Finally Friday and More F'n Fabric

Nothing astounding today. Exept it's Friday, and payday.

And yes. I went and bought more fabric. More Teacher Gifts. They won't quite be as elaborate as the other bags, more like a watered down version of my Market Tote. No binding, I'll use my serger.

I realize, I have a problem. Maybe I should take the month of June off and not buy any more fabric.

Maybe.

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Today is the last day of preschool for my youngest and I could nearly weep.

Nearly. I will admit, I'm going to miss the 'quiet time' with all three in school, but I'm also looking forward to not trying to get crankypants out of bed in the morning.

How, exactly did she get so big? Fortuantely, I still have one more year before Kindergarten to figure that out.

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Last night I finished the binding on Teacher Quilt, Second Grade Version. One of the other moms organized it. I did some of the sewing, then offered to hand stitch the binding.



I used to despise the hand stitching, but now I've found peace with it. It soothes me.



The quilt is two sided, to accompany the number of kids. We're giving it to her on Tuesday - Can't wait to see her reaction!


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Have a great weekend!

Product Review - Maiden America

First off, this post is supposed to be a product review for Maiden America. And it will be...

Of my two daughers, my younger is the 'girly' one. She loves dresses and princesses and Dora, and all things 'sparkly.'

Since I decided to make the preschool teachers bags instead of quilts, I had some left over fabric.

And a pattern in the basement. Actually, I have a lot of patterns. I like them in theory, but when it comes to practice... Eh. Not so much.

Yestereday I put together an easy peasy two piece top and shorts...

The shorts are a little big because although the pattern calls for a 5/8" seam, I can't help but use the quilters 1/4". At least she can grow into them.

The back is a crisscross that I think is darling. The best of all this - it only took about an hour. It would have taken a bit less, but I messed up a couple seams and had to rip them out and start over.

Did you notice what is in her hair?

Barettes.

Not just any barettes, but the amazing no slip, hand made Maiden America barettes.

The pictures don't do them justice. The hardest decision we have to make is which to wear? Often it's the purple and the green. We also have a set of "pony pairs" that she frequents as well.

I love the barettes because they really do stay in.

When we first got them, I opened the box to show the Toddler. After oohing and aahing and squealing, she started to cry a bit. I asked her what was wrong... "Nothing, Mama, they're just so pretty!"

And pretty they are. For my other daughter, they're a bit 'girly,' but she occasionally will wear one to humor me. My younger daughter? Nearly every day she has one (or more!) in.

They're a bit pricier than traditional barettes. I've found them to be worth it though - buy it once and buy it right. There are multiple options in size and color - they're something for every little (and not so little) girl out there. It took me quite a while to settle on what I wanted.

Thanks to Parentbloggers for another great product!


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Teacher Gift

To say that I admire teachers is an understatement. So far, we've had a really good experience with the public school, and the preschool here. Anyone that can devote their day to herding cats* and making them learn something is beyond measure in my book.

Here's what I've come up with for my daughter's two preschool teachers:
They are reversible - so they're essentially the same bag, but one is turned the 'other way.' I gave them to the teachers this morning and got a big hug in return. I was going to do a lap quilt for each of them, but ran out of time.

Just two quilt bindings to go... The Kindergarten Signature Quilt turned out beautifully. I showed it to a couple of parents and they were excited about it as well. My second grade daughter's class did a quilt as well. Another mom and I pieced it, and third mom quilted it. I offered to sew the back of the binding on. They're both sitting in my bedroom, waiting. Need to have them both done soon - the second grade one by Monday and the kindergarten one by Tuesday. Better get cracking!

Have a great day!

Also, I haven't done a giveaway for May. Any thoughts?

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* Sometimes when people ask me what I do, I tell them, "I herd cats," and smile. They get the funniest look until I explain I'm, "home with three kids, which is about the same thing."

If they have kids, they know exactly what I'm talking about.


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NSFW... Something unusual from me

A number of years back, my uncle decided to ride his bike across the US. He took a friend to provide support and video tape it.

