Correction:

It wasn't Jesus and his disciples the woman was feeding. It was the widow and her son I was thinking of. Elisha told her to make some bread and feed him first and then feed herself and her son and if she did she would not run out of oil and her meal would not turn. That her need would be met until the rain came. This fits even better. Make use of your blessings and you will be provided for... until the rain comes... :)

I'm on the lookout...

For white/off white fabric with blue or brown or blue and brown polka dots. I think I've decided to turn the Pure by Sweetwater charmpacks that showed up in my mailbox into a pinwheel quilt.

After this, I'm staying away from brown and blue for a while. What happened to the red in my life?

My Rainbarrel Runneth Over

So I bought a rainbarrel off a local man who makes them the other day. Its been a few weeks now. And there was a little bit of rain in the bottom of the barrel that I had been saving for almost a week. I didn't want to use it up in case more didn't come!
Well, Satuday I was planting some more hydrangeas next to it and thought of the woman with the little bit of oil and flour who was told to make bread to feed the people, I think maybe Jesus and his disciples but I may be confusing stories, anyway she used the little bit of oil she had and never ran out. So I thought, maybe I needed to use what was in my rainbarrel before I would be blessed with more. So, once I had finished planting I watered the hydrangeas with nearly all of the water in the barrel.
This morning I noticed that it had rained last night. I was up until about midnight and never heard the rain. I peaked in my rainbarrel and it was full to the point that water had come out the overflow valve.
We can't be blessed with more blessings until we use the ones we've already been given. We have to be mindful not to hoard our blessings and save them for a rainy day. You may not have even know it rained.

My Bible coach reminded me that the Holy Spirit is often referred to as the oil and the water is God's Word. She told me that when I used some of my "oil" I was filled with "water". Ladies and Gentlemen, this is my miracle. Just like the folks in the Bible. The Holy Spirit was teaching me a lesson with the woman and the oil and my rainbarrel.

Its finished!!

And after only six months!

Haha, now really, I probably could have cranked this out in a few weeks if I hadn't had other things going on in my life like classes, getting rid of a bf, bff's getting married, oh, and buying a house. But, it was worth squeezing in around everything else.



Disappearing Nine Patch:



The pieced back:



And my first attempt at hand binding with mitered corners!!:



I can't wait to start on the next one!!

Garden Haul

The garden has been struggling a little with all the heat and me being out of town so much in June. But... I think its starting to recover!

I have to pick my tomatoes just as they start to turn color so the squirrels don't eat them. They ripen up nicely on my kitchen windowsill.



I'm loving the one green bean. I thought I had planted bush beans and instead I planted climbers. Well, I didn't give them anything to climb so I didn't get any beans. Or so I thought...


But just this one and one more still on the plants.

Another prayer... answered.

So when I bought my house I had scoped out the neighborhood, been a little nosey, liked what I saw. The only house I didn't know the story on was the one right next door. Its a rental. If I had known it was a rental I might have thought twice about buying my house. I don't think it would have stopped me... but I may have looked just a nanosecond longer. With rentals, you just never know what you're going to get.
I quickly discovered that the current occupants were successfully embracing their inner white trash. And, that they had five kids. These five kids were allowed to run wild all over my property when the house sat vacant. My first battle, chasing kids off my porch at all hours of the day. Thankfully, their mother corrals them as best she can and really helped with the boundary setting.
She is nice and very well meaning and we soon developed a "chat for a minute over the fence" relationship. Well, her mouth has no filter and I soon learned every little detail about everything going on in her life. TMI. Not long after I put together that her husband liked to sit on the porch and drink beer while I did yard work I also found out that I was the source of many of their marital arguements. Umm... I just say hi over the fence. This is not something I'm interested in being involved in on any level.
So I mentioned it to my Bible coach and good friend/ex next door neighbor from my old place. She told me to pray that they would leave. Ummm... I'm not sure that's how God works. She said no, pray that God blesses them and moves them up and out into something better. Pray that he builds a wall between your two properties and keeps you uninvolved but that he blesses them and provides a better opportunity so that they can move out of that house.
Well, I was on it. I prayed hard for these folks. And, the "wall" seemed to work. I barely had any contact with them at all. And then, I found out he got a raise and has a promotion coming up. And then, I found out that a friend of theirs is unloading some property before a divorce and is selling them, owner financing, a house on the other side of the neighborhood. AND that this house has a shot-gun style building with two studio apartments in the back that are rented out. The rent from those apartments is only $100 less than their mortgage! They hadn't paid their rent or utilities in months. Had been living without hot water because their gas is turned off. And now, they'll be homeowners and God has provided a way to pay their mortgage! How amazing!!
And the best part... yesterday, they moved out. God answers prayers. He answers them in ways we never imagined possible. My God is an awesome God.
Oh, and I'm praying in the Christians in Jesus name. Not just into that house, but into the whole neighborhood. There are a lot of houses for sale. Bring in the Christians! This is going to be a blessed neighborhood. In Jesus name.

OH!

I finally picked a color!

This was a serious case of Goldielocks-itis.



The first one was close but just not quite right, the second was too yellow and a little too dark, the third was too pink, the fourth... just right.

Here's a pic of the process in the dining room:



And a little more of the dining room:



And this past weekend I finished the living room in the same color. Next, the den. This color brown below the chair rail and a pale aqua above it. Mmmmm... its starting to look like a home!

That cream color that you see in the partially painted picture? Not so bad you're thinking? Oh no. When the sun goes down and I lose the natural light, this color takes on a green tinge. A sickly green tinge. The whole house was painted in that color. It has to go. And its finally on its way.

Already?

Another semester is underway. Back to the books. Molly is as thrilled about it as I am.

Basted!

My Disappearing Nine Patch is basted and ready for quilting and binding this weekend! I love love love how it looks with the sashing. AND the back is pieced too! Can't wait to show off the finished product. This is the first quilt I've done since I was 12!



And in more fabric news, this yummy goodness arrived in the mail:







The scrap bag was on clearance sale and I'm hoping to get some fun little Christmas projects out of it.

The candy bar I'm super excited about! These are four new Moda lines that will be available soon... this is just a tease. And the first time I've bought designer quilt fabric! I can hardly wait to get my hands on this. But... I'm holding until the Disappearing Nine Patch is finished. Well, I'm trying to anyway.

Yard Sale Find

I bought this at a yard sale a few weeks ago for $5. I had been looking for a large mirror for my living room but they are soooo expensive. I was super excited to find this one.



First I covered the mirror with painter's tape and newspaper...



Then a coat of primer...




Next, some Oil Rubbed Bronze...


And finally, hanging in my newly painted dining room!


Hmmm... maybe I should try for a lighter picture...

Definitely worth the $5 plus primer and paint that I put into this baby. It looks great! And can you believe the frame is plastic?!? It looks like an expensive antique now.

And this little baby...



If you are doing any amount of spray painting you'll want to pick up one of these. Made my life soooo much easier. No numb fingers covered in paint residue for me! I found mine at Walmart for... $2.36! Well worth the investment.