Monday, Monday

My day started abruptly with the shrill ring of my bedside phone. I snatched up the receiver eagerly; I knew what this call was going to be. I had ordered a new washer and dryer, and they were going to be delivered today. New appliances for my pretty new laundry room! Woo-hoo!

Am I the only person who would be excited about the impending delivery of appliances? Maybe it says something about my role in life that a large-capacity washer and dryer would be such a highlight for me. Perhaps I should have cards printed that display my name and my occupation: Laundress.

I was told that the deliveryman would call me early this morning to let me know what time he'd be bringing my precious new machines. Instead, he told me that he had my washer, but my dryer was out of stock. Kind man that he was, he asked if I'd like for him to go ahead and deliver the new washer today and bring the dryer when it arrived. No charge for either delivery. It really was a kind offer, and I was tempted to take him up on it.

But then I realized that, even if I had the new large-capacity washer, I'd still only have my old, small-capacity dryer. I had a momentary vision of freshly-laundered clothing turning sour as it waited its turn to dry oh-so-slowly in my anemic dryer. So I opted to wait until both machines could be delivered at once.

Funny that this was a pretty easy decision to make when only appliances and damp laundry were at stake. It's much less easy to accept that God's timing for the granting of His good gifts may not be exactly what I had envisioned. Sometimes I am so eager just to haverightnow what I want that I don't stop to realize that I wouldn't be able to use the gift even if God were to give it. "But God," I might argue, "I know that 'every good and perfect gift is from above.' I'll be very thankful for it; I'll give You the credit for it."

Do you ever do that? Talk to God by quoting His own words back at Him?

His answer is then gentle but firm, and He sends me back to the beginning of that same chapter, James 1. "Let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him (James 1:4-5)."

Oh, right. Wisdom was what I needed all along. Even more than a new dryer.

How to make a coverlet for an oversized bed

"This bed is too big. . . "

Frankly, Goldilocks would've never even tried out my bed. She would've taken one look and headed to the next one. Of course, the Papa Bear in our house is 6 feet 7 inches tall. So our bed needs to be pretty big.

We have a king-size bed with an extra-deep mattress and a memory foam topper, and though I was able to locate extra-deep sheets that fit, I was always stymied trying to find a comforter or coverlet that actually covers the bed. I always kept my fingers crossed that no one would go into my bedroom and look at my husband's side of the bed, where the spread covered only about half the side of the mattress. When we have company, we always have people put their coats on our bed (does anyone else do that?) But I hated that exposed side of the bed. It always felt like my slip was showing or something; know what I mean?

To cover the whole mattress, I needed a spread that was 112 inches wide, which I could not find. So what do you do when you can't buy what you need? You make your own! And I'll show you how I made my extra-deep, extra-long coverlet. It was so easy, I wondered what took me so long to think of it.

Well, actually, I know why it took me so long. It's because of my extremely elementary sewing skills. The truth is, I am a horrible seamstress. If someone asks, "Do you sew?" I answer "Not really." I can sew straight seams, and that's about it. But I'll tell you what I can do, and you can do it, too. I can PIN. So if I think of something that I'd like to sew, I design it in my head or draw it out on paper, then I cut out the fabric and pin, pin, pin. I have a very inexpensive sewing machine, and all I do with the machine is sew the straight seams of the things I've pinned together.

Now, back to the bed.

Our mattress is about 78 inches wide, and I wanted the drop on the sides to be about 17 inches on each side, which meant that I needed a coverlet 112 inches wide. I also wanted the bedspread to be about 112 inches long, because I wanted to be able to fold the spread over the pillows, like this:

I admire the look of beds that are made with sumptuous sheets folded back and pillows displayed beautifully, but that has never worked for me. I make my bed every morning, and I prefer to spend as little time as possible making it.

I found wonderful fabric at my local discount fabric store, Not Just Linens. Like all the fabrics there, it was $7.99/yard, and like many of the fabrics, it was 57-58" wide. I bought 8 yards for a total cost of $64. The pattern on the fabric repeats every 22 inches, so I bought enough to make sure I could match the panels of the spread. I could have made the spread with less fabric, but considering my sewing skills, I knew it was better to be safe than sorry.

As for the actual construction of the coverlet, I just cut one piece of fabric 114" long. I used this for the center panel of my bedspread.

Then I cut an identical second piece of fabric so that I had twin panels, each 114" long. I split the second panel right down the middle lengthwise, so that I had one full-width panel and two half-width panels. 

Next I pinned one half-width panel to one side of the (full-width) center panel and one half-width panel to the other. This was the slow part, because I wanted the pattern matched as closely as possible. After it was all pinned together, though, it was a cinch to sew. Two long straight seams later, I had a huge spread. I finished the project by ironing the two seams flat and then sewing a machine hem all the way around the perimeter.

And now I have a bedspread that fits my humongous bed with no sheets or blankets peeking out on the side. No more slip showing! For $64 and a bit of my time.  I made the pillows, too; click here for the how-to for those.

Update:  After I made this coverlet, bedskirt, and pillows, we got a different bed.  Our new bed doesn't require a bedskirt, but I think the coverlet and pillows look great with the new style, too!

**Linking to  DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land**

Going, going. . .

Gone.

That's what my oldest son will be in two weeks. Just two short weeks from today, he goes to college. We move him into the dorm on August 18. Somehow, it's easier to think of moving him into the dorm rather than out of the house.

But the truth is that he's leaving.

I always wanted to be an at-home mom. I worked in the business world, full-time, until the day before he was born. Since then, I've been a work-at-home mom. Sometimes I've worked at home for pay; sometimes I've just been at home working. But I've had the incredible privilege of being able to identify my profession as "homemaker." I don't know how many forms I've filled out over the years on which I've had to list my occupation. Even during the times that I've been employed, I've still listed "homemaker." I'm so grateful to God and to my supportive husband that I've had the chance to have this job that I love.

This past week, as I was cleaning out my closet, I came across a little treasure. A piece of art that was given to me upon the birth of my oldest son.

It used to hang on my wall, but for several years now has been stacked in my closet. The artwork was done by a woman named Janet Casey. The writer of the words is not identified, although some of you will recognize them as having been inspired by I Corinthians 13. I wanted to share them with you.

If I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything in its place, but have not love--I am a housekeeper, not a homemaker.

If I have time for waxing, polishing, and decorative achievements but have not love, my children learn of cleanliness--not godliness.

Love leaves the dust in search of a child's laugh.

Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints in a newly cleaned window.

Love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the spilled milk.

Love picks up the child before it picks up the toys.

Love is present through the trials.

Love reprimands, reproves, and is responsive.

Love crawls with the baby, walks with the toddler, runs with the child, then stands aside to let the youth walk into adulthood.

As a mother there is much I must teach my child, but the greatest of all is love.

I wish I had known how fast the "stands aside to let the youth walk into adulthood" part was going to get here.

--Unwrapped with Emily at Chatting at the Sky