The Flash

This boy is going a mile a minute!  At 7 months, he crawls, scoots, and rolls.  He climbs.  Yes, you read correctly.  He climbs.  He climbs up anything he can so that he is standing up.  He also falls when climbing and hits his head.  Does that stop him?  NO!!  Crazy boy.  I am having trouble keeping up with him.  I just have to say, boys are so very different from girls!  None of my girls could roll, scoot, crawl, climb, or stand holding on to things as early as this little boy.  He is determined.  As much as it wears me out, I love this active, chubby little bundle of joy!

I made this onesie out of an adult T-shirt.  I posted about it on the other blog.  It turned out quite well- I was surprised.  I have 2 more shirts I intend to use for onesies.  I am trying to keep up my sewing- branching out to sewing with knits!  I am making red, white and blue skirts for the girls for the 4th of July.  I am excited about them.  I think they are going to be adorable!  I will post pictures after this weekend.

P.S.  To all of my Oregon friends- I MISS YOU!!!

New Blog

I am now contributing to a new blog. My friend Kristin started this blog.  The blog is for all things crafty.  I will mostly be putting my sewing creations on that blog.  Come and take a look at a Make It Yourself Mom's Diary!  Feel free to follow it!

Ready?

For Valentine's Day, I made these cute skirts for the girls.  The wore them for 4 days! They wore them to their school parties on Thursday.  They got up Friday morning (no school day) and put them on again.  Then Saturday I insisted they not wear them all day (but they got a few hours of wearing time in) and they got washed.  They wore them again on Valentine's Day to church.  I also made matching headbands!  They are the headbands I will be teaching how to make on Saturday.  The girls absolutely LOVE their skirts and want to wear them every day.  I am glad that they turned out so well.  They are quite simple and I am thinking of making a tutorial to post here on my blog!

 

I have a picture of Jeff with each of our babies like this one- both sleeping.  I think it is the sweetest thing!

  

I have been busy packing.  I am so grateful to my friends for helping.  It is extremely difficult when you have a baby.  He needs to eat or have his diaper changed, or just wants to be held.  With the help of some friends, we have managed to pack most of Jeff's and my clothes as well as 3/4 of the kitchen.  I seem to always think I will only need so many boxes, only to realize I need twice as many.  Why do we have so much stuff???  Probably because I love to bake and cook!  I am very sad to be leaving my beautiful kitchen.  We have just one week and one day before we move.  I cannot believe it!  This just seems like it is happening so quickly.  I feel that I am not ready to leave everyone.  I am trying to stay calm for my children.  I know this has to be difficult and confusing for them.  We were packing the kids' clothes on Friday and Saturday.  When we got in the car to leave during the Open House, Natalie asked where the box of clothes was.  She wasn't sure where we were going, but she wanted to be sure her dresses were going with her!  I am afraid that loading up the truck and then getting in the van will make her think her things will end up somewhere else.  I wouldn't be surprised if she wants to ride in the back of the truck with all of her things! (she won't be able to, of course)   Alona and Ashley seem to be taking it okay.  They are sad that they are leaving their friends, naturally.  We will see if the strain on them shows more as we actually move.  Andrew doesn't really care.  He may not even notice that his surroundings will be changing.

We found a few houses online that we like.  We will be renting for awhile.  We were trying to decide between 2, but I went to look at them again and one had been leased.  It had a smaller kitchen, but was less expensive.  The kitchen is sort of the important thing for me.  Surprisingly, it can make it or break it for Jeff, too!  Of course, we don't want carpet in the living areas and we have to have at least 3 bedrooms.  We will be downsizing, but will have a much bigger garage.  The garage will actually be used to house a vehicle so that it doesn't get too hot in the summer, but there should also be room for some storage.  We sent in the application for the house today.  It has black granite tile floors downstairs.  I am not loving that.  Dust will show like crazy and it will hurt when Drew starts falling over (attempting to crawl, stand, and walk).  The kitchen is very nice (other than the tile countertops- what are people thinking? how are you supposed cut out sugar cookies when the dough gets stuck in the grout lines?)  The paint colors aren't our first choice, but its not like it will clash with our white furniture!  It is in a housing development with a community pool.  One of Jeff's co-workers lives there too.  We are hoping we get it!  If we do, next week I can get in touch with the school there.  I am not sure I am ready for this!!!!!

