Mountain Musings

Birth and Labor Support Class

This past week, Hannah and I had the blessing of attending a class held by some friends of ours, to learn more about God's design for pregnancy, labor, childbirth, and how to support a woman in labor.

Our friends are taking a doula course, and this class to pass on their knowledge to other young ladies was a part of the course requirements.

We each had a folder of information and charts waiting for us at our seats. Jenny and Sarah started out by reading a timeline of the development of the baby week by week from the book Christ Centered Childbirth. 

After that, the morning was spent on learning about the stages of labor - the physical and emotional signs in the mother, and how the labor support person could help them through it.

They performed a humorous little skit demonstrating the excited first nesting phase of labor. They emphasized that at this point REST is the key. :) 

Also as part of the class, there were a number of quizzes to help cement what we learned after each phase was talked about. The winners were able to pick a prize from an assortment of gifts - each attendee brought a little something to contribute to the prize table.

Side note: I made bean bags! Just recently I won a giveaway of a set of these, and I thought they were so cute! It seemed like they would make a fitting baby gift, so I made another set using the tutorial that was on the blog I won the original set from. This was a great project to use up some of my leftover scraps! They were all filled with lentils - they were a nice size and not too big. These bean bags are great for young children to help them learn their numbers and simple addition and subtraction while having fun.

Also, I made a simple drawstring bag to hold them all together. The tutorial had instructions for a bag, but since I didn't have any scraps big enough, I just had to make up a similar design that would work with what was available.

Hannah kindly labeled it for me, as my handwriting leaves much to be desired. ;) Anyway, this was my contribution, and hopefully I can also make a set for myself soon as well.

Teaching Soap

Last Friday we hosted another soapmaking class here with another set of ladies and daughters. Once again, we all had a great time learning and fellowshipping together! Mom, Sarah, and Granny helped me with a great amount of the preparations, and I focused on explaining the procedure clearly--easier said than done, so I was thankful for the opportunity to refine my teaching.

It was a beautiful spring day, and the awning set up on our deck came in handy, even if several hands had to keep it from blowing away at times!

Armed with aprons and rubber gloves, we were ready to get into the nitty-gritty of the recipe.

Family Strategies Audio Giveaway

strat-e-gies: The art of devising or employing plans or stratagems toward a goal.

Calling all Christian families--it's time for another special giveaway here on Mountain Musings (courtesy of Vision Forum)!

Family Strategies: Practical Issues for Building Healthy Families is a new audio webinar to encourage Biblical thinking in several areas of raising children and building God-honoring family life, such as mealtimes, family worship, sibling rivalry and character training, hospitality, entrepreneurship, and more. Read further details and hear samples of the topics here.

One of you readers will receive a free "ticket" to this series, allowing you to participate by downloading the 30 minute weekly episodes, hosted by Doug and Beall Phillips. The series begins this coming Tuesday, March 1st and lasts 20 weeks. Listen to the messages at your convenience.

To enter, just leave a comment on this post telling us one of the 20 topics you'd like to hear or that interests you the most. I'll start. I'd be interested in listening to How to Prepare for a Year of Home Education.

This post is now closed and giveaway winner has been announced!

If you are interested in ordering this series, be sure to do so by February 28 to save $10 and get 2 bonus messages.

~Hannah

Goat Milk Soap Session

Last week I had the privilege of teaching a private soap lesson to an interested couple who hope to sell homemade soap from their farm, using their very own goat's milk. L.D. and Dawn are friends of ours who were unable to attend our last soapmaking class, so we made a special afternoon of it! I enjoyed sharing again what I've learned thus far about the process of soapmaking.

This time we worked in the kitchen, opening the window for ventilation when working with the lye. Together we attempted the touchy technique of using 100% goat milk as our liquid; Dawn brought fresh milk she had frozen in preparation.

Dawn's husband is an expert woodworker, so he contributed a beautifully-made wooden soap mold to contain our 7 lb. recipe. Below Dawn is just about ready to pour her rose-scented oatmeal soap into the mold at the end of the day. We had a great time experimenting together!

In other soap news, you'll notice on the right sidebar a button for homemade soap--for sale from Pleasant View Soaps (me)! Need a last-minute Christmas gift? Go check it out. :)

~Hannah

A Surprise 30th Anniversary Photo Quilt!

In a recent post I referenced a quilt pattern, 30 Stars for 30 Years, that I purchased especially to make a quilt as a remembrance of our 30th anniversary. I intend to do that this fall. However...

