Spring Aprons






Made with mostly vintage spring fabrics~6 were made in all last week while Canaan recovered from a cold on the couch and Ezra bounced from room to room playing drums and singing. These pics were taken in our backyard where the ferns and hostas are growing by leaps and bounds each day as the days grow warmer and the sun stays out longer. Soon the mosquitos will join us but for now we can leave our doors and windows open to the nice spring breeze.

Offline...

I will be offline for a couple of days while our computer gets some repairs. Things are good around here. Busy, yet good. If you get a chance, head over to this site.
I don't know if I have mentioned it here or not but I am the director of women's ministries at our church. I've just finished a new blog/website and it will have daily devotionals and encouragement if anyone is interested.
Lots of sewing going on around here and hopefully if the rain stays away this weekend, we'll be gardening some more. I still have a ton of space to fill with veggies! The lettuce is coming in beautifully--the spinach not so much.
See you in a few days!

A Week in Photos







Some New Favorites

As much as I love the idea of blogging and am inspired by those who blog,I really don't take much time to read blogs. I have a select few I visit throughout the week, but as for jumping from one blog to another, I can't seem to find the time.

But I wanted to share a few of my new favorites.

Loveology

This one in particular is just amazing to me. I love art and photos, and this blog inspires me to create and live more beautifully.


This one is along those same lines...beautiful!

Here Comes the Sun




And this final one is a new one to my blog love...Naptime Quilter. I love that she quilts like me (only way better) which is free form and without those crazy quilting patterns that drive me batty!!

Naptime Quilter





And on an ending note, my beautiful friend Kristie gave birth to her 3rd child last night...a boy named Carson Ryder Harris. She called me at 10:45pm on her way to the hospital and he arrived into the world at around 4am. She and sweet baby Carson are happy and healthy. Congrats Kristie!!!

My house is a wreck!

Our week has started out as such:

1. lots of sewing
2. lots of reading
3. little to no cleaning
4. staying in pajamas as much as possible.

Today we add on top of that a sick 6 year old boy who has been curled up on the couch in a quilt all morning.


(** bragging moment please~ Canaan is such a super reader! He loves it and is breezing through reading 2nd and 3rd grade chapter books--and he's in kindergarten! Best of all he comprehends what he reads well too. He was reading Nate the Great this week and literally couldn't put it down. He kept saying "this book is so good!"~ bragging moment is now over )

I am trying to finish a large quantity of aprons for Street Scene as well as a new client, Cherry Bomb, up in Louisville. When I sew, my house goes to pot. It really does... scraps of fabric everywhere, the ironing board takes up 1/2 of our living room floor space, dishes start piling up, I forget to feed my kids..really it is pitiful. The end is in sight though and I'll tuck away my sewing machine for a good week or so after this marathon.




I'll leave with this:

After church on Sunday all 4 of us were eating lunch together and Mike asked Ezra what he learned in church. First he said "God is my God". We agreed and asked if he learned anything else. He then said "When I talk, Jesus listens to me". To which Canaan then replied "Ezra, you aren't the king of the universe. Jesus doesn't have to listen to you!" Mike and I cracked up for the longest time about that. Both boys were quite confused by one another and finally we had to explain to Canaan (who is the most literal child I have ever known) that Ezra was talking about when he prays Jesus listens to him, not that Jesus has to obey what Ezra is saying.
I love childhood!!

Lets Talk Wardrobe...

As spring approaches (ever so slowly), I am getting in all of those great catalogs with the latest spring and summer looks.
The bright colors, full skirts, fun dresses and sandals...oh the cute sandals!
But in an attempt to get our finances in order in 2009 I haven't been shopping much lately.
So I turned to my closet for inspiration. Yesterday I started looking through what I had and what I could "improve" on to make my existing wardrobe work for me.
2 items came out of the closet and over to my sewing machine~
1. a super cute dress I bought last year at Macy's. I found it in the jr. department and I was immediately drawn to the unique orangy/yellow color and the fun collar. It was $4 on clearance so I picked it up knowing FULL WELL it was way too short for my 5'10" frame. It is WAY too hoochy mama short for me. I have tried wearing it with jeans and I just can't pull off that look.
2. another clearance shirt that I gravitated to. It was a 75% off shirt from Target. It reminded me of an Anthropologie top I had purchased once. I love the floral pattern and the slight puffed sleeves. Unfortunately it was a size L and way too wide on the sides. It also had a waist band which made it seem even wider.

So I took both of these items and grabbed out my favorite fitting Anthropologie top. I turned the dress and shirt inside out and traced out my favorite fitting shirt (with a 1/2" allowance), cut them out, and quickly sewed them into their new shape. I pressed the bottom edge up and ran a stitch along that as well.




I am COMPLETELY thrilled that both dress and large shirt are perfectly fitting shirts similar to my favorite Anthropologie one. And seriously both took me about 15 minutes.

I saw this cute dress in Garnet Hill catalog. This would be so simple to make!!! I am planning on making a couple of these for this summer.



And oh...these shoes....how I adore these shoes. Unfortunately I have no leather shoe making skills and my budget isn't going to allow for these beauties but I will drool nonetheless. (Both are from www.FreePeople.com)




Are any of you making some spring clothes? Finding any good sales?

Glimpses from the hills

We were in the holler of eastern Kentucky for Easter with Mike's mom. As usual, it was relaxing and so fun.
Here are a few pictures from the holiday...