This is what happens when he asks for directions...



It starts pretty slow, but the last minute or two are golden. Not Safe For Work!

All's well, that ends well

It used to really bother me to take separate 'vacations' on Memorial Day Weekend... Now, not so much.

He gets to do fun stuff...


And so do I...



What? A box of fabric? Huh? Actually it's two WIPs from my mom's basement. They are quilts my sister started, and doesn't have the gumption to finish. Or maybe it's the 13 month old twins. Or the other bun in the oven. Who knows.

We started pulling boxes from the basement yesterday. My sister pulled up one with two half finished quilt tops. She pulled the pink one out, wondering when she'd ever get it done.

I volunteered. With a couple of ground rules... I will give them back no later than her birthday in October. Final say is mine in the finished product - final block placement, backing, binding, etc.

She happily agreed.

See, this is my favorite part of the project - the squares are done, and in putting them together they really start to look like something. My sister? She likes to make the squares.

A perfect arrangement.

Also, I dug through Mom's Box of Remnants, and came up with this...



A box and a pile of fabric. Whoot! Most of them would be considered vintage, as they're over 25 years old. All in very good shape, though. And they're not bitty scraps, either. Most are at least a yard.

The only thing holding me back from diving into the boxes are the two preschool teacher gifts I need done today for tomorrow...

Better get scooting!


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Big wheels keep on turning

Carry me home to see my kin
Singing songs about the southland
I miss alabamy once again
And I think its a sin, yes

Made it down to my parents. Sure, it's only three hours, but with three kids that's always an adventure.

Memorial Day weekend is spent with my parents. My husband has other plans - one of which is a now 15 year tradition.

My husband played Augusta National Golf Club yesterday. You know, where they play The Masters? Yea. There. He promised pictures - as he took my new camera with him.

This morning he was up at 4 am and on his way to Indianapolis. You know. The Indy 500... Oh, the tradition.

He lives a charmed life I tell you.

But I'm ok with it. After all, I'll spend with weekend with my doting mom. Dad will be back Sunday. He's on a walkabout in the mountains with his brother. Me? I'm banking my days. At this point, I could probably leave for a month.

I'll wait. I'll bide my time. It's coming, I tell you. It's coming. I just need something really, really good. And for my mom to retire so they can watch the kids.

Have a great weekend, all!


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I've been told she's going to like it

Last night, I decided to finish piecing the top.

Little did I know the seam ripper would become my new best friend.

I'm not telling you how many times I used my seam ripper, but it may need to be sharpened soon.
I've been asked how I get 'so much' done. Ha! If you only knew. Housekeeping is kept to a minimum, I keep meals nice and easy, and I do quite a bit after the kids are in bed. My youngest likes to sit by me and to 'homework' while I sew. "Mama, how do you spell alligator." "Mama, how do you make a 'g'." Hey, it works for us.

I'd like to say it's between 8 pm and midnight I get the most done, but usually if I'm cruising on a project it's more like 10 pm to 2 am.

Last night I crawled in at 1:45 am.

But woke up to this...

Now, off to find backing and binding...

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The school year is drawing to a close.

Remember these fabrics?

My Kindergarten Teacher Quilt is coming together nicely.

I am just a bit stumped on the placement of colors:
There are dark blue, light blue, green, brown, red (with brown accents), and red (with cream accents).

My issue is I don't want any to that match to share a point - if that makes sense. In my placement above, two of the same red are sharing a point. Also, I need the colors to be well scattered about.

I've found that by taking a picture, I get a little better perspective.

Also - I'm missing the signature for one of the dark blues. He lives down the street and I can get it tonight. For this exercise, I put paper under it to get a better feel for the color.

Any suggestions?


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Same dress, take two

I'm wearing it today (with a cream shirt) and have received a lot of positive feedback...
I can see myself making more of this skirt. They are easy to make and terribly comfortable. The only constraint will be the fabric. I need a little over 2 1/2 yards of fabric and lining fabric. For sake of argument, I bought three yards of each, knowing I'd have leftovers to put in my stash. On both of them I used the $1.99/yd quilter's cotton. The black flowered fabric was $4.99/yd and today's fabric was $6.99/yd. Both were 30% off at Joann's.

