Mamie Belle

Vote, Please!!

2010-04-14T08:33:00.000-07:00

If you have a minute in your day head over to this website and add your vote to this wonderful scholarship contest. Of course I'm going to send you to a specific entry that I really hope you'll vote for! Thanks!

Birthday Bags

2010-01-22T09:39:00.000-08:00

My daughter turned 8 a couple of weeks ago. My how time flies. She was so excited about her party and knew just the people she wanted to invite. Unfortunately that just didn't work out. We invited 6 little girls and by the day of her birthday only 2 were able to come. As the numbers kept getting smaller I knew I needed to have a special project for them to do to keep it exciting. So I made up these little bags that each girl could decorate when they first got here and then I filled with the rest of the goodies.

Luckily I had plenty of felt for the outside and fun sparkly fabric for the lining. Daphne wanted blue felt for hers and I made the rest out of white. I also added a different type of ribbon to the handles of each bag, for stability and fun. Of course I forgot to take pictures of all of them so you just get to see Daphne's.

Here's what the inside looks like. I boxed the corners and as I was sewing in the lining I tucked the handles and ribbon ties in to secure them. They were really easy to make and the girls had a ball decorating them.

Here's what Daph's looked like before it was decorated.

Here's what her bag looks like now.

Wow, where did the time go

2010-01-04T07:50:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

Wow, I can't believe it's January already. I just don't know where the holiday season went. I can't believe I haven't posted since November. I hadn't thought I was THAT busy, but well maybe I was.

I did a lot of sewing leading up to the holidays, and somehow forgot to take pictures of any of them. I made matching jumpers for Daph, and my niece, and coordinating overalls for my 7 month old nephew. They turned out so cute. The overalls have a little plane appliqued on the leg in the argyle fabric.

I made a candle mat for my Aunt, a bag for Daphne's teacher, but the best set of gifts was for my brother in law's fiancee. Juliette knits so I made her a collapsible project basket from this pattern, and a knitting needle cases from here and here. It all turned out great especially when I added a coordinating skein of yarn and a couple bamboo needles. Oh I did finally finish a Christmas quilt for my family, it even got hung up!

I also became a Girls Scout leader. I've been a co-leader for awhile, but it's finally official. We are also gearing up for cookies sales to start in January, so watch out when you get a knock on your door. It could be cute little girls asking you to buy cookies!

Here's a little of what I've been working on...

2009-11-29T13:41:00.000-08:00

I've been working on a few projects trying to get them done so that my parents could take them back to Idaho when they came for Thanksgiving.

I didn't get both of the quilts done but I did get this one done, and I love how it turned out. The piecing I kept really simple, and to go with the Knight fabric I appliqued this amazing dragon onto the quilt. I even used minkee for the belly, ears and tail. The applique pattern is from this wonderful website full of free patterns. Hopefully my nephew likes it as much as I do.

I'm almost done with a quillow for my niece, but I promised my husband that I would finish quilting a Christmas wall hanging for us this year before I get back to making presents. So I better go and quilt.

I Love my new camera!

2009-11-08T15:56:00.000-08:00

Okay it's not really new new, since it was my birthday present in September, but I finally got a chance to really play with it.

Last Saturday my daughter and I went to see Disney Princesses on Ice. We bought tickets in the middle range. It gave us seats in the middle concourse with a great head on view of the action, but we were in no way close. While we were waiting I tried taking pictures of the backdrop without the flash on my camera just to see what it would do. I was pleasantly surprised. Then during the show I took pictures zooming in just to see how they would turn out. I even took pictures at the max zoom. I was a little worried because on the screen the scene was prettypixelated, but I was so excited to look at the pictures on the computer when we got home. The second dress is even a still capture from the movie I took!

This is why I love my camera!

Just in case you couldn't guess, Daph's favorite princess is Cinderella

Purse #3

2009-11-06T11:04:00.000-08:00

Here's my 3rd purse for my cousins. This one is for my 13 year old cousin who LOVES pink and kind of flashy things. With this one done, I've finished the purses for the cousins that are going to be with us for Christmas. Yeah! Now I just have a couple more to make that will get mailed.

This purse was made using the Buttercup bag pattern from Made by Rae. I love this pattern!

So 3 down and 2 more to go!

Two Down, several more to go!

2009-11-04T11:24:00.000-08:00

Here's the second purse for my cousins. This one is for the 12 year old. It's not the fabric I would have picked for a 12 year old but she loves browns and blacks so it just seemed right. I based the purse on this pattern, but of course I can't make much exactly by the pattern.

Yum!

2009-11-03T19:55:00.000-08:00

Eggnog is back, so we had eggnog french toast for dinner. I think this is one of the best things about the holidays. Okay well after spending time with family and friends, and making and giving gifts!

At least I'm sewing!

2009-11-03T11:48:00.000-08:00

For some reason I'm still having trouble getting motivated to sew all the things I want to sew before Christmas, but I have gotten a few simple projects done.

I made my daughter her cowgirl skirt for Halloween!

And I just finished this simple baby blanket for a soon to be here new nephew.

I even have my next project planned out!!
For some reason I'm still having trouble getting motivated to sew all the things I want to sew before Christmas, but I have gotten a few simple projects done.

My first purse from my own pattern!

2009-10-28T08:49:00.000-07:00

I'm planning on making my cousins purses for Christmas. I had all the fabrics picked out and was planning on making them all from the Buttercup bag pattern. Then I realized that they might actually use them if they didn't match, they're all in their teens. So I needed another purse pattern that was easy to make and a similar size to the Buttercup. I couldn't find what I was looking for, so I decided to just make my own. I love how it turned out!

I don't know why it took me so long to make up my own pattern for a purse. I make up my own quilt patterns and variations all the time. But I'm really glad I did it finally. It's a slim purse about 7"x12"x2". Now I'm looking at the fabric I got for my Birthday and thinking it would look really cute for myself. I just need to make sure I save this pattern and that I don't loose it.

Dropping your laptop is not good for it!

2009-10-22T16:44:00.000-07:00

There was a bit of a pause in my blog posts at the end of September because dropping your laptop is not good for it!

This is an actual picture of the screen of my laptop after it slid of my lap. My husband even had to pass this around at work he was so impressed at the amount of damage. they are all software engineers He even wants to use this picture as his computer background. So see it served some purpose.

I just don't understand why my husband thinks I need a nerf shell for my new netbook!

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!!!

2009-10-20T12:06:00.000-07:00

The Christmas albums are out in the stores and I just bought my first new Christmas CD of the year.

and my fortune said ...

2009-10-17T21:22:00.000-07:00

Last night my family went out for Chinese food, when we were done and the fortune cookies came I reached for a cookie at the same time as my husband. I let him grab it and then he gave it to our daughter. I got mine and opened it. However Daph couldn't get hers open so we traded and I read my fortune.

Do not rush through life. Pause and enjoy it.

I have to say that I've never had a fortune that I felt I needed to share, unless it sounded dirty, but this one seemed so appropriate.

A little over two weeks ago my best, basically a sister, friend called me at 12:30 pm with the news that her husband of almost nine years had unexpectedly died. I flew out a few days later and was able to go and spend a week trying to help her and her three boys.

I know she hates it when people say she's strong, so I won't! However I think what people were seeing and amazed at was her ability to see the positive. As much as she was devastated by her loss she could still look at the fact that they had had an amazing summer as a family. The economic situation meant that her husband had been home with them all a lot. They had great memories of gardening and just being a family.

They had spent the evening before just talking, and she always told her husband how excited she was to be his wife, so she didn't feel like there was anything left unsaid.

There were so many things that she found to be thankful for.

She wanted only a positive message at the funeral. That we are saved by Grace and Love endures. Even the music, Simple Gifts followed that feeling. And just to make sure people didn't leave crying she had them play a very Dave piece of music as we left the funeral, Aerosmith's Walk this Way.

So it just felt right to share my fortune with anyone who reads this, and to remind us all to slow down and find the things that we are thankful for.

Take the time to enjoy life, don't wait to get new pictures, let those in your life know how much they mean to you, and don't assume there will be time to do it all later.

A couple more pictures

2009-10-16T12:10:00.000-07:00

After I published the last post I realized that a few of the pictures were missing. It just seemed easier to do another one.

A little extra time on my hands

2009-10-16T11:21:00.000-07:00

Today I found myself with about 45 minutes between appointments, and amazingly I had my new camera in my purse so I just drove around and took some pictures of the fall colors and whatever struck my fancy!

There's actually enough snow up at Lake Tahoe that people have been snowboarding!

I think I really like my new camera!!

Where's my groove?

2009-09-09T17:29:00.000-07:00

I thought that as soon as Daph started school again I'd be able to get back in the groove again and get back to sewing, but that just hasn't happened.

I have so many projects too. And Christmas isn't very far away in crafting time.

Ahhhh, what am I going to do.

I may have to resort to desperate measures, and "horror" schedule!

But on the bright side I got an early Birthday gift, a new camera. It will be really nice not to have to turn it on 3 times to get it to really work. Hopefully I like this one as much as I liked my old one!

