Paper Star Ornaments and a Free Printable

The blog has moved and this post can now be found here:
https://peculiarseamstress.blog/2017/12/16/paper-star-ornaments-and-a-free-printable/

Belated Glimpses of Christmas

Well, I had several posts planned before Christmas, but for some reason, the writing just wouldn’t come together. As I’m sitting here on day six with a chest cold (but no longer a fever), I might as well show you a few glimpses of how our Christmas decorations turned out, before I take them down again in a few days or so. I have liked them more than usual this year, and am not really at all keen to take them down, even though I put them up earlier than I generally do. 

First, our Christmas tree. Actually, it'll be mostly about the tree, as the pictures of the other stuff didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped. It’s a fake tree that we got from IKEA a while back, and though I like the smell of a proper tree, at least this one looks very real, and having it has saved us a lot of money over the years. It’s a small tree, just over 5 feet (152 centimetres), and has a functional but dull plastic stand. This year I wanted a new look, so I put the tree in a copper tub I inherited from my grandparents, and it made a huge difference. Not only did it bring the tree up a bit – I put a couple of broken concrete slabs in the tub (the tub protected by a towel) partly for balance, and put the tree on top of them – but it also looked much prettier, and more real. I’m ridiculously happy with how it came out. Some might think it’s a bit on the sparse side, but this is how many real spruces look here, and makes it feel more realistic. All in all, it's a very Scandinavian tree.

I've made most of the ornaments myself, some a long time ago, but most I've made this - sorry, it's New Years Day now, last year - makes me wonder what we had in the tree before.... The year before last I tied lots of bows from strips of fabric I had in my stash. I didn't hem them or anything, and just lay them on the branches. Simple as can be, but adds a lot of character.

These button spruces are new. I was a bit unsure of them at first, but it turns out I like how they look on the tree. 

The little jingle bell ornaments are really cute, and not at all too small for our petite tree.

These little sacks were originally a bunting I got from my mum, but never quite knew how to decorate with. A year or two ago I cut the string of the bunting into pieces, and the now individual sacks make charming ornaments.

I had attached braided linen cord loops to some spruce cones for ornaments. Pine cones are prettier and sturdier to work with, but the spruce cones were easier to find as a big spruce grows by the playground, and anyway, these looked more natural on our imitation spruce tree.

The crocheted hemp twine stars looked nice.

As the tree is such a central part of the Christmas decorations, the one all eyes are drawn to, I make some of the ornaments remind us about Christ. Not that good food and presents aren’t nice (I love food and presents!), but they are not the most important part of the celebration for us. Almost ten years ago, I made tags (all the rage in the scrapbooking world back then) with snippets of English and Swedish Christmas songs or scriptures about Christ written on them. Every tag had a unique décor on it, and some I'll confess I’m no longer too happy with. I might retire them eventually, or use them differently, but for now, they have a place on our Christmas tree. 

These stars I also made this year, and I had a tutorial and free printable of the ten silhouettes depicting the Nativity story planned, but life happened. I might do a post about them later. These are probably my favourite ornaments on the tree this year.

I have some vintage keys, and as they are so pretty they make good ornaments, but they also remind me to let Christ into my life.

The boys had received a countdown candle, that helped them visualize how many days were left until Christmas. 

In mine and Tobias' bedroom I put a 14th century reproduction drinking pitcher, tied a ribbon round it and filled it with holly sprigs I'd picked. In a matching bowl I stored spare tea lights and matches.

Above the window I used more of the vines from our wedding (same as I used round the windows in the kitchen), trimmed with red bows, made from strips cut from a piece of fabric in my stash.

Home made sweets is tradition. This year we kept it simple and only made chocolate fudge and chocolate balls. The boys helped with the latter, much to their amusement.

Mum always used to make nicely decorated bread for Christmas, and that is a tradition I like to continue. I love holly, so a holly sprig seemed fitting. (On a side note - as I do like holly so much, I was very pleased when the Pottermore sorting announced that my wand was made from holly and unicorn tail hair.) Here is one of them, pre proofing. Mmmm, bread....

