Hopeful Homemaker

June 17, 2013
by jennifer
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Summer Weave quilt

A couple of months ago, while searching for a particular fabric print online, I stumbled upon images of a collection called Lilified by Kanvas Studios for Benartex. I’d never seen it before but liked the crisp colors. It was so summery and I was tempted by several prints but didn’t purchase any at the time. About a week later I went to a sample sale where I stumbled upon samples of every print in the collection which I quickly purchased for just a few dollars.

The collection comes in two colorways, a green/blue combination:

and a pink/orange colorway:

The line includes a few patterns that I think are great stash prints. The first are these awesome lattice-type prints which I particularly like in orange, pink and green/white:

These two were also favorites. The prints on the right would make awesome quilt backs, and the prints on the left belong in a low-volume quilt:

The samples came in all different sizes, the smallest being 8.5 x 5 inches. My favorite print came in this small size and I forgot to take a picture of it before I began cutting and sewing. It’s a little baptist fan type design in pink/white and blue/white.

I’m so pleased with myself for making something right away with these fabrics instead of letting them wait in line behind other projects. It’s fun to get something new and start sewing with it immediately! I knew I wanted to spotlight the larger scale fabrics, especially those with the medallions, but had mostly small pieces to work with. There was not enough fabric for fussy-cutting to center the patterns but I’m happy with how it turned out. I wanted something light, bright and summery for my little girls to play on in the yard this summer.

There was enough fabric left to piece some strips for the back. I paired it with some Joel Dewberry yardage I had on hand. I’m really working on making do with what I have and it feels good to use something up! I kept the quilting simple, using straight lines that echo the design of the quilt.

The Michael Miller clown stripe in black was the perfect binding for this quilt. It makes me smile. This is the second quilt I’ve bound in a black and white print this year and I’m fast becoming a fan. Once again, a machine stitched binding.

The “Summer Weave” quilt measures approximately 64 inches square. The design was my own making and I’m sure I’ll use it again, as it would be easy to adjust the size of the quilt by adding strips to the “weave.” I had some extra help in the form of young children when I was basting, and there are some spots that didn’t get pulled as tightly as I would like. I’m not worried about it, though, because it will just crinkle up when I wash it and we’ll love it even more.

Have a great day!
Jennifer

June 16, 2013
by jennifer
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Simple. Quality. no. 24

It’s Father’s Day! We’ve had what I hope has been a nice day at our home, at least for my husband. I feel grateful to be married to such a good man who is also a patient and loving father. With a group our size, I suppose the day has been predictable, with some of the children rising to the occasion and some of them struggling. Life is certainly interesting with a group like this, each with their own personality and strengths! Our gifts were simple but thoughtful with a bit of humor and I feel happy about it. We also took a gift to the sweetest 86 year old man who lives nearby. I guess we’ve kind of adopted him as a great-grandpa. He reminds me so much of my own Grandpa who passed away two years ago and doing nice things for him makes my Grandpa feel closer.

It was an interesting week. I feel like I haven’t relaxed yet and realize it’s because we haven’t found our way into the right summer routine. While we accomplished the housekeeping tasks I assigned to the children each day, at the end of the week I felt like it wasn’t enough. We need to do more. Beginning tomorrow the chore lists will be longer. I’m also working on ways to consolidate my driving so I’m not in and out of the car all day. Generally speaking, I feel dissatisfied with the week and plan to improve immediately. I’ve had a hard time shaking some of the discouragement of the past several weeks and know that firmly putting it behind me is another big key to getting the summer on track. Another thing I remembered is that I started this blog to give myself a place to say “I did this,” because so much of a mother’s efforts are cyclical, requiring constant re-doing. It’s easy to feel like I’m not getting anything done, and when I blog I prove to myself that this is false. There is more of worth going on here than I tend to recognize and give myself credit for and it’s time to pick it back up in earnest.

