Hello everyone!!! I hope you all have a splendid Merry Christmas!!! Even the ones who don't believe or celebrate Christmas!!! There is nothing wrong in wishing you good things!!! Such as more love, more peace, more thoughtfulness, more blessings, more abundance, how can you not like that?? Be blessed!!! lol
It's a time of year when we can all be a little more thoughtful, a little more kind and a little more giving, like the fruits of the spirit which comes from knowing the way of Christ which are love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. We can probably all work on these a bit more in the new year!!! We may never get to perfection in our lifetime but we sure can try our best as that is what God wants from us, simply to try and when He sees us trying, then he knows where our hearts are!!!
It's also a time that we gather with friends and family and some people may be away from their loved ones or their loved ones are gone and so I pray a special blessing for those, that somehow they would have a small piece of that person or place with them to comfort them.
Know that you are never alone, ever! Jesus is right by your side at all times,(even if you don't believe in Him, somewhere deep down you believe He is there, your spirit knows because you've been with Him before) sees and hears everything you see, feel or say and think to yourself. Know that he cares for you deeply and knows your needs and you just have to ask him for it.
Maybe it's time that you did.
Be thankful that Jesus was born but be thankful that He was born more than just to live, He was born to die. The Creator of the world sent his only son and He died to take your place, died specifically for you so that you could go to heaven. The only thing He ask of you is that you trust in Him, in the work was done on the cross, you only have to believe.
When God's son died, He died taking your sins away with him so that you will no longer be guilty, you can let go of your guilt, that heavy weight that weighs on your shoulders and be free, let it go!!. How great of a Christmas present is that???
There is no greater gift that a holy God could give you than to give up His life for you so that you can have eternal life and live forever in heaven with Him. Will you except Him today? and if you already have then don't forget to praise Him and give Him thanks!!! :)
Those of us who have, know of the great blessings that God gives!! We know of how gracious and understanding He really is. We know how undeserving we really are of His grace and Mercy. We know how we get things when we really don't deserve it. We know how selfless and patient He is and how everything He does is for our own good, not to restrict us but help us to grow into people fit for the kingdom of God. We are truly blessed people!!!
P.S. I've been busy making another coat!!! Woohoo!!! I think I am really going to like it!! It's a special coat, in black and off white with touches of gold in it. Lined in black and gold. I can't wait to show you guys when I finish it!!! Hopefully I can finish it between Christmas and new years! Excited to wear it!!!
You guys are soooooo awesome and I'm so thankful for each and everyone of you that support my blog and all the great comments I've had!!!! Have a great Christmas and a happy New Year!!!!! xox,
Lee Anne
Hello everybody, I hope you guys are doing well!
This is a matching skirt and shirt that I made for us. I have not made many man's shirt in the past, (maybe one for my ex husband and he probably shouldn't have worn it!!! hahaha I had just started sewing)
I have to say, I don’t like making men's clothing!! Boring!!!. lol
I had bought this knit fabric at Fabricville for myself but when I got home and looked at the fabric again I felt it was very manly and so Leon had been bugging me a while about making him a shirt and so I thought, why not? While I was cutting the shirt, I saw that I had extra fabric enough to make a skirt for myself! Bonus! ! ! And so it became our matching outfits.
And here they are
Mr. Model wearing his shirt
AKA Leon
Men's shirts are pretty simple to make, not much for design options, pretty plain. The only thing you have to make is cuffs and a binding for the neck. There is a little design element on the back of the shirt that really doesn't need to be there since you can't see it much but just to be designery, I put it in.
He actually stood still enough for me to take a few pictures without making weird faces! lol
He only gets to wear his shirt one way basically. I guess he could wear it with black pants if he had some…he really needs a pair of black pants. Christmas present!! haha
These are a few of the possible ways I can wear my skirt
I can wear this skirt with the waist flipped down for a low waist or with the waist up like in the bottom picture for a higher waist skirt.
