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!  :)

Swimsuit swap

I participated in a  one-to-one swimsuit swap on my favorite sewing board.  We each sewed 2 suits...I sewed 2 sizes for her 2 girls and she did 2 for E.  E had decided she'd rather have 2 suits than 1 suit and 1 coverup- so I let her choose that and which fabrics she liked best.

I altered my tried-and-true KS pattern (I did buy the newer version for the smaller sizes) to make it 1-shouldered.  I sewed them up here on my serger and used another sewingmama's coverstitch machine for all of the elastic topstitching.  E's suit I used my triple-stitch zigzag.  These were fun to do, and I learned a new technique of binding with elastic inserted in the seam.  When you fold it over, it keeps a nice, even binding- which was my biggest worry in binding knitwear, especially swimsuit material.  I also lowered the rise on the bum of the suit...way too much fabric back there.  This was also my first time doing a tankini- I was nervous about hemming without the elastic, but it wasn't a problem at all.  I didn't have enough fabric to do a 1pc...barely eeked out this suit!  The fabric I bought in DC a couple years ago shopping with my older sis.  We'll love having a 2pc in rotation for longer beach days!

Dd's suit by me:





The suits I made for the swap- the younger one is a size 4/5 with ruffle, the older is a size 7/8 sans ruffle and with a bit of fun colorblocking and an extra strap for fun.

4/5suit:




7/8 suit (looks wrinky on my size 5 body double):



These were the suits we got back- we were so pleased with this swap!  We both love the little skirt with the bottoms attached- so cute!  I'll sew the straps to the back later...we both left those to adjust when we received the suits. 

Ugh.  The fish lips start already!  :P

I'll attach the straps in the back to the suit- not halter-style as you see in the pic:
 

The blue suit (I pinned that strap too far over here...I'll adjust it when I sew it on):



This was a great way to use up some of the fabric that I've already used for dd in other suits, as well as to have another style or suits without buying a new pattern.  We're set for summer- probably next summer too!

Swap Stuff- What We Got

We loved our first swap...so much fun! We were so pleased with what we got back. To be honest...I'd seen many swaps on various boards and much of it I was less than impressed with. Not so with this one...people really seemed to care about what they made for the other participants as well as how their work would be perceived. I know this is exactly what I was thinking...and it's why I hadn't joined a swap until I brave enough and confident enough to face that challenge.

Onto the pics!

Velour Jalie top in E's favorite color:

Another pic of the top along with a Farbenmix redondo skirt in one of my favorite color combos:

An adorable little purse for E:

An amazing little doll (named Teresa by E)...we love her- she is so cute! E has taken to her and sleeps with her every night. I love her hair- it is crocheted somehow and then sewn on and is very durable. <3


And headbands- 6 of them. This was E's fav. It is pink and has crowns so that was enough for her :) :

This dress is a 2T...I'd told the swap hostess that I had a certain little niece sz 2T if there were issues with sorting and so we got one item in that size. I think it's adorable...tried to see if it'd fit E as a tunic to no avail. We'll see if Aunt Lyzzy likes it...if not I will put it away for 'someday' or for a gift :) :



That's it for the swap stuff- I hope to join another one this spring!

Swap Stuff!

I participated in a swap on my sewing board this fall- I made 6 outfits for it and sent them in last Sat. Was fun but a lot of work- was nice to send them off and move on!

First- a set for a 3T boy (my first 'jeans'- pretty thick...my machine wasn't happy with me):







2nd- another set for a 3T boy (top is 2 tees, pants are from J's old comfy lounge pants):





3rd- Dress for a 4T girl:




4th- Dress and matching doll dress for a 5/6 girl:




5th- Velour pants and stenciled thin top for 24mo girl:




6th- Tunic and leggings (same as E's pair)- I stenciled the top and the back isn't perfect :P It's cute though and I was tired- I'm sure it'll be loved:






So glad it's done! I'm taking a break from the machine for at least a week- cleaning up the sewing room and getting back on top of other things. Xmas sewing (mostly jammies this year) will be upon us soon enough :)