Deborah Fillmer's

2012 – Week One – Let’s Do This

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Category : Featured, Fiber Arts, Journal

Tags: arewenschild, cross stitch, etsy, gifts, knitting, ron paul, sewing, smocking

I’m starting off 2012 with a positive surge of energy and eagerness because I know this is going to be a great year! This year, although I don’t set new year’s goals or resolutions, I am looking forward to staying out of the hospital for the entire year, seeing my Etsy shop, Arwen’s Child, take off, and finally, voting in a new president! Don’t know what your political affiliations are, but I am leaning heavily toward Ron Paul at this time.

All the gifts I made throughout the year and stored for Christmas seemed to be appreciated and loved by all recipients. We had Christmas dinner and desert with the parental units on Christmas Eve and I made these.

Christmas Day we shared with the kids in Colorado via FaceTime.

We were able to open presents with them and visit for a while, which was really nice. It was still not anything like having them here, where I could hug them and enjoy their extended company, but it will have to do for now. I started thinking about it and realized that I saw Luke the day he was born, and I won’t see (touch) him again until he is walking. Life…

As far as I can tell, EVERYONE liked what I made for them for Christmas. Everything fit every recipient, which was a plus! I think I am going to continue to make or (in rare cases) purchase Christmas gifts throughout the year. It really saved a lot of stress and $$ at the end of the year. So, if you are (or want to be, I’m happy to make gifts for those who will cherish them) on my list, please make sure I have your sizes and pertinent information so that I can make you something that fits.

Christmas for me was pretty cool this year, in terms of gifts, also. I pooled my saving stash with my Christmas gift money (and Scott’s) and picked out this baby.

She is a Janome 9500 and is totally awesome! I haven’t done any embroidery on her yet, but I will very soon. Over the Christmas holidays I was able to finish up one of the two wine colored dresses that had been commissioned last year before I went into the hospital. Unfortunately, I had to refund the deposit to the customer because of the hospital and recovery issue, but I still want to finish the two dresses for Arwen’s Child. Here is the first one of the pair. This dress is called Hope and is available. The dress is size 6 and would make a wonderful special occasion dress for a lovely little girl. If you visit my shop, please make it one of your favorites. I would appreciate it!

The second gift I received was an Amazon gift card. Yep, it is spent! Those things don’t survive long in my hands. Here is what I procured with it.

Finally, I did finish one other project over the holiday. In 1995, I stitched “Blueberry Homecoming” and now I have, framed, it’s twin piece “Raspberry Homecoming.” Sixteen years between the two but I can cross them off the bucket list.

Here’s hoping everyone who reads this has a super 2012.

DKF

Week Fifty – Gifts

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Category : Featured, Fiber Arts, Health

Tags: baby, christmas, computer, gift, gifts, knitting, luke, sewing, sleep sack

This week’s post is all about gifts. First I’ll start with the gift of an amazing husband who cares for me way more than I could ever deserve. This past week, my laptop that I use for doing my job died. My job is done completely online and there are several programs that I use that have to be configured just so in order for me to do my job properly. Thanks to my husband, and some awesome tech support from Liberty University (my employer), we were able to get my iMac configured for my work tasks within a few hours of the crash. The most amazing thing, though, is that my super hero of a husband had my laptop back up and running by the next day, complete with new hard drive and ALL my data files recovered. He is so amazing!!

Second on the list is a gift I made for a friend who is having a baby shower this week. Since I saw how much my kids keep my grandson in his sleep sack that I made for him, I decided to make one for my friend. She is a Bama fan, so, the addition of a patch to the front of the sack was a special added touch. I hope she likes it.

The third gift I would like to mention is the gift of doctors, friends, and pastors who care about me and were there for me this last time I was hospitalized. During my absence from blog posting, I was hospitalized again for sepsis and it was anything but fun. This time was not as life threatening as the last, because we caught it sooner, but going to the hospital once a year is not something I am interested in doing. The sepsis is an issue that, if caught quickly enough, can be treated at home with the appropriate antibiotics. I just have to make sure and watch closely for the signs. This is a learning process. This time, like last time, I really thought I had the flu or something viral. A few days into it, when we figured out that it was not viral and it was similar to last year, it was too late to treat at home and off to the hospital I went. Ugh! I am feeling much better now and back to sewing up a storm!

That brings me to the fourth gift. I have been teaching a friend to sew for the past few weeks and this week she made an absolutely adorable sleeper for a gift for a friend. The sleeper was made of fleece and went together so quickly that I decided my grandsons really needed to have one, too. So, I located some fleece on sale and a couple of patterns and have been whipping these things out like mad. I think they may be finished in time to get to them as additional Christmas gifts. Whoot!!

