A day in the life of the Hooks: Keeping you in stitches

Something fun...

2011-11-04T18:03:00.000-07:00

I actually was mentioned in a quilting magazine!

Back in 2009 I made a tutorial for www.sewmamasew.com for reusable produce bags. Lisa eliminated the side strip of material for her version, but it is a little surreal to see her credit my blog for the inspiration for the project.

Makes me want to try to go through the process for myself...I guess I'd have to think up something fun to sew first. ;)

October snow

2011-10-29T10:25:00.000-07:00

Our swingset out back after only 2-3 inches...so odd to have snow on trees with leaves...

Long's Park

2011-10-29T10:24:00.000-07:00

One

2011-09-28T14:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Darling Becky!

The Best First Day of School Ever

2011-09-06T22:16:00.000-07:00

It always starts with a front door picture....

The first time getting to ride the bus to school (yes, I even took pictures in the rain!)

It was still raining too much for the "Mill Road" Sign photo, but I got one of her off the bus...this may be the last year she humors me...

Maggie missed Katie. A lot. It will be easier on her in a few weeks when she starts preschool.

Two sisters walking ahead of mommy and Becky...

More from the night before 2nd grade....

2011-09-06T21:30:00.000-07:00

Katie, Maggie and Becky all cuddling Daddy...well when Maggie wasn't telling us that she "can't like a picture!" and when Becky could sit still...

Happy Birthday Katie...

2011-09-06T16:24:00.000-07:00

Nastics

2011-08-15T20:11:00.000-07:00

That is what Maggie calls gymnastics...

We did a little summer program for both girls through GEARS and they loved it!

Maggie on the balance beam on her first day....She did the big one later...
On her way up to a handstand on the first day. Quite the little monkey.

Katie also took a class that met right after Maggie's. Becky wasn't cooperating so I didn't get pictures from her class.

We made friends with another family with 4 girls! One girl Katie's age, one slightly older than Mags, one a little younger, and the last was Becky's age. We had a good couple of weeks having friends to talk to during class...

I think the girls want to continue, so we'll see how it goes...

Hook Family Applesauce

2011-08-01T17:58:00.000-07:00

Yep...starting our applesauce sessions for the year. Last year we did our first batch on John's birthday and ate all of it within a month or so. So we made more....and more....

We only did 3/4 bushel tonight, but it ended up being about 3 gallons of sauce. We have the same amount to do tomorrow, but my quality control called it a night after the second batch.

Katie and Maggie were using the food scale to determine the largest and smallest apples, which Katie would write in her 'notebook.'

They would load up tiny buckets to bring me a few apples at a time, which I washed, cored, then quartered. Threw the apples into a pot with about 2 inches of water on the bottom and cooked for 10-15 minutes on med, or until the apples were cooked. (sometimes I put a little vanilla into the water while the apples are cooking)

We then (oh wait, I) go nuts cranking the Foley mill until I have a large pot of sauce, which we add a little sugar and cinnamon to, then Quality Control tries some, then gives the OK to put the rest into freezer for us to use later.
In case you are wondering...I used Lodi apples. That is what everyone around here seems to recommend, and they taste great! Later I will just get sauce mix seconds from Masonic Village.

July Update

2011-07-31T23:50:00.000-07:00

Once upon a yard sale....
I got some pottery barn benches.

that make perfect beds for Katie and Maggie playing house

As you can see here, she's sleeping! ;)

Since it has been quite a while without an update, here is Katie--mid-bang grow-out...

And a blurry picture of Becky that one of the girls took with the camera...sorry but this was the only one that had her cute little head in it!

I can't believe that it is offically August...so much to do and school will be here soon!

Mornings with Maggie and Becky

2011-05-11T19:22:00.000-07:00

when mommy isn't home

this is what Margaret

and Rebecca

are up too....

Aren't they cute? I can't believe that Katie's time as a first grader is coming to a close...

Sick Days...

2011-04-25T13:56:00.000-07:00

Pro...John taking care of the girls all day for several days in a row.

Con...I'm in too much pain to enjoy it.

Pro...Urgent Care turned out to be a pleasant experience on Easter.

Con...24 hour CVS was NOT.

Pro...got a bag full of medicine, gatorade and cough drops to get me through...

Con...I'm impatient...I mean it has been 24 hours...shouldn't I be feeling almost fantastic yet?

Pro...I wasn't labeled a hypocondriac and sent home after they pocketed my money.

Con...I have strep throat and I only ever remember hearing kids get that....boo for my take home treat for volunteering at Katie's school. (Though I would still do it again because it was a lot of fun, just be labeled as the weirdo mom with the mask on to not catch all their germs....) I also got a side of a killer sinus infection that is also killing my ears and making it a little tough to hear...so I've had much better weekends...

Pro...I have lots of fun blog reading to catch up on when I'm up to it.

Con...I probably missed all the Silhouette giveaways that was going on. Oh well...always next month, right?

Three

2011-04-15T21:04:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to my middle princess!

Bananas are for Monkeys

2011-04-11T19:28:00.000-07:00

New Stuff

2011-04-04T18:03:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have been MIA lately...
I think I am at the point that I need to split my "family" blog and "crafty stuff" into a blog of its own. It is too cluttered with my sewing stuff for family to weed through to find cute pictures of my girlies.

I went on my first trip to Zook's Fabrics and have several projects in the works that I will be sharing soon! I post the new blog address when it is ready to go.

Today's Top 20

2011-03-15T12:04:00.000-07:00

Amanda was kind enough to feature my Scrappy Produce Bag Tutorial on her Blog, Today's Top 20! Go and see all the fun stuff she rounded up this week!

Ruffle Purse Tutorial--Version 1.0

2011-03-13T21:54:00.000-07:00

You will need to print out the pattern pieces here and here.

I am still learning so any tips on how to make pattern pieces easier (but not require a program that costs hundreds of dollars, please clue me in!)

Start out by cutting out and taping together the pattern pieces. Place the pattern on the fold and cut out 2 pieces of the lining fabric and 2 pieces of the outside fabric.

1. Place the lining fabric pieces right side together and sew along the outside. I was lazy and serged along the outsides since I try to use my serger for everything possible because I love it and it makes a nice edge. This will be hidden so it really doesn't matter if you just sew a straight line.

2. Cut 2-- 1.5 inch square pieces of fusible interfacing and iron on the wrong side of the lining fabric. This will keep your magnetic snap from ripping your fabric.

3. Cut 6-7 2" strips of fabric to make your ruffles. I again just took the lazy way out and serged the edge because Katie thinks serged edges look fancy, but it will look more polished if you fold over the edge twice a narrow 1/4" and stitch.

4. Make gathers with the ruffles but running the fabric through your sewing machine with LSTT (Long stitch length, tight tension) It should automatically gather your fabric for you as it passes under the needle, but if you want more gather, just lightly hold onto the thread at the top of your machine to increase the tension a bit more.

5. Start at the top at the ruffle line. Pin your ruffle onto your front panel to the outside fabric UPSIDE DOWN. Sew it on...it looks funny, right? Now either iron or press it down with your fingers so that the ruffle lays the right way. Stitch it down and it will enclose the loose ends of your fabric.

