More October Sewing - I think I'm nesting!

For the first time in a loooong time I feel pretty productive in the sewing department. Here's what's been sewn up and moved out of the sewing room this month:

• baby diapers for upcoming baby - 10 of them already - size newborn from super soft stretch terry (pattern from www.chloetoesboutique.com). Now that I've gotten all this done I need to at least cut out a few more. They really are fast - I know once they are all cut out I can sew up 3 or 4 in an hour. I usually cut one session, sew the soakers in another session, then apply FOE at another time and do all the snaps at one time. Almost instant gratification if you ask me. I've been using the same fitted newborn diapers for the last 4 babies, plus they've been loaned out once, so while they are still functional, they are starting to look a little tired. I just love cloth diapering a little bitty one!
• soft leather baby shoes (also a chloetoes pattern!) for a sweet new little niece, size 3 mos. Again, these sew up SO fast. I cut them out one evening (it took longer picking out which green I wanted to use for the leaf!), then sewed them the next morning. Total time was less than 1 hour.
  
• baby hats for the upcoming wee one (I must have gotten into a tossing out frenzy after the last baby because there were NO baby hats in the house, and it's cold, and if the baby comes now he or she needs a hat) - and since we don't know what gender of baby we are having we have 2 white, 4 blue, and 4 pink. That should cover all the bases. Don't get real excited, these hats can be sewed assembly line style at a rate of about 8 an hour. 8 hats per hour, not bad, I say.
• toddler aprons - I've been toying with the apron idea in my head for so long I've passed several kids' sizes up already. So we start with the small ones and go from there - this is a lined apron with a fully adjustable strap which is continuous from the waist ties through the neck. I initially traced off a freebie kids apron we received from a local home improvement store to get the shape right. Only one tie to fiddle with. These will also be for various nieces and nephews for the holidays. There were 4 of these but 2 went with our Christmas shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child.
  
• More things for the nieces and nephews - name pillows - I've been making them for birthday presents after getting the pattern from YouCanMakeThis.com and they have been a tremendous hit! Don't tell my kids that mommy is making them one as well. These are just representative of the ones made for all of them. And hey, will someone tell my sister and sisters-in-laws to pick shorter names for their children??
• Fall Festival outfits - I just sent off a box of dress up clothes for a friend's family including skirts, waist cinchers, old-timey mob caps (think Dolly Madison), peasant shirts, gypsy pants and a pirate outfit. After that, I was kind of sewed out. And after a day of thrifting my kids found Power Ranger Zeo outfits and princess outfits that only each needed a few modifications to be suitable for dress up wear and the Fall Festival at our church. So, a Cinderella dress got a new petticoat, 2 power rangers (a gold one and a red one) got custom fitted face masks, and a little golden fairy princess got a peasant-style dress to wear under her pretty skimpy fairy outfit. The little golden fairy wants to be sure to wear golden sparkly make-up that night (of course!), because she is a princess, you know. And, knowing me, there is actually only one picture of all of this - the golden princess. Who just happens to be modeling in my newly cleaned sewing room. Wait, don't look at the stack of stuff on the right. That all does have a place, it's just not in it yet.
  

What's next? Well, the bitty one is due this week on Thursday, so that will put a hold on production for a while. The good thing is I have gotten most of the things done I planned to do before baby comes. And my kids are all still alive, fed, clean, and happy. Which is what is really important!

Cute and Crafty Things without a standard name

Apparently all the names I thought these were called are all different. We have a birthday to go to this week and I thought a notepad holder would be a cute gift (that was not a toy, not plastic, and not made in China - my designations, not hers) for a sweet girl in our homeschool co-op. Of course, my kids all agreed it would be a great present on the condition that they could have one as well. Yes, just not today. I can only handle giving the baby one or two baths a day because she found the big kid markers for embellishing her legs.

