Kite & String

Embroidery

2011-12-20T01:27:00.000-07:00

I stopped by Broadbent's last month and blew the rest of a gift certificate I had received last Christmas--it took me over an hour to decide which two yards fabrics I wanted. Yes, going to the fabric shop is like a good spa treatment. I purposefully kept that gift certificate in my bag all year to comfort myself. Just the promise of being able to go to the quilt shop and browse alone...quietly...un-rushed...brought me peace of mind all year long.

I picked up a couple of Sherbet Pips (by Aneela Hoey) fat quarters and used some of them to create a little scene (?) on Keira's pink tee shirt. I had to cover an ink stain she happened to get on it the first day she wore it (!). I used-what's it called-that double sided interfacing stuff you use for appliqués...Heat Bond (from Wal Mart)...(I'm trying to stop my addiction to the "PRC's distribution leg," but it's hard.)

on the way out the door to school

Comfortstitching is Aneela Hoey's blog. It was on my blogroll a couple of years ago. I don't know why I took it off, but since then, Aneela Hoey's designed I think 3 fabric lines, all with similar playful themes. I like the colors she uses, and her hand-sketched fabric, some of which are based on her embroidery characters. So much fabric that is bloating (my favorite 2011 word) the fabric market out there is quickly-tweaked digital manipulation. Although I do enjoy a lot of the 'digitized' fabrics out there, it's relieving to see fabric that's still designed à la main. Oh, I'll shut my modern fabric design-wannabe-critic mouth now.

A couple of Aneela's pdf embroidery patterns I'd like to try...

Aneela's shop

Some cool embroidery books to check out:

It's Finished!

2011-12-11T23:39:00.000-07:00

I started my second ever quilt in October to cover a guest bed before my sis and mom were to show in Nov. I hadn't finished it by the time they arrived. While I worked on it, my little sister showed interest in it. I had told her that I would make her a bedspread down the road once I got a little more quilt practice in, and this was my first time machine quilting, so it was going to have a lot of mistakes, but she said that this one was it! She insisted that she loved the fabrics I was using, so I obliged. I sent it off in a large flat rate USPS box the other day...

Laurie Wisbrun Tufted Tweets fabrics - love!

For the machine quilting, I tried to use up an assortment of Guttermann colored thread
that I had on hand, including beige, navy, gray, and white...all on one quilt (is that a faux pas?)

I like that you can't see the messy quilting on this one

red is a Kaffe Fassett that I really like

thanks to a blog reader who traded some of this Thimbleberries 3's Company with me

Echino scrap on the left, Alexander Henry on the right

Anthology fabrics

a reproduction, Regency III by Judie Rothermel - an all-time favorite fabric

the dotted embossed fabric is made by Diamond Textiles, would like to use some of this in black

Timber fabrics

I did my best at machine quilting (ok, I got lazy after a few hours!), but the fact that
some of the shapes look more like private parts than puzzle pieces did keep me entertained!

I really like this Timber fabric

back, using a linen blend tablecloth I got at a yard sale (paisley) and lavender Wally fabric

all folded and ready to ship to Hawaii

Ikea Love

2011-11-09T23:45:00.001-07:00

I have a beige Ikea sheet I bought a few years back for a dollar or two that I am still getting use out of...

Bibs out of scraps

Skirt for Kalei (2.5 years old). Here, I just used the elastic that was already
in the fitted sheet to make a skirt...pulling it tighter, of course, and adding some
Denyse Schmidt County Fair dots at the bottom. Took half an hour, if that.

Kahea is now almost 6 months old. I love him.

The binding is the Ikea sheet here : ).

Kimono top (pattern from Habitual)

No Ikea here, but a gift for a Hawaiian baby boy - Anthology fabrics + black minkee

Simplicity 2863 & A Quilt in the Making

2011-10-19T00:17:00.003-06:00

Simplicity 2863

This two-piece (front and back) pattern was a cinch to sew. Since I used striped jersey, I wanted to match up the stripes along the side seams, so cutting took a little longer than I expected. I used the dress (below, left) view, without the elasticized waist. Highly recommend this pattern for knits, esp if you want a cheap, easy top. I just love boatnecks, so I think I will wear this summer top into the Winter.

Random Quilt

Forty-eight 12"x12" blocks to make a bedspread quilt for one of our guest room twin beds. My mom and sis are coming in a couple of days so I have a deadline. As of this moment, I've finished the quilt top and back and must make the sandwich, machine quilt, and bind it (ugh). This will be my first time machine quilting.

Here are some process photos (click on them for a description of the fabrics):

I wanted to use scraps for this quilt, as well as stash-bust, so I did a combination of 12"x12" plain blocks as well as sewn blocks. (Does that even make sense?) The sewn blocks were kind of impromptu, without planning, I just sort of cut and measured till it reached 12" on each side. It was fun, but time consuming. I started this quilt a month ago. My husband is happy to have the dining room table back.

More to come when it's done. Happy sleeping!

The Stainmaster

2011-09-28T13:31:00.002-06:00

I pride myself off of being able to remove any stain out of anything. Sometimes I use Google's help (didyaknow you can get Sharpie pen off of finished wood with an eraser?), but usually, I can get any stain out. Here are some of my stain protocols:

normal stains out of clothing (food, dirt, etc.) = Resolve / Shout spray + run through wash; check if it's out before putting it in the dryer, if not then hang dry and do the following...
stubborn stains = do a liquid detergent dab onto the stain and scrub under warm water, then soak with a Tbsp of more detergent in warm water in the sink for an hour. Run through the washer again.
liquid carpet stains = I have a 4 step regimen for these:

grab 2 dry rags + 1 wet rag + Resolve spray. Soak up as much of the liquid with a dry rag(s) first.
spray, let sit for 5 min if it's a juice/colored
come back with a damp rag and dab it out. Don't rub your rag back and forth over the carpet or it'll add 2 years of wear onto that spot. If it won't come out, do another spray, 5 minutes, and damp rag.
Lastly, use your dry rag or towel to soak up moisture.

Newborn baby poop stains (I'm talking about the mustard yellow stuff) = After our first child and trying just about everything out there, by our second baby, I'd discovered that good old fashioned white bar soap takes out baby poop best, even faster and easier than detergent. The cheaper the soap, the better. Just rinse the stain under warm water (get as much of the goo out as possible with water first). Then get the bar of soap wet and rub it onto the stain. Then put the soap down and grab two parts of the stained cloth with each hand and scrub the stain back and forth. Rinse with warm water and reapply more soap if needed. This is the best for those onesie stains on the binding.

Admittedly, there are some stains that just can;t be removed, like some inks and paints on clothing. A few years ago, some ink got onto Keira's dress that I couldn't get out, so instead of trash it, or have her use it for pj's I added appliqués to cover the stains.

Another ink stain covered by fabric appliqué...

If you have any tips, I'd appreciate it!

Lately

2011-09-23T17:55:00.000-06:00

Fabric Finds

I found this drapey striped jersey knit at WalMart for $2/yard-using a Built By Wendy pattern to make a boat neck top

men's shirts (top-$1 yard sale and white was an American Eagle men's shirt I bought Ryan in Hawaii when we were dating) and a double gauze (bottom- from Fabric Barn in Long Beach $2/yard)

blue striped shirting and double gauze from Fabric Barn in Long Beach $2/yard

Circle Jerks
I made this circle skirt a few months ago. I used Chic and Simple Sewing and Dana's instrux to learn how to do it. It was my first time with charmeuse and making a circle skirt, so not a good first time combo...the hem was so hard to do without it looking all wrinkled. I think a walking foot would have helped, but it's the nature of the cut and the fabric that makes it hard to hem. I ended up using some satin ribbon as bias tape for the hem. Was embarrassed to wear it to church, but I did get a compliment on it, so didn't feel too weird. I don't think I'm a circle skirt kinda gal. I much more would like to make a nice pencil skirt or something, but I am still a nursing mom and don't feel like starving myself to look good in one!

Before N' After Refash
So I found this XXL dress for $4 at Old Navy a coupla years ago during one of their half off clearance sales. I don't shop at Old Navy anymore, but was looking for something in particular and found this dress. I think it's like a brushed cotton poplin or something, but it's so soft and I like the print.

Last year, I made a 2T girls dress out of the bottom of the dress using a pattern I made up. Here's a top I made last week with the leftovers of the dress. I used a Lisette pattern for a top to help trace new arm holes and sleeves and take the sides in. I probably won't wear it. There wasn't enough fabric for it to be long enough, but maybe I can tuck it into that cool pencil skirt I'm going to make, right?

Sewing is Good for Gifting
Small makeup bag/pouch and card I made for my Grandma Marge in Idaho using Amy Butler Nigella fabric and AB paper, too. Wow, I like Amy Butler!

in the works
I've cut the fabric for a dress from Simplicity 2215 by Cynthia Rowley. I've never made anything from a Cynthia Rowley pattern before, but I like her sleek-ish designs.

I saw a few 5-yard mini-bolts at WalMart for $5 each (that's $1/yard - hehe). While most or all are flimsy polyesters, there are a few that aren't bad quality. I thought this black rayon/nylon blend pseudo-silk would be a good start for a dress...I will update as the sewing progresses.

Hello Again

2011-09-09T01:03:00.001-06:00

Over a month since I last posted...evidence of our busy life lately, but I have found time to sew a bit...

May You Bloom & Grow

My talented sister-in-law asked me to make some bloomers for her newborn photo shoots. She took some excellent photos of Kahea when he was 2 weeks old. She recently gave birth to a beautiful baby girl and sent me a photo of her in one of the bloomers. I used a pdf pattern from Little Lizard King.

She's Crafty
Now and then when I see a fast, easy hair thingy tutorial, I'll try...

felt flowers (tute here)

using thin fabric, doubled up

Sewing Inspiration

I've been looking through Cal Patch's Design-It-Yourself Clothes pattern-making book and have been inspired by the following tops, dresses, and skirts to design and sew something(s) that combines the following characteristics: (no particular reason why the tie-dyed one is featured)

1. Simplicity 2147, 2. Me Made June - Day 5, 3. Retro print top, 4. New top with Peter Pan collar, 5. Men's shirt refashion, 6. pleated blue shirt, 7. handmade striped tunic, 8. Tabatha's Sew U Boatneck Tshirt, 9. Traveler Dress, 10. market skirt, 11. Bubble sleeve top - front, 12. i made this shirt..., 13. with belt14. Not available15. Not available16. Not available

It's a Cruel, Cruel Summer

The summer has flown by. My oldest, Keira, started kindergarten last week. So proud of her "I love it!" attitude. She teaches me things.

Kahea 3 months, w/ auburn looking hair

Our favorite hangout, a nearby yogurt place, when Kahea was a couple
weeks old

bookworms @ Barnes and Noble

with their Hawaii-transplant Grandpa on the South Towne train

my sassy but sweet Kalei

Kai's 4th birthday

Kahea, now 3 months old

Life's not too bad : )

Of Late...

2011-07-26T00:41:00.004-06:00

Target Circle Tee Knock-off
My two teenage nieces found a top at Target that they wanted but could not afford, so I copied it using Hobby Lobby black knit fabric (use the 40% off coupon from their website if not on sale). The Hobby Lobby knit doesn't drape as nicely as the Target one and has no elasticity, so stays stretched out once it's pulled until you wash it...and even then...(note the V-neck neckline botch job on mine). I thought for sure after I made one, my other niece wouldn't want one and I would be off the hook, but of course, they liked it.

Target Circle Tee on top, my knock off on bottom:

Target.com

Gussetted Buttercup Bag

City Girl by Kitty Yoshida is one of my favorite fabric lines. It's a few years old, so whenever I see it clearanced, I try to get some. Pattern is from Rae's blog. I added a 3 or 4 inch gussett for more room. Rae's free downloadable pdf pattern is the small version of the bag (the larger you must purchase) but I wanted it larger, and added inchage to the bottom and lower sides. I envisioned myself using this bag to sneak a drink and snacks into the movies this summer on a hot date, but realized that I have to take my baby bag for a few more months since Baby is still nursing and has to come with us...doi.

Crochet Magic

These were a gift for Kahea from my good friend, Genesis. She hemstitched soft blue and white flannel with a silky beige crochet yarn. I've tried my hand at crochet a coupla times...it seems too complicated. I guess some people just have a knack for it.

Handstitched Quilt for Hawaiian Girl
My little sister visited Utah a coupla months ago with my mother. They both (say they) enjoy Utah, even when it's chilly, but for some reason they always get back on that plane to Hawaii when it's time to go home. I made my sister this blanket for her birthday, at her request. She picked out the fabrics. The grey is a sateen sheet from Ikea. The backing is black minkee. She says she'll use it in Hawaii. I told her to bring it back with her to Utah next time to actually put it to use.

Tiny Tiny

2011-06-25T23:42:00.001-06:00

Kahea turned one month old this week. He has been a dream come true. Since Ryan and I now feel we are "done" having children, I am soaking up every newborn minute I can. In the past, I was always working when I had my three previous babies, so this is a treat. Sometimes when nursing, I hafta remind myself to put away the laptop or turn off the TV and just enjoy him (force of habit, I guess).

