Baby D jammies

My second youngest grandson is finally into "big boy" clothes and jammies and I have been sewing for him more lately, so fun. He is ball obsessed. My daughter-in-law did the fabric selection, which is awesome as she KNOWS what her boys like.



Check out those buttons! I am making matching blue jammies for the oldest grandson as well.



Jammies shorts. I put some elastic with shoe laces attached, that way his mommy can easily adjust for comfort. Always tough with growing children who live far away!

The view from my "desk"

My "desk" is actually a card table, but I realize I like to use it as my "desk" because I can put it anywhere in the house to do some of my projects, some of which don't take much concentration. So it is my moveable desk. I sit here when I write notes and get birthday cards ready to send. If a good movie is on, it goes in front of the TV and I will cut out Hug-A-Bears for my church. It goes into the sewing room when I need more table space!

The bluebonnets are terrific out back right now and the daisies are starting to bloom. Still waiting on the vine that will grow on the fence. In a month, I won't be able to see it. Just a lovely wall of green!

A new stash, that's NOT a stash

I call this a stash, but it's not. I fully intend to use all of this material in the next two months. So none of this will go into the closet for me to just LOOK at. Three pieces were ordered on-line, a great way for my daughter-in-law to help with fabric selection, as she knows her kids the best and what they like. Plus some is from my FAVORITE fabric store that sent me a 15% off coupon.

Jammies for baby D who is obsessed with all sports.

A dress shirt for son-in-law, that purple is some super FINE fabric.

More jammies for baby D and big bro "the cowboy".

A shirt dress for me.

A shirt dress for my older daughter.

A shirt dress for my older daugher and something else, just loved that fabric.

A shirt dress for my older daugher (she works and has a baby, easy peasy) plus enough for a summer shirt for hubby and maybe something for me. Love those bluebonnets.

Now . . . all I need is TIME to spend in the sewing room, sometimes that can be a challenge with all the other things that need done.

Bright and perky

Messing about with scraps can create some interesting results. I would SO wear this if I were four! And mom and dad won't lose track of a little one dressed like this in a crowded place. Plus, it is one of a kind for a one of a kind . . . baby K.

Inspirational Bits and Pieces

Hopefully in a day or two this will be something for baby K, my brownie girl. I made stuff for her big sister and big brother, plus will have t-shirts and jammies for her little bro, so had to do SOMETHING for her.

A little shirt for a little man

Using scraps of material, I have made some little summer things for my little foster man. The sunsuit would only work with the doggies upside down. I mainly made it for fit and as an experiment, and they won't be upside down for HIM! Think about it!!

Play Ball!!

The last of the three sport t-shirts. This one is baseball, just in case you can't tell. I found an interesting stitch on my Pfaff that reminded me of the stitching on a baseball. Cute.

Goal!

I am on a role and have managed to finish two more sport t-shirts today for my little grandson. This one is done with fabric paint. Again, an experiment to see how they hold up. Sometimes you have to try different things. Please, no critics on the authenticity of the markings on the soccer ball!!

First Down!

My little grandson is ball crazy, and I hear he only wants to wear shirts with balls. He's a man with focus, like his big brother who has a preference for anything John Deere! Yes, they wear other things, but chances are . . .


I have never done anything like this before so there is a certain amount of experimenting, but hopefully it will hold up through washings. I took some of the leftover t-shirt material from my other friends t-shirts, and washed these little shirts to make sure they were preshrunk. I put the tricot lining behind the knit to stabalize it, and layered the colors over a regular stabilizer, and on top of all the layers I ironed on an iron on/tear away so nothing would shift. It seems to have worked pretty well. It's a bit funky looking, but there is no way a little man won't know that is a FOOTBALL!



I have two more shirts, the blue shirt will have a baseball and I think I'll do a soccer ball on the orange. Gotta think about how I will embellish the soccer ball. I have done some before, but will need to do some research before I proceed.

T-shirt Quilt

After getting things sorted out in the sewing room, I realized I don't have as many unfinished projects as I thought, so after I finished the mending, I decided to do some prep work on a t-shirt quilt I have been asked to make for a young friend. She gave me twenty shirts and some fabric that she chose to put it together.

I washed and ironed all the fabrics and also cut each t-shirt motif out and lined each one with an iron on tricot to stablize the knits. They are all a different size, so now that they are prepped I will let some ideas simmer and see which one inspires me. There are lots of ways to put something like this together, but I want it to be kinda fabulous, so will try to come up with at least five or six different patterns before I decide on one.

This will be my first t-shirt quilt, although I have been thinking about doing one for years of all of my son's Hard Rock Cafe shirts that he collected and WORE! My oldest daughter also gave me a few that I have tucked away somewhere. This may open a can of worms!

Regrouping

I am back in my sewing room today, but right now it is mending some things my daughter-in-law sent, plus a little project for their youngest. I am also looking over all the stuff that I have to do, and tidying up some. Deciding what is next and such. It does feel good to be back in there, but having all the company was a most delightful distraction. I LOVE my family and love it when they come to visit. We had two weekends in a row, so it was a double delight. And TWO grands came so it was a quadruple delight! They are the coolest kids and so well parented that they are a pleasure to have around. Can't wait to see them again.

Hopefully I will get some projects done soon and post some pics.

Lulu's Easter dresses

I sent home two dress shirts for my son, one for my older grandson, two for my younger grandson and jammies for the girls. I didn't get the boys to model, but Lulu is always happy to pose!


