In the Shadow of Jezebel Scavenger Hunt Blog Hop

I don't often (o.k. ever) do things like this since this is primarily a sewing blog, but when the opportunity came along to take part in this blog hop/scavenger hunt to help promote Mesu Andrews' new book, In the Shadow of Jezebel, I knew I wanted to be part of it.

Mesu and I met when my husband was called to be the youth minister in the small town in Northern Indiana where we currently live. Her husband was the Associate Pastor at the time.  Mesu welcomed me with open arms, in a way no one else really did.  In the first few months after moving, Mesu took the time to show me how to get to Target, JoAnn's and Hobby Lobby.  I am eternally grateful (and lighter in the wallet).  Is that enough of a sewing tie in?? Whether it is or it isn't, I hope you will play along.

We are having a scavenger hunt! Wanna play? Read the rules and then jump right in!

Somewhere in my review below, there is a single word that is in BOLD AND ALL CAPITALS. Write it down. Then, go to the other stops to find more hidden words. Once you have all the words, unscramble them to find a verse from the Scriptures. You can enter it into the Rafflecopter on any of the stops to have a chance to win a great prize from Mesu herself!

About the Book

Title: In the Shadow of Jezebel

Author: Mesu Andrews

Publication Date: March 4, 2014

Publisher: Revell

Print Length: 417 pages

Summary (Amazon):

Princess Jehosheba wants nothing more than to please the harsh and demanding Queen Athaliah, daughter of the notorious Queen Jezebel. Her work as a priestess in the temple of Baal seems to do the trick. But when a mysterious letter from the dead prophet Elijah predicts doom for the royal household, Jehosheba realizes that the dark arts she practices reach beyond the realm of earthly governments. To further Athaliah and Jezebel's strategies, she is forced to marry Yahweh's high priest and enters the unfamiliar world of Yahweh's temple. Can her new husband show her the truth and love she craves? And can Jehosheba overcome her fear and save the family--and the nation--she loves? With deft skill, Mesu Andrews brings Old Testament passages to life, revealing a fascinating story of the power of unconditional love.

Purchase

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My Review of this Book

Confession: I have never loved reading the Old Testament. History is not my thing and it's always kind of seemed like a dry old history book.

I love reading people's stories though.

Mesu's books bring life to the Old Testament.  She has a gift for story telling that accentuates what is already there by engaging the imagination.  She paints beautiful, detailed pictures of Biblical lives and times that make me want to dig into the Old Testament Scriptures and remind me of the beauty and wonder that is within.  

God worked and spoke In Old Testament times too, in different ways, but in ways NO less beautiful or miraculous.

I am always impressed by the extensive research Mesu obviously does for each book.  I've read all of Mesu's books voraciously cover to cover.  In the Shadow of Jezebel is no different.  I couldn't wait to get my hands on it and once I did I could not put it down.

We all need to be reminded how much God loves us and how He gently pursues us.  We need to remember the strength we have in and through Him to be people of destiny, to change the landscape of the world we live in.  We need to remember that our past doesn't define us, God's grace does.

The Buzz - Praise for Mesu Andrews' Biblical Fiction

"Mesu Andrews has pieced together Scripture's truths with historical supposition through her masterful, research-based writing and captured the spiritual climate of those ancient days."--CBA Retailers+Resources on Love in a Broken Vessel "Andrews weaves a beautiful tale and takes readers to an ancient Jerusalem rich with history and customs and a culture that struggles to follow the one true God."--RT Book Reviews, 4½ stars, on Love's Sacred Song

About The Author

Mesu Andrews is the award-winning author of Love Amid the Ashes, Love's Sacred Song, and Love in a Broken Vessel. Winner of the 2012 ECPA Christian Book Award for New Author, she has devoted herself to passionate and intense study of Scripture, bringing the biblical world vividly alive for her readers. She lives in Washington.

Mesu's Website * Facebook * Twitter * Goodreads

Stops on the Scavenger Hunt

Got all your clues? Enter the giveaway here!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Girly Owl

Before my sweet niece was born, her Momma sent me a picture of a cute little girly owl and asked if I could make one IF this baby was a girl.  Well, Hallelujah... after three boys, my sweet sister in law got her baby girl.  So Christmas called for an owl.

The photo she sent me didn't link to anything.  Since I can't credit it properly I won't share it here.  But it was pretty similar.  I drew up my own pattern based on the picture she sent.

The cute face and head are made from wool felt. I splurged on the good stuff for this softie since I want it to wear well and last.

