oh and by the way

Emma has a tooth! Oh, and shes had it for about a week already, I just forgot to blog about it. On the 25th I was working out on the elliptical and stopped to take a drink of ice water. I let Emma suck on the bottom of my cup because it was so cold and I heard a scratch on the glass. I am pretty sure that is when she broke it through. There are three more on their way (she has the bottom right, and the other bottom and two tops are working on it) so shes been pretty cranky at nap time and eating times.

Also, Jasons company is selling (for reals this time) on August 14th. That means our insurance changes that day too, so I have packed in all my dental and vision appointments in the weeks before then. I had a cleaning last Thursday, then an eye exam this morning and a consult about my wisdom teeth this afternoon. On Monday I go back to the oral surgeon to have my teeth removed and then on the 13th I have a filling to get. We have such great insurance, I had forgotten how good it was until I realized that soon it was going away! I ordered new glasses (for the first time in nine years) and they are super cute. This picture doesnt really do them justice, but here is a peek.



And I have new contacts coming in. I love going to the eye doctor, because it isnt my fault when I need a new prescription. Its not like the dentist where they always tell you something you can do better.

Monday is my big day though, with the surgery for my teeth. I am a little nervous, but I hope I will see the same assistant because she was super super nice and really made me feel like I know what to expect. I have never had general anesthesia before. The extent of my pain killer experience was whatever Dr Anstine prescribed for me for my stitches after Emma was born. I have a prescription to get filled tomorrow though so I have it on Monday. Jasons grandparents watched Emma for me today (mostly his Gram though, because his Gramps had a doctor appointment of his own) and they are watching Emma on Monday too. His Gramps will babysit me at the office and then I will hang out with them for several hours until I am capable of parenting again. I am a little nervous about this but not as much as I expected to be.

So, that is what is going on in this little world. Jason is still training for his first triathlon, it is August 8 in Emmet. He is running and biking tonight, and will be home in about an hour. Emma is asleep (shes been playing and crying in her crib for several hours at night, so I am very grateful she has decided just to go to sleep tonight.) We are all doing well. :)

finished!

after a quick trip to the store for a zipper, my dress is finished. next time, i will skip the zipper though. with the slight alterations (very slight) that i made i can pull it over my head!






when i cut out the pattern, i took away some of the curve of the skirt, but in the finished skirt, i took off pretty much any curve at the hip that was left. there was a little bit of a pouch at the hip so i just made it strait and that solved the problem. another change i made was to add a little at the shoulders, because generally the bodice of a dress will not end in the right place if i dont. this dress seems to be an exception though, because i took off everything i added, and some, when i tried it on for the last time. thats it. those were my only alterations. i will skip the zipper next time, because i can pull this right over my head. and that makes this so much simpler to sew. it will go very quickly next time.

bolero and dress for me

i did finish the bolero from last week, and have a couple photos that arent great but will show you the general idea.




it is really comfortable, a good fit, and with a different color button i could wear it over several dresses or tops that have a lot of skin. im in my favorite pink victoria secret tube top here.

i havent found just the right fabric for the tie front top, so i moved on to a pattern my mom brought over from home. new look 6040 is out of print now, but i made view c in high school, and really liked it. (i wore the dress for a date with jason on my 20th birthday. a photo we took that day ended up on our wedding invites. :) anyway, the dress is a little snug now (im not sixteen anymore, or twenty) so i decided to make it again.




the bodice is a good fit, and the small change i made to the skirt (more a-line, less fitted) makes it fit much better. i need to finish the armholes, hem and zipper, then find the camera charger and have jason take a better photo. :)

teeth

Oh, and Emma is getting her two bottom teeth. They are still a bump, but I can feel that they are coming up and she definitely has the uncontrollable screaming down.

telling on myself

So, enough about Emma already, more about me!

Its time for an accountability update on the working out and slimming. I am not loosing much weight, just a couple pounds really, but I have managed two sizes since just before Australia. That is a good feeling.

My reward for sticking with the working out has been bits of new gear. The rules? I have to use it, and get a good deal. I bought new running shoes from JCP with a ten dollar off coupon a month ago or so, and I love them. I found some running shorts at Sierra Trading Post Outlet in Eagle for cheaps and today I found something I LOVE from Old Navy. (I hoard those Christmas gift cards. Really. I love them.)