So far there are 4 binder covers (steno pad covers, padfolios, note pad cases, call them whatever you want) made, all of which already have designated recipients. Ideally I could get several more made in the next few weeks (hey, I've made 4 in 2 days and still fed the kids and kept up with our schoolwork and house work) to have on hand for impromptu gifts.

Oh yes, the bright pink one is for the younger birthday girl, the green one for my mom, and the red and blue one for my midwife, both of whom share a birthday. Did I say 4? Child #3 who was most attentive to me during the whole process got his first. He's sleeping with it now. I think that means he likes it.

Preemie sleepers

Here are a couple of sleepers I made for some sweet babies who are yet to be born. I used the pattern from here, changing it by lengthening the torso and eliminating the legs. I used my new KAM snap press to apply the little pink snaps, and the trim for the neck and sleeves was heart printed FOE. Makes me want another baby! These were really quick and easy. Sewing time was about 30 minutes total. The longest part was applying the trim around the neck and cuffs. I made a newborn size, so they may have to grow a bit or they may fit just right.

First Quilt Block

Here's my quilt block. This is my very first quilt block ever. It needed to be made of red, white and black fabrics on any kind for the Quilt for MS that AMITE is putting together. It seems that the magic of making blocks is in careful measuring, accurate cutting, and sewing in a straight line. I need to make a few more of these and then send them around the world to be added with the others.

I enjoyed putting all the pieces together. Since we homeschool we are always playing with "pattern blocks" and tangrams. So I had a basic idea how the pieces would work together, I just haven't ever SEWN the pieces all together. There are only 2 places where it doesn't perfectly match up, but after consulting with some quilters I know what to do to fix that now and how to help it not happen again. Now that I know how to do this I think I'll attempt to help the homeschool sewing class learn how to cut and piece. There's a first time for everything and if they are learning to sew it would probably be easier at 9 and 10 years old than waiting until after 35.

Quilt for MS

I'm making a block for MS. My mom has Multiple Sclerosis. She was diagnosed when I was 4 or 5. All I remember is that she was in the hospital in Houston for months at a time. My sister and I lived with my grandparents in Beaumont for those months at a time. My grandfather would take us at least once a week to see her. I was so little I remember curling up on the floor of the backseat of his car as we made the hour and a half trip. I don't really remember thinking that my mom was sick at that point, but since this has always been a part of our life I have done research here and there, especially as it relates to the condition my mom has. For the past 10 years or so she has had "episodes" every 6 months or so, which seem to last at least a month or two. Then it kind of fades and she is OK for a while. And then before you know it the MS starts again. Her parents have always expressed how fortunate she is to have done so well for so long (many people with MS degenerate quickly). She turned 60 last fall, and you know you never know how long you get to "keep" someone. She knows that, too. This past week she told us she realizes it's not going to get better. I hate that because she's always been a fighter. My husband says she is the most tenacious person I know.
So, I'm doing a block. I emailed my mom (she lives 6 hours away and we don't get to see either of our parents much). She said she'd do a block. I don't know what postage is to Australia, but if anyone else wants to do a block and send it to me (they will probably fit in a regular yellow envelope with 80c postage to me in Texas) I will take care of the cost of getting them to Australia. There is a pdf file on their amite blog, so you just download that and make your pieces. They will then auction the quilt on ebay and the money goes to MS research.
Oh, yeah, I'm not a quilter. So this is a first project. I know in theory how it all goes together. So in doing this I am learning something new as well as honoring my mom in a roundabout way. I'll post pictures when I get mine done for this. You can find the link to the Quilt for MS project at Amite on my sidebar.

Putting away the Christmas

But not before I show off these little towels I embellished. Can you see the little sparkly beads that look like ornaments? They just needed a little something else to perk up the trees. Thanks to Beki for the idea and inspiration. I've got to say that I made some for myself, too. And no one ate the beads off. Not that that has ever happened before, mind you. Really.

