Kids Week

I know that I'm telling you this a bit late, but most of last week was consumed by making clothing for my kids. It was fun and I get into a groove very easily when sewing for my darling cuties.

The Punk got a new skirt. She picked out the colours herself. She wanted it to match her new-to-her Dubble Bubble shirt.

My Pixie needs sundresses so badly....this was made in very short order. I like it, but it's not supremely cute. I'm debating stitching some pick-ups into the dotted swiss overskirt.

Is it really Wednesday already? I'm going to bore you with cute pictures (because I missed Sunday's Grandparent Eye Candy Day), and here's a bonus Confession: I don't sew all of my kids' clothing. I love to sew for them, and they will always have their "best" dresses made by Mom, but to save time (and keep it for quilting) I will spend money in thrift shops and at garage sales with the ultimate goal of cheaply covering my girls.

This cute shot is a prime example of thrift and cute. My Pixie, on a rainy day, wearing a steal of a find: vintage shirtdress with a-line skirt.

Couldn't you just die from cute overload?

I especially love garage sales for second hand kids clothes. Why? Because of good timing. Sometimes a sack of donations will sit around a thrift shop so long the clothing goes out of style before it's sorted onto the sales floor. At garage sales, moms will do almost anything to get outgrown clutter out of the house. It sells fast and cheap and often is only a season or two behind the stores.

And just for fun.....some shots from the farmer's market [aftermath] this week. We go every week, but our favorite face painter isn't always there. She's such a great artist!

My Kitty....she meowed all day.

So what's next? I have traced the pattern for a tunic dress for the Punk. I also have the feeling that quilting satisfaction may have to come in small doses - I have the urge to make baby/toddler quilts and randomly give away. No new blocks to report for Rambo Bright. No progress on the Green Quilt (although there will be soon - I want it on my bed by fall).

We had watermelon for breakfast. What did you have?

Sitting Duck

I am not normally the kind of person to complain about pain. Pain is my constant companion due to the hip issue. I can't complain about the pain even if I want to, because I refuse to take painkillers. I believe that pain protects me by showing me which movements are safe and which will injure me further.

So, I won't tell you about how my body feels and you don't complain about posts being few and far between, m'kay?

I have been very. slowly. working on the Punk's Easter dress. I even had an issue with the thread being seated improperly between the upper tension disks - I just left the stitches in anyways. It was part of the shirring, so who's gonna notice? ( I am not picking out three rows of shirring!)

This is what we have so far:

The plan is to make a colourblock maxi dress. I still have to add a 7" purple ruffle around the bottom, and create some yellow ruching for strategic placement. I am planning to do something exciting when I can get back to my machine: I'm going to open the brand-new-bought-it-a-year-ago ruffle attachment. It's cowardly that I haven't tested it yet, considering how much time it is supposed to save (especially with two ruffle-happy girly girls to sew for). That adventure happens as soon as it is less painful to sit and sew.

In the meantime, I may take up a hand sewing project....I'm thinking paper piecing; maybe hexies, or some kind of brilliant two-patch pattern that I have yet to draft. The Husband encouraged my dalliance in hand sewing by purchasing a suitable container to corral my supplies in one place.

Husband even spent some time scraping the stickers off so I could refinish any way I desire.

Sundays are my mother-in-law's favorite posting day: Grandparent Eye Candy Day. When you live so far from the grandkids you live for pictures, y'know? I try to keep the high kid content out of regular sewing and quilting posts, so you can put up with kid overload on Sunday.

Have I told you how compassionate my Pixie is?

She knows when I'm hurting and volunteers to do things to make my life easier, like filling my water bottle. She also tucked in some furry companions next to me - I'm sure it was to keep me distracted.....

.....Because once I was settled on the couch and relatively comfortable, she went around the corner and started riding the full water jugs.

I know that 31 pounds of three year old can't really harm the huge, heavy bottles, but I had to stop the game anyways. The 42 pound Punk did not need to be given any bad ideas.

She told me this was her car and she was driving. At one point, Elmo took one of the back seat places.

In other news, I've had to start a new design book. My old, spiral bound notebook was falling apart. Soon to join the first few pages is an idea for throw pillows to match the Green Quilt. Soon to make a reappearance on my cutting table is the actual Green Quilt. I gotta finish a few things, right? They can't all be WIPs, can they?

WIP List: (for my benefit)

-Green Quilt
-Rambo Bright
-House of Love
-Punk-ish Easter dress
-Husband's Irish Chain

Plus, the Pixie needs an Easter dress. There are throw pillows to be made (four, to start). Both girls want new aprons. I want a dress for me.

I'm going to live at the chiropractor's this week!

AM/PM

This morning.

This afternoon.

Colourblocking paradise! More on that tomorrow.....

Happy Punk

Today was a productive day.

We made a huge pot of meat sauce for freezing. We baked gluten-free bread and whole potatoes for future frying. We had a veggie filled frittata for lunch.

I might have broken my camera today. I curse its' inability to take a picture when I tell it to, and then snap when I'm not ready. I had a temper tantrum and smashed it.

