God can use my Jacket Designs

OK - this is just too precious ... Gloria (my #1 helper at this show) explained that this nurse who works in Hospise situations was excited about finding my booth and designs and bought goodies to make a jacket to use as a 'conversation starter' with her patients. She felt that they would be good for the wide range of patients she serves in this wonderful ministry - from the indigent without hardly a bed to sleep in to the very, very wealthy.

That touched me - and I share this thought with the prayer that perhaps that idea might ignite something in any of you - to use perhaps recycling (ties, jeans, sweaters, etc.) in my type of jackets with the purpose of using them in this manner...Conversation Starters!

On the Road Again

I'm on the road to the big Houston Quilt Festival where I'll be one of MANY vendors...with a VAN FULLLLLLL of goodies!
If you're close by - do come visit me at booth 650.

Here in Searcy, AR last night, had a first: fried corn on the cob! What a way to take a healthy veggie and make it sinful!!!

My helper - Gloria is all smart about podcasts, and I hope to join the 21st century and get this all through my thick head on this trip...leading to podcasts that I can offer as well. Let me know with comments to this post if you would be interested in podcasts I could offer, and some topics you'd like me to 'chat' /teach about...

Family Report: My family, and brother and sis-in-law successfully moved my parents to Assisted LIving at Bridle Brook in Mahomet, IL and it went quite smoothly I'm so, so grateful to report. They seem content there - and I actually had fun finding places for everything/organizng them. Even made a 'Where is it?" list for them to half way be able to find things. I can't begin to say how wonderful the staff at Bridle Brook has been - truly a God-sent place and people to help my folks at this time in their lives. Service to the elderly is a precious, very badly needed thing these days. God is VERY, VERY good. All the time, God is good.

'CHOSEN' - my 'Talking Pattern' is a Hit!

As I thought might be the case, the concept my helper, Cyndi, and I came up with of a 'Talking Pattern' is a hit - due largely to the many talents of my professional web-designer son, Jeff Rohlfing. Could not have done this without him! Though as mother and son 'working' together we nearly tear our hair out - the rewards for both of us are finally worth it.

I sold out of what I'd taken at the Chantilly Original Sewing & Quilt Expo last weekend, (and also both of my DVD's)...and just finished shipping off all the special orders. Placed my order for the 2nd printing today!
Here is the pattern cover:


And an additional jacket - my 'test' of the Darted Collar style of a woven fabric cut on the bias is also included - though not phto'd on the cover...


Cyndi and I had a great time - and the trip to Chantilly, Virginia was a lovely drive. We met special people in our booth - and - as always - are enchanted with the lovely sewing crazy women we meet. Kathy - you are in my prayers as you fight breast cancer. You are a trooper...Go GIRL!!


OH - and thought of the name of my next pattern: 'Purity' - and will raise money to pay for a well to be dug to provide healthy drinking water in a village where it is needed through World Vision. More to come...

This week brings packing up and moving my parents to a lovely assisted living situation. Thanks to so many of you for your prayers.

Oh - and to let you know how 'sewing on the brain' I am - I actually told Cyndi we needed to stop - as we had 'a quarter of a yard of gas left in the tank!'

My website was unavailable to place orders the last few days - but all is fixed now - so thanks for your patience, AND your notifications of a problem. Prayers to the rescue once again.

9/11 Observance and Remembrance

Many thanks to my customers as represented below for sending in these glorious photos of our American Flag flying at their homes - especially in commemoration of those fellow Americans lost on 9/11/01. I'm confident that many of us both flew our flag and remembered these families in prayer especially that day. I am sending a check today to the Twin Towers Orphan Fund for $75 as pledged for 11% of all sales from 9/9 through 9/13.

Wear Red on Fridays

The 'silent' majority of red-blooded Americans who support our troops and are grateful for the job they and their families have offered to do to guard our safety as a nation are starting a movement:
WEAR RED ON FRIDAYS.
That simple - just wear RED on Fridays.

Lessons Learned...a Weird Way

These days have me deep into helping my elderly parents downsize - again. Mom has Alzheimers, and Dad can't care for her alone any longer. He also needs assisted rather than independent living. God has provided every step of the way with great places and people to care for them. So...I'm learning - AGAIN - how I should not WORRY - but depend and trust in God and his timing.
Recently I realized that ALL the family lace - and lace pieces I'd collected in travel that had been gathered for decorating at my daughters' wedding - have gone missing. I've turned this house upside down looking for that precious box - or bag - or whatever it all got placed into at the end of that wonderful day on June 6. My heart has been sick over it...even the lace that graced the altar type table at the wedding that was lace from my Mom's baby carriage was in there! From special travels, I've added to this collection - and decorated with these pieces frequently. I mean tatted from Italy, family lace tablecloths...
Sew....you get the idea.

