Sewing Project

Christmas Eve day found me with much to do, but as so often happens with me, I get something on my mind and go off on a rabbit trail, leaving the main trail behind...namely finishing up the Christmas preparation.

So, what was the rabbit trail this time?...a tablecloth. Hmmm, sort of strange, but let me try and explain. De'Etta at Choosing Joy, has a wonderful Thanksgiving tradition of having everyone that is at their home for dinner sign their tablecloth. I loved this idea. We don't often have the whole family together for Thanksgiving, so we decided to do it for Christmas instead. Last Christmas I bought a large tablecloth and brought it to to my mom's to use on the table for Christmas dinner. Everyone there signed it and Bessie and I embroidered the names and added the year.

Now, all year long I have looked at this tablecloth and was not happy with it. It was too plain and I liked the idea of having designated areas for each year. (De'Etta, I'm thinking Mike had a similar suggestion?) I had thought of using ribbon, but disregarded that idea. I finally settled on buying some fabric, cutting the tablecloth into squares and resewing it all back together with some nice Christmas fabric for sashing. Of course I didn't come to this final decision until a few days before Christmas, thus the mad dash on Christmas Eve to get it done.

Here is the project before I started cutting. You can see the names from last year over in the corner by Bess.

I cut the tablecloth into eight squares, evened them up and straightened the edges.

Sew, sew, sew! There was yards and yards of fabric to work with.

Here is the fabric I chose. One good thing about procrastinating waiting so long is the fabric was on sale.

And here is the finished project. We have eight nice sized squares. I think I will use each square for the next eight years and then start over in the first square with a different color embroidery floss as there is plenty of room. That will give us 16 years of family signatures.

I had so much fun working on this project. I haven't done a lot of sewing in quite a while and have been wanting to do more. This was a relatively easy project to work on.

De'Etta, thanks for the wonderful idea to add to our family traditions.

Advent Wreath

Our advent wreath suffered major damage last year as the Littles got a hold of it. It was in need of a makeover.

Here are the assembled parts: Styrofoam wreath with candle inserts (was able to salvage these from previous wreath), new garland, assorted decorative accents, lights and candles. All materials are readily available at craft stores or department stores.



I used wire to secure the garland around the wreath. I use the heavier garland that has wire in the greenery. This allows me to bend and shape the wreath to my liking.

Finished wreath before decoration

The lights are attached around the wreath tucking under the cord as much as possible. The decorations go on last sticking the wire ends in various spots around the wreath.

Final step...add candles and plug in the lights.

This is the second advent wreath I have made and a really like how they come out.

Latest Handwork Project

I took a short break from working on my cross-stitch projects and finished this doilie.

I love to do many types of hand work. Right now, cross-stitch is the one I work on most, but I also enjoy crocheting, knitting and sewing and try to fit in a few projects now and then.

I'll need to wash and block this before I am completely done. I really like how it came out.

Hazy Summer Days

I could tell today was going to be a hot humid day. I enjoy these summer days. Our winters are so very long that I wouldn't think about complaining! Let the heat come, let the sun shine!

Bessie has been wanting to have her hair colored. I have done highlighting for her, but she wanted to try an auburn color. Today was the day. She went with "Rosewood". Her hair is very dark, so I wasn't sure how it would look.

This is boring, she says

The result She is quite pleased with how it came out. You can really see the wonderful reddish highlights when she is out in the sun. She did have to forgo getting it wet in the pool today, but she managed to float around in a donut without getting her hair wet; nothing short of a miracle with four younger brothers and sisters in the pool splashing around.

The rest of the day was spent playing, swimming in the pool and enjoying a day with no where to go.

Dan attempting the hula-hoop...what a ham

Bessie and Gabe teaching the Littles
how to play Uno(Dan won this game)

I cut out the fabric for a short-sleeved shirt and shorts from the Star Wars fabric we gave Gabe for Christmas. Hopefully I'll be able to do the sewing tomorrow.

Yesterday, Bessie purchased a pretty pink and white fabric that was already gathered. You buy a certain amount and then sew up the seam and you have an instant skirt. We did that tonight and it is very pretty.

Puppets

As we slide into our summer season, our days become more relaxed and less structured. The kids have more time for casual activities. This week that has looked like lots of cut and paste projects.

Rachel traced her hand and wrist and cut it out. Gabe called it the "disembodied hand" and we all thought it was a bit creepy! We soon found the fun in it as we taped a straw to the back and made it a puppet. I sat under the table, ohhing scary noises and having the hand rise up. They all laughed and thought it great fun.

This was the jumping board for everyone wanting to make a puppet, so the drawing and cutting began.

Rachel and Gabe hard at work.

(Gabe made a giraffe and Rachel, a couple holding hands)

Here are all the various puppets

It makes me happy when the kids use their imaginations and get right to work on something. I'm going to try and think of some other "starter" ideas to help them with some more projects.

Philippine Trip Album

A while back, I was discussing my options for keeping our photos and memories. This past week, I made my first step toward some type of order.

I had photos printed up from the trip that Brian and Bessie took last year to the Philippines to pick up the Littles. They had been sitting around for quite a while and I still had not done anything with them.

I found a photo album that someone had given us. Bessie and I sorted the photos and put them in order. I made a simple title sheet for the front. Brian had kept all the paperwork from the trip, so we also slipped in things like airline ticket stubs, store receipts and some PI money.

It went together very quickly and everyone has been enjoying looking through the album.

The journaling hasn't been done yet, as Brian was away. Hopefully soon we will be able to put in a few details to go with the pictures. This project is a great boost for me. I realize that I can get all our photos put in books so that we can enjoy them. I would still like to scrapbook some of them, but at least the pressure would be off if the photos were in albums.

Activity Bag Swap

I signed up for Bridget's online group for Activity Bags for preschoolers. It took me a while to come up with an idea, but I finally settled on a bean bag toss activity.

Brian had to work today, so after church I dug out the materials and brought my serger downstairs and started putting the kits together. Bessie helped me by loading the bags and of course the Littles had to help by playing with all the bags!

I love my serger!

We made nine of the kits today, so we are well on our way to the twenty that we need.

Dan preforms a little QA on the bean bag toss