Little sleep around here...and less sewing, as you can imagine. But I have been able to get my sewing fix on little projects. Baby Kahea spits up more than previous babies we've had so I've been trying to find time to make some bibs. This one out of old T-shirts and already-made cotton binding took about 30 minutes to make...collectively (meaning I didn't sit down for 30 minutes and do it all at once, no, everything is done in 5 minute increments!).

I made this block from scraps of a quilt I started 2 years ago--it's been cut and now needs to be pieced. The fabric is from a FQ bundle I got for my birthday right after Kalei was born. It's David Textiles' Bohemian from WalMart.

Newborn Photos

2011-06-14T22:26:00.000-06:00

My sister-in-law is a natural light baby photographer and offered to do Kahea's newborn photos. I've always wanted to do newborn photos, but never had the moolah or motivation to do it before my babies were too old (they're usually done before Baby's 2 weeks old). So I was so grateful she offered to do this for us. She did such a great job with him during the session, was so patient, even getting him to sleep a few times--not easy to do when you're not the mom/food source. She even had space heaters and a heating pad to help keep our little guy warm during the session. I love the colors she uses and her fun props. Check out her work here.

Baby Boy Is Here

2011-05-30T22:07:00.001-06:00

Baby Kahea

Our little one arrived a week ago today. We named him Kāheaikalanipō Patrick Johnson. His Hawaiian name came to me a couple of weeks before his birth. His first name, Kāhea, means "to call out or warn." A friend of mine pointed out that his name meaning connotes a leadership role.

I went into labor around 2am last Monday morning, just after publishing my SMS Giveaway post. Ryan drove me to the hospital at 5am. After the delivery at 11am, I was wheeled into our corner recovery room with bay windows, the best room in the house, I was told. While I waited for Baby and Ryan to return from tests for his blood sugar level, I got to read all the comments on my giveaway post on my phone : ).

Bitty Booties finished

The best thing about our stay besides having our new little one was the food. The hospital recently upgraded their meal system to "room service" on demand. They give you a menu with entrees, sides, desserts, sandwiches and snacks and you can call and order as often as once an hour. I was in heaven. My favorite was the grilled salmon with mashed potatoes and fries,which I ordered twice. This is as close to a vacation as Ryan and I have gotten, so we were so excited. Given the yummy food and chance to veg and be alone with Baby, I could have stayed in the hospital one more night, but after the nurses coming into our room every 2 hours--sometimes more--we were outty before dinner on Tuesday night.

We realize that being home with Baby is a blessing. While at the hospital, there was a little one in the nursery who had to stay several nights due to liquid in his lungs. My husband helped the father of the baby give the baby a blessing to be healthy and to be able to take him home soon.

Having simple things finished in time for Baby's arrival was also nice.

car seat canopy using Joel Dewberry's Chestnut Hill

Boppy Pillow Cover using scraps

This week, my SIL is doing a photo shoot of our little one, so more photos to come...

May 23rd Giveaway Winners

2011-05-26T01:42:00.001-06:00

Hey, ladies and gents(?), thanks to all who fearlessly answered my giveaway questions. And thank you to you few who knew what my mystery fabric was! I went into labor early Monday morning and our 4th little one was born a few hours later, so it was a good thing I had written and pre-scheduled my giveaway post! We are home from the hospital now and I am glad to announce the winners:

First, the winner of the Denyse Schmidt FQs and scrap pack is:

Jenelle said... 77

Ok so here are my guesses:
1. Amy Butler Lotus
2. Momo Wonderland
3. Anna Maria Horner Chocolate Lollipop
Thanks for the chance to win!
May 24, 2011 7:58 PM

Second, the first person who helped me locate my mystery fabric is:

Kirie said... 1
The last fabric is RJR FABRICS THIMBLEBERRIES.
May 23, 2011 2:01 AM

I've emailed both of you. I hope that you all had a fun time entering all the SMS giveaways. As for me, I've got a little baby to tend to but will be back shortly.

It's Giveaway Day(s)!

2011-05-23T00:38:00.000-06:00

It's that time again. This time I'm giving away 3 Fat Quarters from Denyse Schmidt's DS Quilts Fairgrounds collection, along with a 5 oz. scrap bag (below). Both are from my Etsy shop, Fabrixoup. Comments must be made by midnight on Wednesday, May 25th, Mountain Standard Time. International entries welcome. I'll announce the winner on Thursday and contact the winner via email.

Here are the booty prizes:

This time, I'm making you work for your entry. Look at the 3 photos of fabrics below and tell me the name of the designer and the name of the line/collection it is from (not the manufacturer). Answer all three in one comment, and please number your comment. For example: "#5 Denyse Schmidt, Hope Valley." You must name/identify all 3 fabrics correctly to win. If you're not sure, it doesn't hurt to try! I'm trying to keep it easy, so please don't look at others' answers! I will run the random generator until someone has all 3 questions correct.

*BONUS PRIZE*: The FIRST person to correctly identify the piece of fabric below will receive a special bonus prize. You can tell me anything about it--the manufacturer, designer, line, anything you know. I have been searching for this fabric for a long time, but have no idea what it is, so the first person who helps me find it first gets a prize as well. Good luck!!

A Little Time Left

2011-05-18T19:34:00.001-06:00

No baby yet, but still "plugging"-or should I say waddling--along each day : ). I came home today from taking my MIL to the airport to find a wonderful package on my doorstep. It was my blog giveaway prize from Camille Creates. Camille sews, knits, and has pretty good taste in music! My winnings were a Moda layer cake, which is 42 10" squares of fabric from 3 Sisters' newest line, Oasis, along with a template for making fabric banners. Check out Camille's banner tutorial on her blog. I'm really looking forward to working with these pretty fabrics. Thank you, Camille!

Quilt Market came and went last weekend here in Salt Lake City. I caught a lot of coverage on other blogs, so I didn't feel too left out. I like Cottage Mama's post on her experiences at Quilt Market. Quilt Festival is coming up in a couple of months in Long Beach, CA, which is where my hubby is from, and I am tempted to find a reason to take a road trip / pilgrammage down there, even with a newborn and 3 little ones. What I won't do for fabric... : )

I've finished sewing all the baby goods I wanted to make, finally, and before baby's arrival. That may be a first! My list included a car seat canopy, boppy pillow cover, nursing cover (below), baby bag, an outfit, and a couple of quilts/blankets.

With a little extra time before baby arrives, I'm tempted to make lightweight summer swaddling blanket with what "boy" fabrics I have left from the projects.

I pulled out this old WIP that I started 3.5 years ago when pregnant with Kainoa. They're to make Bitty Booties, a free pattern from Heather Bailey's blog. I'm going to try and finish them.

Birthdays and A Bag Is Born

2011-05-14T23:03:00.001-06:00

What an eventful 2 weeks we've had. Kalei turned 2 on Saturday, April 30th. We had a little family celebration at home, with Better than Anything cake like last year.

Big brother excited for cake.
We try to leave knives next to children

She handled all the attention and opening presents so maturely.

She is definitely our sassy but sweet girl...she's very clean and tidy, gutsy and cuddly, and mature in her own way.

That day was also Ryan and my 6th anniversary, so he and I went out that night. I had pretty hefty contractions for 3+ hours, and was convinced we were gonna have a baby the next day, but, no.

I turned 34 on Wednesday and had a great day with friends and family. The day before my birthday, I found out that I had won Camille Creates' blog giveaway, which made my birthday even more fun. I've never won a giveaway before!! I got some fabric and buttons for my birthday, other than loot.

Ryan's mom made a surprise visit and flew in from Long Beach on Mother's Day weekend, so we spent the weekend again in Orem with his family. And while we were up in Brigham City visiting family, my old baby bag tore a bit in the corner, forcing me to finish the new bag:

The green is Joel Dewberry's Modern Meadow, blue is Ikea upholstery fabric, brown is linen

Hidden pocket for gum

I put some Lisette Simplicity patterns in the shop. After I have the baby and lose some weight, I'd like to make a couple of these.

Chambre Privée and Quilt Market

2011-05-03T22:58:00.004-06:00

After 4+ years of living in our condo, I've finally put some curtains up in our master bedroom. Each bedroom has blinds, but you know how "naked" the windows look with no curtains. I used Amy Butler Nigella home dec fabric.

If I did them again, I'd a mounted the curtain rod a couple of inches higher so you couldn't see the top of the window frame when you're standing up. We didn't take into account that the ring clips lower the curtain level about 2 inches. Also, the bottom hem is only about 1" while the top hem is 2"--a measuring mistake on my part.

I must have an issue with privacy...Ryan says I'm too exhibitionist because I don't cower into a corner if the blinds are open when I walk to our closet from the shower. I'm from Hawaii and that must have something to do with it. Hey, everybody's got one, and if you're really that bored with your life that you have to spy into my window, knock yourself out with my saggy old body. Plus, we're on the 3rd floor, but I'd still be nonchalant if we weren't.

The International Quilt Market will be here in Salt Lake City next week, May 12-15. It's one of those things I told myself I'd attend if it ever came to the city I was living in, like a concert. I think IQM is the biggest sewing/quilting industry show out there. They rotate cities/locations every year, and I heard that the last time it was in SLC a few years ago, it went really well, so they brought it back. The biggest fabric companies and designers will be there (do I sound like a New Kids on the Block groupie?). But, alas, I've come to grips with the fact that I'm not attending, for a combination of reasons, my impending due date + extensive walking being one of them. There'll be plenty of photos posted in blogland, so I'll enjoy it yet again via Internet. But, oh, how I'd love to take a couple hundred dollars to the sample sale and push some lady down when we both reach for the same Echino fabric stack. Oh, how I'd love to take cheesy photos with Amy Butler and Anna Maria Horner with a star-struck look on my face.

I went to the Utah Women's Expo the day before Easter, and the nice lady at the Bernina booth told me there's also a Home Machine Quilting Show (HMQS) at the South Towne Expo Center starting tomorrow, May 4th. So if you're in Utah, try to go to one of these, if not for you, for me!

Spring Snow

2011-04-27T13:07:00.001-06:00

So, it snowed yesterday. At least it didn't on Easter Sunday. We spent Saturday and Sunday at Ryan's sister's place in Orem. The kids' cousins came down from Brigham City. We ate the weekend away and I think the baby is bigger because. I am eating an egg salad sandwich right now with blue pieces of egg in it : )

The bouncy house kept the kids entertained while the adults got fatter inside.

My sassy 2-year old

36-week belly photo. I hate when buttons look like your nipples!

When I went in to the O.B. last week, I weighed in at 170 lbs--this is my biggest pregnancy yet, and probably my biggest baby. My mom laughed when I told her. Ryan laughed. I'm not really a weight watcher, but the news made me worry a bit about how big this baby will be, especially because I don't do drugs during labor. I won't be walking for weeks! Bring it : [

Latest Findings

2011-04-23T03:16:00.003-06:00

So, I took a break and went solo to the Orem Robert's Arts and Crafts the other day. I found these stamp sets up by the cash register for $1/pack in differnt fonts. My friend and I want to make homemade labels for the clothing we sew using stamps and linen tape. There's a tute here. Also found a pack of scrapbooking buttons on sale for a couple bucks. Roberts really doesn't stock any sewing notions, but you can actually find a lot of "sewing" things there. They do have knitting supplies in the back, as well as some solid colored canvas and cottons. Did I tell you that my midwife who delivered Kainoa was the granddaughter of the Robert who started the store? Her father developed the famous Cricut die cut machine software. When I was pregnant with Kainoa 4 years ago, I always jokingly hoped she'd give me a gift certificate to Roberts as a reward for a successful home birth. I'm such a dork.

I also went to Utah's newest Hobby Lobby shop right down the street in American Fork. Can I just say that this store makes me giddy? I'm not that into home decor or wall art, but love zig zaggin' up and down the aisles, esp when they have a 50% off sale. My favorite part, of course, is their fabric. I've been a fan of their in-house brand of fabrics because of the low price (usually $4.90/yard for quilting weights) and though the quality of their quilting weights isn't designer/quilt shop quality, it's worth the price. Here's a Flickr pool of some of their fabrics. I've noticed that some of their quilting cottons have a higher thread count than others and the quality of some of their newer prints has improved.

I found a newer print that I absolutely adore. I made Keira a skirt out of 1/2 yard of it. If you're wondering what the pattern is, I mocked a copy of Oliver + S's Hopscotch skirt from photos. While it's not the best copy, it's better than paying $16/pattern when you're a cheapskate like I am. I want to go back to HL and get more of this fabric. Here's a photo of some coordinating HL fabrics.

We'll be spending most of Easter weekend in Orem with family. Photos to follow. Happy Easter, everyone!!

Easter Greetings

2011-04-20T17:17:00.000-06:00

I've made it to Easter almost, and am starting to count down the days till my/our May 24th due date. However, the Braxton-Hicks contractions seem to have begun a couple of weeks earlier than they used to, so I think this one may be an early bird. We shall see. My mom and sis won't arrive until May 16th, but we have other family nearby who are willing to help watch the kids if it comes down to it.

0-3 month Baby Gap jumpers

Getting ready for a new baby is one of my favorite things about being pregnant. I enjoy going through a box of newborn clothing, handling them, folding them, and making them. I made a pile of 1st month preemie and newborn sized clothing and decided to take photographs of them. For boys, I've especially come to like beiges, browns, and whites, and the softer the better.

