And then there are some advice columns and a “grains of  gold” column.

Here is a small sampling of “Grains of gold”:  Little things postponed can bring great miseries.  (still true today, isn’t it?)

Or how about:  A good mother is worth a hundred schoolmasters.

And finally:  However ill the world may have gone, the roses still bloom and the thrushes still sing in it.

Talk to you later.

Thanks for letting me share my joy.

Monika

The towel is a super soft towel, high loft, from K Mart.  I cut off the bottom edge and scalloped it and then applied a thin binding to the bottom.  Had this special “ruffle” ricrac lying around for a while and decided that it would look good with it.  The lettering is my upcoming new applique as well as satin alphabets called “Anna”.  The lettering is especially digitized for toweling or other thick napped fabric.  Also, the applique edge on the lettering is not quite as dense as usual to allow for better writing over it with the satin lettering.    The little butterfly is applique and stitches up very well and quickly.  Look for it in the store soon.  (I don’t know why the towel lettering shows up as orange – it really is a pretty peachy kind of color.)

Then I made Saarah her own version of the 10 Commandments for kids.  She loves, loves, loves butterflies and flowers.  So that’s what this design has.  Specially digitized for Saarah.   It, too, should be in the store sometime soon…. unless I get side tracked again.  Sigh.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention.  I got a neat miniature quilt hanger from here:

http://www.lorieslittlequilts.com/Quilt_Hangers_Mini_Classic.htm

You can’t really see the hanger very well in my photo, but if you ever need high quality quilt hangers, for miniatures or large, this place is great.  I like the way this hanger clamps on and how the sides are covered.  You can also get their hangers with a shelf on top.

I need to finish a couple more things for Saarah’s birthday – a dress and a purse – before I can get back to the cowboys.  But I will do so as soon as I can because little Effie’s room walls look pretty bare…..

Talk to you later.

Monika

Maybe I can start on number 3 this weekend?  We’ll see what the weekend holds.

Just wanted to share and hope you like him.

Monika

I kept busy today getting my next free design together.  Since I manually digitize all of my designs (no autodigitizing here) and then test stitch the design over and over again, it’s rather time consuming, but I think you will like the new design.  This one is for baby girls.  It’s an applique onesie to be placed on baby blankets, diaper totes, center of wallhangings, towels, etc.   As soon as Paul gets a chance, we’ll be putting it up.    I learned a few things from doing this design – one of them is that when you stitch on interlock, it’s a good idea to interface it first and have the grain of the interlock going crosswise to the knit interfacing’s.  Also having the ribbing of the interlock knit  go crosswise helps to make sure lettering doesn’t “fall” between the ribbing.  Yes, I did use Solvy on top as well.

Here is a photo of a tag that’s part of the for sale design. The free design will be the 4×4 version only,  without the instructions and eyelet for the tag.

We’ll be announcing in the yahoo group as soon as the free design has been uploaded.

I stitched him out on light beige Kona cotton.  He is part applique, part fill design and I can’t wait to get the others digitized.

Talk to you soon again.

Monika

(Click on photo for larger view.)

Here is one of the panels I have digitized – these particular graphics are not from sugarbeargraphics but from Cupcake Cutiees at www.mygrafico.com.

I see a possible set of cowboy minis out of this.  What do you think?

Talk to you soon.

Monika

We are so thankful for God’s leading in our Kristy’s life.  Someday I will need to write it all down.  God has taken all the broken pieces of her life and made them whole.  So much to be thankful for!

On the sewing side, I have been very busy digitizing.  I have just finished some baby quilt block designs and they stitch up quickly and look great.  I hope you will like them.  I am intending to make a rag quilt for Effie with them.  Cherrie Bell, one of my test stitchers, sells some vintage chenille 6″ precut squares and makes the most gorgeous rag quilts you will ever see.  I will be posting some of her work in our yahoo group soon.  So inspirational.  If you would like to see her vintage chenille at reasonable pricing, you can find it here:

http://www.artfire.com/users/cherrieblossomquilts

I am also working on a set of exclusive Prayer Cuties that will be great for children’s quilts and prayer cloth books.  Coming your way soon, I hope.

Just thought you might like a little update about what’s going on here with us in Ohio.

Always enjoy hearing from you all, too.

God bless.

Monika

As you may know, I have been working on different embroidery versions of the 10 Commandments for children.   I have really sensed a great need to do this being that the 10 commandments have all but disappeared out of the public eye.

This morning our daughter Kristy told me a story about her Saarah.  Kristy and family have just moved into a new home – it’s a lovely home, about 5 yrs old. The children love their new rooms and beds but Saarah was unhappy that her sister had a different and more “puffy” looking mattress.   After listening to her complaining for a while, her Daddy took her aside and talked to her.  He told her that there are many homes fancier than the one they had just moved into but that he, Brian, wasn’t going around complaining about not having one of those homes but rather that he was thanking God for the lovely home He had given them.  Saarah became quiet and suddenly said “Wait, Dad, isn’t that one of those of God’s rules that Grandma showed me on her wallhanging?  The one about envy?  That means I sinned and I better ask  God to forgive me.   And with that she went to her room to do just that.

I want to encourage you to teach your children the 10 Commandments while they are young.  Scripture tells us that we should “train up a child in the way that he should go, and when he grows old he will not depart from it”.   Give your children and grandchildren a moral and spiritual basis for living while you can.   Of course, you don’t need my embroidery design to do that with.  They are just one of many tools available to you to teach your children about the things that matter in life.

Thank you for letting me share this story that has touched my heart this morning.  I hope it touches yours, too.

It’s been a while since I last wrote a blog entry.  Life has been so very hectic, as many of you can relate to, I am sure.  It has been weighing heavily on my heart lately that so many of the children today will not know the 10 commandments and I have felt a sense of urgency to put out an embroidery design that would help children remember what those God given commandments are.  I had just fnished stitching out the design, when Saarah came and sat on my lap.  She admired the design and wanted to know what it was.  I explained to her that these were the rules God had given to mankind to live by.  She immediately said “Then I need one of those wallhangings in my room, too, Grandma.  I want to know what God expects from me.”  What wisdom from a 7 yr old.  And, yes, I plan on making wallhangings for each child – matching their room theme.  We then went over each commandment and she asked questions as we went along.  What a great teaching moment.

I love the fact that our grandchildren live close to us and that we get to interact on so many levels.  I haven’t written much about Siddiq anymore.  He is doing well, except for the great loneliness that so many Aspie children and adults experience.  They know that they are different and so desperately would love to “fit in” – or at least know that they are accepted and appreciated for who they are.  We as a family, of course, do that but it’s hard to find peers that do.  There is a poem  on “Autism Speaks” that was written by a 9 yr old boy with Asperger’s.  It could have been written by Siddiq.  He has expressed all of those feelings at one point or another.  If you get a chance, please go and read it.  It will help you gain a deep understanding of these children.  It brought tears to this grandma’s eyes.

http://blog.autismspeaks.org/2010/04/28/in-their-own-words-herrmann/#comment-1194

Thanks for visiting Oma’s Place.  I promise I will try to write more often.

Monika