The making of lots of marshmallow cupcakes


Late night jam sessions



Easter morning brotherly love


The hardest bread I have ever made...Italian Easter Bread (haven't decided if it was worth the 3 days of kneading, rising, kneading, and rising)

Out the door...



I have a quilt headed up to the shop today. The first one sold in less than a week so I started another one shortly after that. It was finished up on Saturday.





Tomorrow I hope to post some Easter photos. Lots of baking, music and fun!

You are the best...

As I tucked Canaan in bed last night I laid my head on his pillow and stroked his hair. After a few minutes he turned to me and said,
"You are the best girl I have ever met." He then added "and the best mom I have ever had." My heart melted (of course)! I am such a blessed gal!

Canaan had a flurry of excitement yesterday. He takes tennis lessons for an hour each week and absolutely loves them. He was thrilled to find out he could jump to the next level--no longer in PeeWee Tennis! Go Canaan!!

After tennis we came home and while dinner cooked and he was doing his homework, his first tooth fell out. This tooth thing has been a bit nerve wracking for him. He was under the impression that the reason other kids teeth fell out at school was because they didn't brush them as well as he did. So when his tooth started wiggling a couple of weeks ago, he became a bit panicked. We reassured him that it was ok and he was still taking very good care of his teeth. The tooth actually falling out caused him some concern but he was soon over it.




In other news~ I am trying something new around the kitchen. I have decided for the next couple of weeks to freeze meals. There is much hoopla around about freezing meals for later use. There's even those amazing women that can freeze meals for an entire month in one day! I often feel overwhelmed by the idea of freezing meals ahead of time. I envision hours in the kitchen chopping veggies, making sauce, etc... A while back we bought a deep freeze at auction (an $825 Sears upright freezer for $25...no kidding..) Anyhow, I often freeze purees, fruits, pumpkin, avocado, and bread---but whole meals? Not really.
But as summer approaches I will want to be in the kitchen less and less. I can already forsee lazy days at the pool or the park that stretch into 5 and 6 o'clock at night. Am I going to want to go home and cook a meal at 6:30 on a summer night? Heck no! So I am preparing ahead.



For the next 2 weeks (atleast) I am doubling whatever meal I am already making and freezing it. For example~ this is what I have done this week:

Monday: We had breakfast for dinner ~~ I made a double batch of pancakes and froze
15 additional pancakes for breakfasts down the road.

Tuesday: We had lasagna.~~ So I made 2 lasagnas, side by side and froze one.

Wednesday: We had grilled chicken and baked potatoes.~~ Instead of baking 4 potatoes, I baked 8 and took the additional 4 and made stuffed potatoes to freeze. I grilled an additional pack of chicken and froze grilled chicken strips.


This has only taken about 15 extra minutes a day! Its fun to see my freezer filling up with meals for down the road. I should have done this years ago!!!

Some Recent Finds...

I have had a few little outings in recent weeks and picked up some great deals along the way.


I love the dollar bins at Michaels! Truly you can find some great stuff. I picked up some new ribbon. I use brown paper for wrapping gifts. I let the boys draw pictures and I also write directly on the paper "to" and "from". I like to dress up the brown paper with a bit of ribbon too :) I also found these cute note cards that simply say, "hello".



At a thrift store in Milwaukee I found this great little vintage book called "838 Ways to Amuse a Child". Its full of crafts and ideas for keeping kids entertained.
And at $.49 it can't be passed up!




At a thrift store in Cincinnati this weekend I found this great bowl for $2. I totally am loving the shape, size, and color. Now I am going to be on the hunt for more. I am sure there must be more pastel colors out there!



I had to head to Target last night for toilet paper (holy cow~ why is toilet paper $13????) Anyhow, while there I found these little bars. I am always looking for something healthy to keep in the car to snack on and these have some yummy nutrients and no sugar (just agave nectar). And at $2.50 not too bad of a price either!
I took these up to the shop yesterday. They are covered notepads with room for a pencil or pen. I used candle wicking for the wrap around and a mixture of repurposed linen and fabric. The inside is a soft white felt.




I picked up this book again and started re-reading it. It is such a wealth of wisdom and thoughtfulness in parenting. I just love it. The author is one of my favorites. She is a bit "old school" but her ideas on womanhood and parenting transend generations. This is one excerpt that I love:

If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn.
If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight.
If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy.
If a child lives with shame, he learns to feel guilty.
If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient.
If a child lives with encouragement, he learns to have confidence.
If a child lives with praise, he learns appreciation.
If a child lives with fairness, he learns justice.
If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith.
If a child lives with approval, he learns to like himself.
If a child lives with acceptance and friendship, he learns to find love in the world.
~Dorothy Law Nolte

Sewing and Such...

I haven't been blogging much recently~
Lots of traveling (Milwaukee and Cincinnati), outdoor play in the gorgeous spring weather (which has now turned back to winter for a few days), and some sewing.
Yesterday my friend Reika and I went to the park to take some pictures of some things I have made. I stopped by Street Scene and grabbed a few things of mine from there and we headed out for a little photo shoot. I have been wanting to do this for a while. Eventually I'd like to update my "Itty Smitty" website and have photos for it. Also I want to do a catalog of sorts for Street Scene.
Anyhow, here's one of the photos from the day...



I'll hopefully be more diligent about posting, also I hope to be more diligent about cooking dinner this week too! Its hard coming off a vacation where we eat with friends or at restaurants day after day to have to come home and cook again (even though I adore cooking!).