Thursday's projects

Yesterday was a very busy day.  I'm sorry I didn't make it on to blog with you.  I had planned on it but spent the entired day sewing.  I started off by bringing my sewing machine down to the kitchen table, a cutting mat, rotary cuter, scissors, pins, thread, rulers, measuring tapes and who knows what else down to the kitchen.  I did this for a few of reasons.  I need to free motion stitch my quilt and the only table large enough is the kitchen table.  I also wanted to work on some dresses for my girls for the 4th of July and most of their toys are downstairs.  The last reason is that I had a couple girls coming over to learn to sew and my sewing room doesn't have enough room for 2 sewers.

 What I did was buy some white shirst for my girls.  You see three because their is also one for a friend of Sarah's who had a birthday and wanted a dress.  I cut off the shirts first.

 This was when it was looking somewhat clean and organized.  I spent a lot of time with my measuring tape and calculator trying to figure out the measurements I wanted.  I wanted to gather each layer to the one above it.  So I measured the lower edge of the shirt and doubled it.  Then I added half the measurement to the red layer.  Then for the middle layer to took the measurement from the red material and added half of it to itself.  I did the same for the blue (lowest layer)  So the measurements just kept getting bigger and bigger.  Then I started cutting.  I got all of it cut and realized that I needed about 3 more inches of blue to finish the last skirt so we took a quick trip to Hobby Lobby.

 Here it is all cut.

 This is Yana's dress.  I started with hers since it was the smallest of the three.  I used my serger on the edges.  I gathered all layers and this is what I got:

 I think they turned out pretty cute.  I haven't hemmed them yet.  I want to finish them so I can change the settings on my serger only once.

 I was a little worried about the middle layer not being white but I really like how it turned out.  My girls are starting to make weird faces for their pictures.  Bare with us please.

 I decided to let her make a fun pose.  Look at those muscles.

As I'm sure you've noticed Yana is still wearing pants.  I just traded shirt for dress.  They didn't wear them very long because I need to hem them and I didn't want them ripped and or stained.

I got the idea for this dress at church one Sunday.  I saw a little girl walking around in a dress that was layered like this.  Her top was the top of a pair of overalls and the material was obviously different.  I don't know if they bought it or made it but it was so cute.  I decided that I would use a shirt instead so I didn't have to put another one under it.  I like the idea and I think I'll use it for other holiday's as well.  Sarah loves twirling in her dress.

That was yesterday's project.  After the girls went to bed I started free motion quiltingin on my quilt and forgot how much of a workout it is for my shoulders.  I use my sewing machine.  I don't have a long arm so I have to strategically roll and maneauver the quilts under the arm of my machine.  I explained my process to my husband last night and he just said "was this your idea or someone elses?"  It was all mine.  My first 3 quilts look relaly nice on top but there are a few bunches on the backs of them.  They each were better than the one before and then I found the perfect way to do this no matter the size of the quilt to get the best results (so long as I don't rush through it).

My secret trick is that I sew straight down the center of the quilt.  It isn't very wide.  Just enough to split the quilt in half.  Then I turn it and start in the middle on one side of that line and work in quarters.  It seems to really work for me.

Well I'm getting really excited to see this quilt finished.  I promise to show pictures once I've given the quilt to who it belongs to.  Like I said before it is a gift.

Did I kill it?

Ok well, we decided (that means my husband decided mainly because he knows more about the subject than I do) that we should (meaning I) should mow the lawn again although I just mowed on Friday afternoon.  I was supposed to mow yesterday but it just didn't happen.  So this morning I go out and pull out the push mower and am trying to figure out how to lower the blades.  We decided (see above) that this week we should lower the blades so the seeds to come back so often.

Anyways I finally get it figured out and fill her up with gas and get going.  This was right after breakfast.  I wanted to have it mowed so we could also go to the library but I wouldn't have to melt later.  As I am mowing I realize that it isn't picking up all the grass so it looks like I'm not even trying to bag it (which I am).  After a couple passes I decide to check the bag and it has bagged about half the bag when it should be full by now.  I realize as I'm dumping the grass in the garbage bag that the grass is still wet.  I didn't see dew on the cars this morning when my husband left for work so it didn't occur to me that it might be dewy.  So I just keep going.

I noticed with my first pass that the grass was really short.  Short enough that it is no longer green.  Did I kill it?  Did I lower the blade too much?  Oh well.  I did what I was told to do and kept mowing.  Then it dies on me.  So I empty the bag again and it is again only half full and should be full by now.  I tried to start the mower and it wouldn't start.  Did I just kill the mower too?  I figure I just over heated it with the damp grass.  So, it's time to go to the library.  When we get back it should have cooled off enough to finish mowing and the grass shouldn't be so wet.