One great thing about the week was an abundance of opportunities to serve. We also attended Kathy’s funeral yesterday morning and I had the chance to help with it. My children got to be part of a small choir to sing in her honor, and the picture I took of her last summer with her birthday crown and cupcake was the photo chosen by her family to use on the cover of the funeral program. So many gentle reminders of the goodness of God and his ability to take our small efforts and use them for good in ways we could never predict. I can’t tell you how many times in the past week I’ve been grateful beyond words that I followed the prompting and threw that party. I learned a lot of good things this week.

It was a good week for exercise and it was also fun yesterday to attend a birthday party for my niece. I’m grateful and happy for the many good things we were a part of.

And that is my report for tonight. I’ve been on my feet all day and am off to get the children to bed, then hope to get a good night’s rest myself.

I’m going to do better. I promise.

Have a great week!
Jennifer

June 9, 2013
by jennifer
1 Comment

Simple. Quality. no. 23 (because I skipped 21 & 22)

Hello there! I’m back, after an unplanned extended absence while we polished off the school year and have been spinning at a dizzying rate. School has now been out for more than a week but it feels like tomorrow is our first day of summer. I’m pausing early in the day to type this post, afraid that waiting will mean missing it again. I have a birthday dessert in the oven and while it bakes I’ll write. Life has been painfully rugged for the past 6 weeks or so, but today my heart is full. I am grateful for the times when the Lord opens my eyes to the abundance around me and I can see, even while knee-deep in mud, how very good life is. Once again I remember that the downward, backward pull can bring the launch of an arrow.

Let’s begin. Simple. (If only that word described my life!)

S – smile and savor. There have been some good opportunities for this lately, especially with my oldest son. He celebrated his 16th birthday this past week, and the whole “2 more years at home” concept has been pounding on my heart. Lots to treasure with that boy. I paused to savor my youngest 5 children trying to play volleyball together yesterday, sat and listened countless times to very long speeches from my 7 year old, sat up late at night to listen to our teenagers unload the experiences of the day. I enjoyed watching my husband be fantastic in so many settings. I have had to remind myself to smile and need to do it more.

I – influence. Last Sunday I had a prompting concerning something I need to do that will influence my children down the road. I plan to implement it tomorrow and am praying it goes well. There are a few things I feel I should do that need immediate attention. None of them large, but it’s important. As I was walking out of church this afternoon I met another sister on her way in with awful news. A friend had passed away unexpectedly and the shock of it caught me totally off guard. Her name is Kathy and we threw a huge birthday party for her last summer. I cannot express how unprepared I was for her to be gone, but as I’ve thought of her this afternoon my heart has swelled with gratitude. None of us had any reason to suppose it would be her last birthday here on earth, but God knew it, and he planted an idea. I am so glad I acted on that feeling. It had been a tough summer and would have been easy to tell myself I could do it next year. If I had chosen that path I would feel rotten right now, but instead I feel so thankful that we did what we did when the feeling said “now.” I love my picture of Kathy wearing her birthday crown, and have decided to frame it as a reminder to me to “act now.” We don’t know when our opportunity to influence someone will disappear, and I want to be swift to act instead of slow to start (which too often describes me).

M – my health. The stress of the past while has definitely not been a good thing, and I realize I need to relax and calm down. I’ve been brainstorming ideas for this and hope to be inspired in setting up our summer so I can make room for this goal in greater measure.

P – participate. I feel like I’ve been kind of a hermit, although I had the opportunity to help at a community soccer camp one morning. I’ll also be helping with team parties again for a soccer team which will be fun.

L – live ahead. Things have been sneaking up on me lately and I need to work harder at planning ahead. Which means I’ve got a lot of work to do for a couple of events coming up!

E – embrace technology. I haven’t worked on this habit lately.

Simple. As I swept out the garage a couple of days ago my heart was craving more simplicity. I really want to master simple living, even in this wild stage of life. I will get better at it over the summer.

And now for the second half of my goals: Quality.

Q – quality of life. We haven’t found our groove for the summer, but I’m excited to focus on that this week. Generally speaking, we’re doing better all the time in this area, although there are a number of organizational projects I hope to take care of.