I just couldn't cut it!

2009-08-20T10:09:00.000-07:00

I fell in love with this fabric. I thought about making myself something with it, but I just couldn't cut it. So instead I bought a large canvas from an art supply store. I wrapped it with a thin batting, and then wrapped and stapled the fabric around it, and I only had to cut 4 inches off.

Public Service Announcement

2009-08-04T14:58:00.000-07:00

Here's my public service announcement for the day.

Always remember to put on your sunscreen, especially when you are going to be at the beach of a high altitude lake.

Does sunburn count?

2009-08-04T14:28:00.000-07:00

I don't know if you've noticed, but on the side of my blog I've been keeping a log of how often I burn myself, and still have a mark the next day. If you don't know me that might seem like a really odd thing to keep track off.

My friends and family however find it a source of amazement and humor. If there is even a remote chance of me burning myself I will.

When I was in junior high, I had to quit ironing my Dad's dress shirts for extra money because the school had called my parents with some concerns about the scars on my wrists. For some reason I just kept burning my wrists.

Even the family that I babysat for all through high school joked about how often I burned myself. The Mom was so excited one day because she had bought one of those self contained frying machines that you couldn't burn yourself on. I followed the instructions exactly, but for some reason it didn't release the steam like it should have. In fact I shouldn't have been able to open it unless the steam had been released. But for me, it opened and the whole top of my thumb turned into one large blister.

My friend likes to joke about the times I burned my self on the screen door and even on her car. My husbands favorite story is the time I burned my forehead. Your thinking well yeah, with a curling iron. But no I burned my head with the regular iron when I bent over while I was ironing a seam open. There are so many more stories I could tell but instead I'll get back to my question.

So does sunburn count for this list. While I was at Camporee with my daughters girl scouts troop I forgot to put on my sunscreen when we went to the beach. That was on Sunday, and I'm still bright red and have a couple spots that still hurt to touch. So what do you think, do really bad sunburns count?

Oh fudge!

2009-07-28T10:35:00.000-07:00

Girl Scout camp is THIS Saturday!! I thought I still had another week!

A little reorganization.....finally!

2009-07-28T10:01:00.001-07:00

This was my sewing space a couple weeks ago. I know it's terrible, especially when you realize that the table edge you see on the left is our dining table. Yeah, it's bad. I keep meaning to get it cleaned up and organized but somehow it never happens. It gets cleaned up, but without the organization that doesn't last long.

But once I got my new serger I had to make room for it, so I used this as an excuse to FINALLY reorganize. Ta Dah!

Even I'm impressed! (as long as I don't look in our guest room) I have this milk crate cover tutorial and some great fabric that I was thinking of using to hide the clutter a little more. We'll see when that gets done, lol.

I also HAD to change the strap on my latest buttercup bag. I loved the look of the faux leather strap, it was just too long. Not for a normal person, but when you never made 5' without heels a couple inches makes a big difference. I still love the hardware on it and the new strap is perfect.

It could be love!

2009-07-17T21:24:00.000-07:00

I finally got out my new serger and it could be love! How did I sew for this long without it? Well back to my sewing!

I'm back!

2009-07-13T10:59:00.000-07:00

We're back from our family visit, and I'm hoping that I'll be back mentally as well as physically. I just haven't been very productive this summer. I haven't been able to settle down and write, sew, create, even read. Hopefully that's over and I can get things done.

While I was on vacation I did get a couple projects done. After all I HAD to try out my Moms fancy new sewing machine. Here they are.

The first is a large summer tote that I used my great Fruit Ladies print on. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. The other is a purse based on the free Buttercup pattern. I enlarged it 15% (the original pattern wasn't big enough for me to carry a book), used a thin fusible fleece on the lining and added a leather look strap instead of a fabric one. It's actually bigger than I was expecting ( but I like it)and I'm trying to decide if the strap is too long for me, but that's an easy fix since I have more of the green fabric.

I also have a new toy to play with. My Mom got this with her sewing machine, but since she won't use it she gave it to me YEAH! Now I just have to figure out how it works since I've never used a serger before. So if anyone has any tips or suggestions I'm listening!

Well it is summer!

2009-06-30T09:32:00.000-07:00

I just can't believe how little I've gotten done this summer and how fast it's flying by. I still have so many project I've been meaning to do. And now it's time for our vacation to visit the parents, so instead of using some of my stash and finishing projects I'll be going fabric shopping and adding to my stash.

Oh well it is summer vacation right?

Too cute to resist!

2009-06-25T21:07:00.001-07:00

I love how it follows the cursor with it's head and if you press the more button you can feed it!

adopt your own virtual pet!

Roar!

2009-06-21T14:39:00.000-07:00

I loved this roller coaster! Now I should probably admit that I didn't actually ride it (terrible motion sickness), but I loved the look and shape of it, the shadows it made, and in a couple photos the mix of old and new. So I played around and these are the photos I got.

Happy Anniversary X3, Happy Father's Day, Happy Birthday

2009-06-21T08:53:00.000-07:00

This is a busy weekend for our family.

Saturday was the family Anniversary. I know that sounds odd! When my husband and I were planning our wedding, and looking at dates, we knew we wanted to get married after Andy graduated and before he left for his new job, so that meant the last couple weeks of June. We needed a weekend so that family could travel without having to miss too much work. So we had 2 choices, the 13th or the 20th. I just couldn't get married on the 13th, my paternal Grandma had been very superstitious and evidently more rubbed off than I had thought. So we picked the 20th which also happened to be my parents anniversary. Then 3 years later when my brother and his wife were planning their wedding they decided to go with the tradition we had started and they got married on Wednesday the 20th of June. So this year we celebrated 39 years, 11 years and 8 years together. Now it's kind of fun to conference call and wish everyone a Happy Anniversary.

Father's Day today.

Then on Monday is my Father in laws birthday. The poor guy really gets jipped when ever his birthday is right around Father's day because we all end up merging the celebrations AND the presents.

Mom of the Moment

2009-06-14T20:03:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the quality of the video, my Mom took this on her cell phone

For a brief while yesterday my daughter thought I was the best Mom in the World. My parents had taken us to Six Flags again this weekend and I paid for her and my Dad to go pet and feed a dolphin. She was so excited, she could barely stand the 15 minute wait till it was time to line up. Afterwards she talked for hours about this being the best day of her life, and that she couldn't believe that she got to feed a dolphin. It was so fun hearing what a great time she had.

Then we went on a silly ride. It goes fast, but it only goes in a circle with a couple of up and down bumps. It is fun, but I didn't think it would eclipse the dolphins. But alas my moment of triumph was over. Now if you ask her what her favorite thing of the day was, she says the Thrilla Gorilla ride.

My little morning projects

2009-06-09T14:01:00.000-07:00

Daphne had practice for Super Circus yesterday and I realized that she couldn't wear the scrunchy that came with her leo like most of the other girls because her hair is too short. So this morning I made her and the other little girl in her her class with short hair barrettes that coordinated with the leos.

Daphne wanted 2, so hers are the smaller bows and the rounder bow with the star in the middle is for Megan.

Need an idea for a fun Father's Day gift!

2009-06-06T11:42:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for an out of the ordinary and fun Father's Day gift check out these websites. Both of these are great because they have some really items that aren't very expensive. I think I'm going to order Andy a rear view mirror for his monitor, I just need to decide which of these websites ( this one or this one) to order one from since they both have them. And I may have to get this for myself, I don't know why but it intrigues me

This one is Andy's favorite online store, and pretty much the name says it all Think Geek. Andy really likes the cube warfare category.

This one I just found when Lola...Again posted about it on her blog, I love the Zorro Sword BBQ meat fork, and the mini circular saw pizza cutter, here at Perpetual Kid.

I got them done!

2009-06-05T09:35:00.000-07:00

I finished the stockings and just in the nick of time. I think they'll like them. The only problem is that I accidentally made the cuffs on these a little bigger than the others.

This stocking is an extra because they are planning on having another child down the road so this way they will still have a matching stocking. I gave them a little kit to add the name to it when the child is born.

And look what was delivered yesterday, I sort of felt like my reward for getting the stockings done. I found this fabric in the sales area at Hancocks of Paducah and I just had to order it.

I have been sewing!

2009-06-03T11:34:00.000-07:00

Look I have been sewing! The Christmas stockings are almost done and I finished the purse to give my Daughter's teacher as a gift tomorrow. I used this tutorial from Lola Again and I love how it turned out.

The Art of Procrastination

2009-05-29T17:13:00.000-07:00

Normally I would never say I'm perfect at something, but I really do think I have perfected the art of procrastination. I have 3 more Christmas stockings that I NEED to make for Daph's teacher before the school year is over (in other words 6 more days to sew) and I WANT to make her a purse for an end of the year gift because she keeps making comments on how much she likes the one I made for myself. However instead of being at the sewing machine right now I'm updating my blog. See! Oh and just in case your procrastinating too, and need something else to do you can look at the other stockings I made for her in my slide show (right column), hers are the stockings with the names on them.

