A 10-Year Project

This is Jeramy's gift to me for our 5th Wedding Anniversary. He designed the layout, even the script and flower design. He began this project about 10 years ago when he started looking for his future wife. He chose Proverbs 31 as the text for her character basis. He began this piece while dating one girl and when the relationship ended, he would cease from this project. Another prospective wife would enter the picture and work would resume. Likewise when that relationship ended, so did the work on this sewing project. And so on and so forth until after we married, he inserted my name. As our anniversary approached, he became determined to finish it. I asked him what his driving force behind this deadline was and he answered that in the 5 years we've been married, he has seen more of this passage to be true in my regard now than even before we married. (Sniff, sniff . . .) So then, it's finished and framed. Perhaps when we can afford to, we will have it professionally framed. But the sentiment is the most important for now.

Happy Anniversary, Honey!

Somewhat Aloof

A few months ago I could honestly say that I had taken a little break from regular blogging because I was so nauseous. I'm so thankful to say that it has officially subsided and I am experiencing more liberty with my food choices now. Tomorrow I will be 17 weeks gestation! I can't believe that I'm almost half-way already! It amazes me how fast it has past. One minute you find out your pregnant, the next you realize that you're half-way through! This is a definite sign that I'm getting older.

Well, since I cannot honestly say that my blogging absence the past 2 weeks is due to nausea, I can say that time on the computer has become more competitive. Jeramy has been working on launching a new website - one that he is building himself. He has no previous knowledge of web development or search engine optimization, but with some books, determined study and practice, he has now become a web developer in his spare time at home. If you click on his picture to the left it will take you to his site where he is religiously posting daily blogs.

In other events: I'm very excited to start a new sewing project - DIY cloth diapers! I spent almost an hour in JoAnn Fabrics finding everything I need to make 15 - 20 cloth diapers, including a DIY how-to book! The first All-in-One diapers (Osocozy) I purchased 2.5 years ago are looking really ratty. The velcro tugs at the cotton lining and it really looks bad. I bought more Osocozy AIO in a larger size for Moriah and Lily for their sleep times and in less than a year, they are looking pretty ratty too! The best AIO diapers I've bought have been the bumGenius AIO pocket diapers. These are awesome! They dry quickly. They have some absorbency already sewn in and the pocket allows you to add more for nighttime. The lining is super soft and doesn't fray, pill or catch on the velcro! This is the diaper I'm attempting to duplicate.

For Christmas I made an apron for my sister-friend Sherri. I know the picture isn't that great- the apron and the model look a lot better in person. :-D The neck strap is adjustable. I'm very pleased with how this project turned out. I'm considering making a few more in purple.

All that being said, I'm hoping to return to a regular blogging routine. Please accept my apologies.

Feedback, Please

My children are messy eaters. They usually end up with their meals displayed all over their clothes. And so I used to end up either bathing them (almost) after every meal or taking off their clothes before eating. The meals with tomato products were especially stressful because they stain so easily. Bibs are okay, but if they're cloth, the food can seep right through and they're not long enough or wide enough. Occasionally I thought to use an adult apron on my girls, which was great, but I didn't think too much about getting more than one for all their eating times.

The thought came to me after G'Wanda bought some child sized aprons for the girls so that they would eat, fully clothed, and still be clean afterwards. It eliminated 90% of the after eating clean-up and save a lot of time. She bought some more fabric and duplicated the pattern. Then I thought, "What if they were waterproof? Then maybe they could eat spaghetti!" Spaghetti is their messiest and one of their most favorite meals. The clean up takes just as long as it does to eat, but with a waterproof apron, maybe it would be easier. So I popped a couple out and voila! They really do save me so much time cleaning them up after eating and in stain-removal on laundry days. They save me money by not buying so much Clorox 2 color-safe bleach, plus extra water and detergent. I can just tie one on each girl, let them eat, shake off the solids (when necessary) then throw it in the washing machine. It is soo much easier!

My question to you, reader, is (1.) do you think that waterproof aprons are a good idea as an entrepreneurial enterprise? Lots of stay at home moms do things for home-based businesses: cloth diapering, bath & body products, baby gifts, etc. Would making children's waterproof aprons for eating, crafting, painting and cooking be a good idea? And (2.) Would people buy it?

Jeramy and I have thought of several other accessories and products we could offer, like dining seat covers (for under booster seats) and carrying bags (to and from restaurants, etc.). We would make them more professional looking than the quick job pictured above.

What do you think? Any comments, no matter how brief, positive or negative are appreciated.

Thanks.

Baby Projects

There are several things we've been doing around the house to get ready for the new baby. And I've not been very good at being specific in sharing them. :-(

One of the main things was to convert the guest bedroom closet from the previous office storage space back to a functional closet. Unfortunately I don't have a before picture, but use your imagination. The existing shelves were removed. The holes were spackled, sanded and painted. The hanging clothes rod and the doors had to be installed. Jeramy did an excellent job. Don't you think?

An unexpected repair was made to the ceiling fan. This is another testimony of God's grace and provision. One night Jeramy went into the room and pulled the cord to turn on the light then he proceeded into the closet to resume some work. Suddenly the ceiling fan crashed down to the floor while Jeramy was standing in the closet!! However the previous owners had it installed was incorrect. It was one of those where the motor hangs down from the ceiling mount and swayed while the fan turned. Imagine all the horrible scenarios had it happened at any other time!!!! God is good and He is sovereign and merciful!! Pictured below is the new ceiling fan, mini blind and the new location of the guest bed.

