Sewing Fun: Girls dress and tunic

Funny story...

In an attempt to knock something off of my Bucket List, I started teaching myself to sew at the first of the year.  I made a few skirts and bedroom decorations for the kids, all with great success. 

I was feeling pretty confident. 

So when Megan asked me to make her an Asian dress for her birthday this month,

I was up for the challenge.

With the help of a friendly Wal-Mart employee, I purchased all of the necessary supplies for the dress.

 I read the pattern instructions. 

Three times by myself,
twice with my husband, and
once over the phone with my mom. 

I thought, "This can't be as hard as it looks.  I just need to dive in and it'll all start to make sense once I'm doing it."

After two weeks of trying to make heads or tails of the confusing sewing language and terrible illustrations,

I gave up.

This is as finished as it's going to get!

When I bought my supplies, the employee said,

"Wow, I can't believe that you're taking this project on, having just learned how to sew."

She seemed impressed and I guess didn't realize that I was delusional.

I decided that I needed to work on something a little easier.

I used the Kwik & Easy 3768 pattern to create this tunic shirt for Megan as well as a longer dress version.  I'll be making the same things in Jordan's size later this week.

I made this in a size XL, which is too big for Megan.  I had a hard time deciding what to do with the straps since I don't have a little person that size to try it on.

The pattern calls for leaving it as a bow (shown above), but I don't much care for that idea.  As soon as Megan grows into the shirt, I'll adjust the straps and sew them to fit.

I did fix the straps with the dress that I made her today, this time in a size L. 

Clearly I haven't been devoting much time to my photography studies. 

I've been so busy with writing curriculum, reading books for review, sewing, school, cooking, cleaning, errands, making bead necklaces every half-hour for my daughters, giving Jackson piggy-back rides, ooh-ing and aah-ing at the various sounds that Jeff's mixer can make and trying to figure out where that smell is coming from!

Located offensive smell in the garage.  Funnily enough, before I found it Megan asked me what "noxious" meant.  She wasn't sure, but knew that it fit somehow in that situation.  An old and wet dish towel had been sitting by the door for who knows how long, getting smellier and smellier every day. 

I blame the kids.  Couldn't have been me.  No.

Maybe it was me.

(Nearly) Wordless Weekend: Kids' room decorating project

My husband is amazing! 

I asked him to paint the letters for the girls' room, but I only expected that he would paint them a solid color.  As usual, he took a plain project and turned it into something beautiful! 

Thank you, Daddy!!!

This isn't new, but since I am posting the girls' beds I'll show you Jacksons OUTER SPACE bed!!! 

Jeff did these letters also, which are painted to look like a night sky with little stars--simple but so cute!

I'm so thankful that my children get to drift off to sleep in such cozy little beds!

5 Generations

From left:  me, Megan, Grandma, Great-Grandma, Mom.

2002

On my mind today.

The photo above was taken around May 2002, when Great-Grandma was pretty far into her journey with Alzheimer's.  We all wanted to get the five generations of women together at least once, so Mom, Megan and I all made the trip down to California.  For me, it was a hard trip.

Growing up, every one of us knew how special Great-Grandma thought we were, because she told us all the time.  And her favorite word was "precious", that was the one she always used to show her love.

There sweet was a sweet moment during our visit to California.  My mom and I were sitting on the couch with Megan laid out in front of us.  Great-Grandma sat down and was just admiring Megan for a minute.  Then she said, "She's so precious," and she sounded just like she used to.  Like she always did when she told us just how precious we were.  I forgot for a minute that she wasn't really there in her mind.  It was just my Great Grandma, so precious to me, loving on her great, great granddaughter.




  

C.J. and I, wrapped up in Great-Grandma's arms.

                                                            

Great-Grandma was born in 1913 in Missouri, and traveled with her entire family in one tiny car to California.  She was married at 17, and had two children.
In her life, she was a potato farmer, a berry picker, pie baker, and a department store saleswoman.
She drank half a cup of coffee at a time and rubbed Vic's Vapo Rub under our noses every night before bed.
She's the reason I journal.  She kept journals for most of her adult life, and stored them away in her china hutch.  I think they have been lost now, but maybe they will show up again one day.
She was a terrible singer, but that didn't stop her from singing!  She would sing and sing and then laugh and laugh at how terrible she sounded!
She was a great story teller and loved to recite poetry.
She pored over photo albums with me endlessly and told me the story of her life.
She never laughed half-way and she never let you leave her house with an empty stomach.
She wrote things like, "Yes!" and "Amen!" next to her favorite passages in her old Bible.  I loved to flip through it's pages to see what all she had written.
She liked Butter Rum Life Savers and made me sit on her lap until I was a teenager.
She loved the Lord with all her heart, soul, mind, and strength.
She was the best.