About Me

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I AM: wife to 1, mother to 3, sister to 2 and 5 steps, aunt to 27, not-so-much-a-chocoholic-anymore, coffee loving, cloth diapering wanna be (my youngest potty trained herself recently), friend to many.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Simple Joys


I shall blog in this fine color tonight to match the items in my photos. I had not planned on matching the little deer, made from the Simplicity 2763 vintage pattern, to match my vintage Singer sewing machine (so lovingly handed down to me from my grandma). I didn't even really notice how well they matched until I wanted to shoot the work in progress.
A little note about this deer pattern. It is a rather fun little patter
n to work with except for having to pin all the pieces together at once to sew. 2 lower bodies, 2 side bodies, and one upper body. Tedious to say the least. I think I had this little deer looking like a bad voodoo doll project. Pins everywhere! And I am NOT a pinner. Really. But it did pay off. Just look. Now don't you think this is the absolute most adorable deer you ever did see? My daughter tells me its a chihuahua, not a deer. Either way, its a keeper.
Now, take a look at these little wooden thread spools. I have a love for them. I cannot tell you why. I think they are so much better than the plastic spools. I am trying to decide if I am going to hoard them to myself, or mix them up with my other empty spools and make the monkeys a little spool necklace
to play with. Didn't your grandma do that for you? I think I have this vague memory of playing with a spool necklace when I was really little. Maybe not. I have been known to make up memories before...
And now for the last photo. My homemade baby legs for my bambino. I refuse to pay $12.00 for a pair of glorified leg warmers for my baby. But I can justify spending $3.00 on a pair of women's knee socks and modifying them to
fit my youngest monkey. And since they somewhat matched the color of the theme tonight, I thought I may as well show them off, too.
My youngest monkey was sick the majority of the last week, so I have not accomplished much. "Much" includes sewing, house work, reading. But I have not beaten myself up for it. It did get a smidge bit frustrating when I needed to do things (like fix dinner or go to the bathroom) and I'd put the monkey down and as soon as she was out of my reach she'd start bawling. However instead of allowing the steam to whistle through my ears, I remembered the sling I made a few months back. I got it out and wore the baby quite a bit. She loved it. And I did, until she started putting her little fingers up my nose. :) Is nothing sacred???
My first craft show is quickly approaching. My mom and I are doing a booth together. We are both seasoned in going to craft shows. She and my grandma used to lug my sisters and I to craft shows when we were itty bitty, and drag us to them when we were pre-teens, and force us to go as teenagers. And now I am the one who calls my mom the morning of a show and asks her if she would go with me. :) We both love to sew, and at the show we went to in the fall, one of the booth ladies loved the baby sling I was wearing and the matching booties my baby was wearing, and talked us into joining the local crafters club and reserving a booth for this upcoming show. It is about 2 weeks away and I have not built up a great inventory at all...YET. But I am working on it. My problem is I want to make EVERY cute thing I see. And I have 3 monkeys. And the my prince charming works hours any Donna Reid would faint and wither away at. And and and... So, tomorrow, lets keep our fingers crossed that the youngest monkey is all better, and I focus on one project--instead of them all--, and we all find pleasure in the simple joys around us. nighty night

Thursday, February 19, 2009

A lesson for mommy

While trying to wind down tonight, I went blog browsing. Following links on my favorite blogs just to see something new and amusing and enlightening. And I landed on a blog that I fell in love with here. And boy howdy, did it make me blink. Over the last few weeks I have gotten so caught up in what I want to do that I have kind of pushed my wee ones to the back burner. The author of that blog must have been writing just for me for this moment. She put things into perspective. Why is it that sometimes when we have the best intentions we make crummy mistakes? I think I know the answer. Its when I am not keeping Jesus, my Savior, in the spot light. Its when I am asking myself what should "I" do now, instead of What Would Jesus Do. Its when I get upset with my kiddos for messing up MY schedule (or lack thereof) instead of getting down on the floor and playing with them, or reading that library book for the 4th time in a row. And when I start acting on my own whims instead of praying about "it" and then acting accordingly. So, after blog browsing, I read Proverbs 31 and prayed. And then my son got up out of bed after wiggling around in his blankets since he got put to bed, and he asked me, "Can you sit in my wap?" Which of coarse for a three year old translates to, "May I please sit on your lap?" And instead of getting irritated that he was up out of bed, I told him to come sit with me and we hugged and kissed and sang a few songs and I tickled him til he howled (and woke up his baby sister). And tonight he'll remember me as his nice and fun and lovey mommy instead of a grouchy mommy. And I can go to bed with a peace in my heart, knowing that my creator is a giver of grace and mercy, and tomorrow I can start fresh, once again, in this mommy-ness.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Aggravation


