Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from my home to yours!  As my children grow up, get married, and have families of their own, it's sometimes a challenge to coordinate the holidays so we can all be together.  This year we celebrated an early Thanksgiving and the family was almost complete.  (Our daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter in Switzerland couldn't be here). 

Truly, I have so much to be thankful for! The Lord has blessed abundantly, and I can't begin to express my gratefulness in words, on a blog post.  So I'll leave it at that and instead will show you a few pictures of my own sweet little Thanksgiving Pilgrims and Indians.

When I sewed two Pilgrim dresses in the late 1980's for my first 2 girls, I had no idea that twenty-some years later my 5th daughter and my granddaughter would be wearing the same little dresses.  Emily is 7, my granddaughter just turned 4, and my grandson is 5.  Elliot is almost as tall as Emily!  This will probably be the last year that the dress will fit Emily.

 

 

 In this picture taken in 2007,  Emily is just 2 and 1/2 years old.

I sewed this Indian costume in 2007 when Jacob was 7 years old.  He loved the costume so much that he wore it almost continually for years until he finally outgrew it.  Now he's 12.  Sigh.  Where do the years go?!

 

I'm in Switzerland!

As promised, I took a picture of my 4 month old granddaughter wearing the Ottobre jacket I made for her. As you can see, the size 68 jacket is big on her. But she'll grow. In the week since I've been here in Zurich she seems to have grown bigger right before my eyes.

I will be here in Switzerland for a total of three weeks, and I'm having a wonderful time with my daughter, granddaughter, and son-in-law. Zurich is beautiful! Switzerland is beautiful! We have kept busy every day, sightseeing, picnic-ing, shopping, and visiting castles, old churches, museums.... And of course, I am finding time to hug and kiss on the baby. Oh, she is so adorable, so sweet, so good natured, so absolutely precious! I am savoring every minute with her because I don't know when next I will see her.

Zurich along the Limmat River

If you care to see pictures of my travels in Switzerland, I have them here on Flickr.

Ruth

p.s. I've not yet found a fabric store in Zurich, but my daughter promises me there is one or two that we'll visit.

Ottobre 04/2007 Design#8 "Hooded Velour Jacket"
Size 68 (6 months)
Fabric: velour outer, jersey knit lining

McCalls 5791

I still haven't gotten any good pictures of Marie in her Easter dress.  I completely missed the boat with taking them Easter morning before we left and the few snapshots I got after church, she has was so grumpy looking...anyway, the pattern was McCalls 5791.

(Mom, Katie, and Miss Grumpy!)
 

I love this dress!  It's has a super full skirt and a few different options for personalizing.  I made the sleeveless option and added tucks to the front bodice to give it a bit of design detail.  Overall, I wanted it to be pretty simple because of the fabric...I adore the fabric...a soft pastel vintage style rose print.  I felt like it really made the dress.

(The only happy picture I could get was when she was in the bouncy house after the church potluck. She thought that was amazing!  Fabric is a Tanya Whelan print from Marie Madeline Fabrics.)

 I finished the dancewear shrugs I was working on for my teacher friend.  Oh my goodness...my new coverstitch made sewing this material a breeze!  I couldn't believe the difference it made in hemming around the tops and bottoms of these...and they look so professional!!  Now that I've finished these, I'm looking forward to working on some projects for myself and the kids using knits.

Last, I have to share a couple of kid pictures!  This week we were so blessed by our neighbors who gave us this swing for the kids...they are in heaven!! First thing after breakfast, we have to go outside and swing!  The swing on the left is just the right heigth for Elliot to get onto it by himself and even swing himself a bit.  Of course, he prefers Mom to push him. =)

Happy Spring!!

Jessica

(Elliot has been spending lots of time playing with his little tractors in the back of my little garden bed. I am planting herbs in the front part of it, and the back part is his "dirt box" for now.)

More Fun with the Babies...

We've been taking advantage of the nice weather lately...today a friend and I took our kids to the park for lunch and then hit the local splash pad. It was a great way to chill off and enjoy some water. Elliot had BLAST! He wouldn't stop long enough for me to get a good picture.

Marie had fun sitting next to my friend's little girl. Got to love those the girly girls!

Last night we took our annual duck pond picnic as a family. Sad that we've only done it once a year...perhaps we can get out there more this summer. Mom, Marie wore the little purple outfit from you. It fits perfectly and looks so cute!

Ok, here's a picture of the refashioned skirt I mentioned yesterday. Basically I just cut off the bottom couple ruffles to make it just below knee length. I folded down the top to create a casing and put in elastic to make it fit.
I also got a picture of the pattern I used for Marie's dress. I made view c, but I'd really like to make the pinafore and pants this summer too. I love the little pleats on the front of the pinafore.

