Maine

 Back from another trip to Maine. This year we visited and camped at Cobscook Bay State Park. It was a great time. Here we are clamming (no we didn't get any) They were all full of mud, not a good spot. There were empty shells all over the beach. But we did have fun getting all muddy.

There was a very nice man that taught Savannah to fish. They caught some herring and sardines.

 She kept a sardine as a pet for a little while.

Camping was a lot more fun than I anticipated. We were close to the toilets and water. We all had to go to bed once it got dark because the kids had trouble calming down.

Smart Money Smart kids

See that cute little seahorse guy tucked away? That's "sniffy" Savannah's first purchase with her own hard earned money. I usually let the kids hold one of these little toys when we go grocery shopping but it has to "sleep at the store with it's friends" Savannah really wanted to take sniffy home, so I borrowed Dave Ramsey's Smart Money Smart Kids from the library, took a book load of notes (still working on it) and started her with getting a commission at home. Her pay jobs are Feeding the cat, making her bed and picking up the floor in her room, emptying daddy's lunch box, and cleaning up toys (this one rarely happens). She earns 25 cents for each and she saved up and bought him with her own money. I like to leave some jobs unpaid like cleaning up the table after dinner, and setting the table.
I was able to hold her money long enough for her to save up for this one. Then it got a little more difficult, she is 4 and a spender. She wanted to buy anything she saw at the store after this (including a paper shredder) So we started the spend, save and give jars. The save jar is for a big item she wants, the spend jar is for little things that she can buy on our errands and the save of course is for church. But you really need to read the book if you plan on using any of these ideas for our own home.

Pillows

I guess you can' say I have been spoiling Savannah lately. My sewing has been all about her, but she is totally worth it. 

My house is a wreck with the master suite renovation still going on (yes is said still, 2 years and counting) so I have been updating things here and there. I've been obsessed with pillows lately. I made myself a bolster and a few throw pillows for my bed (forgot to take pictures) and I made a few for Savannah also.

I bought this My Little Pony fabric a few months ago and could not figure out what to do with it so I stitched up the quilted tote from the Fresh Fabric Treats book. I still need to put a stabilizer in the bottom.

When I was on the NJ Quilt Shop Hop I found this adorable Queen Coral panel at The Quilted Nest in Collingswood. It was so easy to make, it all comes on a panel of fabric with the directions written on the panel. You just cut, sew and stuff. She has a seahorse friend, pillow, blanket, skirt and mermaid tail. According to Savannah the tail is her Pajamas and the skirt is for the daytime.

Savannah named her Stella Bo

Now we move on the the Let's go Fly a kite pillow. This was a pattern I found at a quilt shop a while ago. The cover is envelope style so you can make several to go with the seasons. 

The flying geese blocks in the corners were so much fun to make, I had never made an actual quilt block before, the directions were very simple. 

I had two issues with this pattern. One was that there is no pre made pillow form to go with this size pillow so I had to make the pillow form (not hard just annoying) I saw a pillow at walmart the other day that was 17" X 36" So next time I will try to make the pillowcase to that size.

Next issue was the quilting. It's not necessary but suggested. I attempted free motion quilting and was not successful, so not knowing what I was getting myself into I decided to hand quilt. I drew traced the design accidentally using a non washable embroidery pen (why would that exist?) then used a backstitch because I didn't like the look of the traditional stitch. It took about 2-3 weeks. 

Lastly I made a large 24" pillow, and a standard pillowcase with more of the Moda Coral fabric I found.

A little about my life these past few months. 

I have been sparkling the entire new addition (it is a finished attic so think the whole length and width of the house) It has been taking forever, not only have I never done this before but i'm a perfectionist. I was enjoying the change of pace for about 4 weeks then it just got old. I am in the sanding process now and that is just messy and hot but i'm almost done. Jake has been working on tiling the new shower, it's nice to get to work with him. He is doing a great job, just finished grouting and it looks amazing (pictures to come soon)

Savannah "graduated" pre-school but not really because she is going back. It's not an easy decision to keep her out of kindergarten another year but we feel that it will be good for her. 

Nolan is potty training. He is 2 1/2 and had been asking me every time we were out to use the potty so we went for it. I started out just staying at home and reminding him every 30 minutes or so, then someone told me about the Potty Training 123 book. I didn't read the book but there is a short video on youtube that goes with it. It helped so much, I wish I had heard about it sooner. No he wasn't accident free after 2 days like everyone in the video said, but it's not so bad. 2nd child syndrome has kicked in and I just don't care as much this time about the accidents. I had Savannah in pull ups for about a year because I couldn't stand it and that just prolonged things. He was good through naps and night after 3 days but has since reverted. And only 1 or 2 accidents in the past week. He mostly tells me but I still remind him during play time. 

