Mountain Musings

Family Strategies Audio Giveaway Winner!

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.

This morning we used Random Number Generator to see which one of you readers would 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 tomorrow--Tuesday, March 1st, and lasts 20 weeks. Listen to the messages at your convenience.

And the winner is comment #13............................Jenny!

Jenny commented: My favorite topic to hear would be the one on Mealtime! I'm interested in being able to maximize on all our together time, and...well...everyone eats so we'd have a captive audience:)

Jenny, please email me (girotti at wildblue dot net) your mailing address so we can get the information to Vision Forum as soon as possible!

Thank you to everyone who participated! If you didn't win and are interested in ordering this series, be sure to do so by midnight CST February 28 to save $10 and get 2 bonus messages.

~Deb

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

Turning old jeans into a new skirt

Last fall, Granny was cleaning out her closet and brought out a stack of clothes to give to Goodwill. I swooped in, rescued 2 pairs of L.L. Bean Tencel jeans still in great condition, and was excited to try out a tutorial I had found.

Hannah has a L.L. Bean Riding Skirt, and I've always loved the feel of it. The jeans were made of the same material, and I figured I could make a pseudo riding skirt for free!

Well, last night it was finally finished, and I now have a new, extremely comfortable skirt to wear. Yay! I followed the tutorial, except instead of cutting the triangular panels out of a different fabric, I just cut them out of the pant legs of one of the pairs of jeans.

Ta da!

~Sarah

Have Bag Will Travel...

Today was a traveling day...and a knitting day.

Armed with my trusty Vera Bradley knitting bag loaded with plenty of supplies (a gift I've really enjoyed from my sister), I counted off the rows of knitting as we counted off the miles.

The project is a kitchen cabinet towel, and I'll post a picture when it's all done. It may be another few weeks...I stitch and quilt on weekdays, but I only knit on Sundays.

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."  ~ Romans 8:35, 38-39

~Deb

UFO Progress Report ~ Still Stitchin'

We missed posting our UFO progress report last week since Susan over at Blackberry Creek was out of town on a quilting retreat. This week Mr. Linky is up, so head on over and see what everyone else is crossing off their list.

I don't have much to show or cross off this week, but I have been working hard on the crock and geraniums cross-stitch. I stitch an hour each evening, and slowly but surely the picture is coming to life. All the reds are now in but lots of greenery left to stitch.

Also, more writing has filled "the books" but still many more pages to write.

I'm very appreciative that Susan got us all going on these poor left-behind projects. I'm looking forward to a UFO list with everything crossed off...by the end of the year, maybe? Thank you, Susan!

~Deb

Block-A-Palooza ~ Blocks 5, 6, 7

I'm having a lot of fun (and keeping mega busy!) making the Palooza blocks for the Waiting for Spring Quilt-Along. Completing two new blocks each week adds quite a lot to the normal routine.

Last week I was more in front of the sewing machine than in front of the computer! So for all of you who were wondering about the quietness around Mountain Musings... believe me, it really wasn't!

The last three blocks that I haven't shown on the blog yet have been added to the previous four below. You can see up-close pictures on my Flickr page.

I'm loving all the colors and fabrics in Kate Spain's Central Park line and look forward to the new block patterns each week as they are posted.

I have to tell you about last week's Block 5 named Geesey-McNinePatch (left-most block on second row above). My idea was to "fussy-cut" one of the animals for the four center blocks. The idea was a good one...the execution not so much.

You've heard of those birds who stick their heads down in the sand? I have birds who stick their heads into the seam allowance! Oops! I guess I should have just given them shorter legs!

Today's block instructions for #8 A Basket of Geese are already posted, so that's what I'll be up to this afternoon. There are some beautiful ones already in the Flickr pool. See ya later!

~Deb

Valentine Cake Pops

I always love to celebrate holidays and special occasions, so naturally today being Valentine's Day meant that something had to be done to recognize the event. I decided to attempt some pink cake pops! I've seen some beautifully made and decorated pops over at Bakerella, but I wasn't that ambitious - these just have some white sprinkles to top the chocolate coating.

The cake mix was strawberry flavored, and the icing mixed in was vanilla. After being shaped into balls, placed on a tray, and the lollipop sticks inserted, the pops went into the refrigerator to firm up a little.