I hand painted these preemie tops, the pants are preemie from WM

I dyed both of these, made the pants from some white knit fabric

Love these browns from Target, hat from my sis for Kainoa

Preemie organic knit set

I made this for Kainoa--I think the pants are too small.
This outfit is my "most popular" photo on Flickr, go figure!

April Flowers

2011-04-11T18:38:00.003-06:00

I made Keira and Kalei a bunch of hair clips over the past couple of weeks. It's helped compensate for the wintry snowy weather we've had. I have to say, they were so fun to make, and with most of them taking all of 10-15 minutes, and the endless possibilities, the more I made, the more I wanted to make. I hung some on some yellow ribbon for easy access and so they won't get squished in a box.

Here are all of the fabric flowers I made the past couple of weeks, most of them using on line tutorials. It's an addiction..

This brooch made of AMH's Chocolate Lollipop fabric, tute here. It's thicker, so good for a purse decoration, maybe not so much for hair:

I used Kelly's from Sewing in No Man's Land tutorial to make these pinwheel / stacked flowers. The top right deep purple one is made of cheap acrylic felt I think I paid 25 cents/sheet for. The light blues are real wool felt, and while thicker and sturdier, and probably won't pill like the acrylic, I don't see much of an aesthetic difference for $3.25 more per sheet...unless you're gonna buy wool felt to actually felt it, but for these hair clips, acrylic works fine, and is actually lighter weight for little girls' hair.

I used this tute to make these felt (right) and cotton rosettes:

This one was just some trim I had that I rolled up and sewed a big button onto:

These stacked flowers clips are sort of my design. The one on the left is to match Kalei's Liberty for Target dress:

Here are some other hair clip/brooch tutes I wanna give a whirl:

-Flower corsage

-Tattered Flowers

-Scrunched Rosetta Fabric Flower

-Simply Vintagegirl's fabric flowers

And here's a whole awesome blog dedicated to hair bows and fabric flowers.

Happenings in Snowy April

2011-04-08T11:08:00.001-06:00

I got little Keira registered for kindergarten the other day, finally. She is so excited to start school. The kids ask about holding and feeding the baby regularly, feeling Mom's tummy, asking if he's asleep.

I'm 33 along now and wishing I could go swim in the pool. I wanted to show off a tank top I made one night in January. The first piece of clothing I've sewn for myself that I really like to wear. It's leftover Alexander Henry's Blakely fabric from the baby bag I made last year.

I copied a maternity tank top I'd bought at Wal-Mart years ago for $1 (below). The black cardi above I wear all the time, from Nordstrom Rack.

A top I made for Kalei from Jo-Ann fabric, again using the Tessa Pattern

I continue sewing for baby boy. I like this Joel Dewberry Manzanita fabric paired with a thin stretch denim. I used Habitual's Kimono tutorial.

Stylish Blog Award

2011-04-03T15:20:00.000-06:00

Wendy at Crafter's Apprentice generously handed out a few blog awards to her blog buddies, and I was one of 'em. Thanks, Wendy!

Here are the rules:
1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award.
2. Share seven things about yourself.
3. Award 6 recently discovered great bloggers.
4. Contact the bloggers and tell them about the award.

Seven things about me:
1. I served an LDS mission in Geneva, Switzerland for 18 months when I was 21. I learned a little bit about hard work, miracles, walking in the snow all day, hospitality (from other people), and made lots of friends sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with them. It was the hardest thing I've ever done, but raising kids is creeping right up on the list! Oh, and I gained a few pounds on Swiss chocolate and cheese.
2. When I was 14, I started making my own handmade cards. I used to write to friends in California as well as my dad's parents in Rexburg, Idaho (which helped form a beautiful relationship!) I used to love making funky envelopes out of Vogue magazine pages too. I think that my love for fabric and sewing started with paper.
3. My senior year in college at BYU, I worked as a lab tech doing DNA research for my Botany Professor. It was honestly the best job I ever had. I worked alone most days, piping DNA of different plants into gels, listening to Texas and the Corrs. My name was even included in a publishing! I miss those days sometimes.
4. I like Asian food more than any other type of food. I don't like Chinese buffets.
5. I used to be a tomboy when I was a pre-teen. I played girls basketball, co-ed soccer, co-ed softball, co-ed flag football, and was captain of each those teams one year. I didn't find out till later that the reason why I could never run half a mile without panting was due to asthma, but I held up pretty good.
6. In high school, I got a scuba diving license and discovered a new world. I haven't been diving since I left Hawaii after high school.
7. I love reggae music. In 7th grade, I started listening faithfully to Alpha Blondy, Peter Tosh, ASWAD, and UB40. It's hard to not hear reggae music when you grow up in Hawaii.

I award Stylish Blog Awards to the following creative peeps:
1. Knitted by Olivia - knits and sews
2. WeePereas - quilts and sews baby booties and blankets, check out her shop
3. Deep Thoughts By Cynthia / Meringue Designs - amazing pillow covers & modern embroidery
4. Drago[knit]fly - sews and quilts
5. Hendrixville - quilts
6. Quilty Habit - quilts

I'll contact them to let them know, but you should check them out.

Hand Quilted Baby Quilt

2011-03-30T19:33:00.004-06:00

I finished Baby's quilt. This time, I used batting and a back, so am calling it a "quilt" instead of a blanket.

To be honest, it was quite difficult for me to get going on this project. I wasn't as fond of the color combo once I started piecing, but once it was finished, I liked it (of course).

I used Denyse Schmidt's Katie Jump Rope (brown), French General's La Petite Ecole (small dots and stripes) that were leftover from Baby's Hand Quilted Blanket, Lecien (large dots), and the white is from a men's shirt I bought at a yard sale last year. There was just something about the soft flannel-like fabric and colors, and it looked like it hadn't been worn.

The back of the quilt/playmat is beige and white soft brushed twill from Wal Mart. The softness--despite the thickness--of brushed twill makes it a great baby blanket fabric. I didn't use a hoop or anything, so the handstitching on the back is all wabi-sabi. I kinda like it.

Again, I used Anna Maria's method to hand quilt, using brown DMC floss. The hand quilting was the funnest part. Holding the quilt while I sat and hand quilted it made me feel closer to baby...and closer to being prepared for his arrival into our home and lives.

Also, if you're into making handmade cards and stuff, there's a giveaway at See Kate Sew for an Epic Letterpress/Die Cut machine...sooo hope for one for my birthday, but I'm also gonna enter this giveaway for it.

Update

2011-03-25T21:07:00.002-06:00

The kids and I seem to get very stir crazy every March here in Utah. With teaser days up to 60 degrees, and then snow the next, can you blames us? I've been having vivid pregnancy dreams of Hawaii and beaches it seems, but they have nothing to do with the story of the dream. I just wake up remembering a beach scene. So sad!!

Yesterday, after stuffing my pregnant self at India Palace buffet on Provo's Center Street with our family, I went next door to check out Fabric Mill. It's one of those shops I've passed several times and never made an effort to go into. It was cute and friendly. I added my review to my Directory of Utah Fabric Shops page. One of the best parts was their $2/yard clearance table. How just being in a fabric store by myself for a few minutes is like a day at the spa (ok, maybe).

So, I've been having a hard time sleeping lately. If I go to bed before midnight, it seems I can only sleep for 6 hours, then can't sleep. Needless to say, I've gotten more sewing done. I swear, I have so much to make in the next two months, but am looking forward to it. One of the things I want to make is a boppy pillow from scratch, including stuffing, pillow itself, and pillow cover. Have you seen how expensive they are? My SIL has one I will try to copy.

Well, nothing unusually exciting to say. Will come back with photos of latest creations!!

Early Easter Dresses

2011-03-15T00:37:00.002-06:00

I made the girls' Easter dresses a little early this year. I have a couple more months until the baby arrives, so am getting non-baby sewing out of the way. I still have a blanket to finish, a new baby bag, a car seat canopy, and a nursing cover to sew. Let me take a moment to complain about my pregnancy aches and pains--actually, I think I won't just yet--I think that might make it worse. Let's just say that I'm "feelin' it."

I made this dress for Keira using $1/yard cotton lawn fabric I found at WalMart a couple of years ago. I bought 5 yards of it at the time and have not touched it since. I loved working with it and am impressed with the quality, it being from WalMart. I added some muslin lining to the bodice.

I made the dress using a muslin pattern I traced from a friend's daughter's Cherokee Target dress:

I can't tell you how much easier I find it to make a muslin from an existing dress rather than follow a commercial pattern.

Here's the dress I made for Kalei:

The fabric is leftover from a Liberty for Target (Spring 2010) scarf I got for $3 something. So, two girls dresses for $3 something. I always try to gloat about cheap fabric finds, but, really, fabric is fabric, whether it's expensive or cheap, the real value is the effort you put into the project, right?
To make Kalei's dress, I made a muslin from this Target Cherokee brand girls dress:

Target also has a nice chambray version of this dress. I am always impressed with at least a couple of Cherokee or Osh Kosh brand dresses whenever I go to Target. When Kalei wore this Target dress, a couple of people at church thought I had sewn it. So much of kids (and adult) clothing these days seems to display "handmade" characteristics, but you can't copy Mama's loving artistry, no matter how sloppy it is.

After 2+ years, I finally changed my blog layout and banner. Just a matter of laziness.

So Spring IS Coming

2011-03-09T00:04:00.000-07:00

I made Keira a little outfit for spring, seeing as I have ~2 months left before baby arrives. This I made from some Jo-Ann fabric I got for V-Day two years ago. It is a little sheer, and has a slight sheen to it, too. The nicest quilting fabric I've seen at Jo-Ann as far as girls' clothing goes. I got the lace trim there, too. So nice to use something that's been shelved that long.

Again, for the 4th (?) time, I used my Oh So Sassy Tessa Dress pattern to make the top. I wish I had made the top a little longer. Also, this was the first time I'd used the pattern for a size 5T, and noticed the arm holes were a little snug. But she wore it to church and no complaints, so I'm happy. I put 4 pleats at the bottom, which made the skirt bow out a little at the bottom, an unintentional nice touch. I also made her a matching hair bow. I love making hair bows. So calming. And quick. And endless possibilities.

Speaking of Jo-Ann, I went there during their President's Day Sale weekend, and scored two new Simplicity patterns: a new Cynthia Rowley 2512 and a Project Runway 2698 (I like the short skirt on the left) ($1 ea). I found some apparel fabric I'd like to make a skirt out of, but cant' decide which to make it into. If you wouldn't mind, let me know what skirt you think in a comment : ) Thanks!

4th Blogiversary Giveaway Winner

2011-02-19T11:36:00.001-07:00

The winner is #4:

Wendy said... 4

I only started my blog at the end of summer last year, but I'm addicted. I started it as a way of keeping track of the projects I'd made. I'm a "new crafter" who's always been creative so I'm enjoying trying new crafts and learning skills and my blog is an outlet for that. I don't have any friends who craft so it's a great way to connect with like-minded people.

February 17, 2011 1:47 AM

Wendy, I've emailed you for your address! Thanks to everybody for your comments on blogging. Till next time...

My 4th Year Blogiversary Giveaway!

2011-02-16T22:38:00.001-07:00

Four years ago, I decided to start a blog on my kids, and just to kind of vent. Ryan and I had moved a few months earlier from warm Hawaii to start a new job in Utah. We were living in my stepmother's basement, I was working 4 hours a day from home for ComTel Hawaii, and had just found out we were expecting Kainoa. So much has changed, so many diapers, sewing, fabric, kids DVDs, and sleepless nights...well, maybe not that much has changed.

It's weird to go back and read your old posts. I wasn't sewing yet back in Feb. 2007, and Keira was only one year old. So weird. Kind of creepy how kids grow up so fast!

February 17th marks 4 years to the day, so to commemorate, I'm giving away a brand new Amy Butler Frenchy Bag pattern and two half yards of Kitty Yoshida's City Girls fabric. Leave me a comment saying why or when or how you started blogging, and if you don't have a blog, why do you read them? You have till Saturday morning when I announce the random winner. Happy blogging!

So Sew

2011-02-14T15:35:00.003-07:00

Recent projects for my kids the past two weeks.

I made Kainoa something, finally...a pair of pj's (again) out of this bright David Walker Robots fabric I ordered during Fabric.com's awesome Westminster Blowout sale last year (after a discount code and shipping, I paid less than $2/yard!). I couldn't believe how much fabric pj's take--.75 yards for each color. But he loves them and hates taking them off. I need to sew for my boy more often. This shot after 2 nights of sleep and two long mornings of play, and strawberries on waffles.

Next, a shirt for Kalei. I counted 12 pairs of pants in her drawer the other day, and only one shirt...welp, time to make some shirts!

The first one I made was fun. I used an Old Navy shirt she fits in to make a muslin pattern, then cut into Art Gallery Fabric's Dashing Roses fabric. The matching wrist and neck trim is also AG, but I can't remember what line. 'Twas my first time sewing with Art Gallery fabrics, and I have to say, I prefer it for children's clothing. It is soft and thin, kinda like Alexander Henry fabrics, kinda like a poplin, a little crispier than the medium weight FreeSpirit and Moda fabrics I've sewn with. I love the way the shirt looks on her. This shot again, after she wore it some, sorry I'm sick of ironing for photos!

