Joyful Creativity - It's Etsy Time

One of the amazing things about being created in the image of God is that he allows us to reflect His power to create by allowing us to make things using the gifts and talents He has given us.  It is a delight to bring Him glory in this way!

My sister Amy, my daughter Heather, and I have finally opened an Etsy store to see if anyone wants to purchase some of the creative things we enjoy making.  Amy is mostly doing beaded bracelets so far.  Heather is focusing on wire wrapped jewelry and I am posting quilted or fabric-related items.  Take a peek at our Etsy store.  We will be continuing to add things as we go along.

I have also had a couple of customers this summer who asked me to quilt some older quilts for them.  One of the quilts was made a couple of generations earlier so I figured it must have been made by someone born in the late 1800s.  Wow!  It was a precious quilt made with clothing from family members.  I quilted that one on a sewing machine rather than my longarm (Handi Quilter Simply Sixteen).  It was too fragile for the longarm.  I really enjoyed that project!  The other two weren't as old or fragile so I have quilted one on the longarm quilting machine and I am about to do the other this week.  I also made the backs of these quilts and put the binding on.

That said, I am hoping to continue to develop my quilting business.  I have a sheet of rates available by request. 

Learning Disabilities and Dragon Dictation

This past spring, my 15 year old son Daniel was re-tested with Hamilton County and re-diagnosed as having Asperger's and ADHD but was also diagnosed as learning disabled in written communication.  They suggested that, despite our efforts in tutoring and handwriting/spelling help, it was time to implement some assistive technology solutions.  Since he is entering high school this year and is planning to take Biology and Lit & Communication at Hilger Higher Learning, we knew it was time to give it a try.  Yesterday afternoon, we purchased Dragon Dictation and a small netbook (Acer Aspire One 11.6).  By last night, he was so excited and ready to go on writing stories, doing assignments, making lists of things that he'd wanted to put down but it was too difficult to type or write.  It is like it opened up a whole new world and a way for him to get the information inside his mind OUT.  The testing showed he is indeed very smart (which I knew of course) but needed help to be able to communicate and learn better.  Thankfully, Dragon Dictation is one of the tools that looks like it will be helping him to do that.  Praise the Lord for assistive technology.

He is also taking a summer course online at Giant Campus (Digital Art I) and a class at Chattanooga State (Web Design), both of which he is doing very well in.  Yet another encouraging and hopeful sign for me (mom) and for Daniel and his future endeavors.  The Lord always has a plan for us for a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11)!