Sunday, April 29, 2007

USPS, Big *** and my very last nerve

I received my oilcloth order from http://www.sewmamasew.com/ on Saturday and had big plans to make bunches of lunch bags ..... let me go back to receiving my oilcloth order for just a second before we move forward........... The US Postal Service has a problem, I'm sorry if any postal workers are reading and offended but please try to understand my plight. Let's call this Rant #1.
For safety's sake we'll say I live on 555 Brighthouse Road, for some reason 50% of my mail (mostly the good stuff) goes to a house 3 blocks away at 555 Clarion Street. WHY????? This has been going on for years! The woman that lives there and I have become very friendly and she calls me weekly to let me know how many pieces of mail she is holding for me. Mind you- I have only ever received one lousy piece of her junk mail. Another thing to keep in mind is that I have had at least 10 different mail carriers over the past few years. There are two things that I am fairly certain of concerning this rant, the first is that I think the woman at 555 Clarion is watching all of my Netflix movies because"oops, I thought it was my movie again and opened it!" and the second thing is that she thinks I am some kind of fabric freak and it frightens her a little. OK, the rant is over, I just needed to vent.
So, I got my oilcloth from Sew Mama Sew. Yay!!! I only had time to make this one lunch bag and Julia has claimed it for her own.
strawberry dot lunch bag 001

Speaking of Julia, just look at my little softball star yesterday-
peewee softball07 002
suited up as catcher-
peewee softball07Julia catcher
She did a good job and they won the game!
While we are on softball, let's move on to rant#2
"the mother that's on my last nerve"
This part of the post has been removed for a few reasons. The person it was written about has redeemed herself and if she read this it would hurt her feelings. 10/22/07

Friday, April 27, 2007

Mom, we're going in the pool!

*sound of girls cracking up as they run out the door to the yard*
 the  pool
This joke is getting a lot of mileage at our house this week. Julia and Gabby have been playing "pool" volley ball every day in the spot where the pool was, it's actually kind of funny.
That's all I have for you folks today. Stay tuned for something crafty and perhaps a good rant about a mom that's on my last nerve.
Have a good day!

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

The Longest (half) Yard

This is the half yard of fabric that just won't die! I may buy a lot of fabric but I really am frugal with it. NOTHING goes to waste.... NOTHING, I say. So far out of my half yard of Michael Miller's Let's Play Party fabric, I have made 1 kids quilt, 1 tote, 1 crayon roll, 1 bib here:
let's party bib
1 kids quilt top here:
let's party dots wip
and I have a bit left for either another tote or crayon roll.... you haven't seen the last of it yet. That's just the way I roll, people!
My sewing days are going to be slowing down a bit. I have some extra work assignments that I need to do at night from home (I can really use the extra money..... to buy more fabric) and the girls softball season is in full swing as of yesterday.
softball 006
I claim responsibility for #12 and #9 in the picture above and also for the Assistant Mr. Coach who isn't pictured. Go girls!!!

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Where did the week go?

Sheesh! Time sure does fly, whether you're having fun or not. I had crazy ideas of being able to sew this week in between cleaning the house and getting laundry done while the kids amused themselves outside or whatever it was that amused them at the moment. Like I said, it was a crazy idea from the start and not much of it happened. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a bad week at all, just not what I had planned. I started each day with a plan and the best of intentions and most days ended the same- me scrambling to clear fabric from the table at dinner time as I magically come up with a yummy idea for the still half-frozen chicken breast, trying to salvage a bag of salad that should have been eaten the day before, clothes wrinkling in the dryer, tripping over somoeone's cleats in the kitchen, playing referee between 2 or 3 fighting sisters........ you get the idea. I think my biggest problem is that I don't handle interuptions very well, I can't pick up where I left off. Once I lose my mojo, it's gone until it comes around again. I also can't get things done in small chunks of time. If I have 15 minutes in between kid-taxi services, I won't break my a$$ to scrub the toilet and mop the bathroom floor. I may empty the dishwasher or sort through a pile of counter clutter but that's it! I don't know what happened to super-functional-productive-stay-at-home-all-the-time Carol but I sure do miss her.
Here is what I'm working on, a cow-girly quilt:
cow girly quilt preview
Oh and here's where our pool was
uh oh!
The liner was getting replaced but upon further review the entire pool needed replacing. Thank God for Grandma and Papa! Without them a new pool would not be happening.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Crafty day foiled by the little people

I had visions of staying in pajamas and sewing all day today. The kids would be happy playing that Dance Dance Revolution Play Station game all day (hey, it's exercise people!) and we would all be happy.
*enter reality*
There is softball practice today and an 8 year old "ultimate sports" party that I somehow pushed out of my mind.
*sigh*
I managed to make this before life sunk in too far today. I love this Michael Miller retro print!
funky retro mitt set 019
funky retro mitt set 017
some matching magnets
funky retro mitt set - magnets
OH! I almost forgot!
Look who got her ears pierced yesterday!
finally pierced!
Poor Julia was always sick as a baby and I never had her ears pierced like her sister's did and she was always too afraid when she got bigger..... until yesterday! It was all her idea. She was very brave and hardly flinched. Yay Julia!

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

What is my problem???