Sewing Class update

This past fall I attempted to teach a small group of homeschoolers at our Enrichment Class coop to sew. These kids were 9-12 years old. Great kids. I did not anticipate that it would take us 4 minutes of the first class to learn to thread a needle. We had 10 sessions where we learned basic hand sewing skills, and we completed a few items. Some of the kids had an easier time than others, but several of them, plus several new ones, signed up to sew with me next semester!

We made bottlecap pincushions, wee's, tissue holders, grocery bag keepers, and cool ties. There were a few girls who got done with their projects earlier than others, so I had several different hot iron transfers ready for them to practice embroidering. I was really pleased with how well they all did. Several of the moms mentioned to me that their girls were happily spending their free time with a needle and thread. That makes it worth it, don't you think?

My husband has a blog. Did I mention that he's brilliant? Click over here if you want an intellectual cup of coffee. I did finally tell him about my little ol' blog, but his is on another level.
I don't think I've seen one sarcastic thing on it yet, though. Hmmm.

Cooking for large families

Did I mention that I have 5 children? I don't know where they came from! But they sure are cute! On alternate weekdays, though, they can put away the food. There is a new cookbook written by the MOMYS that ought to help us out. I'm getting pretty good at doubling the recipe for most things that I still use a recipe for, but this cookbook already has done the work for you. Another one I really like, even though it's not specifically for hordes of hungrys hamsters (I mean children) is La Leche League's Whole Foods for the Whole Family. Great recipes, great information, and tips for using all the healthy grains and vegetables we ought to eat. One more thing on my wish list is Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. I've heard that there is a lot of information here that can really help us to overcome dependence on "modern" convenience foods. My current diet may already be pretty close, with the exception of biscuits and and chicken fried steak. I really need to experiment to get the shortening out of those. If you have any suggestions, let me know!

The Messy Bits

Recently there has been a discussion among the crafty-blogger-types about some people not being "real" on their blogs and not ever talking about anything hard, or messy, or "real". I think you can blog about whatever you want (within the limits of the law and morality) and if you want to bog about all your messy bits, go ahead. I'm not showing mine unless it is part of a process I am trying to document, because I don't like the messy bits myself. I am more at peace when things are neat, tidy and in their place at home. I'm here pretty much all day long (how many places am I going to try to go with 5 small children, now, really!) and nothing is ever completely neat, but we approach it somewhat regularly. Even if it is just one room at a time. I'll tell you I have a problem, but I'm not going to show it to you! Maybe I'm still haunted by those pictures my mom took of my room years ago and threatened to show my boyfriend. HAHAHA! Paul, are you scared? He's seen bigger messes by now! Back then I wasn't allowed to use the KITCHEN!

For several years now I have operated under a modified Flylady approach, in order to keep things sanitary and somewhat decluttered. Then we moved and bought a house. I know we tossed a bunch before we came, as we unpacked, but there is still no room for it. The problem must be that there is too much stuff. I hate doing garage sales. Every once in a while I freecycle a bunch of stuff. In the last 3 months I have sent about 10 good sized boxes to Goodwill. It's hardly a dent, though. I still keep the bathrooms and kitchen clean. But homeschooling makes a l0t of clutter - I can probably do something about that. Right now we loosely follow the curriculum plan set forth in The Well Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer. And we have multiple copies of things because we have multiple people involved in the same lessons. And lots of plain paper around. And boxes of colored pencils, regular pencils, crayons, and markers. I should have spent some time this summer streamlining. Oh well.

And sewing has it's own problems. My room which is supposed to contain it all leaks. It leaks into my bedroom, the kitchen, the dining room and the study. I've severly limited the fabric that leaks to the laundry room, since I'm not increasing my stash anymore I don't need to do all the prewashing of new fabric. I think I really need to downsize the stash, though. I know what my upcoming projects are, even for the next few years. I have been bad about acquiring fabric just because I like it. Even if I had plans for it at one point I have forgotten them. What I did the other night is write out a big list of things I needed to get sewn for the fall and winter. I did stop my Ottobre subscrition for a while - it's not in the budget right now until we are out of debt. I have about 4 years worth of their pattern magazines, which is enough to get me out of any children's clothing crisis. But I could seriously destash. I've been on the "use what you have month" for the last 6 now, and I've hardly made a dent!

