Happy Birthday Daddy-O

These pants are my father's birthday gift. He's a former marine and very patriotic. I figured how could I go wrong with patriotic lounge pants? Can't wait to give these to him. I have them nearly complete, I really need him to try them on before I finalize the waistband elastic.. Going to Iowa tomorrow!!! The kids are so excited!!

On another note, I was asked to test out the following pattern for a ruffled skirt. This is absolutely adorable!! Ms. I cannot wait to wear her new skirt.. Now I have to find a top to match this bizarre stash fabric skirt with butterflies and stars!! Walmart didn't have any denim and I was not brave enough to go to Hancock for merely a half yard of anything. Both fabrics were selected from my stash rack. This makes the skirt a bit different, but geesh, hubby's happy to see stash reduction progress.

Round 1 Diapers Done

I've completed my first batch of cloth diapers for a woman with a preemie baby. Those are packaged and mailed off!! Whahoo.

I'm still not sure how I feel about making my own diapers. I used the Chloes Toes pattern. The pattern was easy to assemble and the directions were clear enough for a beginning diaper maker. It was somewhat time consuming and not nearly as rewarding as sewing those cute little tops or dresses for my daughter. It's now a game of wait and see what cloth diapering supplies I really need when May rolls around and we have a newborn in dipes. I do know that a dozen or more could be made up assembly style in less than a week.

We purchased the complete Motherease package when we began cloth diapering, ummm, three babies ago. I know that many of these are soo threadbare that if an eyedropper sneazed, they'd leak. So I'm sure that a few dipes will need to be made. I'm almost completely positive that I won't be making my own covers.. But I do have a few small scraps of the waterproof fabric to try a couple.

On another note, Ms I started preschool. It's only one day a week, but it's still a very big step for both of us. We'll begin homeschooling in the summer, but this is a great opportunity for her to play with others and learn some social skills. The pictures are of her in her first day dress and bows. She's holding her kitten in one pic and holding my beastly cat in the other. One cat weighs in at less than two pounds and one cat is nearly 30 lbs...

FInished pants

These are the pants we finished for Mr. J ~ we adjusted the elastic a few dozen times to get it just right for him. We finished the shirt back in August and the pants kind of dissappeared in the cross country move. He did all of the long straight seams himself. I sewed the neck and sleeves and other curvy or technical seams.

The kitten was a Christmas addition to our family. I think we've settled on calling her smokey. She drives our huge old grouchy cat bonkers! She sleeps with Ms. I and purrs like a freight train.

I had a little blue friend visiting me this morning, he was making sure that I stayed on task :) I can't say that I'd ever seen a real blue bird before I moved to Southern Missouri. I thought they were part fairy tale that my grandmother used to tell me. She loved to tell blue bird stories.

Fist Quilt

I finished my very first quilt top, I used a rail fence pattern. I haven't decided which color to back it with - purple or green? (it also needs ironed for the 112th time)

I made up a quick winter doll set from previously mentioned pattern. This is going in the mail today as a birthday gift for a friend in Iowa.

Doll Coat

In less than two hours, I finished a pair of pants for Mr J and made up this cute little doll set.

It's a coat, hat, and scarf for an 18" doll. Pattern courtesy of Alice Cantrell I haven't a clue how I wandered into her blog, but I do adore this quick easy pattern. I have sleeping children and no model can be found without waking them :)

Projects completed

Two projects completed today. One pair of pants for husband - nearly porn fabric, but he picked it himself. These were started more than a week ago, but they were hemmed in 2007, so they count for totals this year. They were my first time making inseam pockets. The pockets turned out well considering I didn't have an official pocket pattern, the opening is a little snug for my hubby's hand size, but i can poke my hands in his pockets with ease

The nightgown for Ms. I was started maybe six months ago and just needed a hem and a button, she sleeping snugly in a flannel backed satin with a smile on her face tonight. I didn't care for the bodice part of this pattern, it's one of the big 4 pattern companies, but I don't remember which one. It's a lined bodice, it was tedious to put together and the head opening had to be adjusted to put her head through it. No repeats on this pattern. Still have plenty of this fabric that I purchased at Joanns for less than $1 a yard.

First Post

It's January 2 of 2007. I'm starting this blog to post kid related events and my sewing.
January is the time for making lists, resolutions, and other odbits of joy.
This year I'd like to commit more time to preschooling Miss I, potty training Mr M, and being more responsible with the daily devotionals with Mr. J. These are all things that I have done frequently in the past, but not with the regularity these tasks really call for.
My sewing goals are to track all my spending on crafts, organize all my stash fabrics, and finish my five WIP's (work in progress) from last year.
Throw into this equation that I'm expecting a baby this year, and these goals are plenty lofty and will be pushed aside occasionally, but I really feel these are important things to prioritize high on my list.