Yarning Along and Living Virtuously

Linking today with Small Things for Yarn Along.

Peppa Pig is finished! (Ravelry notes are here). I love her - and I think Cuddlepie will love her too.

I love her little dress with the button up back.

I love her curly tail (that took three days of being wrapped around a knitting needle hidden in the bottom of my wardrobe to get curly enough).

I love her rosy cheeks. I wasn't sure about the chain stitch method for doing the facial features but phew, they worked well. Faces are always scary. I have seen too many toys that end up looking quite sinister due to the face not working out!

It is always a bit tricky to make gifts for the littlies without them seeing. I really need to do the details like the face in daylight - it makes such a difference. I have done finishing details at night before and they just don't look right come the morning! But how to do that without be spotted?! Peppa's details were done in the bathroom! (I promise I kept her hygienic!)

I have now moved on to my latest Adventures in Stitchcraft project, which I am calling the Shoulders Jumper. I am making it without the shoulder rolls though!

I posted here about re-sizing the pattern - first time I have tried to do this! Unfortunately, my figure does not look QUITE like the lovely lady in the magazine, so I have had to size the pattern up. This is one of the reasons why I wanted to start Adventures In Stitchcraft. I tend to stay in my knitting comfort zone and knit projects that I know will succeed. But I am already trying something I would never have bothered with previously. I hope it will succeed; but even if it doesn't, it will be a learning experience and hopefully will lead to improvement and learning new skills.

I have knitted the gauge swatch and I love the pattern. Really simple too - I shared it in the previous post. Definitely needs blocking to bring out the definition though.

I am reading a book that I just knew I would love! I have longed to purchase this book since it came out, but held off for a while as I had already spent my 'pocket money' for the first few months of the year. No superfluous spending allowed! It was quite expensive, as it is not available in Australia, and shipping from the US is not cheap. But I have the homesteading DVD set which I just love to watch over and over as they are just such a lovely family.

The book is Living Virtuously  by Erin Harrison. I haven't read much yet, but it is just wonderful so far.

I find Erin to be so inspiring, mainly because she is so honest. This book is so down-to-earth and Erin is happy to admit to mistakes, hard times, desperation and loneliness, and that is not easy. This book won't leave you feeling that you can never measure up to the Proverbs 31 woman - it will simply inspire you to strive harder.

This from the introduction really resonated with me. 

'Woman was not only meant to be a help meet and mother, she was meant to be a person who had dreams, challenges and drives. She was meant to be a Proverbs 31 lady who was full of enterprising adventures and money-making ideas.'

I have read numerous books about being a godly woman that seem to say that a woman should be completely fulfilled being a help meet and mother, and only that. Now, don't get me wrong; that is, of course, our main role and should always be given priority. But I just do not feel that women need to be so meek and submissive that they lose all their hopes and dreams entirely. I have always dreamed of having a home business and these two sentences of Erin's have really given me the boost I need to know I am not neglecting my family and my God-given role as a wife and mother if I pursue a dream of mine as well.

I can just tell I am going to love EVERY word of this book! I would love to hear from anyone else who has read it.

We were at the funeral parlour this morning, saying goodbye to our little angel. I know I will see her again, but it is very hard to say goodbye.

When I arrived home, this was on the back doorstep. 

A dear friend felt that we needed this today. She had seen what she calls a 'God-sky' this morning, where the sun is rising behind a cloud and you get rays of sunlight beaming down onto the green hills and up into the heavens. It made her think of our little angel in heaven. She did not know that the service was this morning, but God did and put this loving gesture in her heart for us. 

And this is what I saw out my kitchen window when I got home.

God's promise indeed - that He has our little girl safely with Him and we will see her soon.