6. Repeat with each ruffle, just overlapping them slightly unless you want a really full look. (If you want to go wild, you can ruffle the back too!)

7. Put the outside pieces together right sides together and stitch around the outside like you did for the lining. Trim off any extra fabric and turn. to check that it looks the way you like.

8. Line up the pieces of the lining with the outside shell and pin. Stitch around and up and around the handle strips, leaving a hold several inches to turn. Turn and topstitch around the outside to close up the turning hole.

9. Tie up the straps and you're done! Let me know if you make one!

You may have noticed that this says 1.0....I realized that I forgot to take pictures when I made the first purse which is why it isn't picture heavy like my normal tutorials, but I also came up with a nicer way to do ruffles san serger, so I'm making another ruffle purse for Maggie in the middle and will share that tutorial as version 2.0. Who knows? Maybe I can find a tip from someone to make my pattern pieces look not as wonky. ;)

How to be a Baby by Me the Big Sister

2011-03-12T00:01:00.000-08:00

I'm participating in Helping Little Hands Read-a-long. This started March 1st and goes on all month...go check out Polly's blog for lots of fabulous books and activites to do with them.

We have three princesses, so now we have not one, but two big sisters! We initially found this book when Katie was 3 at the library and laughed so hard that our bellies hurt. What I loved about this book is the range of emotions that the big sister goes through...she talks about all the awesome things about being a big sister, all the things that she can do but the baby can't do, and as you get toward the end of the book the big sister talks about comforting the baby in the middle of the night and all the fun things that they will do together as the baby grows up.

Well, that was 3 years ago and I knew the fines would get pretty steep once we did our three renewals, so I got it on Amazon...I actually think that it was my first Amazon purchase...

One thing I love is that the book really is an amazing reflection of the transition that Katie went through and now the one that Maggie is going through as a big sister. I know when Mags was a baby Katie had moments of frustration, and now they play dress up together, built forts, and giggle with their sister secrets.

Now, this may be a bit long for a smaller toddler who doesn't enjoy long story time but even at that age you can flip though...just don't skip the highchair page....that was one we would have to read over and over to Katie. :)

So now you have it reserved at your library, right?

So I wanted to share a really fun big sister activity. I thought that it might be fun to have Katie (who is 6) make a book for Becky about what Becky was like as a baby. We thought up some prompts, mainly from the book, for her to use to write and illustrate.

(We did have a minor problem with markers bleeding though so Katie wants to re-do the beginning of the book...maybe the printer paper wasn't the ideal choice....)

So here are a few pages that she made:

Here are some prompts that we used:

What does Becky wear all day?

What kind of hair-do does Becky have?

What is Becky's favorite toys?

What song do you like to sing to Becky?

Does Becky have any nicknames?

Where does Becky sleep at night?

What can you do now that you can't wait to do with Becky?

What/How does Becky eat?

How do you make Becky smile?

Now that would be sweet enough to keep, but I told Katie after she finishes her book we will scan the pages and I'll wait for a free photobook offers that happen occassionally online and get it printed like a real book for her. The other option would be to use pictures from that first year and have the big sibling "write" a story about the pictures. We will probably end up with a mixture of both.

Nothing makes a big sister feel as grown up as being a published author, right?

Let me know if you do this and how it goes!

Happy Birthday Daddy

2011-03-09T19:49:00.000-08:00

Had fun looking through some pictures of my Dad with Katie and Maggie. He would have been 58 today but Katie and I celebrated his birthday this weekend at Crispus Attucks.

Wednesday

2011-03-09T16:56:00.000-08:00

http://www.oneprettything.com/?p=14128I think I'm getting sick so I just drank a glass of OJ. Started to feel worse but still managed to drag myself and the three girlies to the church for cherub choir practice. Katie is upset that we didn't stay for Ash Wednesday service, especially since Pastor Carol had a wonderful banner that the congregation was going to make during the service, but I just didn't feel great. I get home and finally feel like the mucinex is starting to kick in just in time to get the girls ready for bed and everything ready for school pictures tomorrow for Katie. So while the girls are burning off their energy in the trampoline, I thought that I would share a fun highlight of my afternoon....

My Very Vera Crayon Roll Up was featured today on One Pretty Thing...I feel so honored!

I also was awarded the One Lovely Blog Award by Joy!

So before I can do anything else, I better get some cute kids in bed just in case I want to attach the skirt lining of Becky's dress while I watch Off The Map...

Becky's Dress for her Baptism

2011-03-08T18:34:00.000-08:00

Ok, ok....so it isn't done yet...I made the fabric lining out of satin and I just need to sew it in.
Becky was in such a good mood tonight that I couldn't resist playing dress up with her, especially with the little bonnet that I sewed little white crocheted roses onto Sunday night. So, yes, it will fit nicer (mainly across the shoulders) once there are buttons on the back and her little toes won't get stuck in the skirt once the lining is put in.

I know I am the biased mommy, but isn't she absolutely adorable??? Maggie and Katie tell her so all the time and she will flash her pretty blue eyes at them.

I found this pattern on etsy...it is called the Tiny Olivia dress. There are patterns for larger dresses (so I could make one for Katie, but at the rate that I am going it would take a year, so don't tell her.)

I have a few other crafty things in the works...
when computer time permits, I will finish up the ruffle purse pattern...
my next sewing project will probably be the girls' Oliver + S dresses...
for now....getting caught up on laundry so I can ENJOY my crafty time.

Three Sweet Girls

2011-03-08T18:22:00.000-08:00

Aren't they sweet? It is so rare that Maggie cooperates for a picture that I had to share.

Doesn't Becky have a look like "What are they doing???"

I was featured on reduce, reuse and upcycle...

2011-03-03T11:41:00.001-08:00

click to see

Puzzle Power

2011-03-01T15:57:00.000-08:00

We got to visit Grandma this past weekend. We got to see Alice in Wonderland and see lots of family. As always, the time went WAY too fast. Aunt Glenda got the girls these super-sized Melissa and Doug puzzles that we spent this afternoon putting together. So much fun!

Check me out at The Brambleberry Cottage....

2011-02-24T18:37:00.000-08:00

http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/2011/02/talented-time-travelers-in-focus-32.html

My maternity pants to leggings tutorial was featured!

What to make your own leggings? Check out this post.

Want to make a matching shirt with the scraps? Look here.

Corsage Shirt to match your leggings!

2011-02-23T14:22:00.000-08:00

So you caught this post earlier in the week, you saw that I gutted a pair of maternity pants to make leggings. (Go check out the tutorial here!)

First, I promised a better picture. (See above...thank you to my adorable model....)

Second, I am determined to use more of my stash. In my stash was this long sleeve shirt that I got on clearance at Wal*Mart. (Normal people just have fabric...I occasionally pick up plain shirts like this on the off chance someone would need a personalized shirt last minute. Not that I ever do stuff last minute...(check out the gift costume.)

I remember once seeing a tutorial for a fabric flower made from folded circles, but I can't remember where (If you know, drop a line in the comments and I will edit the post to give credit....thanks!) so like so much in my sewing....I winged it.

***ETA: I finally remembered where I saw the original tutorial...check it out here: http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2011/02/knit-receiving-blanketknit-baby-hats_08.html and you will spend hours looking at all her wonderful tutorials and posts!

