Still here, sort of...

I haven't fallen completely off the earth, but it seems close.  The new job has changed all of the routines and schedules in our house, so it has been really crazy.  Not bad, just crazy. And, I am still computerless.  I just wanted to stop in and show that I am still alive.  I hope to get some projects on here soon!

Update....

My computer is dead.  It had a good 7 years, and I was lucky enough to have backed up almost everything recently.  But, it does leave me without a computer of my own.  I have access to a borrowed one, but it just isn't the same.  I am not sure what this really means for my posting future until I procure a new computer.  I can't do much with pictures on the borrowed.  And.....  I started a new job last week.  A real, full time, back to work job.  It is kicking my behind.  I can do the job fine, but the long days without the kiddos and the crazy short evenings with the kiddos are tough.  We will have to see what it brings.

But, I did finish some stuff.  I finished a blanket for my cousin, and I am still working on the pattern for his robe.  I finished llamas for D and M.  They love the Llama Llama books, so I made them stuffed llamas like he carries.  I will get some pictures of those on here!  And, I finished a test shirt for M.  It was a learning shirt so that I can sew D's Halloween costume and have a clue what I am doing.

In other not so fun news, M's finger is infected.  We are not sure how it got that way, but I am leaning towards her picking it, as she picks everything else.  She has to be on oral and topical meds.  It looks gross and she feels rotten.  I hope it gets all better soon!

Posting Problems

My computer died.  It might have new life once some parts come in, but for now, I am computerless.  (I am working on a borrowed one this minute.)  So, posting has been a bit difficult.

I also have no finished items to post.  I have almost finished a blanket.  I have made a half and a quarter of two llamas.  I have made about 75% of a long sleeved shirt for Miss M.  I have painted the fabric and cut out the pieces for D's Halloween costume.  I have cut out the pieces for some quilt blocks that I want to make.  But, I haven't finished anything.  My sewing room is becoming overrun with unfinished items!

I hope to make a good dent in it this week, but we will have to see!  I also hope to get my computer back, alive and well.  Or, at least well enough to keep my life in order.  I often forget how attached and dependent I am on a computer.

My Christmas Present

I went ahead and bought my own Christmas present.  I even get to go ahead and start using it!!!  But, that is because I need to finish it before Christmas. Hmmm...  I will share some pictures after I get started on it.

Toddler Tank Tops

Due to the nature of my current career (mostly raising kids with a little office work thrown in for relaxation), I was recently off of the office work portion of my life for a little over 2 weeks.  Now, this is not cool in the payroll aspect of life, but it was fun in the relax with kiddos and shop on ebay side.

Oh yes, ebay.  That addictive auction site.  The one that I try dearly to stay away from for the sake of my checking account.  Everything is on there.  Or, almost everything.  During this 2 week ebay study, I was super excited to find Barney fabric!!!

Barney fabric!!!  The mystical fabric of my year.  I bought it.  It is awesome jersey knit.  The twins saw it coming out of the dryer, and were amazed and excited.  I cut them each a piece of it then, and they carried them around like little treasures!  So, I knew that the Barney fabric had to quickly turn from fabric into clothes, but what?

I needed it to be suitable for pink and blue toddlers, so I decided on tank tops.  I traced tanks that fit nicely, added seam allowances, and serged those babies into trimless tank tops!  Then I went into my fabric for something to use on the necks and arm holes.  I had nothing stretchy that matched!  I then decided to raid the tub of cute striped t-shirts for stretchy material.  Bingo!!!  Green and white stripes for M's tank top.  I still couldn't find anything small manly, so I used the same fabric as the body of D's shirt.

I think they turned out great, and so do the twins!!!  And, sorry for the terrible photos, but there just wasn't time to keep trying to get snazzy ones!

And, yes, they will sit still on their little couch to watch Barney!  And, M has decided that she doesn't like having her hair fixed this week, so I am picking battles carefully.

Fabric Yumminess

I have no clever project to share today, just a little something that I recently learned.  I guess I already knew it deep down in my fabric self, but it became much more clear to me this week....  Really nice fabric, the kind that I want to make a new wardrobe, quilt, and kids clothes from....  It really does exist.  I am sure there are tons of great fabric producers out there, but I found Moda, and I love it.

I ordered a set of charm squares (5 inch squares for quilts) on ebay.  When I opened the package, I learned how fabulous Moda fabric feels and looks!  For large pieces of fabric to sew clothes with, it will cost more than I like to pay for fabric, but I think it will definitely be worth it for special projects and events.  The only big negative, besides the cost (which really isn't terrible if you price other designer fabrics), is that now I really want to start some new projects with Moda, even though I only have one set of 42 squares.  But, I will try to prevail over my desire to start new stuff.  I need to completely wrap-up everything partially done, and then I have a robe and a blanket on the sewing list.  Those are not for me, so I think it will work telling myself that I already promised my cousin to sew these things for him.  Then.....   I may have to break down and make myself something from some Moda fabric.