We had a very quiet, comfortable  Christmas - the kind I like best. How was your holidays?

A bit silly to have a look at the Christmas decorations in January, but there you are :) I wish you all a Happy New Year, filled with love, peace and creativity.

First Sunday of Advent

I love this time of year! As I live in Sweden where many people get uncomfortable when one talks about religion, I don’t often mention it, but I am a practicing Christian (Latter Day Saint/Mormon to be exact), and Advent is filled with the hymns I love the best. Music speaks to my heart in a way nothing else does, it allows me to express the feelings I find it difficult to put words to, and the centuries old hymns reminds me not only of Christ and His role in my life, but also of my ancestors that might have sung them during cold December Sundays, wearing layers of clothes made from wool and sheepskin to keep the cold of the unheated, white limed little churches at bay. All the fairy lights, illuminated stars and candles that quite literally brings light to the dark of the Northern winter makes me happy. For me, it really is the most wonderful time of the year.

In Sweden many, many people, believing Christians or not, have Advent candlesticks at home. Traditionally, the four candles are set in a line on a special candlestick, but nowadays many variations exist. After trying out one of these modern ways, I have returned to tradition, and I like it better. This year my candlestick is decorated with a brocade ribbon, a plain satin ribbon, both from my stash, and a couple of twigs of boxwood held in place with a hemp string. Earlier this evening I lit the first candle as the children were eating porridge.

 Sometime around the first Sunday of Advent is the time when most Swedes start to put up their holiday decorations. Earlier this week I decorated two of the kitchen windows with greenery, fairy lights and red bows. The greenery is artificial wine vines that we got to decorate for our wedding reception, but with the lights (also from our wedding) and the red bows, it looks Christmas-y enough. When Eldest saw what I’d done he said “How pretty! I’m so proud of you, Mummy!” Children are often good for one’s self-confidence. Although the lights don't go all the way down, it's not as noticeable in real life as in a photo, and it does look rather cosy.

 How do you prepare for Christmas? Any traditions from your country or family you’d like to share?

A Minion for Little B

Little B has a great liking for the minions in the ‘Despicable Me’ movies. He’s never seen the movies, as he’s a bit too young, but he’s seen some of the short films and music videos starring the minions. A while back I saw a few examples of amigurumi minions on Ravelry and decided to make him one. I began in November, and finished it this morning, Christmas Eve, the day we celebrate and give presents in Sweden, after sitting up half the night working on it. I have had a few other things that also needed doing, what with us moving in a week and everything….

Anyway, I used one of the free patterns on Ravelry as a starting point, but didn’t like how it turned out, so in the end I improvised a great deal. I had planned to let the minion have two eyes, like this fellow:

Unfortunately I found, at half past one last night, that the grey crochet yarn I thought I had was nowhere to be found. Luckily I did have a small amount of grey embroidery floss, which was only just enough to make a (rather shallow) Cyclops goggle, like what this one has:

Phew. It vexed me a bit that the tiny buttons I had planned to go on the front of the trousers were packed and impossible to get to, but I can stitch them on later. I had also planned to embroider a G on the front, but that too will have to wait - if it ever will happen…. I did have some scraps of white cotton fabric that had not yet been packed though, and I had left my embroidery floss unpacked on purpose. This morning I embroidered an eye, stitched it to the minion, embroidered a smile and then attached the goggle.

Finished. I’m quite happy with the result, despite the few miscalculations, and even better, B is happy with it. Good thing too, as it is the only Christmas present any of us got today: we’ll save the rest of our gifts for when we have moved (not that we ever give much; we’re quite restrained when it comes to that. Better one or two things really appreciated than several that you don’t care that much about, just for the sake of it). We don’t really need more stuff to carry.

Despite us celebrating Christmas amongst boxes and cartons, we are happy. We have each other, we have good food, we’re healthy, we’ll be moving to a new home in little over a week, we’ll be having a new baby next summer. God has blessed us greatly.

