We killed the TV.

After much hemming and hawing, we’ve finally managed to kick TV programming to the curb. And here are just a few things we’ve done this week instead:

1. Letters written to great-grandma who was just diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. She has moved now to a safe, loving environment where she will be visited by family often – but sadly, not by us, as she now lives far away in another state. The move was quick and sudden, as was the disease progression. But all is not sad, as she is being well-loved and watched over. So… pictures were drawn. Some tears shed – not so much from sadness as my own awkwardness in trying to explain all this to my son.
2. An extraordinary amount of birdwatching. This is where the kids and I end up immediately after waking – all cuddled up on the couch looking out the window trying to figure out where the quail will lay her eggs this year. Even before coffee. That’s how exciting it is. Well, for me, half the excitement is in watching them – so aware, so in tune with all the noises, movements and colors in the yard. We’ve been using the Burgess Bird Book for Children in our morning read-aloud time this week.
3. And an inordinate amount of sewing. Purse-making for a friend, presents for our brand new little niece (!), pillows for us, various girly dresses (Using Japanese patterns as inspiration for Lauren’s summer wardrobe. Inspiration because the patterns are, indeed, in Japanese, and I can’t quite figure out all the steps without a translator!), and frequent arguments with my sewing machine over tension control for free-motion quiltiing!
4. Increased our Netflix account to 5 instead of 3! The Inquiry is next.

Enter Exhibit A. and B and C and, well… too many. I can’t help myself.

The pattern book, on top of still unfinished quilt top…

For summer. In linen and fabric and jute.

Inside.

For a friend. Still trying to figure out the handles.

More linen.

A dress for the littlest one. From this:

The house isn’t any cleaner just because we canceled TV. But we sure are having fun.

What I love about Easter.

The less obvious list.

• No morning after let-down. Christmas and Independence Day (usually my favorites – I’m so predictable) have a way of souring the next day. Unless you can go sledding (in the first case), or boating (in the latter). Easter just kind of fades into a much-needed weather change here in San Diego. We’ve had 90 degree days this week. And sunburns.
• The decorations. I’m keeping out all my vintage paper eggs for the entire season. Great if you like birds and eggs and bunnies. And who doesn’t. Well, maybe not the bunnies if you’re a guy. Sorry sweetie!
• Egg salad for lunch – easy peasy. Made with my mom, in my own kitchen, for the first time. It’s awesome having my mom around. The Food for Life bread I just found at the store is pretty awesome too. But not as awesome as my mom. Who managed to potty train Lauren with a dolly and get Matt to read aloud all in one day. We’re still working on the potty training, but the train is definitely on the track! And for all those non-moms out there who think I’m crazy to blog about bread… I have no defense. You should have heard my mom and I discussing our three different mayo-replacement choices!
• The Easter Story read by Poppa and the little ones old enough to listen to all 20 minutes of it. It helps when your grandpa is a professional story-teller of sorts, I guess.
• Basketball games. We are on the verge of canceling TV completely… and the boys lucked out last weekend since I’ve been procrastinating. (I’m not so anti-TV as I am anti-advertising. But that’s a whole different post.)
• Cottage cheese pancakes and mangoes for breakfast.
• No Easter baskets. Less running after super-hyper kids and way more relaxing. And bubble blowing. And sewing. Well, honestly, I kind of forgot about the Easter baskets, so it’s not as if I planned the holiday to be this super no-sugar holiday. But it all worked out perfectly. See below…

Flamenco Twirly Skirt, Draft 1:

A spur of the moment combination bubble/twirly skirt with all my favorite springy fabrics. I didn’t use a pattern for this, since I seem to have pattern ADD, and lose interest before I finish reading through the pattern instructions. (That said, I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of these new adorable patterns from Oliver and S.)

The longest tier was more than 18 feet long (likely not a surprise to you veteran sewers out there). Hanging there on the pegs the skirt looks a little funny (apart from the crazy threads), but on Lalu it’s just the sassiest little skirt ever and I love it. The only thing I really want to change is to thicken up the waistband a bit. Oh, and wash out the orange juice stains. And then bribe her to stand still.  For a picture.  Before the grass stains.  And after the threads are snipped.

I hope you had fun last weekend too!

Stacked

My newest obsession :: vintage footstools and scrappy strips. Preferably painted and all lined up. At least the footstools are a practical obsession, right? Am I the only one? The little ones are becoming so independent with the washing hands/brushing teeth/giving teddy a bath thing, as long as I provide them with a perch. So there’s my justification for the first. As for the scrappy strips? Well that’s not really anything new for me, but I just had to make something to match the log cabin pillow present. Because, ya know, I’m a product of the 80’s (esprit collections in yellow and purple squares come to mind), and matching is in my blood. So the pillow needed a complimentary friend.

I couldn’t find a pattern to suit, so I made mine up. The blocks here were just made with a bunch of 2.5 inch strips left over from the log cabin (and various other strippy projects), all laid in lines on top of a square ruler before sewing up to make sure I had enough length to fit inside. Except the middle one, that’s an even 3 inches., because I measured the white wrong. I also learned about halfway through it helps to overlap the edges to compensate for the seam allowance. A real quilter would have thought about it beforehand!

