4 way split

So, today, I am thinking about Jeannine, Teri, Melissa and Beki. I have a random list of things I want to do today, or get started this weekend. So, I hope my brain will cooperate help me plan it out.
I am hoping Jeannine and her kids are feeling well. We just started coming down with something yesterday. The only plus I can say about it, is that we all seem to be getting it at once, instead of it slowly going from one person to the next. Although, I may change my mind in a day or two.
Secondly, I'm thinking how awesome it would be to have a sewing table like Teri. I did not realize how many more Expedit pieces there are, and it seems like the prices have reduced, too. Hmm.... So, while I'd love to run right out, I'll have to save and plan, and maybe clean in the meantime. It's funny because I was just thinking yesterday, how it hurts my back to hunch over my current table. Also, how great it would be to tuck storage under my table. I currently have a kitchen table, extended, and my machines spread on one side, and cutting room on the other. My serger is closest to the cutting space, and it's in the way. I've been thinking about moving it, to be behind my main sewing machine.
Third, I am hungry, and Melissa has posted a great looking loaf of bread on her blog, that is a 5 minute deal. I put the book on hold at the library right after I read it. She posted a link to a recipe for it, so if I have enough flour, I may take a crack at it this weekend. My dh might fall over if he sees me touch the stove. LOL.
Fourth, I've been scouring craigslist and some of the resale shops for some furniture. Beki has repainted her daughter's bed turquoise, and I just love it. My little girl is outgrowing her cute , vintage dressers, so I either have to revamp her closet, or find her something new, to us. Her room is granny apple green, so turqoise, or periwinkle blue, or something vibrant would look lovely. I found an awesome buffet, but I really need to go up, not out, her room is small. There have been some interesting child height wardrobes, but I am thinking the bigger the drawers, the better. I guess we'll see.
Lastly, I have some sewing to do this weekend. I need to look for a woven top pattern, in Ottobre, to make my daughter a shirt. I got her some cute Dora fabric at Hobby Lobby yesterday. I am thinking there was a sleeveless tunic, that tied on one side. I'd like it to have a lining or extra layer of fabric, but I guess I'll see what I find. I also need to work on a gift for our neighbor's daughter. She's turning 4 at the end of the month. So, I have plenty on my mind.

The Handmade Dress Patterns GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

The Handmade Dress Patterns GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

The shoe container

Sorry no pic. got some weird hits on flickr.
The shoe container, originally uploaded by twolilacs.

Who says your child has to have a bed to sleep in? This is my daughters shoe bin, that we slide under her dresser. Today she must have had a grand time playing before she decided to retire to the shoe box, pillow, blankie and all. She's even ready to go with the fancy shoes when she wakes up. Oh girl!
My son use to sleep on the floor, I can't even count how long, but somewhere around 2 1/2 until this past year. He turned 6 two weeks ago and is thankfully sleeping on his bed now. I used to put him back in his bed when he was little, but then I figured if he slept all night, then it was fine. There is no point waking him if he's perfectly happy to lay there. I can't even sleep on the floor with a sleeping bag without a sore back. Kids are so crazy sometimes, and flexible.
On the subject of beds, I am hoping to make the kids some new blankets. They each have several blankets, and it makes bedtime interesting when they have all but one. So, one blanket will be made out of flurr, and I'm hoping to back it with something. I have to find the knit stabilizer before I do that one. Then, I want to make each of them some sort of quilted blanket, something simple, with large blocks.
I checked on my son last night and found he had pulled my childhood blanket out of his closet. It's a fond memory having my blanket still around and being loved. The top is all sorts of faux fur from the late 70s or early 80s. I think it would be considered fur. I like all the texture, and think I will incorporate some of that idea into the kids new blankets. I'm thinking some woven prints, with some corduroy, lightweight velvet, and am still thinking about other touchy/feely fabrics. Any suggestions?

Made by Rae Jackpack Backpack GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Made by Rae Jackpack Backpack GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

life lately

This is an old quilt top my great grandmother made. I picked it out of a handful of others to attempt to finish, so my grandma can have a new blanket for her new space. My uncle has been in the process of remodeling her house. She's getting a new bedroom upstairs, new large bathroom, walk in closet, and a lovely upper deck, which has a great view of the setting sun.
The downstairs became part of the project after a storm blew off some of the roof tarp. Thankfully, she has been in Arizona the whole time this has been going on, but is coming home soon.
She has always wanted a porch off the front of her house, and now she has one. I'd like to find her some nice hanging baskets, if they are even available now.
I also have a school supply list to finish up, only one more week to get that done. This week would be optimal, since I have help, but I'm pretty much limited to today, since we have weekend plans. Ugh. Never enough time & motivation. I have accomplished some laundry today, and took the baby crib out of dd's bedroom. She has been sleeping on a twin mattress for 2 or 3 weeks, successfully now. Kind of sad, but she has lots going on, and is adapting well. We are almost at a month of being diaper free during the day. She has been taking naps w/o the diaper, and only wearing one at night now. She has really embraced much of it on her own.
And lastly, I got a nice bit of sewing completed while I was on vacation. I worked on a pair of baby pants for our cousin (who had a girl Monday), finished some unders for dd, and almost finished my top.