Next up, I wanted to use the muslin pattern I had made, only tweak it with some gathers and a V-Neck, so came up with this white crisp shirt. I didn't know how to make a V in the neck and just kind of went for it. I quilted horizontal lines into the lined bodice, which kind of hides the ugly V. The fabric is from Patty Young's Andalucia line. I liked working with white, and a simple print this time. I think I prefer brighter, not so busy fabrics for children's clothing, esp girls' dresses and shirts, and will look to use more bright whites like this in the future.

Back

**I've got my 4th year blogiversary giveaway coming up this Thursday, so mozy on back then.

Run Down

2011-02-04T15:43:00.002-07:00

So glad it's Friday. A long week of kids' doctors and dentist appointments in the pre-9am mornings--why I did that to myself, I don't know. Ryan's back in school full-time, that is, 8pm-midnight+ after the kids are in bed. I am looking forward to Valentine's Day, just to fool myself into thinking I might get a spa day/massage gift...isn't that terrible? At least no pregnancy insomnia this week...I was too tired!

This article about parenting young children is hilarious. I found it via stephmodo. I got married when I was 28 and I, too, remember always wondering where my friends disappeared to once they started having children. 3.5 kids later, I say to my single friends who guilt me for not calling, "Have mercy!"

I have gotten a lot of sewing done this week: pj's for Kai, skirt for Kalei, and I started another quilt for unnammed Baby Boy. When the going gets tough, it helps to keep my hands busy.

I added a half yard bundle to the shop that includes some Kaffe Fassett shot cotton. I've never worked with shot cotton before, and it is so soft and tempting to keep for myself. Makes me want to make a skirt with it!

Tessa Dress #3

2011-02-01T16:16:00.007-07:00

I made my niece a dress from my favorite Tessa Dress pattern from Oh So Sassy. I love this pattern because I can tweak it in several different ways. This time, I added belt loops into the side seams and a bow at the neck. The floral fabric is a Liberty of London for Target scarf; the purple is a vintage cotton from my Grams.

I invested $6 in a pair of pinking shears from JoAnn (after a 50% off coupon)--very worth it. It saved me about an hour of overlocking/zig zagging all the raw edges. And I love the look of a pinked edge.

ooooh, a pinked edge

I put a bunch of Anna Maria Little Folks Voile and other fat quarter bundles into the shop this week. All these lightweight fabrics in bright colors are getting me hyped for Spring already and it's only January!

Hand Stitched Baby Blanket

2011-01-26T20:24:00.003-07:00

Last week, I made Baby #4 (still no name) a patchwork blanket that I hand stitched. The fabric is from a La Petite École charm pack by French General (I picked out the boyish prints). The dark red back is a Moda minkee from a local quilt shop.

I made a similar blanket for Kalei's birth, but this time, I decided to hand stitch the back and front together. I used Anna Maria's helpful tutorial on how to hand stitch.

Quilt top before the minkee and handstitching

I didn't use a hoop or anything (c'mon) to hold the layers, just safety pinned the small blanket here and there before I started.

It was a lot more therapeutic than I thought it would be. Want to make another one.

Giveaway

2011-01-20T19:52:00.003-07:00

The winner is of this giveaway is comment #21:

overthetoporiginals said... 21
Thanks for a chance to win your give away. :-)
January 21, 2011 6:30 PM

I'm emailing you to get your address.

Everyone, I'll be having another giveaway around Feb. 17th, my 4 year blogiversary, so stay in touch!
________________________
It's about time for my first giveaway of 2011. It's a small, meek one, but a good start. It's a fabric bundle of light blue fabric (26x32"), two Free Spirit fabrics from Melissa Averinos' Sugar Snap line (each 12x32"), and matching light blue bias binding. It's enough fabric for a doll quilt top, pillow cover, or another small project.

Just leave a comment below, that's all. I'll run a random generator. You have until Monday morning when the winner will be announced. Ciao!

My First Quilt

2011-01-18T00:58:00.001-07:00

I finished my first ever quilt last week, for Keira's bed. I used fabrics I already had and it was cathartic to use some that had been sitting there staring at me for years, as well as see my stash diminish at a larger rate than usual. Now I get to sit on the fabrics I've eyed, and the kids get to jump all over them on Keira's bed.

Post-chicken pox kids

I started off laying out the cut rectangles (after doing more math than I care to do) to arrange them how they should be sewn. I started by laying out the fabrics I had the most number of.

I sewed the rows together and made sure to label them so that when I woke up the next morning with a pregnancy-up-late-sewing-kids-woke-up-all-night hangover, I'd know where I left off.

I inserted rows of vintage white cotton chintz. Here's what the finished top looked like:

Then, the fun was over. Everyone says their favorite part of quilting is the actual quilting part where you stipple/machine quilt the sandwich of top, batting, and quilt back together. Not mine. I spent 2 weeks quilting wavy-straight rows (no free motion quilting foot yet) and rolling this beast through my short-arm machine. I got the worst split thumb sore that bled and throbbed in the middle of the night for several nights just from maneuvering this sucker around to sew wavy lines through it. 'Quilting sucks, man,' I thought. I had originally planned on quilting lines through the entire thing, but opted for leaving some "open" areas (which later would bulge so the quilt doesn't lie flat, but oh well).

Then came time for the binding. I've never taken a quilt class and the binding was the most intriguing and intimidating step. I knew how to cut binding, but didn't know how to attach it or make mitered corners. After searching through several youtube instructionals, I found this video to be the most helpful.

attaching the binding

Once the binding was attached to the front, I was able to sit on the couch for a couple of evenings and pretend to watch a couple of movies with the fam while I hand sewed the back. That was one of my favorite parts. Keira was so excited for it to be done, so after I finished it late one night, I put it on her bed so she'd see it when she woke up.

I used one yard total of Amy Butler's Belle Coriander for the binding;
that's Jessica Swift's Giselle fabric.

All in all, I'd do it again. Of course, several things differently. Kainoa wants one now, and I have a lot of David Walker's Robots fabric to use.

I wish I had read the Practical Guide to Patchwork before starting my quilt. Upon perusing the first 30 pages of her book on amazon.com (why buy the book when you can read half of it on amazon?), I found several things I should have done differently for my quilt.

She says at the beginning that many sewists are hesitant to get into quilting for several reasons. For one, a sewist can make a skirt or bag in an afternoon. A quilt can take weeks or months (or years). So true. I have been wary of getting into quilting just for that fact. Even knitting and crocheting--when I started trying to learn that, I couldn't put up with the hours needed for one finished product. But I think with the everyday usage you get out of a quilt, it's worth the hours. What I'll change next time:

1) She explains how in modern quilting, the crinkly-wrinkled look is in, and how you can get it after washing your quilt. I planned on that with this quilt comforter, at first, but the book says that you can only get that with cotton batting. I used a queen-sized roll of polyester batting I found at a fundraiser last summer ($2). It is a hi-loft or thick batting, intended for comforters or tie quilts, which this quilt isn't. Sure enough, I washed it and no sticky crinkly wrinkliness. And no more hi-loft quilting, I'll stick to the 1/4" thick stuff.

2) I'll start off doing a smaller project the next time I try something for the first time. Usually, you should start off quilting with a smaller baby quilt or lap quilt, so they say. But I liked taking on this fabric-eater sized quilt.

Good night.

Projects

2011-01-11T12:20:00.004-07:00

I got a baby stuff order from a friend in Cali for a car seat canopy and nursing cover the other day. She wants neutral colors for the canopy so that her friend can use it with baby boys or girls. I thought I'd have to buy some new fabric, but did some digging and thinking, and found these. This stripe of patchwork will go down the front of the car seat canopy with beige/brown fabric on either side.

Here's a vinyl bag I finally finished after weeks of working at it here and there. I had never worked with vinyl before. Anyway, my neighbor had said that if I finished the bag by the end of the year, that would be fine. I gave it to them on New Year's Eve...no charge, sorry it took so long, thanks for waiting. Needless to say, the bag actually turned out nicely.

Once the bag was finished, I was able to get to those projects that had been waiting. One was Keira's quilt, which I'll post on later. I knew that this "creative freedom" was right around the corner when I was finishing the bag, and it felt so good! Here are some sneak peeks at Keira's quilt:

I decided to add some designer fabric scrap packs for $5 to the shop last week. They went like hotcakes, I think there's only one left. They were fun to put together, and I think I'm gonna make more.

It's a Boy!!

2011-01-07T12:55:00.000-07:00

We found out that Baby #4 is going to be a boy. "Told ya!" Keira said at the ultrasound. We all thought it was going to be a boy, so we have a family of experts now. "Mom, I like your baby," Kai whispered in my ear while I was lying on the table. Keira cried b/c she thought we would get to take the baby home today. He's due May 24th. His name MIGHT be Kahanu, but we're not sure yet. Here he is...

The ultrasound tech got a good shot of what gender baby is. She said he's not shy 'cause his legs were wide open (he's a Johnson, alright!)

Those are his little knees at the right, the thigh of his leg coming up from the bottom right, and his little toes and feet at the left. Amazing that we were all less than a pound and 10" long at one time, isn't it?

Christmas 2010

2010-12-29T18:34:00.003-07:00

Today was such a blizzardy day, and the internet was in and out all day, but I didn't mind. The kids and I did a lesson on the differences between moths and butterflies, watched Toy Story 3 and Princess and the Frog, played with neighbor kids (they did), while I ate some cake and blogged and stuff. I loved it.

Just let me eat cake

I know it's winter, but, chives, please don't die on me now

Once Ryan's last final was over, I took to the machine again...so nice. I am making Keira a quilt, finishing a bag, and made this pillow for my bedroom rocking chair.

We had a nice Christmas this year, again. We spent the weekend at Ryan's sister's home in Orem.

On Christmas afternoon, we drove to West Jordan to be with my dad and step-mom and family.

A couple of weeks ago, our good friends, the Hesses, treated our family to a ride on the North Pole Express up in Heber, Utah. It was splendid, and the kids LOVED every minute of it. We sang carols, drank hot chocolate, ate cookies, Santa came. It was all on the old Heber Creeper train, which I had ridden when I was like 10 years old due to my father's love of trains. The train was all decked out in Christmas gear.

For Christmas, I received some AB Lotus yardage and a couple of charm packs. Cannot WAIT to get dig into the Lily & Will Charm Pack once I find out what baby #4 is next week (will keep you posted). I want to make some girls clothing out of this yummy Lilly & Will Babies Breath fabric.

Giveaway Winners!

2010-12-18T12:14:00.000-07:00

The winner of the Katie Jump Rope package is:

#258
CMEHsaid...

my favorite fabrics are the castle peeps set and I have not made anything with it yet.. it is sitting in my stash and sometimes I just pull it out and look at it! Sad I know!!

December 15, 2010 6:31 PM

The winner of something from my shop is:

#222
Pattysaid...

I like the Chocolate Lollipop fabrics in green from your shop.

December 14, 2010 10:41 PM

Congrats! I'm emailing you for your addresses! I read every single comment, and loved hearing about your fabric tastes and adventures, especially seeing your creations! Hope you'll all keep in touch, as I'll be doing more giveaways in the near future. ~Nancey

It's Giveaway Day!

2010-12-12T20:32:00.004-07:00

I'm doing 2 giveaways so read below. Giveaway closes this Friday, Dec. 17th, at midnight, MST. I'll ship internationally, so don't be shy.

Here's the loot: (2 giveaways)
♣ (pictured below) 2 Katie Jump Rope bandana Fat Quarters (18"x22" each), a pack of black vintage Rick Rack, a 6" black zipper, and black cotton webbing/straps...add some black canvas or something and you've got a decent bag!
♣ One thing from my shop, Fabrixoup.

To enter: (you have up to 3 chances/comments to enter)

♠ leave a comment stating your favorite fabric line and what you've made with it/would make with it (feel free to share links to photos of your creations).
♠ Follow my blog or add it to your blogroll, or if you already Follow, let me know.
♠ to take part in the 2nd giveaway: go to my humble little fabric shop, Fabrixoup, and tell me what one thing/listing you'd like from my shop, and if you win, and I'll send it to you. It's easy!

I'll do a random generator to determine the winner of each giveaway. To generate a winner for the Fabrixoup/2nd giveaway, I'll run the generator till I reach a Fabrixoup comment. Don't worry, I'm a smart girl, I'll figure it out! I'll announce two winners on Saturday morning. Make sure your email is linked to your profile so I can contact you if you've won, or leave your email in your comments.

*FYI, I plan on doing giveaways more often in 2011. I love comments and hearing your ideas and input, and am usually up for a fabric swap, so don't be a stranger : ).

Winter and a Bag for Kate

2010-12-07T23:38:00.001-07:00

Winter was fully here while my mom and sister were visiting last month and I felt so bad for them, but not as bad as they felt for me, I think. They kept asking me why I live here and when I'm gonna move back home to Hawaii so that my kids aren't stuck inside all day. One of my main reasons for sewing is that it gets my mind off of what I don't do or have, yada yada yada. I made this wall hanging a few months ago out of a Twiggy (one of my fave fabrics) charm pack and remnants of my neighbor's Ikea curtains that they asked me to shorten for them. Hey, if I get free fabric out of it, he** yes : ).

