Vintage Board

Time for a new ironing board cover, don't you think? 

Don't judge me. It hasn't been a priority.

This is obviously the cover it came with, when we got it as a wedding present. It's had a good 13 year run. Ironing is not my thing, so it has mostly been used for quilting and other sewing projects. I would be very afraid to iron anything wearable on it at this point. It's defifnitely an eyesore whenever it's out. Lately it's been out quite a bit.

 I turned to my increasingly growing stash of vintage sheets (as it is my plan to make at least one quilt out of them).

Why not make a new cover? So here it is:

 Much better.

Now I might even iron hubby's non-wrinkle free shirts.

Thankful

Where does the time go?
I might have an idea. Soon after Halloween, we had our youngest boy's birthday. I made him a fish shaped cake, per his request. It's made from a 9 x 13 cake. I got the idea from Family Fun.

We then took a much needed family vacation.

After getting back into a mid November routine, I started sewing my oldest daughter's class dance costumes. (I should probably be working on them as I type, but while littlest girl is napping, youngest boy is eating lunch, a load of laundry and the dishwasher are going, after I've spent most of the morning straightening up and vacumming [including the stairs, I don't like vacumming stairs], I thought I'd take a short little break and post something, as it's been a while.
Here's my November table runner.  The pattern is in a Thimbleberries book.

Also made some throw pillows. (I use the same pillow forms, and switch the covers for each season. That way I don't have to store tons of pillows.)

Had to use up some apples, so I made this cake.

(Actually made 4, they're small). Quite easy and quick. I don't think my kids have a palate for the caramelized sugar. But, I do. I remember wanting this cake for my birthday once.

Some more thrifty fall finds:

Here's my only Thanksgiving cross stitch. I stitched it a couple of years ago. I used a pattern for the acorns, and the pumpkin, and came up with this:

Simple, and straight to the point. I do have a cute Thanksgiving pattern I've been meaning to do, but time does seem to fly my friends. Perhaps next year...

My favorite season is quickly passing me by. I am trully blessed. Good family, good friends, good health and good food. Happy Thanksgiving and turkey eating!

This was Halloween

This is my favorite soup. It's a carrot and squash soup, with acini pasta, topped with mozzarella cheese. Everyone likes it at our house! Even though we have it year round, I make this every Halloween. Something hot after trick or treating, and healthy before candy!
The last few weeks, some of my "spare" time was taken up by Halloween costumes. The robes weren't too time consuming. While I admit I do sometimes get hung up on the details, hubby reminds me, "It's just a costume, they're not going to be in the movie!" Every year though, I think, why do I do this? It's something they're going to wear for a few hours, in the dark.

Oldest son as "Harry Potter" (He has of course read all the books and seen all the movies, knows all the spells, can more than likely beat you at the Harry Potter Scene It Game, and can do a pretty good British accent! It's quite funny actually.

Oldest daughter as "Hermione Granger"

Youngest boy as "Ron Weasley"

Littlest girl as "Hedwig"

And then I remember: When my oldest daughter was two, she wore the Snow White costume I made her, for pretty much a whole year! It has holes in the skirt from wearing it while riding her scooter. When my youngest boy was two, I made him a superman costume, that he wore almost everyday for a whole year as well!

(I made him a top with the cape attached to it, and the pants were a separate piece. He would always put on the top. I finally had to put it away because it was getting too small for him)

My youngest girl is nearly two, and while I doubt she'll want to wear her "Hedwig" costume everyday, I enjoyed making it! It is definitely an original. No pattern, completely made up.

So why do I do it? Because there's great sense of accomplishment and satisfaction once they're done. The excitement and smile from the kids helps! (It couldn't possibly be the bucket-full of candy they envision. Could it?)

And while my husband still insists on thinking I'm insane, he also thinks the costumes are keepers! After all, how cool would it be if he still had his "Adam West" Batman costume his mom made him!