Machine embroidery again

I have had my embroidery machine for many years.  I have enjoyed it very much throughout those years.  Its not a fancy one where you can transfer directly from your computer but instead you must pick your designs and put them on a card which is then inserted into your embroidery machine.  I have managed to learn this skill many times and forget it as quick as I learn it, it seems.  Anyway I have gotten back into doing machine embroidery and so I wanted to show you what I made this morning.

This design takes 32 minutes and 9 color changes.  That 32 minutes is just sewing time, it doesn't include changing thread time and replacing the bobbin time.

The designs I use give suggestions for colors to use in the design but you can change them up to your liking.

Here is the paisley design I am making today nearly finished.

Trimmed and off the hoop.  What a pretty tea towel it made.  Down here in south Texas they call tea towels (cup towels), I had never heard them called that until I moved here.

My latest crochet projects

I have made several hot pads but I thought these two were cute because one looks like a watermelon and the other looks like candy corn.

I saw this on Facebook when I was still on there and recognized both the stitch and the yarn.  I copied the picture and I love how it turned out.

This baby afghan is done in white I love this yarn from Hobby Lobby.  The pattern is called, Call the midwife.

This pattern is the virus pattern and is a pink and gray baby afghan.

This is a C2C or corner afghan.  The completed afghan is below.

The completed C2C afghan.  I made this for my daughter Brooke on the occasion of her marriage. 

I also made this afghan for Brooke and Alex on for their wedding.  They get married one week from today.

This is another C2C afghan.

I have also been crocheting hats for children who are less fortunate than us.  I will try to take a few pictures of the hats one of these days.

Missing in action

     I know that I have been MIA for a while here on the blog and I apologize.  I have closed my facebook account and all other media accounts.  I found I was spending far too much time on them.  I could check my phone for the amount of time I was spending on them and it was out of line.  Plus the controversy was getting to me.

      I have found I am getting a lot more done around the house now that I don't spend so much time reading about other peoples lives.

     As always I have been enjoying my crochet and when I last went to Dodge I brought along 35 hats I had made and donated them to a friend who teaches at one of the poorest schools in that town.  I hope they warm many children's heads this winter.  I am working on many more hats to take along with me to my daughters in Missouri for them to distribute to needy children.  It saddens me that so many children don't have the basics like a warm hat for the winter here in our own country.

     I have also been crocheting baby blankets.  I now have several made up and need to figure out what to do with them.  I have a niece who is expecting but one will be sufficient for her I am sure.

     Jeff and I have been working on writing our Wills.  Do you and your husband have Wills?  We are making Holographic Wills.  Do a search to see if they are valid in your state and how to prepare one.  Then it would be a good idea to get it done.  We are not promised tomorrow.

     For my extension club I am putting together a program about hurricane preparedness.  I think it is a good time since we just went through hurricane Harvey.  There is so much devastation in our area its unbelievable.  Fortunately we just had high winds and not floods like Houston and that area.  High winds are bad enough but at least there isn't the MOLD to contend with.  Our house only suffered a few trees down and singles blown off the roof.  We do get a new roof but really we were fortunate.

     Bill and Christina Derixson our friends and former pastors church was flooded and they had to quickly rip out the carpet from the sanctuary and that was a lot of work to unbolt all the pews and then remove them and then the carpet.  Then the water wicks up the sheet rock so that had to be removed as well.  They are having service in the fellowship hall and are working on redoing the sanctuary.  

     Hannah worked with a turtle capture and then they took scientific measurements and released the turtles.  That is right up her alley.  She is studying range and wildlife management at Texas A&M Kingsville.  She worked for the state park for 3 summers and last summer worked for a graduate student doing controlled burns and plant collection, identification and measurements.  She would really like to work on a cattle ranch this summer so if any of my friends who read this blog know of a place she can work this coming summer please let us know.  She is interested in range management but also wants to learn cattle and other stuff like that.  she has always been an outdoors girl.