U – urgency in important matters. We made room in schedules for good activities this week, including a FANTASTIC youth conference for our oldest two children. Yesterday my seven year old had a friend and his mother come over for a while so we could plan a lesson for them to teach today in Church. Our youth have a theme this year to stand in holy places, and with that has come a summer challenge to be in a holy place, or make a place holy by our actions/heart at least once a week all summer. I’m excited to work at bringing this to life in our home.

A – aim higher. Once again, this is closely tied to what you just read above. I do feel that we’re getting better, and I continue to be motivated by friends of mine who seem to always go for excellence. Sometimes the difference being average and excellent in a child’s life is nothing more than the energy a parent invests. The same seven year old who taught a lesson also had to prepare a talk to give in front of his peers in Primary. I was so proud of how many times he practiced it and how seriously he took it. He popped out of bed this morning and was ready for church before the other kids were awake. It’s interesting how much our attitude can be altered by feeling like we have an important work to do. Seeing this little guy today made me anxious to give more important work to all my children. My eight year old daughter also had her first violin lesson this week and I’m so excited to have her learn to play.

L – laugh. Last night my husband and I stood in the kitchen till well after midnight laughing with our oldest children at their stories. Our three year old has kept us cracking up all week long.

I – inject the spirit. A lot of awesome people did that for us this week, and I’m indebted to them. All of them.

T – take inventory. No progress here.

Y – Yes to youth. We built a new fire pit this week and the volleyball net is up. S’mores ingredients are stocked. Life is good in this area and we hope to make it better. I’m going to become a good mom of teenagers yet!

Generally speaking, today has been one of those rare pay-days when you look around and feel like all your children are in a good place. In addition to the busy day our seven year old had, our 12 year old volunteered to work in the nursery today, our two teenagers spoke briefly in church and were awesome, and my husband got to ordain our oldest son a priest in the Aaronic preisthood. It feels good to see them growing and trying to be good. My husband turned to me a little while ago and said, “This has been a good birthday. I’ll take these moments with our kids over the Ferrarri that (so-and-so) is driving any day. This is so much better.” And now you know why I love him so much. He’s got it figured out.

So I’m off to cook dinner and finish a cake so he can blow out candles in a couple of hours. Life is very, very good!

Jennifer

June 4, 2013
by jennifer
2 Comments

Raw

It sums up my heart and life right now. That one word. Raw. And yet there are a thousand words that want to come spilling out, words I’ve buried over and over again, words I wish I could hear, words I wish I could say, words I’m proud of not saying, words I wish I hadn’t heard and hope to forget.

I planned for the school year to end like a race. You reach the finish line, pause, look around, enjoy the moment a little, then pack up and go home for a few days of quiet while the dust settles and you get back to normal. I planned it that way, but it certainly hasn’t happened that way. The past week has been more like a high speed collision of two worlds. Spinning, merging, clashing.

I’m feeling so many extremes lately, and recognize the Lord’s hand in both the adversity and the little drops of sunlight that keep me going even if they also threaten to break the dam of emotional vulnerability that has built up. There are so many ways in which we get feedback about our lives, and I suppose having 8 children naturally invites more of it. There are more people to be commented on, more mistakes to be made, more relationships to maintain. Little wonder, I suppose, and yet… I am just one person, one mother with one heart.

I have felt lonely and suffocated, forgotten and remembered, isolated and crowded, happy and sad, useless and serviceable, helpless and influential, bitter and grateful, empty and full, embraced and forsaken, calm and chaos. So many opposites bumping up against each other, sometimes within minutes as I run from one social circle to the next with different children. The sum of it all? I feel rubbed raw. Emotionally, mentally.

I don’t feel strong but must act it anyway because I have no choice but to be it; neither dare I show my weakness to those who feel obligated to remind me of my flaws and those of my children as if we ourselves are clueless about our imperfection. So you absorb more feedback and move on, tears stinging in your eyes as you blink hard and walk quickly away. They have no idea how hard I’m trying.

