Catching Up

I've been avoiding my blog like I avoid my sewing areas after big projects!  :D  Seems like the weekly homeschool posts were too much for me to keep up with.  Since I keep up on my Homeschool Tracker software as well as a yearly binder, I just find it to be a lot to post about it too.  I may find another way come fall...maybe a highlights vs. a log.  We're about 1/2-3/4 done with the ITBS (our standardized testing) for the year- hoping to finish that up by Saturday.

Onto the pics!  Mostly some of my most recent projects.

This is a sketch of a chicken I made for Mother's Day for my mom.  The frame idea is from Pinterest.  If you are curious, I can dig up the pin and subsequent tutorial.  Otherwise, if you follow me on Pinterest, it'd be in the house and home section.  After J cut the frame, I taped to paint the inner border white, then painted the outer area black and the inner frame with the black boxes to make it checkered.  I sanded a bit to rough it up and then coated with a couple layers of sealer after modge-podging the sketch on (which I'd sealed prior to that as well so it wouldn't smudge).  I'm very pleased with the final result and now we have a way to frame our own artwork at home in a very cost-effective way!



J participated as a delegate at the GOP State Convention this year.  He got to meet Ron Paul- the reason he got so involved this time around.  Met up with some people he knew and was able to have some good conversations with new folks as well.  
 

I made a few things to welcome my new niece, Imogin, who was born the end of May.  I made her 2 outfits, then had to make big sister Romi matching pj's and a little doll outfit too.
Here's a pic of her in the hospital:
 
Ooga Booga monsters:

Little frogs:

Romi's pj's with her doll:

The doll outfit looks huge here, but Romi's doll is bigger than the ones we had here at home:


Following Imogin's arrival was Emily's 9th birthday!  My sister Cassie made an awesome Perry cake!:  


We had a nice birthday.  A family party at the farm, and a good time out with a friend at the Mega Mall- rides, treats, Build-a-Bear, and the Rainforest Cafe.  

I participated in a charity dress sewing group online in May/June.  I took some of the older girl sizes and sewed up these two dresses to send to Haiti with some missions groups that were going.  One of the groups left a little early, but we're hoping to catch another group the end of June.  Both dresses have ties a the shoulder so they're more adjustable.  The grey one has ties in the back as well, with a flower and hummingbird appliqued on each pocket, size 10.  The printed dress is a typical 'pillowcase' dress, with pockets, size 12.



Also participated in a doll clothes swap on my favorite sewing board.  Sent them in yesterday and will hopefully have outfits back in a couple weeks!  I made 2 ballerina outfits, plus one for E:

2 tunic/legging sets:

And my favorite- a woven wrap dress with a belt a matching headband.  I made 2, but we kept one of them.


Out at the farm this year, if you're lucky, you'll spot some really cool hummingbird moths!  We thought it was a regular hummingbird at first, then saw the antennae and proboscis.  He wasn't afraid at all...this is a cellphone pic- nothing fancy.  We were able to get really close and he kept coming back.


I turned 29 just a couple days ago, so it's my last year in my 20's!  J's started back at school and it's been a grueling month.  We're hoping July will be a little less so.  We're shooting to get all of his pre-requisites done by the end of fall so he can apply for a master's program in Jan that starts Fall 2013.  He's going for occupational therapy.  It's a pretty competitive program, so please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.  That field would be a dream for him- very fitting for his personality, skills, and work history.

Phew- hope I'm caught up now!  :)

Christmas 2011

We had a very nice Christmas this year, even though we were all sick quite a bit from late October through December. So far January has been kind.

