~Busy Day~

This morning was busy and this afternoon will be even more so!

I ran errands this morning...four stops total. Winter gear makes it harder to get in and out of the car. Is winter almost over???

Now this afternoon I have a lot of housework to do. Company is coming for Christmas afterall, and it would be nice if the house looked a little more presentable. :-)

Hope your day is wonderful!

~Felt Ornaments~

What a hoot! owl ornaments:


I made them all the same, because I'm keeping one, giving one in an ornament exchange, and giving the last one to a friend. I didn't stuff them because, a) I liked the way they looked unstuffed, and b) I was too lazy to get up and get the stuffing.


A keepsake ornament I made for my daughter:


I traced her hand, so it's her hand size, and I embroidered her name and "2010" on the back.

Embroidery and hand sewing isn't something I typically do, so though this was enjoyable it was also a bit of a challenge, as I figured out the best needle to use, the best way to get the stitches to look nice, etc.

~Soup~

Winter is the perfect time for soups, stews, and chili, don't you think?

Last night as Kevin and I were doing the dishes, we were talking about soup in particular. I had switched the menu up, and made chili instead of my scheduled spicy peanut chicken. I didn't realize that Kevin had looked at the menu and was planning on enjoying the chicken dish. He was fine with the chili, but he was teasing me about sticking to my menu. ;-) I made the chili because it was so cold out! It was the perfect dish for a cold winter day. I was teasing him that I was going to make chicken noodle soup the next day, rather than the peanut chicken.

I said that in the winter I could have soup every day for a week and not get tired of it. Kevin said, "I know. But I couldn't." So then I countered by saying that there are so many different kinds of soup, I could have soup every day for a month and not get tired of it!

It reminds me of my grandpa. At one point while I was growing up, we lived just one mile from my dad's parents. On nights that my grandma made soup, my grandpa would call us up and invite us over for dinner. His theory was that there were a lot of us, and we would eat up the soup so he wouldn't have lots of leftovers to eat in the coming days. LOL

So what about you? Do you like soup? Could you eat it every day for a month and not get tired of it? :-)

~Apple Jumper~

In my sewing flurry, this was the first garment I finished the actual sewing on, but the last to get a finishing touch.



Made out of cozy flannel, adorned with a luscious pink bow. I love it. *smiles*

When I made the little strawberry outfit last summer, I had to shorten it so much. While I was doing so, I thought how perfect the pattern would be for a jumper, it was so long.

Pattern details:

Simplicity 2625, size large
variation of View D, with the addition of lace trim and a huge pink bow

I didn't have enough fabric to cut the bottom band on the bias. It worked fine because of the softness of the flannel, but it would have worked better if it were on the bias, because of the curved edge.

~First Christmas~

The following poem was written by my friend Kristi, who gave me permission to republish this on my blog. Kristi is a mom to four - one here on earth with her and three waiting for her in heaven. If you have gone through loss, I'm sure you will find her blog very uplifting. I know that I have! Please visit her blog and look through her past posts and the links she's provided.

As I read this, tears poured freely but joy abounded in my heart. Very bittersweet...I wouldn't want to take my baby from the glorious place called Heaven...but I sure do miss my little one!

First Christmas

I hear that on the Earth below
This is a special season
With lights and songs and gifts and such,
And Jesus is the reason!

In the place I would have lived
Are strings of light that blink and shine,
But you should see the light up here
That glows from Jesus all the time!

In the place I would have lived
Carols play, and special songs,
But you should hear the music that
The angels sing here all day long!

In the place I would have lived,
Gifts are giv’n on Christmas Day,
But you should feel the joy we feel
Because God’s gift is here to stay!

In the place I would have lived,
Tears have flowed because I’m gone.
My family wishes I were there
To see and hear and feel it all.

But in this place where I now live,
It’s Christmas all day, all year long,
And the sights and sounds I’d see with them
Are pure, unblemished by all wrong.

So on this day that would have been
My first Christmas on the Earth,
Mama, Daddy, you need to know
I’m celebrating Jesus’ birth!