I used a can of canned air as a template for my circles. Why? Because it was handy. :) For the smaller circles I used an ice cream sundae dish from the play kitchen. You can choose whatever you like, but the circles were about 3" and 2.5" ish in diameter.

I started with the large cicles. Place one down as a base.

Take your second large circle and fold in half....

And in half again.

Lay this on top of your base so that the point is in the center of the base circle.

Stitch. Repeat with 3 more so that you have a base with 4 folded circles on top. I made sure that the "open" side was always the same way. I used matching thread and a zig zag stitch.

Grab 4 smaller circles from your pile. We are going to fold these in quarters also and attach the same way.

For best results, stagger this row.

Stitch on button blingy as the flower center. The more shine, the better...at least to a first grader!

Finished corsage

Now you have a shirt to "match" your leggings!

Now I am working on a skirt to finish the look. I love having girls!

Easy Peasy Leggings Tutorial

2011-02-20T20:42:00.000-08:00

Yep, you have them too.

Maybe you got rid of the maternity pants, but I bet you have a pair of knit pants

hanging out in the "Donate Me" pile.

(See finished outfit with tutorial on matching shirt here.)

The more I looked at these, the more I figured that I hated the nice knit to go to waste.

I kept thinking that grey goes with nearly everything...

(Duh...my wardrobe has pants in exactly two colors...black and grey,

with the occasional tan, brown or navy thrown in, but usually black or grey.)

I initially was going to make pants for Maggie, but when Katie seemed interested in the project,

I decided to make them for her. I took a newer pair of leggings that fit her well and stuffed one leg into

the other leg, so that it is inside out, but easier to use as a pattern.

I opened up the maternity pants and lined up the outside of the leggings with

the outside of the pants. Easy Peasy means using as few seams as possible.

You can draw on your fabric, but I decided to wing it. I gave about an extra 3/4" along

the side that I was cutting. When you get to the top, leave a little extra because

you will need to fold it down for the elastic casing.

It is tough to see in the picture, but the cut legging is on top of the uncut legging.

Again, be sure that the folded side is lined up with the outside of the leg.

Time to serge. (You can just sew it with a knit stitch or zig zag.

I just love the finish of the serged seam.) The leggings are right sides

together and I place a pin at the hem to help the fabric stay in place as

it is fed into the serger.

Remember when we stuffed the legs inside each other to make a pattern?

Well, that is the easiest way I know to sew legs together, so let's do that again!

Look at me...I pinned! (So you must realize that it is worth it to pin...haha)

Open up the leggings so that you are now looking at them from the side.

Use a rotary cutter and straight edge to slightly angle it down in the front.

This doesn't have to be exact, but I make them roughly an inch lower in the front than the back.

Turn leggings inside out and fold down waist about an inch and sew around the waist.

Leave about an inch opening to thread your elastic.

Threading elastic....

(I just wrapped it around Katie's waist and then subtracted about 2")

After threading through, I overlapped the ends and stiched them well.

Terrible picture, but a shot of the back stitched up.

I had a few bunny tags that I got as a freebie once that

I used to help Katie realize which side is the "back."

Ok...I need to replace this picture, because they look all wonky here but I just

laid them down quick for a picture when Becky woke up from her nap.

They look much cuter (and even) on Katie, which I unfortuately forgot to take a picture of...

Coming up....

I finally drafted the pattern to the ruffle purse, I just need to upload it!

Next crafty project is the top to go with the leggings.

Let's face it...if I repurpose all these clothes I save a trip to Goodwill, right?

If you use this, leave me a comment and let me know!

Family Visit

2011-02-13T19:59:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful time visiting...time just goes so fast!

(I'm sorry for the constant changing of the blog at the time being. Just trying to find a way to make it all work better! I also started to make the purse pattern, so hopefully that will finish up this week, too.)

Valentine Ruffle Purse

2011-02-07T13:31:00.000-08:00

A Katie Hook Original.

One day we were shopping at the Outlets when we saw a purse with ruffles. Of course I look at the price and tell Katie that we could make one cheaper than that. So we did.

We came home and Katie went to work sketching out ideas. I had a few ideas (mainly in the idea of simplicity since she probably wanted this before it was time to go off to college. So this was our compromise.

It has an adjustable strap that we could tie to make it slightly shorter or longer. I also used a magnetic snap in this to help it stay closed since she will probably use it to go to dance class. It also could be a cute bag for an older kid with different fabrics. (I could not pull Katie away from the pink heart fabric at JoAnn's...)

Is there any interest for the pattern/tutorial? Let me know and I can work on uploading a tiled pattern to download in PDF format.

Doesn't Katie look so cute?

Becky's Dress...nearly done!!!

2011-02-04T13:37:00.000-08:00

I still have the skirt lining to sew and stitch in, but I am so excited that her dress is done! Just need to try it on her to figure out when to schedule her baptism.....

My Crayon Roll Tutorial is on Craft Gossip today!
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-very-vera-crayon-roll/2011/02/04/

Becky Dress up

2011-02-04T13:34:00.000-08:00

Just so happens that Build-a-bear glasses fit our munchkin perfectly.

We couldn't resist! Wouldn't this be funny as one of the baby pictures you put in your yearbook?

Look out Class of 2028!

Our Icy street made the news

2011-02-03T14:05:00.000-08:00

IMAGES: Ice Making An Impact In Some Parts Of The Susquehanna Valley - Photos - WGAL The Susquehanna Valley

Once you get to the middle of the slideshow, it is our neighbors' tree.

Yep, Still Winter.....

2011-02-03T12:41:00.000-08:00

Thankfully this wasn't our house, but it was a few doors down the road.

Katie was off school for two day due to this icy mess.

Again, just so thankful that it wasn't our tree. So from our house to the stop sign, two trees came down. One was left on the road until this morning when a crew was able to come and chip it.

So apparently Phil didn't see his shadow this year, so spring is near.

(For those non-Pennsylvanians out there, click here)

I don't buy it.

I've got talent....

2011-02-02T11:52:00.000-08:00

No, really...my tutorial for the Very Vera Crayon Roll Up from last week's linky party was featured on Night Owl Crafting!

http://nightowlcrafting.blogspot.com/2011/02/hoos-got-talent-37.html

Go check it out!!!

Storytime

2011-01-26T15:55:00.000-08:00

Katie really loves reading, especially since she can read more and more difficult books on her own now. Maggie likes to page through on her own or have Daddy read to her (he does better voices). Here is a shot of Katie reading to Becky.

Lately our days have been filled with jumping (on the trampoline), playing trains, and watching Becky grow and learn new wonderful things. She loves to hold onto my fingers and stand until her little legs get tired and shaky...such big smiles! Maggie started her library time this week and likes it though is still a little shy about participating.

A Very Vera Crayon Roll Up TUTORIAL

2011-01-24T19:52:00.000-08:00

There are a ton of crayon roll up tutorials out there, I even have an awesome one by skip to my lou on the sidebar, but I had a tweak in mind for a while and just went with it. I have been on a crafty streak lately (almost finished with Becky's baptism dress!!! I'll share soon!) and Katie asked me to help her design and make a purse. Oh boy. We'll see how that goes, but we have lots of drawings and last night we sketched out some pattern pieces. I guess I'll make a practice one with scrap fabric before we cut into her special fabric she picked out.

