt took well over 100 hours to make over 14 months. It has 7934 pieces and 716 two-inch blocks. 

2 of my customers are so sweet!  They sent a photo of themselves in front of the quilt.  

Ode to Sewing Machines #40

 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! 

Starting a new QOV

I bought a new pattern for a QOV top that I couldn't resist.  It uses one charm pack and yardage.    Here's a photo of the center of the quilt.  I'll add more photos to this post as I progress making the quilt top.

Update March 11:  All I have left are 5 borders and the top is finished.