However, it seems that as I see the stronghold that my parents seem to have on their 'things' that God has a lesson for me in this - right now - today. I have to try to understand their connection to their 'things' as they are children who lived through the depression, and they worked VERY hard for all that they have. Nonetheless - these are THINGS. They seem TOO obsessed with them - and who should have what...on and on.

Sew...as I observe this, I can only look inward regarding my own loss of 'things' - the lace.
AND
All the sudden, the loss of all that lace doesn't seem as heart-breaking. I can see that God is teaching me - with an Exclamation Point - NOT to value THINGS.

Apply this to my 'career' of sewing - clothing - fashion - selling these things! Ouch. I feel guided to focus more on the creative experience that sewing affords, and to support whatever good causes God shows to me along the way. And, to testify to His love through my business in every way I possibly can.

Those are the lessons I'm being taught during these trying days.....and how God is providing people and places at exactly the PERFECT time for my folks as we travel this path together.

The Beginning of True Faith is the End of Anxiety!

CHOSEN - new pattern off to the printer and editor!

YEA!!!!! Wasn't a hard choice - I elected to bite the bullet and just finish the writing and taping of the 3rd jacket directions for my CHOSEN pattern today (instead f cleaning the house!). I was also up from 2 - 3 am early this morning doing a section since I couldn't sleep. Sent it all to the printer. Editor Jeff to pick it up tomorrow for the 'talking' part.

Have 2 more jackets following these directions that I want to do quickly to double check some of the directions, but alas - I see the end!
Jacket shown is the final jacket included...

God Slows Me Down

Can't sleep...and even if I do...the dreams are WEIRD. Flu bug caught up with me - or some kind of bug - on Sat. morning real early. Has knocked me flat. God slowing me down, I do believe. Tomorrow, we'll move my mother from a nursing home (which has been wonderful - but it is still a nursing home) to a lovely assisted living home. I had such huge plans for really tending to every little detail of it all - but it's my prayer that I'll have the strength to do that Monday morning - in a few hours - so it looks like 'home' to her before we bring her in late afternoon.

Anyway...above is photo of the "Convertible Collar" version of my new CHOSEN pattern. This jacket is finished with facings at the neck and center front -pretty conventional. I do love those jumbo snaps that finish off the front though.

This is not working... 2:46 am. Might 'tweet' it and back to the bed - perhaps I can convince my brain to stitch up the other 2 jacket collections of stuff I have pulled together to completly test my directions...

Back in the Designing Saddle...

I haven't uploaded photos from today's design session yet, but it sure was good to get 'back in the saddle' on this pattern. Since last Thursday morning, I've been at my Dad's side as we took my mom to the hospital, and now into a nursing home. Alzheimer's is a very, very exhausting and challenging disease to live through with a loved one. I'm very grateful for online support groups!

My mind got to hit STOP on all those concerns and I reached a new level of being in touch with God's peace as I got back into designing and sewing today. Once again, I was in control...not Alzheimers, not the health system - which, by the way, I feel stinks EVEN MORE now that I've been thrown into the Medicare/Insurance maze with all this. Reform is needed, but more government??? Don't get me started! Anyway - bossing the fabric around was true therapy, and I'm sew grateful it is part of my life!

This delay - and the catching up on the full process of designing - photo-ing - writing - and now recording directions as well - has made it real to me that I can only include 3 collar designs on my new talking pattern: CHOSEN. For one reason, it is just getting too big - too long with these 3 designs already. For another reason - I'm running out of time now too - but that is as it was to be, I know. During late night non-sleeping hours, my mind has the other design in my head morphing into anohter pattern to honor my Mom - perhaps re-cycling some of her clothing that she won't need in the nursing home - or even perhaps scraps of something I've made for her over the years hidden in my stash.

Tough Week - Walking with Alzheimers

Wow - what an end to the week. Events occurred that necessitated taking the step
God was there - sending an angel named Liz to help us wade through these waters. God was there orchestrating all this occurring NOW, while I am still home before my fall travels start.
God was there placing Mom in a room with a perfect room-mate.
God was there transforming my Mom into a totally 'new' personality that we totally did NOT expect...with saying she 'died' the first night and came back. She seems very comfortable there and even said she was praying with other residents. I am well aware this new 'mood' for a woman who was very argumentative and angry with Alzheimers may not last - but, for now, we're very grateful.

Dad and I are both exhausted - mentally and physically.

But - God is good~!

Newest Jacket for CHOSEN pattern

It was a good day - though I can tell you I'd MUCH rather design and sew than get all the directions written down and spoken (for the new Talking Pattern concept!). I'll be on a roll taping into my computer and then along comes a train or a plane...
Grrrr.
Here is a photo of the jacket I finished up today. Not the 'official' photo - but what I have for now. This is the same design basically as the one from a few days ago with the sweater used for collar and cuffs, but I wanted to test and figure out using a woven fabric cut on the bias for the collar. It worked!



