Live from Tormville!

I didn't, you know.....

put a brick in his swim trunks.  I just thought I'd better clarify that.  I just felt like it.

What we did do today however...

• Got my dryer hooked up - at long last.  The stacking kit finally came in. My brother swung over to help heft it up and I immediately gave it a test run on Pa's work shirts.  Hums beautifully and even sings a little song when it's done
• Pa took Brian swimming in an effort to help strengthen his legs. 
• I went out and picked up a tricycle - and he practiced on that a bit as well - he's getting stronger.  He still seems quite a ways off from walking - but little by little.
• Finished a project for NSD (National Scrapbooking Day) festivities over at Scrapsupply next weekend.  Be there or be square!
• Mending - trying to get back on track with my Saturday sewing.  I made this blanket for Allan years ago already and the bottom binding blew out. Allan has mentioned it everyday this week as he's getting tangled in it at night.  So today - we got 'er done.
• Reinstalled the second carseat back into the van - it had been in the hallway ever since Brian's accident - it's feeling good to get things back where they belong

hm. that's 'bout it I guess -

3 inch squares all in a row

I don't think I'll get to the actual sewing this week - 'tis tricky with nobody to watch the kids, both Allan and Pa are all tied up

But cutting was fun - and it's part of the sewing process 

I'm determined, in my quest to sew each week, not to purchase anything new.  I had put myself on a fabric buying freeze years ago already.  If I use up enough of my cedar chest full, then! I can buy new stuff.

Now, I'm just enjoying giving them some new life and filling my creative urge...

I had to create a very quick diversion

for Brian, because he was getting just a little too attached to

MY Bag.  And it really is square on the bottom...but I had to hurry and take a picture quick before Brian stole it again from me.

I'm not above declaring MINE with a two year old.

And a few details...altho I'm almost afraid to say it because I know that I have a few apron lovers reading my blog.  But. I must.  *Ahem*  All three handles were cut from the same apron.

I'm sorry

You wouldn't have liked it.  The apron that is.  I once used it for teaching and stuff.  And I haven't taught in years (scrapbooking classes)

And it really did make nice handles. 

Saturday evening wind down

Three kids were sleeping
Freshly scrubbed - a Saturday night routine
Pa was in the garage working on a carving
I sat, and embroidered, while waiting for our eldest to come home
He'd gone swimming
with a neighbor
No noise but the humidifier
It runs lots in our dry winters
and an occasional wince as the needle brushed my papercut
at the tip of my middle finger
on my right hand

I really don't much care for paper cuts

Toy box, gift box or garbage can

This. Didn't go together as easily as it was supposed to.  It almost took a ride in the garbage truck this morning

It still might

I didn't intend for it to have a lining
But you can see the back thru the front
So I put a lining
My lining wasn't big enough
So I pieced two pieces together and hand stitched them on both sides
and put the whole blanket together
threw it in the wash
And the lining on the inside all fell apart

So much for my hand sewing. 

So this morning I took it apart

and took off half the lining
and made the blanket smaller
I liked it bigger

And resewed it

but the boys were bawling.  Still are
and I didn't do such a good job with that. 
The back peeks out from the front on one side

But it's done now
My only question is
Can I put it in the gift basket?
Is it even worthy for the toy box?
or should it go straight to the bin?

The problem with digging thru the ol' fabric stash

to get the parts that I needed for today's Sew Saturday, is that I tend to get a little sidetracked.  My plan was to work on a baby blanket.  In fact, I did work on a baby blanket...but not without a few distractions.

Like this.
yo-yo's and yo-yo's and hours and hours of more yo-yo's.
I made this over 12 years ago.  I remember because I wore it to my shower for Allan.  Remember...everything timewise is measured by our children.
I wore it when I was  13 months pregnant. For my shower.  This is a biiiiiiig pile of yo-yo's.

   
edited to add the photo of it in full - it's a vest. Not necessarily a maternity one---it just happened to fit. Yo-yo overkill.
I don't want to just pitch it. I want to make it into something else.  It's not really fashionable anymore.
But what?
Totally distracted.