If you go by 'average' - I made both of these skirts for about $18 each. Or the black one for a little over $16 and today's a little over $20.

Fuzzy math, I know. Overall, this was a worthwhile adventure.

Thanks for all the kind compliments yesterday - I really appreciate them!



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There was a little bit of modification...

For the last month of so, I've been on the hunt for an easy 50's style wrap dress. I love the idea of not having to put an outfit together.

I found this on etsy:

Cute, cute, cute, even if my waist isn't (nor ever will be) that small. A little research leads me to believe that this is a 1960's pattern. Close enough. And it has pockets. I love pockets. And the size? I can work with that. I decided to try just the wrap skirt first.

After getting it out of the package, and noting that all the pieces are there, I set about dividing them by garment. I then gently ironed them. Rather than cut fabric from the pattern, I got out a roll of brown mailing paper. Next time, I'll use the back of wrapping paper - the brown paper was a little hard to work with, and cheap wrapping paper is about the right weight.

I laid out the pattern, and figured out by measuring tape how much bigger it needed to be. The size 16 calls for a 28 inch waist. Oh. Times. Have. Changed. I do not have a 28 inch waist. Mine is closer to 40. (Whew, got that out of the way.)

To determine how much I needed to increase the pieces -

40 - 28 = 12. My waist, minus the waist the pattern calls for equals inches of increase.

12 / 4 = 3. Inches of increase divided by number of pattern pieces equals increase per piece.

3 / 2 = 1.5. Inches per piece increase divided by number of sides of pattern (left and right).

So by this I need to increase both sides of the pattern by 1.5 inches. I'm not increasing the top of the bottom as I'm happy with the length.

I lay out the pattern piece on the paper and meausure out 1.5" on both sides. Cut them and then cut the fabric. I'd purchased extra knowing I'd need more than the pattern called for.

Now... Time for fabric...I like the black and white because it is pretty 'simple' and the other? Because it's not.

This took me a bit longer than I'd planned - mostly in the increasing the pattern. Once I got sewing it didn't take that long. I'm guessing the second one will take about an hour or so. It's really pretty easy.

More importantly, I'm pleased with the end result!



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"She's got a smile that it seems to me
Reminds me of childhood memories
Where everything
Was as fresh as the bright blue sky
Now and then when I see her face
She takes me away to that special place
And if I stared too long
I'd probably break down and cry..."

It was an eventful weekend. Besides the yard work, which there are no pictures of because I was trying to keep up with my parents, we had a few other things happen...

Wiggle it, just a little bit...


Eh, the tissue's not working...


Moooooom.... Stop it.


One final picture. I love those teeth. They've served him well.



Whoops. I only shed one tear. In my laundry room where no one could see.



And here he is. He wouldn't let me take his picture earlier in the day. I had to catch him off guard.



And my oldest? I'm weeping a little differently for her.



She finished her first year of dance. The instructor told me she's hoping to see her signed up next year. I know she says that to all the girls, but it still means a lot.

There's something about her look. It's as if I can see her growing up before my very eyes. Very teary eyes.



And this one? In a few short weeks she'll be four. Though I knew this day would come... I just didn't think it would come so soon.

Yes, nap time at the recital. Both of them in fact.



Pardon me while I go dab my eyes.

Regular projecting will resume tomorrow. And boy, oh boy, do I have something good!

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Oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day

Really. Yesterday was great.

My parents are here. We worked in the yard all day. I am tired. They are workhorses. I can not keep up with them.

Do you mind if we... What would you think about... If it's alright...

Yes. Yes. And Yes. Do all of it. Do none of it.

Yesterday we got the pots planted, flowers at the mail boxes, the trees trimmed, and the plantings cleaned up. Oy.

My Minnesota skin shows. Even with sunscreen.