I have decided to take pre-orders on this new pattern - it should be available Sept. 23. Here is the link where you can do a pre-order: http://www.londas-sewing.com/Chosen--Londas-Talking-Pattern-p24600.html

Tonight I'm trying to figure out this Twitter stuff...

Figuring out Facebook

I'd much rather be designing and sewing - which I WILL get to again today - but before I forget - this Facebook thing - well, I've set up a page for my business and here it is: Become a Fan...I'd appreciate it!
Be a Fan of Londa's Creative Threads @ Facebook.com!


Sad thing - but when you're in business on the internet I'm told, and agree, that 'doing all this stuff' is NOT a choice.

Newest Creative Sweatshirt Jacket

I LOVE this collar! Achieved with 2 darts, it is an old sweater. Now I'm working on a version from a woven fabric as well. I make each design at least 2 times to write and test my directions...quite a process. Again and Again, I realize how VERY IMPORTANT a great stash of fabrics is to creative sewing. I hope YOU have one!

Finally decided what styles, and what fabrics the cover jackets (4) will be for
this pattern, Chosen. Sept. 7 is my deadline for all to the printer and computer whiz. Will be my first "Talking Pattern".

Can't wait to debut it!

Not My Tax Dollars to Fund Abortion!

I am staunchly PRO Life - as I have stated before.
I want to help get the facts out there about the current 'health care initiative' regarding abortion - and am pasting here below what I just got in an email from AUL; Americans United for Life:

"Perfect example: Planned Parenthood’s spin machine has issued a “Reality Check,” attacking what Richards says are “myths” spread by pro-lifers -- and twisting the truth so much it made my head feel like it was in a spin machine. I showed it to our legal team, and they responded with some masterful mythbusting of their own. Here’s their take on the abortion industry’s three biggest myths about health care reform:

MYTH: Pro-life groups want to strip reproductive health from health care reform.
Reality: Pro-life groups want to protect women’s reproductive health. And we do not want to deny women insurance coverage. However AUL, along with the vast majority of Americans, believes that “Real health care respects life!” No matter what Planned Parenthood says, abortion does not equal reproductive health. And health coverage should not include the destruction of unborn children. Furthermore, no one should be forced to violate their conscience by performing, referring for, paying for, or providing coverage for abortion. And make no mistake, that’s what the bills under consideration would do.

MYTH: The health care reform bills before Congress will not change the “status quo” regarding insurance coverage of abortion. Reality: An amendment added to H.R. 3200 permits the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to include abortion in the public health insurance plan, and requires abortion coverage if the Hyde amendment is ever reversed. The current Secretary of HHS, Kathleen Sebelius, is staunchly pro-abortion and would certainly include abortion, allowing for immediate federal funding of elective abortion coverage. The provision also requires that all areas of the country contain one private plan that covers abortion and permits taxpayer funding of private plans that cover elective abortion.

The Senate HELP bill delegates to a “Medical Advisory Committee” the role of deciding what benefits any private or public health care plan must offer. This Committee is expected to include abortion as a required minimum benefit. Further, based on court precedent, private plans would be forced by the government to include coverage of abortion -- this is a drastic change from the status quo in which private plans may elect to cover abortion and individuals may choose whether or not to purchase health insurance that offers coverage of abortion. Ironically, “pro-choice” activists are trying to take consumer choice out of health care.

MYTH: The health care reform bills before Congress do not mandate abortion coverage.
Reality: Both H.R. 3200 and the Senate HELP bill mandate abortion in several ways:

an amendment to H.R. 3200 permits and may require abortion coverage in the public health insurance plan, and permits taxpayer funding of private plans that cover elective abortion;
prior court holdings which state that abortion is included within several of Medicaid’s mandatory categories of care (inpatient services, outpatient services, and preventative care) will certainly apply to any federal statute revising Medicaid and involving health care reform, and;
the rejection of several key pro-life amendments in the House and Senate Committees, where the inclusion would have ensured that abortion was not funded in the bills, demonstrates that the bills are intended to mandate abortion.
If you’re trying to sort out the myths from facts on health care reform, the best place to start is AUL Action’s RealHealthCareRespectsLife.com. The site features in-depth analysis from our legal team, showing how the health care reform plans currently under consideration by Congress would mandate abortion coverage, strip providers of their rights of conscience, and threaten the ill and elderly with denial of care. Also, if you’re going to a town hall meeting this month, download our special town-hall flyer and distribute it to show your friends and neighbors to show that Real Health Care Respects Life.

Thank you for joining me in working to protect and defend life!


Yours For Life,

Charmaine Yoest, Ph.D.
President & CEO "