Teaching

 

I get to teach a sewing class!!!!!

My friend Kristen set this up.  I made a couple of headbands using this tutorial from thelongthread.com for a nickel auction I was attending.  Kristin got both and wanted more!  They were the highest selling items (I was quite shocked by this). So Kristen sent me an email asking if I would do a class before we moved (one week before me move, no less). I have never taught a class, but I am sure it will be okay.  It is not a difficult project.  We are holding it at our church building.  Anyone is welcome to attend.  We even have extra fabric scraps if you don't have any on hand. Hope to see you there!

A Second Slipcover

I finished the second slipcover today! I had to cut it out, so I didn't finish until about 11:15 tonight! But I did it. And I can hardly believe it. It was so much easier than the slipcover for my couch. Maybe because they came with slipcovers and I used that as a pattern? That's what I'm thinking. So now I have completely finished all of the decor in the house. I am hoping that means that our house will sell! I know the room is a total mess, but I was working on the slipcover all afternoon and evening and Jeff was painting doors. Plus, Alona was home sick today so it got even more messy than usual with two kids at home. Tomorrow will be the cleaning frenzy to get ready for the Open House on Sunday! Hope someone will make an offer!

Slipcovers for the chairs

I bought these chairs back in July of 2008! I had to wait to order the fabric to make new slipcovers for quite a while. I think I finally got the fabric in February this year. I planned to make them and even cut out the pieces for one chair. I was trying to get a good start before morning sickness struck, but it just didn't happen. So now, with an open house looming this Sunday, I figured I should get on it. So I cut out the bias strips for the cording on Tuesday night. Wednesday was rather busy, so I didn't get any time to sew. Thursday- totally different story. I have been sewing up a storm!

First I started by sewing all of the bias strips together. Then I sewed the strips with the cording:


I only had a few inches of fabric left when I ran out of cording. I was so surprised. I just cut strips until I didn't want to anymore and it worked out about as perfectly as I could imagine! I usually have yards of bias strip left- either that or I am yards short. This picture shows the ends of the bias strip and the cording:

And just in case you were wondering, I have a special cording foot that I use. Some people use a zipper foot, but this is just so much easier when you are doing a lot of cording!

I then moved on to the actual slipcover. I started with the front side. I got the inside pieces put together:


I sewed the the back and sides together. Then I added the cording. Then I put it all together:


The skirt is the next part I worked on. I sewed the cording to the bottom of the main slipcover and then sewed the hemmed skirt pieces on. I am done! Oh, wait- I still have the cushion to sew. Oh well. Maybe I'll finish it tonight!!!!!


I put together all of the edge pieces for the cushion first. Then I sewed the cording to both sides of it. I sewed the top and bottom of the cushion on after that. And here it is- completed in one day! An amazing feat for me.

Diaper Bags

I have made a couple diaper bags for friends as gifts. I used the two diaper bag patterns from Amy Butler's Little Stitches for Little Ones. I made The Everything Bag and the Modern Diaper Bag.

The Everything Bag was a nightmare to put together at the end. Sewing the lining to the outside of the bag was really difficult due to the divider in it. I did, however find a website with a tutorial for an extremely similar bag where they hand stitch the divider in at the end. I am thinking this is a better option. But I am still not sold on this diaper bag. It doesn't close and you can't wear it over your shoulder.

The Modern Diaper Bag was HUGE! I am not just talking a little on the large size. I made it for a friend who is maybe a size zero. She is tiny. The poor bag will probably knock her over. :( I absolutely love the look of the bag, though. I did find two blogs where they made the bag smaller. I was considering this option, but not sure how it would turn out. Here is the first one and here is the second one.

The other option I have is to make up my own bag. I am not that creative when it comes to sewing. I can come up with great fabrics but I am not good at coming up with ideas for changing the patterns or even creating my own designs. I am sure I could do it if I tried, but I am too lazy? So I have been looking around the internet for inspiration. I have fabric already picked out. What should I do???????


The darker fabric is for the main part of the bag. The lighter fabric would be for lining and trim. I can also get more coordinating fabric if I need to.