Lulu is her jammies, so cute.


Her pink and silky Easter dress. Her daddy thinks this will be a favorite.

This next one is the Daisy Kingdom pattern. Very nice with great details. Get ready for some spinning, which Lulu is an expert at! Wheeeeee!!

My grandson

My grandson is a most facinating mixture of wild and crazy boy as well as sensitive and sweet. One minute he is all arms and legs going in all directions and if you are in the vicinity, watch out!! The next he is sitting quietly next to you, telling you how much he loves you.

I found him to be HIGHLY competitive as we played Wii Sports. He LOVED to win and you could just see the tension if the competition got too close. He could pretty much beat everyone at whatever we were playing . . . except his daddy. Oh, how that frustrated him. I gave him a run for his money at tennis, but he always managed to pull off a win in the end.

His energy reserve is truely miraculous and I think he could go for EVER! We would no more than get home from one activity and he was ready for the next. Thankfully our area has numerous play parks and one is within walking distance. That one was visited three times in three days!


At one of his more gentle moments, brushing confetti out of his auntie's hair after our Easter Egg hunt.


He can be immensely silly. You can see that in this photo.


Arms and leg akimbo! That's my grandson.

Lulu Ladybug

My older grand daughter came last year and I was delighted to host her again this year. She got to stay in the "beautiful" room again, which is our guest room with the walls covered with family photo's as far back as my great, great grandmother. It's a good room.

I was amazed at how Lulu has matured over this past year. She is calmer than she was last year, and settled down in the evening much easier than she did at the age of four. She is reading and spent each evening sharing that skill with us. She has boundless energy and it was fun to watch what she was interested in doing. She is happy to just sit with you as well, and snuggling up in the evening with a book was delightful.

She loves to have you sit nearby as she plays, and she spent quite a bit of time with her Aunt Dewey's American Doll, Molly. Tea parties are her favorite activity. She also surprised me by trying some of Aunt Dewey's "exotic" foods, which you don't typically think a five year old would enjoy. Dewey is a skilled sales person.

Grandfather's stash of pistachios was decimated by my son, grandson and grand daughter, they all loved those pistachios.


Lulu found a ladybug at the train stop while waiting. She is SO cute!

Fun with grand children

Between all the activity, there was also time to just hang out together at our home. We explored outside and played inside. Sat and talked and just enjoyed one another's company.


Lulu decorating herself with one of the first azalea blossoms.


My handsome grand son sitting by the bluebonnets.


Lego's with uncle and daddy.


Snacking on asperagus and hummus with Aunt Dewey.


Lulu dancing with her daddy. We have several music boxes in the house and they inspired Lulu to spin and jump!


Making a craft. My kids loved making these type of crafts on vacations. They weren't interested at first, then all of a sudden, it was a hit. Between that and our Wii, there was always something to do.

Kransekaka

Our son made a request to make a special Norwegian type of cookie that is basically ground almonds, powdered sugar, egg white and a teeny bit of flour. It is a very labor intensive process, so I didn't think we would be able to accomplish such a big task. Then I realized we have PLENTY of labor! So we bought what we needed and put everyone to work. It didn't take all that long and we ended up with enough for everyone to indulge, and we also had plenty to send home. I melted chocolate and bought sprinkles, so the two little ones could decorate, as that is the part that is most fun for them.



Grinding almonds!

Easter Egg Hunt

After our church service, grandfather hid some confetti eggs in the back yard and the children had a hunt. Our grandson was super stoked that he was allowed to smash eggs at people. His daddy got the brunt of the attack, what a good sport.

Church of the back yard

Grandfather asked our grandson what he wanted to do for church and we ended up out back. Our little Lulu taught us a Sunday School lesson, then we set up for a service out back. We sang songs, prayed and our grandson even did a lovely sermon. Under the trees with people I love celebrating the love God has for us was magical. I will NEVER forget this Easter celebration.

Saturday

Everyone but me got up early on Saturday to go kayaking. They enjoyed their time on a local lake and then headed home to pick me up, pack up a picnic and head to another local park. We had a great time, the weather was superb and everyone got to do whatever they wanted. Me . . . I wanted to sit on the blanket and enjoy the fact that everyone else was having fun.


Playing catch.




Grandfather and grandson heading out to fish.


Even a little beach with shells. They both got into the water, so it must not have been too cold!



That was sure a fun day. Simple, inexpensive and just fun to be together. Time with family is the most precious gift.

Downtown fun

Train ticket purchasing


My big kids, I am SO proud. They are the most terrific adults.


Outside the Children's Museum.

On Friday we headed downtown to the Children's museum. Our youngest and oldest daughter and our foster grandson met us there. The grands enjoyed the water play outside at the museum. We wore them out and decided NOT to proceed to another museum. Instead we headed for lunch and then over to the big park downtown. That was a big hit!


Exploring downtown.


Lulu having FUN in the fountain.


Up


Down. . . . Repeat! She did this for a long time before she got tired and stopped! My little grand daughter obviously thinks OUTSIDE the box. She wasn't going to use the slide like everyone else.

I didn't capture photos of my grandson sailing a boat on the lake in the park. They had remote control sailboats and he sure enjoyed manuvering around the lake.

After everyone was worn out, and the weather began to threaten, grandfather bought them a little cup of Blue Bell ice cream and we headed for home. It was a fun day.