And there are so many inspirational quilts out there right now. Large strippy quilts with cherry blossom applique, little doll quilts look cute and scrappy, rectangle scrappy quilts, freshcut baby strippy quilts, even a fabric scrappy strippy rug! And, ooo, I spotted a really colorful one, here. And the amazing House on Hill Road (of twirly skirt fame) , is working on one, too. And her corners match. I’m jealous.

(Edited to add: Go visit Wee Toes and Noggins to see a properly constructed foundation pieced strippy scrappy quilt – look for the tiny bird!)

Have a fabulous Thursday everyone! Hope it’s as beautiful and blue where you are – we’re headed outside for the rest of the day!

P.S. For those home-school moms out there, I just found a cute new site – the Homeschool Lounge. Like I need another thing to do on the computer… but it seems kind of neat.

Revival

Well, at least the sewing kind.  A little (or rather big) log cabin pillow cover, some lentil-filled beanbags for juggling,  a little zipper pouchy with the lining sewn in by hand (per bend the rules sewing).and a pile of other projects that received a bit of attention as well.

My sweetie cooked every single meal this past weekend.  Now I love to cook, I really really do.  But considering how backed up I was with upcoming presents, parties and birthdays… it was nice to have big chunks of time to work (or play!).  The best Valentine’s ever, I’d say.

There has been alot going on here, but I’ll save that for another day.

For the boy (wip)

for the cars

Originally uploaded by laluandmatt

and the cars, and choo choos, and lego (or playmobile) people, and, well, anything he can imagine. He picked out the blue dot fabric and I picked out the Amy Butler fabrics and we debated over black or brown roads for a good long while… and it’s finally starting to come together.

Of course, this entire project was heavily inspired by Wee Wonderful’s delightful blog and her son’s amazing race car quilt. Which was all abuzz the blogging community oh, let’s see, more than a year ago? I’ve basically spent the last 11 months trying to talk my little guy into something less complicated. He would have none of it, and I’ve actually come to enjoy those curvy seams (without pinning!). There is another way to puzzle these patches together to make a bunch of (very graphic looking) dots, which I love (click on the flickr picture above to see this option).   If you can, I suggest making these on a rainy day.   So enjoyable seeing all these colors come together when the skies are grey outside.

Homeschool milestone

tapestry of grace UNIT 1

Originally uploaded by laluandmatt

We’re almost finished with Tapestry of Grace Unit 1! I really just touched on each subject area briefly with stories and crafts, focusing more on phonics, reading and math to form a foundation for our schedule. But what fun these history projects are! What I realized, though, is how much more my little guy learns when I am sitting right next to him doing the craft with him from start to finish, and not just directing from the laundry room. Which is my excuse for the 4 foot pile of dirty laundry in the hallway.

For our last project we will be trying to construct a replica tabernacle sanctuary. I think I’ll need to recruit my sweetie for that one…

Here is is a tabernacle model made by another homeschool family. It’s huge!

Still quilting. Sort of…

festival quilt II

Originally uploaded by laluandmatt

I really dislike parties (I’m wanting to use the word “hate here, but my mother’s strong aversion to the word, and the principle itself, it beginning to sink in, finally, at age 33.) Really. Can’t. Stand. Parties.

All that socializing with way too many people, some of whom I am never properly introduced to. Yuck. I much prefer to sit down and get to know people one at a time or at least in a small group. Really listen to them and get to know them. Break bread with them and all that. Not exchange niceties in a forced environment. Plus, all that standing around trying to eat and drink without a proper table to do it at is so awkward.

But baby showers, to me, are such a wonderful exception. Maybe it’s because the reason for the celebration is life itself, or the clear expectation and eagerness of the mother to be showered. I’m not really sure what makes it different for me. But I love going to baby showers, and last weekend I went to a party in the mountains, in a vintage Victorian cottage, with lemon chiffon cheesecake and my dear friend expecting a baby. What a treat.

So this busy little quilt was her present from our family, along with all the puffs and puckers that come along with not measuring properly and having my walking foot go kappooot after only 2 passes. In the end I tied the quilt up with embroidery floss. But I think it might work better as a lopsided floor mat than a quilt. So fun to make though, because it was for someone so special to me, even if it didn’t quite turn out as I wanted.

And you know, this new almost-mom received at least 6 handmade gifts that day. Another gorgeous quilt (designed by an architect! Ha! Architects should design all quilts, it was amazing), and a shopping cart cover and a nursing cover designed by another mom who started her own business this year, and a changing pad and knitted (bamboo!) baby mittens and, well, I lost count. A crafty revolution, I tell you.

And lemon chiffon cheesecake is on the menu for tonight. Which is completely ridiculous since I just finished an old 1980’s Buns of Steel workout with TamiLee Web. Cheesecake and buns of steel do not belong in the same paragraph. Does anybody remember her? Legwarmers and all. My little guy was laughing so hard at her, I don’t think he even realized how silly I looked trying to copy her. Thank goodness for that.

Raindrops on Roses: Part 1

Another list. A favorite things list. In two parts because I”m lazy. Of course.

• In case you’re new to my blog, there is nothing, obviously, that can come close to my favorite people, and the things they do are actually my favorite ‘things’ – but this is not going to be a sentimental list of mommy moments. There have been so many of those lately, and if I start to make a list, I’m sure to start weeping uncontrollably out of pure joy. (For those of you wondering, MM has recovered remarkably from his hospital visit!) So this will be a superficial list of ‘things’ you can actually buy (for the most part), if you are so inclined.

• Stuffed little martryoshka dolls here and here. The last batch of cuties sold out almost immediately, but I think Ella is planning on making some more for her etsy store before Christmas. Her scarves are amazing too – I need to stop dropping by unexpectedly at Etsy. Even more dangerous than ebay. Here is Lauren (also below) with her little doll. While I was trying to take the pictures she kept bringing the baby up to the lens to kiss the camera. Ha. Fun stuff. ( I know, I know… a haircut is in order. The hair clippies are sooo cute, but they last all of 5 minutes in her hair. She is my wild child!)

• This apron pattern, and these dress patterns/kits. I’m not sure when the order site will go live, but I’ll be standing in line. After I sell some of my own stuff on ebay, that is.
• And Anthropologie has this duckie mama and babies toy, an adorable set of journals from, who else, Denyse Schmidt (who also has this string quilt for sale at Sundance, which is not at all affordable, but I will drool nonetheless), and this, maybe in the small size for our kitchen. And also this happy colorful beach umbrella, on sale! Who wants to buy a beach umbrella when fall is just beginning? Um, that would be me.
• Many of my favorite things are already in our home. Well loved, and full of memories. This quilt is a recent addition to that pile. A crazy beautiful, frayed and ripped, cheaply thrifted one. I love it already. And so does Lalu. But it’s too heavy for her to drag around… doesn’t stop her trying though. (!)

• MM’s new skateboard is not one of my favorite things. I’m not sure exactly what to think of the developing ‘coolness’ of our not so little boy, actually. Crocs? Black t-shirt? Bumble bee skateboard (no, I didn’t see the bumble bee at first, either)? Someone is influencing my child, and this (below) is not my influence. I am the opposite of cool. I’m sure I’d have him wearing little gnomey covered handmade knickers and knitted (by me) mockneck sweaters (I wish). Guess he wants to be more like his dad. Weird, huh? So much for gender neutral childrearing. Except for the occasional theft of my lip gloss to draw graffiti on our mirrors, and the bumpy ride he gave Lalu’s little doll in her dolly stroller to see how far he could throw the ‘baby’ out of the stroller when he hit a bump, there is absolutely no neutral tendency evident. Should I be worried?
• An adorable ebay dress for 3-5 yr olds here, by Cactus Blossom Designs. Out of Aunt Grace repro fabrics. And a matching hat. Need I say more? Okay, yes, maybe that I can’t possibly buy anything like this on e-bay when I can (theoretically) make it myself. But really I have no idea how to do that “ruching” thing with the gathered top and bottom tier. Very nifty trick, I must say.
• And after a list of rather pointless things (depending on the severity of your fabric and color addition), here is one of my very favorite things in the ‘whole wide world’ (as my little MM says): The ‘look’ my husband gives our children…
• I know I said no sentimental items on the list… I can’t seem to help it! More inconsequential, but lovely items to come in the next post.

Ribbon elastic

Elastic… that looks like ribbon

Originally uploaded by laluandmatt

Why is this crazy woman posting pictures of weird looking ribbon on her blog, you say? Well, it’s not because I don’t have a completed “sewn” project to show you… well, maybe that’s one reason. But really, I just wanted to show you what I found here, on ebay from nzbug, who also happens to be having a fine and dandy little fall fabric sale in her ebay store. It’s lingerie elastic (?) being used in kids clothes in the most creative ways. True, these would be best used in summery dresses and tops… and it’s quickly changing seasons, even in Cali. I’ll find something to do with these soon anyway, I’m sure, besides taking pictures of Lauren running off with them saying, “Agoo, Agoo, Agoo”. I have no idea what that means. Here she is just getting her hands on them!

Mama’s Corner

mommycorner

Originally uploaded by laluandmatt

Ta Da!

We’ve been so busy getting the house ready for school to begin. In my mind, I imagine every mom is doing this: organizing the pantry/fridge for quick and simple meals, stocking up on plastic baggies, crayons, glue sticks and paper, tracking down the extra safety scissors, and the already blogged *schedule planning* that must be done for every family, home schooled or *school* schooled. Probably a ton more planning for those having to schedule drop off and pick up times to coordinate with naps. Ugh. That’s one thing I’m glad to be rid of this year!

So I decided the *other* corner of the homeschooling room needed a serious update. Ikea to the rescue… with a whole bunch of time intensive labor from my sweetie. A little place that’s just for me… and two other adorable little ones when they are not occupied right across the room at their own project table. So far, mama’s table is much more interesting. What 2 year old could resist all those drawers!

I love looking at other people’s crafty spots. One of my favorites is This window spot from Lovely Days - (she had the blue wall color in her *making* room specially made, and it is perfect. Also, she has this amazing little business (especially if you like maps and paper and, well, beautiful things!).  I’m really wanting one of her maple address card *holders* with the special papers.  Completely extravagant.   AND she has the most gorgeous brand new baby. Check out her website here.

And who wouldn’t want to making something here, or here or here or here or here or here? And store everything you make in here?

The Gifted Baby Quilt

festival folded

Originally uploaded by laluandmatt

The long awaited baby quilt is finished and home now with the sweet girl it was intended for. It’s always hard for me to part with a project, I think, because every project entails a learning curve at this stage of my domestic education, and therefore a huge time investment. But today, I felt elation (yes, elation) when I gave it away. She literally grabbed the quilt and pranced around the fancy schmancy hair salon (she’s a stylist) showing off her present. Now, folks, this thing is full of mistakes, quilting (forgot to use the walking foot), sewing, embroidery, sizing, mistakes… all over the place. But she just gushed and gushed. And others did the same, and called me, get this, an *artist.* (I failed to point out that the artist they should thank is a Ms. Amy Butler who designed the fabrics, but, hey, I was on cloud nine and didn’t want to disillusion them).
And I learned (awfully late to be learning this) how important it is to be grateful when someone gives you something they made, and not just purchased. Because I did put a lot of time and thought into this, and I feel like a million bucks right now. My friend recognized the effort that went into it, and made sure I knew how she felt.
I LOVE getting presents. Just love it. Today, though, it was far better to GIVE .

I also named this quilt. I know. Crazy to be naming little baby quilts. But I did anyway… festival. I used some leftover chenille, and scraps from the front to complete the backing. Inspired, as always, by other crafty bloggers, but especially Rosa Palmer and Dogged Knits, both of whom I found on Flickr. In the end I did a tiny wee bit of hand-quilting, just to get a feel for it (that, and I didn’t feel like changing the thread color on my sewing machine at that moment) and I am addicted. I used the fabulous waxed hand quilting thread, which truly makes a difference, and I didn’t use a quilting hoop (or a thimble). This hand-quilting thing is so much easier to control and the results are charmingly off-kilter. Which is why, maybe, I’m in love with these adorable miniature quilts from Turkey Feathers. (While you’re there you may want to take a peek at the *Playhouse Projec* picture gallery on the right side of her blog.  Super cute.)

Now I’m off to finish our homeschool schedule. My sweetie promised to watch the babies while I finished up…told him I need about 8 hours at the library. Hmmm. Hopefully I won’t get distracted.

A little stichin’

dottyembroidery

Originally uploaded by laluandmatt

The baby quilt is still not finished, but finally gave the ever-popular embroidery a go-round last week. I look at it now, and think a 6 year old must have done that. At the time though, I was so pleased to finish it and didn’t see all the flaws so apparent in this photo. Super fun to do, and easy to pick up and put down in between snack runs and filling up the squirt guns.

A Promised Quilt

almost finished.  The pieces are ready to go together, and I’m hoping to finish it up tonight when all the sane ones are sleeping.  This little project has been in the works since January.  The baby girl it is destined for was born in December, so each passing month means I really need to make a bigger quilt to suit the growing baby.  Right?  So this one ended up about crib size.  Just right I think.   Good for dolly picnics when she’s older.

I’m still not sure about the mustard color I inserted at the last minute to spice things up… but with Amy Butler fabric it is hard to mess things up.  I’m trying to resist the urge to make a few more log cabins for the back.  We’ll see!

scrappy log cabin finished

scrappy log cabin finished

Originally uploaded by laluandmatt

Finally. Finished. I had no idea how much time went into making a quilt. Especially if one decides to hand-sew the binding on. Which I only did on one side, the nice looking side. And all the corners. The other 3 sides got the invisible thread treatment so I could get moving on the other 3 quilts I need to finish in the next 7 days!

Golly Gee, it seems like it took forever! Maybe because I was working on 4 quilts at the same time? Or maybe it was because I didn’t know what I was doing at any given stage.

The quilting was a mix of regular ole walking foot quilting and trying my hand at some free motion quilting with a darning foot. I love the free motion stuff… I just can’t seem to get the tension right on the thread.

Here is the back of the quilt, which turned out looking a bit weird. The strips should have been off center a bit, but as it looks rather like a snake up close. I’ll leave out the sashing next time I do a log cabin, but for this one, the little pieces of fabric in between made it just the right size for the bed it’s intended for! More pictures (I’m sure that’s what everyone really wants to see… more pictures of my first quilt. Not.) after I’ve sent it through the washer and dryer.

Scrappy quilts, when done properly, can look really amazing. Case in point: This little log cabin by Melly & Me.
There is even a tutorial and a flickr group just for this purpose. Of course a huge inspiration is Lisa Congdon. She is the goddess of scrappy log cabins. (I am not alone in this belief, apparently), and consequently, she was featured in Adorn magazine for this amazing log cabinish tote. I want.

Now I started this quilt ages ago (Feb., I think?), but I also finished up a twirly skirt for Lauren last night (not what I should be doing when I need to finish 3 other quilts, but I’m telling ya she needed a skirt for vacation!), and it ended up in the same color way somehow.

I promise I have lots of other colors in my fabric stash! How did this happen?

This go ’round with the twirly skirt I took the advice of another  crafty blogger, and gathered up all that fabric into the waistband. I’ve never done this before. I gathered it free hand and pinned away.

Here it is hanging from our chandelier.

What? Doesn’t everyone hang their little girl’s clothes from chandeliers? The thing is, I am so proud of finishing up a project these days, I actually want to hang it from my roof and shout out to every car that passes, “Lookie!, I made this silly confectionary skirt all by myself!. Aren’t you impressed?”

But instead I hang it from my light fixture and blog about it.

Twirly skirts, and other happenings

sisterskirts

Originally uploaded by laluandmatt

Just finished these little outfits for Matt’s cousins (One of which has a June birthday… will I get it in the mail on time, is the question).

Pink was requested, and the twirly skirt tutorial at the *House on Hill Road* blog provided the perfect pattern for the larger skirt. Quite easy, but it seemed like the seams and hems took forever just because there was so much fabric involved. Which is why, I guess, it is a *twirly*skirt.

The effect is so different depending on the fabrics used… such a versatile pattern. I will definitely be making Lauren one or two of these for the summer. There is even a twirly skirt group on flickr… lots of cute ideas. I will direct you there for a better look at the finished product, and especially to this one.

For the smaller skirt, I modified the pattern, alot. I used 1/2 the fabric and added a wider elastic waist with no tie. The simpler skirt style works nicely for a baby (less fabric to get caught up when climbing stairs, etc.), especially when your short on fabric!

The little birds are chasing after lopsided hearts.

This was satisfying. A little more so than the quilts that are taking me forever to finish. It seems every time I start a quilt I see something like this from A Stitch in Dye, and I want to start all over with new shapes and new colors. Fickle woman.

I guess the *other happenings* will have to wait until another time.  My kids are outside frolicking and I wish to join them.  Have a great Monday!

Happy Feet

Who doesn’t like grandma’s garden? If only I had some paper piecing talent to match my affection for these hexagonal shapes. These are seriously vintage (ebay), but beautifully pieced, and I would hate to match that craftsmanship with my amateurish attempts to finish it as a quilt. So… over at turkey feathers I spotted the perfect solution. (You’ll have to scroll down a wee bit to the bottom of the post).

Patchwork bunting flags! How fun.

I also spotted this etsy treasure of a quilt.

Summer Dress… um, tunic

I should use patterns, I really should.  I had all these grand ideas for this dress turned tunic.  Measured and fiddled.   And still it didn’t turn out how I imagined, apart from being way too short.  But it is a cute little top, if only because it’s made from some amazing Tracy Porter fabric (Joanns sale section@ 2.99 yard!).

Busy bees live here…

and so do I. Lots of projects to check off the list. But more of the *lets learn about ancient egypt* kind of projects, and the *knights and their code of chivalry* kind of projects. Not so much of the quilting, bag making, headband preparing, skirt designing variety.

Good reasons for this:

Toddler bed painted

Me, on the job as sunscreen dictator:

4th birthday celebrated with the much loved Auntie Jen (below) doing the entire party prep (Yes, I have the most awesome family):

Still had time to finish the little sewing project started a few weeks ago…

Way too many pictures of the clown pants, I admit. Just can’t seem to help myself these days.

See and Sew for grown-ups

Almost instant gratification

I showed these pants to my Wisconsin bred husband and he had to stifle a laugh (but I saw it!). There is definitely some clown influence going on with the red polka dots, and the pocket needs to be attached, But I love it anyway. The pattern I used only calls for 1 pattern piece, used twice, so this went together pretty quickly. The pocket piece I pulled from a vintage child’s apron pattern. But the most exciting part of this project was the hem: I finally figured out how to use the rolled hemmer foot on my new machine. You get this perfectly tiny little hem with hardly any work at all. All I did was snip the start of the seam at an angle, iron the first 2 inches for a small hem to get it started and the machine pretty much did the rest. Voila… floaty little ruffle hems. I’ve always doubled up my ruffles to avoid the funny hem line – usually this resulted in stiff, formal looking ruffles. A rolled hem is much better for a casual look. Plus it uses 1/2 the fabric! What a nifty little tool.

I think there is a little girl I know with a June birthday and a Bitty Baby who might need some matching pants like this. Sans the red polka dot ruffles, of course!

I stumbled upon this book at Joanns the other day:

Adorable for children, but just as fun for me (at 32)! The authors included a lot of hand sewing techniques (must practice), embroidery stitches (so someday I can make something like this), basic thread and fabric information, and a bunch of cute projects. Even an *egg cozy*!

Little Lauren is home all alone with me this morning, while Matt is in preschool. (We both secretly miss him).

For my next project: I ran across this cute doll dress on Etsy (for Blythe dolls). I’d like to try to make a larger version but I’m stumped on where to get that *cute as can be* owl fabric.

Janome love: Let me count the ways

When I first started sewing (oh so very long ago!), I truly thought all those talented bloggers with their machine “pride” (Bernina this and Janome that and oooo look at my Viking) was just plain silly. How much difference could there be?

Oh how I was wrong. After trying unsuccessfully for three evenings to hem some jeans & piece some triangles (for this cute little April Cornell/Moda tin quilt) I wanted to throw my machine out the window. Up to this point my little machine worked fine – as long as I didn’t have any bulky layers or (heaven forbid) Y seams. Apparently hemming jeans is not an easy thing to do on most machines anyway, because of the dense fabric and welts. I finally resorted to hand stitching these. Little nests of thread were popping up all over all of my projects… and I think now I know why I was having so much trouble with the timtex interfacing on the Madison bag a few weeks ago. My basic Singer just wasn’t up to it: I could thread the needle with ease and pick from 80 different stitches, but I couldn’t sew across multiple layers.

I know the famous Martha is now endorsing the Singer (SVP) machines – but I cannot tell you enough how much I love my new Janome! A friend in my mom’s group at church recommended the brand, and I am so pleased. It is incredibly quiet (so as not to wake the babes during my late night sewing) and it sews these beautifully straight stitches! I can fill a bobbin while I’m sewing – a function I could not appreciate until I actually used it.

Plus… it came with a *quilt kit* (walking foot, 1/4 inch foot, and some other fancy stuff) AND

this adorable, and functional, Hello Kitty mini Janome… for free. Yes. Never mind that it will be perfect for my little redhead to learn on when she is a bit more grown… I want to set it up in the *sewing room* and use it… thread it up with red and use it for some pretty little accents on everything. I’m crazy for aqua and red right now… and digressing.
Before these lovely machines (Big mama janome and bitty baby janome), I physically wrestled the fabric in place to keep the seams straight & measured… I just thought all machines worked that way. (I’ve heard really old Singers work beautifully…it’s just the modern ones that tend to poop out on the multiple layers. Or maybe it’s just mine.)

And then: I walked into a cute little store that had both Berninas and Janomes available to “test drive.” Ahhhh… much better. (Me: I’ll take the Bernina with the BSR please. Nice store owner: ooo it’s only $3500 and everyone is getting one! Me: Maybe I need to win the lottery first.) No wonder the crafty bloggers out there are so proud of their machines. They do sew like a dream. But you almost need a mortgage for some of these babies. So…no Bernina for me – but the Janome memory craft… that was doable thanks to my sweetie who heard me grunting and growling at my Singer three nights in a row. I think it’s the nicest, most wonderful tangible present I’ve ever had. Next to this. Which was wonderful because of what it represented.

I simply can’t stop sewing with it! I have more than 6 projects started (4 quilts… but I haven’t actually *quilted* one yet – wish me luck. I’m taking supplemental lessons from the Purl Bee on machine quilting and hand quilting. Not sure which way I’ll go yet. But thanks to my new Janome walking foot… I can go either way!). The first up is Lalu’s log cabin quilt… ready to be taped to the floor and basted together once I can locate the very essential batting (which mysteriously disappeared while everyone was sick last week).

I love all the happy colors in this, my very first, quilt. But there are some things I would change. The most important one is the obvious little pattern repeat on the right side. I’m considering ripping it out & piecing it together in a more *harmonious* way (ha! not sure that’s possible with so many colors) – but truly, I’m tired of seam ripping and just want to get it finished so we can make forts and have tea parties. It’s so wrinkly because Lalu likes to dance (!) on it!

The first night with my Janome, I made the fancy diamonds. They were a breeze to piece together -with these pretty Folklorique fabrics (from Fig Tree Quilts). I love just about anything from Fig Tree Quilts. They have amazing complicated patterns and some very straightforward patterns as well, and their fabrics look like they’d fit right in on a Wisconsin farm (still our dream) or a French country inn.

I’ve never sewn anything remotely diamond shaped before. Squares and rectangles were it for me. I nearly jumped up and down from the excitement of it all. At 2 in the morning.

And I’m a little embarrassed to have written an entire (long) post about a sewing machine. Can I get any nerdier? I smile every time I walk past it. Rest assured my life does not revolve around my sewing machine… during the day there are too many exciting things to do and plan for. Top priority for this weeks evening hours: Browse Vision Forum for some great *boyish* activities, crafts and books. I’ve been drooling over their products for years, and now I have an excuse to actually buy something: Looks like I will be homeschooling for a few years!

The family is recovering nicely from our bout with the flu and tomorrow we shall venture out to Henry’s Farmers Market for some fresh food. Hopefully we won’t run into any hail (!). Weird weather we are having here in California.

P.S. If you’re looking for a very sweet, and simple pattern for a little girl pinafore, SewMamaSew has a post/tutorial with the perfect solution. Even I could do that and, hopefully, will (minus the gorgeous embroidery).

P.S.S. I just can’t stop blogging tonight. I have to show you the beginning of our Hardy Boys Collection. Behold: Blue Boy Happiness at 40% off in the local antique mall!

And… two nifty little art installations ala Matt:

Inspiration via the amazing little birds blog – Matt wanted his painted. With his name, of course. God is good.

Doll quilts and racecar dreams

The mighty stomach flu has grabbed hold of our little household this week, and my two wee ones have needed oodles of love and attention and the occasional sip of grape pedialyte. In this house, a *needed* mommy is a *happy* mommy – so this isn’t all bad. However, add a huge pile of laundry and you have one mommy without much time to blog. So, in place of adorable photos of my babes, I offer up my sad attempts at quilting from last week:

The first is a cute little baby quilt. This project was quick and to the point and I still love these Heather Bailey fabrics. Just one problem: it was supposed to be a baby quilt gift and not the super tiny quilt it turned out to be. The measurements were a little off in my planning, I think. However, it might be useful as a doll quilt – like this one on the ever adorable *angry chicken* blog … we’ll see. And for all the *American Girl* doll fans out there, this site has a vintage inspired doll quilt pattern for each time period!

To show scale

And here below, is my first attempt at Matt’s racecar quilt blocks. (I tried, I really did, to convince him that the much more simple *broken star* quilt pattern would be more fun – he would have none of it. It’s race car quilt or nothing.) Curved seams are just a bit trickier than I thought. I’ll spare you the close-up. But with a little practice, I think it’ll turn out just right.

Antique knitting kit

While searching for a good deal on a *new* needle set, I happened upon this adorable set from the fifties (ebay, of course). The fabric is this wonderful sparkly tweedy aqua… so many pieces and I’m not even sure what they all do! All for about the price of 6 new needles.

The ebay seller sent me this cute little wooden needle case as a bonus.

Yes, I need a manicure.

Note the crochet hooks on the left. Hmmm.

Monday will be library day, and crochet books are on my list. (To be transported every so stylishly in my favorite new tote bag from superbuzzy) Also anything related to sharks. My 3 (almost 4!) year old’s current favorite thing. I’m drawing a blank on birthday party ideas right now, but one thing is certain: I’m making this fudgy souffle cake. Yum me. On second thought, maybe I’ll just make it tonight. Happy Easter everyone!

crafty mama… attempt #3 and pictures

front

back

lopsided fabric flower

inside: wobbly topstiching ( of course the recipient was graciously blind to these flaws)

pattern pieces cut & interfacing attached. A very sturdy bag indeed. Next time I’ll go with a much thinner interfacing – timtex was no fun to work with.

pattern used for matching (I know, I know… how cheesy is that. The matchy thing, not the headband, of course.) headband.

Fantastically short list of recent domestic activity

First purse completed and delivered (Amy Butler’s madison pattern in the Freshcut fabrics), check.

Headband (from a Heather Bailey (free!) pattern , check

Bean & Pasta Soup (with cilantro, of course), check

Curtains for the family room (at least the fabric is picked out).

L.P.s quilt top all put together nicely, check (used my seam ripper extensively here)

Strawberries & basil planted with love & watered (enthusiastically) by a 3 year old.  Check check.

Pictures to follow.  I just love lists.  They make me feel like I’ve actually accomplished something when all we really did today is go on a preschool playdate and order pizza for dinner.  A very satisfying day.

Knitting for the first time…books, yarn and other diversions

Okay. So I finally taught myself how to knit. With a book. Or, rather, a few books. At midnight. When I imagine every mother of young children must learn new skills. And I am absolutely thrilled. Feel a bit of gray creeping up on me as I write that I am *thrilled* about learning to knit. But it’s true.

I will not be sharing the full title of my favorite book because of it’s, um… unladylike verbage ( familiar to me in my younger, wilder years, I’m afraid – but I do not wish to offend the *tender* reader here). I’m not sure why I’m being such a prude about it – I obviously didn’t have a problem actually buying the book. Go figure.

The *how to* section of aforementioned book was so helpful for an extreme domestic novice such as myself (as in I bought 4 books and this was the only one that put stitches on my needles, helpful), I wanted to at least post a picture to steer you in the right direction. The Simple Knits with a Twist book is beautiful, and quite modern. But it seems advanced (to me anyway), so I’ve been flipping through the pictures for motivation.

Here you go:

And a picture of my progress (don’t laugh). Truly it took me nearly 4 hours of trying to get 3 rows of stiches on!

Highly recommend nice yarn if you can fit it in your budget. I had some craft store purchased sale yarn to *practice* with. Had no luck whatsoever with said craft store yarn, and quickly switched to the *saved for a special occasion* debbie bliss cashmerino yarn. Heaven. Well not quite, but close.

Speaking of heaven. The sweet children and I spent the best part of the day outside. A little chilly still, but we had one daffodil and a host of wildflowers to keep us company. And I just ignored the phone for most of the day. I’m a hermit, I tell you.

See wildflowers in hair below: at Matt’s direction. Love that.

I heart quilt class

This week has been a bit of a trial. A Jonah week. I think God is trying to teach me patience and contentment in all circumstances. I am a very slow learner.

