~Green Grocery Bag~

A while back I purchased Keyka Lou's Grocery Bag pattern. I really liked the pattern, and some of my reusable grocery bags are getting worn out. I've been using the same reusable grocery bags for 3+ years now, so I guess it's about time to start replacing some of them!

I used two vintage pillowcases to make my bag. Squee!


I thrifted the green outer fabric and was given the inside fabric. Not counting the pattern, this bag cost just over $1 to make! It's green (in color), green (earth friendly), and didn't cost too much green (cash) to make. ;-) Green just might be my new favorite color! Haha.

It is shorter (much shorter) than my other grocery bags. The checker didn't want to put it on the bag holder for some reason, but I tested it and it fit nicely. She packed my produce in it, which I must say works really well for for its size. When the checkers use plastic bags, they put a measly two or three things in each bag. When you have reusable bags they think you have super powers or something and stuff them full. Which isn't always the best if your grapes are at the bottom. Just saying.



I have plans to make more of these, but I'm going to fiddle with the pattern a little and make them a smidge taller.

~Crochet Pattern: Girls Ruffle Socks~

You'll need:
a pair of socks
#10 Bedspread Weight crochet thread
crochet hook (size 4 or 6)

I crochet pretty tightly but if your crochet is a little looser that's ok too. There really isn't a gauge for these since it is just a ruffle on a pair of socks.

I really like the socks from Wal-mart, made by Faded Glory. They're in the baby/toddler sock section. The socks are nice and stretchy and it is easy to crochet around them. The sizing seems to run a little on the small side, so you might want to go up a size if your baby is at the end of the size range (for example, if your baby is in 12 or 18 month size, instead of purchasing the 6-18 month size socks, get the 18-36 month size).

Turn sock inside out. Start crocheting on the center back of the sock. Here is a picture to illustrate where you will be stitching along the sock edge:


The stitched part of the sock that bumps slightly downward is the stitch you will single crochet in.

Round one: Make a slip knot, and single crochet in center back of sock. Chain 3, *skip one stitch on sock, single crochet in next stitch. Chain 3*. Work from * to * around. Join with slip stitch in beginning single crochet.

Round one complete:


Round two: slip stitch into first chain three loop, chain 4, 5 triple crochet in same loop, *6 triple crochet in next chain 3 loop*, work from * to * around. Join with slip stitch at end of round.

Round three: chain 1, single crochet in same stitch, single crochet in each stitch around. Join with slip stitch at end of round, fasten off and weave in end. Turn sock right side out, and repeat for second sock.

I recommend machine washing, and drying flat. The cotton thread will shrink a little in the dryer.

Enjoy! You are free to use this pattern however you wish, including items for sale, but please do not publish text or pictures without my written permission. Thank you!

~Gray vs. Brown~

Is it "grey" or "gray"? I know they're both correct, but which one is the preferred spelling? In spite of referring to the dictionary, I still don't know which spelling is preferred, so I'm sticking with "gray" for this blog post. ;-)

So. Gray vs. brown. Brown being my hair color. Gray being the color that is starting to grow in. Yikes. About 3 or 4 months ago I decided to stop pulling out the stray gray hairs because there were too many coming in to pluck! So far I haven't colored my hair. I haven't really decided what I want to do.

I've been pulling out random gray hairs since I was 22. Every so often I would look in the mirror and be shocked to see one long gray hair, so of course I would pull it out!

The hair that is growing in "gray" isn't really gray. It's more like clear white. Goodness me. They glisten. LOL

I told Kevin I'm going to dye my hair pink. He doesn't believe that I'll ever do it. But I will show him, one of these days I really will go pink. Hehe.

I am torn. I don't want to start spending the money to color my hair yet I don't really want to go gray either (I have QUITE a while till I'm gray, I probably have 15-20 gray hairs at this point. I give you permission to laugh at my consternation. ;-) ). I don't want the chemical exposure, the endless coloring. And yet those sparkly hairs mock me when I look in the mirror. For now I'm doing - nothing. What to do...what to do...

~Really?~

The other day I checked my spam box and I had an intersting email. Usually I don't open spam emails but this one looked interesting. I know, I should be more careful with spam, BUT I didn't click on any links!

