Thanks & Giveaway Winner

After a wonderful day with family and food I wanted to just leave you with an idea of what I'm grateful for. When it comes down to it, I'm grateful for the basics.

I am thankful that we have a house.
I am thankful we can always feed ourselves.
I am thankful I was able to give life to my daughter.
I am thankful I can give life to the child in my womb.
I am thankful that if all else fails, we have each other.
Thank you God.

And now for the winner of the One Year Anniversary Giveaway...

drumroll......










Heather - I love looking at you creations! Good work Sara way to just do it!

I'll be delivering the delicious flower hair clip to you as soon as I can! Thank you to everyone who entered and thank you for entering to win. Your comments were very uplifting. I'm glad I have each of you in my life one way or another.

My Crabby Day Part III

So my husband brought us outside for a walk after my less than stellar afternoon. We walked along the canal path and pointed out the wonders of nature to our daughter. She was enjoying herself, despite the fact we have to fight her to do almost anything now a days. but at the apex of the walk she lost it. We wouldn't let her walk down a steep and not so stable embankment to fetch a rock to through the water, mean parents that we are. We said no and she lost it. Funny. God said no and I lost it. I hate life lessons.

I won't tell you everything is hunky dory now. It's not. I'm still a little mad. It doesn't help to have 5 months of pregnant hormones coursing through my body, but I'm still mad. And I'm okay with that. I will wait on my God. He will bring me what I need and I trust in that.

On a positive note I found these beauties during our walk. Aren't they just perfect for some printing/stamping? I can't wait!

My Crabby Day Part II

After 3 broken needles in one hour I came undone. I went into our tiny half bathroom and cried. I hate to admit this. I hate to admit how much I lost it, but I want to be honest and sometimes that means sharing the uncomfortable, the truth. I cried. I didn't just shed a tear or two and dab it away. I bawled. I let it out. I sat on the toilet in the dark and ranted.

Apparently I was upset over more than a few broken needles. I was mad at God. And I wasn't afraid to tell Him as much. Hey, if He's the God I believe in, He can take it.

I was mad at the great plans my husband and I continue to make for our family that always fall through. I was mad that I didn't know or understand His plan. I still don't. And I'm still not perky and happy about it. But I accept it. Because His ways are greater than my ways. And His thoughts are higher than my thoughts. I believe that and I try to remind myself of that, even when I'm sitting on a toilet seat yelling at Him. I also know He has a sense of humor in all of this. Why else would I end up in the bathroom?

When my husband came home I shared my lovely rendition of the day with him. He corralled the toddler into a coat (not an easy feat) and ushered us all outside for a walk...

Views of the backside of my free motion quilting experience

When I first started the backside had these loose stitches.

But the straw that broke the needle's back (corny I know) was when the tension discs for the top thread grabbed the thread and created these messy knots on the back. (Please note the really nice stitches to the right!! I did something right!) This is a regular occurance even when I straight stitching, but in the free motion quilting aspect it actually broke the needle. I'm taking my machine in for some maintenance. And hopefully I know enough about what I'm doing now to  guide the store employees towards correcting this problem. It's not as simple as adjusting the tension knob, something else is going on. If all else fails I'm going shopping.

And as always any advice is always greatly appreciated!

My Crabby Day Part I

This past Saturday was not one of my finer moments.

Do you remember those table runners I was working on? Well I was finally ready to quilt them. I have always stuck with the "stitch in the ditch" technique, too scared to try stippling or anything to do with free motion quilting. I finally sat down with my sewing machine manual (God Bless that manual) and verified on the internet (got to love the internet) and was ready to start scaring myself with some free motion quilting on my historic sewing machine. I took the foot off. I raised the throat plate. Ready Set Go. Not so bad for my first time, right? Don't answer that. I was proud of myself. That's all that counts.

But then I broke a needle, and another needle and another needle. Within an hour I had broken 3 needles and my inner reserves were crumbling. I came undone...

love

I'll be honest, my green crazy blocks haven't made any progress. Unless you count moving the green scraps from my bedroom down to my sewing table. They've been sitting there for several days, waiting for me to sit and be patient with them. You see, I've been busy watching love instead.