I hope you all have a nice Christmas (or just a nice week if you don’t celebrate it), with lots of joy, love and inspiration.

A Medieval Paternoster

I’ve been needing things for little B to play with at events (I’ll bring some of his books and such as well, but I’d like to avoid them being seen by visitors during opening hours), and when the Historical Sew Fortnightly had an Eastern Influence challenge I decided to make a paternoster. 

A paternoster is not a toy, obviously, but a means of counting your prayers. From what little I’ve read about it, they was first used (by Christians – in Hinduism it’s been around longer) by desert dwelling hermits, called the Desert Fathers/Mothers in the 4^th century or so. First it was only loose pebbles in a bag, but it soon evolved into beads on a string. I’m not Catholic, so I don’t use one when praying, but I very well might have had I lived in the Middle Ages. For me to have one therefore makes perfect sense. Even though it’s not meant as a toy, I think B might like to play with it nonetheless, under proper supervision. We don’t want a case of suffocation by prayer beads…

I bought a necklace made from wood beads in a charity shop, and as there were three sizes of beads, it would supply both the smaller Ave Maria beads and the larger Pater Noster beads.

I made the string from a three strand finger loop braid in wool. I put a tassel in each end – I chose not to tie the string up into a circlet, as they seem to have been less common during my period. 

The number of beads in paternosters seems to have varied greatly, from one decade (ten beads) up to hundreds. Mine have twenty of the smaller beads, and two of the greater. 

I’d have preferred a brighter colour on the yarn, and silk instead of wool, but this was the only yarn both thin and strong enough I had at home. Now, I’m rather partial to it.

The Challenge: # 14 Eastern Influence

Fabric: Thin, two ply wool.

Pattern: None.

Year: Generic late medieval.

Notions: Wooden beads.

How historically accurate is it? Acceptable. Prayer beads, according to the internet, could be made in anything from stone, wood and dried seeds, to gold, precious stones and ivory. Silk for the string might have been more fashionable and durable, but wool was more affordable – and I had it at home.

Hours to complete: One at the most.

First worn: For the picture.

Total cost: Just counting the necklace, 10 SEK ($1,5; £1; €1,1).

A Pile of Planned Projects

As our participation in this years living history and re-enactment season draws ever nearer I, as always, find myself heaped with 14^th century projects that needs to get done. That’s the problem with having too scattered interests; you don’t make the things you will need until the need is upon you…. As I can’t bear the thought of cheating and machine sew our clothes it takes a bit of time to get it all finished. At the moment I’m working on:

- Tobias’ new buttoned cote. There will be 34 cloth buttons down the front, and a bunch on each forearm. I guess at least 50 in total.

- Shoes for little B. One is stitched, awaiting finishing, the other one not yet begun. They will eventually be front laced, not tied round the ankle as when tried on in the picture.

- A shirt for B. Well, I’ve not really begun it, only ironed the linen, but as I want it done for the next HSF challenge I’ll start it tomorrow.

What I have planned is:

For me

- A shift. Unbleached linen is ordered.

- A veil and wimple – I have semi fine, bleached linen for that.

- A new kirtle. Will be remade from an old grey wool early medieval cote.

For Tobias

- A new pair of hose – brown wool is ordered.

- A new bag hat. We have a lovely thin red wool for that.

For B

- A new cote or two. Wool left over from making Tobias’ clothes will do nicely.

- Possibly a new coif. Fabric for that might be found in my linen scrap box, or the stash.

- Fake cloth diapers, to go over his disposable ones. Again, linen scrap box.

- A period looking toy or two wouldn’t hurt…

Household items

- Pillow cases, from this linen/cotton blend.

- Pilgrims’ satchels. Coarse wool fabric from the wool scrap box (I have several scrap boxes…).

- Linen towels. If large enough linen scraps can be found.

I will likely also make some toddler’s clothes for a friend’s son, in return for nalbound socks for B, as she is much better at nalbinding than I am, and I am the better seamstress. Trading work is a good thing.