Tonight I was alone in my backyard for a few minutes. I wandered among my peonies, marvelling at the size of the flowers and beauty of the blooms. Their beauty brought the tears that life’s slaps couldn’t summon as I wondered honestly if I could carry on right now in a world without flowers. I realized that life’s much like gardens, usefulness and beauty growing up right next to the weeds and thorns. We don’t forsee the thistle that pokes out among the flowers any more than we forsee the challenges that often spring from the midst of our best efforts. If it is true that we need opposition to appreciate the good and the beautiful, then I’m thankful for such a colorful world right now. Much as I’ve disliked the stomach ache I’m living with, I would not want a world of gray.

A few lessons I’ve learned:

-How much people do or don’t advertise their problems has NOTHING to do with the number, size or severity of their problems. Just because they don’t talk about them with us doesn’t mean it’s our job to make sure they know they have them.
-The world has sped up and often feels out of control for many of us. Because of it, we’re carrying lingering feelings/struggles from one place to another because our lives are without margin. We’re all experiencing these extremes in our emotions and experiences. We have no idea when someone is about to snap, so it’s best to just assume that everyone is fragile and treat them gently.
-We will never be sorry for the times we withheld judgement, or on the other side, withheld a scathing reply. A compassionate or generous word isn’t something we regret.
-Focus on what’s going right. There’s an awful lot of it if we look around intent on finding it.
-Happiness really does come from within. And happy people have hard days.

I am so grateful for the generosity of the Lord in my life. Flowers, children, food to eat, a roof over our heads, a husband who lets me spill the pain of it all in his lap and still loves me, and best of all, a God whose hand firmly holds me at the edge of the cliff, letting me hurt and learn and discover but never sends me hurtling over the edge.

I lay in the grass and looked up at a deep blue sky as I thought about whose opinion really matters. Not strangers, not friends, not family, not community members who hardly know us. I care about these opinions, but in the end the one that matters is the Lord’s. It’s hard to hear his voice when we have so many others speaking loudly next to our ears, but I know it’s in there somewhere. Tomorrow my #1 job will be to tune the others out and tune in to what he’s saying. Maybe I’ll hear the whisper I’ve been craving: “I know you’re doing your best. You’re doing a good job. I will help you make your best better. I love you. You are good enough for me.” I know He can do it. He is, after all, the God who carpets our world with flowers.

Because of that realignment of voices and volumes, I remember that in the not-so-distant future this will all be a memory. Things will have settled in their proper places and life will have moved on. Hopefully we’ll be better people for it, and hopefully I’ll be a kinder person because of it. Everything will turn out and we can be certain that God will always give us opportunities to grow.

For that I am grateful.

P.S. My lavender is budding… happy sigh!

May 29, 2013
by jennifer
8 Comments

Marcelle Medallion progress

I finally got my Liberty Love book back out and got working on my Marcelle Medallion quilt top. It hung for too long without me touching it, and I’m so happy to be working on it again!

Borders 4-6 are now finished, and as I suspected, none of them took long to complete. Isn’t it funny how many things we don’t start because in our heads it will take too long?

I like the Field Study poppies print for border number 6, and the citron as corner posts makes me smile. Actually, the whole thing is making me smile. Lots of color, and it sure feels good to be working on it again.

Only two more borders to go!

Jennifer
Linking to Freshly Pieced

May 27, 2013
by jennifer
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15 Days of Happiness :: Memory Lane

One of my goals is to sort through all the photos, school papers and memorabilia that have come with 8 children and almost 17 years of marriage. I was going through a stack of homework from my oldest son when he was 8 years old and, tucked in all the math assignments, I found these pictures.

I stood there, swept back in time to this photo shoot, done by my neighbor, and felt overwhelmed by how young and innocent they all look. We only had six then, and they look so little! In some ways it was so long ago, and in others it was yesterday. Looking through these photographs softened my heart towards a couple of them who have been a real struggle lately, and generally made the day more precious. I realized that in another 7 years I’ll be looking at this year’s pictures with the same longing.