Look at those arms baby!!! After not being able to use my arms much for a year because of a frozen shoulder/tendinitis/fibromyalgia. I was not able to exercise but I have been doing light weights for a week or so and I can see my arms are finally starting to get toned again!!! Woohoo!!! I was rubbing my arm the other day and I felt a lump, I thought, Oooh what’s that?? then I realized it was my muscle lol You know you haven’t seen muscles in a while when….. hehehe
Just ignore the thread on the bottom of my foot!!! I’m a seamstress first and model next so what do you expect??? lol
Don’t you just love black and white!!!?? I think it’s so dressy and clean looking!!
hmmm I’m wondering what this skirt would look like with a red top? I just bought one at the used clothing store that is very nice with lacing up the sides, long sleeves and is fitted in some places and kind of billowy in others. I’ll have to try it, I think it might work.
AND here it is, THE CORNY COUPLE!!! :)
That’s it, there is no more. I hope you enjoyed our corny outfits!!
P.S. God tells us to love our enemies in Matthew 5:44
KJV
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Let me give you an example with this little true story of mine
“The man at the coffee shop”
It was another beautiful day in the month of June and I had been working in that quaint little cafe on the side of the road for a few months. It was like every other day that I’d been there. The men would be outside waiting at 5:30 for me to get there for 6:00 am. I would always try to get there as early as I could because I knew that they were eager to get their coffee and breakfast. I would usually get there by quarter to six just to keep them happy. It was an early morning but I didn’t mind.
Serving them was pretty easy as all I had to do was put the coffee on and make bread while the coffee brewed, make their toast and pour their coffee and tea and the rest was basically self served. The creams, sugar, butter and milks etc. were all on the tables or counter and they could help themselves. I really loved working in the busy environment.
The busier it was, the happier I was. I just loved the challenge of trying to serve the “packed like sardines” men that would come in there for their breakfast or just coffee and chat with their friends. While busy washing loads of mugs and plates by hand I remember thinking that they sounded like a bunch of bees that had just had their hive disturbed. They all had stories that was bigger and better than the other ones and would all raise their voices over the others to try to prove it!! hahaha Some of the things that would come out of their mouths were pretty foul at times but I would just try to ignore them and pretend I didn’t hear it. Yes they were a unrefined bunch, some worst than others but they were basically good guys! I became very fond of them all and they seemed fond of me too….except this one man.
Every morning he would come and slap his money on the counter and bark out his order of toast and tea. No please, no thank you’s!!! It made me sooooooooo mad!!!! I think I was actually seeing red and I know my blood was boiling!!! But I would bite my tongue and serve him politely as this was my job.
On this particular morning, which was no different than any other morning, he slapped his money on the counter and barked out his order. I looked at the grimness on his face and thought, he doesn’t look like a very happy man!! What is his problem anyway!!!?? I was so mad!! I don’t know what happened to me that morning but I felt something strange inside me, like something snapped. I wanted so badly to say something mean to him but I couldn’t because I didn’t want to loose my job over it, and this thought came to my mind. “I wonder what it would take to make him say please and thank you???” Right then and there I decided to make this my life long mission!! I didn’t know how I was going to go about it, but I was going to try, even if it killed me! I was bound and determined.
The next morning I worked there I was ready for him and sure enough he didn’t fail to slap his money down and bark out his order of toast and tea. I patiently went about getting his teabag and poured his hot water in his mug and got his toast and put it in a plate which is what I would usually do, but this time, I squeezed his teabag for him and handed it to him over the counter. He looked at it and took it without even acknowledging I had done anything different or more than I would do for the other guys as he continued finishing up doing his breakfast with his milk, butter and jam. I fumed inside!!! I couldn’t believe he had the nerve to be so unfeeling and uncaring and cold!!! I will find a way to make this man say please and thank you if it’s the last thing I do!!!
I secretly watched him as he prepared his tea.