We go to the library reading time, get some books, and come straight home so I can resume mowing.  It is hot already but I know it will only get worse.  So I start the mower up and with the same problems as before I finish mowing.  It took longer and it doesn't look like I tried to bag it.  It also looks yellow so I'm afraid I've killed it.  Luckily I didn't kill the mower.  Although had I killed the mower my husband would have just laughed at me.

I would be horrified and he would laugh becuase you see I brake most things around here.  My husband and kids don't brake anything compared to me.  I don't do it on purpose and my husband was warned before we got married that I could brake steal balls.  He now fully understands this.  So if I have succeeded in killing the grass he will probably still laugh at me and fix it.  Why do you think I married a man so handy at so many things?

Oklahoma hates me and Idaho taunts me

If you know me than you know I HATE the heat.  I don't say that lightly.  I really really don't like the heat.  I never have.  I love snow and 70 degree weather.  Water in Idaho is cold no matter how hot it gets and we are used to it.  When I put in my papers to serve my mission my dad teased me that I'd end up in the Sahara Desert or New York city.  Heat and big cities aren't my thing.  So I was sent to Russia (which I loved and miss very much).  It was super cold in the winter and I loved it and super hot in the summer and although it didn't seam like we lived in big cities we did.  So I got both but didn't mind so much.

Now I am living in Oklahoma and I thought we were doing well.  This year it seemed that June was having mercy on us.  Last year it seemed sooo hot and this year we have loved the weather....until yesterday.  100 degrees!?!?!  Who is in charge of the thermostat here?  All week of 100+ weather.  All I can say is "I'm sorry Sarah we will not be going for bike rides often and I'm sorry you will be stuck indoors where we wont have heat stroke."  It is supposed to get to 105 today.  Ya so I'm making plans for my girls that don't include much heat.  Like going to the library. 

I say that Idaho taunts me because they are still wearing long pants and sweat shirts in the morning and at night.  It hasn't gotten up past 80 as far as I know.  We are planning our vacation and so I'm getting a little homesick and the nice weather back home isn't helping.

Sorry about my tangent.  I've been up for a while, still feel really tired and when I sat down to write this, this is all that I could come up with.

Don't get me wrong I like Oklahoma.  The people are great and it is pretty even without mountains.  I just needed to vent about the heat and now I'll be fine.

I hope you all have a great day.  If you are going outside please drink lots of water and be careful.

Bike riding confidence

 We went for another bike ride/walk today.  I didn't jog but just walked with her.  She had a smile on her face when I pushed the button but in the split second it turned to a "" face.  She had fun.  We went past some of the new houses in the neighborhood and just working on building her confidence.  She seems to have lost most of it since Tuesday's ride.  She really struggles with drive ways and getting on and off the sidewalk.

 Yana is just too cute not to take a picture of her too.

 There she goes.  Having fun.

 She loves having her picture taken.

We stopped at the park on the way back and they played on the swings.  It was a good walk but it was so hot by the time we got home.

 I hope you all have a great Friday and a great weekend.  I'll see y'll on Monday.

Rain and random thoughts

I love Rain.  Random I know but I do and right now it is raining.  I've been hoping for it all week.  Everyday I wake up and it is cloudy and I think maybe it will rain today and then it is just windy.  I love the sound of it.  Home in Idaho I love the smell of it.  If it hasn't rained in a while and there is a lot of dust when it starts to rain.  Do you know that smell?  I love it.  I'm weird that way.  I also love the smell of spud cellars.

Anyway, you'd be proud of me.  Yesterday I spent most of the day in my sewing room sewing strips of material together and then when that was done I cut a lot of material.  I'm not done cutting but last night after Young Women's I brought down what I have and laid it on the floor and started pinning.  It is going to look really cool.  I can't show pictures yet because this is a gift to someone who might read my blog.  I can share pictures in about a month.  I know, I know that is so far away to be waiting for a picture.  It will be worth it. 

I love sewing quilts.  I just need to make more of them.  I told you a while ago that I bought froggy material to make a quilt and it is still sitting in the bag upstairs in my sewing room.  I plan on starting it when we get back from our vacation later.  I'll keep you posted on that.

On a side note does anyone know where I can find instructions for a really old Singer sewing machine.  I kind of inherited one and other than a tune up I can't even figure out how to load the bobbin.  I've tried a lot of different things and it doesn't seem to like me.  I thought if I could find something online then maybe I would have to have it tuned.

Well I need to get back to work.  If I work hard today I should have the top of the quilt (minus the boarders) sewn together.  That is my goal.  I wont it to the point that I can sandwich it this weekend so next week I can start free motion stitching it.

Have a great day.  I hope it rains wherever you are if you need the rain like we do.

