the sky is pink

For a few months now, Amandajean and I have talked about making the Habitual kimono and the "Miss Chris" shirt . Although I've cut out both patterns, I haven't selected fabric. (Why is that the hardest part lately?) And so they sit. But today I declare "I might sew!" I might sew as in, maybe tomorrow I might sew. Not today. Today Spenser has an appointment with the pediatric cardiologist, just like all my boys have in the past. There was a heart murmur detected at her last well checkup and we need to have her checked out. We are blessed that we have an excellent pediatric cardiologist. He is a Hopkins doctor who travels around Maryland. In essence, he comes to us instead of us going to him in Baltimore. One Friday a month he visits my little part of Maryland. After today, he will have checked all six of them. I'm hoping it's nothing, but a few of the boys have a history with problems . Do you have any Works-in-Progress for this weekend? (I'd ...

in the making. This just might redeem me as Mother of the Year . We'll have to wait and see ... Happy weekending, friends.

I haven't shared any Works-in-Progress (WIPs) lately, so I thought I'd share the latest. On the left is a wraparound skirt and on the right another 3835 dress. Both have been cut from vintage sheets and are awaiting some stitches. Yesterday I had to run into the fabric store to buy some brown thread. While I was distracted, Spenser asked if I could make her a pink dress. Of course I can. Then she proceeded to pick out this strawberry fabric. It wasn't my first choice of fabric (or my second), but after looking at all the strawberry fabric in the store, she still liked this one the best, so home it came. We washed it right away and last night I sewed up a new dress for her. Excuse her bedhead. And I remembered that I didn't share my vintage Pyrex from Saturday's flea market trip. Two small mixing bowls: Butterprint and solid, bright orange (can't find any references for this one) and one small aqua baking dish. And I was thrilled to find this set of four Butt...

I have been working on the children's Easter outfits a little here and a little there. It's going to be a polka-dotty Easter this year. Blue for boys. Purple for girls. Everyone has something new to wear as of right now. Except for me. I also have a few accessories in mind I'd like to sew for Spenser if I have time. Here's a peek at the back of Spenser's Easter dress. Happy Easter!

When we bought our pumpkins for Halloween, we also bought a bunch of apples from the orchard. We bought some Jonagold, Mutsu, and Red Delicious. I bought a bunch thinking we would make applesauce. Everyone was eating apples like crazy for a few days. And then we had some hanging around forever. Finally yesterday I was tired of looking at the remaining sad apples and decided to make applesauce. I haven't made homemade applesauce in years. Years . It's not cost effective for a family my size, so sadly I buy it already made from the store. It's just not the same. At least for me. Well, and maybe for the boys, too. Jack and Mason wouldn't eat it. Sawyer loved it though. When I think of autumn, I think of apples and applesauce and apple cider and pumpkin pie. I also start thinking I need a different wardrobe ... I've been thinking that I need a new autumn-to-winter skirt. Yes, the weather is getting cooler, but I wear a skirt to church every Sunday. A girl can't have...

I started a new bag last night. A library tote. I wanted something big enough to hold the books and strong enough so that it wouldn't rip. I interfaced the exterior and used white canvas for the lining ... and it's still flimsy. I haven't sewn it completely together yet. I still have a small five-inch access hole at the top from where I turned it. What should I do? Should I try to use fusible fleece? I normally don't like that stuff, but I'm not liking my bag as is and it needs something. Any other suggestions? (I'm not planning on taking the entire bag apart. In fact, I reinforced the handles about 9 times so they wouldn't rip off.) HELP!!! [I think I should mention that it has a boxed bottom.]

I have a bunch of WIPs (Works in Progress). In fact, I have so many, it warranted a container purchase to store them all. It's not a giant container, but it is a little overwhelming at times. I don't know why I keep starting new projects when I have older ones waiting to be finished. I even think I've heard, "Lera, finish me, pleeeeeeeeeease ," coming from the box. Some projects are older. Like the brown corduroy pants I started after Sawyer was born. I started them in October. And they didn't fit. So I left them. Unfinished. I think it's high time to finish them. Or I could put it off until the weather is a little cooler ... (It's a slippery slope, I tell ya.) And the Strawberry Shortcake backpack I started for Spenser during a snow storm. Yep. Still waiting, too. And the pile of totes (one from leftover fabric of my black and white skirt and bib ). And the shirt (I don't think I ever blogged I was making that one. Does it still count?)...

