My Life As a Farm Girl: Catching Up and Getting Crafty

I’m starting to realize that I have been oddly cryptic about my goings-on this summer. I wish I could say that I was out exploring the world and going on new adventures, but really my life has been mostly contained to my job. Fortunately, that has not been the worst thing in the world! How fortunate am I to have a job that I love as much as I do! I think that my last day will be in a couple of weeks and I am not looking forward to that day at ALL. *Sad face* I love my co-workers, I love helping out, I love being part of a company that is more of a family than anything else. I have a pretty good feeling that my co-workers are going to miss me too, because they have all told me that they’re going to hold me hostage so I can’t go to Stillwater!

I’m pretty sure that I’ll be able to come back and help on “busy” days or over holiday breaks, but we’ll have to see. Actually, I’m not sure why I’m so sad about leaving when I know that after I quit working every day, I’ll still come back in to shop & take classes! I am overflowing with quilting ideas/inspirations, which was inevitable considering the fact that almost everyone who works there is an avid sewer/quilter. I think that my first order of business will be to get certified to use their long-arm quilting machine, so that I can quilt my own quilts! (Is it sad that I've already thought of about three people I want to make a quilt for? I didn't think so, either!)

I do have to brag on myself a little bit, so bear with me! I can’t remember if I ever mentioned this or not, but I have managed to sell a couple of sewing machines during my short time there! Even better, I managed to impress my boss with one of my analogies…I’ll explain: The Pfaff machines that our store sells come equipped with a technology called IDT (Integrated Dual Technology), which helps to feed the fabric from both the top and the bottom sides, whereas most machines only feed the fabric from the bottom side. (It is extremely useful when sewing multiple layers or thicker fabrics.) While demonstrating this capability to a customer, who had no idea what that meant and happened to come from a farm, I likened this technology to a four-wheel-drive system. As in, you can drive perfectly fine in 2WD in the proper conditions (just like standard feed dogs), but sometimes you need the extra control that comes from 4WD (IDT). When my boss heard about that analogy, she was over-the-moon thrilled with my comparison, and even went as far as to use that in our company newsletter!!! I guess it’s my inner teacher coming out already…let’s just hope that I can think of stuff like this when I’m trying to teach a classroom of students about factoring or integration or something math-y!

I promise I really do have a life besides work! To prove that, I’ll show you a few of the crafty things that I have made this summer!

About a month ago, Liz turned 21 and was pretty excited about it. I wanted to help her celebrate, but couldn't really do much to help her in that department (for obvious reasons…me not wanting to go to jail being the primary one!). However, I found one thing I could give her that I could legally procure and she would love all the same. If you know me at all, you probably know that I am too thrifty (or cheap, as my dad says) to go spent tons of money on something that I can make for way less money. With that in mind, I decided to make Liz some glittery wine glasses! They were super easy to make, and relatively inexpensive, since I already had some Mod Podge from my last glitter project, and I found some nice looking wine glasses at Ross for a good price!

Here is a link to the tutorial I used, in case you’re interested! Honestly, you can use the same steps to glitter almost anything, so go glitter crazy!

In case you missed it when I initially posted it, I’ll remind you: Gina & Jeremy are having another boy in October!!!!! (Yes, I will have six nephews, and I will love it immensely!) Gina was undecided on whether she wanted to find out the gender, but Jeremy wanted to. They decided that when the ultrasound tech found out, that Gina, Taylor, and the boys would look away, so only Jeremy would see. Well, that was great until the tech realized that Wyatt could read, and he caught a peek when she had it typed on the screen. (Why she didn't just write it down, I’m not sure, but that’s just me.) Wyatt managed to keep it a secret between him and Jeremy, and did great up until Gina came back into the room after leaving to use the restroom, when he told Jeremy that he wanted to name his little brother Jake. Jeremy could have easily smoothed it over, but was too surprised to do so, hence Gina finding out! I’m pretty sure that was a God thing…out of the mouths of babes! So, shortly after finding that out, I knew that I had to make my new nephew a quilt! It was exciting being able to pick out something that wasn't gender neutral for once! After much deliberation, I decided to make a rag time quilt, which has to be one of the easiest quilts to make. When it came time to buy my fabric, I still ended up picking out fabric that could be fairly gender neutral…such is life! I thought that it would take much longer for me to do, but it really only took me a few evenings to finish it. (If I had the time and energy, I probably could have/would have finished it in a day.) Isn't it adorable!?!

