Learning To Trust!

I'll admit it! I'm not really good in this area of trusting! I don't know why, either. I'm getting older, and as I look back over my whole life, I can't say there has ever been a time that the Lord has failed me. Yes, I've made some crazy, immature, self-centered choices, and I've paid dearly for those. But in God's wonderful forgiveness and grace, He has taken those experiences and turned them all into learning experiences for the future He had planned out for me.

These are hard times! Let's face it. Many of you have experienced set backs due to loss of jobs, income, illness, and other unexpected things we want to call negatives.
During these times, we draw upon every resource we have within us to pull through, and we tend to ask God why what seemed so good at the time and what seemed to come from Him is so suddenly taken away. I've had my dreams washed away like castles in the sand. My plans have gone up in smoke, and my business ventures have crashed down in a million pieces at my feet. And I have questioned God at times as to why He would give me something and then just grab it away from me.

I may never know the reasons why, and you may not, either. But I have come to realize that through it all, He has never failed me, never left my side, and never looked on me in shame. Hosea 6:3 says, "And we shall know, if we follow on to know the Lord." If our goal in life is to simply know HIM, then someday, we shall know. Can you trust Him with that?

It all seemed so right. . .
So Perfect. . .
So God-ordained.
First, a dream. . .
Then, a prayer. . .
And then, it happened.
He heard,
He answered,
He supplied.
I was so sure all I had planned
Would come to pass. . . .someday!

Carefully. . .and prayerfully. . .
I worked,
I followed,
I obeyed. . .

But then, You changed it all, Lord.
And I did not understand.
You did not allow me to finish,
To see the fruit of my labors,
To hold in my hands
The realities of my dreams.

Yet, I will trust,
AS I have trusted in the past.
Your ways are perfect,
Planned in love,
Protected by your promise
That someday. . .sometime. . .
We shall know. . .
If we follow on to know the Lord.
--Cora Eelman

I finished my apron!

I finally got a picture of my apron I was working on. Actually, I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, considering the sewing machine fiasco, and the fact that I have not sewn anything (except a few craft items) since 1961!!!!! I really liked this dresser scarf, and I think I will keep this one as a trophy for overcoming my fears of the sewing machine (and because I didn't like the way I did the ties!!!!!)
I'm NOT giving up! I did buy more material for more aprons, so I'm in this for the long haul. I figure it will be a wonderful way to learn sewing techniques without having to use a lot of material, etc. Here it is ---- my first attempt!

A Great Giveaway from The Simple Woman!

You just can't miss this one, Ladies!!!! A great giveaway from The Simple Woman!

Beautiful products to pamper yourself and to make you feel like a queen! Hurry on over there and don't miss out on your chance to win!

Biscuits --- Second Try!!!

I just want to thank all of you who responded to my woeful tale about my biscuits. Since I had some left over pot roast from last night, I decided while it was all fresh in my mind to do the biscuits again. I think I took the advice of ALL of you! (except those who told me to use the frozen ones!!!!!) One thing I DID differently was pat the whole pile of dough into a 9 x 13 pan, leaving about 1 inch on either end. I then cut it into squares and separated them just a little (as someone mentioned in their post.) These were then much thicker than last nights little bombs.

I have to tell you, they turned out superb!!!! Very light, but did not fall apart.

Thank you again for making a biscuit maker out of me!!!!

PS: I did find a wonderful site with pictures and all that uses about the same recipe I did. If you are a beginner like me and want to try your hand at making biscuits, the pictures here might encourage you to try it!

CLICK HERE!

Biscuit Making: Another BUST!

OK! I admit it! I'm not June Cleaver, Betty Crocker, or Martha Stewart. But I do like to cook, and there are a few things I do quite well and am proud to serve. But biscuits????? I just can't seem to get the hang of it. Maybe if I stuck to the same recipe and made it one thousand times over, then they would turn out like they do at that old country diner or the big truck stop off the interstate.

Something's been going on inside me. Maybe it's that "I'm just as good as anyone else" thing that pops up once in a while, or the fact that I'm getting older and have yet to conquer the basics of fundamental homemaking, like sewing, cleaning, cooking, breadmaking, gardening, etc. I'll be off to the old folks home and won't have a claim to fame in any of these areas!!!!!

I keep going to all of your blogs and see these mouth watering pictures of what you present to your families on a regular basis, and here I am, still smacking little cans of biscuits on the side of my counter (IF I get to them before they explode in my refridgerator!!!!). So. . . .I'm on a quest now to be the best biscuit maker in the USA!

