Stuff...

So, here it is January 18, and I am writing my first post of the year. I could use the excuse that I am busy and stressed... but since my last post was in November, I am right on target for my blogging style...nonexistent.

What can I say though... it is 18 days into the new year and 2010 kind of sucks so far. Two major medical issues have happened with extended family members. I'll just do a rundown to catch up.

On Dec. 30, my father in law suffered a fall at work and now has what is termed a TBI (traumatic brain injury). He has lost most of his memory for people, places and things. He is home and able to do things like dress and feed himself. He can read and is accepting of what he is told for the most part, and little memories have come back. It is sad to see and have conversations with him sometimes... I just can't imagine the heartbreak that my mother in law felt when she walked into the ER and they had to tell him that she was his wife. He is in rehab though, and prognosis is good...and each day that passes brings more hope.

And 5 days ago, my 39 year old sister was diagnosed with breast cancer. Not many details are known yet, she is undergoing testing to find out exactly what type, stage and everything else that they need to know to begin treating it. It is aggressive and she has an 8 mm lump in her right breast. After the initial shock has worn off.. she has a great attitude about it.. no matter what has to happen in terms of treatment, "death is not an option". So they are finding out whatever they can that can be done, and putting everything in God's hands, as it should be.

So, prayers for my family and Jim's... it has left us all emotionally drained.

And, the normal stresses at work and all.... but that is nothing new.

On a positive note, I bought some material to make myself something... I will post about the details later.

I am going to make Jim a gift for his birthday... he has been complaining that I have not made him anything.

T got all her spelling words right last week. Yay!

J has been doing well sleeping in his bed all night..(hope I didn't just jinx it....)

And, I actually participated in one of the Smartypants Quizzes on The Pioneer Woman and am hoping that I am eligible to win one of the Amazon giftcards ... there are a ton of books that I want. I have been following her blog for a while and decided to try a quiz. I hope I got the answers right.. there were quite a few that I actually knew.

It's back to work tomorrow for me... my vacation in February can't come quick enough.

My Sewing Area

Thought I would finally share pics of my sewing area since it is clean.. :) I wish that I had a space I could customize to what I want...but our upstairs is also our spare bedroom and computer room.

This is standing by Jim's desk looking at my machine. I use the futon we have up there as a place to lay projects out on. The dresser has various notions in it and other supplies.


Standing by my sewing table. Along the wall is my fabric stash... I need another tote, though I would love to have some type of bookshelf to be able to see all that I have.


What I did with my ribbon supply..


My fabric stash...I also have a storage cube (like a trunk) full of scraps.


And, that is pretty much it. I cut material on the dining room table, though I will use the ironing board for cutting out small things so I don't have to run up and down the stairs.

Not really to fancy... but it works for me.

Sunday Stash

This is some material my mom pulled out of her stash to give to me at my last visit up north.


There is a bunch of various cuts and types of material, from flannel to terry cloth and from up to a few yards in a cut to some fat quarter size scraps. I am excited to get my hands into it and make some things. Up on the list is some hand towels/oven mitt combo for the kitchen. I also want to make Jay some black corduroy pants.

I also have some WIP I need to finish, some swap material I need to figure out what to make (though I have a couple ideas) and I need to finish buying material and get started on Halloween Costumes and Trick or Treat bags.

Guess I better get busy.

Work in Progress....

Got lots of things on my plate right now... but it is mainly work that is increasingly stressful. This is T's last week of school... I can't believe her Kindergarten year is almost over. I am working on a couple of tote bags for her teacher and her SLP... I have them cut (well...almost, I need to cut the straps tonight). and I will start sewing them tonight. They shouldn't take long.

I have some UFO's that I need to work on over the course of this week and a baby gift I need to cut out and start. I also have a post I am working on about my sewing machine... I just need to get a pic of my machine for it.

Tomorrow is Jay's 3rd birthday and I want to set up a post for that... including a pic of the shirt and cake I made him for his party.

Busy, busy, busy...that is me these days...

My Machine

It's Sewing Machine Month over at Sew Mama Sew! So, in honor of this month... I am participated in the Sewing Machine Meme. So, relax and I would like to introduce you to my machine. :)

What brand and model do you have? A Kenmore...doesn't seem to really be any specific model... except for the long model number on the back/manual:

How long have you had it? I got it Christmas 2001. It was the first Christmas after my husband and I got married. He got a digital camera and I got my machine. It was a good Christmas.

How much does that machine cost (approximately)? I believe it was right around the $200 mark at the time.

What types of things do you sew (i.e. quilting, clothing, handbags, home dec projects, etc.)? I started out basically with just apparel (that's what my mom mostly sews) and some mending of various things. Since I got more involved with some sewing mamas over on Mommy's Online I have branched out to bags, purses, home projects, and basically anything that I can find a great tute online for. I would love to learn to quilt.

How much do you sew? I have been sewing a few hours a day most days lately. How much wear and tear does the machine get? Daily use, pretty much.

Do you like/love/hate your machine? I have always liked her. Are you ambivalent? Nope. Passionate? Getting more passionate about her as I sew more and more and discover more things she does. Does she have a name? Nope, but I am starting to think that she needs one. Anyone have any ideas?

What features does your machine have that work well for you? Everything works pretty well. I don't do too many fancy things.

Is there anything that drives you nuts about your machine? My long arm, free arm...whatever you call the part that you hem sleeves and such on. I wish it was a little thinner so I could get the sleeves of baby clothes over it.

Do you have a great story to share about your machine (i.e., Found it under the Christmas tree? Dropped it on the kitchen floor? Sewed your fingernail to your zipper?, Got it from your Great Grandma?, etc.!)? We want to hear it! No awesome story unfortunately.

Would you recommend the machine to others? Sure. Why? For basic sewing I think that it is a great starter.

What factors do you think are important to consider when looking for a new machine? Depends on what you want it to do. In many ways I am still a beginner... so I am not a good one to ask.

Do you have a dream machine? No specific brand or model.. but I want something that can quilt and embroider. I would also love a serger.

Befores and Afters

So I stumbled across this great tutorial and decided that I needed to recover my ironing board. And luckily enough I had some great material in my fabric stash so it didn't cost a thing! Can't beat that when $ is tight...that is for sure.

Check out the pics... my ironing board was looking pretty shabby:


Yes, those spots of white are fusible interfacing.... I had accidentally cut into the cover during a sewing project (note to self... do not use ironing board as a cutting table) and I needed something to patch it with.

Hey- stop laughing...it's called using your available resources.


And without further ado... though I do need to apologize for the bad pics...none of them turned out fabulous even though I tried taking them during the day as well...

Here is my new ironing board cover...and I am very happy with the way that it turned out.

Close up of material...it is black and white on the red background (again...sorry for the crappy pic)


It only took me a couple hours total including cutting... though you can't quote me on the time cause I am notorious for cutting things out and then setting them aside for days and sometimes weeks... but it was really easy to do... and I will never buy a cover again.

The skirts are finished finally....

I made the skirts for T and two of my niece's using the tutorial here at Grand Revival Designs... sew easy to make. I enlarged the numbers a bit... about an inch for length and width to fit my daughter and her cousin that is the same age. I made it a bit smaller for my other niece. They fit great. I have a pic of T wearing hers (she is the best model anyone could have)... they all wore them yesterday and the two older girls got lots of comments at school.

Here is a pic close up of the material. I love the pink with the green dots... I just love dots.


Now on to a new project.... working on an ironing board cover using this tutorial.