This is the tutorial I used to help me get started, although it is fairly self-explanatory after a while, or at least it was for me. This definitely won’t be my last rag quilt, but I will probably end up mixing it up some more on future projects!

I always talk about Liz, but I don’t talk about her brothers, Jake and Evan, quite as often. Today, I’ll tell you a little bit more about Evan. Since we are both the youngest, he and I have always had quite the bond. As we have grown older, I have found that we are alike in a few ways…mostly in the fact that we are both “old souls”. Our thinking is usually contrary to that of most people our age, and we are both big on domesticity and simplicity in everyday life, although we have different ways of showing it. I am big on baking, cooking, sewing, and crafting. Evan has ended up being quite the avid crochet master, gardener/landscaper, and environmentalist. His neighbor helped him get started on his gardening kick, and now it has turned into a passion of his. He grows almost every plant imaginable, although he focuses on growing his own produce. Back in February when Liz & Jake got new phones, Evan had the choice of getting a new phone or getting something of equal monetary value…he chose to get a fancy new tiller for his garden, because he was tired of working his plots by hand! Shortly thereafter, he mentioned wanting to expand his garden to have a pumpkin/gourd patch, but his mom wouldn't let him do so, because he was running out of yard space. My dad caught wind of this and told Evan that as soon as harvest was over, he could have free range of a part of our field. We were starting to think that Evan wouldn't be able to get it going, only because he was busy preparing for the summer musical at the local theater (one of his other passions) and helping with children’s day camps. However, last weekend, he and his dad ended up coming out to get the patch worked, planted, and watered in. It makes my heart happy to someone his age being a good steward of the earth. (He planned on coming back the next day to do some more planting and watering, but we ended up getting two inches of rain!) While he was here, I showed him some of my quilting things, like how he always shows me his crocheting projects. We happened to get on the subject of aprons, and how I made everyone in my family one, which sparked my next project. He mentioned something about needing something that he could take with him when he picked green beans or peas, so I decided to make him a garden-themed half apron. Maybe it’s just me, but I think it’s cool, and suits him perfectly!

I think after all of these years being the stereotypical OCD, left-brained, type A person I am, I have finally managed to start tapping into my right brain, and letting go of my compulsive need for perfection in my projects! It makes it easier and more fun for me in the long run, so it is a good thing! This can be best shown in the apron, where I hardly used a pattern. Okay, so I still used it a little bit, but I didn't cling to it like I usually do, hence the nifty tall pockets on the inside of the shorter pocket! (My mom inspired that part, if we’re being totally honest here.)

That is the gamut of my craftiness so far, but there are a few other noteworthy things that have happened...I’ll try to keep it short from here on out!

I went to the Catholic Bible Study at the lake last week and was pleased with my experience! It was great to be around people my age who share my passion for Christ. I was the only girl there besides an older lady who brought supper, but the other guys who were there were either seminarians, in their late twenties, or a priest, so it really wasn't awkward for me. They were all very welcoming and kind, which I appreciated! I found out that they host multiple activities throughout the week during school, many of which I hope to attend. I am excited about the opportunities/friendships that await me through that group and many others! (I am starting to get less worried about making friends…I’m not quite sure why I was worried about that anyway, because I am more outgoing than I give myself credit for!)

I read yet another good book during my lake retreat last week. The book was “The Shack” by William Paul Young. I read it quickly because I was really into it, but I had to put it down often so that I didn't get overwhelmed by it. (It had a tendency to do that, but in a good way.) It is a true story, but it doesn't really make sense until the very end. It is about a man whose young daughter, in a tragic turn of events, was abducted by a serial killer. After that, he becomes deeply depressed and angry with God, as he had been for most of his life (his younger years weren't the best), until he receives a cryptic note from someone named Papa, beckoning him to the place where his daughter (Missy) was abducted. What follows is a beautiful story of God’s love, the Trinity, and peace. If I was to tell you more, it would ruin the book for anyone who hasn't read it and might want to. It moved me to tears more than once, but was wonderfully soothing overall. I think it helped that I read it at the lake, where I didn't have TV or my computer to distract me, just my trailer and the water.

I can't think of much else that has happened recently, so I’ll end it with some pictures of my family and other summertime shots! Enjoy, and have a great week!

PS) The 4th of July went great, and I even got grape sherbet!!! All's well that ends well :)