I shared how I've been on a sewing hiatus of late...well, my good friend, Kate, had a birthday in September, and I told her I wanted to make her another bag. She designs such unique and fun bags (like this one and this one) that I actually enjoy sewing them, plus, I didn't have any $$ for a gift. tee hee. When she mentioned that she got another bag for her birthday but not to be alarmed, that she was aware of my pregnant 1st trimester faaaaatigue and that she would just use her other bag till I got around to sewing hers, I thought, "now, there's a smart girl." Anyway, when I found out Kate was moving home to Kansas, I dusted off my machine and got to work.

It's made of a thick brown vintage linen and some vintage lace. The blue is leftover from my Ikea dress a couple of years ago. I liked Kate's idea of adding pink embroidered stitches to the pocket border. Almost makes me want to sew another bag.

I'm also digging the patchwork frayed edge straps look...a good alternative when you only have scraps for straps.

I'm doing SMS's giveaway on Monday, so be sure to return and enter. I'll have lots of sewing and fabric goodies to giveaway...may even do two!

Moving On

2010-12-03T01:44:00.004-07:00

This is Keira's rendition of what Christmas is going to be like:

I've been in a sort of time warp of late. Finding no time during the day for sewing or blogs or anything not related to the kids, and my nights filled with helping Ryan with homework till wee hours, I've been on a sewing and blogging hiatus. Yuck.

But I have have found a way to be able to work with fabrics I love at short intervals of time between meals and poops and naps, and that is my new fabric shop, Fabrixoup. Finding Etsy 3 years ago was heaven-sent, being able to sell my baby and mama wares on line. At my first Etsy shop's height, I was making more than $300 in one month, including Etsy and local orders. But I noticed in 2008 that more and more sellers started selling the same things I was, and at lower prices than my already-low prices. And now, the Etsy market for baby and mama merchandise is just waaaay too bloated. So I've decided to put Mebo to rest.

On the up side, after 3.5 years of sewing and selling, I've built up a stash of leftover and potential-project fabric that makes me both proud and overwhelmed. So, a few months ago, I decided to destash and start selling. My new shop only brings a couple of sales per week, just enough for me to not get sick of dragging the kids to the Post Office in the snow, and enough to keep me happy.

A pile for the shop

Sewing has this other dimension to it that I wasn't aware of till I got into sewing girls clothing, and that is fabric fetish. I have my favorites and I like to keep abreast of what's out there, even though I'm not a big fabric buyer. I've wanted to open a fabric shop for a while. I've interviewed a few Etsy fabric shop owners, and always got a green light from them. I just never had the money to buy wholesale shipment minimums or the guts to. So, I thought I'd start with what I got.

On that note, I want to share one of my all-time favorite fabrics. It is a Reproduction print, as they call 'em. Reproduction prints are those inspired by Civil War and other American time periods, ~1775 till mid-20th Century. I don't know what it is about this print that inspires me. Sometimes it looks like a subway map of a city. I like the geometric floral vibe, the colors, everything about it. It's not a "hot item" designer fabric that most people (fabric weirdos like me) are after. I cut out a square of it and put it in a fabric frame I found at Ikea's As-Is and hung it by my bed. I could stare at it for hours (if I had hours).

The Regency Collection III by Judie Rothermel
for the New England Quilt Museum, manufactured by Marcus Fabrics.

Happy Christmas, and hope to write more soon.

Fabrixoup Sale

2010-11-22T08:00:00.010-07:00

10% off any item in my fabric shop thru Dec. 1st.

Sewing for Me

2010-10-23T11:19:00.007-06:00

Such a wonderful rainy October day to blog. I wish I lived in WA or OR sometimes. I love this weather.

Another Tessa Dress
Remember how I won that Oh So Sassy drawing and made a dress for Keira? I used the same pattern of the Tessa Dress (love) to make Kalei a dress this time. I made it large enough so she can still wear it next summer. Instead of a tie belt, I made a casing in the middle (polka dot fabric) and slid some wide elaastic through. Also added one inch of fabric to the top of the neckline elasctic casing so there would be some ruffles at the top. Got lots of comments at church on this one. It's Amy Butler Lotus fabric that I've had leftover from my nursing-cover-making days a couple of years ago.

Bag for Me

In July, my vinyl hospital-gift Enfamil baby bag ripped in more than one place, rendering it way unuseable. I kept using it until Ryan "tsk-tsk-ed" me, "Babe, you make baby bags...make yourself one!" I had been hoarding some Alexander Henry fabric, waiting for the right project for it. The dark purple is the softest brushed stretch twill fabric--remnant from JoAnn. My favorite part of sewing for myself was inventing a little secret compartment pocket for gum at the bottom of the bag. I used velcro to enclose a small pocket at one of the bottom corner seams. My kids have not figured out how I pull gum out even though they've combed through it while I was in the shower. I heart sewing.

About sewing for yourself, sewing this bag was more gratifying than I had expected. After 30+ bags I've made for others, this was the first I've made for myself, and I take pride in using it everyday, and it makes me appreciate my talents. I've found that sewing for myself or my little family is more important than sewing for others or for money. I usually make excuses to make someone else something, or to make something to sell. For you seamstresses out there, Selfish Seamstress has a humorous take on sewing for yourself vs. sewing for others. We could all use a little more healthy selfishness : ).

All pau for now.

BYU and Elvis for Baby

2010-09-29T01:23:00.002-06:00

Ryan had a music recital to attend for a class on BYU campus this weekend. So the kids and I did a little mozy-ing around Mommy's old stomping grounds. I don't know why we haven't done this in the past 4 years since we moved to Utah...the campus has changed a lot since I left in 2001...a nice stroll down memory lane, and nice to share with my babies.

Hangin' on the WILK stairs while we wait for a Strawberries Wild

Everyone was at the BYU-UNLV game so we had the campus all to ourselves.

Since this is a sewing blog, and I realize I haven't been faithful about showing what I've been sewing lately--pure laziness--here's a gift set that I made for Ryan's sister, Miranda's baby shower. It was so fun to make the appliqués on the onesies, and the blanket (great black chenille fleece from WalMart for $6 something/yard), and the pants (pattern from Little Stitches book by Amy Butler).

Waning Summer

2010-09-16T11:50:00.004-06:00

Summer sucks because it never stays, kinda like love in Carmen.

• I cut my own bangs and love having them to cover my big Swedish forehead.

• I took Baby Kalei's winter clothes out of storage. I found a box of 18 month old girl summer clothes that I had forgotten about at the back of our storage closet; Kalei is wearing a turquoise one in the photo below. She'll only wear them all once before it gets too cold. Some outfits I found I hadn't laid eyes on since Keira was 18 months old and I was expecting Kainoa. Even though that was just a 3 summers ago, it feels like a few lifetimes.

Dear Kalei, There's nothing more sweet and soothing than when you grab my face and

"mwaaah."

• Ryan started his general studies at Salt Lake Community College. We plan on moving at the end of next year to St. Louis for his chiropractic schooling, which will be another 3 years or so. We've been busy at nights after work. Going to school and working full time has been an adjustment, but we're saving money on cable and DVDs.

Bye-bye, summer

June in August

2010-09-01T08:34:00.001-06:00

When did August become the month of weddings, I wonder? We had 4 weddings this month, every weekend, and that's not including those we weren't able to attend. I grew up thinking you get married in June, not this year. We got home so late one night from a wedding, we laid the kids in their beds in their wedding clothes and went straight to church the next morning in them...it was wonderful. I did manage to get a couple of family shots while we were dressed up in our wedding best (note flip flops):

I Do

2010-08-23T15:21:00.001-06:00

A whirlwind of a weekend and I managed to find some time last night to make my friend, Moana, a couple of garter belts last night and whisk them off to the post today for her wedding in Hawaii this Friday. She told me a couple of days ago that she had meant to ask me a while back to make her garters for her receptions, but felt it wasn't enough time...c'mon, I told her, after all, she was there during my wedding emergency.

I used satin (one-sided) ribbon from WalMart and some glass beads, never made these before, which was why they were so fun while I watched Martha reruns. I haven't stayed up past midnight sewing/crafting in a while till last night and thought I'd be p.o.'d all day today, but it felt really good having accomplished something new on a timeclock. A tutorial is to come when I have a few hours to kill.

My trip, and I won a giveaway!

2010-08-19T09:02:00.005-06:00

Hello, friends...

We got back from our road trip to Long Beach a couple of Wednesdays ago. The next day was a blur from trying to catch up on sleep with the kids. Then, I woke up that Friday morning a little bummed to be back in the grind of schedules and work (husband) and just off vacation mode, to find that I had won an Oh So Sassy giveaway on Facebook!! Can you believe it?! I've entered giveaways before, and this is the first time I've won, so exciting! I started on this dress for Keira that night and finished it the next morning.

Tessa Dress pattern from OhSoSassy

The pattern was emailed to me as a pdf, and was easy to cut out. I made Keira a size 3-4 b/c she's a little petite, but next time, I'll cut a 5-6 size. Love this pattern and I enjoy thinking of all the different dresses I can make the girls now. OhSoSassy's patterns are only $10 on her website, and it's in your Inbox within a day or so.

I also made her a matching hair clip and incorporated a Hello Kitty book charm that had been pulled off a gift she received a couple of years ago, which made her happy.

Oh, the black and white fabric is by Riley Blake and the peach fabric is a Hancock Fabric I got on a score-of a-yard-sale day (2 yards for $1)...one lady in the Ranches where I live runs an apron business and was clearing out her fabric, then, another lady was clearing out her sewing room supplies and I got a bunch of elastic for dirt cheap, the same day, there was a huge fundraiser with a bunch of quilting and fabric donations...did I mention I love yard saling?

Here are some highlights from our trip to Long Beach:

Ryan's youngest sister, Miranda's, baby shower. Miranda is having her first baby boy in a couple months. This photo is my favorite because it captures reactions to my team's (me and our friend, Pohai) entry for the "draw their baby" game with our seriously cool and rude fetus drawing. We won : )

Grandpa Jack's Memorial. Ryan's dad passed away last October, but his birthday was Aug. 1st, so that weekend, Ryan's mom and kids threw a big memorial party for him since he didn't have one when he passed away in St. Louis. Ryan's mom and dad are super talented (and siblings too). His mom and dad both wrote music, Geneva has also written several plays and books. So the production was a recap of Jack's life to songs written by Jack and Geneva. Here are some photos:

Keira and cousins did a little number to a lullaby Geneva wrote

Ryan sang "Flowers and Candy" a song written by his dad

I also danced a hula number to "Maunaleo" by Kealii Reichel. Those were just numbers my little family was involved in (did I mention Jack and Geneva had 16 kids?). It was a big night, and good to reconnect with and see Ryan's childhood friends and family from Long Beach. As I've gotten more familiar with Long Beach over the years, I've realized it isn't just a place Snoop Dogg's from and for movies like Freedom Writers (that was Ryan's high school)...not to mention the number of Hollywood movies that are filmed there. (I can't tell you how many times we're watching a movie and Ryan says, "That's Long Beach.") There's a history there that I am still discovering.

Santa Ana Zoo. I got to spend time with an old college buddy who lives in Huntington Beach. Can't tell you how refreshing it was! The zoo is small (no lions, tigers, or bears), but it was enough to keep the kids happy.

Downtown Los Angeles. Ryan's sister, Jessica, and I took a trip to a store I'd read about on Dana's blog. The store is called the FIDM (Fashion Institute for Design and Merchandising) Scholarship Store, located in L.A.'s garment district. The store gets donations from chain stores like Forever21, and most everything is under $10, some $1. There's also a fabric wall in the back where most apparel fabrics are $1/yard. I got a couple of ties for Ryan for $4 for his birthday.

The End : )

Ah, the Joys of Parenthood

2010-08-11T19:41:00.000-06:00

Eggs, anyone?

2010-07-29T11:35:00.002-06:00

On our way out the door to drive to Long Beach...how I won't be missing this dry heat!! I've packed gobs of snacks, drugs, and distractions for the kids, but who knows how long they'll last. Please pray for me : ).

Summer Sewing

2010-07-16T15:40:00.001-06:00

Today is my little sister's 30th birthday!! I am so excited for her to be thirty-something. My twenties were so roller-coaster--fun--but I was so unsure of what the rest of my life was going to be like. My grandma says your 30s are the best because your kids are still cute, you're still in good health and have energy (??), uh, and, well, you're in your 30s. So live it up, sis!

Here are some things I've been sewing of late...

Shirred Baby Top

The fabric is Pop Garden by Heather Bailey (a fellow BYU alumnus, might I add). I used Rae's baby sunsuit tutorial to do the top shirring w/straps. It's actually one piece of fabric for the top shirred part, and one rectangle for the bottom. I would 've used all one piece, but this was made from scrap fabric. I mostly eyeballed the amount of fabric by shirring and holding it up to Kalei. Took about an hour and used about 1/2 yard of fabric.

Bag for Kate's mom

A while ago, I told Kate I'd make her mom a bag in exchange for a haircut. Kate designed this bag (like she designed her own a couple of years ago). Ryan says we should partner, she designs and I make (and sell for $100+, right?).

