I never finished my Advent countdown. I’m not going to apologize for it, either. Advent and Christmas were both rough and I wanted nothing more than to get them over with and move on to the new year. Which hasn’t started out as I had hoped, but like my Mom told me recently–if it wasn’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.
Saturday I tweeted that I had just finished sewing the most imperfect blanket ever. Yet, God used the frustrations and imperfections to remind me of a few things. I had been wanting to sew this blanket for awhile. For years, I’ve sewed blankets, burp cloths, and other goodies for friends as they had babies. Along the way, my scrap pile grew. Pieces of fabric, mostly flannel, that were too small for another burp cloth, but too big to throw away. So, a few months ago I decided to cut them up into squares and make a blanket for myself.
I was excited about this blanket for two reasons. One, it would be a great reminder of my sweet friends who have allowed me to love on their babies. Two, as I sewed for these babies, I prayed for them, so I knew the fabrics had lots of prayers prayed over them already, and Lord knows I need extra prayers lately. So I cut up the squares, and then started laying them out, trying to decide if the blanket was going to have a pattern to it or not. As I laid out the fabrics, I would remember what baby the fabric was originally intended for, and say another little prayer. I got it all laid out, and started sewing it together.
The top actually turned out pretty well. I had a few points that didn’t quite line up, but I was really happy with it. Then, the troubles started. I bought a solid piece of flannel for the backing, but calculated wrong and had to cut and piece it together to make it fit. I laid out the backing, then the batting, and finally the top. I was just going to tie it together with embroidery floss. I had just finished getting it all tied, when I realized that something had gone wrong and my backing was no longer lining up correctly.
I had to cut all the ties, lay everything out again, and start over. Then, it was time to put on the binding. I got it all pinned in place, and realized I was six inches short of what I needed. Another trip to the store, only to discover they were out of the color of binding I had originally purchased and wouldn’t get any more in for a couple of weeks. I couldn’t wait that long–I needed to get this blanket finished and get it off my table so I could work on some projects for my new niece (who will be joining the family in April!). I grabbed the closest color I could find and called it good enough. When I finally got around to sewing the binding on, I didn’t even care anymore. It’s the worst binding job in the history of sewing, but I just wanted it done. I finally got it finished, and threw it on the couch.
Later that night, I was sitting on the couch, staring at the laptop, trying to work on a writing project. Without really thinking, I grabbed that imperfect blanket and covered my legs. Immediately I noticed how warm it was (which is kind of what I was going for with all the flannel). Despite it’s imperfections, it did it’s job of providing comfort and warmth. As I worked on my writing project, I was reminded, again, how imperfect I am. But God also reminded me that He can use me to do a job despite my imperfections. How many times will He remind me before I remember that important truth?
So Completely 