Anyway, I was saying that it isn't an original idea to have a crayon roll up by any means before I went on my tangent. This is designed to be quick and easy because it is using prequilted fabric (the name came from the fabric that reminds me of Vera Bradley purses) but you can find this fabric at JoAnn's and snag it fairly cheap with a coupon. You can use your stash fabric to make a quilt sandwich and practice free motion quilting, using the practice piece as a base for the project.

Materials:
one 14" x 9" piece of quilted fabric
two 14" x 5" piece of coordinating fabric
two 16" lengths of coordinating ribbon
1 package of binding or about 2 yards of binding to sew on
matching thread

1. Cut out your fabric

2. Iron the two pieces of coordinating fabric in half lengthwise

3. Mark sewing lines on the coordinating fabric starting 1/2" in from the side and at every inch mark. For example, 1/2", 1-1/2", 2-1/2"...etc).

4. Line up the fabric to be the crayon pockets so that the folded edge is toward the middle of the larger fabric and the open side is along the edge.

5. Sew starting with a backstitch down each line. Trim all threads.

6. Attach ribbon to the inside edge. Take care that it is 1/4 of the way up from the bottom (or down from the top) so that when it is folded in half and rolled the ribbon will hold it closed.

7. Attach your binding around the edge of your project. There is a great tutorial by Elizabeth Hartman found HERE.

8. Add crayons for portable fun! As you can see Maggie wouldn't let go of it for the picture. = )

Personal Use Only. If you would like to make these for charity or profit, please contact me first. Feel free to share this link, but link to this page, don't copy this tutorial to your own site. Thanks!

A girl and her Giraffes

2011-01-17T12:02:00.000-08:00

Becky loves giraffes.

John teases me that at some point I 'decided' that she would love giraffes. Maggie loves monkeys, so we had to pick another animal and giraffes are so darn cute!

By the way, she REALLY DOES love giraffes. Maggie got her this squeaky giraffe that she loves to coo at and she was playing with her giraffe zoobie yesterday a lot.

And while I'm at it, I want to point out the BEAUTIFUL blanket that my friend Liz knitted for Becky that she is laying on in these pictures. She is so amazingly talented.

Crafting with Katie

2011-01-17T11:54:00.000-08:00

To: Maggie
I made a hat for me. I made a hat for you.
Your a princess! I'm a princess!
From Katie!

Christmas Recap

2011-01-17T11:49:00.000-08:00

We started our Christmas with letting the girls each open a gift the night before after we got back from Katie singing with the cherub choir. The next day we woke up and opened presents at our place before traveling to Great-Grandma and Grandpa's to see the Ritchey family, then back to Mom's place to spend time with Mom, Doug and Brittany. Poor Maggie was pretty sick so we ended up cutting our Greensburg trip short to go back to the begin our weekly trip to the doctor with Maggie's double ear infection. We have a picture of the girls at Josie's, but we realized we took very few pictures with all the juggling of Becky and Maggie's needs. Katie is so grown up now...I can't believe that next year she moves up to the next choir and Maggie will be in cherub choir singing on Christmas Eve! We had lots of fun, enjoying family and when the girls did something cute I noticed that we would often comment how much my Dad or John's Mom would have loved to see it.

Becky at 3 months

2011-01-17T11:34:00.000-08:00

December 28, 2010

Becky turned 3 months old and got to have fun in the jumperoo!

Gift Costume

2011-01-17T11:29:00.000-08:00

What Mom doesn't decided at 6:30 the night before school that she will go ahead and make her daughter a costume because it will make her soooooo happy? If you didn't guess, at that time I took the three girls to Joann's to get some felt with a coupon (of course!) to make this handy gift costume for about $1.50.

I probably still have the measurements and probably could write up a tutorial, but is it worth it? I mean, seriously, how many people would want to be a big felt present?

Katie did. And she loved it and totally made it worth it that I started the project at midnight, working on it for about 2 hours when it was that wonderful time that all were asleep in the house. It is always worth it when you see their eyes light up when they realize you made something Just. For. Her.

Late November/Early December recap

2011-01-17T11:17:00.000-08:00

With some computer issues (yes with the new computer...ugh!) we were a little behind on sharing some pictures that were going on. Maggie's latest time consumer is playing with the dollhouse/calico critter houses. We even need to do a hand check to make sure the pieces stay with the houses and don't end up at church or the grocery store with us, tightly held in her fist.

Katie and Maggie enjoyed chocolate advent calendars from Uncle Doug and Brittany (Maggie's pleading eyes for more than one piece of chocolate each night...) and the wall calendar is from my Mom and Dad last year. This year the girls had to take turns, but they were pretty good about it.

Of course Maggie with the dancing Hallmark snowman and penguin...we have several movies with this too but at the moment I'll spare you. = )

The three cute girls on the quilt blanket and 2 pictures from when Becky turned 2 months old on November 28th.

If you are thinking of buying stock this year, go with....

2011-01-04T12:59:00.000-08:00

...any sort of children's medicine....tylenol, motrin, mucinex....

I'm thinking it isn't great that when I took Becky to the doctor today, the nurse asked me what girl was sick this week. Yep...we even got the same exam room as we had last week. If we keep it up, maybe they will give us a drawer to keep extra diapers and wipes in.

Maggie started us off with this a day or two before Christmas and continued through until Tuesday when we took her to the doctor for a double ear infection. Katie started to pick it up and was a miserable mess for a few days, but at least she was on vacation so she didn't have to miss school. John and I then got it, and now sweet little Becky is bringing up the sick train.

All I can say is, that goodness for insurance, though those copays add up.

And to top it off, our computer needed a little hard drive surgery that John was able to do in the triage area. Now that the computer is as good as new, I need to add some fun pictures and movies to share.

On that note, Becky decided that her nap is over. = )

Hook Holiday Card 2010

2010-12-17T09:04:00.001-08:00

Sweet Cinnamon Collage Christmas 5x7 folded card

Turn your pictures into personalized Christmas cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

New Button

2010-12-15T11:52:00.001-08:00

If you check our blog you might have noticed a new button on the side for www.diapers.com. They are the people that put all those cards in the parenting magazines that fall out all over the floor. I used them once before with Maggie to use a first time offer of 10 dollars off/free shipping, but I always ended up going to our local BJs.

Now that we have Becky and it is freezing cold, and gas is topping over 3 bucks a gallon, I try to not go anywhere that I don't have to. As a result, most of my shopping for Christmas was done online (YAY for the Amazon Mom program...if you sign up you get free 2 day shipping!)...even the Black Friday deals were all available online also, most with free shipping so I got to sit in my PJs instead of freezing in a line.

So I decided to price check diapers.com to our BJs and they are cheaper than BJs for most diapers. But in the past 2 years they added Soap.com to the site. At first I think, that's dumb, I'll just buy it at the store, but I didn't feel like braving the craziness so I ordered a Tide powder online since it was about the same price (free shipping also!).

