One Step Closer

For most of 2013 I stayed right on track with my Sugar Block Club blocks, but then I fell behind sometime in the fall. Finally, I'm finished all the blocks, and yes, I do realize we are now a full four months into 2014. Better late than never!

This is the Novemeber block, which I actually pieced a few months ago but didn't share here for some reason. I was a little disappointed in the block when I put it together. The print is the same in both blues, so I find the block feels flat even though there is good contrast in their values.

This is the December block, which I pieced over our spring break last week. It is one of my favourite blocks of the whole series.

 Here are all twelve blocks together. I'm not happy with the block in the bottom right corner. That blue/tan print feels out of place with the rest of the blocks, all of which have smaller scale/more subtle prints. I may remake that block, I haven't decided yet. If I do remake it, this version could end up on the back of the quilt.

I also haven't decided how I want to put them together. I'm thinking maybe on point, with plain blocks and sashing. I don't know what colours to use for the alternate blocks or sashing, though. A darker brown, a blue, or something different entirely? I'm pretty sure I'll have to make the decision in a store and not in front of my computer. I'll need to lay the blocks out with possible fabrics in order to see how they work together. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

It feels good to have all the blocks made at least. I'm planning to gift this quilt, but the deadline is pretty far away yet. Of course, judging by how long it has taken me to quilt my Scrappy Log Cabin quilt, I better get this top assembled and basted ASAP!

As usual, I'll be linking up to these places.

Putting it Off

Devotion for the Week...


My sister-in-law, Nancy does alterations for people all the time. She has suggested a few times that I should do likewise, at least as far as hemming pants. I don't think I could handle the other, more involved, things she does. "You could make a lot of money hemming pants," she tells me. She's probably right. In our small community there aren't many people who hem pants, so those who do are always swamped.

There's just one problem. I hate hemming pants. As in, I'd give away my sewing machine before I'd spend all my sewing time hemming. I once complained to an acquaintance about needing to hem a pair and I saw her eyes light up. "You hem pants?" she asked, eager to jump in and tell me all about the many pairs her family needed done. Let's just say I set the record straight pretty quickly.

There are times I buy pants and then don't wear them for weeks, sometimes months, because I don't want to hem them, and Nancy lives too far away to do it for me:) My husband has, after waiting patiently for weeks, told me specific occasions on which he wanted to wear his new pants, essentially giving me a deadline by which to have them done. The funny thing is, hemming pants isn't all that difficult and it doesn't even take all that long. I just put it off and put it off because I don't want to do it.

Not wanting to hem a pair of pants really only results in a minor inconvenience because I can't wear my new pants, but there are other things we sometimes put off doing that could have much more impact. There are things God has commanded in the Bible that we tend to put off. Things like "love each other" (John 15:17), forgive each other (Matthew 6:14, 15), and control your tongue (James 1:26 and 3:1-12). Sometimes we'd rather hold onto that grudge, or speak unkindly about someone who rubs us the wrong way. We put off following God's commands, even though we know what He expects of us. We just don't want to do it.

I thought of that this past week while reading the Bible with my two older boys before bed. We're reading Psalm 119, a little at a time, and one night I read, "I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands," (Psalm 119: 60).

Hmmm. Do we really hasten, or hurry, to obey His commands? Or are we more likely to dawdle along, maybe making motions so it looks like we're heading in the right direction, but really we're doing everything in our power to put it off?

"In a little while."

"I'll do it later"

"When I finish this..."

We say these things to people all the time, delaying doing what they're asking of us until a time when it's more convenient, or when we're in a different mood. Do we say the same things to God, maybe without using the actual words, or even noticing that we're doing it?

"I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands," says a lot about the writer's heart attitude towards God. About how he viewed God's commands, about how he viewed his own wants and interests in comparison to the things God wanted for him. What do our actions say about our heart attitude and about us?

Sell Your Patterns!

How to Add & Sell a Pattern on Craftsy
(This post contains affiliate links which means I will be compensated if you purchase after clicking these links.)

In addition to wonderful online courses and craft supplies, Craftsy also has an independent online pattern store that lets anyone upload and sell downloadable e-patterns with no fee!

How do you add a pattern to Craftsy and start your pattern store? It’s easy!

1. Make sure you have a Paypal account. All pattern transactions happen through Paypal, and Craftsy requires that you have a Student, Premier, or Business account in order to sell patterns.
2. Put your pattern in .pdf format. You can’t upload any patterns to the online pattern store unless they’re a .pdf file format, so if they’re currently saved as a Word doc, .jpg, or other file format, you must convert it to a .pdf before you upload it to Craftsy.
3. Include a photo. All patterns must have at least one photo to accompany them, but you can add up to five photos. Colorful, interesting photos tend to work the best for catching our members’ eyes!
4. Fill out the pattern description. We will ask you some basic questions around your pattern making it easier for Craftsy folk to find your pattern and know what your pattern is for. Make sure you have info about your pattern handy for this step.

For more information on how to sell a pattern through Craftsy, or to get started, visit Craftsy today!