When you sing songs to worship Him,
I’m singing with the angels, too.
I’m never closer than when we all
Praise Him for our life anew.

I know that life began for me
Sooner than you thought it would.
I know your hearts are hurting now,
And you would change things if you could.

But in this place, where you’ll come, too,
We’ll be together, forever.
And there will be no more good-byes
When we celebrate Christmas in heaven – together!

~Flowered Tunic~

Also over Thanksgiving, I made this tunic. I already had it cut out--I cut it out in September for the Kid's Clothes Week Challenge which I signed up for and didn't sew for. LOL It's made out of cozy flannel.


It was supposed to be a dress but the pattern was a bit short, and I didn't have enough fabric to cut it longer. So I took a chance and sewed it the way it was. It turned out shorter than I like for a dress so I'm calling it a tunic, and bought a pair of leggings to go with it. =)

It felt like it needed trimming of some sort, so I applied ribbon right on top of the ruffle, which I randomly pleated. I found an applique flower that matched the fabric perfectly, and added that too. I've seen instructions for the pleated ribbon in various places and I really like the randomness of it.



This is also going under the Christmas tree. :-)

Pattern details:
McCalls M5916, View C
Size Large

~Thanksgiving~

I was looking back through my blog post drafts and realized I have one titled "Happy Thanksgiving", meant to be posted on Thanksgiving Day. Oops.

Did you all have a nice Thanksgiving? I know I did! *Smiles* As I mentioned briefly in my previous post, we had our brother here during his school break. It's always nice to spend time with family, and this time was no different!

We didn't do anything extravagant. We just had a nice time together. When Kevin and I got married, my brother was still very much the bratty-yet-lovable brother that he aspired to be. LOL But somewhere along the line he became the best brother a girl could ever want! Seriously, this guy is awesome. I'm so blessed to have him for my brother. He's kind and compassionate, thoughtful and caring.

So we...ate a lot, watched movies, football (not me! just the guys), ate some more (LOL) and hung out.

Oh, and my turkey turned out wonderful. Several mentioned olive oil and salt and that's what I did. It was perfect! Turkeys were such a good price, that I ended up with two extra in the freezer, besides our Thanksgiving bird. So I'll be roasting turkey again in the near future, and I'll try out some of the other ideas. Maybe brine? We'll see!

I have much to be thankful for, and I appreciate the reminder to give thanks that Thanksgiving Day brings. It helps me to be more thankful.

Now it is just 21 days--three weeks!--till Christmas. What? Really? Wait! Didn't we just hang up the calendar for 2010? Where has this year flown??? We're having Kevin's family here for Christmas and I'm really looking forward to it!

~Little Smock~

A few days ago I tied one of my half aprons on my daughter and she loved it! She was Mommy's big girl helper, putting away toys and zipping around in her apron. The next time I tied an apron on she wanted one on too! So I knew I had to make her an apron!

My brother was here over his Thanksgiving break from school, and it was just a lazy type of visit. Food, football (for the guys), and hanging out. While the guys got their fill of football, I went to town sewing!





For the bias tape application, I zig-zagged rather than straight stitched. I like the way it turned out! It wasn't any faster or anything, but I think it adds a nice finishing touch.



I made this same pattern for my youngest sister, a long time ago! She wore it for several years. I don't know if this pattern is still available, but here are the details:
Simplicity 8916, View D
Size 3



This will be under the Christmas tree, probably the last year I can make gifts right under my daugther's nose! As I was photographing the smock this afternoon, she said, "Oh, how cute!"

~Christmas Napkins~

I've been sewing up a storm lately, and I'll be sharing my projects that I've been working on over the next few days! :-)

This year we're having Christmas at our house, and Kevin's side of the family will be here to celebrate Christmas with us. I'm looking forward to them being here.

I haven't bought paper napkins for well over a year now. With company coming, I needed to add to my cloth napkin collection, so we will have enough napkins.

So I did:


I thought this fabric was festive, and I already had it in my fabric bin! I got six napkins out of the piece. Perfect for using up a piece of fabric I bought about 8 years ago!

I had to look back at my tutorial to see how to do the corners. :-)