We really needed a new changing table. The one we have been using was used from Jeramy's cousin and we've put it to really good use. But it's been falling apart. The repairs could easily be made by hand, but some aspects of the design could be improved upon. For instance, the two shelves underneath have been unusable for most things because the girls pull items off or climb on it and the particle board pieces have finally broken. So, I designed a sketch for a new changing table that would be more stable, safe and enduring. Here are some pictures of its construction and the last photo shows that it has been coated twice with stain and once with gloss. It may be ready by the due date for functional use. It looks great, yeah?! And it's real wood. Notice that the side guard rails are removable so that one day it could be used as another dresser or furniture piece. Cool feature, huh?!

To go with the new changing table, Jeramy suggested I make a pad instead of buying one. I purchased another piece of polyurethane foam, this time 2" thick, and covered it over with a waterproof fabric. It came out much nicer, I think, than the hearth cover. It's 18" x 34". Normal retail price is in the $30-$40 range. I got the foam on 50% sale at Jo-Ann Fabrics and the fabric was discounted too, but I don't remember by how much. The total cost was probably around $20.

Afterwards, I considered that the baby might not like lying on some plastic waterproof fabric. So I decided to make some pad covers. I chose fleece because it's soft and doesn't fray at the edges. I turned the sides and corners, sewed them down and inserted some soft stretch elastic. Boom, there you go. I chose to use the elastic because simply laying a blanket on top of the slick pad won't keep it in place when the child is active or when lowering/lifting the child up and down. The covers were only a 2-hour project. When I saw how easy they were to make, I made some more for other friends of mine who just had babies. For them I made it easy to remove the elastic if they desired to use it like a regular blanket and I think they liked it. :-) It's not expensive (I got the fabric on sale at Hobby Lobby), not difficult and personal. If you bought a changing pad cover at Walmart it's $9.50. All the elastic and fabric together cost about $21 for 3 covers!! Here are the cute prints I chose for our new baby girl.

FINALLY!!! It's Done!

Lily already enjoying her new spot to read and play.

I'm so glad that it's finished! This hearth project has literally been looming over my head! I learned a lot, but I don't know if I'll attempt to do something like this again - at least not for a long time.

We were going to put some decorative ties and knobs on the corners so that it wouldn't shift, but the rough surface of the stone seems to be doing that without any additional efforts! Yay!

I'm very pleased that it is comfortable to sit on and a safer area for children to enjoy.

This Is NOT a Defeat

I've been working on covering our stone fireplace with a comfortable seat cushion/cover. I have never worked on any kind of upholstery or with polyurethane foam and have found this project more than a little daunting. When I created the pattern for this cover, I calculated that the stone was 3-dimensional, but not so much the filling. When permission was given to substitute the foam instead of quilt batting, I didn't figure that the foam was 3-D also. Neither did I consider how difficult it is to bend it. :-(

Needless to say, it was put on the back burner, yet again, for a short time until I could re-think my strategy. The more I looked at the blankets temporarily covering just the top, I considered that I liked the look of that better: to have just the top covered with the sides of the stone bottom exposed. So, that's what I decided would look best and be a lot easier to accomplish. So, here I go again, cutting foam and ripping seams. I'm determined to finish before the baby comes.

Belts Are Easy!

Moriah is really petite. Her height is normal for her age but her waist is smaller than most 24 months clothes fit, especially her jeans. So after unsuccessfully looking for girls' belts in the store I decided that maybe I could just make her one.

It was a lot easier than I thought I would be! At Joann Fabrics they have a shelf on the end-cap of one of their isles with different kinds of belting. This is sort of like the stuff seat buckles are made of - durable, interwoven, tough stuff - except prettier. Then on The Notions Wall I picked up a packet of D rings, which comes with 4 rings for two belts. The instructions are right on the packet of rings.

I cut a nice straight edge, looped it through two D rings and sewed it down. Then you do the same thing at the other end except without the rings and viola! It's done in 5 minutes! I made Lily a matching one also. :-)

A Work in Progress

After buying the majority of my materials, I put completion of the hearth project on the back burner. I suppose that is due to a higher priority of finishing The Lord of the Rings. :-) After a challenge from my Honey that he'll build a new changing table when I finish the hearth cover, I got to work on it quick. (Hey, we need that changing table before the new baby comes!) I'll probably finish it soon. I'm going to surge the inside seams because the expensive upholstery fabric is fraying a little more than expected. Then I'll stuff it, sew the zipper and then the ties on the corners. Jeramy gave me the "go ahead" to buy the expensive high quality urethane foam so that the fireplace might be a comfortable place to sit. (Pictures in backwards order.)

Trying to smooth out the foam stuffing - not working too well right now.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to put hose on a giant ogre's leg?

Project consolations

Pinned and ready to sew.

Sewing Station

My Dad worked with wood as a hobby and made stools, furniture, decorative pieces and other little things with excellent craftsmanship. The sound of saws and the smell of sawdust is one of the fond memories of comfort that I get again with Jeramy. He is becoming a master builder too. :-) He made me these two sewing tables! One is for sitting at the machines to sew or serge and the other is for measuring and cutting. They are very solid and sturdy and will last the rest of my life and probably the girls' too. :-)

And for my first real project, besides covering the tables, is to make a real cover for the fireplace hearth. Currently we are using PODS moving blankets so that the girls don't injure themselves.

A Birthday Skirt

Last Wednesday was my mother in law, Jane's, birthday. For a present I made her this skirt. I'm not a professional, but I'm getting better at this skill. Happy Birthday, Mrs. Anderson!