Anyway, back to the messy bits. I don't want to see anyone's mess. I see my own all the time. I love the magic of being able to photoshop things out. I know that beneath the cute little table is a basket full of odds and ends, just like mine. And the picture you took of your child's room was taken in the middle of the night or when they were away at Grandma's. That's ok. I promise to look the other way when we come over, and help pick up a bit when we leave. As long as you do the same with me. Right now my little ones are picking up their own bits so they can ride bikes outside later. I need to go finish some of my own picking up, too. But I might show you a picture when it's all clean!

Diapers Diapers Diapers

One of these days no one in my house will wear diapers. Or maybe they'll be in diapers so long they'll just put mom and dad in them when they finally all potty train. Oh well.

Emma, though, has brand-spanking-new Chloe Toes diapers! All her roly poly bottomness is now contained in these diapers that I made from Catherine's diaper pattern. I had some that I made before, but between the time I cut them out and finished them up she grew. It's not that it took that long to sew, I just kept putting it off. Once you get going, you can do a diaper bag full in no time. Just so you know, they are sandwich PUL (no chance of the poly touching) on the outside and white alova suedecloth on the inside, bound with white FOE. Yes, we do like colorful things here, but I just love white diapers. I use a microfiber towel in the pocket between to soak things up. I am hoping that we may be able to make it through the night in one of these - the cloth diapers that have been using didn't have the same stay-dry feel that the suedecloth has and I had a wiggly wet one a couple of times a night. One step closer to not using any paper dipes at all.

B-day present is on its way

Did I tell my sister I had a blog? I made this towel for her little boy who turned 5 a few weeks ago (bad aunt - I must get presents and cards out on time, especially for the children!)

Anyway, easy peasy camouflage towel for the little boy who had an army man birthday party. Hope he likes it! (and Kim, in case you're keeping up with things here, don't tell him until it gets there!) By the way, the writing is straight, I must have been at a funky angle.

Boys of Summer

Just a couple of pictures of the boys. I've been playing with the settings on the digital camera so the pictures are just going to get better! I love to get the kids up high so they are in front of the sky. Jeremiah is 4 and James is 7.

You can't tell it from these pics, but all of the kids have blue eyes. Other people are so amazed by this. "You all have blue eyes?" Yes, the recessive gene is now the dominant gene!

Crocodile Rock and little Baby Rosebud

Some June sewing accomplished - Matching outfits for the girly girls. It's the cutest crocodile print (click on any picture to see the details better), originally bought for the boys, but I found a coordinating dot print in my stash and had to do the girls first. Baby Emma is wearing an outfit that I made from fabric my grandmother sent. She is near the end of life, and last year sent me all the rest of her fabric saying "I'm not sewing anything anymore". So here for GG is Emma's Rosebud seersucker outfit. Top is the assymetrical ruffled dress from Ottobre 3/06, bloomers are from Elizabeth Lee Designs #303. The other girls outfits I made up on my own. Abby's is a swingy top styled similarly to the baby top, with pants I drafted myself, from a pair of bg sister's pants so they'd be loose and comfy. Maggie's halter dress is just a trapezoid in front and a rectangle in back, ties and binding the armholes is aqua FOE, the back is elasticized before sewing to the front. All in all, the matching outfits took about 2 hours total, from cutting to wearing. Got to do more of that!

I have 2 more outfits for Emma cut out of the same. I love those little bloomers because they fit so well over her little cloth diapered bottom. Speaking of cloth diapers, I am in the process of making Chloe Toes pocket diapers for Emma. I cut out a bunch in April, sewed them late May, and she already grew out of them. Oh, well, they will be in great shape for another baby! So I have more cut out and on the assembly line now. Until they are done, Emma is wearing the diapers I made for Abby last year from the Ottobre diaper pattern, 3/05. They's still fit Abby, but she decided she was done with diapers before her birthday in February. I'm not complaining! Oh yeah, the blanket Emma is laying on was made by my husband's secretary - isn't it darling?