     I will try not to be such a stranger and post more often.  Y'all take care.

Missionary News

Bush Beat BlogF FROM "BUSH BUNNY BRENDA" DATE:  SEPTEMBER 30, 2017 EVIL LOOSES TO PRAYERS OF FAITH At 2 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 27, thieves broke into Manuel’s home.  Manuel is our long distance truck driver, and he was in Meluco District on an overnight run to deliver food to the 520 orphans in that area.  Manuel’s wife totally depends on that motorbike for her job as she teaches school in a village 15 km from Balama. We are very thankful that the thieves did not harm anyone during the robbery, but the loss of the bike was a horrible blow to this family.   With Manuel gone, the YOUTH GROUP from his church, some of them members of our BBC team, met at his home to pray. They specifically asked the Lord to show them “where the bike was hidden”.  Most times, stolen bikes are taken to another town and immediately sold, making them very difficult to recover. GOD ANSWERED QUICKLY for out of nowhere, a man they didn’t know showed up at Manuel’s gate.  He told the Youth group that he saw a man PUSHING a motorbike past his home at 2:15 a.m.  The man showed them where he saw the man going, so the men started talking to everyone on that road. When they got near our construction site for Orphan House #3, the night guard came forward to say that HE SAW A MAN PUSHING A BIKE into a fenced yard not far from where we are building orphan house #3!  The Youth members and police went to that house and recovered the bike!  Folks, I can tell you that this is a GOD THING for sure!  It just doesn’t happen that a stolen bike is recovered so easily and in only 6 hours! TALK ABOUT A FAITH LESSON!  All of us were super encouraged, and it showed our many “doubting Thomas” staff members that God truly answers prayer.  It was the talk of the whole community that day, making both the saved and unsaved “take notice” of God’s power to answer prayer! PROVENTIAL DIRECTOR OF HEALTH VISITS BALAMA IT WAS OUR PLEASURE TO WELCOME THE DIRECTOR OF HEALTH. Senhora Directora Anastancia Lidimba toured the Balama health facilities on Friday.  She requested to personally meet with me for she wanted to know who this “Brenda” is who helps the Balama hospital.  We assist in many little ways, and will be providing a Land Cruiser and driver this next week to help distribute deworming medicine to all the children in Balama District.  For the hospital staff to accomplish this massive feat in 30+ villages in 5 days (over 50,000 children in the target group), the Balama Hospital Director calls on everyone with transport who lives or works in the District to help transport the medical teams to the villages. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting this joyful and very powerful woman, who has the responsibility of overseeing every  medical facility in Cabo Delgado’s 17 districts. BUSH BUNNY TIDBITS: HANDING OUT SALT TO WIDOWS WHO CARE FOR ORPHANS. 1.       Capena, office manager and my very versatile “right hand man” along with the Balama food distribution team spent the week gifting over 25 tons of corn and beans to 577 orphans in 15 remote villages. ORPHANS AND WIDOWS, HEADING HOME FROM FOOD DISTRIBUTION. 2.       Manuel made 2 trips to Meluco District (9 hour drive each way) to provide the corn and beans needed to support these children through the fast approaching rainy season (Nov.)  He will make another 3 loads this coming week, to complete the amount of food needed until May, 2018.  WHY THE RUSH?  A main bridge is out on the only road leading to our Meluco mission station.  To get there, Manuel drives through a  deep river bed on a temporary road of large rocks that provides trucks a dry season crossing.  Once the rains begin, that option will literally be under water. This large bridge has been repaired twice after the last 2 rainy seasons, but each rainy season this river receives even larger amounts of fast moving water that damages it again. To say the least, it has been a hectic but rewarding week. Keep your prayers coming. Blessings, Bush Bunny Brenda Lange And the Balama staff NOTE: REMEMBER OUR NEW ADDRESS: ORPHANS UNLIMITED, INC 562 S. HWY 123, BYPASS, #301 SEGUIN, TX 78155