A wee bit aggravated would describe it.
At about 5:30 tonight, I had a brilliant and wonderful idea in my head. "The monkeys are all quiet. One is napping, one is watching Barney for the 3rd time, and the other is working on her weaving loom. This is THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY for me to sew a shirt to add to my wardrobe (my wardrobe is very small and limited, and temps are in the 60's currently-- last year this time I was in maternity clothes, and the year before I was quite a bit lighter, so I am rotating about 3 shirts and I would like a pick me up!) and don it TOMORROW! Yes, I shall do this NOW!" I put supper (Saturday night special of leftovers) in the oven to heat up, and went to work cutting out the pattern pieces from the New Look 6483. I was going to bring to life View D, and add sleeves. I cut out all of the pieces except #14. I couldn't find #14! I searched and searched. I found 2 of #13, and 2 of #5, but NO #14. That should have been my hint to stop. Right then. Stop. But no. I decided to go with View A. I would be safe with View A. I cut out the paper pieces. I cut out the material. Then it was time for the supper break. I sewed for 30 minutes after supper, and then decided to give the 2 younger monkeys baths. We are going to church tomorrow and I would like them to smell fresh and have clean fingernails and no finger fuzz when we go. Afterwords, I rocked the bambino and then at 8:30 put the 2 youngest to bed. Tonight, unlike most nights, there was no kicking and screaming against bed time. Wonderful!!! I thought I was surely going to be finished with my new shirt before 10:00 pm. Because, after all, the pattern states "1 HOUR easy *sewing time". I had already worked for at least an hour, so baby, I was ready for easy peasy nice and cheesy go time! At 10:00 I stopped because I am getting very tired. I have sewn the front to the back, attached the interfacing, and slip stitched the ends in place. And I top stitched the neck line. I realized I still have sleeves and hemming to do. And then there's applying a thread loop and a button for closure. There was no way that I would have this beautiful creation finished tonight unless I stayed up until midnight working on it. If I attempt sewing anything when I am tired, it takes about 3 times as long as normal because I tend to interpret the instructions incorrectly, and then the seam ripper becomes my best friend, and then I have to do it all over again. If I absolutely HAD to have this article of clothing for tomorrow you better bet your bottom dollar I'd be staying at the machine working through toil and sweat until it was finished. But, since pattern #6483 is a glorified T-shirt, I don't think its worth it tonight. Therefore, I am Aggravated that the envelope lied when it boldly wears the printed words "1 HOUR easy *sewing time", when it should say "BLOCK OUT A DAY, OR AT LEAST 5 HOURS OF IT, easy".
I don't want to keep myself awake all night to do this because tomorrow I get to go to my most favorite store. Hobby Lobby!!!!! My mother and I are going to pack my monkeys in the car after lunch, and drive to the nearest one. One Hour Away. And in this case One Hour means One Hour!!!! I am going to purchase more fabric. My favorite fabric. I am going to get enough to make 3 ring slings for the up coming craft show booth. And with the scraps, I will make some matching baby shoes, and perhaps a few ribbon sensory balls.
Maybe I will sew some more on the shirt tomorrow night, maybe not. In the mean time, I will dream about Hobby Lobby. Sad, right? Saturday night. 10:30. I am headed to bed, and the thing that is making me giddy is a fabric store. What can I say. Mr. Monkey won't be home until tomorrow.

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