I need to be finishing the class work I need to have prepared for next week, and instead I am madly trying to finish projects around the house and in the studio. This top was the result of a Quilt University class in strip piecing. It started as a pile of scraps and a yellow fabric I had bought for another project:

But after I had a few blocks done with the yellow, the star shape started to speak to me, and needed to set them in a darker background. This meant a trip to the quilt shop (an hour and a half's drive away) to find the perfect dark brown. And then I had to learn how to make half blocks, to accomplish the on-point setting. But it was worth it, I think. This will look lovely as a backdrop when I start taping a new Bible study series in the fall.

By then I hope to have it quilted. I'm taking a class in machine embroidery which I hope will teach me how to digitize shapes that I can use for quilting. Maybe then I can make a dent in the pile of tops that need quilting.

I'm trying to practice the discipline of spending 15 minutes a day at a task, even on the days when there is no time. I'm spending my 15 minutes redeveloping my hand quilting skills. I used to love to quilt by hand; in fact I started quilting on "cheater quilts" where there was no piecing, just the quilting. But then I made some quilts that really needed to be machine quilted; at the same time I got drawn into the thinking "faster must be better." Before long I had quit hand stitching anything.

But I've also come to realize that I prefer sitting quietly with my feet up on the sofa working with my hands. So I'm working toward getting my hand stitching back to where it used to be. It takes time to build up the callous on the finger underneath, and to remember all the little tricks that made the stitches small and even. But 15 minutes at a time it's coming back.

As something to practice on I'm working on some double pinwheel blocks I acquired in a swap from the Frenz group. Adding the corner triangles makes a block big enough to hoop. The quilting pattern is a kind of snowflake design that I found in an issue of Quiltmaker. Here's a finished block.

I finally have some new pictures to show what I've been up to. I seem to have broken through whatever it was that was blocking my desire to work on quilts, and I've been sewing up a storm. I finished the quillow top, although as soon as I took the picture I found a wonky leg on one of the blocks that will need to be fixed before I mark and baste it for quilting. I haven't decided whether to quilt it by machine or by hand yet. Always decisions to be made.

This weekend has been a sort of stay at home retreat, inspired the the Stashbusters group. I decided to cut some 5" squares from some of my scraps and use a pattern I found in the Nickel Quilts book. The stretched stars pattern is as easy as it gets, and looks lovely done up with the darker centers and the yellow points. The corners I cut off are being sewn up for another project, so there will be a bonus somewhere down the road.

One of the things I've done in the past couple of weeks is tidy up the studio so it's a more pleasant place to work. I cleared off the loveseat and all the counters except for the current project. I cleared away a bunch of cobwebs and put the old exercise bicycle out for the trash (20 minutes later someone asked if they could have it so it didn't end up in the landfill). And I finally strung up the party lights along the storage wall to add just a bit more light and a touch of whimsy to this very utilitarian space. I love looking at them while I sew; they inspire me somehow.

I want to get myself organized to where I have sewing time early in the morning again. I used to be able to do this, but somehow lately it hasn't worked. I also want to get to the place where the sewing table is set up ready to go if I can find even 15 minutes. If I can do it for knitting I should be able to do it for sewing too.

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, which means we are officially in the season of Lent. Here in my corner of Arkansas it's also looking a whole lot like spring; at least we're getting a break from the cold and damp of the last month or so. It's hard to feel penitent when it's 70 degrees outside with a warm sun. But I'm doing my best.

I've been reading blogs this morning and realizing how out of fashion "giving things up for Lent" has become. Instead I read about people who are already overscheduled and overworked taking on "something more," whether it's reading or meditation or whatever. It seems to be part and parcel of our American thinking that refuses to acknowledge limits or that we cannot have everything. I hope these people will be able to carry through what they resolve, and that it's not just another attempt at "New Year's resolutions" in February, with predictable results.

As for me and my small flocks, we are actually fasting this year. I have had the audacity to suggest to them that doing without might be a good thing, that recognizing limits may have spiritual benefits. So I have given them a program to follow, with guidelines for choosing what they will abstain from for the next 6+ weeks. I will be interested to see how they fare with it.

I myself have given up two things, one of which is far more significant than the other. The foods that I have chosen are bottled water and shellfish. Part of the goal for our Lenten fast is to learn a bit about how poor people live by living with their kind of limitations. Bottled water is expensive, not to mention the waste of plastic. So I've given it up. Since I don't drink sodas, dealing with road trips will require some preplanning in order to have something to drink that is even more expensive and less healthy. Shellfish are a regular part of my diet, since I limit meat consumption to one day a week, but they are a luxury. So I will stick to fish, being careful about the kinds that have unhealthy things in them like mercury.

