Sweet Saturday

Things have calmed here over the past couple of days (thank you for your prayers)....God has placed a peace over my home that is so comforting. I was able to finish the skirts for Charlotte and I last week....or is that Charlotte and me....yes I think it is "me". *whatever* (See I have been around pre-teen girls all week!) I plan to go to Joann's tomorrow for some more denim prints....it is 50% off. Charlotte needs a few more skirts to get her through til Spring. Maybe a new jumper for Christmas, too.

Our Saturday has been sweet. Praise and Worship music played for much of the morning. Household chores were worked on, including laundry.I had a helper......Charlotte worked on a Christmas gift for her Daddy (a Bears blanket) and watched a couple of episodes of The Brady Bunch with Kyle. She can't believe Jan is my age!I worked on the last side of a miniature.It just needs a binding now!
The next one is being marked and basted, and is probably in the hoop as you are reading this. My grand kids are coming for supper and spending the night and we will all go to church in the morning...ALL 7 of us! Life is sweet!!!!!
"Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;
To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever." Psalm 30:11-12

Charlotte's Jumper

I need to learn how to sew. Not something I want to do for enjoyment....I get enough of that in quilt making. No, it is necessity. It is impossible to find modest clothing in Charlotte's size. I hate to see her in pants all the time, and she feels good in a dress or skirt. A trip to Joann's to buy some 99 cent patterns (on sale), and some pretty corduroy and off I go.

It can't be too difficult. I got a pattern with no buttons, no zippers, and no sleeves. What else is left...it is a bag for cryin' out loud! I find this is a foreign land of tissue paper patterns, interfacing, and bias tape. There are no 1/4 inch seams, rulers, or rotary cutters, and instead of "fabric", I have "material".

Though the neck line was intimidating, I managed it with no seam ripping....in fact, I did not rip ONE single seam throughout the entire process! I kept the directions close by and followed each step carefully.Ta Da!!!And it lays flat too!!!!The arm holes (is that what they are called?) called for bias tape. That stuff is YUCK! I made my own from the left over fabric......uh, I mean material. It turned out ok....next time I will cut it a 1/2" smaller.I even did a slit!! That was tricky, too, but it turned out nice. And here is Charlotte, modeling her new jumper......The back.....(that is not a seam, but a crease in the fabric....er, material. I need to press that out.)Now to try a skirt! Not today though. Today I will spend my free time hand quilting.

A Busy Little Sew and Sew

This is the aftermath of a 3 day sewing binge. My, did I work, and I know I got alot done, but there is not much to show for it. I was able to get the machine quilting done on the baby quilt, make the binding and get it attached. I had already hand quilted the hearts. I made this top 2 years ago. Now I can cross it off my UFO list!! A nice wash and it was ready to go to it's new home. My neighbor's granddaughter, Zoey, now has her quilt.I also took an orphan block, set it on point, and framed it. I marked and basted it and have already got a nice chunk of it quilted. The picture does not do it justice.
Theeeeeen, I made an Amish table runner and matching coasters. I love the coasters Winona sent me and used the same pattern. They measure 4x4 inches and are fun to make. I will hand quilt the table runner, The colors are not great in the photo. The center block is a nice coral, not pink like it shows and the end blocks are a muted purple and a turquoise.
Then I got the notion to make a bag. I could not find my pattern for the life of me. I have only ever made one bag pattern, and Margaret gave me the pattern. Since she is in England (I messed that up...she is FROM England, but IN Spain...I was tired), I was on my own. I had used it enough that I should know it by heart. I was certain it would all come back to me. I had a different idea for the front panel though. I grabbed my favorite color combination...pink and brown, in case you don't know me....I made a couple dozen of those and framed them around this........my very first embroidery project. And I got this....I know it is blurry and dark, but you get the idea. Here is the back....It turned out bigger than I wanted, but I am not going backwards. Having no pattern did not come without problems. After I got the lining attached and did the "abracadabra, turn it inside out" trick, I had attached the lining wrong side out....I should have gotten that part right out of all of it. I am a quilter for pities sake!! RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER!!!! Yeesh. I had to frog it and redo it the correct way....RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER!Now as I sit here in the mess of the aftermath, I am plotting more sewing projects. More bags...simpler than the one I shared today. Another table runner with matching coasters. I think a few pillows may find their way out of here too. For now, I will be satisfied with what I got done this weekend. I am off to relax! (the mess can wait til tomorrow!)

The Start of a Week

I love the start of a new week. It is always a fresh feeling...like New Years every seven days. This week I have kept my basics going. General cleaning, laundry, and home school.

