UFO'S

I hope you had a wonderful Easter.  Our girls had a good time up in Virginia, Minnesota.  Friday it snowed 4 inches.  Saturday rain.  But Sunday, Easter... nice weather!

The girls color eggs for the first time.  Beautiful Katherine and her mother Bonnie help out.

Lots of spoiling of granddaughters.  Very wonderful experience of Easter by the girls.  I had a little negativity due to no running water.  Did not wash my face for two days.. yuck. Did brush my teeth.  Also, all the sugar made my girls embarrassing at times with their emotions running haywire due to sugar overload.  Those negativities I kept in check due to the great outdoors and generosity of spirit by Sean's parents.

I was so liking these big fluffy clouds.  Rain clouds moved out.  Snow is still on the lake.

What does this have to do with UFOs?  Nothing.  I just wanted to share my UFO but I digressed.

UFO because I can't decide if the colors are for a girl or a boy. I also can't decide if I like it.  Twin sized quilt top courtesy of Eleanor Burns pattern.  What a great Lady she is.

The blue fabric is of stars.  Thought it was a cute idea, but now I'm thinking a nice cream with patterned stars would be nice too.  I hope to finish it someday.

In our big galaxy a person can feel so small.  But I believe there are beings out there who love us in a way incomprehensible to our human brains. The biggest challenge is to love ourselves.  Somewhere inside us are pieces of a big, bright star.  I hope to let it shine.

Blessings!

My Inner Child is Growing Up

My inner child has been in some despair lately.  She misses her creative outlet of sewing.  Working full time and having twin 3-year-old girls who stay up way too late leaves me no time to sew.  The girls stay home with their father all day, so taking time off work still doesn't do the trick. They miss me during the day and gravitate towards me as soon as I get home. They love that I will tend to their needs.  "I want milk:  "mama watch me do this"   "waaahhh, Audrey is not sharing"  "read me a book"

Well that is what being a parent is all about, right?  Sacrifice.  But sometimes a part of me misses sorely the ease of crafting before they came along.  When I do get to sewing the girls are right there playing with my butterfly pins, which I am always trying to tell them to not put into their mouths. They like sticking them into their stuffed animals like some kind of voodoo ritual. I tell them I need them to sew and not to lose them.  I always tell myself...one day you will wish they still wanted to be so near you -  touching, cuddling.  One day you will wish you took advantage of this time when they look upon you with big eyes of adoration.  And thinking this way does helps me and my inner child to grow up a little bit, or at least  to bid her time for free expression.   Some mothers (probably most) can do both.  I refuse to go down this path of thinking, as it leads to a dark cloudy pit. Comparing myself to others is at best just gross thinking and a total waste of time and emotions and seems to open wide the doors of negative thinking to come flooding in.  Been drowned in my own sorrows a few times to know this to be true.            

Milestones, Dress-up and Where Did I Put It?

The girls have hit a milestone in their lives.  The transition to toddler beds.  The first night we decided to take down the cribs and put the toddler beds in was on a Tuesday.  Why we chose to do this on a weeknight I will never know.  Their newfound freedom was like an elixir that kept them up and running around in their room till at least 1:30 am.  I had to work the next day, but I refrained from going into their rooms and ruining their fun.  We have had to say bye-bye to midday naps.  So sad!  The beds start at opposite ends of the room but in the morning who knows where we will find the beds.

The girls try out their new beds.

This how we find them after a late night of romping in their new freedom.  I see they took off their pajamas. 

The last few days the girls have been wanting to play dress-up.  Jamie is a princess and Audrey a dragon.

Jamie likes feeling feminine.  She is good at it.  The more adornments the better.

A pretty witch in this shot.

Some sort of bumble bee fairy in this outfit.

Oh, and the snow still comes.  My sister lives in Texas where it is 70 to 80 degrees.  Must be nice.

I took a workshop making this pattern.  I cannot find the pattern.  It was a paper piecing pattern.  High maintenance pattern, but worth the extra effort.  I hope I didn't throw it away.

I did organize a closet trying to find this pattern.  Now to get that organizing energy downstairs where my magic happens.  

Thanks for dropping by!

Bad Battery & Table Topper

I was resigned and secretly wishing I would have to buy a new laptop.  I took my laptop to the Geek Squad and discovered I had a bad battery.  So, I am stuck with my slower than slow laptop for a little longer.

To tell the truth I haven't had a desire to sew much.  My sewing area in the basement is a total mess and cold.  I have so many projects to finish I feel overwhelmed.  I feel inner conflict fighting inside me, with me wishing for a better outcome in which I clean my sewing area, and get busy completing my projects.

I discovered this table topper tossed in a box.  I was disgusted with the colors I chose for this Christmas table topper.  I really liked the pattern, but the red & white was just not too impressive to my eyes.

