artsy-crafty babe

The Dana Maternity Top

Hot damn! I sewed something for myself. The most surprising part is that it came out great AND I like it. That almost never happens. Tonight I made the time. I fixed myself a cup of coffee, put the kiddos to bed and went at it. Yes, I am up waaayyyy past my bedtime (it's about 12:30 am), but it was worth it. I could have finished about an hour earlier if I had read the directions and not had to rip out many seams that didn't want to come out. I ended up re-cutting one sleeve because I couldn't rip the seam. Next time I make this top it should go much smoother, and yes, I will be making more. I ended up using that funky tie-dyed fabric I bought last month on a whim. It's not so bad. If I totally f'ed up this top I wouldn't have minded, but just my luck the top worked.

Here it is,Dana's Top by Silhouette Patterns. Much to my surprise, my maternity adjustments worked. It was a little tricky because the front bodice looks weird due to the french darts, which I wasn't sure would work on a maternity top.

I like that this top is trim and not blousy.

I also like the neckline much better than I thought. I like that the cross-over yolk adds some interest. Here is a close up.

Please excuse my horrible appearance - my funky hair and plaid pj bottoms, it is after midnight after all.

Spa Treatment

I've really been enjoying my baths lately. I tend to go through bath and shower phases, with right now definitely being a bath phase. I look forward to letting my massive body soak in a tub of hot soothing water now that the aches, pains, and swelling have set in. I wish I had this tub for my other pregnancies! We moved into this house at the end of my last pregnancy, so I didn't get to fully take advantage of it. The past few nights I've been going all out by using bath salts and body scrubs followed up with a slathering of body butter. This is the best my skin has felt in months! After these baths all I want to do is crawl into bed.

Just for your amusement here is my view of my pregnant landscape without revealing too much. Thank goodness the stretch marks don't show up too clearly in this photo.

Of course, during my baths I always have an audience. It's a challenge to keep them from throwing things in the water and Lily from dangling her feet in the water (yuck, feet!).

addicted

Sudoku. I had never heard of this until my husband brought home a book of these puzzles on Christmas Eve. On Monday I finally investigated what he had been working on - these stupid sudoku puzzles. I am NOT a puzzle person. Crossword puzzles make me feel stupid. Really, I have no desire for this kind of stuff, but after doing one sudoku puzzle I'm hooked. I need to stop doing them before bed because it makes my brain too active, then I can't fall asleep. Damn Matt for introducing me to these things! My only consolation is that I'm better at them than he is *hee hee*.

Christmas Miracle

My goodness, what a Christmas. This was certainly a memorable one.

I guess it all started on Christmas Eve. Things were going well. My in-laws came with us to Mass, we were able to find a seat (it was standing room only) and my children survived two hours in church without having to be walked around at any point. After church we went to my sister in-law's for wonderful food and presents for the kids. I stuffed myself silly and the we all had a nice time. Lily didn't even pitch a fit when we left because she was so eager for Santa to arrive.

When we got home the kids went straight to bed then Matt and I did our usual Christmas Eve thing - put together toys and wrapped like crazy. My poor guy had to assemble a bike and a fire engine. I took care of wrapping all the gifts and the stockings along with eating the cookies and drinking the milk. We made it to bed around midnight. Pooped!

At 3 am I woke up because I didn't feel so great. I thought my stomach was upset from something I ate. I couldn't get comfortable in bed, so I slept on the sofa for a while. At 6 am I got up, turned on the Christmas tree lights, then prayed to the porcelain gods. I was hoping that after I threw up I'd feel better. No such luck. I felt like crap. I crawled into bed just in time for Lily to wake up. Matt kept her at bay until 7 am, which is when we woke up Alex. I tried to enjoy watching the kids open their gifts, but I felt so bad, not to mention I spent a portion of that time in the bathroom. Why this on all days? After all the present hoopla I went back to bed. So much for my plans of cooking banana nut pancakes for the kids and preparing a big Christmas dinner for my family. I told Matt that there was no way I could cook, so we'd have to roast the turkey another day.

At around noon I crawled out of bed. Soon after, my Dad showed up with presents for everyone. Then my Mom showed up. What an awful hostess I was - they all came over prepared for a dinner that I didn't make. My Mom went on auto pilot and put the bird in the oven. Matt kept coming in the bedroom asking me questions about what else I was planning to cook. My Grandmother came by a little later to visit as well. She ended up peeling potatoes and folding my laundry. By about 2 pm I was feeling a bit better so I took a shower, which made me feel semi-human again. I was finally out of my PJ's. Once I was dressed I helped out with the preparation of the side dishes. Everything was finally ready to eat by about 4 pm. Better late than never, right? I was quite touched to see my own family all sitting around the dinner table with my Mom and Dad sharing a meal.

I think this was the first time my parents have visited at my home all day together (they're divorced). Though I was out of commission for part of it, my kids got to spend a great day with the grandparents that they don't see often. I hope this is the first of many days like this - minus the puking.

Gifts

They're done and have been given out. Everyone seemed to like them (I hope). I felt a little guilty about how easy they were, but I'll get over it. Gosh, I love easy instant gratification projects!

Here's a close up:

And just so you know that I'm not making up that these started as placemats, here are two that needed a bit of embelishing. I love how the ribbons dressed them up.

Placemats are the best!!!