Here is the top. It is loose fitting, and therefore forgiving.


And here are the capris. They are wonderful. I am wearing poly-spandex blend pants right now and would be willing to go out in public in them. Really, they are that good.



So about the working out again. Up until it started searing off skin when you walk outside I was pretty good about running or taking Emma out for a long walk two or three times a week. Since the heat wave I have not been so good. This week though, I am back to using the elliptical again, because I have tv, and air conditioning.

My goal? My red dickies that are at my parents house. They are a size ten, so its two more sizes, but I know its possible. Eventually.

pink dress

here it is, in satisfactory photos, the pink dress to match emma.

there are a couple full view photos of the front of the dress, it really is so comfortable. it was hard to get a good photo, so i hope it looks good in real life, because im definitely going to be wearing it.





the only alteration i made to the bodice was to take smaller seams on the shoulder, to lengthen it just a little. i think next time i will add just a tiny bit more, and add darts to the sides (in another picture). here is the bodice and midriff.





from the back, it is a whole lot of pink.





i still need to work on installing zippers, but here it is, and look at that pocket! i love that this pattern has pockets. have i said that already?



here is the gaping armhole, that will be fixed soon.



and the armhole pinned.



so there it is, the new pink dress!

standing and sleeping

Emma pulled herself up to standing last night, while sitting in the red cooler in our garage. Jason had taken her outside with him, and then called for me to come out. When I walked through the door, I saw Emma playing happily in the cooler. (Think, red camping ice chest cooler.) I walked over to her, and she started to pull on the outside of the cooler. I stood in front of it, so if she managed to get to her feet, she wouldn't be able to lean and tip herself over into her face, and it was a good think I did, because up she went. It has been several weeks of waiting while she pulled up to her feet so she was squatting in the crib and on the changing table, but this was her first standing.

So, Jason and I brought her inside and dropped her crib mattress down to just above its lowest setting. (Emma is short. Even if she were to stand, her head wouldn't be over the edge of the rail.)

Emma is getting over her cold too. Her appetite is back, and she can breathe through her nose a whole lot better. She is still waking in the middle of the night though. It has been around midnight the last couple nights, and at 430 on Sunday morning, but last night it was at 1130, then again closer to three this morning. That is just killing me. I have such a hard time getting back to sleep because I am still getting over Emma's cold, so I crave a nap.

I have a mountain of laundry staring me down from the middle of the living room floor, so no nap this afternoon. I hope to get it folded and put away and the floor swept and mopped before Emma wakes up. I also plan to eat before she wakes, but I'm not sure all those things will get done.

peer presure round two

my attempt at matching dresses failed last time, so i spent my saturday working on a second try. being sick, i felt like doing nothing, and sewing is the most productive type of nothing i could come up with. i went pattern shopping on friday and picked up a couple new patterns for me, a tie neck top and a dress.

the top is new look 6831. i am thinking view d, or view c with the tie rather than no collar.



the dress caught my eye because it looked like it could be flattering on me now, as i am still slimming down after having emma. it is simplicity 2886. i made view a to match emmas dress and on sunday afternoon made the bolero.



emmas is also a simplicity pattern (i love their $1.99 sales) number 2668.



okay, now on to the good stuff, finished product.





i finally had to bump emma up a size, but this dress will fit her for quite some time. the yoke lays on her shoulders well, but as long as her neck fits comfortably inside, the dress will fit. its pretty long on her (i shortened the pattern a little too) so it looks like an old womans house dress when shes standing.

my dress turned out well too- with no seam ripping! i have only one alteration to the pattern to make it a better fit, the addition of darts on the bodice so the arm holes dont pucker. i had jason take a couple pictures of me in the dress, but i am not happy with how they turned out and right now it is in the wash so when it gets out i will take a few more. i do have the pocket (i LOVE that this has pockets. i never have a place for my chapstick, and jason gets tired of carrying it for me.)





to make my dress match emmas, and because i dont have any boarder print fabric, i used a white band across the midriff, and for the hem band.