There is much more to post about, but it will have to wait till the next installment. For now I leave you with this quote:

“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.” ~ Douglas Adams

Week Twenty Nine – Missions and Mittens

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Category : Featured, Fiber Arts, Journal, Travel

Tags: gifts, knitted gloves, missions, scott, uganda

Scott left for Uganda yesterday on his first mission trip, ever. He will be gone for 10 days and is part of an all male (testosterone rich) group of coaches and active guys. He was excited, nervous, and really just ready to get going by the time we got to the church yesterday morning. So far, he has made it to Amsterdam and should be in Uganda very soon (after a brief stop in Rwanda for refueling). Here is the photo of the rowdy group:

The soccer ball is more than just for effect. They are going over to Buloba on this trip primarily to conduct a soccer camp with the kids. They will also be helping with installing rain catches on houses and various other tasks that they are led to do while there. One never really knows what our mission teams will actually get themselves into until they are there and see the need. If you would like to read more about their trip as they progress through the week, or would like to see Scott’s awesome photos, please visit his site here. He is also still accepting donations to pay for his part of the trip, as everyone has to raise their own money in order to go. If interested, you can make a donation right on his site as well. Every amount helps!

Back at home, I actually finished a Christmas present this past week!

These gloves are “Strata” from the book “Knitting New Mittens & Gloves.” They are actually two pair of gloves, one fingered, and one fingerless. They can be worn together or separately. The person they are for lives where it snows, so hopefully they will be well loved. The brown yarn is Knitpicks Gloss Fingering and the pink is Knitpicks Stroll.

These were a quick knit (about three weeks) and it was a very basic pattern. The book has a few more patterns that I would like to try. I would recommend the book if you don’t already have it. I have several more projects nearing completion and with Scott gone all week, I should have a few of them to post about for this upcoming week. Stay tuned.

Quote of the week: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” ~ Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV)

Week Twenty Eight – Jonita’s Rabbit

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Category : Featured, Fiber Arts, Journal

Tags: gifts, sewing

This week was busy, but I worked on various things with only one finished object to show. Remember last week when I showed Mom’s rabbits? Well, Scott said “why don’t you make one for Jonita?” I thought about it and quickly realized that a traditional rabbit, like I had made so many times before, would just not be right for her. She needs her own special rabbit. Let me explain. Jonita is a little girl in Uganda that Scott and I sponsor. I may have mentioned this before, but we give a set amount each month and this provides a uniform, a meal a day, and the ability for her to attend school. We correspond with her and Scott will be meeting her in person for the first time in about a week when he takes his first trip to Buloba. One of the things that several Caucasian people have told us, when they have returned from these mission trips, is that many of the kids over there will take you by the hand and with their other hand, they will try to rub off the white of your skin. We found this funny at first then quickly realized that they weren’t kidding. Apparently, it is a fascination for some of them.

So, back to the story of Jonita’s rabbit. I don’t know if Jonita is one of these “fascinated” children or not, but I certainly can not send over a stark white rabbit for her. She needs to have a rabbit more like her and I am seriously ashamed to say that this is actually the first rabbit of color that I have ever made. It was fun, but a challenge. I had to rethink the facial features, since the traditional black eyes would not show up on her. I think she turned out pretty good. I really hope Jonita will like her. What say you?

Quote of the week: “All my possessions for a moment of time.” ~ Queen Elizabeth I

Week Twenty Seven – Mom’s Rabbits

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Category : Featured, Fiber Arts

Tags: gifts, sewing

This week I am still working on Christmas presents and that includes giving these guys (and gals) a new wardrobe.

Remember when these “Country Rabbits” were all the rage in the 80′s and 90′s? I made so many of them for sale back then that I lost count. These two pair were made for my mother back then. She specifically requested these and seemed to cherish them greatly. She had me make one pair for her home and one pair for her motor home. Now that she has passed, they have been given back to me and they mean so much more to me now. So, I have decided to make new clothing for them and pass them on to a family who I hope will love them as much as mother did. I just love creating special gifts for each individual person or family. There is so much commercialization today that time is the only thing you can give that is truly a gift. When we take the time to make or do something specifically for another because we know it will make them happy it means so much. Sometimes, a special gift is something that the person wants that can be commercially purchased (iPad, car, etc…), but sometimes, it is more special when we give something that only we can create and we use our time and talent to do so.

I’ll post updated photos of these guys when I get them done.

Quote of the week: “But it is a cold, lifeless business when you go to the shops to buy something, which does not represent your life and talent, but a goldsmith’s.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Gifts,” Essays, Second Series, 1844

2012 – Week One – Let’s Do This

Week Fifty – Gifts

Week Twenty Nine – Missions and Mittens

Week Twenty Eight – Jonita’s Rabbit

Week Twenty Seven – Mom’s Rabbits

The Etsy Shop

Just For Fun

Works in Progress

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