They're actually done!

I got good shots of M's pants because he is willing to hold still. G's look the same, trust me. They haven't been washed yet or gone over for stray threads--so please disregard those. I made the mistake though of not measuring M's waist before I started. They are sooo loose on him. And he doesn't like the low rider look. If I can talk him into a belt, he can wear them, otherwise he can wait till he puts on a few inches. Shouldn't take too long based on recent history.

I made them from Ottobre's 1/06 issue. They are view #27 in sizes 134 & 92. They are supposed to roll up--my guys aren't that short ;). I used corduroy and twill from JoAnns. I wish there was more shaping to the waistband. It was just a simple sew&fold. Other than that I like them. They were also pretty easy to sew--typical of Otto.

It Hailed?!?!

I can't believe it hailed in MAY!! It hailed for a little while last Wednesday, then hard again on Friday (5/4). Not only did it hail, but it lasted about 10 minutes. Long enough for the kids to get shoes, raincoats and one of my stainless bowls to try and catch some of the hail. But then it warmed right up to 75+ yesterday and we were plenty warm. M talked me into buying a pool at Target. We're ready for summer I guess.

"What is this stuff, Mom?"

"BRRRRRR," says M.

Yup, that's hail. It looks just like a skiff of snow. G thought it was and it really got his hopes up. He was remembering the snow storm in January and probably hoping to work on his throwing arm aiming snowballs at M.

We dyed again today :o

I'm still waiting for finished products to take pictures of, so I'll post them later. We had dye left from our tie-dye party and used them on some stuff. I was especially excited about the results of our silks. I have wanted playsilks for the boys for quite some time. I can't bring myself to buy them though because I know what the blanks cost from Dharma. So I found a great, permanent but quick way to dye them and they turned out great. This method doesn't make them all smooth and even and perfectly one color. It gives them a mottled look. Almost marbled.
First, we put the scarves in a stainless steel bowl and poured white vinegar over them and let them soak for 30 minutes. Then we wrung them out and put one-at-a-time in another stainless bowl. I let the boys squirt dye over them. We did lapis/midnight, yellow/orange, forest/bright green, red, and then lots of colors to try and make brown (as per M's request). After it looked good and dye covered, I put it in my microwave steamer, covered it and nuked it for 2 minutes. Then rinsed. And rinsed and rinsed and rinsed--silk holds it's dye well! After we did each one, I washed them in synthrapol and dried them. They look great! The boys had so much fun playing with them before bed too. I really should have taken pictures, but oh well. Tomorrow.
I also painted a skirt. I had this cool watercolor flower idea. I mixed the dye up thicker than I planned and then I couldn't get the look I wanted on my practice fabric. So I painted yellow and purple asters instead. I think I'll like it alright. We'll see. Who knows, maybe I'll love it?

G is astounding me with his growth the last month. He is talking so much better. He says all the grandparent names, repeats just about everything, and forms full sentences. He is starting to do scribble writing, where he writes a line of scribbles and tells us what it says. And he loves drinking out of a regular cup instead of sippy cups. AND he is more interested in using the potty. He has been great at using it as long as he is naked, but the other day he wanted his pj pants on with no diaper. He remembered to go to the potty and pulled down his own pants.
If this blog still exists when he is old enough to read, he will be horrified to find this here and I will be the cause of much emotional damage I am sure. But I'm thrilled at the progress he is making.
M on the other hand seems to have decided that 8 is darn close enough to 13 to be a total pill. Actually he is a really sweet kid. He just knows how to push my buttons. But that is pretty normal I guess.

On the sewing front, I used up some more fabric in a baby gift. So I didn't really use that much I guess, but it felt like an accomplishment. Then I cut out matching pants and shirts for the boys. The pants are taking awhile as they are 12 pattern pieces each and I'm double topstitching them. They had darn well better turn out! But they used a lot of fabric. Yay!!

2 yards down, 9998 to go (give or take)

These got really wrinkled in the wash and I refuse to iron kids clothes, soooo
But, M has new pants. I modified #29 from the 3/06 issue of Ottobre. I lengthened the shorts and left off all hardware. I also topstitched the pockets before sewing them on. He really likes pull on pants, so I thought this would be a nice compromise between pull on and a little nicer looking. I only had this issue at this point. 1/06 just arrived in the mail yesterday, so I'm really excited to have lots of great boy clothes to sew. And sew and sew and sew. Now if I can just limit myself to stash fabric for awhile that would help immensely.

Front view-plain-plain

Back view. He really likes these pockets that are set in the yoke. They are really easy to sew too. No pinning and checking to make sure all is even on both sides. Just sew and go. I let M pick out the topstitch thread too. Of course he picked some random cheap thread that I will now throw the rest of away. Yes, cheap thread does make a difference! Next time I will only offer him choices from thread that is nice to sew with.