Oh dear! My credit card was going to be suspended unless I provided them with:
account number
my full name
address
social security number
mother's maiden name
and on and on - basically all the information you would need to do whatever you wanted with anyone's finances

What to do but give them all that information delete the email? Seriously, does anyone fall for this? They must because why would crooks still be trying???

~Yellow Calico Top + Denim Shorts~

You may recall this dress:


Made from this pattern:


I made the top, Butterick 4176, view A, and the shorts, Simplicity 7189, view D:


For this outfit:




I changed two things on the top. First, I made an interlined facing instead of finishing the neckline with bias tape. It's so much neater that way. Secondly, I installed a zipper instead of the opening with a button and loop. It's just preference, but I like the way this looks so much better. :)


I don't have fancy printed labels, but when I sew bottoms (pants, shorts, bloomers, skirts) with a front/back, I sew a little loop of ribbon into the inside back to mark the back. It makes getting dressed easier!


I made this about two months ago, but because of our cloudy weather I never got around to photographing it till just now. My daughter has worn it twice now and it fits her well with room to grow. She's a petite 2, so the shorts fit her more like culottes, which I like.

~Spazzed Out~

Sunday morning, at church, I was standing by the sink washing my hands and all of a sudden my upper back started hurting. It was pretty painful! I was in a lot of pain all day, in spite of taking some pain killers. On Monday I went to the chiropractor, but he couldn't get a good adjustment. By yesterday my shoulders/upper back were killing me. I couldn't move my head from side to side without pain. I went back to the chiropractor and he still couldn't get an adjustment in! He said I'd had a muscle spasm and my muscles were still too tight.

I was in the reception area and the office manager came out and was talking with me. She mentioned Formula 303 to help manage the pain and relax my muscles. They sell it in their office, so I bought some to give it a try.

Shall I break out in poetry? Formula 303...how do I love thee? Let me count the ways! LOL Seriously though, this is helping me SO MUCH. I can tell when I need to take it again, my muscles start tensing up and the pain gets worse.

Thankfully I went back to the chiropractor yesterday afternoon and between the Formula 303 helping to relax the muscles, and the heat and cold I'd applied, he was finally able to give me an adjustment! Whew. Was I ever glad to hear those pops!

My neck and shoulders are still in quite a bit of pain but it is subsiding. This is the worst my back has ever hurt, with the exception of labor pains! I just can't imagine how people with chronic back pain do it!

After this week, I would highly recommend Formula 303. Of course, do your own research. But if you need to take muscle relaxers, this is a natural way to go. :-)

~Swagbucks~

I haven't posted about Swagbucks for quite a while (since last August, I checked! :D), so I thought I'd mention it here today.

Have you heard about Swagbucks? It's an online search engine, and you randomly get awarded "Swagbucks" for doing searches. There is an online store which you can exchange your Swagbucks for many different things. My favorite is the $5 Amazon gift card.

I'm saving up for a Kitchen Aid mixer. I've been so tempted to just go on a spending spree with my Amazon gift cards that I have built up but I'm being patient, and one day my patience will pay off and I'll get my mixer for FREE!!!

If you sign up using my link, Swagbucks matches the first 1000 Swagbucks you earn to my account. It doesn't effect your account at all, and it's a little bonus for me. :-) If you haven't given it a try yet, why not? It's fun! and free! and did I mention you get free things? Cool! :D And once you have an account you can get people to sign up under you.

~Faux Chenille Blanket~

While I was sewing my daughter's Easter dress, I was mentally making a list for my next projects I wanted to sew. Namely, a skirt (for me), a purse (for me), a pair of pajamas (for me), and last but not least, a reusable grocery tote (for me). This was not on my list:



Pillow case and faux chenille blanket (not for me).

But somehow, before I even knew it I was sewing for my daughter again. *Happy sigh* I just can't help it!

