The craft of sewing

I have been doing a lot of sewing lately. It is one of my favorite things to do - I love that I can sew some fabric together and it can turn into something cute and useful. As an aside, please check out my new etsy shop and tell ALL your friends!! I am making lots of stuff for fairs this fall - so will be posting new things to my shop soon. (http://www.etsy.com/shop/BigTreeKids) The past few weeks I have been working on two quilts - small lap quilts. I measure, measure again, make sure my ruler is straight on my cutting mat, measure one more time and then cut. I have found, that no matter how much I measure and how careful I am when I sew the seam allowances, I am NEVER able to get all the corners to match up exactly. I know that there are quilters out there that would rip the seams out and start over, but I am not one of them. Especially with a 3 year old running around in the background.

So, thinking about all the seams that didn't match up - not matter how hard I tried - made me think of my life with Kevin and S. Or just my life in general. If things turned out as I expected, they would be a lot different than they are now. I never thought I would lose my mom at 57. The latest I thought I would get married was 30 - let alone 38. AND, I was going to have a bunch of kids...hmmm. Didn't even come close to how things worked out.

I love both of these little quilts - I love the colors, how they lay, and that they are handmade. I love the littles that I have made them for - I love thinking about them snuggling up with the quilt and taking it to bed. I love that, hopefully, these quilts will give comfort. In spite of the corners that don't line up.

Yes, that is how our lives have come together. Not all of our corners line up - we can chose to rip it out and try again, or just make peace with it and let that little bit of imperfection comfort us and remind us that better things are to come! And, despite the messy corners and things not turning out just as I wanted - my reality is more than I could have ever dreamed up! I have a caring a compassionate husband that loves me dearly and a sweet little boy that calls me "mama." It is perfection to me...despite all the bumps we have encountered. That is what I have been thinking on the last few days...

Playing on a rope swing at Farmer Ben's

Nothing really new with S's case - we continue to wait and hope that he will remain with us for years to come. It is looking very positive, so that is good. He is growing to be a big boy. He was just telling me, yesterday, that he is a "little grown-up." Not even a big boy anymore. Learning all kinds of stuff and becoming more independent all the time. Such a big little grown-up!