Now, not all of the above are equally important. I will have to choose carefully in what order to make things. I also have a paper to write, so as to finally finish my education to be a specialist nurse in paediatrics. Though I’m a stay at home Mum, a university education is always good to have. With all of the above, all I can say is; it's a fine thing that Sunday is a day of rest!

Joy To the World

It’s pretty well known that Jesus was most likely not born in the winter, but in the spring, yet I think it’s rather fitting that we celebrate the arrival and birth of the Light of the world at a time of year when the darkness will gradually start to fall back in favour of the returning light.

"Be it unto me" by the talented Liz Lemon Swindle,

who's painted a lot of scenes from the Savior's life. 

I have a print of this painting at home, and I love it. 

I rejoice in the music of the season, and so, here are a few links to some of my favourites.

Joy To the World

For Unto Us a Child Is Born

What Chils Is This

And this one has a sweet little video of the Nativity:

Oh, Holy Night

Jesus is the Christ. He was born by Mary, and is the only Begotten of the Father. He is my Savior. He knows me; my strengths and weaknesses, my name, my fears and wishes. He loves me, and underwent pain beyond imagination and sacrificed His life for me, little though I may deserve it at times. He would love nothing better than for me (and all of us) to return to Him and the Father after living good lives.

May we all remember the reason we celebrate Christmas.

Weaknesses

An event is coming up on Friday eight days, and I’m really looking forward to it. Tobias’ cotehardie is done, and my over kirtle is slowly getting there as well. I have the sleeves and the hemming left, and the cord for the lacing, but the dress itself and all of the eyelets are done. I have even made a straw mattress for us – I cheated and used the sewing machine on the non-visible seams.

It might not seem like much, but I have been very tired, both physically and mentally, and I’m proud of myself for even getting this little done. For most of the past two weeks I’ve been home from work on sick leave, sleeping a lot, as it all became too much for me, and all I could do in the end was to sit by my desk at work and cry because I was so tired and didn’t know where to start that day’s work – and it wasn’t even that busy a day. Some of you may know I had a little sister who died six years ago after fighting cancer for seven years. I never really confronted the feelings and experiences I had during those years and final days, and my pregnancy related over sensitiveness combined with a demanding work (which includes situations reminiscent of my sisters treatments and hospital stays), just made it impossible for me to keep them away any longer. So I’ve been at home, and what a relief it has been! I have started to slowly look at and analyze my feelings concerning everything with regards to my sisters’ illness, and though painful at times, I’m sure I’ll feel much better in the end. I would really like to have most of this done by the time baby comes, so it can have a strong, healthy and happy mother.

"Sisters" by Morgan Westling

I am not really surprised at my reacting on this – it’s well known through lots of studies that siblings are usually the ones suffering most when a child has cancer, more so than both the ill child and its parents, but it still feels a bit embarrassing to feel so week and frail… Luckily I have a loving and supporting husband and family, who comforts me and encourage me to talk about it. So even though I’m going through a bit of a rough spot, I feel that I am blessed and still a lot better of than many others in the world.

I would eventually like to use my experiences for good. I have long wanted to work with siblings of children with cancer, but realized it was still a bit too close to home. But some day in the future, when my children are growing up, it’s something I’d like to do. I’ll be home next week as well, and after that I’ll go back to working, but just part time to start with.

So, you’ll have to excuse my lack of posts recently, and take my promise that I’ll post soon enough, and then there will be pictures and descriptions of my latest projects.

Our Wedding

So, dear friends and readers, I will give you a short and not so detailed account of the wedding. The pictures have been taken by my Mum, my good friend M, and my father in law. Since I don't like to post pictures of people who haven't given informed consent (whew, did I just sound like a nurse...), I'll only post a few pictures of Tobias and I.

As you already know, the wedding dress (with petticoat and corset) and veil where made by me. I finished the dress the day before the wedding, with a little help from Mum. Well, finished is a loose term in this case. According to Swedish superstition the bride is thought to cry as many tears in her marriage as she’s sewn stitches in her wedding dress - those of us who make our own dresses claim that tears can be of joy as well as grief. If, however, you do make your own dress, it must not be finished on your wedding day, and that was easily solved by not finishing the seams on the inside of the dress. Saved me a lot of time too, which was good.

