Monday, December 21, 2015

Disappearing 4 Patch Quilt



When I came home from England I was in desperate need of a creative outlet and my best friend was engaged! Since I had lots of time on my hands I decided to make her a quilt. As I began to think of all the designs I could do I started with simple large squares of fabric but then like most projects It got more and more complex. Until I decided to do a disappearing 4 patch with dresden plate flowers. Both of these techniques were brand new to me. I started by picking out my main fabrics navy blue and white/grey. I pretty much pulled all of these colors off the shelves of Joann's and had them laid out on the counter figuring out what was going to work. After I washed and ironed all my fabric it was time to cut them into 5in squares. 326 squares cut in 4 days! Phew now I can start sewing. I then sewed them into a 4 patch of 2 of the same blue and white. 70 blocks later it was time to cut them all again!

Disappearing 4-Patch Tutorial. Love this! http://www.andiejohnsonsews.com/2011/03/disapperaing-4-patch-tutorial.html:
Hansel is the best sewing partner along with my Yorkshire Tea! I cut each block 1.25 in off each seam. Then I rotated the cut pieces around so that the pattern went 
white square, blue strip, white strip, blue square.  I used this tutorial. And then I sewed them all back up. This took a long time. Something really important that I forgot to do was to iron my seams so that it was easier to sew the blocks together. I dont think you can do it so they lock but it might work better if you ironed them open instead of off to one side. When I squared up my blocks they 7.75 in. I then needed to take a break from all the gray and blue because they were driving me crazy. I move over to figure out how to make my flowers using the dresden plate design. I made a stencil that 1 in on the bottom, 6 in tall, and 3 in centered at the top. I used that stencil to cut out 5 different yellow fabrics. Once I had stacks of trapeziums I sewed the 3 in edge right sides together. You then flip the seam inside out so you get a triangle at the top and iron so it holds its shape making sure the seam is pressed open.  
I used this tutorial. Now you have lots of petals.  You can then lay them out in a circle and it becomes a flower! Just sew them together with the normal 1/4 in seam and press open. I did off to one side but I think open would have been better. 
I got my center fabric and cut out a larger circle than I needed and ironed it around a cardboard cut out of my desired circle size. Once your center fabric will hold the circle shape had stitch it on to your flower. And you are done! These were so easy and fun to make. I cant wait to do lots of them! It would also be a great scrap buster. 

Back to my blocks now. Before I could sew them together I had to lay them out to get the right pattern and to make sure the same fabrics were not touching. This was the hardest part. When I had the design I liked I started sewing the blocks together into strips. Then the strips together to get my final quilt top. I was so frustrated with it at this point because I  could only see my mistakes and all the places my corners didn't mach up. I had to put it away for a few weeks until I was ready to put the border on it. I got this great dark blue with a bit of texture in it. I folded it along the long side and cut 5 inches wide for the border. This worked so well for getting straight long pieces of fabric! Once the border was on it changed the whole look of the quilt and I could finally see it coming together. It helped your eye see the blue and grey pattern rather than the individual fabrics and mistakes. I began liking the quilt again. 
Because it was so big my back piece of flannel had to be 2 separate pieces sewn together. Instead of having a seam I used a piece of the blue border and a flower. I loved the modern look it had and the flannel was so soft. 
I machine sewed the flowers on going right along the edge of each petal.  
I could see then end now and wanted to finish it so bad. It was time to baste and pin it. I used a spray adhesive baster and then pined it in place. Now that it was together I decided to quilt it by going 1/4 in off the main seams on either side. I went right over the flowers and they wrinkled a bit but not too bad. Next time I would have chalked the line I needed to follow. This quilting was a great idea. It looked so good on the top and very clean on the back. 
Once the quilting was done I had left 2 inches of over lap of my flannel back so I could try a new way of binding it. I folded the extra 2 inches over in half right along the quilt and the over on top of the quilt. At the corners I folded it up before folding it over. My corners were perfect! I just did a 1/4 in seam along the edge of the flannel binding all the way around. Then to finish it off I hand stitched the corners closed. It was finished!!! I am so proud of it, it looks so good! This is the largest most complicated quilt I have done so far. I now have more confidence to tackle bigger projects. I gave it to Kim a little late for her wedding but she and her husband Brandon loved it so much! It is big enough for two to cuddle under it or to put on a twin bed. 
Until my next quilting adventure...