Laundry is always my downfall. It sneaks up on you and is impossible to maintain for more than a day. You can get everything washed, dried, folded, and put away, and with in several hours, there is more....Someday I will conquer the laundry monster. It is not today, though I have made a dent in it.

I had some grandbaby time this week already. Rachel and the kids came to play for a few hours yesterday. Emerson is cooing and smiling all the time now...unless I have the camera out.She sure knows her mommy!!!Rachel has an appointment for TJ today, so Emerson will get to come to Grandma's again today for an hour or so.I have had a desire to learn to make girly clothes....little dresses for Emerson would be so fun. I have put it off as it totally intimidates me. Mrs. Mannering, my high school home ec. teacher, would be appalled. Now I must learn out of necessity. Poor Charlotte has no skirts or dresses that fit. She has 3 jumpers and 2 of them are dressy for church. She has been wearing pants and jeans which is not my ideal for her. There is a definite change in behavior when she is dressed more feminine. I went shopping for some skirts and dresses, and let me tell ya....there is nothing appropriate for a girl over a size 6X!! I will need to find a VERY EASY pattern for a skirt and dress to just make over and over in different fabrics. I like these patterns, but am not sure how difficult they would be.The skirt looks easier than the jumper. Charlotte chose this one....She is a prairie-girl-wannabe at heart! That looks way too difficult!! We will see. I think a simple skirt pattern with an elastic waist is where I will start. Any tips are welcome!

I did get some quilting time in over the weekend and some at the start of this week. That is always a good feeling. Yesterday, I found TJ with my needle, thread and a thimble on his finger...

"I'm quiltin', Grandma!"He poked the needle in and out of the quilt, quite proud of himself.
Note the thimble on his index finger is no where near the quilt!
I have been able (without help from TJ) to move the hoop a few times recently. I really enjoy this area of the quilt. It is more relaxing and less tedious than the big design.Though the motif in the 12" squares are tedious, they really make the quilt!It is slow going, but every stitch counts!

I pray the start of your week has been productive and blessed!!!

An Extra Hour In My Day

Charlotte and I wore our dresses to church this morning. Her face lit up when I was doing her hair and she looked at us in the mirror. Sunday was a good day here. The kids played outside with all the neighborhood kids. I think at one time there were 11 kids in our front yard, all piling the leaves from the now bare flaming tree, and then jumping in them. It looked like lots of fun. Only one little melt down requiring a time out for Zach, but otherwise, it was hours of fun!! I decided to re-organize my kitchen. I wanted to create a baking center, yet another thing I learned from Cheryl, and make things more efficient for my new goal of "frugality"...is that a word?? I wanted it efficient, organized and nice looking. I have a collection of old blue ball jars, so I ran downstairs and found them in the 4th box I looked in. That alone was a miracle!! They have been packed away for 7 years, since we moved to this house. I washed them all up, including their zinc/porcelain lids. All the jars are numbered on the bottom. I had 0-9 in 2 different sizes, but a couple of them did not survive the move :( Here is #9 all shiny clean.
I moved all our dishes to a smaller cupboard that was just housing odds and ends...you know if you have a space it will be filled!And then I created my baking center in the larger area next to the sink. The top shelf (not in the picture) is all our meds/vitamins and the first aid kit. The second shelf is all my baking ingredients....flour, sugar, salt, oil, baking soda, oatmeal, etc. I used my jar collection to store some of the ingredients. My OLD Tupperware canisters from the early 80's are still in excellent shape. Hmmmm, I wonder if it's because they were rarely used. The bottom shelf is measuring cups, measuring spoons, and mixing bowls.I wish I had Elizabeth's label maker!!! I will have to figure something out, or I will be throwing powdered milk in place of baking powder! I still have my frig and freezer to "tackle", but that will wait til tomorrow!

While searching for the jars, I found all my Thanksgiving decorations in the 3rd box! Better late than never. I spent Saturday evening cutting out 20 napkins (not enough fabric for 24) which will be just enough. I preferred to have extra. There will be 5 children under 4 here who will get bibs, so napkins won't be necessary for them. I did have enough fabric to cut some 3 1/2 inch square to match with a coordinating fabric for a matching table topper. The fabric says, "There is always something for which to be thankful". Did you all change your clocks back?? I am totally messed up. Is it 6 or 7 o'clock...oh it is only 5!! I guess we did get an extra hour in our day...what did you do with yours? I have time to make a quick dinner and head out to evening service, if I hurry!!