My sister L made the wedding bouquet and the boutonniere for Tobias, while I made the myrtle wreath, and put some baby’s breath (which in Swedish is called brudslöja, bridal veil) in it. I made my own hair. Since my hair, while long, is not very thick, I used a hair piece to add volume to it in the back. I had braided my own hair when wet the night before, to give it some body, and with a lot of teasing, hair pins and spray, it actually stayed in place all day. Wow.

I was horribly nervous before the wedding, but that passed as soon as it began, and it was nothing but beautiful; we all cried and laughed a bit. In the LDS church we believe marriage can last eternally, not just "until death do you part", and looking at Tobias, knowing he could be mine forever made me so happy I couldn't stop crying, which made me quite a sight. He cried a bit too. Luckily we had limited the number of people attending to our parents and my sister L, and as they where as emotional as Tobias and I, it didn't matter. After the ceremony we had a photo shoot on the temple grounds, and as it was below freezing it was cold.

We had a simple lunch with our families (including all of our siblings and our grandparents), with a delicious mushroom soup made by a friend of our families (who acted as waiter with the help of his wife – thank you both so very much!), different kinds of pies made by our mothers, and then the most wonderful chocolate cakes made by my grandmother, who was regrettably ill, and couldn’t come. Our fathers gave short speeches, and when the tables where cleared away before the open house began, we had an improvised first dance to the music that were playing in the background.

Well, to tell the truth, after the soup and pies, everyone where so full they couldn’t eat cake just then, so we took a short break, and went to have more pictures taken. Did I mention it was cold that day??

We had decided to have an open house, rather than a real reception. That way everyone could come and go when they wanted, without feeling rude to be late or having to leave early. It also made it unnecessary to have a fixed program, and made the question of refreshments much easier. So the only thing we provided where music and semlor (a kind of pastry consisting of a sweet wheat bun, cut in two, with almond paste and whipped cream in between and powdered sugar on top - google it to see pictures), that is traditionally eaten during this time of year. We served the buns, almond paste and cream on separate dishes, and let everyone make their own semlor, since most people have their own preference as to how much they want of almond paste and whipped cream. We also had a couple of rooms with games, movies and snacks for those children that might be bored with the wedding. It was amazing how many people came. We don’t have an exact number, but it was something around 200 people! Luckily we had enough semlor and lemonade to go round. Everyone appeared to have a good time, and didn’t seem to have any problem entertaining themselves – that most of them knew each other previously helped, of course.

And that was pretty much it – simple and delightful. I’m now married and looking forward to a long and happy life with my Tobias. So, even though I won’t change the blog name, I’m a Most Peculiar Mademoiselle no more – I’m a most peculiar Madame, with an equally peculiar husband (considering both our fathers brought this fact up in their speeches, it must be true).

Happy :)

Why I am a Very Lucky Woman

I have many reasons for this, of course, and here are a few of them:

I have a loving family, that’s always been there for me. We’ve shared a lot together; joy, grief, loss, laughter, poverty, relative plenty, work, play, learning opportunities, etc. What would I be without them, my Mum, Dad, brothers and sisters?? I also have a lot of good friends and relatives that’s been there for me when I’ve needed them, including my future in-laws. Love you all!

I have been blessed with tolerably good health. I’ve had my trips to doctors and hospitals, I’ve had horrible accidents and suffer pains from time to time, but all things considered, I’ve been healthy. I’m also blessed with living in a country with good medical possibilities and a good social security system.

I live in a country where I’m free to express my opinions freely (even the ones that may not be political correct or popular at the moment), and where I have religious freedom. That is a lot to be grateful for, right there. I hope I extend the same courtesy to others.

I have a good education, that make me pretty sure of being able to always have a job I like when I need one. I might not like studying, but I appreciate the opportunities it gives me.

