I've always given myself credit for my strong points and been adept at ignoring my flaws. A few years ago I began asking the Lord to show me two things,--who I am in His eyes and who I am in the eyes of others. What a rude awakening!
There were times in the beginning I wanted to throw my hands up and say, "Enough already!". Now, for the most part, I just say, "Okay, bring it on!". It's not always easy to face the truth, but it frees me to do something about it. Identifying a problem doesn't make it easy to change, but it's a start.
I've had to drop "victim" from my vocabulary. Okay, fine, I'm working on dropping it. It's finally dawning on me that, whether by vice or virtue, I've earned every line and wrinkle, and every negative in my life. I take responsibility for that now. I don't accept blame because that just leads to self-loathing, but I do take responsibility.
The flip side is learning how precious I am to God. Regardless of my flaws. The miracle isn't even how much He loves me. The miracle is that I believe it. That's awesome!
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Train Shirt
Finally the shirts are finished. I've taken the best photos I can (because I don't read manuals). If you double click on them, they show up better.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Trains
WOO HOO!!! Or perhaps I should say, CHOO CHOO!!!
The train embroideries are finished! I tried my best to sabotage the one I worked on today but just couldn't do it. At one point, the thread nested so badly that I had to work for about five minutes to "saw" away at the thread before I could even remove the hoop from the machine.
For those of you who don't do machine embroidery, a nest of tangled threads under your hoop can stretch and tear the fabric and get almost hopelessly tangled into the machine. (Ask me how I know that.) I prayed my way through the process. Literally. Whew! The fabric is fine and the machine is not damaged. When I was ready to go again, I backed up the stitching to where I thought it had messed up. It all lined up beautifully, but I didn't back up far enough. It's so cool because the part that didn't get sewn looks like a space between the cow catcher and the first wheel. Like it should be that way.
Next I put Tender Touch iron-on fusible on the back of each embroidery so they won't be scratchy. I cut a couple of them too small. I had one upside down and fused it to the pressing cloth. I ironed another one to the bottom of my iron, which reminded me why I should always use a pressing cloth and should NEVER do creative things when I'm tired. When I cleaned the iron I got some of the adhesive onto the ironing board cover. But it's all done now.
I do still have to sew the shirts back together. Considering how tired I am, I think it would be wise to wait until tomorrow. Then I'll also take photos.
The train embroideries are finished! I tried my best to sabotage the one I worked on today but just couldn't do it. At one point, the thread nested so badly that I had to work for about five minutes to "saw" away at the thread before I could even remove the hoop from the machine.
For those of you who don't do machine embroidery, a nest of tangled threads under your hoop can stretch and tear the fabric and get almost hopelessly tangled into the machine. (Ask me how I know that.) I prayed my way through the process. Literally. Whew! The fabric is fine and the machine is not damaged. When I was ready to go again, I backed up the stitching to where I thought it had messed up. It all lined up beautifully, but I didn't back up far enough. It's so cool because the part that didn't get sewn looks like a space between the cow catcher and the first wheel. Like it should be that way.
Next I put Tender Touch iron-on fusible on the back of each embroidery so they won't be scratchy. I cut a couple of them too small. I had one upside down and fused it to the pressing cloth. I ironed another one to the bottom of my iron, which reminded me why I should always use a pressing cloth and should NEVER do creative things when I'm tired. When I cleaned the iron I got some of the adhesive onto the ironing board cover. But it's all done now.
I do still have to sew the shirts back together. Considering how tired I am, I think it would be wise to wait until tomorrow. Then I'll also take photos.
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