The more significant abstinance is not a food, but an activity, but one that can take away a large portion of the day if I'm not careful. That is computer games. I love them, of all kinds. The online ones are the most fun, but I have several others that I've bought and downloaded for those times when I can't get on the net. I've given them up until after Easter. And this one is going to be tough. I eat my meals while playing games. I get my brain going in the morning with games. When I need a break I play games. When I'm bored I play games. This is not going to be easy.

But I guess that's what it's all about. If it were easy, there would be no point in doing it. But when our lives are full, there's no room for God. It's only by emptying our hands, our bellies, our time, our selves that we make room for God to work in and through us.

I finally found a project that I think I can actually finish, and not just add one more UFO to the absurd pile already cluttering up the studio. I signed up for a Quillow class at Quilt University. I've never made one of these before, but it's a fairly small project, and not too complicated. I decided one of the kids at Vera Lloyd Home would probably love it; each kid that comes there gets a quilt that they keep when they leave. So I chose kid-friendly colors, and I'm off and running with it. I even got a picture made of the first 4 blocks.

This morning I decided to try out my old routine of sewing for an hour or so before breakfast, so I went down to the studio early. Buster was looking to come in out of the cold, so I got out his favorite napping quilt and spread it out on the sewing table. He was most grateful and even let me take his picture:

Usually as soon as I get the camera all lined up he starts examining his less photogenic parts.

The other delight of today was the arrival of some fabrics I have ordered for a Block of the Month quilt. I won't start on that one until I at least have the piecing done for this one, since it's currently spread all over the cutting and the ironing tables. But I'm happy with the color choices, and I'm looking forward to starting on it.

Otherwise, the day was spent trying to make room for the yarn stash that exploded over the Christmas holidays. What was I thinking when I bid on 3 lots of 100 skeins each on ebay!. Today I bundled up a bunch of clothes that don't fit, a few things I've had in the back of the closet for years that still have the tags on, and some things I just don't need any more and got them ready to take to Goodwill the next time I head toward Bastrop. That let me consolidate 2 closets down to 1, so the empty one can be used for yarn. Now I have to clean up the plastic drawers that are in the storeroom and move them in, then resort the lot so it will all fit and make some sort of sense. I may actually be able to see the top of the bed before the month is over.

One of my New Year's resolutions was to put more effort into this blog and post at least once a week. Of course it has taken me three weeks to get around to the resolution. That's my life. Those who know me are not surprised.

So far this year has been all about weather. I got home from a Christmas vacation trip just in time for a funeral on a day when it stormed so bad we had to revise all our normal entrance and exit plans to try to keep people dry. Since then the storms have come about every 3-4 days, keeping us all damp and wishing we could trade winter for the summer we complained about six months ago.

On Monday I drove down to Austin, TX to be here for the next class in my doctoral program. I got here just ahead of a record-breaking storm. Yesterday we had rain, freezing rain, sleet, and snow - sometimes all at once. Needless to say, class was cancelled. I did manage to get to the grocery store in the late afternoon, after spending 30 minutes clearing the ice from my car. When I went in the store things were in good shape. When I came out it was raining and sleeting, and the parking lot was crunchy with sleet. It makes you believe the saying "if you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes."

The good news is that I've had time to catch up on some of the preparation work that I didn't get done before I got here. I'm still behind, but not quite as far. I'll spend today reading and working on my project proposal. And of course I have my knitting with me, and a nice supply of fun yarns to make into caps. And if I'm very lucky, I'll have time for a nap.

Friday Five: Creature Comforts

1. Comfort beverage
This one depends on what needs comforting and the time of year. Tea works most of the year; peppermint tea is my favorite for especially stressful times. I used to be partial to jasmine tea, but it doesn't sit well with me lately. Hormones! If I am in a situation where an "adult beverage" is appropriate, a thimbleful of Kahlua does the trick. But when I'm sick and coughing my lungs out and my throat feels like it's been sanded, I get out the Southern Comfort. If I have them around I add honey and lemon; usually I don't.

2. Comfort chair
I'm still looking for this. I end the day in a huge overstuffed leather chair, but it's not the ideal chair. I'm looking for a recliner that's not the size of a Winnebago.

3. Comfort read
Harry Potter - first thought. I also make sure I always know where my copy of Sue Hubbel's A Country Year is; no matter how many times I read it, it makes me laugh and cry both.

4. Comfort television/DVD/music
Forget TV - doesn't work for me. DVDs - Harry Potter again, and The Vicar of Dibley. Waiting for God is now coming out in DVD - that's another good one. Ok - I do like the Britcoms on TV and make a point to be done by 8:00 on Saturday night so I can sit and watch.

