Archaic Inspirations

Healing rain: awakening soul survivors

September 7, 2007 · Filed under Faith, Ministry

While driving yesterday I was reminded of the power music wields in its rising and falling waves of notes.

You know what I’m talking about.

Those songs…the ones that transport us to the past and bring us face to face with who we once were, as if that person has been living within us all this time without so much as a whisper. It’s as if those pivotal ages/times in our life jar us to the point that they burn a copy of our very being into our soul and there they lie in wait; in a coma-like state, that 15-year-old forever remains in the recesses of our soul…until.

Until we are stirred. Until we are pierced. Until we cry.

Those are the tears that heal us. Those are the tears that wash away another layer of the substance that forgotten child clings to. Those are the tears that eventually leave them with nothing to hold fast to of what once was. Those are the tears that reveal the rainbow of what is and is to come.

So this begs the question – how many tears does it take to wash away a painful memory? How many soul survivors are living within us…

the five-year-old who said goodbye to their mother, not knowing it was the last time

the eleven-year-old left in the chasm of two families torn apart by divorce

the thirteen-year-old having lived through the screaming silence of sexual abuse

the fifteen-year-old trapped in the prison of physical and mental abuse

the twenty-five-year-old enduring the divorce that they swore would never plague their own children with

the thirty-five-year-old facing a seeming lifetime of singledom

the fifty-two-year-old hearing the word “cancer”…again.

The younger we are when a soul survivor is burned within us, the deeper the etching…the deeper the scar…the deeper the sleep…and the more intense the awakening. These are not the moments for strength.

These are the moments for weakness.

2 Corinthians 12:10

“Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

These are moments for tears.

Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4

“There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance”

These are times for healing.

Psalm 6:6, 9

“I am worn out from groaning;
all night long I flood my bed with weeping
and drench my couch with tears.

The LORD has heard my cry for mercy;
the LORD accepts my prayer.”

The soul would have no rainbow, had the eyes no rain.

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Reinventing the dress: recycling clothes

September 6, 2007 · Filed under Sewing

In addition to my other current projects, I am recycling a dress of mine to appear in a family photo sitting (FINALLY, Mom!). It is being transformed into three skirts for the girls and a top for myself. My vision is that each of the skirts will also have a colored crochet embellishment – perhaps unique crocheted flowers.

The itty-bitty-baby-sized skirt will be decorated with some frilly lace and cheery yellow flowers.

The medium-sized skirt has a longer hem and it will be growing some in-your-face red flowers.

The largest-sized skirt (thinking Goldilocks and the Three Bears yet?) will be adorned with some head-in-the-clouds blue flowers. The flower color choices are meant to be a reflection of the girls’ personalities which is a part I really love about designing, or rather, redesigning clothing.

I’ve pinned a knit waistbandish element to my top and I LOVE the contrast it adds to the lighter fabric. Also, because I am long-waisted, it really benefits my shape – practical and oh-so-cute – gotta love that!

I’ll leave you with a glimpse of some of the beautiful lace I was given last week. These are amazing treasures and I am so excited to use them! Thank you so much for unloading them on me grandma!

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The incident of the naughty…knotty yarn

August 27, 2007 · Filed under Crafting, Crochet, Sewing

That sweater looks so pretty…so serene there hanging on the chair. I was so excited to be nearly finished with it until I decided to take out one of the sleeves because I needed to lengthen it and I had missed a few stitches in the pattern that I didn’t understand until I got to the second sleeve. I was inspired by the fact that our five-year-old was actually really excited that I was crocheting her a “pretty sweater” and so I started ripping out stitches, only to discover that it was actually the front panel and not the sleeve as I had thought. So, I continued pulling the yarn thinking that I would just take out the sleeve but it actually started unraveling the back panel! I was so frustrated, that what remains of the kinky yarn lies in a pile of knots; a pile that could easily resemble my body due to the stress of it all.