No pictures this time. So be sad and then get on with it ;)

I was just reading another mom's thoughts on lists. I love/hate lists. I get lists going in my head and have to keep straight 8 million thoughts in my little brain that is also trying to just keep up with what my 8 year old is listening to and my 2 year old is jumping off of. It is just too much.
So I make lists.
Nothing fancy or Franklin Covey approved. I collect envelopes from junk mail and the backs of handouts from church and Village. I stack them on the counter next to the phone and at the table where I sit. If I am really organized I grab a wad of poster putty and stick it to a kitchen cabinet. That would be reserved for critical reminders like appointments and urgent grocery lists. Then I lose them all. Especially if it is a note to call someone and has their phone # on it.
I have even made daily to-do lists with M where I draw a picture next to each thing that needs to be done. He loves those and will even consent to do a few of the things on the list if the drawings are especially noteworthy.
If I make a list, one of two things usually happens. 1)I get to the end of the day and I have crossed nothing off the list and feel like the day was a total bomb. 2)I get to the end of the day and see that I have crossed lots off the list and feel fabulous.
I learned even before I was a mom from a wise mother who said to put mundane things on the list. She had saved an old list from when she had young children. It said things like, "brush Ann's hair," and "make lunch." So when I make a list I usually put things on it that most sane people would laugh at. A recent list at the table looked something like this:

• Have breakfast
• Get dressed and brush teeth-kids too
• Unload dishwasher
• Vacuum and mop downstairs
• Go to library
• Have lunch
• 5 minute dash in living room if vacuuming doesn't make it that far
• Wash diapers
• Dry diapers
• Put away diapers
• Load and run dw
• Make dinner

Depressingly enough, I feel like I've had a pretty good day if I get all this done. Even more depressing is that I often don't get this much done. Although I have days where I get lots more than this done. Notice I broke up the steps of washing the diapers. That way if they only make it to the washing machine I still get to cross something off.
It all leaves me wondering why I get so little done. Why? I'm not lazing around watching soaps. I spend time on the computer, but not hours. I read to the kids, go outside and make sure they don't beat on each other now and then. I sew too much. Oh wait, I typed that wrong--I don't sew enough! It just seems that by the time I make breakfast and clean up, get everyone dressed and ready to go and then have lunch and clean up it is time to play outside for awhile, then dinner time and my day is over. And heck, we get up at 7ish!
Then dh wonders why the house is a mess. I honestly don't know. Probably cuz we have too much shtuff. So everyone keep on me to have a yard sale this summer so I can clean out and have less stuff to make trails across the living room OK? OK!

Tie Dye Party

Dad does the fixer dip while M waits to put his shirt in.

Neighbor J holds up his daughter's shirt. Looks a bit skeptical I think :) All turned out well in the end and everyone likes their shirts.

The finished items. They really did turn out well. I did a shirt, M and G each did 2 and they also did an apron apiece. We got all the supplies from Dharma Trading Co. We've used their stuff before and really like them. I'd like to try silk painting someday. They also have stuff to do sunpainting on fabric. I think the kids would get a kick out of that too.

All in all it was a good weekend. We had the tie dye party, got a bunch of digging the garden done, had a good friend over to share a good dinner on Saturday and the boys and I made it to the zoo while C worked on some paperwork. Now we face a new week. I have a dress to fix for said dear friend by friday. Lots of Village Home stuff and the rest of life.

We are having a bit a Narnian week. We got a Narnia cookbook from the library. I made turkish delight--something M has been asking for forever. It's really quite good. A little sweet for my taste. I may try to find a recipe that uses syrup so I can use rice syrup or agave maybe. Next, M wants to plan a dinner so we can have a good Narnian supper. And I promised him a Narnia birthday party quite some time ago which never happened. Maybe we'll have a just because summer party. I could even make it a bit service-y and we could request people bring donations to the local shelter or something. Hmmm. I have a feeling this summer is going to go by in a flash!

L's new dress

I happen to have the cutest niece anyone has ever had. I know this because I am her aunt, she has another aunt who agrees with me, AND her grandparents agree. That many people can't be wrong, right?
So, with all my boy sewing, I had been looking through my fabric quite a bit. Naturally I had not been able to use this adorable floral in the boys shorts, but it was calling to me. There are lots of darling little girl patterns in the Ottobre magazine. So L gets this one. I had to buy ric-rac and buttons (I know Mom, I should have called you and asked for ric-rac, but I forgot until I had already bought it) but the fabric was already owned. Yeah! I'm making progress. Of course, I did then go and buy fabric for pants and shorts. But I don't have much bottom weight fabric.
Anyway, L will get a new dress from Aunt S soon and look cute, as usuall.

For the sewers out there, this is from Ottobre 3/2006. It is a combination of 2 of the dresses in size 86. I used the plain sleeves and the rounded collar. The pinafore has ribbon and buttons for the fasteners. And since I ran out of the floral, the inside of the front top part is green dress fabric. It was tight as I have no scraps left. But it was a great way to use up scraps.

Back view

Just the dress.