The body and dress are made from scraps of quilting cotton that I had in my stash.  The cool orange, blue and green floral was from JoAnns and I should have bought a bolt of it when I could. It's discontinued now.  

The body, head and legs are stuffed with fiber filll so it's nice and soft and cuddly.  I used a fleece interfacing in the "wings" so that it would have some body but still remain floppy.

This is the best, isn't it?  She is just the sweetest thing.  I didn't share this photo first because I knew then you wouldn't be looking at my owl.

Sweet baby girl, I hope you know how much Aunt Lindsay loves you!

Merry First Christmas!

~Lindsay

Embroidered States Pillow

Hey, how do you like this? Another Christmas gift from 2012!

I need to stop losing these post drafts!

I made this cute embroidered pillow for my Sister and Brother in Law.

I'm a big fan of all the state oriented art work out there over the past several years and since the two of them were actually born in different states, I thought this pillow was a great idea.

I had to brush up on my embroidery stitches for this one. It was a great project to work on in the waiting room while the Bug was at ballet.  I don't usually have the patience for this type of project but looking at it now again, one year later, I'm feeling like maybe another similar project might help me beat these winter blues.

~Lindsay

Gifts from the Bug

I still have a few Christmas gift posts if that's o.k.  This extra cold and snowy weather has just left me lacking focus and the desire to blog. But I can't let these sweet gifts go without sharing.

I always like to have Lily make a few Christmas gifts for people because I think there is great joy in giving homemade. I wish I could do more of it and I want her to see the value in giving of your time and talents.

So this year, we got our hands on some Stained by Sharpie fabric markers.  We found ours at Target but you can get them on Amazon or probably in most big box or craft stores.

She did a little sewing and a little drawing and came up with several really unique gifts for special people in our family.

She made a bicycle ornament for her Uncle who loves cycling.

Look how proud and excited she is for Grandpa to open his gift!

She made him a pillow with a picture of him at his drum set.  I love the drum set. . . all the detail of it. . . all just from her head, she wasn't looking at a picture or anything.

We found the Sharpies were much easier to use than other fabric markers we've tried.  I'm not sure how they will hold up to washing.  They are supposed to be washable though. Time will tell if they fade or bleed I guess.

For one of the last gifts she made festive tea towels.  First she drew a scene on paper, then I traced it onto the towel in black.  Once it was traced, she went back in and colored them.

They turned out so cute I can hardly handle it. I wish I'd thought to have her make one for me! Maybe next year.

~Lindsay

Christmas bags for Mom

So I just found this blog post buried in my folder.

I made this reversible sling style purse for my mom for Christmas 2012. 

Unfortunately I don't remember anything about what pattern I used or what fabrics these are.

The strap ties with a cute knot on top.

Since it is reversible I didn't put in a whole lot of pockets, just one little zipper pocket.

How's that for a throwback post, huh? Better late than never.

And though I don't have great photos of the bag I made for my mom this year, I'm going to post them anyway so that I don't forget about this for another year.

Mom got a new laptop for her birthday back in October and heavily hinted that her eldest daughter could make her a laptop bag for Christmas.

 Forgive the messy bedroom, bad cell phone photos.  

This bag is made from the Spencer pattern from Swoon.  It was hard to find a laptop bag pattern! This was the only one I could find that was big enough but it was really cute so I went with it.

The fabric is a home decor weight that I found at fabric.com.  It was my second or third choice since the first fabric I chose came and was just all wrong texture and scale wise. But I like it.

 The piping detail really adds a professional, very finished look to the bag.

 This was the first, and possibly the last, Swoon pattern I have tried.  While I did eventually come out with a very professional looking bag, I found myself agonizing over the pattern and instructions from the get go.  It seemed incomplete in several places. I don't know if the problem was with me or with the pattern ultimately but it was an exercise in frustration. The worst part was trying to wrangle this bag through my machine.  There is a lot of stiff interfacing in this thing. It helps it maintain it's shape and hopefully will help the bag stand up to abuse but golly was it a pain.  I ended up hand sewing quite a few parts that the instructions said to sew on the machine because I just couldn't get it to work.

I hear lots of great feedback for Swoon Patterns in blog land and on facebook so perhaps this particular pattern was just not a good place to start?  Maybe I will forget the pain, like with childbirth. We'll see. They do have a lot of really nice bag patterns that look very polished and professional.  How cute is this Stella Weekender?  Or Betty Bowler?

The lining is made from another fabric.com find. It's kind of a sketchy gray chevron twill. I had a hard time deciding which of the two fabrics should be the outer and which the inner. I decided this one was probably too light in color for the outside of a bag and would get too dirty. But I do think it's super cute.