We took 2 light-hunting trips just the three of us- plugged some of the area highlights into the GPS and just followed along! Here are some cell pics from a few houses:

We stopped for coffee/cocoa before and brought our own cookies along to munch on as we drove. This will probably become a little tradition- Emily had a ball, saving cookies until the next stop, then eating one...music on...free-save-for-gas Christmas entertainment. :D

Christmas Eve day J worked at the PO. He got home early though and we were able to make it to church. Had a nice dinner and then watched our Nativity movie. We love that tradition for Christmas Eve...it's nice to keep it low-key and fairly quiet and solemn. We always open one gift- pj's. E keeps forgetting each year that it's pajamas :) This year was Phineas and Ferb jammies. I didn't make something pj-wise since she still had a few that fit. The last nightgown I made was in the fall and it was a long sleeve flannel one. After the movie, we sang a few songs and she zonked out on our bed. We tucked her into her own and followed suit after stuffing stockings. :)


Christmas morning! She's still bleary eyed here:


I have lots of present pics, but I'll just include this one for her faraway aunt to see. This is E playing her new Active Life Explorer on the wii- super fun and it actually keeps them working for good portion which is nice. Can't just sit on your rear and play tennis with this one! :)


Nice to chronicle a bit of the season for remembrance!

Microscope Pics

Aunt Cassie got Emily a microscope for Christmas. It hooks up to the computer and you can take pictures and videos with it- so cool!

We are studying flowers this week and got to use it to look at the parts up close.

This is the carpel of the rose...the 'female' part. The portions you can see are the stigma and the style.


This is a leaf:


Petal:


Calyx (the green leafy part under the petals). This is the bud that opens up.


These are stamens- the male part of the flower. You can see the filament and anther.


Pretty cool! This allows us to see a pretty clear picture that a basic microscope would show- someday we'll get a higher powered one for late middle school/high school. This one is very easy to use and we love taking pics. When the insects are back out in MN we're going to try watching one eat!

Extra pics...we couldn't stop after looking at the flower. :)

Dragonfly wing (E has kept this in her room since last year):


Moth eyes (another specimen from her room):


Moth back:


Moth leg:


We can't wait for spring...lots more flowers and plants and bugs to look at!

Gymnastics Part 2

E has come a long way in a month- she started by 'log hopping' and is now doing wonderful cartwheels! She's working on her handstands as well as going over right into a backbend. She just started doing a backbend from the standing position- pretty scary! :)

I made this late Nov or early Dec out of a rose patterned velour. Same Jalie ballet pattern modified. I absolutely love the attached shorts although I plan on doing a regular leotard soon. I completed one in Dec. but it ended up tiny due to it having absolutely no vertical stretch and fit a small sz 3, not my sz 7/8 girl :) I'll add in lots of ease and try again soon.



Had to overexpose this so you could see the pattern:





I didn't edit these next few pics, sorry for the red eye and whatnot! We had a great Christmas this year although we've had more than the usual share of sickies going around. Here's just a couple pics:

J's new furry fleece pj pants...he's in love :) They are his new fave- he puts them on right when he walks in. They're ultra soft and warm which is quite important as we like to keep the heat down at home. Mine are of the same fabric...I'd do a few things different next time but they're quite comfortable too! My pair sports a yoga waist in aqua which you cannot see from the photo :P Please forgive the late night pics...heh.



And E's favorite present from us:



I'll follow with another post :)

Applique, dress, and yoga pants

Having fun playing around with applique with some torn pants...looking back I wish I would have either made this simpler or else gone all-out crazy with them. Ah well...they're pink and that's what E cares about :)






She kept making funny faces so I tickled her to get a big giggling grin:


Reading her favorite series- The Magic Tree House books:



This dress I'd made awhile back when I was starting out with knits...the neckline was all stretched out and the bodice was 3 sizes too big. I made my own puff sleeve using my patternmaking book but later realized the conversions and measurements I was using was for adults and so therefore her puff sleeve looked like I sewed some chef hats to her arm. I finally drug it out of the basket, cut the skirt off and made a new top for it. I love the new sleeve- the bodice fits great and I adore the organza trim! It'll be worn a lot this spring!



Yoga pants for older sis (the panda is the tag I made from grosgrain and canvas panda fabric from Japan...I hope to make some cute pants for Romi sometime with the pandas as the cuff :) ) I was having a bit of fun with photoshop if you couldn't tell :D