An Awesome New Crafting Blog

I found an awesome new crafting (mostly sewing) blog! Leigh Ann is the creator and is The Object Project.
She has great ideas and tutorials. It appears that she started blogging back in April of this year, and so far she has some great projects. If you love sewing, you should check out her blog and get inspiration from her.

A Twilight Bag

For Christmas I made so many gifts and forgot to take pictures. If I gave you one and it is not pictured, please send me a picture! Thanks in advance. I made one for my friend Celina. It is the Amy Butler Swing Bag pattern. Celina absolutely LOVES Twilight, so I made it in red, black, and white fabric. Another friend saw it and thought it would be perfect for her niece's birthday. So I made a second one today. I timed it. It took me 1 hour and 10 minutes to sew the bag. The scarf took 20 minutes to cut and sew. It probably took 20 minutes to cut out the pattern pieces for the bag. So 2 hours from start to finish. I have made this bag so often that I don't need instructions! Yay! Here is the Twilight bag:

It is a little washed out in the picture. I got the fabrics from JoAnns. There were quite a few fabrics in the line to choose from. The inside of the bag is a dot fabric. It is a lot cuter in real life. This picture doesn't do it justice. Maybe I should name it the Alice Bag.

Handmade Dolls

I made a doll as a birthday present for a friends little girl. It turned out so well. I used the Wee Wonderfuls pattern for the Kit, Chloe, and Louise dolls. They are just so cute. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to take a picture before we wrapped it. But you should check out the pattern. It is not too difficult and they are so cute!

Pretty Pink Dresses and Posting 101

This is officially my 101st post!
Here is a picture of Alona in her "pretty pink dress.
"

Christmas Rush

The masses are out shopping, but me? I am at home. I have too much to sew. The dress I am working on has to be done by Friday. It is for the sister of the groom and the wedding is Saturday. I thought I was almost done, but then she tried it on and the dress was just huge in the shoulders. So last night I picked out the seam on the sleeves. I had to remove them completely to rework the shoulders. Hopefully I can have it finished today. Then I can start on the fun stuff. I have several bags I am working on for Christmas presents. And then, there is a dress for Alona that she has been begging for since before her birthday in August. And I wanted to make some skirts for all three of the girls. sigh. There just isn't enough time....

Goodies In The Mail

Last week I ordered two patterns and some Trash Ties (for hair) from the Heather Bailey website. They came today! I am so excited! I love reading her blog. It has so many great pictures and some free patterns and tutorials. I was going to make the La Fleur Debris pattern to put on the presents we gave to the girls' teachers, but since today might be the only day of school this week we decided to give the presents to them today. I am excited to try the Trash Ties in the kids' hair. I want to try them out and then maybe get them in more colors. The pincushion pattern looks fun. I can't decide if I should make the apple, the pear, or the strawberry. Maybe one of each?

How it's been.....

Obviously from the Thanksgiving pictures Charles was here. He got in around 1 pm on Thanksgiving. We sat down to eat about an hour later. The turkey was very juicy. They company was very pleasant. And, of course, dessert was yummy! We had dessert at my In-Law's house. Then we came back and ate more turkey, followed by a looong soak in the hot tub. Charles and I discussed our childhood. He remembers vividly the way I would get so annoyed with all the noise- in a family with 11 children there is a bit of noise. I was quite the loud mouth, always yelling at everyone. Not much has changed, hehehehe. We got a little Rock Band 2 in on Friday with Charles and pretty much did nothing all day. Actually, Jeff helped Josh work on the stereo system to his new car. Charles did the dishes! He is good at that. It is so nice to have a clean kitchen. Saturday, we took Charles out to Hole In The Wall BBQ for lunch. The kids went to a friends house, so it was just the adults. Then Charles left. Apparently my house is not conducive to studying. I was sad to see him go, but not until I burned him a couple Christmas CDs to listen to in the car. Then I took Ashley to Barnes and Noble where her ballet school was having a book fair/fundraising event. She got to see four girls perform. And she got the set of Felicity books from the American Girl collections. She is really getting into that now.
I have plenty of sewing projects for Christmas presents to keep me busy for the next couple weeks, so I am off to get started!