Little did I know the girls were planning quite the surprise for us with a quilt of their own. When we returned from our trip this week, we were presented with a 30th Anniversary Photo Quilt that Hannah and Sarah made while we were away. The final stitches were sewn just a couple of hours before we arrived!

Jonathan was part of the surprise, too, and he donated money to help out, contributed ideas/scriptures for the quilt, and basically gave support to the girls as they burnt some midnight oil finishing the quilt before we returned.

Here we are outside holding the treasured quilt:

In the four corners are pictures from our wedding in 1980. Each of the other pictures is a photo taken of us from each year of the 30 years we've been married.

As the girls were scouting through old albums looking for pictures of us as a couple, there were no pictures of the two of us together to be found anywhere for years 1984 and 1985. They opted for a photo of me with baby Hannah in 1984 and Tom with Micah, Hannah, and baby Jonathan in 1985.

So...make sure you find time to take a picture of you and your spouse each year as you grow old together. You never know when you might make an anniversary scrapbook or when someone will need those photos for a quilt! :)

Here are some of the ideas and scriptures written on the quilt:

• "You place importance on spending time together as a family."

• "You have set a godly example of fulfilling your Biblical roles of leading and following."

• "You highly value prayer and pray faithfully for each of your children."

• "Mother dear, thanks for homeschooling us and writing us welcome-back-to-school notes!"

• "I appreciate your desire to maintain Biblical convictions in our family even though they may be against the flow of the world."

• "For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting and His faithfulness to all generations." ~ Psalm 100:5

And 20+ more blocks are written within the quilt for us to read and treasure. I wish you could see it in person! I am thrilled to have this remembrance! I love the whole idea! What a wonderful gift!

Now Hannah will describe below how she and Sarah went about making the photo quilt.

~Deb

Deluge of Diapers

In my diaper update last May, I said I wouldn't bother you until I had stacks of finished diapers to show. That time has come! In a little over a year and a half, I finally managed to sew 70 pocket diapers. 26 mediums, 28 smalls, and 16 newborns are done and ready to put on a baby! I was able to cut more than I thought out of my fabric, so that's why the amounts are a little odd. :) I still want to make some larges as well as sew up some fleece covers, but I feel like the bulk of my sewing is done right now!

Far left row is newborns. Next 2 rows are the smalls. Next 2 rows are mediums. The row on the right is all the diapers that I have won in giveaways. :) And I have 3 more (Fuzzi Bunz!!!) in the mail. Ahem.

Here is a side by side comparison of the three different sizes, medium to newborn:

Now they are all neatly put away in a box on my closet shelf, ready for future use. :) Whew! Now maybe I can concentrate on some other projects!

(Other diaper posts can be found here, here, and here.)

~Sarah

Sewing a Colonial Costume

For the 4th of July, our young friend Madeline had been dreaming of a colonial dress just her size. She and her mom selected Simplicity pattern 3725, and Sarah and I had the privilege of helping them complete this project recently. I was thankful for the opportunity to refine my sewing abilities and assist them with this homemaking skill. We spent the day with our sewing machines and tables set up in the living room.

Excitement increased as the dress quickly took shape. Above, we are marking the pattern with a chalk wheel onto the colorful fabric she chose and pinning together the bodice of the dress.

Madeline was eager to take part in every step she could. Here she and Sarah see to some inevitable seam-ripping.

Jenny, Madeline's mother, tried her hand at sewing some seams on our Bernina machine, which she agreed was very smooth to operate!

It's coming together!

By the end of the afternoon, we were ready to begin putting in the many gathers of the skirt.

Sarah finished up attaching the sleeves to the bodice as Madeline took note. The remaining tasks such as adding a zipper, lace, and a hem were completed just in time for Madeline to wear her new dress at the 4th of July celebration festivities. She looked like she stepped out of history!

See other entries to In Stitches blog's Finished Friday parade.

~Hannah

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Random Musings ~ Past, Present, & Future

1. Don't you think it's time for a catching-up post since we've been missing in action on the blog again? Yes, I thought so! Did you miss us?

2. Lots of yard work has been completed this last week (the mulch pile is gone, but I almost need more!), and the garden picket fence project is all done! I love, love, love the new picket fence!!

3. I've missed participating in Bloomin' Tuesday for the past two weeks, so here's a sampling of what's blooming in the flower bed that runs alongside the shed. Hopefully, I can post some up-close photos for the next Bloomin' Tuesday.

4. Hannah has been super busy in the garden tilling and preparing the beds; here she is planting a new asparagus bed. We've just discovered this spring that we love this veggie! Now we need patience to wait a few years for the bed to become established.