I look upon it now with gentler eyes.

It still looked out of place on my table.

Putting a candle in the middle seemed to balance it out somehow.

A little note about Jamie & Audrey... they are gaining independence by removing their clothes.  Because they can.  Sometimes I come home from work and see them running around with no pants on. I shiver because our house is drafty.  I guess they burn warmer with the blood not having to travel too far to their limbs and their arteries not so clogged .  Ahhhh to be young again!

Have a great weekend!

A Few Tips When Making Softies

The year 2010 was the first time I tried to make a softie (stuffed toy/animal).  I was so proud of myself after I completed the project.  Reading patterns can be like doing a jigsaw puzzle.  Kind of confusing at first, but after studying it, the brain clicks and progress is made.  These softies were made from left over polar fleece fabric.  You will recognize the bear fabric from the crib sheet in an earlier photo.

What I learned from this little bear is the need to stuff, stuff and stuff again.  Over time all the weak points show up, as you can see in his left arm, a creased has formed because there is not enough filling.  Also, one has to be diligent about marking the fabric. especially for eye placement.  The left side is lower than the right.  Poor thing is lopsided. Also to clip around the whole sewing area, making sure to not clip the thread.  This makes it look 100% nicer when turning it right side out. Tedious, but so worth it!  This bear was not a big hit with the girls.  Soooo one has to wonder why I made another one????

I asked Audrey to pose with the bear and she thought it was funny to pose with a finger up her nose.  She has a sense of humor this one!

I think I made new brain cells making this elephant.  Trying to keep the nose, face and neck holes straight was a challenge.  Also making sure the ears hung correctly.  A good tip to remember when  sewing with multiple layers of polar fleece is to set the stitch length as big as possible and sort of baste a section that is tricky.  Basting crunches the polar fleece down and the walking foot isn't struggling as much.

I have too many projects to do before I can attempt another softie.  This time I will give it away because my girls are not too thrilled with them.  Although, they do know mommy made it for them.  But no emotional attachment like I envisioned as I put them together.

Thanks for dropping by.  Have fun sewing!

Polar Fleece For Cold Weathered States

If your a Minnesotan, you probably have a no-sew polar fleece blanket.  They have been a rage for several years now.  It stays cold here for so many months that unless your rich, you have to keep the house temperature just at tolerable.  67 degrees is on the warmer side that we keep it at for the benefit of our girls.  When it was just my husband and I, we kept it down a few more degrees.  Layer, layer, layer!  Ever notch up or down makes a world of difference.  My girls were born in February.  Right in the middle of cold weather.  I made ahead of their birth these two polar fleece blankets from the top of my head.  I discovered after the girls arrived several mistakes I made. The first mistake was I made them to fit the crib, which was fine when flat, but once a body got under there, it was too small.  Second, I made it double layered and it was too warm.  If there is such a thing, but my Jamie was found to be sweating underneath it. So I put them away and just recently brought them back out.  I was surprised to find the girls love them at 3 years old.  They recognized their names and thought that was just swell.  They don't care if it is too small.  I guess they appreciate the sentimentality of it.  So, if something you make is not at once a success, wait a few years, it might have a new life.  Third mistake is the how I sewed on the satin binding.  You can tell on the purple one, which I did first is rough looking - oops.  Jamie's binding turned out much better.

I found a font I liked and blew up each letter to about 70 and printed it out for my template.  Since the letters were so skinny and swirly I was wondering how I was going to quilt around them with pins and a walking foot.  Then I discovered Jeans Mender.  A fabric glue that held my letters in place so I didn't have to be bothered by all those pins around tight corners and such.  Now a days I have heard of some great spray adhesives.  This works great too and I put it on with a toothpick.

Thanks for dropping by.  I hope you have fun sewing!

Crafty Photos and a Watermelon gone haywire

They always told me when I was young not to eat a watermelon seed, because a watermelon will grow inside your tummy.  I just don't remember swallowing a watermelon seed let alone two, hmmm (ponder)...

My coworkers would always joke that from behind no one could tell I was pregnant.

Well the seeds took root in my heart and my little bundles of Joy were born! They were so cute I just couldn't resist doing some "cutsie" pictures of them.

Most cameras these days have the option to select a color while the rest goes black and white. Interesting effects can be achieved with this option.

This is Audrey  (above) wearing a baby headband with some flowers hot glue gunned to it.

This is Jamie looking like a plump little pudding pudge.

Time is limited in how long one can wait to get shots like these.  They outgrow those pots so quickly.  I was happy to get this shot.

Here is a picture of the quilts I made them.  Made with leftover stash from the curtains, bumpers and crib skirts.   Simple squares with flannel backing.

Have a great Friday!