And, now, because W says that I don't have enough pictures of him on the blog, I present my soon-to-be 6th grader.....

He took this picture of himself, and I like how you can see his game posters behind him! I am not really sure why his mouth is wide open, though!

Finally Finishing

My sewing room stays pretty crazy, just because of the crafty need to see/feel/be with all of the ideas and pretty supplies.  Most people who sew can completely understand how a mess can happen and how projects that need tweaking/redoing/recycling/or just got boring can make up a huge part of the mess.  And, those are not the things that feed the crafty mind.  They just bog it down.  So, recently, I have attacked some of the things that have been staring back at me for a while.

I started off with a simple one that had just gotten boring.  I finished all of D and M's blankies.  This might sound odd, but I learned a great deal about blankies when W was little.  His blankie was one of a kind, simply because of the fabric type/age.  It was an odd shape of green and super silky.  There was only one.  My mother and I spent many hours over his little years, relocating the blankie in stores, other people's homes, tangled in his covers, you get the idea.  I tried to make "back-up blankies" to no avail.  They were the wrong color.  Really.

So, along come D and M.  I made them sets of blankies.  They received others as gifts.  They have a blankie basket in their room and all of them are rotated through.  I think there are about a dozen blankies total, and only recently have they even started paying attention to having the pink for M and the blue for D.  This way, if one is lost/too nasty/ripped in half, I will not have to spend massive amounts of time searching for properly worn out minky dot fabric.

I also M-proofed this dress.  And didn't take a single picture of her wearing it.  But, it was a simple fix, and it even stays on her now when the snaps are undone!  I added a piece of ribbon on each side of the opening and tied a cute bow, in a double knot!  Yay!

I made matching shorts for the boys, except that W's might have fit him several years ago.  Again, no pictures.  (Maybe you are noticing a theme here...)

I have almost finished a dress that has sat, completely cutout, for several months.  It is done now, except for the buttons.  I sewed them on, but hated how they looked, so they have to be put on differently.  And nope, no pictures.

I have continued work on the scrap basket, and it is almost done!  My to sew list is growing, but I think I have the half done, totally incomplete pile under control again.  Yay!  It feels good to finish!

And now, pictures...

These are the pictures that we sent to their sitter, Mrs. Jen, for her birthday!  She was on vacation, so it was an electronic card!

My Square Life

I love fabric, as most people that know me already know.  And, I hate to throw any fabric away, even scraps from projects.  My scrap basket has gotten to the overflow point before, and I weeded out the tiny pieces and ugly pieces to throw away.  But now, my basket has again overflowed, and I didn't want to throw any of it away!  So, I decided that making the scraps into quilt squares would be good.  Not that I really quilt very much, but that really wasn't the point.  So recently, I have spent some time every day turning this...

Into this......

There are still plenty of scraps that need to be cut into squares, but at least I have started to tackle the scrap monster!  I also made the mistake of looking on etsy for pre-cut quilt squares.  Big mistake!!!!  There are tons available, and some of them are super cute!  Maybe I will get some for Christmas!  It is never to early to start wishing.

New Sewing Friend

I have a new sewing friend, but she needs a name...

I know that I usually only sew clothes for the kiddos, but I have been wanting to make more time for "me" sewing.  Sooooo, when W and I ran to the thrift store and saw her for almost nothing, I knew that she had to come home and be my new friend.  Maybe now I will find more time to sew for me!

And, I did make the skirt that she is wearing, but it didn't require any sewing.  I picked up a high waisted, long top at the thrift store.  The gathered portion was elasticized, so I cut straight across under the arms and folded the bodice into itself to make the waistband! It makes a super comfy skirt for me and my new friend.

But, back to a name.....  She is fun to hang out with, as she appreciates sewing.  She doesn't argue with me about color choice or fabric type.  And, best of all, unlike some other people in this house, she doesn't ask when I am making her something new.  All that said....  She still needs a name.  I would love to get some name ideas down in the comments.  I seem unable to come up with ideas on my own.  Thanks!

Life Happens

So, I have made some super awesome thrift store finds, made some really cute stuff, and have some fun (at least fun for me) websites to share, but life just keeps on happening.  I have got some family members to help and kids to take care of this week, so there will be no posting here this week.  I hope to get caught up on life/house/kids and get some posts done next week!

Barney Dress

For D and M's Barney birthday party, I decided that they needed Barney themed clothes to wear.  (Note to anyone who might care...  Barney fabric does not really seem to exist unless you want to buy old sheets from Ebay.)  I wish I would learn to have these bright ideas more than a week or two before the clothes are needed, but maybe I will learn to do that.  Instead, I was a bit rushed, but I think the clothes turned out cute.

D got some overalls Barney and BJ on the legs.  Cute and really easy! (And yes, I have baby fencing in my house, and I love it!)

M took a little more time, but I love the results.  I made a Barney dress!!!