That's all for now!
Jessica

Photo Update from Jessica

Well, I have been sewing bits and pieces here and there. I made 3 pairs of pj pants a couple weeks ago but don't have any pics to share with you. I uploaded a new baby quilt in my shop tonight and am working on finishing this one too...I just have to sew the binding on it.

Tonight I refashioned a garage sale skirt for myself. It was one of those gathered peasant style skirts with multiple layers, and it was too long and too big, so I cut off the zipper and put elastic in the waist, and then I cut off one of the bottom layers to make it shorter. Really easy and now I have a new skirt that only cost $1.00!

This last week I made Marie a sweet baby girl dress. I used a vintage Mccalls pattern, lace from my stash (no idea where it came from!) and a Lecien print that I'd ordered in March. It actually came out huge (just really, really fat), and I didn't realize it till it was completely done. So I had to cut it apart and cut some off the sides. So frustrating. I don't know why I didn't try it on before I put the sleeves in.

Marie didn't want cooperate for the photo shoot. She wouldn't look at us or smile and ended up in tears before we were done. Even Aunt Katie couldn't console her. Poor baby, it was really hot and humid and we were making her sit on the *grass*.

I need to take some pictures of my garden. Yes, I have a real garden this year! My tomato plants have lots of little green tomatoes and I'm hoping to get carrots, cucumbers, squash, bell peppers, and okra. I already got some lettuce and bunches of sweet snow peas.

I will share a picture of my new compost system built from seven old pallets. I'm thankful I have such a handy husband to build me things like this!

The first bin if full of mulched leaves and grass and kitchen scraps, and we are starting to add to the second one. If only excitement would make it age faster. It certainly doesn't look like real compost yet despite the fact that I check on it almost daily.

We took Elliot and Marie to the zoo last week for the first time...we saw lions, and bears, and bats (shutter). We all had so much fun!

Blessings,
Jessica

Red Booties on the Baby

My grand baby is such a sweetie! I finally got a picture of her wearing the red booties that I knit a few weeks ago. Her chubby legs are adorable---I just have to share a few snapshots here.
~ Ruth ~

First Project of 2009

It wasn't a sewing project, but my first project in 2009 nevertheless. I started these booties in December, hoping to finish them for a Christmas gift for Jaidyn, but I didn't complete them until yesterday. So, Jessica--consider these a late Christmas gift. :) I have also started a second identical pair which I plan to list on Etsy along with the light pink bunting pictured below.

This bunting I made Jaidyn is from a discontinuted Kwik Sew pattern. I made two, and Jessica chose the dark pink one. As you can see in the photo, the bunting is too big on Jaidyn. The pattern is sized for newborn to 3 month old babies, and there is a lot of growing room.

Isn't Jaidyn Marie the sweetest baby you've ever seen?!! Ooh, the grandma in me is coming out. I tell you, though, it is ever so nice to have a little baby to sew for again!

Ruth

Baby Update and Details

Jaidyn Marie

Hello! This is Jessica here. My boys went to run some errands, and Marie and I have had a quiet morning resting and catching up with some e-mails and such.

Thank you for all the comments and congratulations.
They are such a blessing and I appreciate all of our readers!

Like her big brother Elliot, we will be calling this baby by her middle name, Marie. She was 20" long and weighed 6 pounds, 14 oz. That is 2 lbs, 4 oz. smaller then Elliot weighed. She seems so tiny compared to how I remember him!

Like Elliot, Marie had a very positive and gentle birth here at our home, attended by two wonderful midwives. Her birth was much shorter and easier then Elliot's was, and I am feeling much better so much faster. We are so thankful to the Lord for the blessing of a healthy baby girl and a safe delivery.

Marie gave one little cry when she was born, and has hardly cried much since...she is a very peaceful baby and really seems to focus in on Justin and me when she is awake. I love her alert little eyes, and quizzical expressions, and of course I'm in love with her red hair. I wanted a daughter with red hair so badly, but I didn't truly believe I'd really get it.

I love this little video Mom took of her. The first time I saw it, I watched it five times in a row. I think I'm in love. =)

Big News!!!!!!

First of all, thank you for all the lovely comments you all left on the previous post! I was overwhelmed by your kindness, and both Jessica and I so enjoy reading every comment that comes our way!

Now for the big news!!!! I know Jessica will probably give more details later, but I just can't wait to share the news---Jessica had her baby girl yesterday and she is absolutely beautiful!!!! I was honored to be present at the birth of my first granddaughter, and what a blessing and privilege that was! Praise be to God for this precious baby!!!!

Oh, and she has red hair like her mommy!

~Ruth~

A few recent family pictures...

This morning Elliot had fun doing a simple "bean pouring" activity.

