so, sew happy!

I can't believe it's Monday already. My poor little blog has been neglected all weekend. It's not that we were super busy or anything, we were just hanging out. Oh shoot! I just realized that I didn't do Muffin Tin Monday today for lunch...totally forgot. Maybe I'll give it a try at dinner tonight.
So let's see...let me give you a quick update on a few things. Friday there were no swimming lessons, it's a make-up day in case it rains. My girls were kind of glad to stay at home...as was I. They were fighting a little cold anyway, so it was good to get a little extra rest. I got the laundry done, some housework done, and I managed to squeeze in some sewing time :o) Meanwhile,Tim found a yellow jacket's nest in our yard (which has since been dealt with-we are yellow jacket free) that was very close to the clothesline which the girls like to play around while I'm hanging up the laundry. So the girls were limited to playing on the porch and driveway. Not fun they thought. However, while they were playing on the porch they came across some spider webs and little bugs, which kept them happy and occupied. Miss O said "I blew a big bug off the bench." (there's a bench on the porch) Then she said "Hey, that sounded cool, did you hear that Mom? I said 'I blew a big bug off the bench'. Most of those words start with the letter B!" Seriously people, I promise I had not previously shared with her my love of alliteration. But guess what, she thought it was great! You know I had to have a little language arts lesson right there with pile of clean wet clothes in one hand and some clothespins in the other. Can you guess what happened next? Go ahead, guess. Yeah, she started coming up with lots and lots of alliterations-hehehe- and little sis had to join right in! Oh, my little whippersnappers, they had so much fun with that. It's a teacher's dream come true! Okay, now onto the sewing. A while back, like maybe six months ago, my Grandma gave me a whole bunch of calico fat quarters that someone had given to her. She's not a quilter. She likes to make clothes when she sews...all the rest of her time is spent crocheting. Anyhoo,

THIS BOOK

PLUS THIS FABRIC

EQUALS THIS APRON!

I followed the pattern for the "Orange Crush" apron designed by Erin Harris. I made it a little shorter in length and since it was supposed to be lined I decided to just make it reversible. Not too shabby for my first one. Okay, so it was all squares and rectangles, which only requires sewing straight lines, but still I made it, I love it, and I'm ready to make another one. I've never really been an apron wearer. I'm a messy cook so it makes sense that I should wear an apron, and since it has the loop for the towel I won't be hanging it over my shoulder getting my shirt all wet either.
Let's see what else have we done lately. Oh, I know...we got a book from the library a couple of weeks ago called A String of Beads by Margarette S. Reid. Actually, Miss E picked it because she loved the cover...smart girl. We've read the book several times and learned about all sorts of beads as well as a quick and simple history of beads and their uses and purposes in different cultures. Quite interesting really. So, you know we had to make some beads, right? The only thing we had to work with was Play-Doh and, knowing how hard it is when it dries, I thought it would make great beads. Getting over the mixing together of the different colors is a whole other thing, but I survived. The girls and I had a ball rolling and shaping the beads. I used a needle to poke a hole through each one, now we are just waiting for them to harden all the way. It's taking longer than I thought it would, but the girls have been checking them every day by gently squeezing them. Soon, they'll be stringing the beads to make a necklace or something.
Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! As I am sitting here writing this extremely long blog post, Tim brings in the mail. Not just any old mail....my prize from the Dress-up Giveaway! I'm so excited! Okay, hold on a sec while I open it......alright, I'm back. Hurrayic is the blog that had the Dress-up Giveaway. You should drop by there sometime. She's got all kinds of great stuff going on. So here is a picture of all my goodies, plus she threw in some bias tape and some lace...and a nice note. Now I must go and figure out exactly what to make for the dress-up box so I can fulfill my part of the giveaway. Naptime is over anyway...gotta go!

****apron update****
It was brought to my attention that there is no picture of me wearing the new Orange Crush apron. So here it is! Please excuse the wrinkles, the junk under the girls' bed, and the finger prints and face prints dirty mirror. I really should have the girls clean that off again.