5. Comfort companion(s)
The furkids, especially the cats. Calico seems to know when I need her to get over her inate snootiness and just sit in my lap and purr. Bart is still a little young, but he makes me laugh, and that's a good thing. And yes, there are people in my life I can count on to be there when I need a sympathetic ear.

Friday Five: Civic Duties
1) How old were you when you voted for the first time?
I was 21. I'm old enough that that's how old you had to be. I registered to vote the day of my 21st birthday; it was the only "rite of passage" that actually took place on that day.

2) What was the contest at the top of the ballot?
That one is easy. It was the year of a presidential election and it was Nixon vs. McGovern. I would have voted for Nikita Khruschev instead of Nixon. I was in grad school at the time and had to drive home - about a 2 hour drive - in order to actually cast my ballot. I never told my Dad who I voted for; it would not have made for pleasant dinner conversation.

I think that was the last election I felt really passionate about. Since then I really want a "none of the above" choice on the ballot most of the time. Most of the time I vote against the one I like less, rather than for the one I like more. At least on a state and national level. On the local level I know the people better and can make a choice based on my knowledge, rather than what the spin-doctors have told me.

3) Can you walk to your polling place?
Yes, but I don't because I'm lazy, and because I'm usually on my way to somewhere else.

4) Have you ever run for public office?
I once toyed with the idea of running for school board, but I'm too much of an outsider. Here unless your grandmother went to school with my grandmother, you're a newcomer. And getting 3 sympathy votes wouldn't do anything for my ego or my public image.

5) Have you run for office in a club or school or on a board?
I don't like being in charge of things. I sometimes get elected - but I try to avoid that happening when at all possible. And I absolutely refuse to be treasurer of anything. Every time I do, it ends up costing me money.

One of the advantages of being a pastor is that I can stay politically neutral. I have clergy friends who do put signs in their yards and attend fundraisers for candidates, but I'm not sure how I feel about that. The evangelicals clearly have no problem with not only publically supporting candidates but telling their congregations from the pulpit how to vote. I have worked on elections in my community, but I do things like promote candidate forums, and encourage people to think about the character of the people they choose; there's not even a hint of supporting one over another. It seems to me that this is another one of those tightropes we clergy are continually being asked to walk with no safety net.

Tuesday was the day when I noticed the shift in seasons. Our community choir had its first rehearsal of the Christmas music. That's a season marker in itself. But that meant driving home at sunset. And I suddenly noticed how clear the sky was, and how the frantic pace of summer growing season is starting to slow. And there was time to breathe and take in the peace of the evening. I watched the crescent moon work it's way toward the horizon, pondered the reason for a particularly green patch of sky, and waited for the first stars to appear. It's autumn.

When I was a child growing up in Connecticut, the season markers were the maple trees turning red, and the cider presses going into business. By this time of year we could expect the first light frosts, and we walked a little faster to get to school in the morning because it was chilly. Here in Arkansas we're not really past air-conditioning season yet, although we've had a few days where I could leave it off until mid-morning. The leaves don't turn pretty colors, they just get drab and fall off. Seasonal markers are harder to find - natural ones anyway.

How is it for you? Are there markers in the natural cycle of seasons that you look for? Or have we gotten so immersed in our calendars and Palm Pilots that we forget that the earth has its own rhythms? Are we always on chronos or is there space for kairos every once in a while?

It's Monday. It's my Sabbath Day. I usually turn off the computer on Mondays, giving my "beast of burden" the same leisure I would have given my ox or my donkey in Old Testament times. I try to give my car the same gift.

But here I am. I'm here because I woke up this morning nagged by a hundred little details that I never seem to have time to get to during the week. None of them very important, but none of them the kind of thing I want to get into when I'm not sure how long any of them will take. A lot of those details have to do with cleaning up computer files, updating information, that kind of thing - all innocent and simple until you try to do one with a time limit and/or a weary brain.

So because they were disturbing the peace of my Sabbath, I decided to attend to them. I feel better. I still don't know what I did wrong yesterday when I tried to scan some documents so I could get rid of the paper piles. It's not important. Today it worked. I got some important orders placed. I updated records. I deleted a whole lot of trash email. I feel lightened and enlightened.

Now I can enjoy the afternoon. I plan to occupy the sofa and read "Prince Caspian." In the evening I will find a DVD and knit on the prayer shawl I'm making for a friend who will become a first-time grandma next month. I'll cook something special for dinner, although I'm not sure yet what it will be.

I wonder when and how others enjoy Sabbath. Are there special activities you do on that day? Are there things you try to avoid doing on the Sabbath? What makes it Sabbath, and not just a day off.

I just realized it has been a week since i posted to my blog. I love looking at other people's blogs and reading what they enter on a daily basis. But as soon as I think about my own, I can't imagine what I would write. And this from a woman who makes her living by words. Although I learned a long time ago that it's not the quantity of words that counts, it's having the right word at the right time. That's the tricky part.

