It is not your father or mine, its ours

At Christmas I painted a picture for my son that I had been promising to him for two years, it was not complete at Christmas so I made a joke out of it by drowning him in gifts that replicated the picture (lighthouses). After he opened all the presents I showed him the painting and told him it was not completed. He insisted that it was perfect, took it home, framed it, hung it over his fireplace, and took a picture of it and sent it to me. It still haunts me.
The perfectionist in me has taken up a new hobby just to compensate for what I believe was my lack of talent (like I have time to take on a new hobby). I know I can sketch, so I began to sketch again and am working on a lighthouse scene for him. Now does any of this make sense? No...He loves it and so does everyone that sees it, and I can only see the flaws, but I am so "grateful that I am here" and can "hear him" tell me how beautiful he thinks it is. Like my father said, "it's all in your head." We always perceive things through our own thoughts and put demands on ourselves that we cannot live up to, but why? I have found that it is "ego" that drives us and when we finally separate ourselves from "ego" we find a peaceful mind and all the stress, fear, and expectation we have for ourselves is released and we are free from criticism...because who are we that we can judge anyone including ourselves? There is only one that can judge, and its not your father or mine, its ours.
Psalms 105:7 He is the Lord our God; he carries out judgment throughout the earth.

The Christmas Bazaar

I worked a local Christmas Bazaar today and met so many crafters. Such an eclectic mix of women and men, with talents like collecting sports memorabilia, handmade jewlery, quilting, crocheting, knitting, grapevine wreath designs, and the woman next to me that was so resourceful she recycled everything into an article of clothing. She made a purse from a wool sweater that she accidentally shrunk. Her apron was made from a pair of jeans.  She made beautiful quilted sweatshirt jackets, quilted table runners, wall hangings.  Her work was beautiful and it was lovely to spend the day next to her and some of the other crafters.
This is a big stretch for me to go out and do this alone.  I have suffered from Agoraphobia for so long, I had stopped doing anything that took me away from home for long, but I really enjoyed today and hope to do many more.
It was funny, the woman in the picture was on my right and her name was Judy and the woman on my left was named Martha, both are the names of my two sisters, and yet...there are no coincidences.
Martha made beautiful wreaths, and small portable decorated Christmas trees.  She had adorable little pins she made of out of fake fur of Elmo"s face.  The young kids loved them.  She gave me a little tree to hang my angel ornaments on, which made the display more appealing.  I learned something form both women and thoroughly enjoyed spending the day next to them.
The picture of the apron above and the woman that makes the jackets can be reached at memerenum1@comcast.net and her business is called Fun Designs by Judy.
It was a great day and I will be happy to put what I learned to use for my next fair or bazaar.

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WREATHS BY ELYSE JOINS CRAFTY1

Image by dannie4852 via Flickr

My daughter has created a beautiful collection of Grapevine Wreaths this year and they are on display on POGO2GO'S ETSY STORE. I have posted one here so you can get an idea what is in store for you.
Make sure you check them out. She ships anywhere in or out of the US.

THEY COME TO ME!

Image by dannie4852 via Flickr

When my friends and acquaintances are looking for something relative to crafts, they come to me. I am always the first one to come to mind, because I am always on the brink of learning a new craft or discovering a simnpler way to create an old one. Today it was someone looking for a Crocheted Sweater Coat, and I have to say...I found a great one. It is a Free pattern at the Lion Brand Yarn site. Pattern and all. Sometimes life is so simple isn't it? Be sure to check it out, after all...Christmas is coming.

TATTING DESIGNS

I have always admired people that can make tatted lace, thinking it was so hard. I remember the many times I tried to make it with a tiny crochet hood and it just looked terrible because I could never get the tension right and so the stitches were not even. Well, someone make a comment on one of my YouTube videos about quilt healing and it led me to the art of tatting using a shuttle. I guess, although I have 3 or 4 different crafts going now: making my Christmas angel for this yer, working on my quilt, making quilted pincushions, making pinecone wreaths, I will begin to learn the art of tatting. I thought this video was really beautiful to give everyone an idea, or a gently reminder about what a beautifully artistic craft tatting is.

Fabric Sale at Grandma's Attic!

Grandma's Online Gab Sheet  September 24, 2009 This is the newsletter you requested from  Grandma's Attic Sewing Emporium, Inc. We hope you will visit our website at www.grandmasatticquilting.com  Having trouble reading this email...  to switch your format to text click here   Grandma's Fabric Sale!   Every year at or about the time of Frances E. Willard's birthday, we hold a BIG SALE on fabric! Starting today, and extending through September 27th, you can take 25% off your fabric purchases!** If you are shopping on line, just write FRANCES E. WILLARD SALE in the comments section of your webstore order. We will take 25% off your fabric purchases on our end. Your invoice will NOT reflect the sale prices until we receive it. If you are shopping in-store, bring this newsletter with you.  **PLEASE NOTE: The Samsara Fabric Line for Patchwork Party Fall 2009 is EXCLUDED from this offer.** To read more about why we celebrate Frances E. Willard's birthday, click here to visit our blog. Bookmark the site so you can visit often.       "FROM GRANDMA'S SCRAPBASKET"  My grandmother was an avid reader and a self-taught historian. Over the years she collected an entire host of quotes, book passages, and inspirational snippets to share with friends and family. "From Grandma's Scrapbasket" is my opportunity to share these endearing tidbits with you each week in the hopes that you too will find them inspirational and thought provoking. Enjoy! -- STAY -- "Stay" is a charming word in a friend's vocabulary."  < Louisa May Alcott, 1832-1888 > I hope you have been enjoying the newsletter in our new html format. If you are not currently viewing the newsletter in html (where you can see the photos and click on the links to pages and products), let us know and we'll change your viewing format. Until next week, Come and visit or contact us at: Grandma's Attic Quilting If you wish to change your e-mail address Click Here If you wish to be removed from this list Click here :

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