I combined some ideas that I have seen on various blogs to create this dress.  I used a men's dress shirt for the purple .  I love the way that the front and back of the dress are longer due to the way the shirt was hemmed.  I cut the shirt off (cut straight across, under the arms) based on the length of a dress that fits M well.  Based on one of our Barney toys, I appliqued spots onto the back of the dress.  I used some green tee shirt remnants from D's Peter Pan costume.  I then cut out J shaped arm holes based on the same dress.  With the tie straps, the arm holes don't have to be perfect.

Then, I applied the tutorial that I saw here to create the rest of the dress.  Bias tape is my friend!!!  I chose the width of the front based on the same dress used for sizing. (M was not available for measurements.)  And, I used 40 inches for each arm hole, just like the tutorial.  It looked like a super long piece, probably because it was longer than M is tall, but it worked perfectly for the ties.  It is even long enough to double knot now that she knows that her dress will fall off if she pulls on the ties!

And then, because I have a button addiction...

 Green and purple/pink buttons!!! (I think they came from Walmart.)

Miss M likes the buttons too!  The shirt had hidden buttons, so I got to choose the spacing when I sewed the buttons onto the dress.  And, they are not functional as buttons, but I think they are really cute.  I finished the dress with a whole day to spare!  Maybe I am learning to pace myself better, but I really think it was just luck.

Yay for Barney clothes!!!!!

Our 4th of July

As I said before, the 4th of July is a time of deep appreciation for those that have given and continue to dedicate their lives to our safety and freedom.  And, it can also be a time for fun with family and friends.

We started the holiday early by watching fireworks on the lake.  We spent the afternoon with our friends, on their boat, swimming, eating, and having fun.  The twins had never been on a boat before, so that was a fun first for them.

The fireworks came late in the evening for the twins, but they both enjoyed the show.  And then, there was a nice relaxing ride back to the dock.  The 11 year old, the 7 year old, and one 2 year old were sound asleep by the time we docked.  Miss M was still wide awake!

Then, on the actual 4th of July....We went out to breakfast!  Love a good southern breakfast!  M concentrated very hard on everything.  I love when she thinks really hard and sticks her tongue out.

Then, we headed to Home Depot to check out lawn mowers.  Not very exciting for me, but D thought that the riding mowers were the best thing he had ever seen.  I didn't get a picture of him sitting on any of them, but he did have a blast.  The thrift store was next.  We scored big with a Barney book and some cute fabric!

 (D wouldn't let me see his face while he showed me the book!)

Naptime was next up.  Sorry, I didn't get any cute sleeping kid pictures either.  Then they were up and going full steam.  We played for a while, and they were very disappointed that it was too hot to play outside.
Block table...

 "Fixing" W's shoes...

 D loves "Bizz."

 The funny lips are D making car noises.

 M matches the teddy bear.

Then, it was time to go for an awesome BBQ dinner with family and friends.

W stayed with my mom to watch the fireworks, but the little ones and I headed home. They got to sleep before the fireworks started booming around here!  I hope everyone else had a fabulous 4th too!

P.S.  I did make D and M's outfits, but there will be more on that some other day!

Barney Party

Barney the Dinosaur is still around and well, and he was the theme for D and M's birthday party!  I still remember singing the warped Barney song when younger, but now, the real song makes the twins almost as happy as cupcakes!  So, a Barney party......

Barney overalls...

Barney dress (more on that another day)...

Loving on Barneys...

Party fun...

Big bows are always fun...

Upside down sunglasses are cool...

Serious thoughts on partying...

Party smile...

And Uncle B playing under the table...

Also with their party, we had green and purple balloons, green and purple ruffled streamers like these, and of course, green and purple cupcakes!  It was a blast!!!  And now, I have to put their new swingset together! Yikes!!!

4th of July

While I do enjoy BBQ and fireworks, this is really not the point of the 4th of July.  It is a time to thank all of our heroes that made us free and keep us free.  Our country enjoys awesome freedom, but this freedom has a cost.  Some of our heroes never see their family again.  Some of our heroes never walk again.  Some of our heroes come home healthy, but with a broken heart.  To all of our past, current, and future heroes...  Thank you someone who is very proud of what you do.

2nd Birthday

The twins had their 2nd birthday!  I almost doesn't seem like it has been that long, but then it also feels like they have always blessed my life.  There actual birthday was not very birthday oriented.  I did get their "2" shirts finished in time, but that was about it.  D was sick and had to go to the doctor.  Not fun.  M went to VBS at our church.  She had fun.  After naptime, we played inside.  We didn't even do anything special for supper, except to have Krispy Kreme doughnuts for dessert!  And... their birthday in pictures....

Yikes!  They are 2!!!!

Silly of Me

It may be extremely silly of me, but I am super excited.  This little blog has past 1,000 page views!!!!  Silly, but very fun.

And, I promise to do better posting!  I have some fun stuff to show you soon.

Beach Retreat 2012

Warning!!! This is not a crafty post.  I guess that could be a good or bad thing depending on the readers' perspective.
This past weekend, our church went on the annual beach retreat.  It was a blast!  The kids all had a great time and the adults did too!  So now, I present a ton of pictures.....