I’ve been blessed with talents that keep me amused forever, and can be used to help others from time to time.

The country I live in is beautiful! I love every season – the cold, snowy winter we have now (unusually cold and snowy, I must say), the slow, creeping spring with timid flowers, which suddenly bursts into summer, so lush and bountiful it’s almost unbelievable, which in turn develops into crisp days of reds and yellows. There are many beautiful places on this earth, but to me, Sweden is the most beautiful of all. I may be just a little bit biased, of course ;)

Today we got our engagement rings

And last, but certainly not least on my mind, I have a fiancé that I love, and that, incredibly, loves me too, not despite my oddities and nerdiness, but because of them. A man who has all the must-have qualities I’ve looked for; he loves and obeys the Lord, served a mission, works hard, have a sound opinion on economy and family, and a good sense of humour. And as if that was not enough, he also possesses something that I’ve always thought would be impossible for me to find in my future husband (icing on the cake if you will); a peculiarity very similar to my own. I feel so blessed to have him in my life; it brings tears to my eyes just to think of it.

Am I not a very lucky woman?

Working on Old Projects

Last time I posted I said I was coming down with a cold, and that was some cold – I had a headache and fever for four days, which returned briefly over the weekend, and I’m still coughing. I missed the first three days of school, so a week into the term I’m already behind – smashing….

The good news is that I’ll be able to do most of my studying the coming two months from home – my own dear home! (Happy dance!) That gives me quite a bit of hope.

Since I’ve been feeling first so bad and then so tired the past ten days or so I haven’t really made any progress to boast about in any of my projects. I’ve done some sewing on the petticoat, and begun the 36th row of cording.

The other day I took out an old project that’s been hibernating for a few years – my English wool embroidery inspired by the Bayeux tapestry. It’s not intended to be a copy at all, but I’ve been heavily inspired by the look, colours and technique of it. I wanted a story that would have other people than soldiers in it, and one most people would be familiar with, and feel medieval enough, so I chose the Biblical story of Moses. The plan was, when I started it, that I’d embroider the whole story, but we’ll see how that works out. If I only ever finish this segment it’ll still look nice on my wall. Of course, it would be more of an impact to have several scenes from the story.

It’s embroidered with thin wool yarn on linen, and I drew the figures myself. I'm not completly satisfied with them - they don't look odd enough. Anyway, this was easy sewing during my illness – no need to think, just to fill in the areas with colour, and listening to the Old Testament online.

I like to listen to the scriptures, as a complement to my reading, and now it was time for the Old Testament. I never read it through (I’ve read most of it, but not everything), so I started listening to it while knitting or sewing a while back, and it’s very soothing. Interesting too, you get a new perspective on the history-part of it, when you go through it so quickly. When I read the Bible, I usually study some specific event or doctrine, not cover to cover.

I’m working up the inspiration to finish a winter coat that I begun a couple of years ago (is this the autumn of finishing old projects?), my old ones being threadbare. I’ve got it hanging on my wardrobe door, in the hope that inspiration will strike. It will be in wine red wool, but that’s pretty much all I know for sure so far – the sleeves and hood are not cut out yet. I’m running out of fabric, so it will take some figuring out how to make the most of what I have.

Summer Hymn

Last Sunday in church we sang a beautiful, Swedish hymn, written by Carl David af Wirsén. It’s about the beauty and glory of summer, and the praise that nature give unto the Lord. It is also about how all things in this world will pass, but that we will come to a world that is eternal. It’s a beautiful hymn, and I tried to translate it, but it’s a poor translation - you will however get the meaning of the lyrics. I have illustrated it with pictures taken in my parents garden and close by their home.

En vänlig grönskas rika dräkt

Har smyckat dal och ängar.

Nu smeker vindens ljumma fläkt

De fagra örtesängar.

Och solens ljus

Och lundens sus

Och vågens sorl bland viden

Förkunna sommartiden.