It was exactly how I wanted to spend the day.

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So here's the deal...

Spring is fleeting, summer is short, and fall comes too fast before winter starts all over again. We live in a cul-de-sac with four houses and are are friendly terms with nearly all our neighbors. And neighbors not just in the cul-de-sac, but up and down the street as well.

Except one.

Before we moved here, there was an incident that left 'bad blood' in the neighborhood.

The first summer we were here, the police were summoned three times. Last summer? It was closer to eight.

I'm not even close to kidding.

In the spring, summer and fall, we like to light up a bonfire (contained) and have a drink or two with the neighbors. Usually it's in the next door neighbor's driveway, and we keep the noise reasonable. We stand around and talk. We're getting old here, you know.

One neighbor doesn't like it.

Sometimes, yes, it does get late and maybe a little loud. For the most part? It's not.

Rather than "be the grownup," she likes to call the police. It's gotten to the point that they know what's going on, but they have to respond.

When the squad car pulled into the cul-de-sac, there were four of us in our garage, and four next door. He started next door, and then came over to our place. He was nearly embarrassed. "Guys, we've had an anonymous call (Hubs and I start snickering - duh, we know who it is), about loud voices. I'm supposed to tell you to keep it down." We chat a bit, I mean, he's just doing his job, and he goes on his merry way to deal with real criminals.

All I can think at this point, is if this is how she's choosing to live her life, it's going to be a long summer for her...


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Mark your calendars...

Tonight was the first nice night since October.

We were standing in the garage talking.

The police stopped by.

We were too loud.

Talking. In the garage.

Anyone want to venture a guess what the tally of police visits will be by the end of summer?


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Lauren's Quilt

Aka - the Double Secret Probation Project.

It started innocently enough...
Thirty nine white squares went out in the mail. You know that scene from Seinfeld where George's fiancee dies from the glue on the envelopes? Yea. Something like that. Anyway, with me it made 40.

What to do... I knew I wanted pink and brown. I settled on a jelly roll of "All You Need is Love" fabric from Moda. Cut the jelly rolls and waited in anticipation for the return envelopes to start arriving.

Eventually I had them all, and was able to get started.


Doesn't look like much now, does it?

I roughly sketched out a color placement. I knew this wouldn't be final, but it was a good place to start.



I laid them out on the kitchen table, and soon discovered it wasn't big enough.


Put them together: top, bottom, press, left, right, press. Repeat. Again. And Again.


I finally gave up the table and put them on the floor. The kids had strict instructions: do not touch them, do not step on them, if you pick one up... I'll... I'll... I'll get really, really mad.


Left to right to make rows, then sew the rows together.
"Sandwich" the backing, batting and quilt top, and um... Quilt it.



Quilting's done, that means sew the binding. I meant to get more pictures, but it was two in the morning when I stitched the binding on the front.



It's starting to look like something now...

A blurry picture - hand stitching the back of the binding...

Did I mention it was really late? I finally gave up and went to bed. Up bright and early the next morning to finish.



Viola.

Overall, I'm very pleased with this, and I think Lauren is too. This quilt is like a long-distance hug from her Mom Friends. I certainly hope I don't have to make another pink ribbon quilt.

And... There was even enough fabric left over for a bag to hold it.


Lauren... Know that you're in our thoughts and prayers each and every day!

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I am in lust

Straight from the fabric store...
1880's reproduction fabrics. Oy.

It's going to be turned into a signature quilt for my son's Kindergarten teacher. As soon as I'm done, I'm going to have to get some for myself!

Have a great day!

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On a lighter note.

Though I didn't have a day of unfettered crafting on Mother's Day, I did manage to whip up a couple things.

First: A small pouch for my new camer. I've been nagging my husband that I'd like something smaller to keep in my purse. Now, I have it. He told me that they make pouches, but really... Isn't this cuter?



And see that? It's a real button and button hole - no more velcro for me. Well, at least not as much!

Both of the fabrics are from my stash. I used leftover batting from a quilt to give it a little cushion.