It got me to thinking that if I were a knitter, I am sure it would take me a lot longer to thrash my yarn in a fit of frustration because the work would have taken me so much longer to complete to that point. Flying knitting needles also seems a more dangerous vision than crochet hooks. I really wouldn’t have been so emotional if I had *made a choice* to rip out all the stitches, but I was really happy to know that the sweater was going to be eagerly received that it made it that much more painful, and a tantrum on my part ensued. Well, I will be back to crocheting it again in a day or two and I am hoping that by the weekend I can be closer to the finish line than I was before today – before the incident today, that is.

On a happier note, I am also sewing up this adorable dress for the babe. It is a really simple pattern but I have been putting it off because I had to make up my binding. Tonight I got that done and I am going to finish up pinning it tomorrow. I haven’t touched my sewing machine in about a week and it feels strange. I am looking forward to getting this doll of a dress done. Isn’t the vintage pattern just precious?! Can you see the price up there in the corner – yep, that’s right .35. Now that was back in the day!

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Hey Willy, See the Pyramids by Maira Kalman

August 26, 2007 · Filed under Bargains, Favorite Things, Reading is fun

If you are a fan of children’s books, you should definitely check out Maira Kalman’s world. We bought this book at a library box sale (fill a box with as many books as you can fit for a grand total of $2). The artwork is wonderful and if it doesn’t inspire your children to write/illustrate, it will inspire you!

The dialogue is quirky, as if someone were taking notes of the random thoughts that decorate our consciousness throughout the day. The illustrations are reminiscent of people in my family…and a circus act at the same time. Hmmm, probably the kind of things one shouldn’t admit so nonchalantly!

The author has created many wonderful pieces of art with words to boot. I added What Pete Ate to my wishlist. So what’s your favorite children’s book author?

A galleria of horses

August 15, 2007 · Filed under Photography

A 1000 pound horse will eat between 15 and 25 pounds of food per day and, under normal use, drink 10 to 12 gallons of water.

Regardless of a horse’s actual birthdate, for most competition purposes, horses are considered a year older on January 1 of each year in the northern hemisphere and August 1 in the southern hemisphere.

They have very large eyes (among land animals only the ostrich has a larger eye).

Horses require approximately two and a half hours of sleep, on average, in a 24-hour period. Most of this sleep occurs in many short intervals of about 15 minutes each.

The domestic horse today has a life expectancy of 25 to 30 years. The oldest verifiable record was “Old Billy,” a horse that lived in the 19th century to the age of 62.

Pregnancy lasts for approximately 335-340 days and usually results in one foal. Twins are rare. Colts are usually carried 2-7 days longer than fillies.

“Do you have a hooter hider?”

August 15, 2007 · Filed under Bargains, Crafting, Sewing

This question was met with laughter…much laughter. While she had never heard the term, she had a pretty good idea I was referencing a nursing cover. The Hooter Hider aka Bebe au Lait was one of the best gifts I received with our latest addition and because the pattern was so simple, I decided to give it a whirl as a gift.

Having used mine for many months now, I knew there were a couple features that I would change. The first of those was to add weights to the corners of the fabric so that at the first sign of a breeze, I wasn’t flashing everyone in sight.

I also added a liner to the nursing cover because the fabric was rather sheer and the liner contributed to privacy, weight and cleaner lines. It reminded me of a giant pillow case after it was sewn up. I wanted a pocket that would be more easily accessible and a bit larger than the triangular corner pocket on the original so I fastened this one to the top. I will await feedback from the momma recipient as to how convenient it is in that location.

I loved the feature on the original that allowed visibility of baby through the top due to an added strip of stiffness in the hem. I reduced the size of the rings because it tended to scrunch of the fabric when I loosened and tightened the original. I am hoping there will be less room to do so with the smaller rings.

I really like the way it turned out and I will certainly be making more in the future for friends and family who intend to nurse their little bambinos.

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When I grow up I wanna be a seamstress…

August 15, 2007 · Filed under Crafting, Sewing

I’ve started my adventures in sewing now that I have discovered what was ailing my sewing machine. I received my sewing machine as a gift nearly a decade ago now and while I have used it v-e-r-y intermittently during those years, I have not actually attempted to learn the art of sewing.

