New Fun

6 1/2  yards for $11.

I'm ready for some fun!!!

I have sooo many ideas!!! Now just to find the time :o)

Back From The Beach And Here I Go

We are just settling in from a wonderful vacation at Edisto Beach! My whole family gets a house together every year for a whole WEEK! This year we had 18 people! It's always a crowd anytime my family does anything, but that's the fun of it (most of the time) :o) 

This was Josiah's permanent look the whole week. He wasn't a big fan of the wind :o)
He was a really good sport though, and did start having (more) fun the last day or so.

I love how Samuel does his best to get into every picture possible.

This was about the fourth day and Josiah would play just as far as he could reach :o)

This is a very typical first-thing-in-the-morning picture of Caleb going potty :o)

Dad and Pasha working on one of the puzzles that were completed that week.

and Samuel having some iPhone time.

The only sewing project I made any progress on was reading half of The Idiot's Guide To Sewing. I've had it for about a year but never really spent much time going through the whole thing. It is a very informative book, and I would say it's definitely worth the time it takes reading it!
Everyone had a great time relaxing and just being together without having anything to do but just that.

So now vacation is over and I know I HAVE to start seriously working on the boys' quilts or they will never be ready in time. I tried a few different ways to applique the pieces on, but settled for a machine zig-zag stitch to get the job done in the shortest amount of time. I really like the look of hand-stitching the pieces in place, but after 5 pieces and about 2 hours I decided to try another way. I still like the look of doing it by hand better, but I'm happy with the zig-zag (and it will save me so much time!) So far I have 3 tractors

 and 3 taxi's finished,

 and it took me 3 days, so I'm feeling better about my time. And I have some ideas for everyone else's Christmas presents that are fun but should be pretty quick projects. So 3 1/2 months and counting... that's just CRAZY!!!!  Its going to come sooo fast and right after Christmas Caleb turns 1. I was just telling a friend that I'm going to go ahead and start crying about that now because it's going by way too fast!!!  I love seeing my boys grow and do new things, but I wish they would stay little just a little bit longer :o(

P.S. Caleb said momma this week :o) Some things about them getting bigger are good!

Maybe?

If I start now and don't stop for even a minute until Christmas maybe I'll finish 3 of these in time :o)

Think I can do it??? I'm sure gonna try!

This was a pattern that my mom got sometime in the 80's, but she was busy homeschooling and never got around to making this for my brothers, so she gave it to me a while back when she was cleaning out some stuff and I stuck it back for sometime later. I have thought about it from time to time, but it was never in front of me, so it was always just a thought until I did my organizing last week and decided now is the time if I ever want to get it done. I also thought that I'd better do it now before we have another boy and then I'll have to make 4 :o)

I'm not pregnant by the way, but I guess I just assume that we'll have boys for a while. I could be wrong and I already told Tim that the day we have a girl I need more money and a sewing room because I plan on sewing all day from that point on!!!! Sewing boy stuff is fun, but I'm sure it will be nothing compared to all the lace and frills that I have waiting on me!

Anyway, I just figure we'll never have less than the 3 boys we have now, so I should hurry up and do this before I have less time.

I need 60 12x13 inch squares of muslin for all 3 quilts (20 per quilt), and after Tim helped me with my math we came up with 7 yards at 45 inches wide. That gave a little room for it to shrink in the wash before cutting and it was perfect! Good thing I was very careful cutting, because there was no extra.

I had seen the muslin for $1.99 a yard, so I was planning on $15. But it was on sale so it was about $9 :o)

I can't wait to get started on these!

I love  the tractor and think all the hand quilting will give such a nice touch!

Because I had already planned on $15 I thought it was only right for me to have a quick look around ( because Tim was with the boys waiting on me in the car) and I saw a .50 cents a yard table with this pretty yellow flower gauze. So I couldn't help but get 6 yards when it only cost $3 right? I'm thinking summer jammies shorts shirt robe maybe pants too or use whatever's left and make my own piping for pillows in my room :o)

I can't remember the last time (if ever) that I got 6 yards of something. It's usually just a yard here and there and I put stuff together at some point, so this is quite the occasion! And I got some interfacing, and my total was still only $14!