And then I found this piece.  For my boxes of fabric..this is a bigger piece than what I normally have.  I could almost back something with it.  I love this fabric.  Time to start thinking on what I want to do with it. Curtains?  maybe.  I've been wanting a summer curtain in the living room for awhile...

And this.  *sigh*  I heart this pile.  This is going to be next weeks project.  I think it will be a smaller bag for Brian.  He needs a bag.  I have a belt that I'm planning to use for the handle.

Want a closer look at that fabric?

I don't have a very big piece of it, and I have no idea where I got it from..I've been clinging to it forever.  oh-oh. wait. that's a girl on there, isn't it?

Oh yes...that's most definitely a girl. You know what..this isn't going to work for a bag for Brian. I don't think he'd fancy a bag with a girl on it. This bag is going to have to be mine.  Oh darn.

Finally I found my way to the project I had intended to work on

And I worked on it.  I made a little girl blanket for my gift stash.  I hadn't intended to line this one, but the grey shows right thru - so I put in a thin lining.

But I think it still needs something else...I'm not sure what.  It just doesn't look, 'done' know what I mean?  So I'm letting it sit for a bit. Until Monday.  ;)

Did you sew today?

A polka dot pillowcase, a maternity jumper (with sash) and some vintage fabric

Thank you, again, for all the links.  I ended up using this one.  It's the whole inside outing of the liner and handles that muddles my brain, and I found this step by step to be the easiest for my grey matter to follow.  I'm hooked on bags now.

Here's how my morning went down

I long knew that I wanted to use this fabric

I'm not sure where I picked it up from - but it's been in my collection forever and it looks so very Wendy to me. 

I also knew that I wanted to combine it with a denim maternity jumper that I had picked up at a garage sale only because I love buying expansive pieces of denim for quarters and it was in great condition.  The two together have been sitting on my sewing machine for about six months.

Now I needed a liner.  What I really wanted was something that color green.  I only gave myself a 1/2 hour to look thru the basement boxes because I didn't want to spend all day down there looking. I tend to get distracted. Imagine.

And I found nothing.  Nothing pink.  Nothing green.  Just boring plain white.  While I itched to walk to the quilt store just a block away, I resisted.  Mostly because I had put myself on a fabric buying freeze three years ago already because I was collecting more than sewing.  Altho...I'm not sure that did much good because all I did is switch my buying over to pretty patterned papers and suffer the same fate there.

Alas.

To my ironing board I went
As I was ironing, I remembered that in the linen closet just an arms length away was a green polka dot pillowcase.  I have a thing for pillowcases and our linen cupboard overfloweth. I quickly looked thru the shelf so aptly dymo labeled 'pillow cases' and found the green polka dot covering I was looking for and deemed it perfect.

So I began my project there.

 

I cut one side of the pillowcase open, laid it out on my large cutting mat and eyeballed what size I thought the bag should be.  I declared that no seven year old girl should need more than 16 x 22 inches for her stuff.  I fought the urge to go digging in Allan's room to measure his bag since the baby was sleeping in there - and once I get started on a project I lose all patience.  In hindsight - the bag is a little bit large, I may have to keep it for myself and make her another.  heh.

After I decided on the size I turned to the denim jumper. With sash.

I cut off the bodice because it was making measuring tricky with all those pleats and gathers...and I decided not to use that part for this project but not to toss it yet...I might use it for something.

The sash, however, I decided would make perfect handles .... and because they were just the right length for Wendy - and there were two of them...I went ahead and made a two handle bag.

And I turned this pile

into this

notes - mostly to self

• it could be just a little smaller/shorter.
• buy more bobbins.  I had some pretty pink rick rack that I wanted to put around the top, but I have 6 bobbins.  And they are filled with white, off white, red, black, brown and navy blue threads.   B.O.R.I.N.G.
• The top of the bag is the bottom edge of the denim jumper.  I have this compulsive need for borders in both scrapbooking and sewing. 
• talk Wendy into another bag so I can keep this one
• She's already filled it up, so I'm thinking it's not going to happen