The coating was just some vanilla flavored candy coating melted with a tad bit of pink gel food color mixed in to give it a pretty look. Dipping the pops was hard - I couldn't get the chocolate to be very smooth, and several lollipop sticks poked right through the balls. After dipping, I sprinkled them with some white nonpariels, and then they had to stay stuck in a styrofoam block until the chocolate hardened.

Plastic wrap around each one, tags printed and cut out, and a little pink ribbon was the finishing touch. Now everyone has 4 pops lying at their places at the table - just a little token of affection. :) 

~Sarah

Quilted Love

"Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee."  ~ Jeremiah 31:3

Special thanks to my friend, Chris, for the lovely quilted love mat. Since I'm not a coffee drinker, I'm enjoying using it with my mug of morning milk!

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you who stop by to read the blog. We appreciate you!

~ Deb

UFO Bust Progress Report ~ Cross Another One Off the List!

Last night in the Living Room...

With the Needle...

By the Little Green Quilter...

Yes, I confess; I did it! The last stitch was put in the Bread x-stitch at 10 o'clock last night...just in time to mark it off the list for today's progress report over at Blackberry Creek's UFO Bust. Yay!

Here's the finished picture--a little wrinkled from being on the frame for so long.

Today I'll wash and iron it, and I'm done!

The next two UFO projects on the list that I'll be working on will be:

#14 (Old Crock & Geranium) is yet another cross-stitch that was begun many moons ago. This one is for my kitchen when it's finished. As you can see, the entire right side of the fabric is empty...there will be a geranium blooming out of the crock when finished--very pretty, just a lot of stitching.

And when I tire of stitching, I can pick up a pen and start writing:

#15  Reflections from a Mother's Heart Back in 2005 I started writing in a journal--a family legacy for each of the children as one of their Christmas gifts that year.

The first book took the longest and was the hardest as I had to think up answers to pages and pages of questions about my growing up years, first car, favorite vacations, hobbies, spiritual journey--basically my life's story in my own words--questions and answers that will be a treasure one day for grandchildren to learn about their Granny Deb.

When I finished the first book for Micah, all I had to do was copy word-for-word into the second book for Hannah. So far so good.

Those first two books were completed for Christmas, 2005. The 3rd and 4th books for Jonathan and Sarah were half done. Since I knew I was running out of time and couldn't finish both, I decided to write as much as I could in each so they would have a book to open with a note that said, "Mom will finish writing in this book for you after Christmas."

Fast forward to 2011...let's put those books on the UFO list with hopes of finishing all the copying soon and getting this item crossed off the list!

That's my update for this Friday...and in addition to UFO stitching, I've been working on the last stages of the Postage Stamp Quilt. Here's Jonathan holding up the quilt top so I can get a picture--quite breezy:

Today I'll be working on Block 4 for the Palooza; pictures to come. Enjoy your weekend!

Check out other UFO participants here.

~Deb

EcoFrugal Baby: A Review

Last year, in my quest for cloth diaper giveaways, I stumbled upon a new website - 29Diapers.com. The writer is Laura Cowan, a mom who wants to share the benefits of cloth diapering with other parents. She has some excellent articles posted explaining the lingo and answering some common questions. 

As you all know, I love cloth diapers, even though I can't use them quite yet. ;) So, I've kept up with 29 Diapers and have enjoyed reading about Laura's experiences. When she published her book, Ecofrugal Baby, I was excited when she asked if anyone was interested in getting out the word about it. She kindly sent me a copy to review on the blog.

The book was fun and easy to read, and she has chapters focused on each category of baby gear. Feeding gear, nursery furniture, clothing, and of course cloth diapers are a few that are covered. I have to say, I already practice many of the tips given in this book - I've always been a pretty frugal person. :) But if you're just starting to try to cut down on your costs, there are some great ideas and resources listed for you! I found out about some websites with good deals that I hadn't heard of before - I'll have to keep them in mind. :)

After every chapter, she includes a "cheat sheet" - a quick list of everything talked about, so you can have a reference to remind you. Also, at the back, there is a handy chart provided for you to keep track of all your costs and savings. Who wants to needlessly spend lots of money on things that will only be used for a year when you can save it for more important things instead?

Ecofrugal Baby is available through 29Diapers.com as a paperback ($19.96) or as an e-book in PDF format. ($5.99) You can also find it on Amazon. If you're interested in purchasing a copy, contact me and I can give you a code to get 20% off. :)

~Sarah