Training pants for dd

Otto4-04-girlsundies_21.JPG, originally uploaded by twolilacs.

I did my best to hack an Ottobre pattern for little girls undies into a pair of training pants for dd. It's from 4/04, pattern #34, size 86. Despite some of the sewing flaws, I think they came out pretty useable for now. Love the fabrics. The stretchy pink was a small challenge, but I kept at it, and adjusted my foot pressure to be looser or tighter as needed.
If anyone would be interested in my hack, I'd be happy to put together a quick pdf. And clicking on the photo will take you to the rest of the images.
It took me about two nights (tv sidetracked), and a few 15 minutes here and there to trace and redraw the pattern, cut the fabrics, hem and haw about doing the binding, sitting down and sewing like a speed demon so I didn't lose momentum.... until I ran out of bobbin thread in one of the legs.... no worries though, I had a spare bobbin of a close enough color. They are only undies.
For some reason, my darling daughter refused to participate in any fittings... so I finally wrangled her into them before I bound the waist. The fit is snug getting on, but wearable... next time, I should use a bias cut, or more stretchy fabric as the padding. I am wondering how warm & natural or maybe some bamboo (fleece?) would be. As far as adding stretch elsewhere, I might add a bit more fabric across the width of the hip piece.
I am hoping that the training will be short, and she'll be going on the potty sooner vs. later. She really is pretty good about it, just needs consistency from me. I have not pushed her, but she's probably been ready for training for a couple months. I didn't really want to do it in the winter time, and now that it's summer, I'll be seizing the moment.
I really miss my baby though...

Weekend sewing gift

HR-WkndSwng_20090612_003.JPG, originally uploaded by twolilacs.

Here is a tiny little baby shirt I made with Heather Ross' kimono pattern. It came out pretty cute. Our cousin is having a baby in August, and they will find out then if they have a boy or a girl. I was going to make a changing table cover, but decided to make this top, and some burp cloths. I use a little bit of a couple fabrics and it was a lot of fun.
I thought the Hungry caterpillar fabric would be cute since they were asking everyone to bring a book for the baby. Of course, I didn't buy that book, but she did receive it from someone else. Anyways, I only had a fat quarter of that fabric, so I used white for the sleeves and back. I think this was a good choice, so that it didn't end up being to busy of a design. I cut the red dot fabric on the bias, and made 1/4" bias tape. Oh boy, that's much smaller when you're actually making it. I'm really surprised that the dots came out straight.
I have really liked some of the sewing books that have been coming out, Anna Maria's, Heather's, Amy Butler's, Lotta Jansdotter... and I think there's a few more. I have a hard time returning them to the library... and only checking them out once. I have resolved to buy a few now and then, so I will always have them to peruse.

Other than that sewing, I haven't been doing much. I stitched a little bit of fabric to a pair of plain training pants for dd, and put away some of her new and old things tonight. Apparently she welcomes change (and clothes)... when I put her to bed, she had gone in there before me, and changed out of pajamas into the "new" training pants and her new Little einsteins shirt.

The kids had a big day today, but I didn't think to take the camera. We started summer gymnastics today, both in classes at the same time to save on driving. He starts at 9, she starts at 9:15. She didn't like sitting while the first class got on its way, and that she wouldn't get a turn. It took a few minutes of aerobics on my part to keep her on my lap. Poor thing. She ready to run when it was her turn though. As expected, she did great on the trampoline.
Then this afternoon our library hosted a traveling reptile show. The man was very kid friendly and entertaining, and he included them during his show. My son was volunteering almost every time help was requested, but he didn't get picked. He did get to pet an iguana, a tortoise, an albino boa constrictor (named Chiquita) and a mid size alligator. My daughter was a brave little girl, she sat in the front row with the boys (my son and our neighbors) while the guy walked around with the iguana. However, as soon as he laid the iguana on his table, several feet away, she didn't like that. So, she spent the rest of her time on my lap or in front of me. She did ask to pet the tortoise and the boa constrictor though, and did willingly when taken.
I'd say overall they had a great time, and were very patient sitting and hour and a half through the show.