Summer Sewing

Since it's so hot outside, I've spent a few hours in my cool sewing room this summer.  I made this cute little monkey blanket using a kit from JoAnn's.  I used a half-off coupon to get it at a good price and it was so easy to put together.  It made a great shower gift for a recent baby shower I attended.

   Next, I took some of the leftover flannel and made a matching burp cloth.  I purchased a little onesie and embroidered it with a monkey and the baby's name. 

   In addition, I made these little toddler bibs. Each one just takes an 18" square of fabric and a washcloth.  I think they will be great for baby Jonah when he's a little older.

   Then I made a pair of ruffled bloomers for little Emma's six month photo shoot.  These are my very unprofessional photos of her wearing them.  I plan on making a matching onesie for her to wear with them.

  I love the matching big bow her mama made!

   I'm also working on a two-piece outfit for Lilly.  Hopefully, I'll finish it up next week.  But, if this heat wave continues much longer I may just have to make another trip to the fabric store!

Sewing Saturday - Adapting a Coat for a Special Needs Child

   Every little girl, whether she's standing or sitting in an adaptive stroller, needs a pretty church coat.  Up until now, my granddaughter Lilly, has been wearing a regular coat which we could put on her after picking her up out of her carseat and then, let her wear, while we carried her into the church building.

   But now, even though we are glad she's finally putting on some weight and growing, we've found it's difficult to take her out of the car, put her into her chair, and then put a coat on her. 

   I looked online for an adaptable coat for special needs children, only to find that most of them were made in other countries and consisted of a tent-like cape that would slip over the child's head and drape over the child and chair.  Not very attractive for a cute little three year old!

   I decided to try making one, so I purchased McCall's pattern #5968 and some black fleece and made the little coat I have pictured above.  I put velcro closures on the front, so that it's easily opened, if necessary.

   Then, when the coat was completely finished, I turned it over and cut it all the way open up the back. I then contoured the back so that it's more of a jacket length and there's no bulk that has to be tucked under Lilly. I edged the opening with a fleece, double-fold bias tape that I found at Joanns Fabrics. I put a velcro tab at the neckline and now we can sit Lilly in her chair, slide the coat on like a "snuggie" and velcro it at the neck.  From the front, it looks just like any other little girl's coat!  We can do the same thing once she's fastened in her carseat.

   Of course, when I took it to her, she was sound asleep and I didn't get to take a picture of her wearing it...

Merry Christmas, sweet Lilly Grace!

Sewing Saturday - Pillowcase Dresses

This week I completed two pillowcase dresses.  The first one was for my granddaughter Lilly.  This one was made from a pillowcase set that a dear friend made for me about ten years ago.  The matching one was torn, so I decided to recycle the remaining one.  I love the way it turned out!

The second one is for a friend's granddaughter.  I really like the boutique style and the huge rickrack.

Next week, I plan on starting a baby quilt.  I'm not really a quilter, so I'm not real sure how that project will go.  Hopefully in a few weeks, I'll be able to post a picture of it.

Tales From The Trailer Park

  We just returned from spending a harrowing night at the trailer.  You know, my husband's "dream come true" on the best fishing lake in Texas. Well, as I was driving over there yesterday morning in the rain I had no idea that storms were being forecast for the night.  Just before bedtime I heard on the radio that there was a possibility of storms in Dallas.  Since we were about an hour and half from there I decided to check the weather using my new iPhone. (I don't have that flat screen yet, so my only communication with the world is by phone or the trailer's built-in radio.) Sure enough, we were in a tornado watch for most of the night.
  About 1:45 a.m. it started to rain a little with some occasional lightning.  Since the window next to my side of the bed was almost touching a tree and was only about two feet from me, I was a little nervous.  So as the storm got worse, I got up and looked for a safer place.  Of course, everyone knows THERE IS NO SAFE PLACE IN A TRAILER WHEN IT'S STORMING!  Finally, I talked my husband into getting up and sitting with me in the little hallway between the bathroom sink and the door that leads to the commode and shower.
   As the hail began to hit and we could hear things blowing around outside, he jokingly mentioned that at least the water along the bank is only about three feet deep.  At that point, it hadn't occurred to me yet that we were only about 10 feet from the lake and that if a tornado did hit, we could actually be blown into it! Not a comforting thought since I'm not a good swimmer!  And if the whole thing was blown in, do trailers float or sink?
   After about thirty minutes the winds subsided and we were able to get a few hours sleep.  This morning I awoke with a new appreciation for sunshine and calm skies.   And if I can help it, I don't intend to spend another stormy night in the trailer.  That was one of several lessons I've learned in my two nights in that trailer.
   If someone offered a course called Trailer Living 101, I'd be the first in line to take it.  Did you know that the little pedal on the bottom of a trailer commode doesn't open the top like the one on a trashcan does?  It's the flusher!  Imagine that!
   And to get hot water, you have to push a switch under the kitchen sink.   Then you only get 6 gallons of hot water at one time!  That means that to take a shower you have to turn it on, turn it off, suds up, then turn it on again to rinse off.  Don't even think about shaving your legs!
   This morning I heated the water and  started to take a shower only to discover that there was no water coming out when I turned on the hot and cold handles.  Once more, I knew I was missing something and just needed a handbook to make everything right.  Sure enough, later in the day I mentioned to Mickey that I hadn't been able to take a shower because something was wrong with it and he showed me a little button on the shower nozzle that has to be pushed for the water to come out.  How was I supposed to know that?
    I did accomplish a little while I was there.  Since this is Sewing Saturday on my blog, I'll show you the finished curtains.  All seven of them are now done!