It started with purchasing a crib pillow for our daughter. Well, she needed a pillowcase for it, right? So I got to work making that, with fabric from my bins that matches the valances in her room. Then of course she needed a matching blanket too, right? For the past winter she's used a lovely polka-dot blanket that I was given at my shower. But it is getting small for her and she was quite attached to it. Switching blankets on her wasn't going to be easy. Until I started sewing this blanket! While I was making this, every time I tucked her into bed she asked for the "pink blanket".



For the pillowcase, I just started sewing. :-) For the faux chenille blanket, I followed these two tutorials: tutorial by Dana at MADE and tutorial by Anneliese at Aesthetic Nest. I used lightweight cotton for the back (or front?) and three layers of white flannel for the chenille. This project is tedious. Quite ridiculously so. But fun. ;-) While I was sewing and cutting and thought, "I should just buy chenille at Joann's and be done with it." But when I ran in to get binding for the blanket, I took a closer look at their chenille, and it is not soft like this faux chenille. However soft this blanket may be, this will probably be the first and last faux chenille blanket I make!



I used my walking foot for this project. I don't think you'd want to make this blanket without a walking foot! I just pin basted the layers together, and started sewing. The front and back were nice and smooth. No puckers!

I finished this last week, and my daughter has been using it ever since. She loves it, and so do I!

~Saying Goodbye to My Old Sewing Machine~

*Sniff, sniff*



As elated as I was to get my new-to-me sewing machine, I'm kind of torn about selling my old Singer. It sure was a great machine for me! She shows her years with her name - "Slant-O-Matic". The funny thing is, there's nothing automatic about the machine, except that the needle goes up and down when you push the pedal. :D I have a lot of happy sewing memories with this machine, but I'm looking forward to all the memories I'll make with my new machine!

I'm planning on putting the money I make from selling this machine towards an IKEA desk that will hold my new sewing machine. This one:



So it's a good thing to sell my old machine! Just a teensy bit hard!

~My Heart was Broken~

It was 1 am, and yet again I couldn't sleep. I crawled out of bed and crept into the dark living room to sit on the couch. Tears coursed down my face. My heart was broken.

I plastered a smile on my face and sat in my seat at church. If I could just get through the service and get to the car, I thought I could keep the tears at bay. "Please, don't let anyone ask me any questions", was my prayer each Sunday. My heart was broken.

Waiting. Longing. Tests. Waiting. Longing, but no real answers. Waiting. Longing. More testing. More waiting. Surgery. Drugs. Waiting. Longing. My heart was broken.

Questions--always questions to answer. Family. Friends. Acquaintances. Strangers. Was there no question off limits, no question too rude to ask? I didn't want to face any more questions. My heart was broken.

Year after year, each broken into twelve months. Twelve individual answers of "no". Over and over. Over and over. My heart was broken.

My heart was broken...but God held me close. He "brought me up also out of an horrible pit" (Psalm 40:2). Not just through a child. A child was my heart's desire, and I would like to say that I was completely OK with being a family of two for the rest of my life, before I got pregnant with my daughter, but I wasn't. However, I was moving in that direction. I knew that I couldn't live the rest of my life in misery. And I did live in complete misery for quite some time. Those months of misery were an "ugly" time period in my life. I'm not proud of them. Infertility did change me in many ways but I hope that I've allowed it to change me for the better.

My journey to motherhood is long and paved with tears. Many are still in the midst of the tears. This week is Infertility Awareness Week. Did you know that 1 in 8 couples will suffer infertility? Do you know someone who is struggling? Reach out to them with kindness. You may not understand exactly, but you can give a hug. You can't promise a certain outcome, but you can pray to One Who knows the outcome.

And if you are going through infertility yourself, I want to encourage you, from the bottom of my heart: please do not turn your back on God. He loves you. He cares for you. Don't tell yourself lies about God.

Here are some helpful links, that I would love to encourage you to visit:
Hannah's Hope--this book is helpful for those going through infertility and also for someone who has a loved one walking this road. Each chapter ends with specific words for "Burden Bearers".
Stepping Stones--a ministry of Bethany Christian Services. They have a newsletter that you can sign up for as well as helpful articles on their site.
Don't Waste your Inferitilty--a helpful blog article. I can't vouch for the rest of the blog, but this one article was extremely helpful to me.