Natalie's Bag

Natalie designed her own bag, meant for church. She sews, so she brought over her own home dec weight fabrics for the outside and strap. She wanted a sort of shabby look, with frayed edges, a first for me and bags, but it was a lot of fun. The recessed zipper top was the most challenging part, a first for me. This U-Handblog tutorial helped me out. We threw in a couple pieces of vintage lace and a circle doilie I had. She added her own removeable flower on the front pocket.

Soups & Co-Ops

2010-07-12T11:49:00.014-06:00

I made this avocado soup from Great Greens cookbook from my local library. It's the Corn & Spinach with Avocado Soup on pg. 63. It's a great book, Great Greens...and it's not vegetarian recipes. As with many chowders, this soup has bacon in it...mmm...and thyme, corn, fresh spinach, chicken broth, I added chicken, too. The coolest part of this recipe was the red bell pepper paste you dollop on top--WOW.

Along food, one of my favorite blogs is Stephmodo. The author also blogs on the scrumptious Zupas blog, sharing recipes and food ideas, along with a few other ladies. Zupas is a local (Salt Lake & Utah Valleys) soup salad sandwich chain. After hearing some hype, Ryan took me to Zupas for the first time on my birthday a couple of months ago, and I was not disappointed. Since soups are our all time favorite type of food to eat together, I now have told him that if I'm on my death bed, please bring me a bowl of Zupas' Thai Lobster Curry.

Also, has anyone joined a food co-op or buy veggies via a CSA? I've been hearing about some popping up around my area. How do they work out for you and do you use all your food? Does anyone do halvsies with another family? If you're in Utah Valley, check out Jacob's Cove Heritage Farm and Bountiful Baskets. Maybe I should start a soup co-op.

Summer Herb Garden

2010-06-29T21:22:00.001-06:00

Not much gardening you can do when you live in a condo, but I decided I'd try to grow some herbs on my windowsill (the balcony is out of the question with the kids always out there). I bought basil and chives seed kits from Target for $1 back in May. Each kit included a tiny pot, seeds, soil disc, and plastic "greenhouse." I've enjoyed watching them grow.

I was particularly excited to eat the sweet basil (middle) and after about 1.5 months and 2 pot transplants, I felt she was ready for harvesting. So I made this garlic lemon basil tomato zucchini spinach butter olive oil chicken pasta in the crock pot just to taste our little baby. Deeelish! (Tastes better than it looks).

Please don't judge my bad food photography : )

Summer Foodies: Quinoa

2010-06-25T21:43:00.005-06:00

On the left is quinoa salad with onions, cilantro?, and garlic. Kind of like a tabouleh I guess. The quinoa I bought from the dry bulk bins at the Winco in Orem (stands for Wyoming Idaho Nevada California Oregon--but where will the "U" for Utah fit in?). I hadn't had quinoa since my mission in Switzerland over a decade ago, where someone who made it for us ranted and raved about it. Come to think of it, one of my Botany professors at BYU used to praise quinoa for its qualities...hmmm, is it addictive? I dunno, but it's different, a good summer food, good in soups and salads, and you can substitute it for anything you'd use rice in, only it's a million times better for your body. Here are some quinoa recipes, though I think it's kind of an "on-the-fly-I forgot-to-buy-rice staple.

The right (above) is a salad with my favorite salad dressing: Brianna's Homestyle Poppyseed salad dressing. Drinkable.

One day, I got bored and decided to combine the two.

Hey, you two people (sometimes one) who read this, what's your favorite summer food?

How Was the Boutique?

2010-06-14T20:43:00.003-06:00

I've been asked that over the past couple of weeks by friends who knew I was hibernating to get stuff sewn for the Eagle Mtn. Baby Contest Boutique. My answer: "Hmmm, coulda been better." My feeling as I answer: 'It sucked.' I did not sell one thing, nope, nada. A lot of my fellow vendors didn't either. There was a pretty good amount of traffic, but this was the first year they did a boutique at the contest, so maybe peeps weren't prepared w/cash. I did enjoy making all the stuff I made, and I met and made a couple of vendor buddies. So, what did I do with all my merchandise? Guess what's in the shop? : )

Sashiko Embroidery

2010-06-10T17:01:00.011-06:00

w/permission via Purl Bee

The other day, I came across this Sashiko tutorial from Mari at Purl Bee. I was intrigued by the pattern and googled some more on sashiko. It's an ancient Japanese needle art. The method is essentially doing a running stitch through cloth. Sashiko means "to stitch."

w/permission via Purl Bee

It was originally intended for reinforcing garments or thin cloths to increase their life span, and has since become a decorative art...an inspiring one. I like how basic patterns represent a natural element like waves, steam, a basket weave. It's funny how many modern fabrics I like were inspired by sashiko patterns--this is "Basket" fabric by Joel Dewberry from his Manzanita collection, one of my favorites:

I took this dang picture myself

{side note: while Joel Dewberry's fabric does look like a "basket," I think it more closely resembles the sashiko "wave" design.}

A few days after I discovered sashiko, I found out that my sister-in-law's mother, Karen Matsunaga, wrote a book a few years ago on sashiko called Japanese Country Quilting:

So, my sister-in-law, Lyn, checked out her mother's book for me from the Provo Library. It covers the history of sashiko and included 20+ pages of clear how to's for different designs and techniques. I definitely recommend it for a beginner.

There are special sashiko needles and thread, but you can use western embroidery needles and thread from a craft store, and cotton or linen cloth. You do need a method (if you're a beginner) of transfering a pattern onto the cloth. I hope to do a litle sashiko-ing myself...so, more to come.

Purl Soho has a couple of Sashiko kits, which include the printed pattern fabric and thread (the pattern lines wash out with water). They also carry individual skeins of Japanese imported thread, needles, and patterns/samplers.

There's a Sashiko Group on Flickr to check out. Check out this sashiko quilt/wall hanging.

P.S. Not that it's relevant, but Baby Lock sells a Sashiko machine that makes stitches that (are supposed to) look like hand sashiko. Wow.

Update: equilter.com has a few sashiko supplies, including blank indigo cloth for sashiko.

Baby Boutique Tuesday

2010-05-31T09:38:00.005-06:00

If you're in Utah, I'll be participating in a baby contest boutique this Tuesday from 9am-noon in the Eagle Mountain Ranches. It'll be in the Hidden Hollow Elementary School gym, 2546 E. Pony Express Parkway (the school on the left before you go down the hill towards EM City Center). Admission to the boutique is free. If you want to enter your bebe, registration is $8 at the door. Contest proceeds will go to Hidden Hollow Elementary. Here's more info on the baby contest.

Here are some of the baby goods I'll be selling: (from left to right) nursing covers $20, dresses $25, bibs & burpcloths $5 ea, car seat canopies $25. Come by and say hi if you can.

Blogs I've Discovered

2010-05-25T11:33:00.003-06:00

While doing the giveaway last week, I had so much fun peering into the blogs of those who left comments. I found some cute stuff, such as:

Create & Delegate's dress tutorials, like her bandana dress, and her J. Crew dress.

Ikat Bag's smocking tutorial makes it look easy. Someday, when I have more time, I'd like to make a smocked dress...perhaps for a granddaughter.

Inspiration

2010-05-21T17:06:00.001-06:00

One of my favorite, most inspiring blogs is Nie Nie Dialogues, by Stephanie Nielsen. If you're one of the few people who hasn't heard about her, she's a mother who's been blogging for 5 years who was in a plane crash in 2008. The way she shares her experiences with her recovery, motherhood, her honesty, inspires me to be myself and just be happy.

Winner: May 17th Giveaway

2010-05-21T09:33:00.001-06:00

And the winner is:

burlap+blue said...
I'd say that the blogging world inspires me--so much to create, see and be in awe of!
May 18, 2010 5:01 PM

Congratulations, burlap+blue! I'll be emailing you for your address. Thanks to everyone who entered. I truly enjoyed reading every single comment about who inspires your sewing. Many of the answers were "mom" or "grandma"--to me that means sewing is a true legacy...hopefully I can pass my love for it on to my daughters, and others as well. I hope most of you will come back often and share your thoughts and input on future blog posts.

Giveaway! May 17th-20th

2010-05-16T21:38:00.001-06:00

It's that time again, Sew, Mama, Sew!'s Giveaway Day is today. I'm giving away 4 all-cotton fabric fat quarters, a 22" zipper, some ric rac, and a bag of scrap ribbon that you can use for sewing or crafting (hair bows!). This giveaway closes on Thursday, May 20th at midnight, MST. I'll post the winner on Friday May 21st.

All you have to do is leave a comment telling me who inspires your sewing or crafting and why, could be a family member, a designer, etc. If you add my blog to your blog roll list or Follow my blog (or if you already do), you can enter a second post saying you've done so. I'll do a random generator to determine the winner.

I really only have about 5 people who regularly read this blog, so your chances are pretty. darn. good. Make sure to leave your email address or that I can find you via your Blogger Profile in case you win. Good luck!

1st Birthday and a Bag

2010-05-11T11:29:00.010-06:00

On April 30th last year, Kalei was born here in Utah. It was also Ryan's and my 4th anniversary.

I still remember the peaceful anniversary "weekend getaway" Ry and I spent in the hospital when she was born. One year later, she is almost walking, still attached to my hip, not as vocal as Keira was as that age (but, I'm not complaining!), and seems to understand more than she expresses.

At her one year birthday celebration, I made "Better Than Anything Cake." When I told my family in Hawaii that's what we call it, they think it's a Utah thing, and I get laughed at. So, I think I'll call it Better Than Zex Cake.

Kalei ate the whole thing:

There's this tensity that builds in our home at the end of April. April 30th is our anniversary, then May 4th is my b-day. Mother's Day is less than a week later. Over the years, we've lovingly refered to it as "Triple Threat." I always feel a little sorry for Ryan around this time...not really. This year, he did a good job of making sure I had something on each day, like my favorite Vietnamese pho he makes.

So, I've been sewing a lot lately for a boutique in June. Here is a bag I made recently for one of my neighbors, made of canvas and home dec fabrics:

My neighbor's husband saw this bag, below, that I had made earlier this year, and ordered one like it for his wife.

As much time and energy that bags take to make, they are definitely worth it. I need to make one for myself someday. I'm still using the free Enfamil vinyl bag they gave me at the hospital a year ago when Kalei was born.

Shop Spotlight: Oh So Sassy

2010-05-05T09:51:00.001-06:00

If you know how to thread your sewing machine, or sew a straight line, and wish you could learn how to sew a piece of clothing, a good place to start is a kit. Kits come with the basic supplies you'll need (pre-cut fabric, instructions, pattern). Michelle at Oh So Sassy has put together the cutest affordable sewing kits--less than $20. This one really caught my eye:

Tessa Dress in Loralie

Michelle will send you the pre-cut fabric you need (saves you gas money and over-spending at the fabric store!), and easy-to-follow instructions. She even has boys pants and women's tops. Here are some of Oh So Sassy's cute kits:

Women's Camisole top

Sewing Party, Anyone?

Here's Oh So Sassy's Facebook page, where Michelle does giveaways and announces sales. If you host a sewing party, you get a free kit! Your friends/guests preorder their kits at a discounted price, and then meet up to sew a dress/pants/skirt. Ok, so I'm wondering if any of you out there would be interested in doing a little sewing party with me (maybe in July). We would get a discount on any one of her kits. If so, head on over to Oh So Sassy to see if there's something you'd be interested in making, and leave me a comment!

Post Easter Spring Dresses

2010-04-12T00:04:00.005-06:00

Ryan and my new favorite show is Kitchen Nightmares. Just finished watching it and now all my thoughts are in an English accent. So weird. Same thing happened last Friday night, when I took my family to my 10-year mission reunion. We ran into a family visiting from England w/their 4 children, of whom the father was in my Mission Training Center district. Our kids were the same ages and played together all night. We talked about American restaurants they should try, living here vs. there. The rest of the night, ah tho' ah waz 'n England while driving home.

Well, onto the sewing...

The dress on the left is pattern Simplicity 2711, view A. The pattern was $1 at Joann during their sale...so worth it. I found the linen fabric on Joann's red tag shelving...$2/yard, and it was the end of the bolt, so I got an extra discount. I originally envisioned a pale yellow fabric for this pattern, but 100% linen at less than $2/yard is a steal.

Modifications:
I made a few little changes from the pattern.
• The bodice pattern calls for 5 little pleats (meant to look like pintucks?). I skipped the middle pleat to leave room for 2 little vintage buttons (if you notice they're not exactly alike, but close enough). I also slipped some vintage lace in between pleats on either side. I wondered if the bodice would be too busy with buttons, pleats, lace, and ruffles, but it actually looked alright in the end. I'm such a go-getter.

• Instead of gathers where the skirt and bodice meet, I made one box pleat, same on the back.

• I added a slip/lining on the skirt/bottom half (using my coral pink Ikea As-Is sheet again), just due to the see-through-ness of the fabric:

What I'd do differently next time:
• The neckline calls for single-fold bias tape you then topstitch ~3/8" down. This was my biggest challenge, time-wise. I tried 3 different bias tapes I had before making my own. Looking at the finished product, and even at the girl on the pattern cover, I think the bias tape is too bulky (essentially 6 layers of fabric) and pushes the neckline away from the body. Next time, I will do a full lining (excluding the sleeves), especially since I already did a skirt lining. The more girls dresses I do, the more I realize that full lining is usually my preference. It makes the seams look nicer, it's easier than fussing with bias tape or rolling necklines over, plus, the dress is a little weightier and drapes better.