Hooded towels

Today I decided to organize my dining/temporary sewing room. I figured the best way to do this is to use up some of the fabric and supplies that are just sitting there. I opted to start with the hooded towels I started many, many years ago. It was probably 4-5 years ago! It took me all of 15 minutes to sew 4 of them! For instructions click here. All you need is one bath towel and one hand towel. One hand towel will make 2 hoods, so you may as well get another bath towel and make two. Here is one of the towels:


Both pictures are of the same towel- not sure why the color is so different! I put the hood on a little different than how it is in the instructions. I made two this way, and two the way in the instructions.

Christmas gift ideas.......

I am looking for ideas for Christmas gifts that I can make. Anyone have any suggestions?
I would like them to be fairly quick and easy, yet classy and well received!
Thanks!
Oh, yes, and they would be for friends and family (adults- both male and female)!

Some Lil Tiny Bags For M' Natalie

Natalie refers to her things a m'Natalie's (mine Natalie's). She also thinks anything she owns is lil tiny, because she is the little one in the family. So she took over a tote bag I made for Jessica and was so excited about it. She carried it around the house until we left to take it to Jessica. Jessica wasn't there, so we left it on the door. Natalie cried because she didn't get to see her, but more importantly, because we were leaving the bag. I promised to make her a bag. I finally got it done. (finally being a week or so later- which is actually pretty good, for me)
Of course, if I make one for Natalie then I must make one for Ashley and Alona as well. So off to the fabric store we went one day. Ashley was at school, so it was Alona, Natalie, and myself as Ashley had picked a fabric a while back. They each picked out two fabrics for a reversible bag.
I cut down the Amy Butler Swing Bag pattern I used previously for gifts. It is the perfect bag for the kids to take their coloring supplies to church. The pattern is quick and easy. I got each one done in less than 1 hour. Only took a little under 3 hours of my Saturday evening. The kids absolutely love them!


Ashley's is the lavender paisley bag. Alona picked out the ladybugs on green. Natalie liked the dots!


Alona wanted a picture in her new hat and scarf!


Ashley did, too! She put the hat on backwards!


Of course, Natalie insisted on a picture, too. Its like she's giving herself a hug! Awww!

On a roll!

A sewing roll, that is! I finished Natalie's curtains! Here is a picture of one side! The flash I have on my camera isn't good enough to take a full picture- it turns out too dark.


So here is my updated list(Why don't they have check marks in any fonts? Why am I stuck using a square root?):

√ 1. finish putting sewing room together
√ 2. sew curtains
√ 3. finish slipcover
4. paint all the trim everywhere in the house (ugh)
√ 5. clean Natalie's room (hahahahaha)
√ 6. find somewhere to store all the ominous bins of girls clothes they will grow into some day, but can't wear yet so I have to find somewhere to put them........
7. RELAX (if I can find the time)
8. Finish the quilts for √ 1. Ashley and 2. Alona

My List! (and yes, I checked something off)

√ 1. finish putting sewing room together
2. sew curtains
√ 3. finish slipcover
4. paint all the trim everywhere in the house (ugh)
√ 5. clean Natalie's room (hahahahaha)
√ 6. find somewhere to store all the ominous bins of girls clothes they will grow into some day, but can't wear yet so I have to find somewhere to put them........
7. RELAX (if I can find the time)
8. Finish the quilts for √ 1. Ashley and 2. Alona

I started this list back in April. It had three only three tasks that I needed to accomplish. Then I added to it. I actually accomplished one of the tasks! It was quite a feat for me! Now, as you can see, I have checked off a few more tasks. Natalie's room has been cleaned, but returns to a state of chaos regularly. At least now it is her things and not things I am just storing in there. And I added the quilts to the list. I am proud to announce the completion of Ashley's quilt. Alona's will be identical, but I still need to tie and bind it. I plan to make Natalie's curtains first. I am really trying to finish all my sewing projects that are taking up space in my dining room right now. We have someone staying in my sewing room for awhile, and all my sewing equipment and supplies got moved to the dining room. Thank goodness we don't have a dining room table yet! As for the painting of the trim, I am still putting that one off indefinitely! I am really dreading that one!


Ashley's quilt!

Another Swing Bag

Here is another sewing project I just finished. This is pretty simple. It took about 2 hours. It is a birthday present for a friend. It's a little late, but at least I finished it. It is the Amy Butler Swing Bag pattern made with Amy Butler Midwest Modern fabric. I hope you like it, Heidi!


The bag is reversible. This is the other side.