I got it the next day. Seriously, less than 24 hours, but I was disappointed that a little of the powder leaked in the box so I called to let them know. Their customer service was so awesome that they sent me TWO boxes of Tide to replace the first box! So now I have enough laundry soap to last me about 3 months and that is pretty cool at the rate we do laundry around here. On top of that we got 30% cash back in our account that we can use for our next order. So that definitely beats BJ's prices!

So I wanted to share my online shopping wonderfulness with you too. If you enter ETOWNHOOKS for the promotional code, you will get 30% cash back on diapers and 15% off the rest of your order. Go ahead and order the mega pack of Charmin...:)

*If anyone uses this code at check out, not only do YOU get great deals, but we get a 10 dollar credit for future purchases.

The hatter taps

2010-12-08T19:54:00.000-08:00

Otherwise known as noise part II...

Getting Portaits

2010-12-08T19:53:00.000-08:00

I love having pictures of the girls, but I don't love the process.

Usually I just end up a sweaty mess by the end of it from the stress of keeping outfits clean, hair in place and people happy and cooperating.

Maggie wasn't a fan this time. She cooperated for a family photo and we got a single picture of the 3 girls (Becky really slid down so you can't really see her in it.) Afterward, Maggie let us know she would not be taking Maggie pictures.

Katie loves it...when Maggie said no thankyou to her turn, Katie piped up that she would like more taken of her. (This is also the girl that announced that she would like the 8 x 10 from her school pictures to go on the wall of her room.)

Becky slept through most of the whole session.

Two Girls Tapping With a Becky Cameo

2010-12-08T19:35:00.000-08:00

"Meeting" Curious George

2010-12-08T19:29:00.000-08:00

Most people know how much Maggie loves Monkeys. Her pal Monkey goes everywhere with us (with blanket) and he is becoming a part of the family by getting his teeth cleaned at the dentist and everything. I have visions of them going in her backpack to preschool and I still shudder when I remember foolishly taking her to get her flu shot without her loveys. Not a good plan, eh?

Anyway, back to George. We love Curious George and are thrilled that we get to see him on PBS. (When Katie was her age they still showed teletubbies and boobah which were just odd. I'll leave it at that.) Elizabethtown library has a "Snorey time" program that kids come in pjs to hear stories and meet characters. And Curious George was coming!!!

We signed up a month in advance but nothing went right. Becky was about 6 weeks old and delayed us a bit. Then Maggie delayed us further with an opinion about footwear. (No you cannot where dress up high heels in the cold, Margaret.) So we would have been on time, but no spots in the parking lot. We went to the municipal lot...all full...so we drove to another lot and got a space as someone was leaving. By the time we parked, unloaded, and walked to the library and up the stairs the librarian finished 2 of the 3 stories.

Maggie spies the giant George and immediately started to whimper into my pant leg. So thankfully Becky was asleep in her car seat because I had to cuddle Maggie (and blanket and Monkey) to assure her that it was OK that George was as tall as Mommy. (Seriously people, would the man in the yellow hat be the same size as George? Think about it, of course it scared her.)

So thankfully it was time for a craft (Monkey puppets.) Maggie wanted to glue first, but we had to listen to Katie's discourse on the merits of coloring first and gluing second. So George is ready to leave and thinking of all the trouble we went to get get there, I try to talk the girls into a picture with George. I get a "uh-uh" from Maggie (she is looking at me like ARE YOU KIDDING ME?) and Katie tells me that she is too old for George. OK. So I do what any other neurotic mom would do and get them to stay in front of me with George safely 15 yards behind them holding the puppets just so I have a shot of them with George.

Mr. Postman bring my free cards to me....

2010-12-06T13:27:00.000-08:00

Wait Mr. Postman!
Ever since we learned the joy of online bill pay, we find that we don't use stamps much. Usually they are reserved for occasionally mail or the bill that we sometimes find that there isn't a way to pay online (gasp!). I am determined to send out Christmas cards this year. We have a rather spotty record with getting cards to the mailing stage. Usually it is because I don't have any stamps...or stamps any higher than a 42 cents. (What are they up to now, anyway?)
So it is December and I've been thinking for a month and a half that I have to get started on my Christmas cards...Enter Shutterfly. I love Shutterfly because I can send out a picture (or pictures) of our girls as the card instead of buying separate cards and slipping in snapshots. The quality is wonderful, so when Christmas is over, if you want you can cut the card and put it in a frame. So I start to browse through the cards when I see a blog post from my friend Liz about free cards.
Wait...free?
Yep....seriously...Shutterfly is giving away 50 free cards.

We love free, especially if it was something we wanted to buy anyhow.

I am a huge fan of Shutterfly's photo cards that we had the invitation for my parents' 30th anniversary party made with a picture from their wedding day. We just thought that they (and everyone else) would enjoy the picture of them leaving the church smiling. It is one of my personal favorites.

Wouldn't it be fun to personalize invitations for your next party with a picture?

We still haven't made up birth announcements for Rebecca Jean (See previous post about Maggie's lack of participation...) but now that we have a few photos we need to get on that...she is only 2 months...it isn't THAT bad...yet....:)

But I have to say that I LOVE the new story cards they have! It combines the letter that I always would like to send out with the pictures so they aren't separate. I am so torn between collage cards and the ones with a story line inside. There also is a great one called a Year in Pictures that could be wonderful for a birthday invitation that has a photo from each month.

Want in on this awesome promotion? Check out Shutterfly for more info!

Grandma's Leaves

2010-11-18T12:24:00.000-08:00

I love this last picture...

Sister photo session

2010-11-18T12:21:00.000-08:00

We were trying to get a picture of all three but this was the best one with Maggie in it. Yep, not interested at all. Maybe we would have had more success telling her to get out of the picture or to frown??

Biggest with the littlest. Katie wore that outfit for her first Thanksgiving.

Becky taking a break on her new blanket...Thanks Mom for taking these pictures!

One week

2010-11-05T18:42:00.000-07:00

It is amazing how much time is flying by with our little Becky, Maggie and Katie. Within the last week, Becky went on her first car trip to Grandma's to visit Uncle Doug and Brittany, Aunt Glenda, and lots of other friends and family. She did really well (thank you Doug for the batteries from Walmart for the swing...) It was a short visit, but Thanksgiving will be here soon.

I love how Becky reacts to her sisters' voices, how she can look at us with an amused expression (so this is my family?) and she started to suck on her right hand, so yep, my guess is that we will have a trio of thumb suckers.

Katie's busy in first grade, loving math and learning about shapes and vertices, and writing in her diary. We are getting in a great routine, sometimes only going out in the evening for choir and dance class...well, since Katie gets home from school around 4, there isn't much time for homework, supper, bath and playtime as it is. Maggie gets lots of big sister practice in the morning while Katie is at school and today she happily went with me to BJs for lunch (uhhh...free samples....in my defense it was chicken tenders, meatballs and bread and she fell asleep on the drive home) today. She loves having her hood up, and strings to tie on the waist of her pants, and collects bouquets of leaves.

So in one week we:
eat roughly 28 bowls of cereal
change about 140 diapers
scrub the kitchen floor three times (at least under the kitchen table)
do 5 homework assignments with Katie
trip over mommy's shoes several times when I kick them off in the hallway instead of putting them away.