~Finished Dress~

The dress is finished! I got everything done by 5 pm today. I love the way it turned out!

The finished dress:


The buttons:


The button extension on the inside:


Ruffled sleeve:


Matching barrette I made:


Bloomers:


Everything all together:


I estimate that I spent about 15-20 hours on this dress, probably more. The outer dress is made of Mrs. Aster Greenfield Hill voile, in the cranberry colorway, which I purchased from Sew, Mama, Sew! I used cotton broadcloth for the lining, which I purchased from a local sewing shop. I've never used either fabric before, but I'm in love with both of them now! The voile is so silky, it's amazing it's 100% cotton! And the broadcloth was perfect for lining this dress, it was the perfect weight and just the right amount of crispness without being too stiff.

~Sewing Update~

It's been a busy week of sewing for me! It is very safe to say that this dress is the most difficult, time-consuming garment I have ever sewn!

The bodice gave me quite a bit of trouble, but at last I got it figured out:


Yesterday I got it to the point where it was all in one piece. That's such a good feeling! Today I have to slit the button holes, sew the buttons on and hem the dress. I might also sew a pair of bloomers, we'll see how that all goes.

On Thursday I was telling a friend how frazzled I felt. Then I was telling her about the dress I'm making, and she said, "Well, no wonder! Think about all the pressure you're giving yourself!" I really thought about that and realized how true it was.

Not only am I making a dress with a specific deadline,
I'm using fabric I've never used before
with a vintage pattern that has confusing details and instructions
which is time consuming not only to figure out but to sew
and it's a pattern that my grandma made so in my mind I have to sew this dress as she would have (perfectly)
and not only is it a pattern that my grandma made, but it's one she made for me.

Oh, and did I mention I have a deadline? I refuse to be sewing at 1 am Easter morning! Which means, it has to be done by Saturday evening!

So yeah, a lot of pressure. Once I stepped back and gained some perspective, I realized that the words I had uttered at one point were not true. What did I say? "I hate sewing!" which is the furthest thing from the truth!

Yesterday went so much better and I enjoyed the process a lot more! When everything came together and I put the dress on a hanger, I stepped back, clasped my hands, and tears sprang to my eyes! I love this little dress and all that it means. I'll be back later today with pictures of the finished dress!

~Sewing~

This week I am working on a very special project. Quite a few years ago, I think even before I was married, my grandma was getting rid of some patterns and she let us look through them before she tossed them in the trash. I grabbed up a Strawberry Shortcake pattern that she used to make a dress for me when I was 6 or 7 years old:


Butterick 4824, 1983

It was one of my favorite dresses that my grandma made for me! I loved how the buttons ran along the top of my shoulder and came down.

There were two patterns, including an uncut one in size 2-3-4. I am making the size 2 for my daughter. I didn't cut the actual pattern pieces, thinking that I might want to make it again in the future, but I probably won't want to make it again. It is quite a detailed pattern.

The sleeves call for 3" wide flat eyelet lace. I couldn't find lace to match the fabric I already had purchased, and didn't want to do as one of the ladies in the fabric store suggested and tea dye lace. It just seemed like too much work with unknown results. So one Sunday morning in church I was sitting listening intently, well...I think it was during announcements so to be honest I wasn't listening very much at all...I was thinking about about what I was going to do about the sleeves on the dress! Anyhow, I looked down at my blouse, which had rows of ruffles on it and had the brilliant thought to make the sleeve ruffles out of the dress fabric.

After much stress, seam ripping, brownies and tea, and scouring the internet for tutorials on using hemming foots, I finally figured out the best way to get those hems sewn. They aren't perfect but they are nice. And with the way my daughter runs around, nobody's going to be able to examine them too closely anyhow! LOL

With all that said, after several hours of work, I have the sleeves done. This calls for a big "TA DA!" LOL



I was telling my mom about this project and she said it sounds like something I would take on. She was telling me about when I learned to crochet and I was talking about wanting to make my own lace. She was thinking, "Just go to the store and buy it!" I guess some of my projects do get pretty involved...