Actually I think I should wait till tomorrow to start the stockings because I was thinking about making a tutorial on how I make my Christmas stockings and for that I really need the good day light for the best pictures. Yeah that sound good, it makes perfect sense.

See I told you I think I have this down perfect.

I love Thunderstorms!!!

2009-05-22T17:41:00.000-07:00

As a kid growing up in Minnesota one of my very favorite things was a good thunderstorm. I loved listening to the sound of the pouring rain, seeing the flash of lightening and the crack of thunder. Those are really happy memories for me.

Now I know in other parts of the country that a thunderstorm may not deserve a blog post, but let me tell you, living in the high desert of northern Nevada they do not happen very often. In fact that is one of the few things about the area that I don't like.

But tonight we are getting a wonderful treat, at least in my book. We are having a full on thunderstorm, with the pouring rain even, and best of all it's lasted a half hour so far. I could be having a moment of Nirvana.

Moms - We all have our monents!

2009-05-21T11:03:00.001-07:00

Now before I start I have to say that I don't remember any of this, but I have heard the story over, and over, and over again!!

When I was about 5 years old one of my best friends was a little boy named Tony who lived next door to my Grandparents. We played all the time when I was at their house. For some reason, and I have no idea why, I would also bite him all the time.

My parents tried everything to get me to stop, they had even tried to get Tony to bite me back, but he just wouldn't.

One day when we were out playing my Mom heard Tony cry and came running out. She sent Tony home and as soon as we got in the house asked my Grandma for tape. My Grandma told my Mom they only had electrical tape. My Mom said I don't care. As she says now, she had just hit her limit and was so frustrated, she didn't know what else to do.

So she taped my mouth shut.

It had only been a few minutes when Tony came back over and wanted me to play again. My Mom said I could go out but only if I kept the tape on.

So I went out and played, and never bit Tony again.

Now when my Mom tells the story she's mixed between seeing the humor (especially at my expense) and being embarrassed . She can't believe she really did that.

My little project for the day, and a quick brag!

2009-05-20T15:37:00.000-07:00

My daughter had today off (again, this is the 2nd of 3 this month), so I didn't get much sewing done, but I needed to get this little pillow done for our next Girl Scout meeting. It's for one of the girls in our troop who is moving this summer. I have fabric markers for the rest of the girls to sign on the plain purple fabric so she can take a little bit of them with her.

I just had to brag for a moment and say look at all the incentives our Girl Scout troop earned, our average was over 200 boxes per girl. We had several at 300+, and even 2 at who reached 400. The girls will be so excited when they get handed out at our meeting.

I finished the bag!

2009-05-14T22:16:00.000-07:00

When I added the picture to the last I thought that it would work to just show the almost finished bag, but I find I just couldn't stop with that. I just had to show you how the finished bag turned out. I especially like how the flower pin turned out. I followed this tutorial.

However my SIL won't be getting the bag to use as a diaper bag before the baby arrives, because I got it in the mail today, and then my brother called to tell me that my new nephew had arrived about 9 o'clock this morning.

Mom and baby are doing well, but on Monday my brother was told his contract wouldn't be extended like they had told him last week, in fact he was let go that day. So if you can keep them in your thoughts and prayers it would be appreciated.

Here's what I've been doing lately!

2009-05-13T10:07:00.000-07:00

I've been working on a couple things for my sister-in law's baby shower. I still need to attach the handles to the main bag, but I'm almost done. I made up the diaper and wipes bag based on the size of the wipes container, I used this pattern for the pouch for my SIL's things, and this pattern for the reversible baby booties. The baby booties were really easy and turned out super cute and the pouch was pretty easy as well, and I was happy with how it turned out, especially since it had a zipper. The final things I made were store bought cloth diapers that I decorated with a strip of flannel down the middle. I love how they turned out and I got lucky when I found those fun colored cloth diapers on clearance!

I didn't take a picture or it but I also made a very simple blanket for my SIL's sister since it's a double baby shower.

Now I just need to make 3 more Christmas Stockings for my daughter's teacher before school ends (June 4th) and I want to make her a purse as an end of the year gift. I better get back to sewing soon.

Janet do you recognize the flannel?

This is the reverse side of the booties

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T09:12:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to wish all you Mom's out there a Happy Mother's Day, and I hope you get shown and told how important you are!

I love my mother as the trees love water and sunshine - she helps me grow, prosper, and reach great heights. ~Adabella Radici

Some mothers are kissing mothers and some are scolding mothers, but it is love just the same, and most mothers kiss and scold together. ~Pearl S. Buck

Is it supposed to be that way?

2009-05-08T20:57:00.000-07:00

Sometimes people scare me.

A couple weeks ago I bought a book at Walmart. It was just a basic science fiction paperback. It was turning out to be a really enjoyable book until I got to the middle of chapter 17, where it jumped to chapter 26. Oops. So I look through it and I notice that not only does it make that jump, but a couple chapters further on it goes back to chapter 20 and then goes on to the end. So it is completely missing 2 1/2 chapters.

But like I said it was a good book, and when I kept forgetting to exchange it, I just bought another copy. Then the other day I finally remembered to return it, and yes to Walmart. I didn't have the receipt but the publisher had said to return it to the store and they could return it to the publisher. I wait in line, and I finally get a free clerk. I explain the problem with the book, and that it is MISSING chapters, and she actually looked at me and asked,

I quote "Is it supposed to be that way?" NO!

I did finally get a store credit, but I just couldn't believe she had actually asked me if a book is supposed to be missing chapters. I really wanted to ask which school district she attended, just to be on the safe side for my childs future.

What I could be doing with that $70

2009-05-04T20:28:00.000-07:00

My daughter loves her gymnastics class, and for the most part so do I. Her class is a trampoline and tumbling class, which is very cute to watch. However once a year I dread it. Our place does a "recital" that they call Super Circus, and this years is fast approaching. AAAHHHHH (running away screaming) NO! I'm not sure what I'm dreading the most, the financial output or the tortuously long performance.

Now let me just get this said, as cute as my daughter is in her outfits, jumping on the trampoline, she will never be a competitive gymnast, so that said I'll continue my rant.

I didn't realize this last year but the gym looks at this whole production as one big fund raiser for their teams. We pay full price for the leotards (that are hopefully washable this year) so that the gym can get the profit, we pay for tickets to come and be tortured (oops) ENJOY the 3 hour performance which is done in their own facility. Luckily we don't have other children who will want to come because they take the whole circus theme to the extreme with concessions to buy at the show such as cotton candy, popcorn, snow cones etc.

Last year we paid about $40 for this leotard and a matching hair scrunchy, yeah we got all of that for 40 dollars. I know that is nothing compared to the price for dance recital outfits, but it's pretty annoying when they have cute outfits in their store area that are only about $30. When a couple parents mentioned the prices last year the owner just said "well the coaches (high school student) got to pick the outfits." Yeah that helps. At least this year we will know that price up front. Last year it was a deposit with an unknown amount due the day of rehearsal.

I think it would help if we weren't paying for everything. The expensive outfits for the girls might not be so bad (this years is about $50) if the boys outfit wasn't $18. Why can't all the kids in this class wear t-shirts and short. And then after paying for the outfits we will pay about $7 per person for tickets to sit in their facility. I find my self irritated beyond belief, but unable to tell my daughter that she can't go and get her trophy at the end of the performance. So I had to vent here, but I keep thinking of all the other things I could spend this money on.

1) 8 weeks of calming yoga class

2) one and a half video games for my husband

3) 10 books

4) at least 9 yards of fabric

5) several trophies

6) we could all go out to a nice dinner

etc

not to mention all the really practical uses the money could go for.

Oh well as the commercial try and tell us, my daughters happiness and pride in her new trophy will be priceless. Right?

Update on my Sister-In Law and Baby

2009-04-28T07:49:00.000-07:00

Hi I just wanted to give you all a quick update.

They had an ultrasound this week and everything looks really good with the baby, yeah.

The medicine seems to be working so my sister-in law is doing well, and we found out that the procedure to fix the heart damage isn't quite as scary as it sounds, and is almost routine these days (according to an ex ER nurse my brother talked to) so that all is another Yay.

The final bit of good news is that the company my brother works for is trying to get his and 3 other employees contracts extended, and if that doesn't work they are talking about moving him to their IT department, so that is another tentative sigh of relief.

Thanks you so much for all your thoughts and prayers, I'll keep you updated.

Note for Janet

2009-04-24T07:50:00.000-07:00

I probably shouldn't say this, but for some reason every time I look at my new fabric I just have to chuckle to myself because it reminds me of us, unfortunately it's not the cherry girl or the banana.

My new fabric came today!!!

2009-04-22T16:21:00.001-07:00

When I found this fabric I just HAD to buy it. This fabric is called Fruit Ladies by Elizabeth Studios. I'm so excited that is came this fast. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet, maybe a summer bag, but I have it!!!

Opinion Question - please help me decide

2009-04-22T14:17:00.000-07:00

My sister-in law had an ultrasound yesterday, they won't know how everything looks until she sees her doctor today, however they did find out that they are having a boy.

