Seams of Life

getting my "sew legs" back

Its seems as though its been a lifetime since I've sewn anything. Today I did a quick little project to get my "sew legs" back. I used fabric from my stash that I bought at a thrift store. It has to be circa 1970 something. It is pre-quilted and there was only enough to make a small blanket.

 

I sandwiched it with some more vintage fabric that I bought at the same time and used some bias tape from my stash. It makes a pretty groovy little picnic blanket for the girls.

 

I've been really busy with school and haven't had much time for any creativity. My brain is crammed with Economics and I'm anxiety ridden over a big research paper thats due in a few weeks. I know it will all be worth it when that degree is in my hand but this weekend I just want to focus on my sewing machine and that long list of sweet little sewing projects that keeps getting put off.

Our Halloween

 My Halloween weekend was extra long. I had two days off plus an extra hour thanks to daylight savings. I had Thursday all to myself so I watched TV and crocheted (perfection).

 

I found a pattern for a crocheted beanie on this lovely blog. I've made two so far and have another one on the hook. I'm new at following crochet patterns and very slow crocheting but this was simple and quick. And just look how cute...

 

And Friday I spent my morning at the little one above's school. They were having their annual "Story Book Parade" and miss Carlee dressed as Laura Ingalls.

 

She's praying that she'll win the costume contest...just kidding. She's just sitting quietly listening to the Halloween stories being read.

But she did win third place out of the the whole kindergarten class. Her prize was a free book from the book fair. She was absolutely beaming with pride. This one really loves to win (is that a good trait or a bad one?). But anyway, I thought she looked adorable. The dress and bonnet were made by my mom for me when I was little.

And when it was time to Trick-or-Treat, the kids couldn't have been more excited. I love how every year, even though they know what to expect, its like the very first year and their happiness and excitement just overflows. And its the same with every holiday. I remember that feeling so well but of course its disappeared with age. I am so thankful that I get to experience it again through my kids. Here is a snapshot of the trick-or-treating costumes.

 

The serious army man with his fluffy white kitty and his pretty pink poodle.

Tag, I'm it.

 

I was tagged by the sweet and kind Amy so here goes...

10 years ago I...

1. had my first babe

2. was very naive about the world

3. had no idea how to be a mother

4. had black hair

5. could never imaging being were I am today

5 things on today's to do list

1. begin a budget and start using cash only

2. take my Economics quiz and exam

3. write this post

4. help Jake finish his 4-H project (didn't know it was due today)

5. get to bed early

5 snacks I enjoy

1. mountain trail mix

2. salami and cream cheese

3. plain potato chips with salsa

4. pringles

5. teriaki beef jerky

5 places I have lived

1. with my parents in Georgia

2. with my sister in Georgia

3. in a teeny loft apartment in Georgia

4. back with the parents in Georgia

5. in my own home with the hubs in Georgia

5 jobs I've had

1. a sandwich technician

2. data entry clerk

3. bookkeeper

4. in-home daycare provider

5. bank head teller

People I tag

Jennifer

Lori

what I've been up to

Finished a pair of lounge pants for my son and have one more pair on the "to do" list.

Continued two WIP.

 

 

Done a few crafty fall things with kids.

 

And have been enjoing the beautiful fall weather every chance I can.

 

I've also been posting bunches of pictures to my Flickr blog instead of here. Sometimes thats just easier.

celebrating, harvesting

For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of getting together.

For nature, autumn is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad.

                                                                        -Edwin Way Teale

 

I love seeing all the tightly rolled bales of hay dotting the pastures that I pass on my way to work. I drive past so much beautiful scenery everyday but this was the first time I was brave enough to pull over a take a picture. Albeit I didn't get out of the car, I just rolled down the window and snapped away, it was still something out of my character to do. That must mean I am really digging this photography stuff.

This weekend we celebrated the season at a few local autumn festivals. This kids were looking forward to our hometown parade all week. Its not much of a parade, mostly tractors, classic cars, and horses, but where else can you wave while yelling "heeeyy" to passing cars and then be pelted by tootsie rolls and dum dums? My son, the history buff, loves seeing the confederate re-enactors.

 

About every 20 feet or so they fire there guns (filled with blanks, I hope) in the air. Every time, even though I know its coming, it still makes me jump. I enjoyed seeing all the booths with homemade goodies for sale. And there was, of course, the pony rides.

We also harvested our little pumpkin patch this weekend.

 They didn't grow very big, but after reading this book the kids were thrilled to have tiny pumpkins. We are going to paint them instead of carving them this year so the kids can have a little more creative control. It should be very interesting to see what they come up with.

PS

Check out the beautiful autumn pictures in this flickr group.

an excellent start to the weekend

new fabric, originally uploaded by seamsoflife.

New fabric from FabricWorm, a list of quick sewing projects, an easy supper of grilled cheese sandwiches and chicken noodle soup and happy children. What more could I ask for?

more fun with applique

The girls got new hoodies for the oncoming fall weather and I decided to dress them up a bit with more applique.

 

These were really fun to do. The girls helped pick out the fabric and buttons and watched while I ironed and sewed each piece down. Its not easy collaborating with such opinionated little ones but I think we ended up with some really cute owls.

 

I've added my pattern in the sidebar for anyone else who would like to use it. It makes me feel so good to be able to give something back to the blog community. Almost everything I've learned about sewing hascome from the creative bloggers out there.

Autumn means...

, originally uploaded by seamsoflife.

...the beginning of football and cheerleading season. Carlee has wanted to be a cheerleader for her whole life (all five years of it) and this autumn she finally has her chance.

P.S.

To my family: click on the picture to see more.

From me to you

I'm proud to announce that I finally have a little something I can contribite to this wonderful, crafty, blog community. If you look on my side bar I have a "From me to you" section. I've put my pattern for these little appliques over there for anyone who would like to use it. I hope to have more projects, patterns, or even tutorials to share with ya'll in the future. For now I hope someone can enjoy my "tiny tree" pattern. If you do use it please send me a photo, I would love to see. 

nature tables

I'm still not quite ready for summer to end yet but I am looking more forward to autumn. To help  get into the spirit of the changing seasons the girls and I set up an autumn nature table, an idea I read about in  Amanda Soule's wonderful book The Creative Family.  It was such fun searching for leaves and pine cones and other bits of nature for our table.

 

 

Once they had collected all the "nature" they could find we arranged it and re-arranged it until we all agreed it was just right.

I think it turned out really pretty.

While the girls and I were putting together our table, my son and husband were also putting together a table. They built this dining room table for me over the weekend.

 

Well, we don't really have a dining room. Our living room, dining room, and kitchen is one big open space but I think this table fits it perfectly. Its exactly what I wanted too. A table big enough to sit our family of five, a simple yet sturdy design, and an old worn look. I love, love, love it.  Thanks guys!