Blessings From Home

Sewing Day, a couple pictures

I finally unburied my sewing machine for the first time in over 4 months! It's been packed away and I hadn't had a chance to unpack it over the last two months. So I pulled out a few things I've been intending to finish for a long time and so far I finished a few quick things, and one bigger project of finishing the bloomers to go with my daughter's dress that I made last year! Here's the dress...

Thankfully, the dress still fits her very well, and the bloomers that I cut out at the same time fit as well. Oh, and something else I did today was finally load my pictures onto our new computer! So for your viewing pleasure, here is a picture of the bloomers I completed today.

What's funny now is that she's been wearing that dress for a year now, and it has faded with washing, and the yet to be washed bloomers are still bright. Hopefully nobody will notice.

I'm so thrilled to finally be sewing again, and posting pictures too. I've also been doing a lot of crocheting and knitting that I'll be posting soon. Such as the wool diaper covers for our newest blessing. Well, back to the sewing table to see what else I can do. I have a long list of things needing to be made, especially for the baby. Have a blessed day!

sara

Rug Making

I have been busy in my down time making a rug for my kitchen. I wanted one that matched the colors in my kitchen and one that would be comfortable to stand on while doing dishes. I bought a bit of fabric, mixed with some that I already had and tried out several methods of rugmaking. I started by trying to braid it, but the fabric I had was just too thin for braiding. I tried making a toothbrush rug, but I'm afraid it would have taken me too long, and I wanted to get it done pretty quickly.

So I finally settled on crocheting it. And it is working up quite quickly. I'm making an oval rug and will probably make it about a 2'x3' or a little larger. I'm only having a few minutes here and there to work on it, but I'm sure I'll have it done by week's end.

So I got to wondering, are there any of you who enjoy the past time of rug making? What are your favorite techniques? Favorite fabrics to work with? 

Knitting, I finally get it

For those of you who are avid knitters, this may seem silly to you, but since I was a child of 7, I've only ever known how to crochet. I've even taught many other ladies how to crochet. Some of you crocheters can switch to knitting and back without so much as a snag in your yarn. Well, let me tell you, for me it has been quite a journey. I've picked up knitting needles several times throughout the years, and all I would get is frustrated. I mean who would want to have to hold two needles, when you could just hold one hook. But it bothered me that I couldn't figure it out.

And then one day, just recently, I decided to give it another try, and somehow, it finally clicked! What changed, I don't know. But I was finally actually able to knit and it actually looked decent. I'm even able to knit socks now. How crazy is that?! I still don't know all that there is to it, but I'm learning as I go along and finally understanding how to knit! Here is a picture of what I'm currently working on.

Here's the link to the pattern for anyone interested. Rodney Rooster Dischcloth. I'm making mine in a blue variegated cotton yarn. I'll try and post pictures when I'm all done.

Blessings,

Sara

Time to Get Sewing

Cooler weather has arrived, and as I was laying the clothes out for my daughter this morning so she could go to school, I realized that she has no fall/winter clothes. She has a couple pairs of jeans, but we are trying to make the transition to dresses only and she has a couple of dresses that are suited for cooler weather, and she has a couple of cardigan type sweaters that still fit,  But she has no long sleeved shirts, she only has 2 pairs of tights, one of which is nearly too small for her. Her jacket looks like it will be too small as well. So I realized today it is time to get sewing and thrift shopping. I hate that I didn't realize this sooner and wish I would have had time to plan for this. But alas, I have no time to worry about what wasn't done and only to worry about what needs to be done. Today I will put my focus on things I need to sew for her and listing things I need to buy for her. Tomorrow is my shopping/errand day and my list for her is...

3-4 more pairs of tights in various colors

7-10 plain long sleeved shirts

A winter jacket

And my sewing list for her is...

Transform her jeans into long skirts

2-3 simple skirts

2-3 jumper dresses

2-3 bloomers and under things

I'm going to be scavenging through my fabric stash, which is quite a lot, and get all the material ready to start sewing. I'm going to finish straightening my sewing area and get to work.  

Other things going on today...

I've got my laundry going and have managed thus far to keep up with this dauting daily task this week. We will be starting school soon, and have managed to get our school done in under 3 1/2 hours without rushing through it this week. I am feeling the need to declutter, organize and simplify lately and have been doing quite good on doing so. I am not pressuring myself to do it in any certain order or manner, I'm just doing it. I figure, as long as I'm staying busy, somethings getting done. My husband promised me that weather pending he would get out there with me and help me clean and organize the shed this weekend, and then I will be able to start putting things in there to put in a yard sale at the first of the year, which Lord willing we can put in savings to go towards buying a home or at least some land next spring. Okay, I'm jumping all over the place, it's time for me to get off of here and get to work. I may not be posting as much over the next week or so, so just know that I am staying busy and getting things done. Have a blessed day!

Love,

Sara 

My Sewing and Handwork List

Here's a list of things I would really like to finish before the end of this month.....

Sewing~

1. Bloomers to go with daughter's dress I just finished

2. A prairie style skirt for me for  the upcoming pioneer day at church

3. 5 more diapers and 5 more wipes for Emily

4. 5 mama pads for myself

5. Finish a sunflower quilt table topper that I have been putting off for too long. All that's left is a little more machine quilting around the edge and the binding sewn on

Handwork~

1. 5-10 crocheted dishclothes

2. cross stitch matching game for gift for my youngest

3. 2 penny rugs I've been working on for my home

4. baby blanket for gift

5. sewing room sampler

I really need to get these things out of the way so that I can get a few things made up for Christmas. I will update you all as I finish things. And will make a new list when I'm done with what's here. Have a blessed evening!

Love,

Sara

Looking for a pattern

I've made diapers for my daughter who is 2, but I'm thinking ahead to when she'll be potty training (hopefully soon), and I was wondering if any of you knew of any patterns for some training underwear? You know the thick padded ones but pull on and off like underwear. I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks

Sara

Here's a doily I made...

I made this doily a couple of weeks ago, my first one! I crochet all the time, but have little patience when it comes to those tiny hooks and thin thread, but I managed to finish this one in less than a weeks time.

Here's a more detailed picture of the corner, with my mishapen heart. lol.

There you have it! Thanks for letting me share.

Blessings,

Sara

My Latest Project

Here is a picture of a project I'm working on. I got the pattern at Lion Brand. Here is the link if anyone is interested.   http://cache.lionbrand.com/patterns/chs-townAndCountryCapelet.html

It's a fairly easy project and if it turns out good I think I will make a nice dress to wear under it for Easter. I used to always have a crochet project on hand, but it seems I haven't crocheted in months. If I get a chance I will put a picture up of the finished product. Talk to you all later.

A good idea for kid's artwork

My mom called me this morning and told me to flip over to HGTV where there was a scrapbooking show on. You see, my mom knows I have this problem with letting go of my kid's artwork, which is part of my paper clutter mess that I deal with. So I flipped over to see what they were doing and what this mom had done was she scanned her kid's artwork onto her computer and resized them to be about the size of a 3x5 picture, then she put them on cardstock and laminated them. Now it sounds like a lot of work, but I think for me it would be well worth the effort as it is a major problem of mine. I have a scanner, and my dad is able to borrow his company's laminator whenever he needs it, so I'm going to give it a try. Oh, they also took the artwork and put it on a ring to make a flip book for the kids to look at whenever they wanted to. So I think this will be my next project. I'll keep you posted on how it goes.