• Also, the neckline is a little too large/low for the size dress it is, so I'd make it smaller/not so low next time.

• Use a serger. I'm still sewing-machine-only, and with linen and all its threadies, it's a mess. Plus, I have to zig-zag over all the raw edges, adding more time. When I bought the linen at Joann, another customer in line asked what I was making with "that beautiful fabric." When I told her, she said, "Oh, good luck with linen and all of the threads," and walked away.

• Use a ruffler foot instead of basting and pulling. Another time-cheater.

• I might put an invisible zipper down the back instead of a top button. I made the dress a little long so Keira can wear it again next year, but she already has a hard time getting her arms into the sleeves while putting it on.

I used a hair rubberband to make the loop--didn't quite get what the pattern wanted me to use.

All in all, I think this pattern is great. The dress cost me around $3.50 to make, including the thread & pattern. Can't beat that. I love that Keira gets to see me make it and try it on as we go. It makes it more special to her (no staining or playing outside in it...right?). It's all ironed and nice in these photos, but I look forward to washing it again and seeing it wrinkle and bubble up (I pre-washed and tumble dried it before cutting/sewing). When I was buying the fabric, another lady I chatted with recommended I pre-treat the linen with spray starch to keep it from wrinkling too much. I told her I liked the wrinkles linen makes, she thought I was crazy, but at least she didn't walk away and kept on chatting with me. I am learning to enjoy my encounters with older fellow sewists.

Onto Kalei's dress...It was made from a vintage pillowcase. Before I started my sewing rampage a couple of years ago, I asked someone to sew a few dresses for me. Ryan's sister's MIL, Alma Hernandez, is a veteran seamstress of like 40 years. I found a vintage pillowcase dress pattern and ordered a few vintage pillowcases for her to sew up for me. This blue and white pillowcase didn't make the cut at the time, so I've had it on my shelf. When Kalei was still in the womb--or maybe a few days old--I envisioned her playing in a dress with lots of pleats, made of the pillowcase fabric.

I tried to stay true to my "vision," as time would allow. I used another dress she wears to get the general sizing, but the pleating on the bodice and hem are my doing.

My poor boy didn't have anything Mommy-made to wear along with the girls to church today. I had hoped to make him a bow tie out of Kalei's dress scraps, but didn't have the time. While taking photos of the finished dresses, he said this was his outfit...I'll have to make him a bow tie soon.

Lounging

2010-03-31T19:15:00.004-06:00

In the interim of winter and spring. I miss my mom. Getting into Dancing With the Stars for the first time. I like watching spring peek its head in and out, but it's still from a window. Not sure what to do with myself.

One day of sunshine last week, after running errands with the kids, I decided to relax next to a window and soak in some sun. I made this shirt last year, it's Simplicity 4077 again, this time with a regular collar (still not the best, but I tried).

Just Ruche-less

2010-03-24T00:21:00.003-06:00

I'm not bitter, but I totally entered Ruche's Name That Dress contest thinking I would win, but didn't. Out of 700+ entries, "Lemonade & Freckles Dress" won over my imaginative, travel-inspiring, gracefully semi-pretentious submissions:

1) Cape May Tea Time Dress

2) The Inn on Fifth Dress

3) Stroll in Cape Cod Dress

No, I wasn't going to wear the dress if I'd won. I was going to get a gift card and get something else. If they made me take the dress, I would have sewn it into a pair of cute little skirts for my girls, or a pillow cover for my bed, and every time I'd throw myself onto my camel-back-shaped second-hand bed, I'd imagine myself here, here, or here. But not now.

Ruche people, this is what comes to mind when I hear "Lemonade & Freckles:"

Maybe you thought the winner meant FRECKLED LEMONADE:

2/3 c. lemon juice
3/4 c. sugar (or sugar substitute)
2 quarts cold water
1 c. sliced strawberries (fresh)
1 c. smashed strawberries (fresh)

To smash strawberries: place in pitcher, and mash with potato masher. Add remaining ingredients. Mix all together, and let chill for 2 - 3 hours. Stir before serving.

Very refreshing for a Summer barbecue, or a day at the beach. Recipe courtesy leesermarie, cooks.com

Oh! The horror!

Quotes of the Day: "Don't Quit...or Quit"

2010-01-21T08:25:00.003-07:00

A certain theme has popped up a few times the past year, and I've been actually applying it and putting it to use in my life. Not saying I'm wiser or stronger (definitely not younger) because of it, just noting it and jotting a few thoughts down about it...

A few months ago, I came across this this blog post from Ron Martin: Hawaii's Premier Sales Resultant's blog regarding a sales job. You should check it out if you do Sales for a living...and if you don't.

...his points apply to almost all aspects of life. Besides, I feel like I am constantly trying to sell ideas to an unbelieving and questioning consumer(s). Consider the following sales pitches I make daily/weekly, and I don't even "do sales for a living:"

"If you don't pick it up, you're not getting lunch."
"Don't you want to take a bath?...look, I'll make cookies tonight."
"Why don't we go to WalMart after the kids nap so that we don't have to deal with it at the store(!)"

"As much as we hate to have people quit and leave, it’s worse when they quit and stay."

This is my favorite snippet from Ron Martin's blog post. How many times have I started something, only to find halfway that it is not what I wanted to do, but stayed with it out of pride or fear of regret? Even if my instincts told me to "move on" or "change gears."

There's some principle I learned in an Economics class 15 years ago, that goes something like this:

'Ceasing to invest labor/materials/money in something that you foresee will not provide the results you had hoped is better than continuing it 'just because you want to finish it...' or something like that. I remember my professor saying that, for example, if a company's invested millions to build a high rise building and it looks certain 3/4 of the way through building it that the high rise will not be leased or used or bought, then they should stop building and pull out, even if they are near completion, because,' something like, 'losing even more money just to finish it isn't worth it...that money/time/materials could be used somewhere else.' Wow, what a foggy memory I have of Economics.

If it's something you don't want to give up on--your marriage, your faith, your job--something you're committed to keep with, but you feel like you have no more to give/your energy is fading/it is no longer invigorating like when you first set out/it is sucking the very life out of you/etc. (you know what I mean), then take the time to step back and re-assess your priorities. Maybe if you focus your energies on different areas than what you are now, you'll feel proud of it again. If you feel you don't have time to re-assess, ask yourself, "Do I really want to continue another day or week in this state of mind?"

"A wise [Chinese] man [I might add] once distinguished between “the noble art of getting things done” and “a nobler art of leaving things undone.” True “wisdom in life,” he taught, consists of “the elimination of non-essentials” (Lin Yutang, The Importance of Living [New York: Reynal and Hitchcock, 1937], 162, 10). May I suggest that you periodically evaluate how you are doing in this area? What are the nonessential things that clutter your days and steal your time? What are the habits you may have developed that do not serve a useful purpose? What are the unfinished or unstarted things that could add vigor, meaning, and joy to your life?" -LDS Apostle, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf.

Here's another:
"We become so caught up in the busyness of our lives. Were we to step back, however, and take a good look at what we’re doing, we may find that we have immersed ourselves in the 'thick of thin things.' In other words, too often we spend most of our time taking care of the things which do not really matter much at all in the grand scheme of things, neglecting those more important causes." -LDS Prophet, President Thomas S. Monson.

Sound reasoning
Some of the decisions I am most proud of, which have brought me lots of happiness, went against my sound reasoning (if I ever had any). I was surprised how easily my little precedents crumbled and were out the window when these "golden opportunities" presented themselves to me. I listened to my heart during these sometimes confusing times and am glad I did.

Create

2010-01-17T19:48:00.004-07:00

I came across this Mormon Message today...we all have something we can do, whether you've found your "creative niche" or not...

Ironing Board Cover Tutorial

2010-01-13T22:56:00.005-07:00

If you've ever wanted to replace your sorry looking ironing board cover, here's a quick tutorial. My 3 year old board was stained with leftover fusible interfacing gunk and just who knows what and it was starting to bring dry heaves every time I looked at it. I think you can purchase new covers for a couple of bucks, but why not make your own? The whole thing took about half an hour, and that's with taking photos for this tute, so no excuse not to make one, you recession-savvy seamstress, you!

You can also view this tutorial in Flickr.

Step 1 - Remove the old cover. Just pop it out from underneath the board. I think most are tied down with a string and secured with a clamp like my cheap WalMart one was:

Step 2 - Remove the string by carefully pulling one side through the casing of the entire cover. Mine was encased in sewing string via a serger machine.

You can reuse the string or use something else you have. Crochet yarn should work.

Step 3 - Lay your fabric out. I used a thrifted sheet. You'll need around 51.5" x 17.5." That's about 1.5 yards of fabric. I'm guessing most ironing boards are about the same, but measure yours before you go out and purchase some fabric.

TIP: Fabric choice for this project--I'd recommend a medium weight cotton that doesn't have any heavy printing or paint (like some Hawaiian prints do). Be careful using home dec weight (sofa/curtain-thick) fabrics, since they won't "breathe" as easily. Dense or heavy fabrics may warp your steam ironing since they may "reflect" your steam instead of absorb it through the fabric you're ironing. I'm not an expert, so let me know if home decs do work.

Step 4 - Lay your old ironing board cover over your fabric and pin it down as flat as possible.

TIP: Make sure your selvedges are located on the left and right sides of your cover. In other words, you want the ironing board fabric to stretch width-wise:

Step 5 - Cut it out, then remove the pins. Cut about 1/4 inch larger than your old cover.

TIP: When cutting fabric with scissors along a line (like when a pattern is on top of it), cut with the piece you are cutting out behind your hand (on the back side of your hand). Unlike in kindergarten, where they taught us to cut from right to left (for righties), where the piece you are cutting out is facing the palm of your hand. Cutting fabric that is laid out flat on a surface will "sit" on the surface better if it is to the "outside" or the back of your hand, whether you're a righty or a lefty.

Step 6 - Position the string and fabric on your machine. Wrong side of the fabric facing up on your machine, place the string almost to the edge, where you'll sew it all the way along the border on the wrong side of the fabric. I started and ended at the bottom corner of the large end of the board cover, but it probably doesn't matter where you begin and end, just leave an inch or so gap between where you start and end, and make sure you have plenty string leftover to tie.

Step 7 - Sew it. If using a sewing machine, sew a wide zig zag stitch over the string, encasing the string in your zig zag web so that you can pull it tight later (the zig is on the left side of your string, and the zag is on the right of it, not touching it). If you've got a serger, choose a stitch that will be wide enough to encase the string. Be sure not to catch the string in the needle. If you accidentally do, you can be ghetto like me and just snip the thread(s) that got caught in the string later.

The wrong side of the fabric should look like this:

The right side of the fabric:

Another method is to sew a casing along the border of your fabric and thread the string through like in Vain & Vapid's tutorial.

Step 8 - Place the cover over the foam/padding on your ironing board. Pull it taut using the string, and tie a knot to secure, or use the clamp that was on the old one.

Step 9 - Admire it.

I'm happy to elaborate, so let me know if you have any questions.

Quote of the Day

2010-01-09T10:36:00.001-07:00

"Experience is as to intensity and not as to duration."

- Tess in Tess of the d'Ubervilles, by Thomas Hardy, 166.

Happy Happy

2009-12-30T23:52:00.004-07:00

Kalei turned 8 months old today. I'm typing and holding her while she sleeps...a trick learned from 4 years of working from home and raising 3 babies. I want to make a list of happenings for 2009, I think for myself more than for my blog audience:

Kalei was born at the end of April. She is a Mama's girl, thoroughly. She can't stand anybody else in the world, not even her dad, and wants only Mommy. It feels pretty nice.

my mom came and visited beginning of May, which was sooo nice. I miss her and can't wait till she comes in January.
we drove to California in June on 2 hours' notice to be with Ryan's dad for a few days, as he had gotten very sick. That was a difficult trip to make. It was difficult to see Ryan's dad and say goodbye, not knowing if we'd see each other again.

in August I received a calling in church as Relief Society (women's organization) Secretary. This has really opened doors of friendship for me and helped remind me that we all have battles (mine is against constant chaos). It's helped me get out of the house a bit too. I am a home-body by default, I love to read, write, sew, and dance...inside hobbies. I love having people over (ok, not in a Ryan-Johnson-just-invited-half-the-ward-over kind of way), but it's nicer to go into others' homes and learn about them, their struggles, their interests, etc. I enjoy this part of this calling the most.
Ryan's father, Jack, passed away in late August. Ryan and Kainoa went up to St. Louis for his services. Jack and Ryan's mom, Geneva, raised 16 children in Long Beach, he was a chiropractor and pastry chef and very multi-talented. This Christmas has been especially hard for Ryan, and his whole family. We miss you, Grandpa Jack.
If you're reading this in Facebook, click this link to see a video on Ryan's dad.

video courtesy Stacey & Craig Johnson

in early December, my little brother, Gordon, had his first baby, named Lucas Kahana Mamoru Liljenquist. He is my first nephew by blood and I L-O-V-E him.