Sunday is Mason's 5 th birthday. With everything going on (back-to-school stuff, soccer, trips, etc.) I had almost forgotten about his party. I made a few phone calls and sent a few emails and his party is now happening on Friday. (I really shouldn't use the term "planned," because I'm still planning it.) Last year I made drawstring bags for his party favors , as you may recall. This year I decided to make pencil rolls for his party favors. They are fun and practical. Two very important features. (And isn't that fabric cute?) So last night, as soon as the children were in bed, I sat down on the floor to cut some fabric. Enough fabric for 16 pencil rolls (including my five oldest). Almost two hours later, I could barely stand up. My back has been bothering me (and my neck) for a few days and I think sitting on the floor just did me in. It stinks to be old.

Friday evening I started the outfit for Spenser using the cheery cherry fabric and some red gingham. While I finished the smock on Friday (which she wore on Saturday), I didn't finish the bloomers until Monday night (which she then wore on Tuesday). So don't worry, Cici , she didn't have to wait long for her new outfit. The smock is lined with red gingham. The back is criss-crossed, so it's similar to the smocket , but the front is sewn to the back. I used an older (mid-1990's) McCall's pattern that someone had given me about a year ago. And little red gingham bloomers. So cute. Although they are a little baggy on her. I've been calling this outfit "as American as cherry pie." And how funny that she picked up the flag (on her own) while I was trying to get some pictures. And look what I found while I was packing on Tuesday! The shirt I thought I lost (or threw away). It was in with some of my clothes by mistake. I'm happy that I found it be...

Thank goodness it's Friday . Joe came home last night, after being out of town this week. One of the first things I did was cut out some fabric for a new outfit for Spenser. I have been feeling very sewing -deprived lately. (I was also feeling sleep-deprived, but what's new? That always happens when Joe is away.) Yesterday afternoon Mason and Spenser played outside with a bucket of water, the kitchen set, and some old rags. I peeked out of the door and found Mason scrubbing the deck. Incidentally, a few months ago he and Jackson took crayon to the deck and made a very horrible mess. You can see some of the swirly remnants of the great crayon adventure in the wet spots. We had told the boys that when the time came, they had to scrub the deck to remove their crayon creations. I guess this is part of Mason's WIP. I think I forgot to mention that Carter and Jack are at "art camp" this week at their school. For only $5 per child, they have gone every morning this w...

I've had a few surprises within the past 24 hours. Only one of them was good. First up: A chipped toilet tank lid. Mason went to the bathroom, threw the lid and seat up and it broke right off. I wasn't very happy with him because I always tell the boys they are too rough with everything. ( I know. They're boys. But c'mon .) That paled in comparison to this: Within two hours, Spenser and I took a trip into the bathroom (she's doing much better, thank you) and when she put the lid down, we heard a loud bang on the bathroom floor. I found a large chunk of the toilet, but had to remove the tank lid to see where it fell from . Nice . Luckily the water level is just below the break. I guess Mason wasn't as rough with it as I had thought. Joe's going to have a fun weekend, huh? Welcome home, honey. Replace the toilet. And did I mention that the toilet is only six years old and that it wasn't a cheapy one either? We bought one that had an "antique" f...

He's gone. For two weeks. He's two time zones away. I'm going to miss him. This is the progress on last week's quilt WIP . The top is all sewn together. The backing is almost there (I did that last night after the children were asleep.) The planning of this quilt has changed so many times. I can barely remember what I originally had in mind. I think I'll start to get panicky when I start the quilting part. I'm not looking forward to that. I don't think I can do it. And, finally, here is the Memorial Day skirt I made last Friday. I wore it on Sunday to church (with a white blouse) and then on Monday (with a white tee) to the first parade of the week. It's from Simplicity 7229. While it was a very simple pattern (although not as easy as Simplicity 5505), I have to say that I am not loving the yoke. It was supposed to be cut on the bias, which makes it lay funny above the drawstring. It's okay, though, and when I make it again, I will prob...

On Tuesday night (after the children were in bed), I cut out a pattern for a new skirt. I'm using some of the vintage fabric that I recently acquired. I think I'm going to call it my "Memorial Day (parade) skirt." It's kind of red, white and blue. Or maybe it's black instead of blue. I'm not sure. I'm going to finish it and wear it to the parade on Monday morning. And here is the start of a quilt. I cut these late one night over the weekend when I probably should have been sleeping instead. It's a stack of 4 1/2" squares and some more fabric to cut. All from the same vintage fabric stash . I was planning to make a quilt, but got diverted and made the doll quilt first. I think I was just testing the waters there. And I know I should invest in a walking foot. (Thanks to all the suggestions!) And I couldn't post today without saying that my littlest man is 8 months old today. Can you believe it? I truly cannot. I am so in love with ...

