~My New Machine and First Project~

My new new-to-me machine:


and my first project:


Butterick 4176, view B in length D.


"Pretty buttons" (my daughter's comment as she pointed them out) :-)


The buttons are vintage mother of pearl and add a sweet accent to this play dress.


On Sunday we were snowed in, and I was bored. My husband suggested a sewing project but I protested, saying that I would have to cut it out first, as I didn't have a project cut out. He said it would give me something to do anyhow, so I went with it. ;-) Then I sewed and sewed and forgot to make dinner, so he made dinner while I continued sewing. The fabric is from my mother-in-law, and I had purchased the pattern for $1.99 a few weeks back. All I had to buy was the elastic for the sleeves.

This machine is a dream to sew with. I am so happy with it!

~Doing Dishes by the Seaside~

Doesn't this washcloth remind you of seaside colors? Such pretty greens and blues! My neighbor gave this to me. I love handmade gifts!



That was the short story. The long story is this:

I went out to an errand, leaving my napping daughter at home with my husband. The car's brakes had been behaving oddly, and as I headed out, I thought about going to a car shop to have them checked first. But I really wanted to get my errand finished first so I proceeded on. As I kept driving, and especially on the way back, I realized that that had been a mistake. The brakes kept getting worse and worse. I prayed for safety each time I had to brake, and tried to keep a good distance from the cars in front of me.

I got to the shop safely and after a very.long.wait. they told me that my master cylinder was bad. I either needed to tow the car or leave it there for them to replace. I called Kevin and we decided to have the work done. But there was a problem. I was at the shop with no way to get home. Kevin was at home with no way to come get me, since our daughter's car seat was in the car.

Thankfully our next-door neighbors were home and willing to watch our daughter. She hasn't had much interaction with them, but when we got back she was very happy. They told me that she had enjoyed unloading their groceries. And as I was thanking them for watching my daughter, the neighbor-lady pressed the dishcloth into my hands. So that is the very long story of how I got the dishcloth. ;-)

I praise the Lord for the safety He provided me as I was driving with failing brakes. There were several times when I wondered if the car was going to stop!

~Dino~

We my daughter is now the proud owner of a blue plastic dinosaur. When we ask her where she got it, she says (in a tone to let us know that she knows we know where it came from), "the dock-tor".

Ah, yes. We do know. We paid for that dinosaur; in fact, we paid enough for hundreds of them. ;-) But the dinosaur really wasn't the point of the doctor visit! Her health was.

We've had sickness in our house for a while, going into our 4th week now! The virus we caught was a nasty bug, hanging on ferociously. After 8 days of fever though, we did start to worry that something else was going on. So we trekked to the "dock-tor". While there, we were very pleased to discover that: our daughter did not have a fever, there was no problem to be found in her ears, throat, glands, or lungs. Which of course, is the news that we wanted to hear. The doctor even questioned our thermometer (YES it does work, thankyouverymuch, and I took her temperature with other thermometers as well.)

If only we'd waited just one more day. Her fever was completely gone today. She's still sick though, just not with a fever. Ahhhhh....such is life. I'm just so thankful there wasn't an underlying problem!

Now to get 100% well and stay away from other germs! :-)

~Misc.~

These last three weeks have been filled with sickness. A lingering sickness for each one of us, spaced about a week apart. Thus the lack of blog content.

I have exciting news (well, it's exciting news for me anyhow! LOL)! My hard work and penny pinching paid off and I am now the proud owner of a new-to-me sewing machine. I was in the market for a brand-spankin'-new sewing machine, but as I got closer to amount I would need for my new machine, I called a dealer and asked if they had anything used in my price range that would be a higher-end machine. And they did! After looking it over and trying it out I took it home with me. [Insert wild cheers and dancing here.]

I still have to get some foot issues worked out. I bought a walking foot but it doesn't work for my machine, so I have to take it back. I also want to get a rolled hem foot. But I'm very happy with it. Oh, it's a Husqvarna Viking #1. I'll be posting pictures soon. :-)

I did shed a tear or two when I had the thought, "I can't wait to tell my grandma about my new machine!"...only to realize a split second later that I can't call her...I know she would have been happy for me to get a new machine.

And moving on...apparently I can count but I cannot add. I haven't been able to go out grocery shopping so dinner tonight was a Taco Bell run. I counted my items and came home. As I divvied up the items I realized that I was missing an item. I counted again...had the correct number...and then realized I hadn't added correctly. Duh...

I just finished reading Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster. Such a sweet, sweet book. I wish that a good movie would be made based on this book. I've attempted (two minutes? maybe) to watch a Mary Pickford version, and the Fred Astaire version veers sharply from the book so that disappoints as well.

And...I'm done rambling. ;-) Have a lovely day!