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Pins's Needles

Pins's Needles

The Home and Garden Journal of Kayla Pins

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The Very Worst Missionary by Jamie Wright and a Free Cross Stitch Pattern

April 13, 2018 by pinssneedles

I usually share books I have been reading in sets of three with a similar theme. This one gets a post all its own because it comes with a free cross stitch pattern.

The Very Worst Missionary

By: Jamie Wright

Format: Paperback

“The Very Worst Missionary is a memoir for the frustrated idealist in all of us.”

Amen.

I don’t remember how I found Jamie Wright, but I remember it happened at just the right time. I keep my faith to myself because I don’t feel like I’m a good enough example of what a Good Christian should be. Jamie showed up and was like, “Eff that shit, be your badass self! Only your genuine self will do any good, so drop the act already!” I’m summarizing here, but it seems like something she would say.

Jamie’s tendency towards swearing is what earned her the title of The Very Worst Missionary (I believe the term was “Jesus shit balls Christ”), so be forewarned if coarse language bothers you. She is very genuine in her writing.

I loved this memoir of Jamie’s experience as a missionary in Costa Rica and her life leading up to it. I was aware of her criticisms of global missions but enjoyed reading the backstory and her personal involvement.

I pre-ordered the book as soon as I heard about it so I missed out on the audio version, but it is narrated by someone else so I don’t mind. I am familiar with Jamie’s voice through interviews and podcasts, so hearing someone else read would have been strange.

Speaking of interviews and podcasts, Jamie doesn’t blog much anymore, but her Facebook and Instagram are fun to follow. My favorite podcast series right now is Called, Not Qualified, which she co-hosts. If I had anything to add to the book it is that I would have liked her to go deeper into her critique of global missions. The book is an excellent memoir about her life in missions and what brought her to it but ends at her return to the United States. The Called, Not Qualified series is the perfect place to pick up after the book and does a very comprehensive job unpacking the problems within global missions.

I share Jamie’s disdain for cute sayings that are supposed to make me feel better. Like “Just do the next thing.” How exactly am I to know that that is?! I like her version much better:

Do the next most practical thing after careful exploration of the facts, so that even if it turns out to be the wrong thing at least you can say you made a solid decision based on sound research, and if after a period of evaluation you find out it wasn’t the right thing, then you can try something else. God will handle the rest.”

She also said it wouldn’t fit on a cross stitch, which of course prompted me to put it on a cross stitch.

jamie wright quote very worst missionary free cross stitch pattern

It’s a giant cross stitch. This finishes at about 18″ x 9″ without any margins, so mat and frame this and you practically have a piece for above the sofa.

Here’s the symbol chart (Click to enlarge)

 

And here’s the key (Click to enlarge)

symbol key free cross stitch pattern jamie wright very worst missionary quote

My life is such a hot mess at the moment, I think that stitching this GIGANTIC piece would NOT be the most practical thing to do. But if you get it stitched up, it would pretty much make my life if you sent me a picture.

In summary, read this book. Follow Jamie on social media. If you too are a frustrated idealist and feel like stabbing something a gazillion times, stitch this piece while listening to Called, Not Qualified.

Filed Under: Read, Stitch

On Thrift Adventures, Feeling Lucky, and Feeling Loved

March 30, 2018 by pinssneedles

 

Back in December, someone posted an event on my friend’s Facebook page for a Nova Montgomery Featherweight workshop to happen in Bettendorf, Iowa, in March. I messaged Mom and she, our friend Connie, and I all signed up for it. I gave a little more background on my machine obsession and featherweight acquisition in Wednesday’s post.

Monday was our big day, but our adventure started Sunday. Our family celebrated Easter as well as my niece and nephew’s baptism. From there I joined Mom and Connie in our trek to Bettendorf.

I managed to make it through our weekend without purchasing any new clothes or craft supplies. Kind of.

At Joann’s, I got sewing machine needles (a tool!) and at Micheal’s I bought WHITE YARN. (Dramatic backstory here) I fudged my rules here. If I were choosing to buy yarn new it would be I Love This Yarn from Hobby Lobby. But I found a Micheals gift card from four years ago and figured that the purchase was made a long time ago, I was simply acquiring my purchase. Right? Anyway, I made that gift card go as far as I possibly could with two pounds of Pound of Love.

It seems the moment I make a new purchase I find it thrifted. At our various Goodwill stops I found a 4 oz skein of white yarn (among several other colors) and Bogs boots. I felt so bad over the boots that I considered returning my beloved chicken boots, but remembered that I tore all the tags off to prevent myself from doing just that. Also, the Bogs boots are insulated, so I’m covered for two seasons.

Other great thrift finds include a Vera Bradley backpack, a thread holder full of thread, lots of costumes items for Grease, a Swedish candle holder, and brimmed hats.

I love traveling with people who love the same things I do. They were excellent company and tolerant of my eccentricities. Maybe they even like me.

Connie always saves colorful plastic bags for me and brings me baby clothes for Lutheran World Relief. I brought Connie one of the totes I make from plastic sacks.* Most of my yarn comes to me in big goodie bags so I end up with stuff I won’t use. I’ve been saving all of the cotton for Connie because she loves to make potholders and dishcloths.

As we were unpacking the vehicle I noticed Connie’s beautiful bag from one of my favorite companies, Blue Q. This tote zipped all of the way closed and had generous handles. It was the exact design of my small sock knitting pouch that I left on a plane last summer. I told Connie my whole sob story about losing my beloved pouch and showed her my other Blue Q bag I brought.

Turns out the bag was mine. And what was inside but the same design of pouch I lost on the plane, colorful plastic bags, and baby clothes. She’s just the best.

The featherweight workshop was an amazing experience. But the best part of my time was the feeling of being with my people. I love chatting about all of the things that interest me without filtering for the “right” crowd (Bless them for their tolerance). I love being with my mom as a dear friend: Someone I would pick even if life hadn’t brought us together. Trying to express it makes me feel all of the feels and I don’t know how to end my rambling, so that is all for now.

* In my long, long ago blog I made a tutorial for how to cut up plastic bags into “plarn” and wrote a pattern for a tote bag, very similar to the one I gave Connie.

Filed Under: Stitch, Thrift

Jeannette Rankin Quote Free Cross Stitch Embroidery Pattern | “I would be nastier”

November 11, 2016 by pinssneedles

jeannette-rankin-quote-nasty

I’m home sick today. On my way home from organizing for a sub NPR was doing a story on Jeannette Rankin. She was the first woman to hold federal office and voted to give women the right to vote. NPR closed the story with a quote from her:

“If I had my life to live over, I would do it all again, but this time I would be nastier.”

It was the exact kind of thing that needed to be shared on a cheeky embroidery piece. So when I got home I cuddled up to my computer and made this up.

This is a free cross stitch pattern and should not be sold. Share it across the interwebs, but please do so by sharing the link to this post, not the images.

Here’s the diagram you’ll need (Click to enlarge and print):

jeannette-rankin-quote-free-cross-stitch-pattern

And the key for the stitching:

jeannette rankin quote if i had my life to live over I would do it but this time I would be nastier free cross stitch embroider pattern

I haven’t stitched it yet, so if you do, please tag me in your Instagram posts @pinssneedles. 🙂

Filed Under: Stitch

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