For Everything There is A Time and a Season

For everything, there is a time and a season. Ecclesiastes, Chapter Three:

1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

The past week has been high drama for family and friends with health crises and simultaneous emotional upheavals. I have been away from home for a while, trying to help. I don't know how much help I gave, but at least I offered distraction and prayer.

Podcasts of craftlit and pray-as-you-go and knitting, of course, are some of my coping mechanisms to help maintain mental stability. Time to just listen to meditations and time for reflection are gifts which I have been given during this time. While knitting, I have been able to offer prayers and selected thoughts for family and friends facing difficult situations.

And I've decided over the past week that for this new autumnal season, I want to tackle a different and challenging project: an (easily) knit lace shawl.

I found a complete tutorial which sounds like it would be pretty and one that I could finish within a reasonable time frame. Never mind that I still have one beaded sock and a sweater to finish before starting the shawl!

A preview of (white) simple lace knitting is shown on the right, photo courtesy of Knitters' Review.

Here is the site I found: Making an Easy Lace Scarf. It looks like all the essentails are there: an easy lace scarf pattern, how-to's, and lots of links to patterns, tutorials, books and yarns. Once I master the "making of lace" technique, maybe a shawl will be on the list for another project for the winter.

Now to decide on the yarn to be used for the scarf. For everything there is a time and a season. Maybe next season will be the time to start the referenced lace shawl.

For Donna, may God's peace be with you. For Mary, Julie and Jack, may God's will leave you with strength and purpose. For Kathy, may God's peace shine on you. For anyone reading this post, may your time be purposeful.

How to Make Air Fresheners Yourself: Go Green

Home-and-Garden says

Few people realize how easy it is to make your own air fresheners and how much safer these alternatives are compared to the store-bought versions that are full of chemicals. There are a lot of options when it comes to freshening your home for less money and with all-natural ingredients. However, figuring out where to begin can be a little bit confusing. You can make a great air freshener and linen spray very inexpensively.

So I went on a hunt for home made air fresheners that were cheap, effective and Green! Here are a few sites and recipes that I found:

Ehow gives this recipe:

Step1 Heat 1 c. water.
Step2 Add four packages unflavored gelatin.
Step3 Stir until dissolved.
Step4 Remove from heat and add 1 c. distilled water.
Step5 Add 10 to 20 drops of scented oil.
Step6 Add a few drops of food coloring (optional).
Step7 Let the mixture cool, then pour it into clean baby-food jars.
Step8 Let gel set overnight.
Step9 Decorate jars with fabric, ribbon or stickers.

Or, how about this one:

Things You’ll Need: Witch Hazel, 30-40 dried bay leaves, 4 tbsp. dried sage

Step1 Gather the following ingredients: 4 tbsp. dried sage; 30 to 40 crumbled, dried bay leaves; and 1 c. witch hazel (liquid)

Step2 Combine ingredients in a medium-sized glass jar.

Step3 Mix well and cover with a lid.

Step4 Let mixture sit at room temperature for three days.

Step5 Mix again.

Step6 Strain herb leaves from mixture.

Step7 Pour the liquid

But, MY FAVORITE air freshener is this one from Green Living:

The vanilla bean has properties that reduce odors. Try this trick to remove unwanted smells and make your home fresh and sweetly-scented:

Just put 1 to 2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract in a small cup anywhere you want air freshening. That’s it!

Beading on Fabric

If you like to work with beads, eventually you may want to try sewing beads onto fabric.

Several years ago, I made a lined jacket and wanted to embellish the lapel with beads. I tried various methods, and ended up sewing the beads onto the jacket with nylon fishing line. If I were to do this over again, regular cotton floss would work just as well.

I decided to put an iguana likeness onto the lapel. It was just a basic tracing from a picture of an iguana, and the beads were sewn on in a more or less random fashion.

Here is a picture of the close up of the beaded iguana, and then the entire jacket:

The edging of the jacket also has attached beads.

For a tutorial on stitches, here is a good website I found: Coats and Clark

Basic Beading requires only a needle, thread and beads. There are just two stitches to learn—a stop stitch and a running stitch. Other stitches are variations of these.Basic Beading requires only a needle, thread and beads. There are just two stitches two basics.

Running Stitch: This is a stitch with a bead in it. Cut a length of thread no longer than 15”. Knot one end of the thread. Bring needle up through the fabric to the right side and thread a bead onto the needle. Bring the needle back through the fabric to the wrong side right next to the bead. Continue sewing beads using this running stitch. On straight lines, depending on the size of the bead, several beads can be threaded on the needle and sewn on in a single stitch. Every 3 or 4 beads, take a back stitch to secure.

Stop Stitch: This is for attaching two beads-usually a large and a small bead. Bring needle up through the fabric to the right side and thread first the larger then the smaller bead onto the needle. The small bead is the “stop”. Bring the needle back through the first larger bead to the wrong side of the fabric.Fence Stitch Bring needle up through the fabric to the right side and thread a bugle bead, a seed beadand another bugle bead onto the needle. Take a short stitch so that the bugle beads stand up creating a “fence”.

Loop Stitch: Create a dramatic edging with this stitch. Bring needle up through the fabric to the right side and thread several (8 to 10 depending on the size). Use the last 6 or 7 beads as the “stop”. Bring the needle down through the first couple of beads and to the wrong side of the fabric.

Vermicelli Stitch: This is the basic running stitch, but each stitch is taken in a different direction. It can be a pattern such as a zig zag or completely random.

This winter, I want to try more bead embellishment on vintage blouses and shirts. And THIS time I'll follow the directions.