Shelly's gift for Lily

Each year the girls make a craft for their sister for Christmas. This year Shelly created a fleece no-sew pillow for Lily. She loved putting it together and we made a little video to go along with the photos.

Stitching up the Pieces

This morning I was feeling a little down and decided I needed to do something constructive to get out of my funk. I bookmarked this idea and thought I'd give it a try.

This task meant I needed to pull out the sewing machine. Something I haven't done since my mother's death and I really wasn't looking forward to it. Every time I sewed, I knew I had my mom as backup should anything go wrong. She could answer my questions and set me straight OR I could just put the project to the side until I saw her again when she could fix it for me. And this time I knew I was on my own. Not a great feeling, but something I needed to do. So, I did it.







Shelly was right by my side (or across from me at the table) as my little assistant and that felt good. And it felt slightly familiar, too. I can remember many days sitting near my mom as she sewed away at her machine and created something for me. I enjoyed those days with her even as an adult.




Here I am showing a few steps of my process and laughed as I traced my Sex and the City dvd for my template...not too sure this is what she meant when she said to pick your child's favorite movie for tracing. LOL











My finished product appears to be a little skinnier and longer than the one I was copying, but the new owner didn't seem to care as she deposited her sunglasses into the bag.


While all of this was going on I sat by the kitchen window and watched as the fence guys installed our new fence. Editing to add that the fence is, in fact straight, unlike the view from this photo.And I made a pot of freshly brewed iced tea. I even have a special pot for TEA ONLY. Love my glass of iced tea with lemon.



And, so I am moving out of my funk little by little with a project here and there.

"Catch Me I'm Fallin'..."

Today we took Lily to the pediatrician for her 8 year-old check up. Everything went fine and we got some advice about her frequent ear issues/allergies. She was due for her second round of shots for Hepatitis A and we didn't know that she would be getting a shot during this visit. When the nurse arrived with the needle and prepared her arm for the shot, she was a bit dazed and had me hold her hand during the procedure. When it was all over I could see a look on her face that didn't seem quite right. I asked if she was okay and she nodded yes. We left the examining room and headed for the Exit sign. As we turned the corner she fell flat on her face...not really fell, but fainted. The nurses were all there at the nurses' station and they quickly scooped her up and took her to a room. They brought her an ice pack, water, and cookies and set her up with her legs in the air. Soon she came to and finally spoke. All the time, Shelly was in tears watching her sister fall. It was quite a dramatic exit, but I am happy to report she is doing fine now. Poor little girl.

Here she is later in the day wearing her Justice shorts from grandpa and grandma

Shelly holding her dog carrier and worrying about Lily...still
On another less exciting note, I attempted to create a pillow from a photo that had been printed on fabric. It isn't the most beautiful, but it is full of heart and soul. And, of course, two of my favorite photographic subjects.

08.14.07

Yesterday, I decided that I wanted to create this yummy looking pie recipe. I used my computer as my cookbook and arranged the ingredients for preparation.All went perfectly...until...the girls wanted me to play school with them. So, with the timer on I headed upstairs for a little schooling and reminded myself to check on the pie at 6:05. Well, at about 6:15 I finally heard the timer going off downstairs. I flew down and pulled out the pie that no longer had a pretty golden crust, but now was looking pretty dark and there was absolutely no jiggle to the custard in the shell. I prepared it for a treat last night...leaving out the overcooked information for John. At the end of the dessert eating, we both agreed this one needed to hit the trash...oh well, I tried...maybe next time.

So, today I decided that I would do a little sewing. I made Shelly two embroidered shirts (by hand...the embroidering not the shirt!). I think their kind of cute. I still need to wash them and then evaluate the workmanship. I must add that I have only embroidered one other item and that was a shirt for Shelly one week ago!!! So, these little creations are lacking lots of technique and skill, but they suit me just fine.

07.17.07

Big fun today. Here are a few things that occur when you decide to stay home with the girls all day. First, let me say that it's 3:42 p.m. and we are all still in our pajamas. I am thinking a shower may happen for me in a bit.

Lily was flipping through the American Girl catalog this morning and decided that she wanted to create something, produce a catalog, and then sell these items. So, we headed for the sewing machine and came up with 11 pillows and 4 baby doll blankets. This part of the activity took us some time, but the results were great. Then it was on to taking pictures of her items and creating the catalog. She did the wording for the products and I assembled it all in a digital format. We printed the pages and stapled up our catalog.

From this point, Lily created her shop (in her bedroom). It was assembled with various items and she and Shelly were the clerks. I browsed the gift store and then purchased a pillow for my bed.

In between all of this, we prepared Oatmeal Raisin cookies (the recipe from the box as per my mother-in-law's advice) and did a cool new hairdo on both girls (straight out of the American Girl hair style book). I'm still planning to clean out my closet and finish a load of towels. But overall, we had a very productive entrepreneurial day.