I found another folder, full of old family photos. My grandparents, who are now gone, my mother as an infant, all reminded me that life is always changing. I’ll never get this stage back so I’d better enjoy it now.

Then came this photo, a gift from a good friend, of my oldest three children when #1 was just a few months older than #8 is now. As I thumbed through these photographs, all of a sudden I didn’t care how many papers were sorted that day. I remembered what really matters, and remembered how fun and sweet they all were as babies.

When I walked upstairs a few minutes later, I felt happier. They are mine and I love them. Today is a good day. Right now is the time to smile at them, love them, enjoy them, and treasure the everyday that will someday fade into the past. My unexpected walk down memory lane changed my heart.

I hope you’ll look through some old photos today. Let yourself be reminded how many good things your life has been full of, and face what lies ahead of you with new gratitude and determination to enjoy it!

Happy living,

Jennifer

May 25, 2013
by jennifer
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15 Days of Happiness :: Plant a Garden

Today we added a garden area about 30 x 30 feet to our yard. It has always been the plan, but we’ve never taken care of it in time to plant. I can’t tell you how happy this project makes me. At last, somewhere for my squash to run without choking other plants (they’ve been in the flowerbeds for the past 2 summers) and somewhere to plant pumpkins! It’s not fancy, or very pretty, but the soil is good and all the plants I started back in February are now in the ground. The watering is all hooked up and automatic so we can leave town and have it taken care of.

This was a big project. It took us all day, and earned us some sunburns, tired muscles and headaches. But it was worth it. The children also planted vegetables in their garden boxes and I hope they learn good things from it. (Some of them will learn the lesson of why we don’t crowd our gardens this year.)

I’m already excited for the tomatillos, tomatoes, peppers and squash. I find myself wishing we could fast forward to our end of summer bounty and meal plans right away. I’m eyeing all kinds of awesome looking vegetable dishes online.

My happiness project today was tackling something big. And having an awesome husband who worked with me and didn’t quit until it was all done. We haven’t had time for something like this in too long, and I’m glad we made good use of it. I really believe that planting a garden is a healing experience. It connects us to all the generations of the past whose survival depended on sowing seeds. We learn great things from watching tiny seeds develop into fruitful plants, and the joy of harvesting what you grow yourself is a singular thing.

I hope you’ll plant a garden this year. Or make time for a big project that you can stand back and enjoy for a long time.

Happy Living,

Jennifer

May 24, 2013
by jennifer
0 comments

15 Days of Happiness :: Pull Some Weeds

My peonies are bulging with promise and covered with more soon-to-be blooms than I had hoped for. I planted several more of them last year, but the craziness of injuries in our home cost me precious hours in the yard, and the new flowerbeds we worked on last spring were taken over by weeds quickly. In some spots the weeds were as tall as my peonies and it’s been driving me crazy to think that they’ll bloom and I won’t even be able to enjoy their beauty because they’re obscured by all the weeds.

Today I spent time in the yard pulling weeds. As I worked I thought about how happiness is often work, or at least that work is what most often brings happiness. I watch my children grow and struggle with the concept that happiness is non-stop pleasure and fun. It’s a concept that dominates much of our society, but I’m a firm believer that pleasure and happiness aren’t the same thing. I’ve seen people bored to death with pleasure because they’ve made a job of it and what they desperately need is work to do. Work brings happiness.

My work in the yard didn’t rid me of every weed, but I focused my efforts on clearing the space around the beauty I want to enjoy. I’ll spend all summer working away at the weeds and that’s ok. What I accomplished brought a smile to my face and satisfaction to my heart. I’m ready for the show of massive blooms that my peonies are about to provide.