Crafty

This doesn't count as sewing at all, but I did get to play with the craft supplies with the 4 year old and 2 year old this morning. We made dollies out of clothespins and embroidery floss. Too cute! From the top, Martin Luther (requested specifically for dh for his dashboard - hmmm - it's the first crafty thing he's ever requested for me besides that strap for hanging onto the cordless drill) . Second, notice the "monk" hair and Bible on Dr. Luther. [FYI, the reason we have a Bible to read in our own language is in large part due to the work of translating the Bible into the language of the people that Luther was concerned about. ]
Next there is the little green and yellow princess with a pink crown. Big sister got the pink and green princess with pink hair and yellow crown. The last 2 pictures allude to the little boys (brown clothes picked out by 4 year old). There is another little boy who went off somewhere, but I have to work on a better method of pants before we get any pictures of boys. Unless they are boys in robes. Maybe we'll have some Roman soldiers, next.

Graduation present

This is supposed to be about sewing, right? Friend of ours graduated from college, had a party. We don't usually do presents since we'd go broke buying a gift for everyone at church where dh pastors. But this girl has been a good friend and babysitter for our kids, so I had a moment of inspiration and made a little handbag for her. Ingredients: pink placemat from stash (not the kitchen stash - the sewing stash of placemats I save for sewing bags!), handles from same stash, scrap of new fabric for the ruffled flower (gathered with serger on both sides, folded wrong sides together lengthwise, then rolled into a circle shape, button, coordinating green cotton yarn crocheted into a chain sewed on by machine into an "M" shape for her initial. Cute, eh?

Beauty Bug

That's what MIL calls the kids, especially the girls, so here are 2 little beauty bugs. Abby has a little sparkle in her eye because she said Emma (4 months old) pushed her down. Silly girl. She talked to her other grandmother tonight and told her that her friend, Strawberry Shortcake (the 3 foot stuffed version that actually belongs to her big sister, Maggie) needed a new diaper. I don't think I have any diapers that big!

The Sparrow's Nest: Just a Thought: Glorying in God's Perfection

The Sparrow's Nest: Just a Thought: Glorying in God's Perfection

I neede a new blog to read, really! This dear lady found this little poem to again remind me of my commission for these few years.

Homeschool Encouragement

I just got a subscription to Teach Magazine, for homeschooling encouragement, as well as encouragement for daily living. The woman who founded the magazine has 8 children. And is happy. And has time to write. I certainly have much to learn from her!

Here is a quote from their website that I need to paste everywhere:

Come before the mercy seat each day and plead with Him for wisdom and discernment over what the true needs of your household are. Plead with Him to bless each thing that you do that they might honor Him. Be willing to lay down any schedule or list to love, train, nurture, and admonish the children He has entrusted to your care.

We work for and are children of a King. Not a mere earthly king, but one who sits in Heaven above using the earth as His footstool. Our King has given us the responsibility of caring for our homes and families. Royal households need professional homemaking. Royal children require a different curriculum. Royal husbands deserve content and peaceful ladies as their wives.

How we carry out our work here on earth speaks more loudly than anything we might say. We show Him our love with our obedience. Let’s glorify and worship Him with fine home management skills, modest dress, home grown and obedient children, and by honoring our husbands in word and action.

One day our King will require an accounting for all we have done (or not done!). On that day we want to hear the beautiful words of praise,

“Well done, good and faithful servant, you have proven faithful and performed your duties well,” Matthew 25:21.

Flashback to Valentine's Day

We made Valentine's for church friends. Counts as sewing because we sewed the vinyl pocket onto the fabric covered cardstock with the sewing machine while using ribbon we found in the sewing room. The girls gave pink ones out and the boys gave out the red ones. They were delightfully given and received.