more photos of the dress, and my ideas for simple alterations to make it a slightly different dress in a day or two. also, photos of the little jacket. i am still working on the crochet baby blanket, i added several inches last night. no sewing today, as it is laundry and floor cleaning day.

any recommendations for taking some flattering photos? i have a feeling i am going to need to know some tips, because i really enjoyed making something for me again, and i am a little more self conscious than emma.

tie neck top

i want to make this. it is so expensive. and so pretty.



i also really like this one. not so much the bottom detail, but the way the tie gathers the top is nice.

but i really like the tie at the neck. i think its a really interesting, and simple detail. the first time i noticed it was at a wedding reception for friends of jason and i. the bride wore a sheer patterned shirt over a camisole and it was almost exactly this cut, so pretty.

so, i am looking for a pattern. not specifically for this shirt, as i have a bit more curve than she does. but for a simple top that i could add a tie collar onto. though, if i do stumble onto this in a pattern somewhere, it wouldnt hurt my feelings. any ideas for a good one? has anyone seen a (non vintage) pattern?

*i say non vintage, because all the patterns i have seen are big collared, high necked, darted, short waisted wonders, and i dont have to time or patience to make it fit me.

mini bubble dress

i have had my eye on this tutorial for a cute cute dress for a while now. i have resisted making it because i couldnt decide what fabric to use.

when i put emma in her pear romper for church and i wore my shift dress. i had so many people mention how well we matched that i decided to go with it, and match us up a bit more.





i didnt think they were that match-y.

for the new dress, i used some of the same fabric as my dress. the flower pattern became the straps and top band, and a bright yellow became the skirt. i made it to emmas measurements, but obviously didnt add enough to get it over her head. i think a fabric with quite a bit of stretch would be best, or even to do some smocking around the top piece until it is connected to the skirt. that would allow it to be snug on her body, but stretch over her head. next time.







for now i have a mini bubble dress that needs a home. anyone having a baby girl in the spring or summer? i know, its a little early to know that. well, im prepared.

pear romper

as promised, here are a few photos of the pear romper. i changed the pleats in the front to three instead of five, and took it in on the sides about an inch and a half total.





we took jasons sister katie to dinner sunday night before she headed home, and emma drove. :)


kidding. of course.

i think this one turned out so much better than the other, but i know the apple one will probably fit her longer. either way, im sure that i love this pattern. and snap tape. we are good friends.

summer colds

Emma is sick. She woke me up at 1234 last night, with a runny nose and watery eyes. (Not just from crying.) Tylenol and a pacifier put her back to sleep, and today has been full of nose wiping and sneezing. I hope she gets better soon, I hate summer colds.

five days

It took Emma five days to learn how to move. She started pulling her butt up into the air on the 8th, and today she is quite efficient at pulling herself along with her arms, and pushing off with her right big toe. She has worn the skin off the tip of her toe from pushing herself forward with it.

Now, I need to prepare my house for mobile babies, because soon I will have Jesse Jay back and he is even better at moving than Emma. I am looking for a five foot baby gate to keep little ones from pricking themselves on my sewing things and out of the kitchen. Besides that, I just have a stroller that needs put away, and some frames to hang so they are not on shelves within little reach. It isnt a lot of work, I just need to get to it.

You already know this, but I started a new blog, LikesToMakeThings.blogspot.com about the projects I am working on or trying to figure out. Im new at this sharing what I make thing, but I think I am enjoying it. I am not sure if I will tell all my secrets or not, but its nice to talk about what Im up to either way.

Jason is in bed, and I should be too. As of August 14, he will no longer work for Weyerhaeuser, or iLevel, or any of that. A company called Atlas is buying them, and that is the official date. We have been waiting for this to happen for a year now. He is exhausted by the amount of work he has to do, and isnt sleeping very well at night right now, so keep him in your prayers. After laying off several more people from their office, they had million of dollars in sales, and he is working late and weekends to get jobs in on time, on top of starting his second class (he got an A+ on the first one) today and training for his first triathlon next month. He is busy.