Again he came in the next time I was woirking and again he didn’t fail to be his charming self and slapped his money on the counter and barked out his order. I patiently went about making his toast and his tea but this time I squeezed his teabag and put the amount of milk and sugar I had watched him pour in,the previous time he had been in, and I stirred it and thought to myself “surely he will love me now!!!???” as I waited for his reaction. He looked at his mug and looked at me and paused for a second and continued on without a word. “Woah!! That is amazing, I barely got a reaction!! I can’t believe his nerve!! I think I’m starting to like this challenge though, I sure am not stopping and I won’t until I get the reaction I want to see”, I think as I again secretly watch him butter and jam his toast.
I’m anxious to see him come in today. I think this is going to be the day I get a good reaction from him. I am so ready!!! He’s here like clockwork, they all are very predictable. They even have certain times they come so you know basically who’s coming when.
He slaps his money on the counter and barks out his order. I excitedly go about making his breakfast of toast and tea. I squeeze his teabag, I put in the right amount of sugar and milk, I butter his toast and put on the strawberry jam that he picked out the last time. There I’ve got it!!! How can he not say thank you to this!!!?? I call out his name to let him know that his breakfast is ready. He comes over looks at his tea and he looks at his plate and he grunts. Yes he grunts! He grunts and reaches for another jam and plasters it on his toast and cuts it in half!!! Oh God forbid that I didn’t put enough jam on his toast!!! The nerve!!! I’ll show him if he wants perfection!!! Bring it on!!!
Yes this is the day, it has to be. I’m ready, I’m ready for perfection.
We go through the whole process again, the slapping the money, the barking out the order but this time I make his tea perfectly the way he likes it, I butter his toast and put extra jam on it, I cut in in half diagonally just the way I watched him do it…..and instead of calling his name, I go out around the counter and I place it on his table in front of him with a big smile.
The look on his face is priceless and one I will never forget. At that moment I watched his countenance change. The angry looking face changed right before my eyes and the lines in his face softened and a light came into his eyes and maybe even a tear. He looked at me for a long moment and I don’t even think he was breathing he was so shocked that someone would go to this extent for him. He looked down at his plate for what seemed to be a long time and then I knew my time had come, he looked at me and for the first time, I saw him smile and out came the magic words in a sigh of something that sounded almost like relief and amazement. “Thank you dear!” and a beautiful connection was made between a young lady and an man that would last for years. I was ecstatic!! I felt like I had won the biggest prize ever….and who knows, maybe I did.
I continued to serve him his tea and toast and bring it to his table. Since I had perfected it, I may as well continue doing it. He got good naturedly teased a lot about it and all the rest of the men would ask me why I served him in that way ,in mock jealousy, almost like they knew I had a good reason even though I had told no one about this, and we would look at each other, this man and I, and I would say,”because he calls me dear”
Never under estimate the power of love, even for your own enemies. It is easy to love the people you love and who loves you back, but to love someone that seems unlovable, well you can be sure, that someday, it will be greatly rewarded by God
P.S.S You don’t necessarily have to feel love to show love…love is not only a feeling, it’s an action
I was in need of something pretty, comfortable and warm…always warm for winter because I hate to be cold! I didn’t have anything that fit the bill and so I had to sew something up.
I had this ugly plain purple long sleeved shapeless thick T-shirt that I don’t even know where it came from. It may have been my husbands, I don’t know but this is what I made with it.
Sorry, I forgot to take my before pictures…I get so excited you know, by the time I even think of the pictures I’ve got it half done!!! lol
Some of the pictures were taken, (by my husband Leon),on the water front, Killam’s Wharf, Yarmouth N.S. Canada
This is a beautiful painting someone painted on the side of the building!! Sorry forgot the name of the artist!!!…….
This is my purple sweater that I made
I folded the top in half to find the middle and I cut it. Just in the front though. I turned the edges under and sewed them down
.
I can wear this with jeans, jogging pants or dress pants. Love it!!!
That may look like the virgin Mary behind me….but it is not! lol
I added the lace from the fabric I had to make my dress on the edge of the sleeves and hem. Makes a nice touch I think.
I then sewed up my dress using a simplicity pattern that I had on hand.
And here it is…..