So now I have a question for you all. I have this cute fabric that I want to use to make either a blanket or a quilt for the baby, I just can't decide which. I'm just torn between a blanky with this fabric and then a toddler size quilt later out of other fabrics, or a knight themed quilt out of these. Help what do you think? What would you do? What would you like to receive if it was you?

If I make a blanket it will be a simple one with the knight fabric on one side and maybe minkee on the back with the shields as the binding.

If I make a quilt I'll add fabrics, they have a castle fabric that matches, or maybe even one of the patterns that make a large castle for the middle of the quilt.

A small prayer request

2009-04-18T17:53:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to ask for your prayer for my brother and his family. My sister-in law is pregnant with their second baby and due around the end of May. Everything was going pretty well this time until she started having what they thought were anxiety attacks. She was transferred to a high risk OB, and they found out that she is actually having mini strokes. Luckily the baby is still looking good, and medicine seems to be controlling the strokes, but she will need to go in for surgery to repair the damage that has been done to her heart.

To top off the worries, the surgery needs to be done within 8 weeks of the baby being born, for her to be covered under Oregon Health (they don't have insurance), and my brother has been told that his job is safe until June, but they can't make any promises after that.

There isn't much I can do right now for them, but I thought that a few extra prayers might help!

See we did have fun...pt 3 (mildly mature content)

2009-04-11T19:27:00.001-07:00

Before we headed out to the San Francisco area we did a little sightseeing here. I decided to take my Aunt and Cousin to Virginia city which is the sight of a big gold and silver strike in the 19th century. In fact during it's heyday it was the largest city between Denver and San Francisco. I love all the mining artifacts that are scattered about the countryside.

Alright I know I warned about mild adult content, because on the way to Virginia City we pass through one of the few counties in the country where brothels are legal, so we had to drive by so my Aunt could see them. There are about 6 in along a small stretch of road. I have to say that it doesn't really bother me to have them there. I figure this is a much safer environment for all concerned. Here are a couple pictures my Aunt took along the driveway to the Bunny Ranch. Just as an aside, their business seemed to be booming that Saturday, I had seen cars in the lots, but that day we saw probably 6 men coming or going from the brothels.

See we did have fun...pt 2

2009-04-11T19:01:00.001-07:00

While we were in the area we bought year passes to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. The rides were a lot of fun but the animals were the big hit with our daughter. This first picture is probably my favorite. They had this huge adorable male walrus. If you stood by his window and clapped he would start clapping and come up to the window for a rub, as you can see my daughter was thrilled.

No explanation necessary really, just cute penguins.

The next two are from one of the many animal shows they have. These are Merlin the dolphin and Shouka the whale. I didn't bore you with the tons of pictures I took during the shows, I just added couple of my favorites.

And don't think they only had marine animals, they also had elephants, tigers, lions, camels and one of my favorites giraffes.

See we did have fun...pt 1 San Francisico

2009-04-11T18:09:00.000-07:00

These first two are from the Aquarium on the Bay on Peir 39 - 1) in the "under the bay" tunnel and 2) moon jelly fish.

This picture is of Alcatraz taken from Peir 39

The last two are of the Golden Gate Bridge - 1) from the ferry and 2) from Presidio park

Show and Tell - recent sewing projects

2009-03-30T14:14:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty happy with how these bags turned out, and I just had to share!

This bag I made for my cousin Katie, who is coming to visit us with her Mom during spring break. I used this pattern, but I adjusted it a little. Katie is 13 and wanted a new bag to use for this trip and at school. The original pattern had the top band piece being cut 13 inches wide, but I was afraid that was to narrow for school books and folders so I cut my pieces 14 inches wide.

This is the yoga mat bag that I was commissioned to make. I really hope she likes it, she picked out the main fabric and then I added the two others. This is also the first bag I've made using fusible fleece, I think I like this much better than interfacing, for most large bags. I even used it for the strap, which makes it a little padded.

Can you get more inapropriate?

2009-03-27T14:55:00.000-07:00

Janet I keep forgetting to tell you this story, so instead I'm posting it.

On Wednesday my husband came home form work (with a major corporation) in shock after a meeting with his boss. He had managed to keep the meeting to 5 minutes and on topic which was a miracle. FYI him and his direct boss don't really get along. Anyways, as they were leaving the conference room his boss asked how his back was doing, and hubby says his back is really bothering him that day. The limp is usually pretty obvious.

Now for the weird part, his boss then proceeds to tell my husband that this is what happens from too much sex, it just ruins your back. My husband was shocked. He and his boss do not talk about their personal lives much less make comments about their sex lives. We're not sure if he was just trying to make a badly done joke or if he was serious. Although luckily my husband refrained himself from replying "jealous?"

She couldn't tell us this months ago?

2009-03-25T15:24:00.000-07:00

For the first part of the year we've been struggling with Daphne's reading. None of us, her teacher included could quite figure out what the problem is. She has an incredible vocabulary and instead of reading the actual simpler words she is substituting harder words. She also can't always read the same word she knows, however she is still doing really well with her independent school work. The worst was that she is testing below where her teacher thinks she should and far below where we see her reading. We just couldn't seem to figure it out and were,getting frustrating all around.

A couple weeks ago they brought in a special tutor to try and figure out what is going on and how to best teach her reading. One of he steps in this "investigation" is to rule out hearing and eye sight. So today I picked her up from school and took her to the nurse at a local elementary for her eye test.

Now please remember, we have asked her about her eyesight. We've asked can you see this better here, or here, can you this, do you ever have trouble seeing etc...and she kept answering in ways that made us not worry.

So back to the test. As the nurse is adjusting the light and getting ready Daphne starts telling the nurse that she has great eye sight, "especially when I close this eye" shutting her right eye. I just groaned, and thought of course, she had to tell us this now, instead of a month ago. As soon as she said it I knew what the results were going to be, and sure enough she tested as barely near sighted in the left and near sighted in the right. This makes so much sense, because in their testing the material is on the table and she has to point to each word, but when she reads with us, she holds the books up closer.

So now tomorrow we have an appointment with the eye doctor and I'm hopeful that this could be the key. I'll let you know!

Yeah I got a comission for a yoga mat bag!!!

2009-03-23T20:32:00.000-07:00

That was really all I had to say so I thought I'd add these fun pictures I took just up the road from our house a while ago!

My Twilight DVD came today!!!!

2009-03-20T17:15:00.000-07:00

You wouldn't think I'd be this excited, but I am. You'd think after watching it 4 times in the theatre it would be boring, but it's not.

Who knew when my friend made me read her book that this would happen!

Oh well I guess my sewing projects won't get any further tonight!

I finally made myself a new purse

2009-03-15T15:59:00.000-07:00

I loved this pattern when I first found it and knew I'd have to make it. I was so excited with how this purse turned out, and better yet it was easy. I already have a couple other fabrics set aside to make more.

My new yoga mat bag (or I've finally been sewing again!)

2009-03-12T17:38:00.000-07:00

I bought my own yoga mat finally for the yoga class I've been going to. I decided that this was a great reason to use the fabric I've been hoarding for myself. I even have enough left over to make myself a matching tote bag. I based my bag on Amy Butlers free pattern, but I thinned the handle, put drawstring on the top and put it together completely different. The only thing I wish I had done differently was to make it a little smaller around.

I've even gotten the bag I made for the One Heart One World giveaway in the mail. I was really happy with how it turned out and I'll post a picture once the winner gets it.

I kind of felt bad doing it....

2009-03-10T10:51:00.000-07:00

You should have seen some of the peoples faces as we tested their $20 bills with the counterfiet detection pens at our last Girls Scout Cookie booth. They were really shocked, and some even seemed insulted, at least until we mentioned that Girls Scouts in other areas had been getting counterfeit money for cookies. We probably should have checked more of the money but we stuck with the $20's because they were the scariest, especially as people would buy 1 box, and then get the rest back in change.

Oh and we got so lucky, we had an amazing booth sale, our preliminary count was that we sold 407 boxes of cookies in 4 hours, but that doesn't include our Cookies for the Troops.

It's a sad sign of the times

2009-03-03T13:08:00.000-08:00

What is this world coming to when one of items our troop has to have at our booth sale is the special pen to check for counterfeit money. Check out this news story from Bremerton Washington. Not to mention how closely we need to watch the money boxes, because there are cases every year of people grabbing and stealing every year. We also had to teach the girls to leave the money we were given out on the table till we count the change because we always have people trying to (intentionally) tell us they gave us more money than they did and that they need more back in change. One lady even sent her child back five minutes later trying to get more money back, when they had given us the exact amount.

It's just frustrating. I know some of these people probably think they aren't really hurting anyone, just a large group that can afford it. The truth however is that each troop buys their cookies and has to pay for all the cookies we received. We are even responsible to pay for what doesn't sell. So yes all these people are directly hurting our girls. Any amount that has to be taken from our profits, limits what we can do with the girls. It limits whether we can send them all to camp, will we be able to continue paying all the girls way to the council events, can we afford service projects etc...