(A rich attire of kindly green
Have adorned the valleys and meadows.
The mild breeze of the wind
Caresses the fair herb gardens.
And the light of the sun,
And the whisper of the grove,
And the murmur of the wave amongst the willow
Declare the summertime)

Sin lycka och sin sommarro

De yra fåglar prisa:

Ur skogens snår, ur stilla bo

Framklingar deras visa.

En hymn går opp

Av fröjd och hopp

Från deras glada kväden,

Från blommorna och träden.

(Their happiness and the peace of summer
Is praised by the giddy birds.
From the thickets in the woods, and the serene nests
Their song resounds.
A hymn ascends
Of joy and hope
From their happy songs
From the flowers and the trees.)

Men du, o Gud, som gör vår jord

Så skön i sommarns stunder,

Giv att jag aktar främst ditt ord

Och dina nådesunder.

Allt kött är hö,
Och blomstren dö,

Och tiden allt fördriver;

Blott Herrens ord förbliver.

(But thou, oh God, who makes our earth
So beautiful in the summertime
Grant that I first esteem thy word
And thy wonders of grace.
All meat is hay,
And the flowers die,
Ant time expels all things;
Only the words of the Lord remain.)

Då må förblekna sommarns glans

Och vissna allt fåfängligt;

Min vän är min och jag är hans,

Vårt band är oförgängligt.

I paradis

Han, huld och vis,

Mig sist skall omplantera,

Där intet vissnar mera.

(Then let the glory of summer fade
And all the vain things wither;
My friend is mine and I am his,
Our bond is unperishable.
In paradise
He, kind and wise,
Will replant me at last
Where nothing ever wilts.)

Missing My Sister

Five years ago today, my 14-year old sister died after struggling with cancer for seven years. It was a time of sorrow and loss in my family, but also a time for quiet joy. My sister had been in so much pain, and now she was at peace - was not that a cause for joy, even at the cost of missing her for the rest of our lives? To the last her faith in the Lord was strong, and it carried her cheerfully through many of her hardships.

"My Child" by David Bowman

At this most difficult and painful time in my life, nursing my sister, then sewing and help clothing her in the dress she was to be buried in, I felt the truth of the Resurrection so powerfully. I still miss her, but there is no doubt in my mind that my sister is safe, that I will meet her again when it's my turn to leave this world, and that we all will rise again, just like the Savior did, perfect, with no illnesses, pains or handicaps, to live as a family forever.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil:

for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalms 23: 4, 6

Christmas Music

First I want to say thank you for the prayers! I talked to my Dad yesterday, and though they still don't know what's wrong with him, he's in tolerably good spirits, though impatient to go home. Hopefully whatever-it-is will be quickly cured. So now, all I can do is to pray, and live my life as I usually do. So here's a post I had planned to post the day I got the news of my Dad.

I love Christmas carols! Music has always had a power to make me feel the greatness and beauty of God’s love for us. I believe a song, or a hymn, can be a prayer. One of my favourite carols is a Swedish song, first written in 1812, and rewritten in 1817. It’s actually alluding to when Christ entered Jerusalem just before passover, and His status after his Resurrection, but it’s always sung on Christmas. I think it very fitting, for without the Atonement He made for us, His birth would have been no more different or significant than any other persons (which of course are all little miracles of themselves). I have tried to translate it, but I’m afraid there might be some errors, and the poetry is lost in the translation. Still, I think the spirit of the song is clear enough.

Prepare the way for the Lord

Prepare the way for the Lord!
Mountains: sink, Depths: arise!
He comes, He, whom in times past
Was revealed as our Hope.

The First One of Righteousness,
The Greatest of the House of David.
Be He blessed who came in the name of the Lord!

People of God, He comes forth, an Eternal King.
Strew palm leaves, spread out garments,
Sing your fulfilled Hope.
The promises of God are true, now shout Hosanna!

The First One of Righteousness,
The Greatest of the House of David.
Be He blessed who came in the name of the Lord!

