Thanksgiving

Just when the flurry of sewing costumes was over, I managed to get sick with a very nasty virus.  It knocked me out with a sore throat and a cough for days.  I finally went to the doctor (and if you know me you know I hate to go to the doctor) to make sure it wasn't strep.  I was afraid I'd made people sick at Thanksgiving.  But it wasn't strep, for which I was really thankful.

This is the first time I haven't had Thanksgiving dinner at my house in probably 25 years.  We went to a cousin of my husband's who we usually invite to our house, and we had a very nice time.  I was grateful, since I wouldn't have been able to have dinner at our house.  No energy to clean, bake or host.  I was able to make my cranberries and my fruit salad and we just went.  It was very relaxing.  I am thinking of doing a turkey soon though, we just didn't have any leftovers.  :)

So now it's time to get ready for Christmas.  We are having people over for Christmas dinner.  :)  I have a few gifts purchased.  Time to get the rest done.

~Jane

Fall Flurry

It seems like we've been so busy lately.  Between babysitting and projects on deadlines, I feel pretty tired out.  It has been a lot of fun though.  There is absolutely nothing more precious than being with my grandbabies.  They are the joy of my life.  My daughter keeps me busy with projects and it is all so much fun.

My daughter has a monthly Bunco group and we always have a theme.  This month she was hosting and the theme was "Jane Austen."  We usually get some creative ideas for costumes, and try not to spend too much money on them.  But we've had several Jane Austen events, Pride and Prejudice movie nights, tea parties, craft nights, so I decided to sew both of us a "Jane Austen" dress to wear for this month's bunco.  Again, I bit off a little more than I thought I was doing.  I thought I had plenty of time, but things just don't always work out  the way I think they are.

We also had some ideas for decorating.  My daughter was making bookmarks and some little miniature books, and I was going to make a book banner and decorate some mugs with quotations from the books.  We managed to get everything done.  Did you know that if you write with a Sharpie on a mug and bake it, it is permanent?  Of course, we get our best ideas off the internet.  :)  I didn't realize until I looked at the picture, that I made the pleats in my dress fold the wrong way.  I'll have to rip and fix before I wear it again.  :)

~Jane

Halloween 2012

I've been busy sewing this past week.  My grandson, Malachi, requested a blue dinosaur costume for Halloween and Grandma tries to fulfill requests.  For a while there, I thought I'd bitten off a little too much, but it turned out well in the end and he loved it.

I really loved the tail, although it got drug though the puddles.  Luckily it's machine washable.  :)

 

Both my little trick or treaters and my awesome daughter.

 

Little Zach had a purchased little tiger costume.  He was adorable as ever. 

 

~Jane 

Weekly Roundup

This has been a typical week for me.  I babysat my adorable little grandsons on Sunday.  There is nothing I love doing more.  Monday night, my daughter and I and the boys did some curtain and grocery shopping.  We might have found some curtains for their new living room, but the final decision hasn't been made yet.  Tuesday lunch hour I spent at the fabric store picking up some fabric and supplies.  Tuesday after work I did a bank run to both banks and that evening Elsie and I hit the hardware store to look for paint chips for some new paint for their new house.  Wednesday night I actually stayed home and finished a sweater for Zachary, sewing on the buttons.  Thursday lunch Elsie and I and the boys hit the local bed and bath store looking for curtains.  Thursday night I worked on a car seat cover for Zachary.  I had picked out a couple of cute prints for the top and was going to line it with minkie, a nice soft velour fabric.  But the minkie, being stretchey, was giving me fits working with it and I finally decided to line it with flannel but had to wait until Friday to buy some coordinating fabric.  I finished knitting a hat for Zachary and replaced the elastic and velcro tabs on one of the diapers I sewed for Malachi three years ago.  Friday I babysat a couple hours and then purchased my fabric and went home to wash and dry it before continuing work on the cover.  All this and working a full-time job.  Needless to say my house hasn't received much attention this week.  Today I finished the cover.  I had all kinds of tribulations with the straps at the top.  I wanted them to button, but couldn't find suitable buttons in my stash.  I finally just used velcro like the pattern called for.