Ah, sorry about the quick vent but it's just so frustrating. How can people steal, let alone steal from little girls.

This looks like fun

2009-03-02T07:55:00.000-08:00

I love bags. Lately that is about all I've been wanting to sew. So I was really excited when I saw the Mystery Purse Sew Along at Lola...again. I added a link on the sidebar of my blog for the event.

I had just been trying to decide which new purse I should make, I just couldn't decide. There are too many great patterns out there. I like all the tutorials at Lola...again, I like the Signature Style Tote , I just found this Ruffled Tote and coin purse that looks really cute, and then there was this adorable Buttercup bag.

So you see my problem!!!

That's why the mystery sew along is perfect, I can just sew and be surprised at the end. Although I'm still looking through my fabric and planning out the rest of the bags.

Our small way to help

2009-02-24T21:03:00.000-08:00

After a lot of thinking we (the troop) decided on a small way to help. This Saturday is our first booth sale for Girl Scout Cookies, so we talked to the Service unit and got permission to donate the troops proceeds to the girls, and instead of collecting $ to send cookies to the troops (Cookies for a Cause), we'll collect for their fund. In fact a few other troops have agreed to donate some of their profits, so our leader is actually going to open a nonprofit bank account for the family.

Several of the girls in the troop have also volunteered to give the sisters their share of the cookie count from the booth sales. I have to say I'm really impressed with our girls since our troop is Daisies (K) and Brownies (1st and 2nd), and yet they are willing to give up some of their prizes from cookie sales to help these 2.

I know these aren't a lot but I hope that this make things a little easier on the family and relieves a little of the stress.

I was still thinking of making them special journals that they can write or draw their thoughts, feelings and memories in.

Have you said I love you today?

2009-02-21T19:37:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was such a normal day! In the morning I went and helped in Daphne's class. Picked Andy up for lunch. Sorted out the Girl Scout cookies to be delivered. Talked to my friend on the phone for way too long (as usual). Got some stuff together for Girl Scouts World Thinking Day, where the local troops get together and learn about Girl Scouts in other countries, with a lot of food and treats. I left a little early to pick up 2 sisters that are in our troop, because their Dad just had back surgery and wasn't up to driving them (the Mom isn't in the picture), and we were off.

World Thinking Day was your typical fun and crazy group activity. The girls were wild and loving it, and the adults were busy, busy, busy and vowing to simplify next year. Finally at about 8:30 I dropped of the girls and headed home. Tucked Daph in bed, vegged a little and went to bed. Even this morning seemed so normal at our house. Daph got up early, we fixed breakfast, did some shopping etc.

Then I got a call from our troop leader. Remember the sisters I dropped off last night? Well this morning was anything but normal for them. Sometime during the night their Dad had passed away and the 2nd grader was the one to find him. My heart was breaking as Trish told me. Finding a love one dead is my worst fear, and I just can't imagine if I was a 2nd grader and a kindergartner.

They are afraid that he may have accidentally overdosed on his pain medication. I just kept thinking about when I dropped the girls off, was he slurring his words was there something I should have noticed, would their Dad still be here if I had?

At least their Grandma and Aunt live in town, and are here for them. But I just can't imagine what they are going through right now! I suddenly remembered in the car they were talking about how much they had liked Steve Irwin, and how awful the felt for his children to have lost their Dad, and now 12 hours later their in the same spot.

We've told the Grandma to let us know whatever we can to do help. There are several of us more than willing to do what we can. But I keep trying to think of something special I can do for the girls. For my friends I'd send flowers to let them know I'm thinking of them and that they are in my prayers, but is that appropriate for little girls. What else can I do? I've thought about offering that when they are ready I would take some of the Dad's clothes and make something for each girl, I just don't know. If anyone has any ideas please let me know and please keep these little girls in your prayers.

And remember to hug those important to you and tell them how lucky you are to have them in your life, because this just reminded me that you never know how long you have with them!

We made it!!!

2009-02-18T11:17:00.000-08:00

I was so relieved, the girls and I finished the nightgowns yesterday. Just in time too, they leave for their trip next Wednesday. The nightgowns turned out really cute. The girls even got to add some decorative buttons and ribbon flowers. The only thing I did different than the tutorial was that I tapered the sides instead of leaving them straight.

And the winner is..... OWOH Giveaway

2009-02-12T08:32:00.000-08:00

I can't believe the response I got to my OWOH giveaway. I never dreamed I'd get close to 300 entries. I know I had great fun visiting all the blogs, and getting to "meet" you all. I hope that everyone who came to visit will come back occasionally.

And now the winner of the giveaway is ......... Dragonlady

*** Daragonlady I've sent you an email to find out your fabric choice and get your mailing address.

Nightgown update

2009-02-05T09:58:00.000-08:00

Several posts ago I asked for your opinion on what I should do with the young girls I'm teaching to sew. They wanted to make nightgowns for their trip to Disney World and the Bahamas. I wasn't sure if I should teach them to sew using a pattern, or if I should do an easier free form nightgown.

We went with the easier dress idea and I thought I'd post pictures of how they were going.

It's a good thing that we did, the oldest probably could have followed the pattern okay, but it would have been very frustrating for (and with) the younger girl.

I think they are turning out pretty cute!

Here was yesterday's project!

2009-02-02T08:54:00.000-08:00

When we first moved into our house, our bedroom door squeaked terribly. So I had my husband oil it. Suddenly it no longer stayed open, it didn't squeak but it just wouldn't stay open. We've used all kinds of things to hold it open for the last five years. I know we could have fixed it, but why!

While I was reading blogs a couple weeks ago I found this door stop pattern by Oh Fransson, and knew I'd have to make it. Isn't it cute. It was also very easy.

My daughter has already picked out her fabric for one and my husband said I should make one for the guest room, since we have a terrible time with our doors shutting when the windows are open.

How awful, now I'll have to spend more time sewing!

Girl Scout Cookies!

2009-01-30T14:20:00.000-08:00

I just had to share. Today I placed the cookie order for my daughter's Girl Scout troop, and it just seemed amazing to be placing an order for 198 cases of cookies. That's 2376 boxes of cookies that we are expecting to sell both in preorders and in boothsales.

Just as an interseting aside, did you know that ThinMints are #2 in cookie sales for the US, following Oreos, and that they are only available for 3 months a year. See what I learned in the training to be the troops Cookie Mom.

One World One Heart Giveaway

2009-01-27T11:57:00.000-08:00

Update: I reposted the picture of the fabric so it can be clicked on and you can see the fabric better.

Last night while I was surfing around I found a really cool blog. It's basically a worldwide Blog Open house with door prize drawings at each blog. What an amazing way to find new blogs, meet new people and maybe win a prize or two. This is it's third year and I knew I just had to be involved in the Gypsy Caravan this year. To see a complete list of all the participating blogs go to http://oneworldoneheart.typepad.com/

Since I'm so late joining up, you will get to customize your prize. I'm offering to make you one of my favorite bags. They are about 14" x15"x 4". It will look like these, but you get to choose the fabrics. (sorry these bags were all Christmas gifts so none of them are available.)

So if you have an active blog and would like to be entered, please leave a comment on this post, and only this post. Make sure you include your fabric choice, from the ones pictured above, by February 11th, and I will draw the winner on February 12th.

My Family Birthday Banner

2009-01-14T14:04:00.000-08:00

Just in time for Daphne's birthday I got out the Birthday Banner I made last year, based on a pattern from one of my quilting magazines. Since we only have a daughter I didn't worry too much about how girly the colors are. Daphne loves it. It even has buttons on the centers of the bows that I thought would be cute to hang a gift tag on with the birthday girl/boys name on it.

Look at the cute invitations I made!!!

2009-01-13T10:40:00.000-08:00

These are the invitations I made for Daphne's sleepover. They turned out really cute and were sooooo easy. I bought blank cards, with envelopes.

1 - I trimmed about a 1/2 an inch off the open side of the card to make it closr in shape to a sleeping bag.

2- I decided how much of one corner I wanted to fold over and using a ruler and the dull edge of a butter knife I scored the fold line.

3 - Then I took the card to my sewing machine and starting below the score line I sewed about an 1/8 of an inch from the edge down the long side and across the bottom. You could use double sided tape!

4 - Next using a basic word program I printed the invite info on colored paper. The only things to figure out are how wide a piece of paper will fit into the sleeping bag. If you use double sided tape it will be thinner. You also need to figure out how low the words need to be so they don't show above the bag.

5 - And finally I found a free clip art image of a pillow, but you could just draw a simple pillow shape, and printed it onto another colored paper. Cut it out and using double sided tape I attached it to the top of the insert. Just make sure that it all fits into your envelope.

A couple opinion questions

2009-01-13T09:09:00.000-08:00

Help, what do you think:

Okay #1 - The young girls that I've been teaching to sew are going on a Disney World/Caribbean Cruise vacation and I offered to help them make light summer nightgowns for the trip. Here's my dilemma. I bought an easy nightgown pattern (on sale of course) or I found a tutorial for a pillowcase type dress that has elastic at the neckline so it wouldn't need tie straps, that I thought could make an adorable light and easy nightgown. Which do you think? The nightgown would start teaching them about patterns, but it would take much longer to make, or the pillowcase dress which would go faster but isn't a real pattern. I think I'm leaning towards the pillowcase dress!