Thursday, February 12, 2015

My Favorite City! YORK!


York is absolutely my favorite city in all of the UK perhaps the World! I love the charm and feel of York. It is a very old quaint town that is full of history and culture while maintaining its northern English roots. Mom and I got to spend 3 days there over Christmas then we took Drew and Dana back there a few days later because we loved it so much. At school we had the opportunity to go for a day and I jumped on it! It was so fun with my family but equally fun and different with my friends. Our first views of York was the amazing towers of The Minster. The bells were chiming while were there and filled the whole city with their loud scales of notes. We explored the walls around the city and got amazing views of The Minster. Then we had tea in this adorable cafe called Vanilla Tea. It was the exactly what you would think of for a cute English tea house. After that we explored the shops, the chocolate factory, and the Shambles. Which is a really cool street that has a Diagon Alley feel to it. All of the shops are small locally owned and have lots of locally hand crafted items. It is so fun to explore with wonder in all the shop windows while holding amazing dark hot chocolate. My favorite moment of the day was breaking off on my own and sitting in the park behind The Minster on a very comfortable wooden bench gazing at this huge beautiful place of worship of my God! In that moment I felt Peace and so close to Jesus. At the end of the day we were all tired from walking we made it back to the buss and got to expierence one of the brightest most colorful sunsets I have seen in a long time. For me York is always worth the trip!

(Me in front of The Minster)
( Me in the adorable Tea shop with little flags and tulips by the window)

(My crazy group of friends front to back, Kayla, Franzi, Lene, Anna, Elle, and not pictured were Shaun, Aundrea, and Melissa)
(Perfect English Yorkshire Tea in a china tea cup)
(A cute 1,000 year old church we stumbled upon) 








(The Shambles!)





(Me with my dark hot chocolate in the Shambles) 
(My favorite street because of the shops)
(Me and a few of the girls walking on the Roman walls that surround the city)
(Pretty views of York Minster from the walls)
(More views of York Minster)


(Kayla and I in front of York Minster)
(Me in my favorite spot in York)
(My favorite spot in the park behind the Minster looking at the side with he flying buttresses and the big tower in the middle) 


(The magnificent sun set behind the silhouette of York Minster) 

Friday, February 6, 2015

Holy Spirit Essay

Ok I know I Suck at keeping up with my blog. I am so sorry! I will try to get caught up. Which means you may see things out of order. Any way I wanted to share with you my favorite Essay! It was on the Person and Work of the Holy Spirit. I loved these lectures and I learned so much about the Holy Spirit. Our assignment was to write a response letter to "Ashley". First is Ashley's letter then it is my response.  I hope you enjoy it!

My dear friend,
 Is it possible to drive God away from my life?  I am in a terrible state of fear that I may have grieved, or even blasphemed the Holy Spirit, by neglecting him during my three years as a Christian.  I am terrified that he has now left me.  I read a verse in Psalm 51 recently which said: 'Do not take your Holy Spirit from me', which seems clearly to imply that he could leave.  Is this true?  If not, why does this verse seem to suggest it?
 You see, although I have been a Christian for three years, I have neglected God and been so distant from him.  Recently I realised that God has much more to accomplish in my life than just taking me to heaven when I die.  This started when I met some other Christians who seemed to have something I didn’t have.  They urged me to ask God to baptise me in the Holy Spirit - which I did - but nothing has happened.  I know this because they told me that when it did, I would speak in tongues, and I haven't done so.
 Then I met someone else who told me I had already been baptised with the Holy Spirit (although I can't think when… but he didn't think there had to be any outward evidence).  He said that I needed to be filled with the Holy Spirit, but I don't even know what it means, let alone how to make it happen.  It sounds so vague to me.  The baptism idea sounds better because at least there is something concrete to show for it (tongues - or so I was told).  Do you understand what I am looking for?  How do I get this sense of being closer to God?  Can you tell me what the bible says about it all, and when you write, could you give me some verses and passages of Scripture, so  I can study all this for myself?  I am so tired of other people's opinions — I just want to know what God has said.  To be honest, I’m afraid there may be no hope left for me…….
 Please write soon,