Mine is like this but a nice green and brown print.  I'll post mine when I get a picture of it on the infant carrier.



I also folded a huge mountain of laundry while catching up on "The Voice."  I knit on a hat for Malachi while my husband and I caught up on some of the shows we follow.  Thank goodness for On Demand.  I have so many projects I want to work on.  I have six diapers to finish and then my next project is Malachi's dinosaur costume for Halloween.  Next will be our Regency dresses for Jane Austen bunco night in November.  Malachi needs winter pajamas......the list goes on and on. 

~Jane

Saturday Catch Up - October 6

This has been a busy week.  I started by canning up 15 pints of applesauce from the apples on our own trees.  It is very good!

I started working on a sweater I began for Malachi, but will finish up for Zachary.  I love the baby green and the cable design on the fronts.  I'm working on the hood now and then it will be finished.

I spent all day today sorting out my sewing counter.  I have so many projects I want to do, but it was getting impossible since there was not a single inch of clear space around my machine.  I threw away some projects I had cut out years ago, like a dress for Elsie, since I knew she wouldn't be able to wear it now.  Out of style and different lifestyle as a mom.  I sorted out a lot of papers for recycling, and some things for the thrift store.   Mostly, I just organized things and now I have lots of space to work.  Ignore the ironing board, it has stuff to be moved to where it belongs in other rooms.  I felt very productive today, and it was so nice to spend a day at home.  I didn't go outside once!  :)

~Jane

Camera AWOL

I have somehow managed to misplace my camera and it is driving me nuts.  I have some pictures on it I want to share.

Tonight my daughter and I hosted a craft/movie night at my house.  It was a wonderful time to talk with friends.  We watched "The Help."  It never ceases to amaze me that I lived through that time period and was mostly unaware.

My craft for the evening was knitting on honeycomb hexipuffs for a way-in-the-future to be finished project. You can see here what the finished product it supposed to look like.  It's knit from the leftover yarn you have when you knit socks.  It's the Beekeeper's Quilt from Little Owl Knits.

I also am working on a nap mat (sleeping bag) for Malachi, a shopping cart cover for Zachary, a diaper bag for Elsie, some baby presents for my niece, and several other knitting projects.  I finished the sleeves on my hollyberry sweater and now I  need to block all the pieces and sew them together so I can knit the buttonbands on it.  Lots of things to work on.  :)

~Jane

Catching Up - September

I am sitting here typing, very sore.  I had a massage today and working out all the knots was a painful process.  This has been an incredibly busy month. 

The estate sale ladies did their thing.  There is still some stuff to sort through and decide what to keep for a future garage sale and what to donate to the thrift store.  Then a meeting with my brothers to prioritize the work that needs to be done.  I've decided to sell the house for sure.  For a while, I was thinking my daughter and her family could maybe live in it and pay off some bills, but I just don't think the floor plan would work for them very well, and the house needs a ton of work.  I am just willing to do enough to sell it.

My daughter and her family have moved, or at least are mostly moved.  They were renting a house from a family member, but the house, while beautiful, had absolutely no yard for Malachi to play in.  They could only have one dog there, and he had to be outside.  In the new place there is a big yard for Malachi to play in and they can have both dogs.  Also, it has a third bedroom for the baby.  The other house had one of those offices on the front of the house that realtor's call a third bedroom, but really!   The new house needs some sprucing up, but I think they'll be able to settle in and make it home.  However, first we have to get the old one cleaned up and that has been a real job, especially working around a three-year-old and a new baby who wants to be held all the time.  :)

My son-in-law had knee surgery last week, so that has been another thing to work in and work around.  My daughter went back to work from maternity leave.  Work has had a flurry of busy.  Hopefully, all the difficult things are done now, and life will be able to settle down for a while.  I have lots of projects in the works and need time to work on them!

~Jane - whose little guy turned three months today!