Now #2 - My daughter is having her Birthday sleepover this Friday. Everything is fine for the actual sleepover, but my friend is talking about leaving her daughter with me the whole next day also because they need to leave at 7:30 in the morning to drive to Sacramento (a 2-3 hour drive) to pick up a friend at the airport. I have told her to let me know what time she wants me to wake Sandia up by and we'll have her ready, but she just says oh that's okay Sandia doesn't need to come with. Then she proceeds to tell me though that they will be gone all day because as long as they're in Sac. they'll want to do some things there, and they'll need to eat lunch there also before heading back. Am I being unreasonable in thinking it isn't a good idea to keep two tired girls together all day, when they have issues about getting along even when they aren't tired. They really like each other, they are just very different.

Janet, for your curiosity

2009-01-12T09:17:00.000-08:00

Here's the fabric I was telling you about! This is the pink background, there was a purple background and matching stripes. Remember, in the picture you can't see the sparkles!

Here's my Dad's quilt

2009-01-11T19:20:00.000-08:00

Here's the quilt that I made my Dad for his birthday! I'm really happy with how it turned out. Now he just needs to get his new office to hang it up!

This pattern is from the book, Skinny Quilts and Table Runners. Mine is a little simpler than in the book, and I also used raw edges instead of the finished edges they showed in the pattern.

Starting a new year!

2009-01-08T20:18:00.000-08:00

Alright I'm a little late getting out a new post. Somehow I just didn't have anything to write, but today I'm just going to type. Hmm, let's see.

We had a good visit with the families over Christmas, the dog and Daphne even did great in the car. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised about that.

I finished several more projects, 2 stockings, 3 more bags, another pincushion and a wall quilt for my Dad, and of course I didn't get pictures of any of them. (hint, hint Janet if you'd send me pictures, yes I know that you've put the stockings away, but what about the bag.)

Now I'm thinking about clothes. I'm going to be teaching my friends girls (9 and 11) how to make nightgowns. I was also thinking about all the clothes I'd like to make for Daphne and my niece. We'll see what I actually get done. I shouldn't start any projects right now though, because my parent's are coming to visit this weekend and I don't need to make a bigger mess to clean.

It's hard to believe but my baby is turning 7 this weekend. Where has the time gone. I've noticed that there are fewer and fewer things about her that remind me of that baby. Now I only really see that when I check on her while she's sleeping. Otherwise she is seeming to grow up more almost daily. She's only a foot shorter than I am, I don't even really have to lean over to give her a hug. (yes I know not hard when your as short as I am, but it just seems momentous).

She even wants to have a sleepover this year. We reluctantly agreed, but limited it to 4 girls. I'll let you know how it goes next Saturday after they have all left. Even the goody bags for the party are different. Instead of toys, they are purses with bracelets, lip gloss and sparkly powder makeup. (no color, just sparkle)

As much as I miss my little baby sometimes I can't wait to see what her next adventure is and how she grows in the next year!

More Christmas sewing projects!

2008-12-17T09:16:00.001-08:00

I have to post new pictures of the projects I've been making because it makes me feel like I'm getting somewhere on my list of sewing that I need to get done before Christmas.

I've finished another stocking, 2 more are almost done ( but they won't be posted till after Christmas, Janet), and I've made 2 of these little pincushions for the Mom's, that are filled with steel wool to sharpen pins. The pincushions would go a lot faster if I didn't feel like I had to embroider them and decorate with beading, but it just makes them so cute!

Here's a few of the gifts I've been making!

2008-12-15T14:13:00.000-08:00

I've been sewing!!! Mostly I've been making Stockings and tote bags. I love these bags, they're easy, but make really nice looking bags. I hope the people I'm giving them to like them as well as I do. In order from left to right, a bag for our family gift exchange, a bag for our hair stylist, and lastly a bag for Daphne's teacher. Wish me luck on getting the rest of my Christmas list done!

I didn't think dogs made nest's

2008-12-10T19:27:00.000-08:00

This is what our dog does at our back entrance. I really didn't think dogs made nests but as soon as we clean this up our dog starts over till we get tired of stepping over or on all the twigs. This time she's even added part of a newspaper that blew into our yard and who knows what else!

I always do this!

2008-12-09T07:56:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas time. I always plan tons of homemade gifts. I even start them early. Yet somehow I always have that sudden point where I make a list of the presents still to make and then look at the calender and ask myself what was I thinking.

In fact last year I fully intended to make Janet's family ALL stockings. Now in my defense she does have a big family, at least to me. Hey remember this is my defense! I got the three stockings done for her boys, I just never got the stockings done for Janet and her husband. Yes they are on my list for this year, they're actually in the middle of assembly. I've come up with a really easy way to make these and they even get quilted as you go, but they still just take a certain amount of time.

I have finished two other stockings for Daphne's teacher. Those are the ones with names on them in the slide show of my projects. I had never appliqued names onto a stocking before, but I thought they turned out really cute.

Now my list is down to finishing Janet's 2 stockings, I need to make 4 - 5 tote bags, a few gift card holders and by the end of December I'd like to finish a wall quilt for my Dad. Of course there are all those other little projects I'd love to make but I just don't know that I'll get to them. Maybe I'll cut them out and take them with on our trip to visit the parents for Christmas.

Oh well I better get back to the sewing machine, otherwise I'll really not get the things on my list done!!!!

What do you do when someone doesn't like your gift?

2008-12-04T08:02:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I got together with a friend that I hadn't seen in a while. I was excited to be able to give her and her husband the mitten "stockings" (they are pictured in a previous post and in my projects slideshow) I made for them, and the stocking for her youngest that was almost identical to her older sisters. For the girls stockings I made sure I used different trim so they could be told apart. And for the mittens I used the rest of the fabric that my friend picked out and loved, when I made them a tree skirt and table runner. It's not my favorite fabric but I thought the mittens turned our really cute!

So I gave them to her and nothing. I guess there was a half hearted thanks, but that was it. She did go to hang them up right away, but then turned and said that they all could really use their names to tell them apart. I was a little (yeah more like a lot) frustrated and told her that "they" could probably use fabric paint to do that. Then I had to turn around and teach them how to sew tote bags as Christmas gifts, using really weird fabrics that she let her 7 year old pick out.

I don't know why this bugged me so much! When I make homemade gifts I try very hard to make things that I think the recipients will like and enjoy. However I know that my taste might not fit what they like no matter how hard I try. So I preface a lot of my gifts with this "I had a lot of fun thinking about you and the good times we've shared as I made this for you, however if this isn't to your liking than please feel free to give this to someone else who you think will enjoy it." So I'm not sure what got to me this time. Maybe it's that I really thought she would like these.

Oh well, at least I can take a perverse pleasure in the fact that even if she doesn't really like them, my friend will never give these away. In fact she will probably keep using them every year just because I made them for her!

Ugghh I'm a failure!

2008-11-27T19:33:00.000-08:00

I'm a total failure this Thanksgiving. Luckily it was just my husband, daughter and I.

This morning my daughter and I decided to finish making salt dough ornaments. We had made them Tuesday with our friends and had a fair bit of dough left. It was great fun this morning. We made some really cute ornaments, and then I burnt them. They may be salvageable if we paint them, we'll see.

Then this evening our turkey wasn't done. I don't know what happened. I followed the instructions on time and temp, I even truned the temp up for the first hour as added insurrance. I didn't stuff it. I just don't know what went wrong. It's not the stove, everything else cooks great. Uggghh!

Even my pumpkin pie cracked terribly this time!!!!

Oh well at least my mashed sweet potatoes with marshmellows and brown sugar turned out really good!

Well we're off to try the pie, hopefully it tastes as good as it smells, not how it looks!

Happy Thanksgiving, Again!

I just had to add that no the pie didn't taste good at all. I can't believe I'm admitting this but I finally realized that the pie cooked funny because I forgot the sugar. Can you believe it! Oh well we may hvae to go out to eat next year!

Just a simple Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T15:51:00.000-08:00

Hi I just wanted to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you always...

Walls for the wind,

A roof for the rain

And tea beside the fire.

Laughter to cheer you,

Those you love near you,

And all that your heart may desire

Here's some pictures of Belle for you Janet, or pictures of our other baby!

2008-11-25T21:04:00.001-08:00

I finally got some pictures of Belle so I thought you'd like to see her. She's a little bigger than the last time you saw her. Although we might be bringing her with at Christmas. We suddenly realized how much it was going to cost to board her for 10 days, and that it wouldn't really be that much more to rent a larger vehicle and bring her with. Plus then we could bring up Tom's gift since my parent's never made it to visit.

Here are some of the projects I've been working on lately!