Lily is in love with this. She found the plastic shiny ornaments in our stocking box and had to put them somewhere. Since the tree was already full, I suggested the grape vine thingy above the hall mirror. She thinks this is the best! Personally, I could do without the stocking, but hey, it's hard arguing with a 4 yr old. Now when someone comes over she makes them close their eyes, walks them down the hall, then says "surprise!". She's so proud of this.

Good enough

Today was a miserable day weather-wise, but it was the perfect day to stay in and craft. After cleaning up the house, (which is now trashed) cooking a chili and mixing up a big batch of sugar cookie dough, I was able to finish up some Christmas gifts. Of course nothing came out as I envisioned, but they're good enough. These are the bath mitts I made for the kids at Alex's daycare. They were my first attempt at machine applique using a satin stitch. As you can see, the white part around the mouths are kind of crooked. Oh well, that's added charm. They turned out much smaller that I thought, even with my enlarging the pattern. I can get my hand in them, but I wish they were a bit wider. I bought some bath crayons and some bath squeeze toys to go with them. These kids receiving them are from 18 months to 3 years old. This is the gift for the baby at the daycare. She is a knotted doll. The instructions for making her are here. IMO, the instructions for attaching the head to the body are a bit tricky. I had some trouble with that, but it turned out okay in the end. Like the bath mitts, I wish she was bigger. I thought this would be a good gift for a 6 month old. The polka dot material is flannel, so it's nice and soft.

Along with finishing those, I finished up with the gifts for my friends at work. I'll be giving them out Monday, so I'll post a picture then. I'm quite pleased with that project.

temptation

I am not going to buy any more fabric. I am NOT going to buy any more fabric. I AM NOT GOING TO BUY ANY MORE FABRIC!!!

Since I'm not going to buy any more fabric, I guess I should blog about it. Maybe that will help me get it out of my system. I don't know why I even subscribe to those stupid fabric store newsletters. All they do it tempt me. Here are my latest temptations:

From Fashion Fabrics Club, the cotton lycra prints. I love these for skirts in the spring and summer. I've gotten to where that's mostly what I wear when it's hot.



Gosh, I wonder what's up with all the pink?

I guess I could unsubscribe, but then I might miss something. I rely heavily on the internet for my fabric purchases because fabric stores here SUCK. My only options for apparel fabric are Hancock's and Wal-Mart. Slim pickins I tall ya. So when I see beautiful fabrics at a reasonable price I jump at them because I may never find something like that again. That's my rational, anyway.

No, I haven't ordered any fabric today, but I did just receive a call from Wazoodle because the piece of watermelon rayon lycra jersey I ordered the other day is out of stock. I could have told them to not worry about it, but instead I made a substitution. Bad me!

In a sewing mood

I'm in the mood to sew, but not for the things that I should be making right now. I really want to make some clothes for myself. In particular, I want to make a new skirt and top. I used to have a long black knit skirt that I wore with my black boots, but I think I got rid of it in my hasty closet clean up post Katrina. I already have the patterns in mind, both of which I own and have never made. I'd like to make this skirt and this top - maternity modified, of course. A few weekends ago I traced the top pattern and made necessary adjustments, so all I need to do is find some fabric in my stash to make it with. The skirt shouldn't be too difficult. I love making skirts for that very reason. Now, do you think I can get that done before Sunday afternoon? Probably not. If I do I'll be sure to let you know!

Despite my body being in a weird alien state I want to make clothes for it. I'm already thinking ahead to spring. I can't wait until I can wear my cool cotton flirty skirts again (not that they will fit any time soon) and strappy sandals. Ahh, I love spring and summer clothes. I have loads of bright summer fabrics that are calling out to me to be made into skirts and capris. I always have such grand plans of making clothes for myself, but in reality I make very little, and the things I do make are less that desirable. Oh well, that doesn't stop me from dreaming and trying.

Second String Swap

Despite my disappointing experience with Back Tack II I've decided to participate in another swap, Second String Swap. I still don't know what happened with my back tack II partner, but last I heard she was supposed to finish my package and mail it. That was about a month ago and I have received neither a package nor any correspondence from her. Oh well, time to move on. Hopefully this swap will be a more positive experience for me.

Today Karyn listed the blog roll of participants. I'm pleased to see that it is a small group of crafty bloggers that is all new to me. I love to find new blogs! I look forward to reading the blogs and finding new crafty inspiration.

The theme is organization, which at first I thought was tough, but then I stumbled across some projects in a craft book that I own. I can't wait to get started, but I have a paying sewing job that I'm going to have to complete first. My husband informed me that he is submitting the purchase order now and expects me to complete it in early January (stage curtains for the gym at his school). I'm not looking forward to it, but the money will be nice. I get very intimidated by big projects like that, but I know I can do it. As long as he looks after the kids while I work, it will be okay.

Oh, I also signed up for a jewelry swap through purple pink and orange. The good thing about both of these swaps is that I shouldn't have to buy anything. By now I have enough supplies on hand in my stash to complete them both.

Whew, it's looking like a busy January. So much for fitting in some sewing time for some maternity tops!

A little something for me

With all the Christmas gift sewing I need to do over the next week I procrastinated by making something for myself. Makes perfect sense, right? I don't know what I was thinking, but I'm pleased with my new living room pillow. Its' life began as a placemat, so little effort was required on my part. Another one of those instant gratification projects. I fell in love with this little birdie. Isn't he cute? Even though it is supposed to be holiday decor I think he'll stay out all year long. I lucked up when I found him at Target, as it was the only one left. I guess everyone else liked him too!