Familiar Find

Upon browsing at a local thrift shop, my eyes were drawn to this little telephone table. Knowing that I already had other pieces of furniture in my garage I'm planning to transform, I decided to pass up on the table. Weeks later, I thought, that would have been the perfect size for a little entry table. Days later, I thought, I should have gotten it. Something I often find myself saying (because when you later decide to get whatever it was, it's no longer there). So, I now turned to the online classifieds. I typed "telephone table". What do you know? There was one right there, almost identical to the one I had seen. I called the seller, who just happened to live about 10 minutes away. When I went to pick up my online find, the seller opened the door. "You look familiar", I said, while trying to figure out where I had seen her before. She responded with the same phrase. Then it all came to me. Turns out her parents lived a couple of blocks away from us, when my hubby and I were newly weds. Her dad was our Stake President for the seven years we lived there! I didn't know "the seller" too well, because she and her husband lived with her parents for a very short time, while her house was being built. Her dad has just barely been released from his 16 year calling, they have just sold their house and are in the process of moving out of our old neighborhood. Small world...

Here's the little $3 dollar table before.

(sorry the pic is a little blurry, it was really bright)

After a fresh coat of paint.

A bit of antiquing glaze.

A new knob (that cost almost as much as the table).

Welcome home!

Mother Brain Fashion

So, I decided I wanted to make a little dress for my 1 year-old. I had about a yard of fabric I had purchased in a left-over roll form. The minute I saw this fabric I knew what dress it was intended for. It's such an easy and cute pattern! I laid out the pattern on the folded fabric, making it barely fit, I preceded to cut. I didn't have enough for the bodice. I turned to my stash of fabrics and found what worked best.

Well, after I had everything cut out and was ready to sew, I realized. . . I don't need two fronts and two backs! Oops! There's my mother brain (momentary lapse of reason and memory) at work! I guess I would have had enough for the bodice after all, plus some! What to do . . . Make a top for my 7 year-old! I made some minor adjustments to the already cut pieces. Added a ruffly top, a couple of straps, a bit of elastic to the back, an accent button, and voila! Problem solved!

My 7 year-old kept asking me if I was almost finished with it. She wanted to wear my "invention" (as she called it) to school the next day. Better take advantage, there may not be many years left where she'll want to wear her mother's "mother brain" creations!

Labor Quilt

When I was one day shy of being 40 weeks pregnant with my littlest girl; I was impatiently waiting for the hospital to call, and give me the okay to come in for an elective induction . . .

In my mind I had already decided she should have been born by now. My other three kids were born at least 1 week before my "due date", and having spent three of my four pregnancies with hyperemesis had already made pregnancy extremely long. The thought of being pregnant one more day seemed endless. My doctor had said earlier in my pregnancy that she would be able to induce me 1 week prior to my "due date" at the earliest. Well, she had herself given birth two months prior and had cut back on her hours. So at my 38 week appointment she said she wouldn't be able to induce me like I had planned, since she wouldn't be working that week.

It was now the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and I started having contractions. I didn't mind the idea of having Thanksgiving Dinner at the hospital if it meant that the little turkey of my own would be out of the oven. The contractions subsided after a few hours. Needless to say that we spent a quiet Thanksgiving at home. The next day, I took advantage of Black Friday, hoping that walking around the stores would put me in labor. Well, that didn't happen. But I did find some good deals! I love getting good deals! I was now scheduled for an induction on Monday. I think this "good deals high" I was on, helped me get through the weekend.

Monday was finally here. I called the hospital early that morning as I had been instructed, so they could tell me when to come in. Labor and Delivery was especially busy that day, and I found out I was number 30 on the waiting list. I was told there might be a very good chance that I would have to wait until the next day. I was so upset, and obviously extremely emotional by this point, and the fact that inquiring minds kept calling to know when I was having the baby, wasn't helping. The hospital said they would call later that day to know what to expect. My husband talked to them and told them how upset I was and to please do all they could. Poor hubby, he probably couldn't take another day of this hormonal, emotionally unstable wife of his.

. . . So to keep my mind off the situation, I went to my craft room, pulled one of my quilting books, and decided I would start a quilt. I pulled out some of the fabrics I had, and cut all the fabric for each individual block. Soon after that, the hospital called, and I was finally on my way there! I didn't have to wait until the next day!

Well about a year later I managed to sew the first two blocks, and a few months after that, on a Sunday afternoon I finished the rest. I cut fabric for the borders and arranged them until just right. The only fabric I purchased was the outside border, and the fabric for the back of the quilt.

I decided I would attempt to do the free-motion quilting with my machine. I purchased a darning foot, and practiced on a place mat, and a little doll blanket I had made. I think I quickly got the hang of it. But of course, I got busy with other projects . . . (some really addicting bags maybe).

My "stippling" (99 cent garden) gloves.



The binding -

By the time I got to the actual quilt I was out of practice again. So I stippled, and unpicked several times. I thought, "what am I thinking!" After all, this is not even near the size of a place mat, it's almost a twin size quilt! Well it took me four days, a few hours here and there and it's finally finished! I will take a break from quilting for a little while, and pursue some other projects. But I'm now more hopeful on future stippling endeavours.

Here are some of my favorite blocks -

I'm quite pleased with the results. Okay, I'm giddy with joy, fulfillment and sense of accomplishment. Not too shabby for a complete amateur! This quilt is barely finished and already has a bit of history behind it. It brings some sweet memories, with hopefully many more to come. I guess that's what comes from many hours of labor.

Bag Lady

I don't consider myself to be bag freak, or having a frenzy for them (shoes is another story). I do think any lady should have at least one, to carry all her essentials. Recently a friend and I exchanged cinnamon roll recipes. Along with her recipe, she referred me to the "recipe" online for a cute bag. During the next several days, all I could think of, was making the bag. It wasn't in my plans, after all I have several projects lined up. So I had to bag (pun intended) my other projects and pursue the purse challenge. I first attempted it with some teddy bear fabric. It's not the cutest fabric, and it doesn't quite accessorize my wardrobe style. Perhaps that's why it was deeply buried in a plastic bin, thinking that maybe some day it might have a purpose. Well, I found a use for it. I gave this fabric a chance at life, and made my seven year old daughter very happy in the process! She was so content modeling her new bag over her shoulder, so much that my 4 year old son wanted me to make him "one of those things".

After adjusting the pattern a bit, and adding some extra pockets I was now ready for the grown-up fabric. It was so much fun finding and coordinating the fabrics. Some I had, some I purchased. Maybe I became a bit obsessed with "those things". My husband called me before he left work to see if he needed to pick up anything from the store on his way home. Well, we needed milk, but since he was going to be there, I thought he could get me this fabric I had seen. He hates going to the store, and didn't like the idea of being in the fabric section. I guess he must love me a lot. It probably would have been quicker for me to go... It was so comical explaining to him over the phone which fabric it was, at which point I just started laughing, and so did he. I mean, here's a man who is full of hidden talents, but finding things that are many times right in front of him is not one of them. I do have to give him credit though, after about half an hour of looking . . . mission accomplished, with the added bonus that I didn't have to go.

With the left over fabric, I've also made a checkbook cover, and a coin purse to match.

Some of the bags still need buttons. However, I don't plan on sending my husband on a button run. It might seem kind of silly to make several from the same pattern. After all, how many bags does one girl need? But have you ever gotten something you really like, and then get one in each color?

Perhaps I've developed a bit of OCD for these bags. Or maybe, I've just realized that I must be a bag lady after all.