Our Waiting Days

Our Waiting Days
by J. Danson Smith

Sit still, my daughter! Just sit calmly still!
Nor deem these days--these waiting days--as ill!
The One who loves thee best, who plans thy way,
Hath not forgotten thy great need today!
And, if He waits, 'tis sure He waits to prove
To thee, His tender child, His heart's deep love.

Sit still, my daughter! Just sit calmly still!
Thou longest much to know thy dear Lord's will!
While anxious thoughts would almost steal their way
Corrodingly within, because of His delay--
Persuade thyself in simple faith to rest
That He, who knows and loves, will do the best.

Sit still, my daughter! Just sit calmly still!
Nor move one step, not even one, until
His way hath opened. Then, ah then, how sweet!
How glad thy heart, and then how swift thy feet
They inner being then, ah then, how strong!
And waiting days not counted then too long.

Sit still, my daughter! Just sit calmly still!
What higher service could'st thou for Him fill?
'Tis hard! ah yes! But choicest things much cost!
For lack of losing all how much is lost!
'Tis hard, 'tis true! But then--He giveth grace
To count the hardest spot the sweetest place.

Thanks to Sarah Ann Eckburg of "Ladies in Waiting" for sharing this beautiful poem.

"Ladies in Waiting" is a monthly e-magazine for single Christian ladies, ages 13 and up.
How to Subscribe
Please write to Sarah Ann Ekberg at
Sarah-Ann@frangipani.org
You need to include your full name, mailing address and e-mail address,
birthday, a picture of yourself, and a verse that means a lot to you.
We welcome anyone from ages 13 and up.

"The Girl Who is Going to College"

Ladies, you who went/are going to college- were you sure to have all the latest styles on hand before you left?

(I like the skirts, the suit on the right in the middle, and the jacket on the middle left column. Most of the shirts on the other hand, they're a little too "poofy" for my taste ; ) I can just picture Anne packing all of these things in her suitcase before she left for college, can't you!?)

The Pink Seersucker Dress

Here is the finished seersucker dress I mentioned the other day. I don't like how small the neckhole is, so next time I use this pattern I'll make it a little larger. A girl just needs a bit of room to turn her head!! But otherwise I think it's a good pattern.

I once again made adjustments to the rickrack, placing it a couple inches from the hem and adding it to the neckline, and on the pocket. The only pocket, that is, because I didn't want to use two. : ) Oh, and I used only three buttons instead of four (because that was all I had), but they're so cute! They're little white flower buttons with depressed centers for the thread holes.

Today's to-sew list: Finish a jumper for my Mom; Try to at least cut out the fabric for a new skirt for myself. 

M'Cheyne's Calendar for Daily Bible Readings

http://www.mountzion.org/text/DailyBibleReading.pdf

Click the link above to access a pdf version of a very handy Bible reading calendar. (A tip- for easy reading be sure to use legal size paper and to select that size from the print properties tab- or you can use regular paper and Adobe will scale the image down proportionately, but it will be smaller and harder to read. You can print on both sides of your paper to make a brochure-style chart.)

Click here for a short biography of Robert Murray M'Cheyne. He is the author of several hymns, two being Jehovah Tsidkenu (The Lord My Righteousness) and When This Passing World is Done, favorites at my church.

Busy with my needle

Friday I had a really fun day doing some sewing. (More than I usually do in a day- don't think I can sew this much every day! Although come to think of it, I would if I could!!) I was able to make a quilt, an apron, and finish up a jumper I was making for a lady at church.

My littlest sister was sick so for some calm but fun and productive entertainment, we made a doll quilt and an apron together. The quilt is 27" square, made mostly from nightgown fabric scraps : ) The only fabric that I haven't used on something else already is the green fabric going down the diagonal. I bought it years ago thinking I would do something with it, and changed my mind. So here it is, finally being used (a little). I stitched it up on the machine, layered it (with a big piece of white felt leftover from another project for batting), then bound and quilted it. Then, we worked together sewing in little bits of pink yarn in the center of each square and my sister tied them into knots. We had fun and she's been carrying this quilt around with her all day!

Here is the apron I made her, again out of leftovers. I've made myself an apron out of the main fabric-- it has cute, cute! vintage-looking girls on it dressed up doing their chores. And then I trimmed it in blue fabric that has little shiny blue stripes woven in (I'm not sure if you can tell that in the picture.) I used Simplicity 4962, child version C, except (and here is how every pattern description of mine begins! I never follow patterns exactly!): I changed A) the placement of the rickrack; B) no pockets; C) an additional band at the bottom so it would be long enough on her. I made the size 3-4, her size, but she is tall for her size and I have to lengthen everything for her!

(Here is "Rosie" snuggled up in the recliner with "Blank" and the new quilt. My sister has a teddy bear and a blanket from when she was a tiny thing, and she slept with them every night. One day when she was about 2 or 3 she informed us that their names were now "Ted" and "Blank." So there you have it : D )

The last picture is of the finished jumper I've made for a lady at church. She had bought a jumper a while back and just loved the fit and style of it. She desperately wanted more just like it, because it was so easy to care for and comfortable to wear. She comissioned me to draft a pattern from the ready-made jumper, and sew up at least four more from it. I've already delivered one to her (and I forgot to take the picture!) and tomorrow I will deliver the second. I'm using rayon challis because it is so soft and flowy, and cool- great for hot Southern summers! The only problem is that it's incredibly hard to find! I've had to resort to buying online, which is a little risky sometimes because you can't really see what your getting... I love this red fabric though, with the tea sets, hats, and fruit on it!

Unfortunately I couldn't get very much detail in the picture. I ought to draw an outline picture of the pattern so you can see all the elements. There are two pockets in the front on either side, and a little bit of gathering below the curved waistline. The bodice has darts and is joined with three buttons, in a v-neck. No ties in the back, although they could easily be added for a different effect. I'm going to use the same pattern to make some jumpers for my mom, and I'm also going to draft short sleeves and raise the neckline to make it into a dress. Fun fun fun. I love this kind of stuff!

Oh, and I just remebered- I also started on another pink plaid seersucker dress for the littlest sister too. Until I ran out of white bobbin thread. By that time I had to put it all away and go to bed, so I didn't wind another bobbin. Then this morning, I got up and wanted to finish the seam I was working on, so I wound up a new bobbin- and finished off my last spool of white thread!! But I was already planning on going to WalMart today, so I figured I'd just get a couple more spools of white this morning. But wouldn't you know it? WalMart was *out!* of white thread!! I had to resort to "Machine Quilting and Craft" thread, which is actually the same percentage of cotton to polyester, and the same weight. My theory is that they just put a new label on the same old thread, so that craft-sewers who don't know what thread to buy for their projects will say, "Hey, I'm doing a craft; I guess I need this thread," when really they could've bought the all-purpose thread all along... And one more thing. Have I ever mentioned how weird a word "sewer" is? On my profile I almost wrote that I was a home-sewer... but read that again, just looking at the words. I don't want to be a home "sewer"!
Sorry this is such a jumbled rambling, but it's late and I don't think cohesively at night ; ) But consider yourselves privileged: You get to know my real silly self tonight!

Maybe I'm just a Jumblie afterall. I love that poem...

(goodnight)