The lace has been sewed with the fabric as one piece. Really hard to get the pieces to lay flat but if you pin them together first while they are laying flat it shouldn’t be a problem. Just be extra careful because one false move and your lace will be crooked and bunched up and will not lay flat against the backing fabric. I used the scalloped edging for the hem which omits having to make the hem on the lace. I just hemmed the backing fabric right underneath the lace.
This is what you do when you run out of fabric!!! Yup, I ran out of lace but that’s ok because it looks fine without it. You see I don’t totally have plans when I buy my fabric. I see it and I like it and so I buy it thinking I could make a dress or a top out of this and so I am not sure how much I should buy at the time but being creative helps figure out what to do about the shortage of fabric. There is always a way to use it.
I don’t know what the pen on the floor is about but I think it was on my keyboard when I moved it :/
I can wear this with a belt too.
I already wore this dress to church so some of you may have seen it already.
I wore it with plain black tights, probably looked better but I think they were in the wash when I took these pictures and so I substituted with these…
My sweater and jacket together!!! A perfect match!!!
Sleeves are sheer lace. Flowers are bright blue, dark green, white and black and the sheer part has a slight purple tinge to it. That is why I decided to use a purple or lilac if you prefer, fabric underneath.
It can be worn with or without a belt
Zipper in the back
I smocked it, I smocked it, I smocked it!!!! YES I DID LOL I smocked it!!!! This is the first time I have ever smocked anything and I really really enjoyed it and I will be doing it again!!! Doing this technique gathers where ever you smock it and in this case my square top that I used became nicely gathered at the waist for a neat fit, great to do for someone that has curves (hourglass or pear shape, even someone with a rectangle or ruler shape this will give the illusion of curves as long as it is slightly baggy on the top and bottom of the waist) The fabric is pinched together and sewn in an even pattern making a kind of triangle look all around the sweater. Did I say I loved this??? I do!!!
I guess it was time that I posted these pictures because fall is almost over!!! It is getting colder here! We had a fabulous fall though and hoping we will have a beautiful winter too! Hope you enjoyed my pics of my revamped sweater and my new purple lace dress!!!
Just want to say a big thank you to all who support my blog!!! WOW, you guys are soooo great!!!
Canada,United States,Russia,China,United Kingdom,Sweden,Netherlands,Poland,Australia,Germany to name a few! Don’t be afraid to comment!! Love to hear from you!! :)
P.S. Don’t ever feel judged!!!! If you are feeling guilty(like someone is pointing a finger at you and hating you), this is NOT of God! It doesn’t matter WHO(or who they think they are) is doing the pointing!!!
If you are feeling convicted(knowing it’s wrong and that you shouldn’t be doing it) this is God speaking to you. For your own good try to listen.
John 8:2-11
New International Version (NIV)
8
2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them.
3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.
5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”
6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.
7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”
8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time,
the older ones first,
until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.
10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
11 “No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
Whenever someone is trying to make me feel guilty as if they are better than me and condemning me or putting me down, I remember this scripture and it is very helpful to me. Jesus never condemned anyone and neither should anyone else because all of us have faults and if you think yours is better than someone else’s, you are only fooling yourself… yes some have more sins than others and are more in your face but it doesn’t mean that someone who’s sin is hidden(and you know who you are) is better than someone else. Sin is sin to God.
What do you think Jesus was writing in the sand? Why do you think the oldest left first?
Don’t forget that even though Jesus said he didn’t condemn her, he asked her to leave it behind.
Is he saying it’s ok that you did it, I don’t condemn you, now go, I got you out of this one but now stop living that way?
Why do you think he said that? Was it so he could have his own way or was it for her own good that he said it?
Jesus does NOT condemn and it does not matter WHAT sin your are committing but he asks for you to leave it. Will you do it for him?
Here it is, Cara’s jacket!
