I Love This Man!!

Some of you may have read my post about the major appliance break down we had a while back...and the pioneer living...anyway, as of today all of the appliances are officially fixed! A repair guy came out and fixed the dryer a few weeks ago, to the tune of around $200, ugh. Then he diagnosed the dish washer with an electrical problem due to the cord which he couldn't fix. We didn't think it was the cord though since half of the cycle worked and then the rinse cycle didn't for some odd reason and the water didn't drain, (lovely.) Yesterday Ron got a new plug and installed it, and wala - it works!! I can't tell you how ecstatic I am to have both appliances working now! Plus the fact that I don't have to put out a few hundred more dollars to have the dish washer fixed, phew! I'm so happy to be married to a guy who can fix most anything, and who is willing to do it even if it's a pain! Thanks honey!

"Orange Blossom"

Here is my latest creation! I used some cute retro vintage pieces, scraps and a fat quarter - I love how you can make kids' clothes out of such tiny pieces of fabric. My favorite part of this dress is the button loop - love those! The great thing about these little skirts is that they can be layered with tights or even pants for the cooler weather. Look for this one down at Shipwreck soon! I'm planning to make more cords (for girls and boys), so look for these soon too.

"Orange Blossom" Size 2T Made from repro. vintage prints and vintage button.

Great Truths

I ran across this poem from a blog on another friend's blog list and I felt it was so profound I wanted to share it. I love it when I come across something like this that speaks truth to my soul, confirming what God has been showing me.


Great truths are dearly bought,
the common truths,
Such as we give and take from day to day,
Come in the walk of easy life,
Blown by the careless wind across our way.

Great truths are greatly won,
not found by chance,
Nor wafted on the breath of summer dream;
But grasped in the great struggle of our soul,
Hard buffeting with adverse wind and stream.
But in the day of conflict, fear, and grief,

When the strong hand of God, put forth in might,
Plows up the subsoil of our stagnant heart,
And brings the imprisoned truth seed to the light.
Wrung from the troubled spirit,
in hard hours Of weakness, solitude, and times of pain,
Truth springs like harvest from the well-plowed field,
And our soul feels it has not wept in vain.

From Streams in the Desert

April Diane Designs Are In Shipwreck!

Just a quick note to say that I took my kids' clothes down to Shipwreck today! They took 8 of the 10 items, so get 'em while they're there! :) I hope to add more clothes in the next few weeks or so: more cords and warmish clothes for chilly weather. So keep checking back in for new designs for the wee ones!

A pic of Shipwreck

Caps to Cap Hatien Project

Today I ran across an amazing opportunity posted one of the blogs I follow, Soulemama. The writer of the blog is partnering with a US agency called Konbit Sande who is working to save lives and improve health care in Northern Haiti. Here are some statistics from this area:

Just 1 in 5 women receives skilled medical care during childbirth.
Haiti has the highest maternal mortality ratio in the Western Hemisphere.
1 in 40 women will die as a result of pregnancy complications, unsafe abortion, or obstetrical emergency.
Twelve percent of children die before the age of 5.

Konbit Sande is assembling safe birthing kits to be donated to birthing women in this area. These kits - consisting of plastic sheeting, hand sanitizer, a sterile piece of string and razor blade, and these newborn baby caps - have the potential to reduce infant and maternal mortality, and give babies a safer, healthier start.

So how can we as crafters help? If you go to this site you can down load a tutorial to sew a simple knit baby cap for these kits. From what I know babies who have low temperatures at birth are at a higher risk for sickness and even death. Making and giving these babies caps could save lives! What an incredible way to use the gift of craft for helping others who are less fortunate than us.

So this crafter is going to do some sewing in the next few weeks for the cause of global justice! Let's use our gift of craft to change the world - one cap at a time!

http://www.soulemama.com/mama_to_mama/

New Fence!

We're really enjoying the new fence our land lord installed today! Here is Ron taking a peek out from behind it. Ron trimmed the cannas in the area and is getting the garden ready for winter.

The Princess and Her Triceratops

The kids had a fabulous Halloween this year. Sarah was a beautiful princess, and Justin was a triceratops. He refused to wear his dinosaur hat, but Ron had a stroke of genius and told him that he would get candy if he wore it...he quickly put it on and didn't take it off all night! Here are some cute pics of them: