Thursday, August 13, 2009

Totally Unrelated Pictures






Okay, so here's a peek into what's going on in my life. First, I'm still working on fall things for my brood, and here's a picture of Little Bit's crocheted purse I made for her a bit back(I made a bigger one for me that consequently matches NOTHING I own...shrug). Naturally, she keeps it stuffed with crayons and tiny stuffed animals and other things that are much too big and heavy and are causing it to pull to much on the strap. Naturally. :)

And then here's a couple pictures of the only thing left growing in my garden, though it's still going strong...so far... If only we could have consistent rain... But anyway, here's my okra, of which I'm quite proud, even if there's not a whole lot of it. Still, it's growing and doing well, and that's something...

And then, finally, a nice picture of yesterday evening's snack...chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. :) Yum! Think they look good? They tasted even better, I promise!!! They're so soft and chewy, and the chocolate stayed all soft and melty. Yum... Why don't I make these more often??? I really don't know. Of course, Jason just complains "I like raisins better...You should have made raisin ones..." Grumble, grumble. Some people just don't know what's good. :)

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Easiest Shirt EVER!


I just finished making this shirt for Little Bit (out of some scraps from one I cut out for myself, no less--so practically a freebie, there), and I LOVE it. It has got to be the easiest shirt ever! Took me (not counting cut out time) maybe thirty minutes to make, and that's counting in the time it took to thread all the elastic through, which everyone knows can be a pain at times. Anyway, I was so happy with this pattern, I just had to share. :) Definately gonna' be more like this sometime soon. I have the perfect crinkly cotton/gauze just waiting for a good pattern, and this is it!

(note...the bottom's not crooked, just the way she's standing and it's flow-y fabric...)

Monday, August 10, 2009

Remembering

Well, Little Bit's birthday is coming up. I can't believe she's actually going to be FIVE!!!! Where did the time go??? Seems like just yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital...I still remember the ride home, and that weird feeling I got when we walked in the door of our tiny little one bedroom apartment, gazing at that tiny little perfect person still sitting, asleep, in her carseat and thinking, "Okay, I'm a mama...Now what do I do?!" LOL And Merlin crept up next to where her carseat sat, so he could smell her. He wasn't very impressed one way or another...though he did later start sleeping under her bassinet like he was guarding her. I remember how even though they told me she couldn't see more than a few inches from her face, she could watch her mobile and move her eyes and head to follow the little animals as they spun around and around. She LOVED it. I remember, too, how I couldn't sleep with her in the same room as I was, because she was such a loud sleeper, and I jumped up like I was shot every sound she made (so much for MY deep sleeping!) I remember a few weeks later, when she slept though the night, one week less than two months old, and I just about had a heart attack, to realize I'd slept that long and she hadn't woken me! I remember how she HATED baby cereal, and I later discovered, pretty much ALL baby food, in general. I remember how she stopped taking her pacie as soon as she realized she couldn't get food out of it. And how she's ALWAYS loved milk, even to this day. In fact, she wouldn't even let you turn it chocolate until just a few months ago. She's a purist, what can I say? LOL I remember rocking her to sleep EVERY night as I sang to her. I remember how after she started talking, every animal, two legged or four, was a dog. And when she started calling them by their real names, Rhino somehow became "Nano." I remember, too, how when she got older, we discovered she LOVED to drink water, and later, still, root beer, still a personal favorite of us both. I remember every little pair of shoes I've bought her, every jacket, every sweater. And I still have them all, packed up in hopes that one day I might get one more sweet baby girl, and eventually make her (or them) a baby quilt out of them. I remember her first word was Mama, and she used to say it over and over and over, and I never got tired of hearing it. I remember how when she started crawling, she could only go in reverse and how cute (and annoying) it was, esp. when she got "stuck" against a wall and would scream, thinking she was stuck there forever. I remember her Peek-a-Blocks and Roll-a-rounds, Bear in the Big Blue House, and Blue's Clues (now the boys' favorite show...). Oh, there are just so many memories. I could go on and on and on forever, I think. But for now, I will stop, and look at the little owl I made her, and smile, happily reminded of so many "happies" she has brought into my life. Who knew a little pile of wool could bring on so many memories?

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Jewelry!



I am very proud of myself...one, for adding to my etsy listings with new bracelets, but also, (and a little embarrassedly...) for learning how to use my camera to take close up shots. :) I'd taken forever to list this jewelry for that very reason...all my pictures were so far away to be in focus that you couldn't even tell any details. So, what was the point in even paying to list it, I figured. But now you can see them! I mean, I'm no photographer, but I think they turned out rather nice, and I'm happy with them, at any rate. :)

Now, my goal for this coming week...clothes. Me and my daughter and the boys. Lots of clothes to sew up and start getting ready for this fall (and birthdays...)

Thursday, August 6, 2009

New Tunic


So, I finished a tunic/shirt I had in mind for this fall. It's officially called a "summer" tunic (from Heather Ross's book, Weekend Sewing), but I'm assuming she didn't have Florida summers in mind. It will be perfect for this fall, however, when the evenings start to get a little chilled. As well as I think it did turn out (and it's super comfortable), I think it would look a little better in a slightly thinner fabric. I'm worried this one was just a hair too stiff to flow just right. I'd been worried about that when I cut it out, but it's very soft, and I got it on sale, so I thought I'd give it a go. You just hate to try a brand new pattern on your expensive stuff FIRST, before you know if you like the way it will turn out, you know? Anyway, it's a pretty simple pattern. Shouldn't have any trouble turning out about two or three more of them. :) I've already got the fabric lined up and waiting, one of which I've had for over a year, staring at me while I wondered what to do with it. It's a thin gauzy-like material, but very Bohemian looking with brown and greens...very pretty. I can't wait to see how it will turn out. I'll let you know... (By the way, let me also apologize for my lack of self-photography skills...or proper lighting...)