I got the idea from Barbra Curtis's book Mommy Teach Me. Basically the child learns order, carefulness, and hand/eye coordination from carefully transferring beans (or rice, or water) from one bowl to the next with a spoon or scoop. This requires some supervision, but it keeps him in his high chair long enough for me to get the dishes done!

Pretty simple, but Elliot thinks doing this is a blast! When he was done, he helped pick up all the beans he spilled in the tray and the few that fell to the floor.

We took him to a small, local zoo a couple weeks ago. It was perfect weather, cool and almost misty. The animals were very interesting to Elliot...except when they got too nosy, like the goats below. He was worried they were going to eat him!

However, he did get a kick out of petting the skunk. Yes, it was de-scented!

Justin and I just recently celebrated the 3 year anniversary of when we got engaged. It was pouring rain, but we still made it out to the park where it happened and had the identical picnic that we ate 3 years ago...well almost. I forgot the croissant rolls, so we ate chicken salad by itself.

Because of the rain we had to picnic under a pavilion instead of on the grass... but walking around the park, under an umbrella, in the rain....now that was really quite romantic.

That's all for now!
Jessica

Cloth Napkins

Cloth Napkins---Just how many does a family of 8 need? How often will I need to wash these? Why am I doing this? :)

Yesterday I made 32 cloth napkins, 17"x17" big. All the fabric came from my stash, and I even made some with airplane fabric for the men and boys in the family.

I don't quite know the logistics yet of how this is all going to work. So.... those of you who use cloth napkins, perhaps you can tell me. Do you use the same napkin for several meals? How do you keep "whose napkin is whose" straight? I know that some of my kiddos will not want to use a napkin for a second meal if there is any likelihood that it was used by somebody else for the previous meal. Do you wash the napkins with the regular laundry (with the panties?!) all mixed in together? Will 32 napkins be enough for a while, or will I need more? Anything else I should know? Don't tell me that napkins are a good ironing project of little girls. I don't see any of us ironing these. :)

So, back to my question.... Why am I doing this? In no particular order:

a. I'm tired of buying disposable napkins.
b. This is a way to save money. We need to cut back on the household budget.
c. I have a daughter who's thinking "green" and she convinced me that we could make napkins work, laundry and all.
d. I should do what little I can to re-use and recycle, and you can't do that with paper napkins.
e. I'm not wasting paper.
f. I'm using up some of my fabric stash.
g. The napkins will look pretty on the table, especially if I come up with enough coordinating fabrics.
h. Cloth napkins really are much nicer to use than paper.
i. Anything else I haven't thought of?

Off to launder the new napkins...
Ruth

25 on the 25th

25 years together.

25 roses from my beloved.

Happiness.

God is good.

Baseball

My Son, The Pitcher

Totally Non-Sewing Related

Today for lunch, we met Justin at the park here and had a picnic! Elliot enjoyed his cottage cheese, lunch meat, and cheddar cheese. He wouldn't touch the bread. Sometimes we simply can't figure this kid out! Most days he won't eat anything else if we offer him bread! I had heard about how picky toddlers can be, but boy, did we get a picky one!

Pretty soon he's going to be walking on his own!


I don't talk much about shopping and all that here (after all, it is a sewing blog), but today's trip to CVS was such a blast that I felt like sharing. I got everything below for only $2.30, and most of it was stuff we really needed and would have to buy soon at WalMart anyway.

Cvs has a really great extrabucks program that pays you to shop (you can find out more about it HERE), Today I spent $32 in extra bucks, but I got back $34 for next time; after my coupons, I paid $2.30 out of pocket, and I got all of this stuff to use and share with other people. Good stuff.

Got to go!
Jessica

Gardening Days

Last night Justin helped me do some planting...

My gladiolus flowers are coming up from last year. This bed really needs some help. We planted some little dianthus and alyssum flowers between the glads, but I still need to do a border of some sort to keep the grass from invading so easily. I'm hoping the flowers will grow fast and fill in some of the bare spaces in between the gladiolus stalks. I hadn't realized how thin and sparse glads are. I guess I was expecting something more bushy...shows you how much I know about flower gardening!

The pretty pink hydrangea is from my in-laws. It is simply beautiful. I always think hydrangeas are such wedding-y flowers.

Unfortunately, I simply don't have enough sun in my backyard to have much of a vegetable garden. Every year I try to do a little though. This year I planted two tomato plants, two bell peppers, two hot peppers, and one cilantro plant. Can you tell I like salsa?

My azaleas are in full bloom this year. I don't think they've ever been so pretty. I should get some more of them, because my neighbor has a huge one, and it is so showy. Mine are pretty small, but they sure put on a lot of blooms this year!

Have a great summer!
Jessica