A week isn't long (except when it is, and you know THOSE weeks...) but when it is 1/5 of Becky's life, I'm sad that it is moves so fast....

Pumpkin Carving

2010-11-02T15:49:00.000-07:00

Katie and Maggie got to carve their first real pumpkin at Grandma's with Uncle Doug and Brittany.

Hook Girls at 1 Month

2010-11-01T19:11:00.000-07:00

Betcha can guess who is who!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-29T17:55:00.000-07:00

This was the only picture that turned out. Yep. One.

I felt pretty brave tonight and took the girls trick-or-treating by myself since John was at work.

Becky wasn't in the picture, but she was off to the right in her car seat all snuggled up in her little hat and blankets. We took the double stroller, while it seemed silly when Maggie was walking in the beginning, I was so thankful for it when we got down the street and Maggie needed a lift.

If you didn't realize, Katie is supergirl and Maggie made her own costume...a butterfly ballerina. Katie went to most of the houses with her friends and Maggie, Becky and I just tried to keep up (again, much easier when Maggie was IN the stroller, not collecting leaves for her crumbly leaf collection.) The bags were filled with candy accordingly (Katie's very full, and Maggie's rather empty) so we might need to divide the candy in (shall I say it?) a more socialist way...

Happy 1 Month, Becky!

2010-10-28T19:01:00.000-07:00

I can't believe a month has gone by since we got to meet our smallest princess. Becky is growing so fast, becoming more alert, and will crane her neck to find her sisters when she hears them. I know the next 11 months will go fast too.

Like the little "1 month" circle? You can download your own for free here:

http://sprik.blogspot.com/2010/08/monthly-baby-photos.html

Maggie's Morning

2010-10-20T17:00:00.000-07:00

On Monday we were all up early.
We got Katie off to school, and Becky was fed and went back to sleep.
Since it was such a beautiful day, I asked Maggie if she wanted to go for a walk, which she happily ran to get her shoes. Her little legs can really go! We did a large loop around the development, stopping from time to time to pick up leaves (One of her favorite things to collect, though Daddy banned them from coming inside the house because of a couple of leaf crumbly messes we had.) which if I remember correctly is somewhere around a 1/3 mile.

We ended up at home, with the perfect opportunity for Maggie to get to play with the rake since Katie was at school. Our trip to target resulted in this clearance purchase, and what better way to trick the girls into doing chores (or instill great work ethic? Does that sound better?).

I hope the weather holds for a while...this is my favorite weather.

Our three girls

2010-10-20T11:01:00.000-07:00

Double Big sister Katie holding Becky....

Big sister Maggie holding Becky (kind of...)

I love our girlies!

Becky's Best Sister

2010-10-18T16:12:00.000-07:00

Excuse my cheesy talking during the video, but it is easy for forget in a few months how old she was when I might look at the video a year from now.

The fun part of this video is Katie and Maggie at the end arguing who Becky likes best.

Becky pictures

2010-10-14T16:44:00.000-07:00

Upper left is Becky in her swing, just kind of relaxing;
Big Sister shots, then one from today with Becky just relaxing on the duckie quilt that Grandma made before I turned her over for tummy time, or as Daddy calls it, 'torture time'.

Becky is getting into a bit of a schedule now, as much as a 2 week old can. She is more alert and loves to lay on a blanket during the day. She started to sleep in her crib this week, too. I already feel that she is growing too fast.

Poor Missy

2010-10-06T07:56:00.000-07:00

+

+

=

Applesauce Uh-Oh

2010-10-06T07:53:00.000-07:00

The new thing I tried to do this year is make applesauce. So I took the girls to the Farmer's Market and got a bunch of seconds apples. You would think that since I never did this before I would get a small amount and try it out. Somehow my pregnant brain reasoned it would be much better to make applesauce out of a bushel of apples. So away we went.

It was pretty easy, but Katie was my helper with the sugar and cinnamon. Can't see any problems there, right? Since I didn't find any real recipes with amounts we just tried to do it by taste, but some of the batches are pretty sweet and cinnamon tasting. So....maybe some adjustments for next year?

Maggie (and Katie) are still fans of it, and this is from when Katie was at school and Maggie wanted applesauce for a snack. I left the container on the table while I was doing dishes and when I didn't immediately come over when she asked for more, she decided to help herself.

Just
a
little
messy.

Maggie Goes Shopping

2010-10-06T07:43:00.000-07:00

(This was from a few weeks ago, but since our computer wasn't working much at all, it was difficult to post some cute pictures, so excuse going backward a bit.)

This weekend John took Katie out to Pittsburgh to meet our new nephew, Timmy. Since I wasn't allowed to travel that far anymore and Maggie wouldn't do an out and back long trip in a day well, she and I went to church. Now that she isn't as clingy to Mommy, the church nursery is the funnest place ever, and I usually come back to some sort of tea party in the kitchen area.

As a special treat, I took her to Darrenkamp's afterward to pick up some milk and a treat and she got to push her own cart. Even though I probably looked a little nutty taking her picture in a grocery store, I couldn't resist because she was so cute.

Introducing Rebecca Jean

2010-10-05T07:07:00.000-07:00

Rebecca Jean joined our family on September 28th at 8:54 pm.
7 pounds, 10.9 ounces and 20 inches long

One Crazy Summer

2010-08-24T08:35:00.000-07:00

I know summer's not over yet, but with Katie starting back to school in less than a week, I thought a little visual re-cap might be in order. Most of the pictures are from our trips to Grandma's and Sesame Place (just in case you thought Cookie Monster and Zoe were at Grandma's, too).

If the girls are Princesses, does that make me Queen?

2010-08-11T19:36:00.000-07:00

OK, so this is a few weeks old, but we have been in constant motion it sometimes feels like. Really the reason is that our computer acts like it is 80 years old sometimes and I lose patience before I finish a post. :)

The top picture is a shot of Katie and Maggie dressed up to meet the Princess of Dutch Wonderland. She came to the Elizabethtown Library to host story time and the girls had fun getting all dressed up. Seriously, we spent 2 hours primping Katie as if it were her first dance, but that is part of the fun with girls, right? I've been waiting for the days that I could put her hair up in curls.
A shot of Maggie (in dress up Cinderella shoes!) with her ever-present pal, Monkey.

After some persuasion from big sister, Maggie joined in the picture of the three princesses. I'm thinking Princess of Dutch Wonderland could be a fun job for Katie in 10 years, right?

Maggie is now completely in fancy dress and dress up shoe mode. Never mind she has perfectly acceptable normal shoes to wear...her choices of footwear fall between dress up shoes with heels and Katie's flip flops. Yep, got her a pair of flip flops in her size. I'm told that they aren't big enough. Hmmmm....

Sunbonnet Suzy finished!

2010-07-08T19:28:00.000-07:00

To read about how I made these blocks, see this post.

I finished the blocks during Joe and Layla's visit, as we rested our pregnant bodies on the couch. I only planned on making 4 blocks so that it would be a small doll quilt, so it didn't take too long to assemble. I made the quilt blocks 9 x 7 inches and the sashing was 2 inches wide. I decided to go with 4 inches for the border to help keep the look of the original that my great-grandma made.

