Look! I'm Organizing My Blog Posts!

Hello there, friends!!! I'm sorry for procrastinating so much on blogging! It has been a busy time for my husband and I. Even when times are easy-going, I haven't worked up enough motivation to write. I love writing on my blog, but I am convinced that my posts need to have more structure. I'm going to structure my blogs as follows: The Condition of My Heart, Works in Progress, Looking Ahead, and Prayer Requests. Alright, here we go!!!

The Condition of My Heart

I love Jesus. I'm sure all of you are fully aware of that. Since my faith is the reason I am a freelance pattern designer, it's only appropriate for me to share what has been on my heart recently, and what God has been teaching me about Himself.

So lately, I've been feeling quite discouraged. Every time I've talked to people, I always say "It's sometimes discouraging, but I know that God's going to bless it." While I do have faith that God is going to bless this career choice in His timing, right now, I find it really hard to wait. It's hard to wait for the blessing and to not feel discouraged. But lately, through the counsel of an anonymous man who prophetically spoke to me, I've come to the realization of something. Even though I am in this waiting period, and even though I feel discouraging, God is still going to bless this career. But not only is He going to bless this career choice, He is going to use me to bring people closer to Him! When I think more about how God is using me to advance His kingdom in any way He chooses, I become less blessing focused. I stop thinking of the kind of blessing God will bring and focus more on bringing people closer to Him, that they may come to know and love Him. That's what my career is about. It's not about me. It's about Him, and bringing people closer to Him!

Works in Progress

For this month, I have had four WIPS. You read that right, four. Three of them are the shawls I talked in my previous blog post. Those shawls are definitely not going to be done by this month.

My most current WIP is a sweater design. Do you guys remember that Fern Sweater? Well, I decided to frog it a few weeks ago. I couldn't get the idea that I had across with the design, but maybe I will work on it again sometime, if God calls me back into it. Honestly, I felt like I failed in designing the Fern. But I'm being more cautious with this sweater. Now that I've been learning a lot about design, I now feel like I can design and knit a sweater that fits nice and feels nice. Also, I'm using yarn from an Indie yarn dyer. I can't help but be excited to see it finished and to wear it around the house and outside in the cold! The yarn is by Claire of Autumn and Indigo yarn, DK weight, in the colorway "All That's Left". The colors just make me feel so warm and toasty, I can't help but try it on every time I work on it!

Looking Ahead

So looking into the month ahead, I have a couple things planned. Of course I'm going to work on all three of the shawls I have right now. But along with that, I hope to finish my sweater in the beginning of January. After the sweater is done, I will start working on another project. At this point, I'm not sure what God will call me to knit in January, or even if He will call me to work on a design. Even with that being said, I'm still looking ahead to a couple things.

First and foremost, I'm looking forward to CHRISTMAS!!! It's my favorite holiday. I love the Christmas lights, the Christmas music, the sheer sense of Christmas joy all around. Also, I know I'm getting some knitting related goodies for Christmas and I can't wait to show you!!

Second, I'm looking forward to continuing to learn new things. I love knitting, and for a while it was a hobby in addition to other things. Now, I'm ready to pick up a different hobby that I've never successfully tried: Sewing. When I was younger, I was obsessed with "Little Women" (ca. 1994). I saw Jo March write and related to her and thought "I'm not the only one in the world who writes down her thoughts in a journal!" Plus, my favorite TV show growing up was "As Told by Ginger" on Nickelodeon. I also looked up to Meg March, who you see crocheting a blanket and tell a Moffat woman (I don't remember her name, forgive me) how she sews her own clothes and vehemently expresses how small children work hard to make the dress that the Moffat woman wears. From that point on, I knew I wanted to make my own clothes and work with my hands to create garments I will eventually wear. I always say that I should've gone to college in that field, but if I did, I would never have met and fell in love with my husband.

Anyway, all of that was to tell you of a book that I got at Barnes and Noble. It's called "Pattern Making Templates for Skirts and Dresses". I love wearing dresses and skirts. My dream is to not only knit my own garments, but sew them as well. In fact, I also want to be able to do that for my husband and our future children. I want to do as much as I can with my hands, because it is more sustainable and is something that I made, not a group of small children who work hard and go hungry due to underpayment for my benefit. I got this book on Saturday, and I'm already in love! I can't wait to learn more on how to make my own clothes!!!

Prayer Requests

*Pray that I will continue to remember that my career is used to advance God's Kingdom.

*Pray that I will remain patience in my obedience to Him

*Pray that I will commit to my schedule and my work structure.

*Pray for my husband. He's been feeling really stressed in his job and putting his identity in his work. Pray that God will remind him of who He says he is (I hope that makes sense!)

*Pray for my friend. Last week, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Pray that God will give her the strength to handle this trying time gracefully, with the support of community with her.

Thank you for reading my blog! I pray that these words encourage and bless you, that you will be brought closer to the One that I serve, Jesus. I pray you have a wonderful Christmas and Happy Holidays! I probably will not make another blog post again until 2018. Happy New Year!

With Love,

Amanda Wells

FAWM Knits

#knitting #knitdesign #faith #freelancing #fawmknits