So. . . .I get tons of flour, new baking powder, baking soda, shortening, buttermilk, and a host of other "stuff" that the different recipes call for. My first try???
Buttermilk biscuits! I followed the recipe to a tee! Measured extra carefully.
Did exactly what the recipe said, except it did NOT tell me how big or how thick to make these. What a disappointment. What went IN the oven is what came OUT. Same size, same thickness, but nice and browned. They tasted great, but they did not rise at all!!!!

So. . . .for those of you who would love to tell me what I did wrong, here is the recipe:

2 cups self-rising flour
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup buttermilk

Cut shortening into flour. Gradually add buttermilk. Stir to blend thoroughly. Knead dough 10 - 12 times on lightly floured surface. Pinch off small pieces of dough. Shape into biscuits and flatten slightly. Arrange in a generously greased pan.

Bake at 400 degrees 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Please note: I did NOT have self-rising flour, so used 4 tsp of baking powder and 3/4 tsp salt.

This morning, they were delicious with sausage gravy slathered on top! But they were NOT something I would want to show to anyone except BUSTER!

Cora

A Great Giveaway!

A dear friend of mine, Nancy, from Inside Nana's Head, is having a giveaway! Her tags are just wonderful, but this set is really nice. They would go so perfectly with those aprons everyone is trying to get done this month. They have such a nice, vintage, sewing theme! Please go over there, take a look at al her great stuff, and
Sign Up Here!

My Biggest Headache in Life!

When I was in the 7th grade, Mrs. Morrell was my Home Ec teacher. She was a little old puckered faced crabby lady with crooked pointy fingers, and you had nightmares and anxiety attacks just thinking about her class. It was NOT a fun thing, believe me. To this day, if I think about sewing, I see her face!

And the past few days. . . . .I've seen Mrs. Morrell and her pokey fingers a whole lot!

You see, I REALLY, REALLY want to be able to sew. I want to join all you gals in your swaps and challenges and exchanges and be proud to send you something besides a dishrag or floor mop! And so. . . . .I keep trying.

I've got the apron fever. I want aprons. I bought fabric. I bought patterns. I bought bias tape (whatever for. . .????) I bought a seam ripper. I bought thread.
I bought machine oil, new bobbins, needles, etc., etc., etc.

I sit down to sew. And what do I get? puckered fabric, stitches not right, what looks like chennille on the backside, jammed up stuff with a million gray-black knots, and LOTS of crabbing, complaining, whining, even some tears along with, "Why does this have to happen to me?"

Then I thought, Let's face it. This machine is now 35 years old!!!!! Maybe it is just dying a peaceful death and would like to be left alone. But. . . .I haven't used it that much for it to be dying. And I for SURE can't afford a new one. This WAS a good machine in its day, after all!!!!!

So. . . .by some miracle and a miriad of angels, I still have my little manual that came with the machine and I started reading from the "Congratulations on your purchase of your new Kenmore Sewing Machine!" all the way to "Happy Sewing" on the back cover. I learned a whole lot, believe me.

Did you know you have to clean this thang?????? Oh, I've blown on it once in a while and when I saw some dust bunnies in the bobbin thingy I got those out. But I didn't know I needed a pick and shovel and tweezers and surgeon's tools to clean it!!!! So, that was my first project. I think there was enough greasy dust and lint and hairy looking things in there to make a llama!!!!

Next! Did you know there are different sized needles?????? Wow! I didn't! No wonder mine were breaking all the time. Here I am trying to sew nice quilting weight cotton with a needle meant to sew lightweight hankie stuff!!!!!! So. . . . on my list of things to buy ---- correct needles!

Next! The bobbin! I noticed a page in my trusty old manual that showed how to put the bobbin in the casing with the thread coming out a certain way. I'm not sure I ever did it one way --- I always just plopped it in there and pulled the thread on through that thing. Learned something new there, too! How did I miss that?

Now! On to the oiling! No where in that book did it tell you how often to oil this thing. I know it had been done in 1994. And a few weeks ago, someone told me it might need oiling, so I did get some oil and do it. Ya think??????? But, just to make sure, I did it again, and squirted everything that had an arrow pointing at it in the book. I did realize that last time, I missed oiling two places in the bobbin thing. So maybe THAT will make all the difference. Couldn't hurt, could it!

Ok! Now I pray. I beg for grace and mercy! I knew if this did not work, my dreams of a career as a professional apron maker would be down the drain, the sewing machine would be in the dumpster, and my lip would be so far out a bird could perch on it!

So in goes my practice material. Down goes the foot. And my big toe gently presses that peddle. Oh, THANK YOU, LORD!!!!! That thang just purred like a kitten and the stitches were perfect, no puckers, no pulls, no chennille, and no black, greasy tangles.