This flowered print matched nicely for the back, and I made binding from the same yellow as the front.
Originally I thought that I would hand quilt it, but changed my mind once I basted the layers together...
Overall happy with how it looks.

Steeler Girls

2010-06-16T19:31:00.000-07:00

Aren't they cute?

The Kindergarten Quilt

2010-06-15T19:45:00.000-07:00

Yep...I managed to volunteer somehow to quilt the Kindergarten Quilt.

It really wasn't too bad, and kind of enjoyed getting to see blocks that all the kids colored in (There are special fabric crayons you can get from the Dick Blick website if you want to do this at home.)

However, I break out in a sweat thinking of doing some sort of stacking of quilt layers and turning right side out, so I just decided to go into Joann's and get a half yard of the star fabric that the teacher gave me to make a binding. So. Much. Better. = ) I didn't hand quilt it since I didn't have much time, but the machine quilting went fast and I was pleased with the overall look.

Here is an annoyed Katie humoring Mommy by pointing to her block.

Katie's Dance Recital

2010-06-14T19:36:00.000-07:00

Katie practicing her arabesque before the show...

Maggie trying to get into the action...

Katie's dance class

Super cute Katie

Sun Bonnet Suzy

2010-06-14T19:21:00.000-07:00

When I was little, my Great-Grandma Ritchey made me a quilt. It had 12 blocks of hand-appliqued Sun Bonnet Sue, sashed and bound with pink/mauve and backed with a flowered sheet. I loved that quilt and used it until I was teenager...now that I look at some of the blocks, there are repairs that will need to be made. But I didn't want to ruin my precious quilt until I knew that I could hand applique replacement parts. So I decided to make a mini practice "Suzy" block.

I found a block that was intact on my quilt and put a sheet of computer paper over it and did a crayon rubbing to get an outline of the applique pieces. I then used plastic template material to make traceable patterns. For my mini version, I used my printer/copier to shrink the pattern to 60% and made new templates.

I wasn't incredibly happy with my first, but I made 2 more, getting more confidence each time. I have to admit that it is relaxing to have such a portable project.

I now see that I need to trim the thread from the back, but I was pretty happy with this Suzy...I think I'll do one more and make it into a dolly quilt!

Starting a Paintbox Quilt...

2010-05-11T19:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I woke up early while most normal people would want to clean, I decided to sew.

Seriously, I have a consignment sale coming up that I need to get stuff ready for, but I couldn't resist.

I loved Elizabeth's (from Oh Fransson!) Paintbox Quilt and thought that it would be a fun way to use up some scraps that I like. All I needed was some solids to coordinate (not so bad, because I only needed a few...and then there was this green print fabric that I really liked, and I figured it was only 1/4 yd...I had some money left on a gift card, so that was all the justification that I needed!)

So in one day I have 10 blocks. Not so bad, right? Especially considering the first set took as long as the other 4 sets.

I love the green ones

Introducing a sibling for Katie and Maggie...

2010-04-28T12:51:00.000-07:00

Emily kindly pointed out to me that I have been slacking on the blog...I didn't mean too...but I really did!

Maybe this can be an acceptable excuse???

We have until September to meet this newest member of our family, but I think we can't rely on Katie for name help. Her input so far has been Backpack and other items she saw when looking around the room. Then again, maybe that is how the celebrities do it...

Maggie turns 2!

2010-04-28T12:46:00.000-07:00

And where are the pictures???? Ummm...Mommy must not have took any! We have a picture of Katie in her pjs in the morning with some monkeys that a friend loaned us to decorate with for Maggie (she is a big fan of monkies...) I have a picture of Maggie the night before playing dress-up...and a picture of our two monkies playing with Grandma. We do have some video...hmmm...maybe we can upload that?

Springtime fun

2010-04-28T12:39:00.000-07:00

Maggie on her tricycle...

Katie on her new bike from Christmas...

On the slide at Rapho Township Park...

Snow Days...

2010-04-27T19:18:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know it is old news, but I couldn't resist sharing Maggie in her bear hat and Katie playing with a friend in 2 ft of snow. This was from the first storm and we got 20 inches 5 days later.

We started to run out of space to put it all...

Chocolate World with the Pitcavages

2010-04-26T19:43:00.000-07:00

I didn't get many good pictures this day, but here is Lilly and Katie, and Lilly, Katie and Maggie in their factory worker hats.

Maggie's first pigtails!

2010-04-26T19:41:00.000-07:00

You can tell this picture is from February...see all the snow out our window?

Trip to Hands On House

2010-04-26T19:39:00.000-07:00

Coloring Wallet

2010-04-26T19:37:00.000-07:00

Made this for Lilly as something fun to take with her. It is big enough for a 5 x 7 inch notebook and I used twistable crayons for the extra fun factor. I need to work out a better way to do the binding though...it was tough to sew through all the layers and didn't come out as neat as I would have liked.

Katie's Legos

2010-04-26T19:33:00.000-07:00

Katie sporting her crazy hair-do and dress up clothes while showing off the lego house that she and Daddy built.

Christmas 2009

2010-04-26T18:40:00.000-07:00

We spent Christmas up at Mom's house...

Katie with Uncle Doug and Brittany....

Maggie with her baby doll in her stroller...

Grandma and the girls

Quilt for Shery and Dustin's Baby Shower

2010-02-09T14:44:00.000-08:00

I guess the JoAnn's gift card was burning a hole in my pocket.
:)
Dustin and Shery got married on my birthday last year with the men in cowboy boots and hats, a lasso integrated into the ceremony, and I was trying to think of something fun to make for their baby due in a few months.
I searched coloring book pages online (They tend to have simpler shapes to turn into an applique') and found a cute cowgirl boot...perfect since they are having a girl...right?
Went to Fedex to have the coloring page enlarged and then I used freezer paper to trace the boot so I could have iron-on pattern pieces. I think my favorite part was appliqueing it to the large green square, then going nuts with some of the fun stitches for detail.
I struggled with the border for a while, but decided to do a pioneer braid like the tutorial on http://www.quiltville.com/. It was a little tricky to work with because it stretched, but I like the "braided" look. I just made the binding out of the same green flannel.
I did end up making it just enough too big for the original backing piece, and I didn't want to fun back to the store for more fabric, so I pieced a braid down the back, too. It worked out well that I had barely any leftover, too!

I just did a meander on my Christmas present from John...my 1951 Singer 201...it really is amazing how much fun it is to sew on that old machine.
This was my first quilt that I made out of flannel, and just from the feel right out of the dryer, it is super soft...I'll probably use flannel again soon.

Katie's Award Assembly

2009-12-15T09:30:00.000-08:00

Katie holding her award. Maggie had to jump in on the shot.

Gingerbread houses with the Kinders...

2009-12-02T12:20:00.000-08:00

I got a photo of Katie after class was over. We were too busy (and messy!) during to get any good shots.

Katie was so careful making her house--I bet she could have worked on it all afternoon.

We made a tent

2009-12-02T12:18:00.000-08:00

If you look close, you will see the furry stow-a-way on the roof.

Missy LOVED this tent--it was the perfect cat hammock.

Too bad Maggie wouldn't cooperate for a picture, but you get the idea.

