Change on the Horizon

My beautiful baby is getting married....and the time is drawing near for Africa. Two joyous occasions full of hope, wonder, excitement, glad expectations and the certainty of an unknown future. Wow, I stand in awe amazed at what God is doing. I watch His orchestration of events and join the dance, celebrating the abundant life He promised and gives. I am treasuring each and every moment in my heart. God is good, He is good, He is amazingly good.

I saw the movie "The Help" yesterday and loved it. It's not something I usually do on my overnights but since I was stuck in Las Vegas for 24 hrs it was an enjoyable change of pace.  I highly recommend it. Gave me a new perspective on chocolate pie though, ugh!

 Alas, now I'm craving fried chicken. They kept making fried chicken in the movie and I can't get it out of my mind. I am in Charlotte at the moment so I may have to visit Bo-Jangles in the airport. Maybe some dirty rice and beans too. Umm, umm good.

Two more flights to work before my vacation starts. In 4 days I will be on a plane heading to Hawaii with my grandson Elliot for Sarah's wedding. What fun! I will soon have a new son-in-law, Chad, he's very handsome and extremely industrious.  In 9 days I will be boarding another aircraft heading to London then going on to Lusaka, Zambia.

What is life going to be like after all of this. I have no idea. I think it's going to change me or at least look different somehow...

Oops, enough reflection, time to go to work. Another adventure, another new day and some fried chicken on the way. Yes!

Trust, Delight, Commit, Rest, Wait Patiently

I was reading Psalm 37 this morning and a little last night. It says to trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness, Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD. Trust also in Him and He will do it. Then it says to Rest in the Lord and wait Patiently for Him. How many times have I wanted things now. I just wanted to have things "my way." My complete trust has been more in how I can get things done than in waiting and believing that God in His complete love and complete goodness will take care of all my needs.

Sometimes I think that God needs a little help from me and if I've been good enough and if He is pleased with me then maybe He will bless me. Performance driven. Yesterday Paul talked at the pier amphitheater about God's complete love for us and how we distort it to something else. Psalm 37:11 says that the humble will inherit the land ( I have wanted a home of my own and some land, so I can dig in the dirt, really dirt relaxes me, so I am claiming these promises) and will delight themselves in abundant prosperity. Verse 17 says that the LORD sustains the righteous (I am righteous because of what Jesus did for me), verse 18 says our inheritance is forever and verse 19 says that we will not be ashamed in the days of evil, and in the days of famine we will have abundance. I am placing my life on this.

Yesterday at the BBQ we ran out of food, well, we ran out of meat. Everyone was supposed to bring something but we did not all get the memo. Moi included. Joey and Kendra and maybe others ran out to get more. Then when we left, (our little group was the last to leave), we found hamburgers not eaten, 4 huge plates of donuts and cakes, a salad and dressing, a big bag of trail mix and soda and more. Cathy started giving it away to people nearby and they were more than happy. A homeless man took the soda and some other things. It was then I realized, even when we mess up, even when I don't read the memo, He still provides. We had more than enough.

So today as I travel away from my home I want to take the rest of the chapter with me. Verses 23-24, "The steps of a man are established by the LORD, and He delights in his way (wow, God delights in me!) When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, because the LORD is the One who holds his hand (Yay, yay, yay! He is holding my hand!) There is more, of course there is because God is so good and gracious, there is always more with Him, but I must head out to work.

                                                        Have a blessed day.

Encounter

Today is going to be a Great Day. We have a day at the beach called ENCOUNTER. Our church, Grace Chapel of the Coast, will be at the Amphitheater at the beach by the pier. It will be a wild day. There will be bands and I think someone from OB is preaching. It's called ENCOUNTER the God who made you. There will be baptisms in the ocean at noon and a bbq afterwards.

We went out and spread the love of Jesus yesterday by the bus stop. Some people went to the pier and gave out free water while others stayed at the church and gave a free car wash. The whole idea is salvation is free, Jesus paid the price for all our sins, so its free. Some people tried to pay or even give a donation, it was hard for some to accept that its free. We saw some amazing things happen, people got healed, a blind man got his sight back, people got set free and saved.

When I got home from yesterday's activities I was a little drained so I did some gardening and planted a rose bush I got on the reject pile at Walmart. I think its going to be a beauty. And then, I can't believe I did this but I made a dress for today. So I was up til midnight. I broke my #1 rule which is "don't sew when you are tired," Too many mistakes are made that way. In spite of that it turned out cute.

I got the material from Maisonette a long time ago as I had wanted to make dresses for Zambia. The material is a cotton knit jersey that is really reasonable in price, only $6.00 a yard and the pattern is called the Mission Maxi. A great name for a missions dress. But you can also make a tank top and a halter dress from this pattern. It is a Jamie Christina pattern. Definitely one that I will do again.

