Never Was There Such a Pair of Sisters...

I am thankful for my best friends ~ Thing 1 and Thing 2 ~ my identical twin sisters Candace and Caitlyn. They are so cheerful and always inspiring me and challenging me in so many ways. Whether it's sharing their favorite new movie clip on Youtube or telling me about a fantastic book they're reading or being patient with some of my pigheaded ideas, or comparing school stories with me, they are an example to follow. I learn so much from them. Even though I'm slightly older than they are, I feel like I can't quite keep up - they're always one step ahead of me! The only problem with the twins is that I have two people to answer to when I do something to one of them. For instance, when we were kids we would often swim in a friend's pond with a floating dock. One day I decided to sneak up behind one twin and push her off the dock. I had stupidly forgotten about the other one who in no time at all was pushing me straight in after the first one! So be forewarned...even though most twins look cute, they're feisty, especially mine.

Live Music after Thanksgiving Meal at the Taylors...so fun!

Fun-packed Thanksgiving at the Taylors

How I Pay for Tuition Continued...

Free-form feather design up close.

This pic was taken from the backside of the Gammill (that's the brand of long-arm machine I have). It gives you a better view of just how big it is. The machine rests on wheels and the wheels sit within grooves that run all the way down the length of the 12 foot frame. (It's kinuv hard to explain it exactly.)

First Layer: Quilt Top given to me already pieced by the customer.

Second Layer: Batting (it is like a very thin blanket of cotton)

Third Layer: The Backing of the quilt.

My Job: Sandwich all three layers with my free motion stitching. You can see here that I used my "freeform feather" design on this quilt.
Sometimes I put both hands on the handlebars, but most of the time just one. This way my other hand is free to smooth out unruly puckers and deal with other issues.

How I Pay for Tuition...

This is the longarm quilting machine I work on. I love quilting quilts. The machine itself is about 4 feet long and and frame it is positioned on is about 12 feet long. There are also overhead lights for sewing at night. The motor is very powerful and makes a loud, steady whirring sound. It is quite impressive and tons of fun to work on.

As you can see here I hold onto the handlebars and sew at speed 80. I regulate the length my stitches by how quickly I move my hands. The actual technique I use is called "free-motion quilting." This means that I create with "free motion" the stitched designs on the quilt. I don't use pantographs and the machine is not pre-progammed, I simply design my own. Waaaaay fun! I'll have to post a video sometime.

This kinuv gives you an idea of what it actually looks like to have a quilt in progress.

Step#1: I recieve the quilt top from the customer along with the backing.

Step#2: I pin in the backing and the top to the cream colored canvas fabric which is attached to the black metal bars. The batting (the stuffing in between) is gently draped between the two layers and not pinned in. Every time I complete 2 passes (sewing down the quilt top from left to right) I roll up the part I just quilted and start on the next 2 passes until I'm done.

Little People

11 week old feet, with tiny toes!

12 week old hand with fingernails! Wow....

12 week old foot.

A perfect little ear at week 14. (Odd how the ear itself sortuv looks like a fetus.)

I was shocked to find out that in 2007 there were 9,546 abortions in a nearby county. That's just one county...I can't imagine how many there were in all the local counties combined. The baby pictured here is 8 weeks along.

I FINALLY HAVE MY OWN BLOG!!!!!!!!!!!! YEEEHAAAAH!
(Ok, the cone of silence can now be lifted)

One of my favorite pastimes is perusing friend's blogs. I love looking at all the photos and seeing what God is doing in other people's lives. It has always looked like fun to have a blog, so I finally joined the club.

Scribble Scrabble will be a place for my ramblings and musings. I will post glimpses of my daily life as a hard-working, almost broke, college student. God is a big part of my life - so He'll be mentioned a lot. Hobbies and fun pastimes are some of the other things I'll write about. Family too. For now, I'm done with my first post. It's 11:14 pm, I'm going to bed!