I made this for her as a surprise. She didn’t know she was getting it. I had seen this fabric at Wal-Mart and thought it might look good on her as green is one of her favourite colors and so I bought it. One day while we were skypeing my video was not working but hers was and so I held the fabric up to the screen so I could see if it went well with her complexion and it did!! She had no clue what I was up to. So I sewed her up a little jacket and tried to make it fairly warm as those fall and winters are cold in Alberta!! It was a bit short on me and so I figured it should be about right for her as she is 5 feet nothing even though she might claim she’s an inch taller!! lol I don’t believe it!! Anyway I sent her the jacket and I think she may have been a bit disappointed as she was pregnant and I think she was hoping that the surprise was something baby oriented. I had started making the jacket before I found out she was pregnant and so I decided to send it to her anyway. I figured she might have a few months to wear it. She found that it was a little too short and was showing too much of her belly. I guess her top half is the same size as I am but her bottom half is what is shorter than mine. We are actually the same size although I am 5’4”. She had decided to keep the jacket until next year and when I came up to visit I could adjust the length but since she lost the baby I don’t know what she’s going to do……
The jacket has shades of seafoam green and black swirly flowers.
I trimmed the jacket with fake leather
The jacket has two pockets in front, you can’t see them well as the jacket fabric is kind of camouflaged.
The jacket does not look the greatest on me because it’s not really my color(and besides that I don’t think I’m wearing any makeup, yikes!!) but I figured I’d be waiting a looooooong time before Cara takes pictures and send’s it to me so….I’m it! lol
The end, there is no more. :) Yes there is but I didn’t upload them! Sorry if I put too many pictures!! I can’t help it!! lol I like to take many pictures so I can get a good one and then I don’t know which ones to put up if they all turn out good but I figure when I go to other peoples blogs I like to see a lot of pictures, I am not into reading the blog as much as I am into pictures and so, this is my style… ;) and a picture says a thousand words!!!
P.S. I have so many things on the go right now, I don’t know if I am coming or going creatively that is. I am making some fabric with pieces of fabric that I have from my discontinued fabric sample books and I don’t know if I want to make pants with it or a quilt! lol
I’ve got this really cool lace purple dress that I made and took pictures that I have to blog about, with a matching sweater!!
I have a entertainment center that I want to revamp. I have about 10 pictures I need to hang on the wall. I have housework that needs to be done,that’s not creative in my eyes though! hahaha. I have walls that need to be painted. I need to finish some alterations. My cupboards would need a good cleaning, some of them anyway, I already did some. I am in the living Christmas tree at church and I have 10 really hard songs(beauty and the beast type songs) to learn by Christmas Plus I think 5 more to learn for advent. Plus I am on the worship team at church and have to learn new songs there. I am trying to practice my guitar playing so I can get better at it so I can record some of my songs. etc. etc. etc. but it’s all good, I’d rather be busy than not busy enough. I do not like to be bored and am not bored very often. The only time I get bored is when I’m feeling really bad physically and I cannot muster enough energy to do the things I want. That gets me really frustrated at first but then it makes me sit still and just relax my body.
I’ve started going to physiotherapy lately and she has been giving me exercises and things to do for my body as I have problem with my neck, arm, lower back, hips and feet…yes I know, that is why I’m going to physio!!! That’s the joy of having been in a car accident and having your feet shattered, it messes everything else up too. Anyway to get back to what I was saying, she gave me these simple exercise to do and one of them was sitting in a proper sitting position with your back straight and to stack about 4 pillows on your lap until your arms are resting on them at about shoulder height and to sit like that for a little while….Well that was hard for me. I can’t do anything with my hands!!! I never realized how much I use my hands!!! or I knew I used my hands a lot but I never realized how much I don’t stop using them. They never stop, it’s either I am sewing,painting,playing guitar,doing housework,paperwork or on the computer or doing some craft, everything I do requires my hands and neck to be moving and so I really need to make a special effort to rest my arms, hands and neck. I think why I do this is because I can’t be on my feet as much as the normal person and so I try to keep busy in other ways so I don’t mind not being on my feet and I guess I have to not do that as much or take frequent breaks, like every half hour. I even have to set a timer because when I get involved in something I have total concentration and hours can fly by without me even knowing!! Oh well I’ll get it after a while!
talk to you in the next blog xox
