I know my blog looks rather barren at the moment. Evidently I did something in the formatting when I put the pictures in that screwed up the way things went on the page. I never could figure out how to fix it properly, so it was easier to just delete the old stuff and start over with a new format. I can always put the pictures back in a new post if anyone wants to see them.

I just got home from a worship service to close a church. The three remaining church members were there, and they were properly surrounded by prayer as they were sent on their way. But there is a new church, a nondenominational Bible fellowship that has bought the building, so ministry continues. Many of that church were also there, so it was a good service, even if the building was warm and the hymnals old and mildewy. Still it is sad to see something that once was a glorious vision come to an end, especially knowing how many churches in my Presbytery are not far from the same fate.

And now the Sabbath begins. I've had a lovely bath with lavender scented salts. I can't remember if I've ever actually used the tub in this house. This may have been a first. In a few minutes I will light the candles to welcome the Sabbath, say the prayers, then head off to bed. There are lots of things I could try to get done before I light the candles, but I'm tired and my feet hurt. They will just have to wait until Tuesday.

Another Saturday, trying to wrap my head around the fact that tomorrow is Sunday and people will expect to hear something resembling Gospel from me. Groceries have been bought and put away, laundry boxes are humming, and it's only mid-morning. Panic can wait until after lunch.

Still haven't unpacked the haul I brought back from my pilgrimage to Mary Jo's. At the very least there's a new quilting hoop there that needs testing, and lots of pretty fabrics to pat again as I sort them into their bins.

I signed up for Linda Schmidt's "Elements in Fabric" class at Quilt University again. I tried it once before and found it too intimidating. But I'm itching to do something different, and this looks like a good place to explore. I've got most of the supplies - that was part of the intimidation before. And I'm thinking about paraments and stoles and how the "elements" might get worked into liturgical symbols. That makes the class more about exploration than about copying Linda's designs, beautiful though they might be.

I've also been following a really cool blog http://www.inaminuteago.com/blog/. There's a piece of this called "100 Details for 100 days" that is showing the most beautiful embellishments for crazy quilts that you ever want to see. Again, making my fingers itch. So there may be some new things coming out of the studio before the end of the year.