And, my "Baby" wanted a blanket for her baby. All of this was once again, in my stash, including the leftover batting.



And of course, baby needs a pillow.

It was fun to do a couple quick projects and see them to fruition the same day.

Not much else. Yesterday I started a duvet cover for our down comforter. The Toddler tried to paint her own toe nails on my bed, and now I have both pink and red nail polish on it.

The upside is it was a comforter I bought five years ago from overstock.com for $50.

The down side is I'm working with seven yards of 90" material. That's a lot of material. All I have left are the button holes and buttons. Husband asked if it was what I 'wanted.' I told him I didn't want a new comforter right now. Maybe when I re-do the bedroom I will, but right now I like the $25 dollar fix, versus the cost of a new comforter.

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Shards of glass

Something happened last night that left me slack-jawed and staring.

I can bend, and bend, and bend.

Eventually, I will break.

I am so close to that point, I can feel it.

Happy Birthday, My Boy.

Last night, I curled up beside him.

"Mama, I'm so excited I can't sleep."

Why?

"Tomorrow is my birthday. I'm going to be SIX!"

I know. That is very exciting.

I laid with him for a few minutes trying to memorize that very moment. The smell of his hair, the look of his face, the feel of his ever growing body snuggled with mine - just hold on to it for a minute.

Already the details I never thought I'd forget are fading. Eight pounds, how many ounces? Was it 8:20 am or 10 am? Twenty or twenty one inches long?

I do remember it was Mother's Day. I hadn't slept well all night, and finally decided around 7 am to call my mom. We were supposed to go to her house for Mother's Day. 'Mom, looks like we won't make brunch.' They rushed down to watch our then only child. She was still asleep in her little toddler bed when we left. I caressed her downy curls as I shed a quick tear knowing that not only would our lives change, hers would too. Quick hugs and off we went.

We arrived at the hospital, and I waddled up to the registration desk. 'I'm having a baby.' The gal smiled and asked if I could walk to Labor and Delivery or did I need a wheelchair. 'I can't make that decision right now.' She smiled again, knowingly, and replied that someone would be right with me. My husband arrived from parking the car the same minute the attendant came with a wheelchair.

Upon arriving at Labor and Delivery, we were informed that the Inn Was Full, but we could wait in the interim room. Checked in, IV'ed and ready to wait. At least there was a TV. All too soon, it was time. They wheeled me to the OR, as the room didn't have the 'functional necessities' that the birthing suites did. I was promised that there were several mothers leaving, and by the time I was done, they'd have a suite ready for me. At that time, I really didn't care - I just wanted to be done.

At the OR, the doctor walked in, sat on the foot of the bed, and checked things out. "Wow, fully dilated and effaced - you're ready to go!" He started telling a joke when the need to push struck.

There is nothing like the need to push. Nothing.

He looked again and the baby's head was nearly out, he quickly robed up and delivered.

One push.

One push and I was The Mama to The Boy.

He didn't holler right away, he'd sucked in some meconium right before birth. That was quickly suctioned out, and then he started right it.

Soon enough we were wheeled back to the interim room. It had gone so fast a room still wasn't ready. No problem for me, the baby was out - that's all that mattered.

All the nurses told me what a beautiful baby he was. 'I know you say that to everyone.' No, they said, we don't - he really is a beautiful baby. 'Thank you.' Was all I could reply.

Before long, a room was ready and I got situated. Took a shower, dried my hair, put on a little makeup, felt eighty pounds lighter though I'd probably only lost about ten, I got ready for our now big sister to meet her younger brother.

The rest of the day went by in a blur.

These days you're into Star Wars and Legos, and Star Wars Legos. You play outside every chance you get, and are a whiz playing baseball and riding your bike. You out-wear your jeans before you out-grow your jeans. There are so many things you're good at, and I can't wait to see what you're ready to do next.

Happy Birthday, my boy, Happy Birthday.

All I want for Mother's Day...

Is one reasonably good picture of my kids...

Happy Mother's Day!