This Makes Me Sooo Happy

I spent a whole day last week organizing ALL my fabric and sewing supplies. It took a very long time, but it is well worth it to be able to see and get to what I need while sewing! 

This little cabinet has all my bigger pieces - most being 1/2-2 or maybe 3 yards. I also have a HUGE dresser that has more scrap pieces and clothes that need mending or are waiting to be turned into something new.

And also a basket that is under my sewing machine that has things that I'm suppose to be working on next, but I usually end up finding something new and more exciting that gets my attention instead :o)

I'm very proud of my laundered, mostly ironed, and neatly folded stacks of endless sewing!

I Love New Clothes!

So, I said that I was already planning my second dress from the pattern I used for my navy blue dress, but before I could find all the right pieces of the pattern that would be needed (because I never just set stuff wherever and think I'll be able to find it again later) I came across this shirt that has been waiting for a new button for about 2 years now
See the missing button right in the middle?

And I thought instead of a new button I could attach a skirt and have a new dress!
 I used the skirt part of the same pattern but left out the pockets, because I only had about a 1/2 yard to work with and it was just enough.
It was a fast project, and because I already have a slip from my navy dress there was no lining needed. One afternoon sewing and I have a new dress to wear. I only wish I would have made it at the beginning of the summer so I'd have more chances to wear it before fall gets here.
I found this bit of fabric on a remnant table for $1.50, and the zipper was ripped out of a skirt that was headed to goodwill so this was basically FREE!!! I LOVE that :o)
I tried to tell Tim (again) that I needed new shoes, but it didn't work this time :o(
It was worth a try anyway.
If you look real close you can see that the little beads are roses. They were my Grandma's. I always loved playing with them when I was a little girl. They're kind of funny little beads but very special to me! I'm so glad I have some of her things to remember her by, and things that maybe one day my little girl can play with too.

A dress is sooo much better than just a shirt!
I think I need more!
Maybe the shoe thing will work next time :o)

Reupholstering Help

 I've been thinking about recovering a chair of mind for the last 10 years now. WOW, I'm not even old enough to be talking about something from 10 years ago! Anyway, I guess I am and THIS is so helpful for those of us who don't have any clue what we're really doing :o) Check it out if you're unsure how many yards of fabric you'll need for different pieces of furniture.

My New Friend

As you saw in the last post, I did get around to making a dress form a few weekends ago. It was so nice to have while working on my dress! 

I told Tim that I should name her, but he thought that was weird. I still think she needs a name though. So does anyone have ideas? Maybe Molly the Mannequin.

I looked at a lot of tutorials and videos on youtube to see how to make one and  THIS and THIS were very helpful! It was a humorous process, but the end result gave me something very useful!
I did NOT take pictures of myself being wrapped up in duct tape. Sorry.
 Most tutorials I saw said to do 3 layers of duct tape. We only did 2, but I had some kind of extra heavy duty tape, so it worked well. Then I got some much thinner, regular duct tape, and added after it was on the stand to smooth out the look a little more.
You can see how thick and stiff the first kind was here.

Here I used long strips from top to bottom and just made a little snip wherever needed to go around curves. it  gave a much nicer look! As nice as you can get duct tape to look anyway :0)

This is what my sewing corner usually looks like. Mess all around, Caleb's blanket and toys on the floor right beside me, and me usually looking out the window watching Samuel and Josiah digging in their new sand box.

One day I'll have a room all to myself, full of fabric and endless things to work on. But for now this is what I've got, and it works just fine. Funny how any other mess around the house drives me completely crazy!!! But my mess...not so much :o)

P.S. Thanks mom for the lamp stand!!!