~Crocuses~

Last fall, my husband and I planted some bulbs in memory of our wee one in heaven. Some of them were crocuses, which finally came up and started blooming. Normally, crocuses show up through the snow, but these took their sweet time. I'm not sure why they took so long, but I'm glad they have finally arrived and are in bloom!





They make me smile.

~UFO Bust Report~

This week was a profitable UFO busting week! I don't have a finished project to share, but I do have progress!

A few years ago I started a days-of-the-week dishtowel set, using Alicia's embroidery patterns, found here.

I finished these three towels:


and then stopped. Oops.

I didn't have any progress on the remaining four dishtowels! So this week, I squared up the tea towels, and added the fabric trim. They aren't perfect, no matter how hard I tried to get the towels "square" it didn't work. So I reminded myself that these are dish towels.



Now I need to transfer the designs, and do the embroidery. Seems like a good evening project!

For more UFO bust reports, visit Blackberry Creek.

~Egg~

We get our eggs from a family in our church. Most of them are pretty normal in size and shape, but this one was huge:



I haven't done a lot of research, but I've heard that eggs from free range chickens are healthier. I can't vouch for their healthiness, but they sure are tasty!

~Summer Jammies~

I love my new sewing machine. But you could probably guess that, huh? What with all the sewing projects I've been blogging about, it wouldn't be too hard to figure out. ;-)

I previously mentioned finding some vintage sheets. I was out thrifting again, and found another sheet:


I bought it with the express purpose of making my daughter a pair of summer jammies. I'm not sure if it would qualify as "vintage" or not? But I like it a lot! And so does my daughter. When I was taking the above picture, she said that it was "gorgeous". Thank you, Fancy Nancy, for the vocabulary help!

The bottoms are about one inch too long (on purpose). I love the ruffle along the bottom! I used Butterick 4910, size 2.



Do you ever wonder why almost every picture on my blog has the same wood grain background? I have a cedar hope chest sitting in front of the living room window, and this spot is about the only place in my house with good lighting, especially in our dark winter months. I took some of the toys off for the above picture, but the other half I didn't touch:



=) Have a good day!

~Birthday Bunting~

Early this year I decided to make some buntings/banners/streamers/whatever-you-call-thems. ;-) I wanted to have them on hand for birthdays, and when our daughter turned two in March they were all ready to put up:



We didn't have a party this year, just a family celebration with the three of us, but it was still special to have them up!

I used scraps from my bin and two packages of bias tape that I had on hand. I love it when I have all the materials needed for a project! I also didn't do any math prior to the project, and I ended up with 8 more sewn triangles that I don't have a use for. Oops!

~Storybook Apron~

I'm really excited about the next theme for Tie One On, "Storybook Aprons". I will have to think about this, but I want to participate this time!

The first apron story that comes to my mind is from In Grandma's Attic. The mom had a busy day, with mess after mess to deal with. She kept tying an apron on to hide the mess...and at the end of the day she had about eight aprons on!

Any favorite aprons/stories from storybooks to give me inspiration?

~UFO Bust Report~

I had a UFO hidden away which I forgot about when I listed all my UFO's: a stenciled tote.



For Christmas, we made each of our moms one of these totes. I got a smudge of black paint on one of the totes so I set it aside to make one for myself. Kevin did all the work on the silhouette, which was a lot of work, and he did it three times over for these totes.

So this week I got it done. I think it took five minutes? Maybe ten. Certainly it didn't need to be sitting in my closet for the past three months!



My inspiration for this project was this tote, and this pillow. Painting over the paper doily was a little tricky, but I finally figured out the best way to do it, which is a little different than the tutorial I linked to above:
1) Use spray adhesive to attach the doily to the tote.
2) Paint over the doily, making sure to get paint in all the spaces and holes. Make sure the paint on the doily is very thin, you don't want paint puddled up on the doily, because it will seep through to the tote.
3) Use a hair dryer to dry the paint.
4) Remove the doily. This part is time-consuming, but you can use an exacto knife or some other sharp tool to help pull the doily bits off.

For the silhouette, I used a hair dryer as well, rather than leaving it to dry over night.

For other UFO Bust Reports, visit Susan at Blackberry Creek.