So Mrs. Morell???? I CAN SO do it. . . . and I did it ALL BY MYSELF! You can take that old purple gathered skirt I made in your class and stuff it because I WILL make this darn apron if it's the last thing I do and I WILL make a thousand aprons if that's what it takes for me to be able to sew like the rest of these . . . . . .what are they???. . . . . .Apronistas!!!!!!

I Won in a Drawing!

I'm sooooo excited, because I never win anything!!! I didn't even remember that I had signed up for this one! But Hey!!!! I ain't sayin' that I didn't!

The great artists at Humble Arts! were having a drawing, and my name was drawn.

I won a set of Primitive Old Glory Flags from Karin of Countryfolk Keepsakes!

Be sure to check out Karin's site and all the wonderful artists over there at Humble Art! Thank you all so much for your drawing and for picking little ole ME!

Glad Tidings Giveaway!

This is just so wonderful and generous of Penny, one of our Glad Tidings Gals, to offer this giveaway on the Glad Tidings Primitives and Folkart Blog!

CLICK HERE to check it out. All you have to do is leave a comment to enter to win!

Thank you, Penny!

Making Homemade Laundry Soap

What a day yesterday! You would have been in stitches if you could have watched this process. Today, I am typing with withered up fingers from the soap, but boy, are they clean fingers!!!!

Lea, from Farmhouse Blessings!, has posted a wonderful entry on her blog with instructions on how to make this CHEAP, wonderful laundry soap. The word "CHEAP" was the seller for me, as I hate spending all that money that just goes down the drain -- literally!

But. . .and here's where I ALWAYS run into problems. . . I HAD to make it better, and bigger, and . . . .

I had seen a recipe for a DRY version of CHEAP laundry soap over on Mary Jane's Farm Forum, so had some of those ingredients on hand, too.

Got my HUGE pot out and decided, there's plenty of room in here for a double batch, so proceeded with that. Got my cauldron boiling, shaved my bars of soap, and dumped that in. Started stirring it up, and it was melting and mixing in nice. Good so far.
Then. . . . . I dumped in the baking soda, the borax. . . . .and since I had it on hand, why not add the washing soda, too? That stuff started foaming up, bubbling like crazy, right to the top of the pot! I pulled that sucker off the eye and started whisking it down as I wondered if my whole house would soon be full of bubbles!!!!!

I managed to get it under control, with much addoo, and stirred and whisked all day and evening. My house smelled wonderful, my stove is spotless from wiping up soap all day, my sink is spotless, and my hands and nails are cleaner than they have ever been.

I poured this brew into a large cat litter container, and I did my first load of laundry today. It is cleaner and fresher than I've had in a long, long time. I have enough for about 64 load of wash (that's a double recipe) and it cost be about $3.00 to make (and I still have dry stuff left to make more). I'm a happy (and clean) camper!

Quilt Angels Ready!

Yesterday, I was working on a set of quilt angels, and thought I would make them available to you before listing them on Ebay or Etsy. This is a set of 12 angels, all made from old quilts and quilt tops. They measure about 9 inches high and 5 inches at the wingspan. I've blanket stitched around them with embroidery thread and put matching bows under their chins and on their head. They all have hangers for hanging.

They also come with large sized tags. These tags have been stained to a primmy perfection, looking old and worn. The front has the title to a verse, poem, song, or saying, done in very old collage-style lettering. The back has the saying printed on it.

These will be available until Friday morning, and if they are not sold by then, I will be listing them on Ebay. The cost for the entire set is $36.00, plus $4.60 priority shipping.

Please email me at:
countrypatches@verizon.net
to contact me if you wish to purchase these, and I will send you a Paypal invoice.
I would be glad to answer any questions you might have!

Apron Update!

I have progressed somewhat with my apron. I was wishing I had a real "seamstress" here to tell me what to do; but since I did not, I "winged" it the best I could.

I just could not figure out what to do with the raw edges on the underside of the two side pieces of the dresser scarf. I just didn't like that. I had sewn down the two pieces, following the sewing line of the fringe. That was fine. But the underside "flaps" left there just didn't cut it for me.

At first, I thought of turning them under and stitching them down. But I did not want another seam showing on the front. Then, I got the bright idea of embroidering a back stitch with embroidery floss around the edge, stitching down the turned edge underneath at the same time. I did one side like this, but hated it. Ripped all that out, washed it to get rid of the little stitching holes, and wondered what to do next.

The only solution I came up with was to use the fusible, iron on hemming stuff. And so I did. Though not a true seamstress's answer, it'll do for me right now.

What would you have done?????

I'm now ready to tackle the waistband.