However, my quilting class has been such a great distraction:

California simply doesn’t have a nicer group of girls. Every time I go I see amazing handiwork, usually eat something super yummy from Wisconsin like cheese or chocolate (thanks to Mary, a stranded Badger herself – GO BADGERS!!!), and it seems that everyone is truly happy to see each other, share stories and offer up opinions (on everything except selling a home, thank goodness). Yeah for Quilt in a Day! (except there is no way I’m finishing my quilt in a day… I didn’t follow directions and I’m just now getting the top pieced together). I should note here that my sweet husband has been incredibly sweet coming home early from work every Thursday to send me off to party at the quilt shop… and then (even worse for a guy I’m sure) listen to me go on and on about all the ladies quilts and fabrics and stories when I return at 10 pm. He is such a trooper. I heart my husband a lot more than quilt class, but I don’t think he wants me posting pictures of his new hot faux-hauk (just like Matt’s) haircut on this blog, so this is all I get to show ya’ll… Tada…

let’s see… can I make this any more colorful? Um, yes.

I think this will be going on Lauren’s newly painted toddler bed (robin’s egg blue, of course) which will be used as a lounging bed for the princess & her brother during story time. I hope Matt won’t mind all the girly – ness of this quilt. He will have his own quilt soon enough hopefully. We picked out some of the fabrics this week. The only thing I haven’t found is some good black cotton to use for the asphalt roads.

The present for sweet Julie is coming along… but I cannot post any pictures of it until I send it off to her, as it seems she has recovered her web connection and has found this blog. But I am so glad she is here!!!

Oh… and I finally took some pictures of Lauren in her first “mommy made” outfit. Here, and here , and here, and even a picture of the back, here. Yup, I’m pretty proud of myself. And here is another cute picture of Lauren just because.

Matthew has been growing so fast I can hardly keep up with pictures. Today the two boys did a little pee wee sports practice in the backyard and, surprise! It turns out Matt has quite an affinity for baseball, even with his glasses! We are very proud, and so, as you can see from the pictures, is he.

Quilting class, first block, and the interfacing disaster

This color combination is not for everyone, I know. The greens and teals and reds and pinks: I love the way they play off of each other and make for a happy fun pattern. I might have to work on the execution a bit… so please excuse the stray threads and bumpy seams.

I can’t wait to write more about the class. However, today we will be looking at houses… since we are finally in escrow. Looking at houses is almost as fun as quilting. Here are some pictures of the first block until I get around to posting again (and a few little projects for Matt we’ve worked on over the past few weeks… he picked out the fabric):

The class book…you’re supposed to use darks and lights on opposite sides of the block so the patterns line up nicely. hmm. Clearly I’m not following directions!

a very good reason to use interfacing. Wonky crayon case for Matt.

New tags… and my favorite green fabric.

All the centers

Matt’s muscle car t shirt. He wants more cars, he says. This was easy peezy – looks a little bit rough and the stitches are kind of all over the place. But I like it that way.

Now we’re off to find a new home!

Spring fling in our backyard…

Not really yet… but soon. I can smell it. Oh, maybe that’s just the rain. We were so excited to see these bulbs flower in our backyard this week. Both the kids are itching to get outside for more than 5 minutes at a time. Matt does pretty good with his muddy muck boots… but Lauren just isn’t allowed to roll in the mud quite yet. I love these reddish wilty flowers – nope, don’t know the name. Just luv em. And these wildflowers are so happy & just outside our window… grown from seed by Mattie himself.

We are all about flowers this week: Made a lil summeryish halter top and am starting on a new project with these springy fabrics (Amy Butler and Tracy Porter and various dots) and I’m halfway done with this apron / smock thingy … just can’t decide on the pocket fabric. Hot pink or dots? Ugg. I always do that. I’m such a hard crafty worker until the next decision needs to be made… then I need to mull it over for a day or a night or a couple of days and nights! But this is alot of bias trim to sew on. So… I’m getting my own little clover bias tape maker for my next project (suggested by wee wonderfuls … check out the amazing racetrack quilt here).

Cute things in the mail… from Etsy crafters

Etsy is my latest midnight obsession. Everything there is handmade, and alot of the stuff is made by stay at home mommies, and the prices are great. Some really talented artists too. I’ve ordered 2 things lately from Etsy: A little hedgehog felt pincushion & pinbook Matt helped me pick out (click here to go to the crafty girls’ etsy store). Thank you Jenn, we love it!

And… we also opened a package from the Speckled Hen. I’ve taken pictures of the packaging because for the price we paid for these little felt hair clips ($5 for each card of clippies), I am so impressed with the time spent packaging these little treasures. So go check out Lauren’s stuff at speckledhen.etsy.com So so cute. Dan likes these alot better than the huge bow bands I found for Lalu last year. He won’t let me put them on her anymore at all, but I had to have something cute to hold her hair back, so, voila… pear & fruit felt hair clippes!

But the best package of all today was from my sweet sister-in-law from Wisconsin! Yipee! She sent the sweetest stuff, but I’ll have to post pictures tom., since it came later & I didn’t get pictures yet.

Okay Julie!!!… here are the pictures of Lauren in the little pinafore you sent her! Click here, and here.