Ashley

Dear Ashley,
Thank you so much for writing me with your concerns. From you letter I hear you saying that you are concerned with if the Holy Spirit has left you, if you have grieved Him, if you have blasphemed Him, if you need to be baptized by the Spirit, if you need to be filled with the Spirit, and if you need to speak in tongues. Well Ashley I can assure there is defiantly still hope for you.
Your first concern was that you fear the Holy Spirit has left you referencing Psalm 51:11.  The Spirit has been around since creation like we see in Gen1:2 and 3:7, but has had different roles though scripture. In the Old Testament days the Spirit would come upon and leave specific people to do a specific task from God at specific times. We see this throughout OT scripture specifically in 1 Samuel 16; the Spirit came upon David and left Saul because he refused to follow the ways of the Lord. David’s biggest fear was that he would sin so bad that God would remove the Spirit from him like we see in his prayer in Psalm 51:11. This is called old covenant theology. Jeremiah 31:31-34 prophesies of a new covenant where the law is within us. When Jesus came, Mark 1:10 and Luke 4:18, the Spirit came upon Jesus at His baptism by John.  While Jesus is here He foretells of the Spirit coming to us in John 16: 7. Matthew 28: 20 confirms this also and says “Ashley, I will be with you to the very end of the age. I will never leave you”. Jesus is making reference to the Holy Spirit that would come at Pentecost, Acts 2, into the hearts of all who believe in Jesus. Since the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit no longer comes upon us like in the OT but lives inside our hearts and never leaves us no matter how bad we sin. We see assurance of this throughout New Testament scripture specifically in Ephesians 1:13-14, we are sealed with a mark of ownership which is the Holy Spirit, and Romans 8: 15-16 the Spirit is the one that gives us assurance we are children of God. Ashley, because you are so hungry for the Spirit it means He is working in you.
Even though the Holy Spirit will never leave you it is possible to grieve (upset), quench (say no to), and resist (stubborn against authority) Him. Scripture commands us not to do these in Eph 4:30, 1Thessalonians 5:19, and Acts 7:51. This is done by not, keeping in step with the Spirit, Gal 5:25, and living the way He wants you to live according to His will. “Rarely do we consider whether our actions or lifestyle are grievous to the Spirit of the Living God.” We can also “quench the Spirit by ignoring His workings” among believers. Because of this I am sorry to tell you that you have grieved, quenched and resisted the Holy Spirit these last 3 years. Please find hope in that none of these are unforgivable, you just need to repent, ask for forgiveness and turn from your bad ways.
Although you have grieved Him I am certain you have not blasphemed Him, Matt 12:22-32. In this passage Jesus knows the thoughts of the Pharisees as they say His works done by the devil. The Pharisees know who Jesus is yet they refuse to acknowledge Him as the Son of God. Thus it’s unforgivable because the Pharisees refuse the Spirit’s gift of understanding, forgiveness and new birth. If they had repented and acknowledged Jesus as the Son of God as they knew in their hearts they would have received forgiveness. Therefore any Christian that has said yes to Jesus is not in danger of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Ashley, if you had blasphemed the Spirit you wouldn’t become a Christian and you wouldn’t be worried about t now.
Since you are a Christian you do not need to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. That happens when you become a Christian as it is described in Acts 2:38, 1 Cor 12:13, Eph 1: 13-14, and John 7:37-39. All of these passages say that when you believe in Jesus you receive the Holy Spirit in that moment. The biblical reference your friends probably used for the idea that you need to be baptized by the Holy Spirit after you become a Christian would be Acts 8:4-17. This passage says Phillip preached the gospel and later Peter and John came and brought the Spirit to the Samaritans who believed. To fully understand this passage we need to recognize that it is part of a string of events that are a happening in Acts: Acts 2: 1-4(Jesus’ Followers), 8: 1-14(Samaritans), 9: 1-7 (Saul), 10: 1-48 (Gentiles), 19: 1-7 (followers of John the Baptist). Each of these events were major breakthrough moments for the Church and “every time the gospel first breaks a major barrier, something obvious and visible occurs to authenticate what’s happened as being genuinely of God”. In Acts 8, this was the biggest breakthrough moment second to Pentecost, the first Samaritans become Christians and the Spirit is uniquely withheld until the unifying apostolic leadership came with affirmation. They wanted ensure that the Samaritan Christians and the Jewish Christians would unified so there would not be division. The fact that the Holy Spirit is withheld at the moment of conversion here is the only time this happens in the NT. What this means for us today is that our conversions will look like the other conversions in Acts that aren’t major break-though moments and not accompanied by manifestations of the Spirit such as: The Ethiopian eunuch Acts 8: 38, Lydia Acts 16: 14, The Philippian jailor Acts 16: 34, Jews & Greeks in Berea Acts 17: 12, Dionysius & Damaris in Athens Acts 17: 34. 
