many creations

Even though I haven't been posting, I have been creating a lot this summer. Unfortunately, I sometimes don't get photos of my creations but I am trying to get better about that.

First up, some gifts for my new nephew and his big sis. Super easy "quick quilt" from jcaroline, the adorable doggie fabric is from Joann's. I am so excited to have a boy to sew for.

I also made a super simple fat quarter tote for my niece with her initial on it. I made these for my girls too, but forgot to take pics (oops!)

For our trip to the beach (that never happened), I made the girls some simple sundresses using New Look pattern #6195. Again, fabric from Joann's. My original plan was actually to make nightgowns, but Lily wanted a dress she could "wear outside". Couldn't get Chloe to pose for a pic, but Lily is always my little model.

I also created a couple of beach totes (one for me and and identical one for a friend) using the vinyl covered tote tutorial from jcaroline (can you tell I love that site). I had to wait a while for that fabric, but I am in love with it and it was totally worth the wait. The vinyl was much easier to stitch than I thought it would be.

Finally, some gifts for my sister's birthday. She is a hip girl and since retro style aprons are so in, I decided to try one for her. I also whipped up some matching oven mitts from a pattern in Lotta Jansdotter's book, Simple Sewing. Don't you just love the bird fabric?!

I made a few more things, like headbands to match the dresses, a peasant blouse for Chloe, a superhero cape for a friend's birthday and a sunhat for myself, but I don't have pictures of those. Maybe I will get around to it.

I am trying out a few creations to sell at the end of September in a local craft show. I don't know when I will find the time!

Thanks a lot Dolly!

So, we were supposed to go to South Padre Island to hang out on the beach for a week with my in-laws, it has been in the works for about a year, but Hurricane Dolly came along and foiled our plans. It was a real bummer and it took a few days for all of us to accept that we would not be going to the beach this year, but we turned our time off into a "stay-cation" and it was pretty fun. We went to a local lake, the waterpark, the pool. Turns out our good friends who have children the same ages as ours were also having a "stay-cation" so we got together with them quite a bit. We also did a bit of decorating in the kids' rooms, so we spent a day of our time off at Ikea!

Here are some pics from our week, it wasn't the Gulf of Mexico, but we made the best of it:

I don't know how she does it...

My good friend (and future inlaw ;), Christine Asidao, has just started her own photography business and she is fantastic! All this while working full time and raising 2 small children. She has taken many wonderful pics for us, see below for evidence.

Support a local mom and check out her site (note pics of my Chloe in her portfolio).

Broken bones

I know I said I would recap Mexico (for my one reader), but first an update about our trips to the ER.

The Broken Arm that wasn't:

So here is the story on Lily's cast. I was in DC for business and I get a call from my husband that she fell on the playground trying to make a human pyramid with her friends (huh?). Apparently, they have dreams of being cheerleaders some day. Nonetheless, she was in major pain and at about 6 pm Dad decided to take her to the ER. Side note: Dad was on his own for the first time during the week and not coping so well, so taking 2 little ones to the ER on a Thursday night - not exactly a picnic. OK, back to the story, they didn't see a break on the X-ray, but splinted it just in case. Since her bones are still growing they wanted to err on the side of caution. The splint/cast was special and she kind of like showing it off for about a day, then the novelty wore off, and she was done with it. Thankfully, when I took her to the Orthopedist (is that the word?) a few days later, he said it wasn't broken and took off the splint. A summer with a cast was not a prospect I was looking forward to so I was glad. Although, she insists it was actually broken, it just healed quickly.



The Broken Collar Bone that was:

On to my other daughter, Chloe, aged 2.5. Last Sunday, the kids were outside playing, next thing we know, Chloe starts wailing. Lily was swinging very high (like she always does) and Chloe walked right in front of her. Lily tried to stop, but it was impossible, she hit Chloe on her left side. We didn't think a whole lot of it, she wailed pretty hard and then fell asleep, it was naptime. When she woke up, she was really wincing a lot about her right shoulder. Well, I didn't want to go the hospital twice for unbroken bones, so my idea was just to wait it out and see. Dad said, better safe than sorry, let's just take her in. I gave in. Sure enough, her collar bone was fractured, not broken in two, so no surgery (was that an option?!), but a 'green stick' fracture. Think of bending a green stick, it breaks apart at the top while the bottom stays intact. They gave her a figure 8 brace and told us it will heal really well. Yeah, but try living with a toddler in pain!



Finally, I want to give a shout out to St. Joe's pediatric ER. So quick and efficient, we were able to get out of there in time to get the kids to bed at a decent hour.

Back to crafting

After the last post, I think it is time to return to all things crafty. I have been working on lots of things lately and have even finished a couple projects. A purse for Kelley and one for myself using a free pattern from jcaroline

A cast cover, for the broken arm that wasn't.

I also went back to knitting group last week after a looooooong hiatus. I am working on a gift for my soon to be born nephew, so I will wait to post a pic until it is sent to my sis-in-law.

I have also been working on knitting Coppelia for Chloe and I am LOVING the look. I modified the yarns quite a bit because the Berroco Tutu is about $15 a skein and I need 6! I wasn't sure how it would work out, but it is great and I might have enough leftover to make a skirt for my Lily.

So, I decided to make some simple nightgowns for my girls for the summer, but Lily has decided she wants a dress to wear outside, so now I am trying to figure out how to make one with the limited fabric I have. I am probably going to wing something without a pattern similar to this, wish me luck.

In the next post, I will recap our wonderful trip to Mexico. Stay tuned.

Mark

On April 14th, my mom's partner, my (almost) stepdad, and a wonderful grandpa to my kids, suddenly passed away leaving a giant hole in our hearts.

He always had his arms open to hold a child.

He was more than willing to change poopy diapers.

He looked up science experiments on the internet to do with my kids.

He starved so he could take my mom on a date.

He waited up for me and my sisters.

He was teaching Lily how to ride without training wheels.

He was a fantastic writer and I wish I had saved more of his e-mails.

He was a dog walker, dog trainer, and dog groomer.

He loved gardening and was my mom's "lawn boy".

He was always reading and knew facts about any topic.

He was always so grateful and appreciative for what he had.

I will miss him immensely.

Brush with greatness

The Yarn Harlot (aka Stephanie Pearl-McPhee) came to speak in Ann Arbor last night and I convinced a non-knitter friend (Thanks, Megan!) to go with me to hear her speak. We got there an hour early and there was no seating in the main room, in fact some people got there at 11:30am for a 7 o'clock talk! That's dedication. We sat in an overflow room, which also filled up, and got to see her on a big TV.

Her talk was quite interesting, about how knitters are viewed by non-knitters and why knitting is not a "mindless, waste of time activity" (which knitters already know). I waited in line for 1.5 hours to have some of her books signed, which seemed excessive, but I got to meet some great people while waiting. In fact, that may have been the best part about the whole thing, getting to be together with such a large group of knitters and meeting some great people.