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Ever finish sewing a straight shirt collar, stitching carefully to the shirt's curved neck edge, even pressing carefully during each part of collar construction, only to have one side of the collar stubbornly refuse to lay flat against the shirt bodice? Directional stitching may help.

Directional Stitching

Admire as much as you can, most people don't admire enough.

Vincent van Gogh

Vincent Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” is widely considered one of the best and most famous paintings in history. But according to letters sent to his brother Theo, Van Gogh was staying in an asylum for depression at the time he began that masterpiece, and he wasn’t permitted to paint in his room. After admiring the sky from his bedroom window in the morning, he relied on the deep impression the sky had left in his memory once he had access to his paints. This story lends a poignant depth to his advice to admire all we can, which itself comes from another letter to Theo. Van Gogh’s appreciation for the beauty around him, even in the most challenging of circumstances, led him to produce perhaps his greatest work. What beauty might we glean from our own lives if we were to also cultivate a deep level of admiration for the world around us?

Trust in him at all times, you people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge.


—Psalm 62:8 NIV

“Commit your life to the Lord, and he will help you.” (Psalm 37:5)

From our first babblings to our last word, we make but one statement, and that is our life.

Richard Paul Evans

Richard Paul Evans is a prolific writer, having published dozens of books, including nonfiction works on money management and his bestselling fictional “Christmas Box” series. These words come from the series’ last installment, “The Letter,” in which a father grieves for his young daughter and finds a letter from his own estranged mother. Evans’ story focuses on the choices we make, and all the feelings, both good and bad, that ripple after them. His words here remind us that the experiences of our lives, from the difficult to the joyful, define us as much as we define them. In the end, our actions and the way we treated others will be our legacy.

“The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.” (Psalm 93:1)

“Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.” (Psalm 33:12)

The seeds of great things are often small.

Free motion machine stitching is useful for monograming on a standard sewing machine, applying simple embroidery designs, thread drawing, quilting, or holding together scrap pieces of fabric to create yardage. For a unique addition to a fabric surface why not give this stitching technique a try?

Free Motion Stitching

If you look for perfection, you will never be satisfied.

Leo Tolstoy

Leo Tolstoy’s landmark novel “Anna Karenina” opens with the line, “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” This phrase sets the scene for the sprawling story, which navigates marriage, faith, society, and, of course, familial dynamics. Excerpted here is a quip spoken by Princess Natalya Lvov as she debates parenting styles with her husband, Prince Arseny Lvov. While her husband prefers to be dutiful and involved to a fault in raising his two sons, Natalya believes children should be left somewhat alone to become who they will be. Natalya’s insistence that the search for faultlessness is a breeding ground for discontentment is a mindset we can transfer to all aspects of life, not just child-rearing. Perfection is impossible to achieve, let alone maintain, and the sooner we acknowledge that fact, the happier we allow ourselves to be.

“To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.” (Psalm 116:17)

In this Affinity Designer tutorial, we will create a DIY wedding template for the Thank You and RSVP cards in our wedding suite.

DIY Wedding Suite Template - 5.5 x 4.25 Card

In this Affinity Designer tutorial, we will create the RSVP response card and the Thank You card for our DIY Wedding Suite.

DIY Wedding Suite - RSVP and Thank You Cards

Whether spring or summer travel is a local micro-cation or a destination of dreams, having a few travel accessories homemade using colorful fabric scraps or a pretty length of fabric saved for just the right occasion, sewing them to go along just seems right.

Easy Sew Projects for Travel

Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.

Alan Watts

Few people did more to popularize Eastern philosophy in the West than the British writer, speaker, and philosopher Alan Watts. From the late 1930s through to the 1970s, Watts wrote more than 20 books and published numerous articles that helped interpret and popularize Buddhist, Taoist, and Hindu philosophiesy among a wider Western audience. He became particularly popular in the 1960s, especially among members of the emerging hippie counter culture. In 1957, Watts published his book “The Way of Zen,” from which this quote comes. “It is hard to see how the world can be improved by keeping still,” he wrote. “Yet it should be obvious that action without wisdom, without clear awareness of the world as it really is, can never improve anything.” As Watts points out, sometimes the best way to deal with a go-go-go world is simply to take a break and think deeply rather than acting rashly.

The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn't said.

Peter Drucker

Sometimes called “the inventor of modern management,” prominent Austrian American business consultant Peter Drucker advised countless key figures of the American economy throughout the last half of the 20th century. His groundbreaking philosophy advanced the idea that business could be both profitable and socially responsible, and his teachings have helped revolutionize the landscape and practice of modern business management. At the forefront of Drucker’s principles was the understanding that the business world is driven by people — and that the key to success is understanding those people. In a 1989 interview with Bill Moyers, Drucker explained that communication is about more than just applying our own significance to someone else’s words; it’s about working to understand their unique perspective and priorities. Drucker’s belief is a reminder that the willingness to observe and appreciate our differences can go a long way toward fostering mutual understanding and support.

In this Affinity Designer tutorial, we will create the Save the Date template for our wedding suite. We will start with the finished wedding invitation template. We will remove the text that we used for that invitation and replace it with the text for this template.

DIY Wedding Suite Template Art Deco Save the Date

“The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.” (Psalm 23:1)

Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
For the Lord God is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation.

—Isaiah 12:2 NASB

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In this Affinity Designer tutorial, we will add the text to the 5 by 7 inches invitation template that is part of the DIY Wedding Suite. We will continue to work on the ArtDecoTemplate.afdesign file.

DIY Wedding Suite Template - Art Deco Invitation

Aging well is an aspiration we all strive for. There are times when a few stitches of kindness and a few fabric scraps lovingly saved for just the right sewing project that sparks inspiration can bring practical function to those challenged by daily living.

Sewing Ideas for Senior Living

In this Affinity Designer tutorial, we will continue to work on our DIY wedding invitation suite. We will create the 5 inches by 7 inches template for the Save the Date and the Invitation cards.

DIY Wedding Suite Template - 5 x 7 Inches Template

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

—Matthew 6:34

As a genealogist I started writing letters to distant relatives or others working on families I was interested in finding out about. I have the letters but need to review them as they told stories they knew about our common ancestors.