As I pondered this post, I’m aware that not everyone has literal weeds on their property. It occurred to me that we all have weeds. Some of them grow in the flowerbeds, or between the cracks in our sidewalks. Other weeds grow in our habits and our relationships. So pull some weeds today. Perhaps you can pull the weed of cynicism and sarcasm in a relationship with your spouse or teenager. Perhaps you can pull the weed of jealousy by sincerely complimenting someone. Weeds obscure the beauty of our relationships with others if allowed to grow and multiply. It’s a project to get rid of them, to change our habits, but it can be done one weed at a time, one kind word at a time, one sincere gesture at a time. Eventually we get them out by the root, but weeding is a never-ending task both in life and in gardening. It’s part of mortality.

I’m reminded of the quote from Benjamin Franklin which says, “I was surprised to find myself so much fuller of Faults than I had imagined, but I had the Satisfaction of seeing them diminish.”

So grab your trowel (and your timer if you feel too busy). Go outside. Soak up some sunshine and get your hands in the dirt. While you do it, examine your heart and see if there isn’t a thistle you can uproot somewhere else. Think small and simple; don’t expect too much. Just do something.

May 23, 2013
by jennifer
0 comments

15 Days of Happiness :: Paint Something

With the change of every season, I often feel tempted to go shopping for pretty new home accessories. Stores and catalogs are transformed by seasonal color and designs that make the coming season feel even more exciting and beautiful. They plan it that way, and while I believe it's fine to update things now and then, I also know that if we update our fashion at the rate the retailers hope we will, the result will bring pleasure at first, but will end up robbing us of happiness in the end. There is nothing wrong with liking pretty things; the fault comes in buying too many of them. Falling prey to retail therapy brings more stuff into our already cluttered homes, gives us more to store/maintain/care for, and usually ends up being a roadblock to our long term dreams by pinching us financially.

One of my strategies to benefit from the gorgeous advertising without sacrificing my goals is to paint something. It's usually the color that sucks me in, and I'm particularly vulnerable to the colors of spring when they hit the stores. My favorite pictures this year came from the Wisteria catalog that arrived in my mailbox covered with every shade of blue - my favorite.

Wanting something new, and wanting it to be blue, I decided to "shop my house." In the basement I remembered a votive candle holder that my sister gave me 3 (yes, three!) years ago. The plan was to paint it all along, but I never got around to it. I used paint I had on hand from another project and got started. My candle holder looked like this:

Pretty, but not me, especially with the metal inserts. I decided to simply paint over all of it, and a few coats later I had this:

I also decided to put it to use with flowers instead of candles.

This project allowed me to be creative, to use something I already had, to display the flowers from my yard indoors, to save my money, and still feel like I had something new and exciting to enjoy.

Isn't it wonderful what a little paint can do! Perhaps you've got something you can update, too. Making home more beautiful - and doing it with self-discipline - is a happy thing!

Have a great day!

Jennifer

May 22, 2013
by jennifer
0 comments

Modern Medallion Border 5

The Utah County Modern Quilt Group met last Saturday morning, and I stayed up ridiculously late Friday night, determined to finish another border in time to share it at the meeting.

In these photos the quilt top is hanging over a window, so the back lighting shows all the seams and makes the colors look more saturated than they otherwise would, but I think it looks kind of cool.

One of the leaders of the group did this border on her quilt and I really liked the mosaic feel it had. My measurements are different than hers, but construction was the same. To make mine, I needed 28 – 6.5 inch squares. Each square is made up of a nine patch block, and the “squares” in each block are two rectangles.

To make my border, I cut 30 – 1.5 inch wide strips of fabric (averaging about 41 inches long). I paired the strips, starched them carefully so they wouldn’t begin to curve, and sewed them together. This gave me 15 strips of fabric that was now 2.5 inches wide.

I then cut each strip into 2.5 inch widths. I then started laying the squares out in three strips of three blocks, with the blocks alternating in a horizontal and vertical orientation. I pieced these together until I made 28 of them, then made two rows of 6 and two rows of 8 blocks. They were then sewn to the quilt and it now measures 48.5 inches square.

Now I have decisions to make. I want to keep adding borders to this quilt, but I also need to start deciding how large I’m going to let it be. One thing is certain: I am loving this project!

Jennifer