Time to get ready for ENCOUNTER. I can't wait to see what God is going to do today.

BEWARE

I hope this is now going to show as a post. I have been having a lot of problems trying to get things posted lately. YAY! It worked.

I have to warn you all of a scam I just recently encountered. While I absolutely adore my little studio sometimes it seems a little small. What with designing bags, refinishing furniture and quilt making I quickly run out of room in my 450 square foot castle. So every now and then I look on Craig's list or Zillow for homes available in my area. Lately I found two homes that seemed legit but were complete scams. I found a 2 bedroom home in a 55 and older community for 700 dollars a month. Too good to be true? It was. The man renting it said he and his wife went to Africa as missionaries and needed to rent out their home in the states. Since I am going to Zambia, Africa on a missions trip my heart went a little soft for the man's story. But none of it was true. He got my personal information except for bank and social security info. then I found out he was trying to rent out a house the he doesn't even own. In fact the home is a government owned HUD home. Creepy!

My dad warned me that this might be a scam so I looked up the information and found out he was right. Thanks dad! I love you.

Later my daughter suggested that I not look on Craig's list but try Zillow instead. This time on Zillow I found another home for $700 but it was a three bedroom 2 bath home that looked amazing. I thought there must be a mistake and they were probably just renting out a room for 700. So I responded to the add and got almost the same story as the previous home. Missionaries, this time in Christchurch, New Zealand, at a conference in West Africa, looking for good God fearing renters to take care of their home. Their telephone number was in Nigeria. Well, I contacted the listing agents for both properties and was told that this is happening all the time on listings for about the last year. These people from Nigeria, posing as Missionaries, cut and past from real listings and pretend it's theirs to get your money. So BEWARE! Do not buy from anyone out of the country. I heard from a government site that England and Africa are the worst for these frauds.

I also reported this to Zillow, Craig's list and the FBI for internet fraud. If you know of anyone looking to buy or rent a house please warn them of this scam. It needs to be stopped as unsuspecting people are being harmed.

Amy Butler - Soul Blossoms Organic Cotton, Corduroy, Rayon, & Voile - Qu...

OMG, Amy Butler's stuff is the greatest. I can't wait to use her new fabrics! It's gonna be fun. I have sooo many projects in mind. Wow! She is one talented lady.

If you sew or if you want me to make you a custom bag or purse go to www.Quilthome.com and pick out your fabric. Just leave me a note in the comment section below and I will email you back and we can get it made. Just imagine, your very own custom purse with these luscious fabrics. Simply divine.

Never fun

It's never any fun having a sick parent or a sick child. My daddy hasn't been feeling well. I hope he gets better. :(
                     

                       Here are some sneak previews of some items I've been creating

This is the quilt I'm working on called a Twister quilt. Yes, its a twister, sister! After I finish the border I will cut it up, twist and turn it around and sew it all back together again. It will give it a pinwheel type of appearance. I just love the fabric but I've drawn a blank on the name of it for the moment...Ahh, its Oasis by Three Sisters. Just beautiful

This purse is for my quilting friend Becky, It's only half way done, I still have the lining to finish, then the zipper and the finishing touches, So far, 6.5 hours of work, but it will be scrumpt dilly licious.

I am on a trip right now. The first night took us to Seattle. On the television was a station called picture window, and it had all sorts of high definition pictures of areas in Washington state. This was one of the pictures. It was so real I thought one of the tree branches was sticking through the TV into the room. The sound of the waterfall was Wow! Amazing.

I couldn't resist throwing this in. My grandson, Elliot, after a hard day playing with Grandma. I'm not proud but isn't he the cutest ever?

New Bag and so much fun to do

I am working on a new bag. I have two more behind that to do and a chair to reupholster and a table to refinish. Plus, sales taxes are due,,,blah, blah blaah blah blaaah.
I ordered the new Milk Paint that I heard about on Miss Mustard Seed. Can't wait to get the paint and also to view her tutorial on how to use it. Should be fun. 

The Grandest Sale Ever!

Sorry I haven't posted anything for a day or two. I've been getting ready for the grandest block garage sale ever! It is huge. It is at my friend Suzanne's house and the money earned goes to help widows and orphans in Zambia. Which is where I will be in September and October of this year. I will certainly take pics tomorrow but for now I must clean up and sleep. Wake up time is in a short 4 hours. Ohhhh my! Night.

Secret's Out - Great Day!