5. Granny and Hannah shopped for plants in anticipation of the last frost date of May 15th. Maybe we can get all the veggies in the ground while Granny is still here.

6. Mother's Day was an excellent time around here! Tom and the girls served breakfast in bed to Granny and me--both of us together in her bed! (No pictures, please!) French Toast and an edible fruit bouquet were the highlights...yummy! Plus, flowers from the garden, pictured above, graced the table.

7. We also enjoyed having guests visiting our home fellowship on Mother's Day, and Tom arranged a special treat for the mothers and grilled steaks and hamburgers for everyone for lunch. Hannah made Bobby Flay's delicious Fra Diavolo BBQ Sauce for basting. Yummy and spicy!

8. Sarah made a special Mother's Day chocolate cheesecake to serve. I'll post a picture here, and hopefully she'll follow up later with her recipe. Doubly delicious...and all gone so quickly!

9. Sarah and I attended our Saturday Sampler monthly class this past weekend...and took our completed blocks. That's always a good thing--to go with your homework done! Here's a photo of the Show &Tell portion of the class. It's inspiring to see what other quilters have done!

10. And have we mentioned how much we've missed Jonathan being around the supper table with us for the past week? He's been in Mississippi repairing planes his company sent there to help with the big oil spill. He may be gone another week or two?

11. And have we mentioned how much we'll miss Granny--not only around the table but around the house--when she leaves for my sister's in South Carolina? Hannah and I will drive her down and stay a few days, and Sarah will hold down the fort with Dad and Pepper. We'll get Granny back in August.

12. And Hannah, Tom, and I are gearing up to attend a Photography Boot Camp in northern Virginia with some of the families we met at the recent Hymn Sing. Jonathan had planned to go, and we will miss him participating! Hopefully, we can post about our excursion when we return. Sarah and Granny will hold down the fort with Pepper.

13. And if not enough is going on, I signed up for Julie's (Jaybird Quilts) Modern Siggy Block Swap. I already have the fabric needed (I won it!)...so basically it's almost a free quilt. I'll receive 100 different blocks from quilters all over the country and world, and they will receive one of my blocks! I just couldn't resist signing up! It will be fun since my friend Chris is doing it, too!

That's what's been happening around here! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. See you on the blog next week!

~Deb

Passionate Housewives Book--Free!

Get a free copy of the book Passionate Housewives: Desperate for God and only pay shipping!

Passionate Housewives Desperate for God is an exceptionally well written book. Jennie Chancey and Stacy McDonald do not pretend to be the perfect wives, mothers, and homemakers, but they do have a heart for God and His glory.... This book will make you think, will convict you, and will.... give you a “fresh vision for the hopeful homemaker.” —Martha Peace, biblical counselor and author of The Excellent Wife

Vision Forum is offering this book for free until Friday, if you simply use the coupon code FREEPHDG at checkout.

While shopping, why not peruse some other helpful products such as this inspiring DVD series:

That banner is making me want spring to come very soon!

Or how about these crafting help books:

I enjoyed browsing all the new items from Vision Forum, and hope you will take advantage of this special offer!

~Hannah

Quilt-Along X 3

I have a lot of sewing to do from now until April if I want to finish these quilt-alongs and be ready for the spring gardening season! So here's a peak at what I'll be doing the rest of the winter.

First, I joined Randi's Quilt-Along over at I Have to Say. She's taking suggestions for names of the quilt she designed that we'll all sew, and Road to Spring seems to be winning as the top choice. I'll post a button soon.

Randi gives lots of good information for picking your fabrics on this post.

Here are my fabrics that I had already picked out before reading her post, but I think they'll work. I'm going with a blue/brown/tan color scheme similar to the quilt she posted here. This quilt-along should last six weeks, and I'm looking forward to Randi's great tutorials.

Then I signed up for Rachel's Pinwheel Sampler Quilt-Along over at p.s. i quilt. Here is her pinwheel sampler she made last year using the fabric line Nikki by Pat Sloan.

I decided to order a Verna layer cake for this sampler, and here's a picture from the Fat Quarter Shop to show what the fabric will look like. This quilt-along should last 12 weeks. 

And last (thankfully!)...I'm joining Vicki's Simple Squares Quilt-Along over at Sew Inspired. I'll be using the simple squares pattern to make her Figgy Pudding Christmas quilt. The fabric was ordered, and I'm waiting for it to arrive before I can begin.

If anyone wants to join any one of these quilt-alongs, there's still time. It's just the beginning for all three of them...just ask if you have any questions. I'll be giving updates as the weeks go on.

Has anyone else signed up for a quilt-along?

~Deb