On Monday morning, I got my hair cut. Yup. That's a lot of hair. The initial cut was 10" long. I had to purchase a flat iron and a paddle brush. Never used either one of them before now. This week's WIP has been trying to style this coif ... and it may be for awhile. Enjoy your weekend. I see sewing in the forecast.

Yesterday was my dear friend Kim's birthday. Even though it is the " year of the tote ," I made her a tote last year. I decided that I would make her an apron. You know when you have a project all planned out in your head: what fabric you are going to use and how it's going to look and then you go to the fabric store and can't find the fabric? Well, that's what happened to me. I knew I wanted black and white with red rickrack, but I had a specific fabric in mind. I went to buy it and it wasn't there. I studied the fabrics and found the runner up: Alexander Henry "Diamond Eye." It's a little bold, but I think I like it (and I surely hope Kim does, too). I added red, jumbo rickrack to the bottom. Happy birthday, Kim. (In this picture, the wind is blowing from behind making the apron look a little more poofy than in real life.) My WIP's for this weekend are (from top left): baby jacket , bib, diaper case for a baby shower next wee...

I have a lot of ideas floating around in my head. Bits here and bobs there. Trying to figure out things in my head. Nothing really coming together yet. More ideas than I have time. Do you do that, too? Anyway, my current WIPs shouldn't surprise you. I want to make Sawyer another outfit . I really think after this one, I'll be done ... for awhile. Seriously. Are you doubting me? I'm thinking that orange polka dot. It will be different from all the blue ones I've made of late. And another bib apron for Girl . Yes , we still call her that. You didn't think we would take away that endearing nickname, did you? And, finally, I want to make that short-sleeved jacket. I'm thinking I might make a mock-up from a thrifted sheet first. My friend, Christy (who has a degree in fashion design), looked at the pattern and has intimidated me. I'm wondering if I can do it. I think she mentioned princess seams and them being difficult to sew on a curve. All of these ...

Last night was Jack's kindergarten/first grade choral concert. There was a lot of singing and dancing. So much activity that all of the action shots turned out blurry. It was cute. My WIPs for this weekend are using these thrifted, vintage hand towels. Something for Spenser and something for me. And my biggest WIP this week has been helping Sawyer practice sitting. He's doing a great job. He can recover himself when he gets wobbly and, on occasion, he has gone from army crawl to sitting by himself. Oh, and did I mention he army crawls every where? Every . Where . And he's been caught on his knees rocking back and forth. He's so busy and growing so quickly.

While I'm getting better at using my "good" fabrics, I'm now more aware of why I hate using them. It's not because I'm afraid I'll screw it up or that I won't ever be able to find it anymore or that I'm not worthy to use my good fabrics on myself (although they are all valid points and I used to think those were the reasons). It's because I use them to make totes: and then a "better" idea comes along and I don't have enough of it left (which results in "oh, no! what if I can't find any more?!?") Case in point. I've been using this tote since Thanksgiving. It's a little Christmasy and wintry, so I decided, on a nice warm spring day this week, that I needed a new springy one. I searched through my fabric stash with "no, too summery," and "no, too autumny ," before finding the perfect* one. I quickly sewed up my tote and decided that the fabric would make a perfect outfit for Sawyer, too...

Spenser's bed-head. Sawyer on the go. He's just about to roll over. (See! I can't take a good photo of this baby. At least you can kinda see he's wearing the bib .) Jack playing hopscotch on the deck. Taylor jumping on the trampoline. A thrifted granny-square throw for $3.25. A chipped stove. I almost broke my blue pyrex dish . Hopefully my WIP's will include skirt(s) for Sewing Seeds . * * * * To be more realistic of my week, I should show a picture of my vacuum cleaner and mop. Snow last week + sun this week = mud, mud, mud

Mason (4) has really been into writing lately. I'm very happy with his progress. He can write and spell our last name without help. Yesterday he wanted to write "Sawyer." I handed him one of the baby's embroidered blankets. I'm not sure if the blanket was upside down or turned around or if he was reading it through the back, but that is how he wrote it. I told him it was gibber -jabber. That made him laugh. We've been working with the baby to like floor playtime more. It seems to work in small spurts. One of his favorite toys is this bumble bee. It's actually a Duplo Lego, but it has a rattle in it. I'm not sure why. He loves it, so it's his. And some time I'm going to work on a new spring bag. I am longing for spring and springy weather. We still have snow on the ground, but I'm hoping a new spring bag can convince Mother Nature to give in and warm up. (And, as predicted, last week's WIP is still the same.)