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Handmade Bow Tie from Neck Tie

Andy found this rather ugly neck tie at the thrift store.  Today I turned into a rather cute bowtie.  This was actually my first time sewing with silk.  It was rather slippery, but I think I figured it out.  I'm excited to do a bit more of this type of work.  What do you think?

I'm sure Andy's glad that I've figured out how to tie these things by myself so that he doesn't have to get all dressed up for my photo-shoots.  He actually wore it to church tonight but we forgot to take a picture.

And I just had to show off these super cute guys.  We snapped this shot on the front porch after church today.  Can you tell that Andy dressed Deacon?  He looked sharp.

Little Boy's ribbon belt and diamond point seersucker tie

I found some adorable fabric at Ashville Cotton Company yesterday.  I didn't even know what I was going to do with it, but today, I decided to use a little bit to make a ribbon belt for my 3 year old.  Sorry, as all crafting happens while children are sleeping, I don't have a picture of him wearing it.  But I was so excited to show it off I just had to post it tonight.  

I'm also quite fond of my first ever diamond seersucker tie which someone ordered by special request.  It looks really huge on me, but on a man with a dress shirt it would (obviously) look a bit more appropriate.  I just didn't have Andy around to model for me.

I'm pretty sure I tied it wrong, but you get the idea.  I bet Andy's going to want me to make him a diamond point tie now.  They are really neat.

Deacon's Seersucker Jumper

Here's the jumper I made the other day.  It really looks adorable on my little boy, doesn't it?  This one is size 4T.

FYI- I purchased the pattern HERE.  It's a great pattern ranging from size 0 to 4T with lots of great instructions and pictures.

in the middle of the mall

On Tuesday, I had quite the eventful morning at the mall.  I was with Owen, Deacon and my neice Elylah (age 3) throwing pennies into the water fountain.  I took a few pictures of them and had both my purse and camera on my arm.  My neice was sitting on a bench and must have lost her balance because she fell into the water head first (but she didn't bump her head).  The current took her slowly away and my only option was to jump into the fountain to get her.  I praise the Lord that she is completely fine.  When I pulled her out of the water, she was most upset that her shoe had fallen off!  

I could not believe the adrenalin rush I had from the whole event.  The only other times I felt like that were when I was giving birth! I was so embarrassed and glad and scared.  Then all day, my brain was filled with the "what if?" questions.  It was really emotional.  Much more emotional for me than Elylah.  She really was over it shortly after it happened.

Oh and later on in the afternoon, a couple of large bruises appeared on my knee and I don't even remember banging them.  Isn't that strange?

My phone seems to be working alright and nothing else really got damaged from my purse, but the camera is dead.  So we'll see how picturesque I can make my blog posts with-out it.  I'm going to call Canon and give them the whole sob story and see if maybe they can make a repair or replace it.  Anyone have connections or mad skills in camera repair?  I was SO happy with the camera and I've only had it 5 months.

Happy Birthday to Mommy

And here's the second attempt.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwMUbDwT3NQ]

Driving Through the Night

Why we liked it-

no traffic on I-77 the whole trip from SC to OH

listening to our own choice of music and talks

no squealing from child #2

getting to watch my adorable children sleep

drinking fully loaded coffee at 10pm

we actually got to see the sunrise

snacking like a college kid all night long

chili lime plantains- fiesta in your mouth- sure to keep you from falling asleep at the wheel

Why we didn't like it so much-

strange tummy ache the next day

constant adjusting of dangling sleeping heads

the boys had no interest in going back to sleep once we arrived

everyone was a bit grumpier (except me of course) from sleeping less than usual

seeing relatives for the first time in a while with giant bags under the eyes

didn't get to crochet or read while we drove

finding a nice potty and coffeeshop is much harder in the middle of the night.

Will we do it again?
Most definitely- But I need to make another run to the hispanic grocery store first.

boys being boys and a very large dog

I thought I would share these photos from the past week.  On Saturday, we went to a craft fair exhibit.  The vendors were actually spread out all over a baseball field.  I couldn't resist these handmade wooden cars for the boys.  Deacon and Owen immediately placed them on the ground to roll them around.  They've been playing with them quite often all week.  Deacon is actually napping with his as I type this.

And here we are at the Winthrop Baseball game.

And here's a freebie for you.  I had a gig with a friend, Hannah Miller on Saturday night.  It was a venue in downtown Charlotte and people could actually bring their dogs into the place.  Here we are with the largest dog I've ever seen.

So, I'm really getting into sewing these days

I'm realizing that downtime is more fun if you have a needle and thread nearby.  Right now I have a little purse that I just made that needs a couple little stitches sitting right next to me.  I'm so thankful for websites like PurlBee, MadeByRae, and Threadbanger that offer fool proof tutorials and patterns (mostly for free) for dummies like me.  Sewing is a newish hobby for me so I need all the instruction, and color photos I can get!  There's a couple of books that have been catching my eye that seem like they may be great **ahem ahem*** mother's day presents or birthday presents (May 10 and May 9 respectively).

Weekend Sewing is another book that has made its way up on the list.  Lots of projects you can make in a weekend.  That's right up my alley.  I like being able to finish something shortly after I started.  That's why I couldn't really get into crocheting and knitting.

Bend the Rules with Fabric isn't exactly out yet... but it looks SO cool!  Her other book, Bend The Rules Sewing is a great book for beginning sewers.  Her blog is great too, she shares yummy recipies, her crafty projects and even pictures of her handmade underwear!!!

So, that's all I have to say about that.  Off to work on my PURSE.  I'll share photos when I'm done and when Andy brings the cord from the camera home from work.*ahem, ahem**

Cheers.

Handmade Church Clothes

This was so exciting for me.  Matching but not overly matchy-matchy clothes to wear on Easter Sunday for the boys.  

Of Course there's no pictures of them both looking at the camera and smiling, but that's life.  This photo-shoot was actually the pre-easter trial run anyway.  I wanted to make sure they fit right.  Owen's is a bit big, if I wanted to have it fit perfectly, I should have used the 12 month pattern but I opted for 18 mo.  It looks good though.  The romper was downloaded from YouCanMakeThis.com.  It was quite doable for a novice sewer like myself.

About a week ago, I found THIS pattern for a little boy's tie.  I found the pattern so simple to follow, but I shortened the tie since D is so young.  I also used the interfacing from one of Andy's ugly ties.  It was perfect considering I really didn't have enough of this fabric to make Deacon a matching romper, and he's getting a bit old for these anyway.  

Andy found matching blue shirts with the tags still on at the thrift store for $.25 each!  Those were a great score and Deacon's pants were only a couple of dollars also.  They were in beautiful condition.  It helps to keep your eyes open at the thrift stores.  

A few ladies at church told me that they have sewing machines and really have no idea what to do with them.  SO... I'm thinking of starting a very small sewing group so that we can share our knowledge with each-other.  I just need to find some ladies that actually know how to sew so that they can help the rest of us!

Late in the evening, Andy asked me to hem the pants for a newer suit that he has acquired.  So we got them a few inches shorter so he could look classy for his first Easter Sunday as a minister.  Isn't he so handsome?

Don't worry, it's not our child crying

Andy was the one that woke up when the baby started crying. I was so tired and out of it when he woke up at 3:00am. I was trying to convince Andy that he didn't need to worry because it wasn't our kid who was crying. I was convinced I was right too. Andy ended up having quite the night with Owen - Mostly involving sleeping in a rocker that's not meant for sleeping - and I found the two of them sleeping together on the guest bed. I missed my photo opportunity, but I'm sure you can imagine the sweetness. Thanks for doing that, Honey.