May in North Carolina, 2015

We were able to celebrate two birthdays in NC this year. Since it had been nearly a full year since I had seen our Cowboy, who was turning 12, it was quite wonderful to see how close he is to being a man. You can see that part of him emerging. There is more maturity (although a LONG way to go) and of course he was quite a bit taller than last summer. But still not taller than me yet. 

The pictures I took are still to come . . . will be added later! 

Some of the highlights
Taking care of JR for a while.
Seeing D again so soon after his recent trip to see us at Easter.
Visiting the horse barn and seeing Lulu ride.
Watching the kids at the pool. 
Partying with KN who threw quite the bash in the front yard.
Seeing some old friends from Norway who conveniently live nearby.

Spending time with the kids and grand kids is a joy in and of itself. Nothing has to be done, no where has to be gone to, just being with them is enough. I love those little people. 

One thing I learned is Apple is pretty protective of their photos and makes it nearly impossible to rotate. I did research and found this to be widespread. Ridiculous. I took these selfies and after many steps, are still upside down, but I remember being right side up. 

My mom will have to lock her screen and flip her iPad to see them right side up. Go mom, you can do it. 

Sometimes I find my well behaved, well parented grands are  . . . NORMAL. 

Who doesn't remember horsing around and squishing the little bro? 

Sewing Again!

It has been a wild fall, just not at all what I "planned", funny how that works. But the two younger (not the baby who still wears footies, and the older two who don't wear Nanut jammies any more) are getting GLOW IN THE DARK jammies. SO cool. I saw the fabric when I was buying for Hug-A-Bears and decided to ditch what I had already bought to make them their jammies and use this instead. They are also getting pillow cases along with Lulu. 

Mom (daughter-in-law) is getting towels for the boys, who don't seem capable to keeping a towel on the rack. I have watched D wash his hands, basically #1. get hand wet and #2. MAYBE wipe down on the towel to get SOME of the wet off. Basically transferring any "goop" from hands to towel. I have also found them on the floor when I have visited, totally understandable, which probably gave their mom the TOTALLY BRILLIANT idea of the following picture.  She is getting five more. I think this will be a regular gift over the next few years as youngest boy isn't even 2 yet. 

Been making Hug-A-Bears as well. Since we meet in January and these need to get over to the hospital BEFORE Valentine's Day and the best sewer is getting a new hip, so I decided I would take the time to sew a few (about 75) bears for our next stuffing session. So cute. I think Valentine's Day is a favorite "holiday" of mine. Celebrating LOVE! And we all have someone to LOVE, at least I hope so. Wish it wasn't quite so "Romanticized" as love isn't something so limited, but alas, it is. 

I really need to get back working on my Chanel jacket and make a dress shirt or two for a couple of my guys. I also want to learn how to make hats, sew for my sister-in-law, use some of the fabulous fabrics I have bought for specific projects, and try all the new techniques I am reading about in my Couture Books that I purchased recently. Sigh. Next year? 

This and that

I am doing all sorts of random things right now. Finishing up this, starting that, working on something else. I need a BIG table with lots of post it notes for all the projects floating around, but alas, don't have that. Sometimes there is focus, sometimes there is not. I think if I had a large sewing room with lots of space I would be in big trouble. My smallish room and dining room "annex" are enough. 

My mom, years ago, gave me some silky fabrics for slips which I was petrified of. With my cover lock and recent run on stretch fabrics, I got bold. I had a cami that I like to wear under turtlenecks that fits perfectly and so I drafted a pattern from it and made this. Not perfection, but definitely will get worn a LOT. 

 A turtle neck. Lots of those lately. This one is for oldest.

A T for me. Can't have too many of those.  

My youngest gave me a little skirt that she likes and wants more of. I drafted a pattern from the skirt and will be making a few of these later. 

I love organization! 

This is a shot of my sewing closet. So much of my sewing is standard pieces, turtlenecks, skirts, shirts, T's or patterns that I have drafted from clothing someone wants replicated, or patterns that have been altered to fit our various sizes. Not one of us in the family is "standard" size. Everyone has had to have a little or a LOT altered to fit. I am so glad I have learned to do this. 

The hangers are from my hubby's shirts from the cleaners. The clips are hair clips. I use either muslin or a pattern type pellon material. The ribbons identify who the pattern belongs to. Oldest is pink, youngest is green, mine are white, mom's is purple, bestie is turqoise with polka dots. The guys are in the back, basically just dress shirt and casual shirt patterns.

I have one pattern for my daughter-in-law, a simple skirt. I need to get her's in there. I think she needs a dark blue ribbon! 

On a ROLL!

I have been on a roll these past two days and gotten a lot accomplished. It helped that it was a perfect storm of having the energy, the time and NO errands to run, i.e. distractions. Errands can sure put a damper on my fun sometimes. Got more on the agenda this week, van inspection/90K service, plus several other responsibilities. But today . . . I can sew. Still have several things to get done for gifts this holiday season.

This is for a little girl that is turning one soon. We are going to her party!

This is to replace a shrunken pair of jammies for my Lulu. I gave the pants an extra inch. I pre-washed this fabric, thought I had the last stuff, too. Whoops.

This is another hubby shirt, probably a birthday one, coming soon!

I made three of these, one for me, my oldest and my daughter-in-law. We'll see if it fits the daughter-in-law.

I had some lightweight denim and decided to whip this one up last night. I can do these in under two hours. When I get a new serger/cover stitch machine, these things are going to be faster and neater. I love dreaming of getting a new tool to make what I do easier, sort of like getting a new car when you drive a long way every day and you are driving a 12 year old basic car. Yes, it gets you there, but it can be a challenge and sometimes uncomfortable, loud, etc. The longer you let that old car hang in there, the nicer the NEW one seems. I am patient.