Notice the mismatched kitchen chairs?  After I finished the curtains, I started reupholstering the chairs.  They are going from country blue....

 To this.....

After I complete these, I'll be starting on the kitchen area backsplash.  Of course, that does mean I'll have to go over and spend another night.  But at least now I know how the commode and the shower work.  If I could just figure out where they put the storm shelter....

Sewing Saturday - New Window Valances

   This week I made new valances for the breakfast room and kitchen.  I decided to try sewing with grommets and really like the way they turned out!  The contemporary look that they give is just what I wanted and they were quick and easy to make. No special tools are needed to attach the grommets to the fabric.  They just snap in place!  Sewing Tip:  If you decide to make some, remember, always use an even number of grommets!  I learned this the hard way! :)

A Granny Quilt!

  Don't you just love coming home to find a package by your front door?  One day last week, I found this one waiting for me on the front porch.

   I was so excited because I knew my "granny quilt" had arrived!  If you don't know who Granny is, you can read all about her on her granddaughter Valerie's blog.  Granny is a precious 96 year old  lady who makes at least one quilt a week.  Can you believe that?   What a blessing to be so active at that age!
  I tore my package open and spread it out on the sofa to get a good look...

  Isn't it beautiful?  Granny's quilts are all machine stitched and machine quilted. She says they give her a reason for getting up in the morning.  I wonder if she knows how much people enjoy her quilts and if, while she's sewing, she thinks about where they might be going and how they might be used.

 I'm going to send her a copy of this picture because I think Granny would be very happy to see this little boy all snuggled up under her quilt!
  Thanks, Granny and Valerie! 

A Sewing Frenzy

This week Mendy and family are vacationing in Tennessee so I've had a whole nine days to myself. I've missed them terribly but it's been very relaxing to do things on my own schedule. (I usually help Mendy with Lilly, my granddaughter, three days a week.)

The first thing I did was head to the local library for a good book. I chose Franklin & Lucy, the story of President Franklin Roosevelt and Lucy Rutherford, the woman he had an affair with during much of his presidency. As my girls would say, pretty random, huh? I'm not sure why it "spoke" to me from the library's shelf, but it 's actually pretty interesting!

Next, I decided that I would really enjoy spending some uninterrupted time sewing. I did a little machine embroidery for a friend, made an "eye spy" bag, and then while checking out some sewing blogs, found a really cute fabric flower tutorial here. I loved the flower and headed immediately to Walmart to find some suitable coordinating fabrics so I could give it a try. Once I'd made the flower, I decided it would be so cute on a dress for Lilly, so the dress you see above is the finished product. I love it! I plan to make another matching flower for her hair.

I have two more sewing projects to try and complete this week. If I'm successful, I'll post those later. One is a cute little sleep mat for a preschooler and the other is a hot pink, fleece jacket for my great niece. I think I'm going to try the same fabric flower in fleece.

Anyway, I'm in the midst of a sewing frenzy here! So much fabric, so little time, so I'm heading back to the sewing room now. Can anyone fix Mickey's dinner tonight? Oh well, I'm sure he'll understand. :)