My husband and I recently attended a wedding that really highlighted something for me. I know, we all expect to see love at a wedding. Everyone watches the bride walk down the aisle, her eyes transfixed on the groom, and he on her. Everyone gets a little weepy when witnessing such a proclamation, or at least I do. But when I was sitting in that pew watching two young lovers share their first kiss I was overwhelmed by their thoughtful and determined actions for each other. As they kissed I knew that if love could take a physical form, it would be this moment, right here, right now. Lovely, beautiful, magical...those are all adjectives I could use, but they feel small compared to what I witnessed. I don't even know if "overwhelming love" could do it justice. But it turned my heart all the same and I am thankful for that.

ps - dearest husband, when you read this, know that the one thing in my life I will always be sure of is marrying you.

First Sale!

I made my first sale on Etsy. I can't believe it. I was journaling that morning that I had my doubts and my fears that it just wouldn't happen for me. I prepared myself to acknowledge that I may never sell an item. I had to be okay with that because this whole idea was supposed to be about creating and the process. It's about fulfilling and expanding the creativity within me. But there was and still is a small part of me that yearns to receive recognition. Recognition that my products are valuable and wanted.

I struggle internally with checking myself and making sure my need for praise is not boastful or prideful. I know first and foremost I should only care what my creator thinks about me. I should seek His opinion before man's. And yet I know God puts desires in my heart and I truly want to follow Him. So as I second guess whether a desire is of God or man made, I remember to keep my ears and heart open and listen. Then I will hear the answer.

I believe the purchase of two flower hair clips was God answering me.

Remembering Who I Am

There were many tasks listed in "The Artist's Way" that I did do, and many more I didn't. One of the best ones I did was to make a quick and dirty collage. I went to the break room (during a break of course!) and found a travel magazine, science magazine and even a few smutty, gossipy magazines for good measure. I sat down at my desk and just ripped out whatever caught my eye. This was the end result.

It surprises me, every time I look at it, how accurately it reflects me. Sometimes when you just go and don't stop to think, analyze or judge, the truth comes out.

This collage holds a place of honor on my wall at work. I can look up from my keyboard and soak in the things that I love. Babies, my baby, my husband, working with my hands, white, cultivating, growing, plants, blues, small bits of surprise color, flashes of red, and above all else...walking on this earth as a princess, a woman of God, His child, His beloved.

The Artist's Way

I originally started this blog and Seamingly Sarah because I had realized the creativity in my life had slowly diminished to next to nothing. I didn't even realize this was making me so unhappy underneath it all. I had a toddler, a husband, a house, a job, laundry, dishes, and more dishes to take care of. By 8 PM each night I wanted to do nothing else but sit in front of the television. So I did. I only sewed for wedding gifts or the occassional Christmas present, just so I wouldn't have to go out to a store and spend money. Have I mentioned I'm a spend thrift yet? Well that's a post for another day.

At that time in my life I had two different people mention The Artist's Way to me within a week of each other. That is all the prompting it took for me to go to the library and check it out. I just recently returned the book back to the library (only 1 week late!) and really believe it has had a positive impact on me.

I took the leap of faith to open a shop on etsy. I now know it's the process that I need to love, not always the product. I've given myself permission to spend time on things I enjoy. I addressed inner fears of not belonging in the art world, that I wasn't a good enough artist. I began to recognize what delights me and now reach out for those things. I understand the importance of having some alone time with my thoughts. I take pleasure in finger painting with my daughter and try to live in the moment (not a task I always succeed in!). I opened up my mind and eyes to beautiful things around me. I take the time to soak them in. I really don't know if I could fully convey to you how much this has changed me. All I can say is that I feel more like the me I've always wanted to be.

And it's more than art, it's having that happy life. Isn't everyone searching for that? Happy. Well I've just added another tool to my tool box. Another perspective. And it makes me happy. I am happy. And my life will continue to change, evolve and grow. I can't wait.

Trying Something New

This past Fall I realized my creative, artistic side had dwindled down to almost nothing. There was very little in my life that was just for me, nothing that filled my artistic well. The well had run dry. So I picked up a needle and a thread and I created. I didn't create a blanket for someone's wedding gift. I didn't make Christmas cards. I made just for me. And it hasn't stopped yet. In fact, I made so much stuff that I wanted to share these items that had added beauty and depth to my own life. So I took a risk and did something scary. I put myself out there on etsy. And that is where Seamingly Sarah was born.