49 pieces of tape on the wall

2009-11-03T11:24:00.000-08:00

Oh, how I wish it were only a song! Katie made a beautiful picture and then taped it to the wall with...you guessed it...49 pieces of tape!

Wondering if I am going to regret the dollar store brand 'scotch' tape as I try to peel this off the wall...

And yes, Katie wraps Christmas presents--plan your Christmas gift opening timeline accordingly.

Trick-or-Treat

2009-11-03T11:20:00.000-08:00

Cinderella (with makeup!!! her favorite part)

Cuddle Penguin sporting the new trick-or-treat bags courtesy of the open house at John's work.

Did a quick tour of the neighborhood, then a special trip out to visit some friends.

Scrapppy Reusable Produce Bag Tutorial

2009-10-22T12:20:00.000-07:00

October is Scrapbusters Month over at http://www.sewmamasew.com/ and I decided to get into the spirit and use up some of my scraps. I ended up making lots of things, but I thought that this would be pretty useful for most as an alternative to the rolls of plastic produce bags in the grocery store. The measurements are very flexible, and I think that having bars of cotton fabric instead of total construction of mesh will help it hold up longer. Another bonus is that this is a project that it doesn't judge...if you stitch a seam crooked...it still functions!

****Edit****
I clarified reinforcing the mesh in this video. It is a little rough holding the camera and recording, but I hope it helps!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7LC02TxmSo

*****

Materials:

scraps of mesh (I found this as a remnant in the fabric store, but repurposed sheer curtains, and netting works also.)

Length of ribbon (mine was 24 inches)

Fabric scraps--I used pieces from my cut 2.5 inch strip bin (which is the same as a jelly roll width)-what a great way to use some of those leftover prints!

Getting Started:

1. Cut the mesh you have to a rectangle shape. This can vary--I made a bag large enough for a few pounds of apples...you may want just enough for a few onions. I will give my measurements throughout. Mesh = 12 inches x 22 inches

2. Cut Fabric to size.

Top fabric: 4" x 22"

Two pieces of side fabric: 1.5" x 12"

Bottom piece: 2.5" x 22"

3. Prepare Top Casing

Fold in half (wrong side together) along the 22" length and iron. Fold 1/2" in on each side and press. (see drawing)

4. Attach Top Casing

Open up and use a zig-zag stitch to attach mesh to casing. I made sure the stitching was about 1/2" into the mesh to help it not tear too easily.

Fold over casing and stitch in place.

5. Attach the bottom piece to the mesh with a zig-zag stitch (outside of mesh bag is touching the right side of fabric.

After, fold the seam down and stitch it to the bottom again.

6. Stitch sides to the mesh in the same manner as the bottom.

7. Fold outside of bag together and stitch along the side and bottom. Turn right side out.

8. Use a safety pin to thread ribbon through casing....now you have a reusable produce bag!

p.s. I apologize for the scanned handwritten sketches, but unless Santa delivers Adobe, I'm trying to work with what I got! = )

Craftiness

2009-10-20T18:02:00.000-07:00

Craftiness has been on overload the past two weeks, what with kids being sick and all...not to mention trying to write up a tutorial for Scrapbusters Month at Sewmamsew. So here is a peek at some of the latest....

For two cute cousins/nieces...and great fans of Mr. Rogers....T-shirts with the trolley appliqued on. I just went to the pbskids.org website and used a coloring page as a guide. To make it easier, I cut freezer paper to regular 8.5 x 11 size and printed on that and ironed onto the felt with a cool iron so that it was easier to make the cuts. Fun, huh?

Our little solution to tap shoes that we got second-hand without laces. Actually Katie's dance teacher said she used to see these in stores but hasn't seen them lately...of course I had leftover buttons to cover in (of course!) hot pink and silver sequins....Katie models them in the second picture. Basically you thread the elastic through the holes in the shoes and loop the elastic over the button. It actually stays in place and is easy for Katie to put on and off by herself. Yay for independance!

An old jersey sheet turned rag rug for the back door. Very squishy comfy...I crocheted it using amandajean's loop method.

Pass the tissues....

2009-10-19T16:21:00.000-07:00

I feel like as soon as we start to get better, another one goes down! Maggie is finally better from her marathon cold/runny nose, but then Katie managed to get sick on the way home from the birthday festivities this weekend....she bounced back Sunday and was herself this morning so we sent her to school...now a low fever.

I noticed that the DOW was doing better on the news...could it be our massive purchases of Tylenol, tissues, and gatorade??? We will just wait for our Thank-you from Wall Street for being good consumers.....

Katie's singing debut of the year....

2009-10-05T15:48:00.000-07:00

This is Katie's 2nd year in cherub choir and did a cute and fantastic job for her first performance. You will have lots of chances to see her this year....always welcome to stay overnight at our house, too!

October 18th at the 10:30 service

November 8th at the 10:30 service

November 14th 2:30 pm

November 15th at 10am

November 22nd at the 10:30 service

December 24th at 7:30 pm

December 27th at 10am

January 31st at the 10:30 service

The rest of the schedule to come if you are thinking 2010...= )

Lemon Lickety Split bag

2009-10-05T15:44:00.000-07:00

I finished another lickety split bag--this time in a fun lemon print and navy lining. I think this is one of my favorite sewing projects....if you want to make your own, I have the link to Made by Rae's blog on the side.

Maggie's first haircut

2009-10-05T15:36:00.000-07:00

Ok, this is the finished product...they were a little out of order....

I know the blog has not been updated a lot but I finally uploaded some pictures so I will have a few posts at once. = )

Maggie got her first haircut on September 28th to take care of the little

80s mullet she had going on. = ) Mommy was feeling like I could easily trim the bottom and pocket the 8-10 dollars from a salon, which worked out since Elmo's world happened to be on at the time.

HersheyPark with the Billses

2009-09-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

We had a great time on Saturday at HersheyPark with the Billses. We were very happy (and very lucky) to share the beautiful day with such cute cousins, and we hope they had fun, too.

Special K: Katie's first day of Kindergarten

2009-09-03T06:43:00.000-07:00

At our front door, and outside the school.

Lining up in the hallway, before asking me to stop taking pictures.

Classic Katie moment: the kids were told to form a single-file line on a silver line (basically a seam in the tiles) to walk down to their classroom. About three steps in to her walk, Katie starts tight-rope walking, arms out and everything.

We love our little grown-up girl! Thank goodness we still have Maggie to cuddle...

The one-dollar skirt

2009-09-02T13:57:00.000-07:00

Katie and I got a chance to go to the local resale shop and found this skirt on the 1.00 clearance rack. Actually it was a junior's size 9, but it was so cute I figured that if I messed it up, it had new life waiting as a quilt block.....

I took it in on both of the side seams and serged the edges--flaring out when I got to the skirt part to keep with the shape.

Not perfect but a really cute skirt for Katie to play in!

Happy Birthday Katie! part I

2009-09-02T09:10:00.000-07:00

At Katie's party...two pics of the birthday girl, Uncle Joe reading cards during presents, and decorating cookies with the kids.

More Idlewild....Ball Pit!

2009-09-02T09:05:00.000-07:00

Can you find all the cute girls in these photos?