I make school and work lunches everyday, usually around 3-5 sandwiches a day... that's a lot of sandwich bags, right? This is what a sandwich bag box looks like:
problem 003
So, how come every month when I am running out of sandwich bags I go to the store, look on the shelf, scan over gallons, quarts, snacks........ aha.... sandwich.... grab 'em throw 'em in the cart, put them in the pantry and then they turn into
SNACK BAGS??
problem 002
No one needs 350 snack bags, no one! I have a severe problem with my brain. I am so aware of my snack bag problem that I can't understand why I keep doing this. Maybe I should talk to my neurologist about this...... OK...... maybe not, so far he doesn't think I'm crazy.
Yesterday was a good day. I love being home. I made this little crayon roll and tote to go along with my "let's party" quilt.
let's party crayon roll 006
let's party! kiddie tote- side a
I put everything in an Etsy shop. If they sell, I'll be happy, if not they will be gifts for someone's baby.
I was also thrilled to see that I was the flickr group feature over at Sew Mama Sew
http://www.sewmamasew.com/blog2/ It's so exciting. You should visit the blog and the store, lots of good stuff there.
I am off to work today, I promise more craftiness on Thursday and Friday!

Monday, April 16, 2007

Let's party!

Meet the newest little baby/kid quilt, "let's party"
let's party!
let's party! folded
let's party! close up
let's party! back and tag
Looks like I finsihed this one just in time- Kim is getting ready for a party of her own http://calamitykim.typepad.com/calamity_kim/2007/04/lets_get_this_p.html
I enjoy making these little quilts so much. They are so stinkin' cute and pretty quick to complete. I'm going to try to finish up a bunch this week while I have a few days off from work. Hopefully this nor'easter will blow past us soon, my sewing room has some leaking issues when it rains sideways with 50 mph winds for 3 days straight, besides that......it's painfully cold and windy in that little room! The weather is supposed to be much nicer on Wednesday when I am at work (grrrr).
I saw my neurologist (aka- my new boyfriend) today and he upped my Topamax dosage. I should be reaping all the benefits (weight loss and fewer headaches)from it within the next few weeks................ I wonder if I should shop for a thong bikini before all the cute ones are picked over......
Have a nice day everyone!

Friday, April 13, 2007

weeeeeeeee!!!

This was last night's project, it still needs to be quilted or tied.
weeeeeeeeee! quilt
weeeeeeeeee! quilt
I have been trying to figure out a way to use all of these novelty fabrics that I love too much. I tried incorporating them with different cuddley soft fabrics
weeeeeeeeee! quilt
and just a touch of my beloved rick-rack
weeeeeeeeee! quilt

I would really love to sell this type of thing. What do you think?

Saturday, April 07, 2007

Been shopping?



No, been shopping.

Any Monty Python fans out there?


Um, OK then let's talk about fabric and my lack of self control. I bought these lovelies from Alison at http://starlitnest.etsy.com/
Lotus from Amy Butler:
GORGEOUS!!!!
and some cute birds and bees:
04 fabric therapy 003
All the rest of the damage came from a trip to JoAnn's yesterday
04 fabric therapy 006 04 fabric therapy 007 04 fabric therapy 005 04 fabric therapy 004
We've been busy around the house today; cleaning, baking, decorating and dealing with a migraine (ugh!)
Julia and Gabby's centerpiece
Easter decorating 005
Easter decorating 004
Time to frost the carrot cake. have a Happy Easter Everyone!

Friday, April 06, 2007

It pays to clean up!

My sister gave me a bag of fabric from her mother-in-law's house when they were moving her, and I never looked at it........ for months. I never knew Helen was a crafty woman because if I did, I would have tore into that sucker long ago! Would you look at this!

vintage placemat
(Deb, did you even know these were in the bag?) I am definitely going to finish them, although I am totally intimidated by Helen's tiny handstitching.
vintage placemat
placemat back

You all know how I likes me some big chunky hand stitches! There are four placemats; one is complete and the other three are nearly done.
unfinished placemats
I may even give them to my sister who has an abnormal affection for placemats. She really does! When I visited her new house she had a stack over 2 feet high in her cabinet, and I've heard that she changes them for each meal. Hey, there are worse things. I can't even find 5 matching placemats in my house to save my life, so who am I to judge? Here are some more of what was in the bag:
I think it was going to be a pillow
vintage gifts

Look at what one of my sweet grandpa friends from the school yard gave me yesterday
pussy willows
pussy willows

They are a bit wild but I'll tame them into a manageable bunch for the Easter table. I love pussy willows!

Thursday, April 05, 2007

Reverence

palm
Holy week is in full swing around here. The kids had a half day and are off for the weekend. We celebrated Palm Sunday and now we are on to the two most reverent days; Holy Thursday and Good Friday. These two masses at church really are quite emotional ones for me, it is a sort of kick-in-the-head reminder to me of what it's all about. I hope that everyone enjoys their weekend no matter what it is you are celebrating, because everyday that you wake up and take a breath is celebration worthy!

I had some fun mail today. My friend "P" sent out our April fabric swap package early and asked:
'
I said, "um, no":

Um...no
Look at this good springy loveliness!
April fabric swap
Thanks "P"! Happy Easter!!!!!

Here is a baby quilt that I am almost done with. It's not for anyone, it's just a quick thing to finish:
giddy-up
I love that cowpoke print!!!!!!
giddy-up

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

doll quilt finished

Wow! This was fast, fun and pretty cute if I do say so myself.
doll quilt 006
doll quilt 010

Julia is pleased with it
doll quilt 015
doll quilt 016
doll quilt 014

but Leo seems to love it the most.
doll quilt or cat quilt?