Reversible Vest

I don't know where it's coming from, but I have been very productive this Christmas season. I decided Nolan needed a vest to go with Savannah's Christmas skirt. I found a wonderful pattern here, it includes full size pattern for sizes 12 month-10? I can't remember what it goes up to. They were supposed to wear their outfits to church today but Savannah has a fever so she couldn't go.

Ok, so the pattern was very simple and of course I changed it slightly. Here is what I did:

It was not meant to be reversible but was easily done. Skip the welt pockets, instead of folding the hem to the inside stop all bottom seams 1/2" from bottom, when you go to do the hem just fold up the bottom of the lining 1/2" and press, do the same with the outer vest then pin together and topstitch around the whole bottom to enclose the hem. Do your buttons and button holes normally, then put buttons on the other side of the buttons you already have, I would use flat buttons for more comfort while wearing.

Just a few more must do changes, make sure you clip all curves before turning right side out otherwise it won't lay flat, and topstitch around entire vest at 1/8" including arm holes. This helps it lay flat and adds a really nice look.

The sizing was perfect.

Christmas skirt part 2

Christmas Skirt

I finished a few things I was working on for Christmas including my quilt! Then Savannah's school said Friday is red/green day. I couldn't think of anything cuter than a handmade Christmas skirt. My mom gave me the fabric, leftover from a quilt she made. I had not planned on getting to use it any time soon. This skirt was super easy, and took me 2 days. In be-tween skirt

Take into mind I changed a few things, and wish I would have changed a few more (I will explain)

The pattern given is for a size 12, Savannah is a 4T. My measurements were:

20" waist

Main fabric A-Cut 2 @ 21"X 11", cut 1@ 21" X 5"

(so the main skirt is changed to 11" long, and the waistband is 5" total but you fold it in half)

Main Fabric B- Cut 1 @ 11" X 5"

Accent fabric, cut 2 @ 21" X 5 1/2"

(bottom band was changed to 5 1/2")

Interfacing 11" X 2 1/2"

For the elastic casing in the back I sewed a line 3/4" down from the fold, then 3/4" down again from the first line. I would cut both elastic strips at 10" (half of the waist measurement) It was very small at fist then I had to go fishing for the elastic and leave an awkward space in the back.

When you attach the skirt to the band she does not specify if you stretch the back out. Best thing I figured was to gather the length of the back part of the skirt to 11" or half the waist + 1" for seam allowance, then ease in the waistband (you will have pleats)

If you finish your raw edges you don't really need the binding for the inside waistband.

Unfortunately you need the zipper to get it over the hips but I would measure your elastic and make a mark that far down from the top of the skirt. Sew up from the bottom 1/2" seam allowance and stop at your mark, then attach the zipper as you normally would.

I didn't like the look of the long section on the bottom so I folded up 1/2" from the bottom raw edge, then matched that fold line to the seam line made when attaching the bottom of the skirt. Sew this together from the right side of the skirt to make it look better, stitching 1/8" down from the seam. This encloses the raw edges on the bottom also.

Happy Halloween

For some reason the photos that I have been trying to transfer from my phone to my computer are too large. But if I email them to myself as attachments it works. Unfortunately it takes a lot of time to do that and my Internet has been down for a few days now. 

Here are my cuties dressed in their costumes. Savannah's were a Snow Queen (generic not the Hans Christian Andersen) and Crumbs Sugar Cookie Lalaloopsy doll.

Nolan's costumes were "Bapbam" and Lightning Mcqueen. A quick rundown of their Halloween festivities: Trunk or treat (preschool and Church), Nolan's costume b day party, and then trick or treating.

Savannah Loved getting her hair curled for her Lalaloopsy costume.

Adding another thing to our plate, Savannah is finally old enough for Cherubs choir at church. They play handbells and were surprisingly good and adorable, and they sing. We are all currently practicing for the Christmas Live event at church. It is a living walkthrough of the bible from Genesis to the Resurrection and it is awesome. Savannah will be performing with the choir, and Jake and I are Mary and Joseph again.

I know I'm all over the place this morning. Nolan turned 2 on Halloween and he is just as sweet as ever. There is always a reason to use a snow shovel.

 I found this awesome superhero fabric at the Collingswood quilt shop when my mom and I did the NJ quilt shop hop. I just made this skirt for Savannah and it has been such a big hit. I made another to sell and I have enough fabric for one more skirt (Christmas present?)