This does not mean we do not need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. In Eph 5:18 the ‘all’ that is used in Greek means ‘all of you must’ it is a plural imperative, a command to everyone. It is also a present continuative meaning that it is for today and everyday forward, we need to keep being filled.  John 3:34 says that God gives the Spirit without measure. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit it will look like deeper fellowship, deeper worship, deeper gratitude, and deeper humility, Eph 5:19-21. The way to be filled with the Holy Spirit is to ask the Father, He wants to give Him to us, Luke 11:13. Although this verse is passive on our part we need to allow the Holy Spirit to fill us, we also need to do our part which is read the Bible and obey it as it says in John 14:23. Ashley, because you have not be doing your part in the last 3 years it is no wonder that you do not feel full of the Holy Spirit. “When He fills us we become vessels of blessing to the world” and pour out His spirit as he fills us up.
Being filled with the Holy Spirit does not mean that you speak in tongues or have other obvious manifestations of the Spirit. Tongues is one of the spiritual gifts listed in Romans 12:6-8, 1 Cor 12:8-10, Eph 4:11, and 1 Peter 4:10-11. These gifts are used to edify, equip and encourage the Church as well as to bring unity which is the job of the Holy Spirit, Eph 4:3, 1 Peter 4:10,  1 Corinthians 12: 4, 7,17 ,  Ephesians 4: 12. With all the gifts we need to test them against scripture to ensure they are being used correctly and align with the Word of God, 1 Cor 14: 29.  “No experience-no matter how much it may mean to us or how important it may seem to be-must take the place of God’s Word in our lives.” The list of spiritual gifts is not an exhaustive list, we are all given different gifts by God according to our purpose in the body of Christ- His Church, 1 Peter 4:10,  Eph. 4: 7,  1 Cor 12,  Romans 12: 5-6. We should all have the evidences of the Spirit in our lives which is to manifest God’s character, become increasingly pure, be increasingly devoted to God,  have a growing hatred of sin, have increasingly high spiritual and moral standards, be increasingly  committed to God’s service, live with increasing standards of justice and ‘rightness’, and daily enjoy the presence of God. 
For me I do not have any of the spiritual gifts listed in the bible except for the gift of encouragement. I have many friends that do speak in tongues and prophesy and I have asked for these gifts. I think people that have these gifts are great and they have blessed me many times from them. In my relationship with the Spirit if He is telling me something I will have a sudden thought enter my mind or I may have a gut feeling that won’t go away until I address what it is He is telling me. Using my gift of encouragement for me means that the Spirit points out people that need encouragement and usually gives me the words they need in that moment. I do not try to force this gift but through other people that have confirmed that I have this gift.
Ashley I hope this helps you understand and grow in your relationship with the Spirit. The most important thing to remember is that although there are many different opinions we need to not be divided and remember Eph 4:3 to fight for unity.
In Christ, 
Alyse


Friday, January 16, 2015

Out and about

First of all I am so sorry I have not blogged more…at all.  Let me catch you up a little. 
On the weekends we get the option to go out on Saturday to nearby cities. The first weekend 10/4/14 we went to the Lake District to the city of Windamear. It was a gorgeous English day of off and on rain and sun! The landscape was fantastic also! The first thing we did was walk to the fairy to go across the lake. While talking to one of the deck hands I learned that Beatrix Potter’s house was just over the hill 2 miles away!

My friend Erika and I decided go on an adventure and try and find the house. We set off hiking through the woods and along the small English roads uphill. Once we were on top of the hill we could see out over the English countryside and it was stunning! The sun had come out and was lighting up the green hills with big puffy white clouds and bright blue sky all around! After asking directions we finally found the house. We inquired about buying a ticket to see the house and realized it was pretty expensive but the gardens were free and we could look at the house just not go in. Oh my gosh! The gardens were amazing! It was just like walking in to her books with peter rabbit! It was so quaint and so English! Looking at the pictures in the books and then at her gardens you could see all the different little scenes in there natural settings. I absolutely loved it! We took a bus back to the ferry so we would make it on time and then headed back to the castle.