2008-11-18T16:55:00.000-08:00

Theses are pictures of a bag that I made for my Twilight mad friend. She's always laughing about how pathetic she must look as a middle-aged married woman lusting after Robert Pattinson. So on the inside, as her dirty little secret I printed a Twilight screen saver onto fabric using plain white fabric and freezer paper (so easy) to use as the pocket. The pocket is better in person, I don't know why but the flash kept washing it out.

This picture is of Mitten "Stockings" that I made for a friend and her husband. They have snaps holding them to the chenile ric rac "string" so that they can be separated on Christmas morning. These are also made out of the remaining fabric from a treeskirt and tablerunner that I made them a couple years ago.

Look, Look, Look

2008-11-12T07:43:00.000-08:00

Look I've been quilting, alright really piecing since this is just the quilt top, but see!

Even more impressive, at least for people who know me, is that this is a wall quilt for our house. I'm really good about getting projects done when they are for other people, especially as gift, but when it's for myself or my house I tend to decide I need to finish other stuff first and our stuff just gets set aside. In fact my husband saw this pattern 2 years ago and asked me to make it for our house.

The pattern was for a door size banner and I knew that was to big for our house, so I halved the pattern. Luckily this time I remembered to subtract the seam allowance and then halve the block size. However I didn't really stop and think about all the little blocks that would make for this quilt.

I'm really happy with it so far. After it's quilted I'll add the little red berries (or ornaments) on it. It definatly needs those touches of red in the center of the quilt.

Great kids crafts!

2008-11-10T08:50:00.000-08:00

Hi, I added a new link to the blogs I watch. The blog is called Ramblings of a Crazy Woman. I just love the name, but she also had SO many great kids crafts. I looked through the Christmas project list and found many that we will be doing.

I'm too embarrassed to post the picture!

2008-11-07T20:58:00.000-08:00

Daph's minor surgery today was to deal with a couple of dental issues.

Let me just say this now, I promise we have her brush twice a day. She doesn't eat a ton of sweets. Yes she was bottle fed, but she NEVER went to bed with a bottle.

About 2 months ago we noticed that one of her molars was falling apart. I mean literally crumbling. I can't tell you how horrified I was as a mother, especially when it turned out she had 2 small cavities and another tooth that also needed to come out. We hadn't taken her to a dentist yet, but I wasn't feeling too bad because most of my friends with children her age were just getting their kids into a dentist also. The tooth was of course noticed after work on Friday and we worried all weekend because our area doesn't have any emergency dental services, and finally got her in on Monday.

We loved the staff but were never sure about that dentist. Trust me if you ever have this feeling follow it! We went ahead and let that dentist fix another small cavity to get her used to the whole thing, but the experience wasn't good. The dentist was chewing out his staff and getting Daph stressed, and then getting a little short with her for getting wiggly. To top it all off, he scratched the outside of her cheek with his drill, and Daphne thought a piece of the filling fell out later that evening.

Needless to say we didn't go back to that dentist. However since he wasn't in a big hurry to deal with the broken tooth we had the time to get an appointment with a great pediatric dentist.

After the last experience this dentist suggested taking her to a surgical center to get everything done all at once while she slept, so that all the rest of her visits would just be basic cleaning and small fillings if needed.

So today was the day. She had 2 teeth pulled and the dentist redid the filling the other dentist did, for free, because it was indeed falling apart. At the after surgery consult the dentist (again) stressed that we weren't bad parents. That some kids just had bad baby teeth, and that it didn't necessarily show what her adult teeth would be like. In fact he joked that he had lots of trouble with his baby teeth, and his father was an Endontist.

I was feeling better, until I saw the teeth he pulled! Both my husband and I just cringed. They look so awful. There is no way that I could ever post a picture of them. No matter how many reassurances I got that it wasn't my fault, I'm way too embarrassed as a parent to show those teeth. I may turn into a fanatic now about the care of her teeth.

What would we do without crafts?

2008-11-07T10:12:00.000-08:00

Last night we explained to our almost 7 year old daughter that, because she is having a minor surgical procedure she couldn't eat or drink today. We even woke her up for a midnight snack since her procedure isn't until 2:30. We thought she understood but suddenly this morning it wasn't going so well once reality set in.

Let just say I wasn't to thrilled with my husband who went to work this morning, primarily so he could eat while he was there! Yes he really did have work he needed to do, but eating was a definite bonus for him.

So I'm looking around trying desperately to find something to take her mind of off eating. She wanted to paint, but I couldn't find the watercolor paper. Suddenly I got incredibly lucky. I found the ornament decorating kit that I had bought almost a year ago for Daph to do as Christmas gifts.

This has been a life saver.

Now only an hour and a half till we go pick up my husband and head to the surgical center, I'll have to go digging in my closet for something else to do!

We may have to make a New Years resolution to read more!

2008-11-06T10:58:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I'm showing this but here's our to read pile. I really think we may have to make a New Years resolution to read more!

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T09:58:00.000-07:00

I got the zipper in! It was as horrible as I feared! No actually it wasn't that bad, it was worse! Alright it wasn't really that bad but I thought I'd say that to explain why it took so long to get the silly dress done, but I really do dislike putting zippers in clothes. They are just a pain in the neck, literally as I'm leaning over the sewing machine trying to get it to work.

I also made a matching head band but I don't know where it was when I took the picture. My daughter has this weird habit of hiding things in her room that are important to her, usually in the back of her closet.

Have A Happy Halloween!

It's almost finished!

2008-10-27T09:17:00.000-07:00

Look I'm almost done.

It doesn't have it's zipper and I'm going to get some ribbon flowers for the neckline and at the top of each ruching!

Man did this dress use a lot of fabric, I bought 4 yards and I have about a 1/4 yard left.

I did it!

2008-10-24T20:27:00.000-07:00

I finally started Daph's Halloween costume. Okay being really honest I cut out the pieces, I have the machine threaded with the right color thread, but I haven't sewn a single seam. However I was laughing at myself when I realized that the whole dress really doesn't have very many pieces. This should be pretty easy! The only tricky part might be the ruching with the elastic.

Now I'm actually excited to get started, I'll post a picture of the finished dress!

Sometimes I don't understand my husband!!

2008-10-23T20:44:00.000-07:00

I just don't understand my husband. Tonight after we had put Daph to bed she came out telling us her legs hurt. Andy was already in the kitchen so I had him double check that the nighttime cough and cold medicine didn't have ibuprofen in it already. So he checks, says no, and then comes out, leaving me to go back in the kitchen and get the ibuprofen from right next to the other bottle of medicine. I was ready to scream and he just looked at me like I was crazy. He couldn't figure out why I was irritated. In fact his comment was that I had just asked him to check the other medicine, and he had.

Why as a Mom do we know that this would mean we than needed to get the other medicine, but it just doesn't even click with men? How can they think so differently?

I keep thinking we've been together long enough that he shouldn't surprise me with these differences but every once in a while he still does. Do you think we'll ever just be able to go, oh well, without it driving us crazy?

Caving in to peer pressure

2008-10-22T09:13:00.000-07:00

Alright I finally did it, I caved in to peer pressure. I know at my age you'd think I would be stronger. But no I caved. I finally read Twilight. A friend made me borrow her copy and read it. Okay that's to harsh, I really did intend to read it, I was just waiting for it to come out in mass market paperback. I'm just too cheap to pay the big bucks for a book I wasn't really excited to read.

So I got it Monday night, started reading after Daph went to bed and finished it the next day, but, I was able to put it down to go to bed, and I even put it down during the day to vacuum.

I really did enjoy it, it's a good story and I'm going to have to read the next couple books because you do get involved with the characters. I'm also still going with a group of women to see the midnight showing of the movie when it comes out, that just sounds fun.

However I have to say, I don't understand all these women my age going into raptures over Edward. Like I said, it was a really good book with good characters, but as I'm reading it I was still very aware that it was written for a younger target audience. It was kind of like reading the first Harry Potter book. You still got very into the characters and wanted to see what was going to happen, but it just felt younger.

I'm glad I finally read it and I'm looking forward to getting book 2, so maybe I'm just jaded, since I'm a bit of a romance novel junkie.

Take time to enjoy Fall!

2008-10-20T10:33:00.000-07:00

This is the one tree in our yard that really changes colors in the fall, the rest just seem to dry up and loose their leaves. I miss the colors.

Growing up in Minnesota, Fall was my favorite season. I loved the crispness in the air, the leaves changing colors, the piles of leaves to jump in. It just felt magical. I still love Fall, but it just isn't the same in northern Nevada. There isn't that abundance of trees changing colors. We have the crispness in the air but it's only in the mornings and evenings instead of all day. I'm actually tired of wearing short sleeves. I want to be able to get out my long sleeves and sweaters. At least today I'll be able to open the house up, and not mess with the air conditioning.

Even without all the things I miss, to me Fall is still my favorite season. To me it has a feeling of hope and new beginning. I know that's usually said about Spring, but for me it's Fall. I think it has a lot to do with the start of the school year. It was the excitement of the new school year, the new teacher, the new clothes not to mention having my birthday in the Fall. It just feels like a beginning. Like wiping the slate clean, and starting over. Like moving on in life with a lightness, a freshness and crispness in your step. So lets take some time to enjoy Fall and not rush into the Holiday seasons.