It felt good to smash this camera. It'll feel even better when I get a new one and replace it.

 One of the problems with having an autistic child is their inability to look into someone's eyes (human or camera). It happens so rarely that I need a very fast camera to capture it.

Camera and Punk outsmarted: two points for me.

New dress to wear to Sunday School: bonus for my Punk.

Unintentional

I did not plan to take a break this week. I planned to sew.

I planned to get back to work on the Irish Chain for the Husband: I'm still hoping to have it finished by Valentine's Day. I also planned to make a dress for my Punk because she requested it.

We did go fabric shopping and bought a sweet butterfly print and some green and purple polka dots. The Punk's favorite colour is green.

We also suffered through a grocery shopping trip that completely filled the back of my van even with the stow-and-go seats hidden. The Husband had dental surgery. My mom lost a job opportunity. After having the Punk on gluten-free for a month we gave her a trial with gluten (big mistake). I have been having enough inner ear problems to cause my balance to shift.

The buttons are chrome, not black.

For better or for worse, Life Happened.

I promised the Punk that she could wear her new dress for Sunday School this week. I'd better get cracking!

An Excellent Model

Today my sewing machine and serger were put to good use for a few hours.

I recently made a goal to do housework in the morning, and then sew after I have domestic issues well in hand. This morning the Pixie and I washed the dishes and the master bathroom, stashed some boxes of books and put away a few stacks of laundry.

Just before quittin' time this dress rolled off the production line.

She was naked and in a pull-up for the last hour of sewing...just waiting and anticipating. She becomes a cat walk queen when she has fresh-from-the-presser-foot duds on. She even posed for a back shot.

It's safe to say that she loves this dress.

The Punk has also requested a dress like this. I think it will be a great addition to her school wardrobe.

Poor me! A trip to the fabric store tomorrow! However shall I survive?

Sunday Eye Candy

Before I jump into this week's Grandparent Eye Candy, please behold the Punk displaying the pink paisley for her sister's new dress. She helped me with the cutting layout.

We've gotten most of the pieces cut out, save for the no-hem band for the skirt. The Chocolate Cherry Pixie Valentine Dress coming this week!

While I was working hard to finish two quilts last week, the Pixie decided that it was an excellent time for some crafting. I guess it was more tiring than she bargained for; she fell asleep in the middle of glue, scissors, googly eyes, paper and more.

That same day, I discovered that my girl was keeping emergency snacks hidden. I fail to see the logic of lining grapes up on the water cooler.... You'd probably have to be a toddler in order to understand.

The Pixie also got a new room this week. The girls had been sharing one room, but due to safety issues the little one had to be removed from the Punk's watchful care. Here she is trying out her new bed the second we got it home and made. The boxes in her room have yet to be cleaned up to make room for her personal furniture and toys.

Here are some Pixie ballet action shots taken after the new bedroom was organized and cleaned. She is so stoked to have private space of her own! You have no idea.... heck, I had no idea that [normal] toddlers needed this much time to themselves.

Observe the grace! The emotion! If she doesn't end up on a stage at some point in her life, I might question the strength of her father's genes.

On a side note: the Pixie and I watched a couple of tv shows about archeology and ever since then this spoon (in her hand) has been her constant companion. Why? Because shovels are too big to find little things in the ground, of course! The snow on our yard has little spoon shovel marks all over it....future career, perhaps?

Did You See It?

Did you see it? Did you notice how every blogger on the planet is posting less frequently as we get closer to Christmas? It's almost as if there is life to be found outside of the internet.

Of course, I am maybe not the rule to follow when doing stuff for Christmas. My to-do list will not be completed until four years from now. But there are a few ideas that cannot be compromised for this Christmas:
- the Target quilt for the Boy
- one doll's nightgown (to clothe the perpetually nekked baby doll)
- one repair to this Christmas dress, which I made for the Punk last year (Mommy slacked off on the dresses this year)

Things that may get done before the end of January and still be considered Christmas gifts:
- Husband's Irish Chain
- stuffed twill suiting puppy (been cut out for a couple of months, now)

Stuff that's gotta be done in January or the kids go nekked:
- awesome brushed cotton twill trousers
- multicoloured corduroy pants
- longer and cuter shirts for the Punk (I might risk working with knits again!)
- pants made from this pattern scored from Value Village earlier today

A little thrill for me this week was watching this little tree grow: we found it at the Dollar(and-a-quarter)ama. It's just some kind of salt growing crystals on a paper base, but it sure is pretty.

And, Grandparents, I swear to you that these babies got cuter this week!

Here's my Punk all tucked in:

And here's the Pixie ready for bedtime:

 Daddy got home very early this morning, so for a special bedtime treat he sang lullabys in a way that only Daddy can. That Pixie always falls asleep with her blanky over her head; and for some weird quirk she prefers to enjoy her blanky during the daytime by holding up the corners under her nose. I'll see if I can capture it this week. If nothing else, it'll be prime footage for showing at her future wedding.