Widen your gates for the Holiness of the Lord.
Behold, the nations wait around You, to attain Your salvation.
In all the countries of the world
This song of praise will ring out:

The First One of Righteousness,
The Greatest of the House of David.
Be He blessed who came in the name of the Lord!

The throne He ascends is in the house of His Father.
The realm He dedicates is love and light alone.
The praise sung by tender voices declares grace and peace.

The First One of Righteousness,
The Greatest of the House of David.
Be He blessed who came in the name of the Lord!

This song can be sung to two different tunes. My favourite is a Swedish folk tune, which can be heard here, sung at a traditional St Lucia celebration (which I will explain in more detail later). They only sing the first two verses though.

I love this version, since it combines my faith in Christ with my Swedish culture. Though I must say, I prefer spiritual music to be sung by people who actually believe in what they’re singing. Otherwise, to me, it’s very close to a lie, even though it might be beautiful. Is that very harsh thinking? Perhaps, since the songs rings in my heart when I listen to them, they become true, because I believe in them? Hmm, I got all tangled up in my own musings here. Better stop :)

Anyway, enjoy the music of the season!

Need Your Prayers

My Dad has been admitted to the hospital today, and they don't know what's wrong with him. He's in pain, he's got a temperature, and from what my Mum said, he was a little disoriented. They've taken a lot of tests, some kind of scans, and they've put him on a strong intravenous antibiotic. I'm worried, of course, and both he, my family and I could really need your prayers right now.

I hate not to know what's going on! In my profession I'm usually one of the first who get to know things, but now I don't even know if it were a MR or a CT they did, nor which antibiotics they give him or anything.

We've seen so much illness in this family already... I pray this will be easily cured.

A Feminine Appearance

Lately I've been thinking about what it means to be feminine, and today I'll share my thoughts on a feminine appearance. This is what I think and what I do to feel womanly, so if you don't agree, there's no reason to bite my head of. This is just for you to get to know me better.

There's a movement amongst some women out there to dress in a more feminine way. I like it, and want to be part of it, but it will have to be in a way that works for me, where I live. I could dress in skirts and dresses all the time (that would be nice, I had a period when I did that), but sometimes jeans are just more practical. There's also the thing of not appearing too weird - I have enough geek labels stuck on me as it is :) Besides, in the LDS church we believe in moderation in all things. For quite a long time I wondered what I could do to look feminine, despite wearing jeans, and the best example I came up with was Princess Leia in Star Wars .

She lives in a world (or galaxy) where a lot of the time it would be impractical or dangerous for her to wear skirts, but her hair is always put up in very feminine ways. As soon as she's in a relatively safe and combat-free environment, she dons dresses or cute tunics.

That's what I try to do. No matter what I happen to be wearing, I can always have my hair put up nicely, and that is a comfort in this women-should-be-more-like-men-and-men-should-be-more-like-women era I'm living in. (On a side note, I believe that is one of the reasons why I, and many other people like living history and reenacting - it gives men permission to be men, and women permission to be women.) Beautiful hairstyles are also something I can have at work, where I have to wear the pyjama-looking, less than pretty scrubs. Besides, wearing jeans doesn't mean you have to wear them with a t-shirt - I never do. I wear soft, feminine shirts or cardigans, often with some nice, but inexpensive, jewellery. That way I feel somewhat well dressed and lady-like even in jeans.

Another important thing about being womanly is, in my opinion, to be modest. I'm proud of being a woman, and I would never flaunt what I've been given to all the world. According to the Bible, the body is a temple, and as such, should be treated with respect. For me, that means I will keep it healthy, clean and tidy. I will not have anything tattooed on it, and I will not be used as a pincushion for multiple piercing jewellery. I won't wear sleeveless or low cut shirts or dresses, and my skirts always cover my knees.

That being said, this is the skirt I'm wearing today. It's made out of checked wool, in blues and greys, trimmed with grey wool. I actually began sewing it two years ago, but then I forgot about it. I took it out last week, and finished it today. I like wearing wool in the autumn and winter.

So, that's my serious thoughts for the week :) Never you fear, hopefully it'll be a sewing related post next time.