I have bought nothing but gas and groceries this week, even after making a shopping trip. I was looking for very specific things that I was not able to find, and so came home empty handed. And that was ok. As I drove I was thinking about 30DoN and trying to sort out where I stood between not following the spirit of the exercise at all and being so legalistic that any opportunities for grace get lost. Marva Dawn's idea of intentionality seemed a good way to come to a resolution. If I genuinely need the item, and have carefully thought through the purchase, done my research on pricing, and all that, and have the opportunity to buy it (sometimes that means waiting a while when you live in a small town), then it's ok. But browsing the shelves to see if there's something you might use, which you had not even thought about buying until you saw it - that's another matter.

It was difficult to go to Walmart for groceries and not cruise through the DVD's and the yarn. I always stop at those two places looking for bargains. The groceries were easier; I've been simplifying my diet over the past few months anyway, and I had a list, so I managed to get what I needed and nothing else. In fact, I've decided that for the rest of this year I will buy no yarn or fabric unless I have to have it to finish something already in progress (which only applies to fabric). I have enough yarn to probably last a whole year without buying, but eventually I'm going to want new colors to fill in the stash. And after my pilgrimage to Mary Jo's last month, I've got new fabrics to play with to keep me happy for a while.

Presbytery meeting this weekend means an opportunity to work on Caps for the Capital. (Go here http://www.savethechildren.org/capstothecapital/images/kit11.pdf to learn more about this.) I have 15 done so far, and hope to add 3-4 more to that this weekend. I'm resisting the urge to run out and buy a plastic box to store them in, which is what I do with things I make through the year to give at a certain time. I'll manage. I've also been working at using up my small bits of leftovers by making "ugly grannies" - granny squares made from whatever I happen to pick up next. I keep one box for the small balls of leftovers, and it was pretty full, so time to make up squares and empty it out a bit. I keep that project at the computer desk and crochet while I play games online. And I have a larger laprobe working made in sport yarn that was in one of the large lots I bought on ebay. Not my favorite colors, but it will help someone in the nursing home.

I did manage to get into the studio a little bit yesterday. Did a little hand quilting and got another block ready for when this one is finished. I got some Double Pinwheel blocks in a swap a few years ago. I'm adding corner triangles to them, making a 17 inch block, which is a nice size for quilt-as-you-go. Decided to hand quilt them, which I haven't done in a good long time. Will post a picture as soon as I get a block finished.

Today is laundry and bulletins and all the other things I have to get done since I'll be busy tomorrow. But having changed my Sabbath to Monday means that I'm not feeling put out about losing "my day off" and that makes a huge difference. Just another work day.

I've recently discovered 2 blogs that seem worth reflecting on here. The first is http://intent.squarespace.com/journal/2006/8/20/30-days-of-nothing.html I got to this one through the other one that I'll mention in a minute.
People who are willing to do meaningful self-sacrifice always get my attention. Especially people who have to get a whole family on board with an idea. But having just recently paid off a mountain of credit card debt with money my Dad saved over his lifetime makes me realize that I have lived a terribly self-indulgent life since my divorce. And it's hard now to break that bad habit of buying every pretty thing that captures my attention.
But then I think of the people in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast who lost not only their pretty things but everything they owned last year and who are living still with next to nothing. I don't want to even think about starving babies in Africa - I want to think about children here in my town who will not have a coat to wear to school when it turns cold. I saw a picture of Osceola McCarty this week - the woman who saved $150,000 from the money she made doing people's laundry and gave it away. People like that make me think.
So I'm going to join in the 30 days of nothing. I had planned several relatively major purchases this weekend; now I will have to decide whether waiting until October to buy these things is possible and desirable. And in the meantime, have a look for yourself.

The other blog I wanted to mention is http://revgalblogpals.blogspot.com/ This one gives me all kinds of things to think about. I've only begun to explore some of the linked blogs with this one. Things to do on the days when I'm not out spending money.

I got into the mood to look at my cross-stitch collection yesterday. I found a number of finished projects that just need to be mounted and framed, or made into pillows. I found a lot of small Christmasy things that need to be made into something. And a lovely angel - half finished - that begs me to put aside some daylight time to stitch. My eyes won't let me work on that fine detail and subtle coloring except with the very best light, but I don't want to let it stay unfinished until I'm too blind to sew at all either.

Also getting back to hand-quilting, the way I got into it, doing a small chunk at a time, the way I learned from Georgia Bonesteel 20 years ago. It feels good to be coming back around to the beginning again. And until my machine quilting improves a lot, hand quilting is still my most reliable way to finish a piece and have it smooth and pretty. I guess learning patience and perseverance is on my agenda as well.

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.