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.

Albert Camus

My new guilty pleasure

2008-10-14T21:10:00.000-07:00

I have a new guilty pleasure, I love the show Whatever Martha!

If you haven't seen it on the Fine Living Network, you need to check your listing and watch it. The whole premise of the show is Martha Stewart's daughter Alexis and her friend Jennifer watching footage of Martha's past shows and making fun of them. Sometimes they even try to do the projects along with the clip. This show never fails to make me laugh. They have great quirks in personality, and their friendship comes through. Even my husband has to stop and listen when it's on. It's just addictive! They are so catty, yet it's exactly what we're all thinking while we watch it.

I really think I enjoy it so much because it reminds me of watching things with my oldest and closest friend. You should have heard Janet and I watching shows like pageants or of course Martha. People watching with us would just be staring at us. We would get going and at a certain point we didn't even have to finish our sentences because the other just knew what we were thinking, while others were lost. We also have the uncanny ability to just know where the others jump in logic is going and having it seem perfectly logical to both of us, while others are wondering how we got from A to M and back to B. Actually we didn't have to be watching anything, we could just get going from whatever caught our attention or our sense of the ridiculous. Even now Janet and I will call each other and say you have to see this, or have you heard of this. I can't imagine not having this close friendship where we each know the other so well, foibles and all, and still love and respect each other like sisters. Okay probably closer than a lot of siblings I know.

So Janet, did you get the feeling that you just had to read my blog this morning?

Look what was hanging around our yard!

2008-10-13T18:31:00.000-07:00

I just had to share this cool picture that I took from my screen door.

Every once in a while we get hawks hanging around in the yard, although I'm glad that this time it didn't find anything to eat. A several years ago when a hawk was in our yard it caught a bird, and I never realized how big a mess they make as they eat. I was also amazed at how little was left. Really all that was left were a few bones and a mess of feathers. Poor Daphne was so excited because she thought it had snowed and she wanted to go play in it!

We actually live in a great area for bird watching. When we first bought our house it had a pond, but it had to be covered in chicken wire to keep the herons and hawks from eating the koi. Between our town and shopping (about a twenty miles) we have counted 12 - 25 large hawks and eagles. The best time however is during calving on the area ranches. There are a couple areas where people pull over with binoculars, but most of the time you don't need them. Most of the time just driving by you can see several bald eagles. It really is cool. As amazing as these are to see in zoos it's nothing to seeing them in nature.

Just an opinion question

2008-10-10T16:50:00.000-07:00

Alright I have a question for you. My daughter just got invited to her friends birthday party. For the last several years they've asked that instead of presents "everyone please bring a filled shoebox or shoebox fillings to donate to those less fortunate through the Operation Christmas Child program", then they gave us a brochure on what can and can't be given. Now I think that it's a great think that this 7 year old is willing to forgo her presents so that others can get some, however here's my problem.

To fill these shoeboxes it costs about $10 ( more if you want them really full), then in the enclosed brochure, my friend is highlighting the part about us also having to donate an additional $7 for the handling charges for each box. So now we have a total of $20 that we are supposed to spend, and to top it all off this friend wants us to bring the stuff wrapped or in a gift bag for her daughter to open as gifts and then they'll be given to the charity.

I know this is for charity but this isn't the charity I really believe in. Don't get me wrong, it's a good charity, but according to my friend these boxes go to children who are "Christian" and come to the missions, otherwise they wouldn't get them. My other concern is that I think there are enough children in the US who are surrounded by the idea that if you're good Santa brings you gifts, but if you're not he doesn't. So my preferred charity at this time of year is Toys for Tots, because my heart breaks for the children here who don't get a gift because his family can't afford it, and think it's because they were bad. I actually shop clearance toys all year long so that I have a large stash of good toys to donate.

So is it wrong for me to feel a little railroaded into this? This is my daughters good friend, we can't not go to the party. We can't not bring something, so we have at least the $10. Is it okay to just ignore the additional $7, since this was their idea to fill these boxes. With my bargain shopping I find great gifts for way less than this.

Please let me know your opinion.

It's Snowing!!

2008-10-10T14:17:00.001-07:00

I can't believe that it's been snowing almost all day so far. It started just before Daphne went out to catch the bus, and has been snowing off and on since. It did stop for a little while earlier, just long enough for the snow that had accumulated to melt, luckily.

When I helped a Daphne's school this morning and all the kids were so excited by the snow. I just don't understand it. I might have been like that as a kid but I don't remember. Maybe it's that I grew up in Minnesota and after the first couple days of snow it just looses it's charm, or at least it did for me.

In fact I think this is why I really dislike Halloween. In Minnesota it was usually so cold around Halloween that your costumes had to be worn over snowsuits, with mittens and hats. I have to tell you, that just seemed to ruin some of the fun of dressing up for me. I mean think, you were limited in what you could dress as by whether the costume would fit over the snow clothes. I also hated having to wear boots and trudge through the snowbanks just to get candy. I actually tried getting my parents to let me skip trick or treating but for some reason I was made to go.

I was probably just a weird child. I really would have preferred to just stay home and read. Even the candy wasn't an insensitive for me, almost every year I had Halloween candy left over that finally got thrown away right before Christmas.

If anyone happens to read this who loved Halloween let me know why? What about it did or do you enjoy?

At least we're supposed to get warmer again, and I hope it stays warmer till after Halloween. Especially since Daph's costume is just a dress and I don't think it would (or will when I get it done) fit over warm clothes.

As a plus though I do have to say that the living not far from Lake Tahoe, the mountains do look pretty freshly covered in snow. I'll take a picture and post it when the storm and clouds lift from the mountains.

I finished Andy's Ipod case!

2008-10-08T14:27:00.000-07:00

Just a quick little post to show you the case I made for my husband's Ipod. His even has a boxed bottom to fit his Ipod and headphones. He really likes it and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

Haven't we all wished we could really do this?

2008-10-08T13:52:00.000-07:00

Today Andy and I went out for lunch and I just loved the sign that they had over the register!

Unaccompanied children will be given espresso and a free puppy

Haven't we all wished we could really do this to those parents who just let their children do whatever they feel like in public. Now don't get me wrong, I 'm not even remotely talking about normal childish antics. I'm talking about those parents who seem to feel that if there are other people around then someone else must be watching their children so they don't have to.

Okay, maybe I feel like this because of a friend that I have. As soon as we agree to go shopping or out together it's like she shuts off her own parenting responsibilities and looks at me as her babysitter so she can get her shopping done. I understand that she has two children where I only have one, and I'm more that happy to help, but if she really is looking for a babysitter instead of a friend to shop with, then I'd really rather stay home and babysit for her than watch all three kids in the store. This got so bad that I haven't stayed to watch Daphne' s gymnastics class in about a month. Her oldest is in the same class and she actually told me that she was glad they were so I could watch her 2 year old and she could watch her oldest in class. I know, I know your thinking just don't, but that's a lot easier said than done when you see the 2 year old doing dangerous things or leaving and the Mom has no clue. So my husband and I have started going Christmas shopping or out for coffee while Daphne is in Gymnastics. Oh well we can't change others so I just have to decide what I'm going to do for myself. But the sign is still so tempting!!

**I do have to admit to a bad mother moment, I'm really enjoying dropping Daphne of and having an hour out and about just with my husband. This has been especially helpful since we can't spell this year to discuss Christmas gifts and plans.

I think my child might be spoiled!

2008-10-05T19:08:00.001-07:00

When we started telling people that we were only having one child we got all the usual reason about why Daphne really needed siblings, but it seemed like most boiled down to the fact that if we didn't have another child Daphne would be spoiled rotten. I have to say that we took those concerns seriously and have watched from (we hope) an unbiased viewpoint to make sure that we don't raise a selfish and spoiled child. I thought we were doing pretty well. I mean at the last company Easter egg hunt our Daughter was the only child putting things back on the ground when she found something she liked better. She always thanks us when we buy her stuff and tells us how lucky she is. Even this fall as she was making her Christmas list she would take things off the list as she found other things that she wanted, it took work to point out that she could leave things on as she found stuff and that she could have stuff that she wanted from us and both sets of Grandparents.

Now remember even my parents mentioned that we could end up with a spoiled child!

So the other day we were finally dividing up Daphne's Christmas list, she was really good with just a couple things on the list for my In-laws, and a couple on ours. It wasn't till we got to Santa's list that things got a little funny, but it's not what your thinking. Daphne has two things she really wants, one is a "Just like You" doll from American Girl, and the other is the carriage for Barbie from Barbie and the Diamond Castle. I thought both of these were going on the list for Santa, but Daphne had other ideas. She's pretty certain that Santa will bring her the doll that she wants, but she knows that if she put the carriage on the list for My Parents, she'll get it.

What does this say when my 6 year old if more certain of Grandma and Grandpa than Santa in the gift giving department. So yes I think my child is spoiled, but it's kind of ironic that it's not us doing the spoiling!