In mid-December, I quit my job of 6 years out of necessity - I just couldn't devote the hours they needed me to work (Ryan's work needed him to work more hours). It also felt like my sanity was waving like a flag in the wind. While planning my whole day around work provided structure, it also prevented me from, well, basing my day around my kids and their needs. All the DVDs and movies I used to distract my kids while I worked until Ryan came home...the routine got worn out, and so did I. I'm glad I did it, and I'm glad my work understood. They said they wondered if I was going to quit each time I got pregnant, but didn't, and that they were surprised I lasted this long with 3 small kids. I loved my job most of the time, maybe someday when the kids are older I will see if they need me.
We spent Christmas in Utah (sadly instead of Long Beach or Hawaii) and it was wonderful. We spent Christmas Eve at Ryan's sister, Miranda's and her husband, Steve's, and had a lot of fun. Then we went to West Jordan on Christmas Day to be with my dad and step-Mom, Sue. Santa may have been short-staffed this Christmas, but a lot of family elves stepped in and helped our kids enjoy it nonetheless.

Work Hazards

2009-12-01T00:28:00.006-07:00

My husband can't figure out why our 3.5 year old keeps getting into mischief while I work in the office. Twice, when I've had conference calls, she's gotten (me and her!) into trouble. I'll put something entertaining in front of her to keep her occupied. Today, it was the My Melody stamps and ink pads.

Three weeks ago, I had a big video call "appearance" for my company. My boss was doing a demo for Hawaii legislators on how telecom technology can help businesses save money and not have to lay employees off by allowing them to work from home...how it enables his employee, a mom of three who lives all the way in Utah, to work from home and save $1,500 a month in day care. I was nervous all week about the call, about my equipment not working, about the kids making too much noise in the background. My 2 babies were asleep, and I needed to keep Keira occupied. She asked for her craft scissors to cut up some paper. I didn't think twice. She uses them all the time, I thought, but usually while I'm right alongside her. About 2 minutes before I went "live," Keira walks in with a head full of hair in her hands. I put my hands over my mouth and shrieked at first, then couldn't stop laughing, and the demo was a breeze...

Mom, how you like me now?

Dramatics of lost hair

Can't keep a serious face

Kate fixed it, and that's probably not the last time

I'm scrapping this lock as a souvenir just in case those curly locks don't return

A couple of months ago

Debate

2009-10-27T23:05:00.012-06:00

Was debating leaving a post tonight or not...but, oh! It's past my one-month mark for writing, so, why not? The past hour or so, I've been carelessly looking at blogs and Googling "free sewing magazine" without luck while I wait for my friend to call. She just moved out this weekend and we're doing a late night cleaning sans kids. Sans kids. That's a weird phrase. Ok, I'm tired.

I did some random cleaning today and found one of two lost camera cards (that's what we call them). The other I'm afraid will be forever lost in toyland or a land fill after being handled by one of the kids because I left it in the computer's SD slot. I even took apart the computer today to see if he/she slipped it into one of the bigger slots, but nada. On the camera card I found these:

I last-minute-and-one-month-late made and sent my mom a handmade gift for her birthday. My mom lives in Hana, Maui, which is like the most remote town in the world (taking into account that Hawaii is in the middle of nowhere). It takes 2.5 hours for a Hana-an to drive to the nearest WalMart, now that's remote. Mom didn't believe me when I blamed the late arrival on her remote-ness, but she said she liked my gift anyway.

Fabric is a brocade from JoAnn, pattern from: Craftster.

This was a thank you gift to a family friend of ours, Barb, who also lives in Hana. She sewed and sent some aloha print baby items with my mom when she came out for Kalei's birth. The first nursing cover I made 2.5 years ago was for Barb's daughter, Sally, using this Eyes Wise swirly fabric. I used the scraps to make her mom a little case. Awww.

I swear I don't make the kids do this for my blog.

Saw this on NieNie's blog and wanted to share:

Shabby Apple

2009-09-21T16:34:00.014-06:00

I should be writing this on my new fashion blog, but since I don't think anyone's ever read it before besides me I wanted to include it on my ever-so-famous family/sewing blog...

Has anyone ever bought or tried on a Shabby Apple dress? I am so in need of a Fall dress, and was getting ideas on line and found this company that seems to have only modest designs. So, before I'm banished to the Target Clearance racks I thought I'd investigate these guys. How do they fit? Do they wash well? Any info is helpful. The prices aren't too bad...I think...I don't know. I signed up for their email list but who knows how good the coupons will be. In these tight times, it's just nice to dream, huh?

I also love their girls dresses. I see some Amy Butler, Joel Dewberry, Heather Bailey and Anna Maria Horner fabric in there.

Lucky Nanny

2009-08-08T16:27:00.013-06:00

It was a good week, a lucky week, maybe. I found myself on the receiving end a lot this week.

Before we left Grama and Grampa's on Sunday, Grama asks me if I "would use some 100% Swiss cotton lawn" she's had for years. "Uhhh, yeah?" I told her with a smile, and she went into her hope chest and brought back a couple stacks of fabric. The blue on the top is a silk blend from Thailand. My dad had a friend of his bring it back for my Grandma, I'm thinking in the early 70s. Next, the white cotton lawn (nightgown, anyone?), and the brown is a couple yards of 100% linen. Linen! I've never bought linen fabric, it's always so expensive. Maybe a Village Frock with red buttons for Keira is in order for Fall.

When we got home from Idaho on Sunday, I found a New Look dress pattern sticking out from under my doormat. It made my day. I knew it was from someone who reads my blog or from church who knows I sew. It was just a nice surprise. I like the pattern, too. All week, I didn't know who left it, and today found out it's from my friend, Gen...thanks, Gen!! The fabric is also from from Grama. It's called chintz and it's a cotton with a sort of glaze on it that makes it shimmery (not heavy like oilcloth). She said people used it in the 80s for curtains. The yellow fabric is leftover from the house we used to live in in California, it's about 30 years old, but looks brand new, thank you, hope chest.

Free fabric arrived in the mail. I found this New York fabric store on line that carries nicer fabric and will send you a few samples for free. I asked for ones that I've never been able to buy (Liberty London Tawna Lawn, like $40 per yard and the green is Echino by Etsuko Furuya, like $25/yard), yeah, and I've never seen any Utah fabric stores carry them, so I wanted to see and feel them in person. I'm considering making fake rabbits feet out of them to hang from my keychain and I'll rub them for good luck. Gross.

Oh, then, my friend, Brianna, was over at my house while Ryan was trying to make a smoothie and witnessed our blender crap out (all over my counter). Later, she happened to inherit a way nicer blender and passed it on to us. Thanks, Brianna!

Ryan said the kids had a surprise for me after work one night. I haven't laughed that hard in a while...Please don't call CPS on us : ).

Weekend Recap

2009-08-02T22:39:00.007-06:00

We drove up to Rexburg, ID to visit my dad's parents this weekend. It was such a nice drive up, and such a relaxing getaway. Besides catching up and showing them the new baby, and eating eating eating her good cooking, I remembered a lot of things around her home I decided to take pictures of:

Rexburg was a small town when this photo was taken, according to Grandma, 4,000 people. Now there are close to 30,000, and that's not counting the BYU-Idaho students. My grandfather owned and ran a men's clothing store on Main Street for 50 years called Vern and Ferrell's. Grandma and Grandpa got married when she was only 19. That's my dad, around 7 years old. She had one more boy after this photo was taken.

Grandma is a crochet-er (and a seamstress). I remember reading these sayings on her wall when I'd "help" in the kitchen during my visits during my college years. I used to catch rides up from Provo to Rexburg by finding people on the Ride Board at BYU. Yeah, you'd just walk up to this map in the WILK and you could find drivers or riders' phone numbers to a chosen destination and split gas costs. I'd never let my daughter do that nowadays (ok, she's only 3), but if she wasn't, I still wouldn't let her. Those weekend visits to their house always rejuvenated me and I miss them.

When I was in elementary school, we left Hawaii and moved into my grandparents' summer home in Escondido, CA. We lived there for a few years till we bought a new house down the road. I remember this lamp in our living room. Once, I knocked the other matching lamp over and chipped it (probably while dancing to the Fame theme song. I'm still gonna live forever!)

Grandma loves Hawaii. These were in her bathroom:

We spent a lot of the weekend on the back deck. Outside was the only childproof area, and when the kids were outside, Grandma and Grandpa...and Mom, and Baby Kalei, and Dad...had some peace.

My grandfather suffered a stroke just 8 months ago, but is now walking on his own (no cane or walker), speaks clearly, and makes us so proud. Keira fell asleep on him and woke up when she heard my camera shutter, so I told her to pretend she was sleeping again. I remember being held by him like that when I was little, too.

.25

2009-07-30T21:57:00.006-06:00

Today is Kalei's 3 month birthday. I told her that she is one fourth of a year old, whatever that means. I suspect a newborn's month is like 5 years to us in terms of how much they grow and change,maybe like God's days and our thousands of years. She is so much more interactive than just a week ago, she likes to engage in conversations of, "grrrrl," "haaaaa," and waits for you to take your turn saying your sound till she does hers. She recognizes her sister with a smile when she sees her; she cringes and gets serious when she sees "big brother" coming her way...he still can't handle not squeezing her, it's too tempting.

Shower Privée

2009-07-28T00:31:00.005-06:00

I made a shower curtain yesterday out of 108" wide 3 Sisters Moda material I bought a year and a half ago that's been sitting on the shelf. Originally intended for the back of a duvet cover, I decided to nix the patchwork duvet idea and make a shower curtain. Guests and family and our children have been braving our liner-only shower for 2.5 years here at the condo, so it was about time.

I used the clear shower liner as a pattern for the dimensions and to be able to cut straight lines, took up my whole living room. I added a few inches on each side for the seams. I made button holes along the top to insert the shower rings into. The whole thing took about 2 hours.

Simplicity 4077

2009-07-20T21:49:00.008-06:00

So I made my first button down shirt, finally. Simp 4077 View E. This out of Anna Maria Horner fabric Gordon and Lyn gave me for my birthday in May. It took me a few weeks to finish, sleeves one day, hemming another, fitting it using the darts for my "nursing figure." I will definitely use this pattern again, but there are things I'll change:

the shoulders need to be widened. I do have broad shoulders, so the sleeves begin probably an inch too close to my neck.
maybe I'll buy the pattern again and cut a ize 10-12 (Joann has them for $1 once in a while, just jump on their mailing list to find out when) . On the back of each pattern, they'll list what your measurements should be for each size. I took my fresh-out-of-pregnancy measurements and circled what my hips were, waist, etc. (see photo). According to their measurements, I should have cut a size 16. I haven't worn a 16 since my mission. I must have been in denial because I cut a size 8, so to make up for it, I skipped the back darts, let out the front darts a bit.
that darned Chinese collar was a beast. It was my first time doing a collar like that, and I had to tweak and tuck it a bit (see photo). I will try it again, I think I cut the wrong size for it so kept trimming it to fit the neck of the shirt.

What I like about Simplicity 4077:

the cap sleeves. I love 'em.
I love wearing quilting fabric. This AMH fabric was nice and soft. I've made clothes for myself before but only with upholstery-type Ikea fabric. I can't wait to make more quilt clothes for myself.
I lengthened the shirt to reach my hips, so it's almost a tunic, and I love the length. I despise short shirts nowadays. Surprisingly, this shirt took 1 yard of regular sized (44" wide) fabric. I only had 1 yard of it...another reason why I had to cut a size 8 instead of 16.

Here's another dress I saw on Make Something that I think would be fun to make using elastic thread to shirr the waist and neckline. Maybe I can sell an organ to afford some of this Liberty Lawn fabric.

Recap

2009-07-18T22:29:00.008-06:00

Been on a 2-month hiatus, it seems, so here's a recap...

Kalei is growing in leaps and bounds. When we blessed her at church, she wore the same dress my grandmother had made for Keira. I made each of our girls headbands for their blessing day...ok, I decorated store-bought ones with white roses...and will give them to them when they're older.

Kalei on July 5th at 2 months on the left; Keira on the right in 2006 in Hawaii:

Two of our neices from Arizona were with us for a week. They wanted to rent every movie Kristen Stewart's been in, Zathura, Into the Wild (had to say no to that since 'cause of the rating--wish I were the "cool aunt"). And after one or two hours of YouTubing "New Moon" with them I was pooped. Ahh, to be tween again and eat a whole bag of candy and stay in your jammies all day (at least we have one thing in common). I still miss them and every time I surf past 100.7 FM on the radio I get teary-eyed.

Gateway Mall, downtown Salt Lake

A purse I made for McKenna from a blanket she brought with her:

My internet/computer was down for a week which meant I couldn't work, blog, or email. Amazing how much more time I had with the kids and for myself. I wasn't drawn to login every morning--it's just part of my morning routine. I got more sleep because I didn't need to "wind down" after work and sew till 1am. With more sleep, I was unusually happy--not as testy with the kids. I didn't have to break out of that "blog fog" when you've just been clicking and reading and trying to catch up with everyone and their "news." The house was cleaner...which also added to my happy state. And without having to work, I had dinner ready for Ryan when he got home. I do like my job, been with ComTel for over 5 years, but it was nice to have a break.

Kalei 2 months, smiling and cooing all the time now