The secret's out. I surprised my friend with a purse and a wallet. She loved them both! Here is a pic of the little wallet I made for her business cards. (She owns J'Adore Quilting, a long-arm quilting business.) I used a pattern by Valeri Wells called, of course, 'little Wallet'. I enhanced it a tad by adding extra webbing to make it sturdier. The fabric is from Joel Dewberry's collection called Aviary 2. (See the bird) I used remnants from the purses I made her. That way she can use the little wallet with either purse and still be stylin.

What a great day! After running from quilting class at Fat Quarter's I went to a meeting at church and then to a pot luck dinner. Ahhhh! Good food and good friends. That's the best. We sat outside by a fire pit and ate hamburgers with all the fixins, salads and deserts. I brought chili, yum. Wow, there was so much food. Kathy brought this great tabbouleh salad. Scrumptious! And then chocolate brownies. Yay! Someone brought a guitar and the singing began. (Seriously, no alcohol or anything, just good old fashioned God type fun!) God is good. What a great day!

Shhh! It's a secret

Finally finished my friend Margie's purse. Shhh, I think she forgot about it and I want to surprise her. She bought the fabric quit awhile ago. It took me forever to make. I made the purse from Amy Butler's Charm clutch pattern. Margie and my friend Tracy own J'Adore Quilting, a long-arm quilting business. They do the best work and are two of the most talented and beautiful people I know. I just finished my first quilt and will most definitely have them do the finishing work.

Well, here's the purse. I like how it turned out but it's very late right now and my eyes keep    closing on me......      so..................    I must.....     go.................     to.....      
                                                                                                                             zzzzzz.

A Little Turned Around

View from my room

                                                                 

 

 

Spent the night in my hometown San Diego but because the night was too short to go home, I went to the hotel for some rest and relaxation. The beds were soooo comfortable I didn't want to get up. It was nice to finally get some good sleep. Back to work and flying the skies to Philly.

 

 

The wedding....Bliss

 

I never posted the wonderful wedding in Colville, WA. My nephew Garrett married pretty Jessika, whom he met at YWAM in Montana, where they fell in love. I wasn't sure if I would be able to make it to the wedding. Through a series of "will I make it?" events I arrived in Colville late at night. I awoke to a spectacular view of huge snow flakes floating across the morning sky. The Ailer's (sorry if I misspelled it), friends of the bride, graciously offered their home to 7 of our family members. Their coffee and hospitality was superb. Yummy! 

The groom, Garrett, was exuberant as he watched his bride walk down the aisle toward him. He got a little teary eyed and had to pull back the tears. It was precious.

 

She looked like a princess and they exchanged their vows.

The Rings

The KISS

 Now introducing......  

Mr. & Mrs. Garrett Boyer!

Yay

YAY!

The CAKE...  yum yum yum                    

 

Father & Daughter dance

Mother and Son, 

Boogie 

 You go Girl, you STILL have what it takes!

 The day is done for this young one, safe in the arms of her father. Our host is on the right. Thank you Ailer's!

This is the sweet little flower girl. I can just envision her dreaming of the day when she too will be the beautiful bride.

Ahhh!

Working like a slave

Been flying too much to add new posts lately. Will be adding some new purses soon and an inspiration board. Back to the skies tomorrow. Creating a bigger space for my home thanks to Michael D. who helped me put up a huge mirror. Time to do some planting outside before it gets too dark.

Purses-Purses-Purses!

Back to the skies

Worked on a new purse yesterday. Love the design of it. It's from Amy Butler's Style Stitches. I used some beautiful Japanese fabrics but I don't like where the design on the fabric ended up being placed on the purse. It's an Echino fabric that is more like a painting and the repeat is a little unusual. I need to be more mindful of this. I would love to work on it today but I am supposed to be getting ready to go fly. Right now. How I am not into it. Keep my eyes on the Lord. Lord, help me to be focused and grateful.

Craft/bake sale

Yesterday was a great day at church. We really raised a lot of money for the children in Zambia. More than ever I can't wait to go and see those kids. Sold half of my purses and some luggage tags. Ready for another day of sewing, I have plenty of new ideas of things I want to make, then off to the skies to fly again. I will miss my sewing machine, but a girl does need to make a living. Hoping to post pictures today of the things I am making. Amy Butler has a new clutch purse pattern out that looks a lot like the ones I have been making. It is sooo cute!

Pamela Anne Designs: The first day! Yay!

Pamela Anne Designs: The first day! Yay!

The first day! Yay!

Hi, I'm Pamela. I design things, all sorts of things; luggage tags, purses, wallets, quilts....
The proceeds from the things I design and sell help support orphaned children in a village near Lusaka, Zambia. The village is run by Breath of Heaven ministries and Ted Lawler. You can read more about Breath of Heaven at www.bofheaven.org. Today is my first day blogging. I will display pictures of the things I design and keep you posted about the trip. Feel free to follow along.