Ultimately, the bag turned out great and my mom loves it so the blood, sweat and tears were totally worth it.  I just won't be taking special orders!

~Lindsay

Pattern Testing for Ana Davis

I recently participated in some pattern testing for fabric designer, Ana Davis. She is releasing a new line of sewing patterns through her Etsy shop, AnaDavisLtd.

This pattern testing was unlike tests I've done in the past because Ana sent all of her testers lovely yardage from her fabric collections Pippa, Animal Parade and Spring Promise to sew these things up in.

Forgive my photos, in the Christmas rush of things the best I could manage was quick snapshots on my phone. But at least I made it outside to catch some good light on most of them! That's something, right?

This sweet little dress is the Dorothy Dress, sewn in 18 mo. size and gifted to my sweet little niece. It will be a while before she is big enough to model for us since she's just a wee little thing.  I think it will look nice summer or winter with long sleeves and tights underneath.

The yoke was a little tricky but I figured it out with only minor trouble and since the test, the instructions and diagrams have been updated a bit to aid in the process.  It's such a nicely finished little dress. So sweet.

This is the Pia Pleat Skirt, an adult sized pattern, made from the Pippa line of fabrics.  My test version has an extra wide waistband because that pattern piece was mis-sized but it's kind of a neat effect anyway.

If you know me, sewing for myself (or any adult for that matter) is out of my comfort zone but Ana's instructions, even in the "rough" pre-tested stage walked me through the process with confidence. The few hiccups I came across have been fixed in the final pattern (along with a slimmer waistband).

This skirt is so cute, my photos don't do it justice as you can hardly see the peak of contrasting fabric inside those pleats.  

This pillow... the Dorm Pillow, is the easiest pattern I tested.  Even so, I messed it up. This is what happens when I think I know what I'm doing and don't consult the pattern every single step.  There are supposed to be three narrow stripes in the middle but I put two of them on the outside.  Doesn't effect the functionality in any way, and in this case, I like it.  I didn't notice until my sister, who was testing the same pattern, brought hers to my house for Christmas.  She, of course, did it the right way.

Whatever. 

I still love it. This is the one project of the four that I kept for myself.  It doesn't particularly go with my living room but it's there anyway.  It's a nice big 20" x 20" size.  When I took these photos, my pillow form hadn't come yet so you are only seeing the pillow cover and it's hard to see the scale. Sorry about that.

The last thing I tested was the Isabella Tunic.  I think I was most nervous about this one. It's been a long time since I've sewn a ladies top.  The style of this one is simple and classic.  I fell in love with the green accent fabric. Go figure, it's from an older line and impossible to find now.

The tunic really is super cute. 

If you are on the lookout for some new things to sew, check out Ana's Etsy shop.  The patterns are reasonably priced and they are PDF downloads (which rocks for the immediate gratification factor).  She has these above patterns and also some really cute pillow patterns that would be GREAT for a beginning seamstress.

And if you are on the lookout for some cute fabric (and really, aren't we all?), check out these lines and her newer ones, Clementine and True Blue.

~Lindsay

Christmas Princess

The Bug got to choose her own Christmas dress this year. 

She picked the Ballerina Girl pattern from Ellie Inspired. This is the first Ellie Inspired pattern I've used and it was a little different than what I'm used to but it turned out beautifully.

The Bug's favorite color is this shade of blue. Not the most traditional Christmas color but lovely none the less.  The bodice and sash and nice slippery satin and the skirt is about 9 yards of tulle layered and gathered over a satin underskirt. It has a very "princess" effect doesn't it?

We paired the dress up with a gold cardigan and some gold glitter flats from Ruum (they had some super pre-Christmas sales).  The perfectly matched hairbow is a gift from a friend and the necklace is mine.  She felt very fancy.

Ellie Inpired is currently in the processes of adding American Girl doll patterns to all of their big girl patterns but since I bought my ballerina girl pattern before that format change, I had to figure out a coordinating doll dress on my own.  I found a book at the library with some great 18" doll patterns, "Doll Fashion Studio" by Joan Hinds. 

I was out of satin so I used this similarly colored corduroy that I had on hand.  I found just two of these little vintage rhinestone buttons in grandma's button jar. They are purely decorative, not functional since the dress closes up with a narrow strip of velcro. 

I made this dress in a size 7 hoping it would fit for a while. It will for sure, it's plenty long and there is enough room for a year or maybe even two of growth in the waist and bodice.

~Lindsay