So, as with most things I desire to know, I checked out some books and started reading. I visited my local thrift stores and began to collect, no more like hoard, wonderful patterns and fabrics. I pulled out my sewing machine, cut fabrics, broke thread, fed fabric to the feed dogs rather than through them, stitched, unstitched, stitched, unstitched, learned the value of backstitching by holding down the backstitch button so the machine feeds the fabric and I don’t have to shove the fabric backward through the machine damaging my needle, thread and fabric all at once! This delusion that I could simply press a button came from watching women with thousand dollar machines on television press their button so carefree-like. Note to self: I do not own a fancy shmancy machine like those women who make money sewing on television and no matter how much I treat my sewing machine like a fancy shmancy machine it will not morph into such.

I did make my own bias tape for this, my first, clothing project. As you can see though, I failed to tuck and fold the bias tape where it ended. Ah, the beauty of knowing that my daughter will never know, or care, that the haphazard seams of her shirt screams, “I was made by a novice!”

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Couch ouch

August 9, 2007 · Filed under Crafting, Ummmm...

So, I was embroidering a gift for a dear friend of mine who is due to have her fourth babe any moment and…oops…I dropped the needle.

Yep, right there in the shadowy black abyss on the right. Of course, I had baby girl on my lap…asleep. Well, for anyone who knows me, it is a rare moment that I spend simply enjoying moments of nothingness. So, of course, I had to put baby girl down and proceed to lift the cushion and dig for that which would allow me to stop doing nothing and pick up my unfinished embroidery project. As I was intently digging, I thought about how my hand just seemed to go deeper and deeper into the crevice collector. I thought about how reckless it might seem to plunge one’s hand into such places searching for sharp, pointy objects. And then…

I found it.

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Here’s lookin’ at you kid

July 8, 2007 · Filed under Fun, Photography

I’d like to dedicate one day a week to a topical photo series. This will be a great way for me to practice a hobby I really enjoy while passing on some inspiring photos of places and things you may not experience in your own neck of the woods. I’d be interested in hearing what sort of series interest you so don’t be shy!

Goats have horizontal slit-shaped pupils.

Pregnancy duration is approximately 150 days. Twins are the usual result, as with this litter. Birthing is known as “kidding”.

On Yom Kippur two goats were chosen and lots were drawn for them. One was sacrificed and the other allowed to escape into the wilderness, symbolically carrying with it the sins of the community. From this comes the word “scapegoat”.

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Beans grow on orchids?

July 8, 2007 · Filed under Favorite Things

Typically I am not a huge fan of store-bought flowers. I love wildflower arrangements but am not a huge “bouquet of roses” fan. I would rather spend time soaking up their sweetness in a garden, and plucking a few pretties for home to remind me of moments spent in their living presence. However, when my hubby brings home an armful of orchids, I can’t help but gush over them. I love selecting the perfect vase, perfect vantage point, and accompanying pieces for each bunch that seem to exude their own personality. The following arrangement found its home in the corner of our family room in a pitcher that never fails to make me think of warm milk splashing into a bowl of Irish oatmeal. Such pleasantries…

Did you know that there are upwards of 17,000 species of orchids in the world (and that is a conservative estimate)?! In fact, the orchid family is the largest family of flowering plants in the world. We are not just talking about variations of color, but the variations of design/shape are amazing. You would never think flowers like some of these even existed! I see God’s handiwork every time I look at an orchid and I think how satisfying it must have been to create so delicate and beautiful a flower. It is as if I can see His hand reaching down and painting the intricate patterns on their petals.

Feast your eyes on some beautiful photos that have resulted through the work of Howard Schatz (first photo on the left) and Greg Allikas (all other photos).

Strangely enough, such a beautiful flower received its name on account of its resemblance to what is known in Greek as the “orchis”. The fashion in which the flower unfolds, typically being a single petal unfolding atop two lateral petals, form the appearance of the aforementioned shape. And while this is all so fascinating, the most interesting tidbit gathered today was the knowledge that the vanilla bean is the fruit of an orchid.

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