Projects

My husband and I have gotten into a pretty good habit at nights.  We used to sit around with not a lot to do and be somewhat bored.  Now with his tools and the nice weather we spend a lot of time in the garage or in the back yard.  Then around 9-10 we come in and sit down for an hour or so before we go to bed.  Granted this doesn't happen every day of the week but good amount of our evenings we spend working on projects.

 This project is pretty cool.  I didn't think to take pictures of how it looked before he added to it.  Basically between the black legs there was nothing  but air and useless space.  So he added the peg board on three sides so he can hang things if he wants and then he built three drawers to go in it.  This is the front view.

 He made the  top drawer to have several different holders.  It is nice and works smoothly.  It also helps him to organize his tools and toys taking up space in the garage.

 This was last nights activity.  We didn't really like where that shed was at.  It was there when we bought the house.  We thought about moving it back and to the right but decided to take it almost directly to the left closer the fence.

 This is the spot we marked off for it.  We left enough space between the fence so we could mow and find any lost balls from either our girls or our neighbors children.

 So what is the plan you may be asking yourself.  PUSH and PUSH hard.  Ya that is pretty much it.  We slid the shed (after we emptied it, of course) off the base as you can see here.  Even though it was heavy once it hit the grass it became a bugger to push.

 Then we took apart the base and relocated it.  Sorry I was busy and didn't have time to take pictures of every step.  We were running out of sun light.  This pictures was actually taken this morning.  After the base was moved and put where we wanted then we pushed the shed over to it.  While my husband used a shovel to lift the corners I pushed 2x4's under it  and one in the middle in order to create a ramp.  Then we pushed and up it went and then we just had to align everything and screw it back down.  Then we put everything back in with the help of a flash light and came in the house.

That is where it used to sit.  We still aren't sure what to do there.  We are thinking new grass or sand box for the girls.  Who knows.

You may be wondering why we would move the shed to begin with.  Well it sat right in the middle of the yard and we couldn't see the girls if they were playing behind it.  Now it is next to the fence and we have a huge yard (or at least it seems bigger).

Well that was our Tuesday night.  I hope that you had an enjoyable time.  At dinner I found out that I really only have like 2 weeks left to finish a queen size quilt that I have have been somewhat working on.  So now  I need to plan it out and get it done.  I'll try to keep you posted around cutting material and sewing blocks together.  I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday.

A good life

How was your weekend?  Hows was good.  Thinking back I don't actually remember everything we did.  My husband only worked half a day Friday and we spent the rest of the day out in about.  We looked at boats, bought a fishing pole for my husband, took the girls to see "Madagascar 3" (which is really cute).  We planned where we would be moving our shed, swam in the pool, got Sarah addicted to riding her "big girl" bike and just enjoyed the time together.

The weather here has been nice compared to last June.  The evenings are wonderful.  We are spending a lot of our evenings out side just enjoying the cool breeze and the nice weather.  My girls are so full of energy and I'm trying to keep up. 

Monday I officially passed into the second trimester and am doing good.  The baby is wiggly; according to an ultrasound Friday.  I'm not as tired as I was but still tired.  I've been spending more time in my sewing room and have had a request for two more purses.  I've been reading when I can and playing with my girls when I can.

There never seems to be enough hours in the day but at the same time I'm out of energy by the girl's bedtime.  Right now things are going really well and we are just loving and enjoying life.  Well,  I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow.  I need to get in the sewing room now so I can spend nap time working on a quilt I need to get finished.

Have a great afternoon.

Life

Last week was a very busy and event filled week.  Sarah started swim lessons on Monday and went every day except Friday.  She loves it.

 She is also taking them this week but they end Thursday.  She loves to swim and is quite the little fish.

 Here she is swimming practicing her strokes.

 I think I mentioned a couple weeks ago that we bought a pool for out back and my girls would live in it if they could.  We had had a long day and decided to rest and let the girls play in the pool.  So Josh joined them.

 Yana loves having her picture taken and would walk around the edge and stop for her pictures.

 Sarah and Yana are just too cute not to take pictures.

 Oh how tiring it is to walk in a circle of water.  She is so silly.

 Sarah is practicing swimming under water.  She is getting pretty good at it.  She just needs to learn to hold her breath longer.

 Ok so the ball actually says not a flotation device and not to use on water.  Knowing this I waiting until Josh was home to try this.  We put Sarah in the ball and wanted her to roll it like a gerble on the wate but she wouldn't do it.  So we took it out of the pool.

Friday we started building our back fence.  My husband dug the first hole and then I dug the next.  We poured cement and then went swimming (The above pictures.)  Saturday we finished the fence.  I dug 3 more holes and helped screw in the slats.  It looks really nice but I don't have a picture right now and am too lazy to go take one.  I'll take one and share it another day.    I hope you all had a great weekend and have a wonderful week ahead.