Funny.

Seen on the back of an SUV in the loading zone of the IKEA store I visited yesterday, a bumper sticker which reads, “Buy American”.

Not My Usual Kind of Craft

Have you ever decided to try to make something just because you have everything you need for the project?  This was one of those kinds of crafts.  “Hmm…I have hair clips, ribbon and a hot glue gun…Maybe I’ll make clippies!”  Here they are, minus the burnt fingers.  I added some buttons for embellishment.  When looking over what I’d made, both girls asked the same question:  “Why is there only one of those ones?”  The answer is simple, I didn’t have enough ribbon for another one.  The pink and purple pair of clips were missing from the photograph, they’d already found their way onto some little girls’ heads.  I guess the kids like them.

And, some more of today’s craftiness, this time more my style.  I made these three spring-y wallets.  Two of the fabrics you’ll recognize as being scraps from the girls’ Easter dresses, the other is a vintage-y orange label print.  I think the orange one turned out just right to throw into your tote bag on the way to the beach…totally cool!  Also shown is a bit of the bag I listed in the shop the other day.  Cruise on over to check them out if you have a chance.

Aren’t They Adorable?

Here are my little darlings all dressed up for Easter Church.  It was actually pretty cold to be wearing bare legs, but since the sandals I bought the girls on Saturday were flip-flop style, there was no option of wearing tights.  I did layer a white blouse under the girls’ sleeveless dresses for the sake of warmth.  Also, somehow, of the four plain white bows that I made three Easter’s ago, only two could be found when I was making pigtails, so we ended up with ribbon bows instead.

E-boy is not very good at standing for photographs, so you’ll have to forgive if he looks to be held captive by his big sisters.  I won’t post the outtakes where the girls have their arms around his neck, or he is holding out his hand for the chocolate chip bribe daddy was offering.  Suffice it to say, this is the best we got.

A Preview of Easter Sunday Dresses

…or, “just another sewing post”.

On Sunday, I realized I had exactly one week to make the girls’ Easter dresses.  With Easter Sunday falling so early this year, it’s really snuck up on me.  So, Monday morning I sat down and sewed these up.  They’re simple by design, since the fabric is busy, and time was limited.  I chose a classic sleeveless a-line dress, and used the Cyrus Clark bandana fabric to make a sundress that can be worn all summer long.  Next:  find new shoes! 

Overheard…

The kids were all coloring at the kitchen table the other day.  Baby brother decided to take a bite out of his crayon…yick!

Big sister:  “It’s okay, it’s non-toxic.”  To little sister:  “Do you know what non-toxic means?

Little sister:  “When you’re sick and you can’t talk?”

This Week’s Sewing…

I really have done some sewing this week, but I only have really boring pictures of the clothes laying flat…so for that I apologize.  First up, an outfit I made for E-Boy: brown twill pants, a ringer tee and a doggie print camp shirt.  I went a little wild with contrasting topstitching on this outfit, the pants are stitched in orange, and the top has double-needle stitching in blue and brown.  It does make for a cute ensemble, though, even if I haven’t yet put buttons on it.

And today I finished up sewing these adorable baby outfits for a set of boy-girl twins.  I’m pretty sure the intended recipient doesn’t read my blog, but if you do, pretend you’re surprised when I give them to you, okay?

Button, Button, Who’s Got the Button?

I do!  While my folks were here this weekend, my mom and I took a few hours to peruse the local antique mall.  The girls came along to look at all the goodies, and were astonished to learn how to use a rotary-dial telephone, asked what the jukebox was (“like an old-fashioned iPod”) and thought the antique rollerskates looked “dangerous”.  You can never guess which items are going to be intriguing to young children.  I almost made it out of the store without spending a dime, when a little jar of red vintage buttons caught my eye.  For $6.50, I think these were a great find!  I’m sure they’ll end up adorning a project in the near future.

Happy Birthday to Me!

No, it’s not my birthday.  My birthday is actually in June, but this past weekend, my parents came by and dropped off my gift.  My dad built these cabinets to fit in my living room (a.k.a. sewing room).  Today I got them loaded up with fabrics, notions and other assorted sewing paraphernalia, which you can’t see behind the closed doors.  Thanks, dad!

I now need to find something to decorate the tops of them…I’m totally not into the “lots of little knick-knack’s around” kind of decorating.  To me, that’s more like “lots of little things to move and dust every week”.  But, this is a bit more stark and modern than my usual style.  I’m sure as I live with them for a while, I’ll find something I like.

And on the home front…

…did I tell you E’s started reading.  She practically taught herself, although she’ll tell you that her big sister taught her how.  Here she is, reading a story to her baby brother:

And, the snow has finally melted.  This past weekend we took the Christmas lights off the house, and yesterday the kids were out playing baseball on the front lawn.  The sky is a bit gray as a thunderstorm rolled in just as we were finishing up.  E-boy loves to do anything his sisters do, and as I’m just not comfortable with him swinging a bat, he was the designated fielder.  The girls both practiced batting some with the tee and some with Daddy pitching.  I tried to get some shots of them actually hitting the ball, but my camera skills are lacking.  You’ll have to take my word for it that A. hit this pitch.

Hot Off The Sewing Machine

I call it “JoAnn’s Euro Mermaid meets Disney’s Ariel.”  It is a custom order that I’m crossing my fingers fits the little girl it’s intended for.  The applique is hand drawn, and wasn’t much fun stitching on the swiss dot, but I love the look of the semi-sheer overlay.  Here are some not-so-great pictures of it hanging from the doorknob.