Goodnight. :)

apple and pear romper

jasons sister katie has been here this weekend as a last visit before she leaves for missions in poland. so, i have not been spending my time figuring out what to do with that cream dress, instead, i made a party romper for emma, and a second one for church this weekend.

armed with simplicity pattern number 3808 and apple fabric from our trip to australia and shopping in jenns fabric dresser, i went to work. i had heard that the pattern runs big, and emma is just between two sizes but growing really fast right now so i went ahead and made the larger of the two. this romper has pleats down the neckline, but they are not clearly marked on the pattern to make sure they are equidistant apart. i pleated it the number of times the pattern showed, but used the facing piece as my guide of how pleated it should end up. i also discovered the wonders of snap tape. i love that stuff. i bought another package of it yesterday.

here it is, on a moving (and therefore blurry) baby. and of course, shoes to match.





the length is pretty good, she needs room to squiggle around since shes almost crawling now, but it is so wide on her. the strap falls a little off her shoulder, and balloons around her waist. this will fit for a while, as long as she doesnt get too much taller too fast. oh, and check out these shoes.




they stayed on her little feet for an entire day. shopping at the mall, diaper changes, visiting family, they didnt come off. i made a duplicate in cream for her sunday pear romper, but in a slightly larger size so they will last a little longer, and they came off a couple times. overall though, fantastic considering there is no tie or strap. (i bought a new fabric for the soles yesterday too, im excited to try it out in a few days.)

will post the pear romper and shoes after they go through the wash, i didnt take any pictures of her in it yesterday. i took in a little shy of an inch on both sides, and squared up the straps (because i am not great at sewing those tight curves) and i changes the pleats to three larger ones in the center front. i stitched down a bit father too so that it would take in a little more fabric. the pear fits her much better, but will probably not last quite as long, because it doesnt have the room width wise. they are the same length.

now its time to get katie packed up and say a few last goodbyes to family around town before we drive to jasons work and then the airport.

unfinished dress and blanket in progress

i did not finish the dress. i love the cream, but together, it is too much cream.




there are the pieces. i like the way the top turned out. i added width in the back, then sewed and turned it so that i have room for three buttons instead of closing the whole with a zipper. this makes for easier sewing, and less money than buying zippers for everything. also, i think buttons are cute. (i think i get that from my mom. she always prefers buttons. but she doesnt like to sew zippers either.)

anyway- i went with ribbon ties, because they dont wrinkle up and it adds a little contrast. the piping isnt sewn in yet, because i just dont like the cream on cream. last time i made this dress, i did a blue top with a patterned skirt.



i LOVE the way this turned out, so maybe i just have too high of expectation? so i dont think i will finish this dress as is. i think i will use the top on another skirt, and find a new fabric for the top of this dress. i have a fat quarter of cream with muted color stars that matches really well. it doesnt match the wish puff on the skirt though. any ideas for this dress?

things to think about. while i decide, i have a blanket i have been working on for a while that needs finishing so i can start a boy version. here is a peek.

freezer paper one, two, and three

i decided this week to learn to use freezer paper stencils. aunty google gave me several great tutorials with only minor contradictions so i bought my reynolds brand freezer paper (my only option was the enormous roll, so if i dont enjoy this, jason needs to go hunting so we will have a use for it!) and tulip soft brand fabric paint. i picked up three yards of white muslin to practice on, as well as a package of onesies.

try number one: scrap of white fabric and a stick drawing.



i didnt photograph the finished stencil this time, but i did on the next two. i had trouble with bleeding under the edges as well as the discovery that my black and red paints were velveteen. bummer.

try number two: white muslin dress with pleats and dots (this is from a simplicity pattern, number 2668. i made this dress out of pink silk for my cousins wedding last may and knew it was a quick sew.)



i like the idea here, the ironed pleats and the dots down them, but its not my favorite. might be the color, im not sure. i still had trouble with the edges blurring and on this try, i missed a step.

this is the back of the dress. the pattern calls for a zipper, but i want to try and use buttons instead in some of my patterns (cheaper) so i tried this one. it looks okay from the outside.



i forgot to put something behind the painted part, and didnt unfold the pleats so i ended up with smudgy dots on the back where i dont want them.

and here is the inside of the button. i finished the edges with my serger, but need to figure out a nicer way to do this.





























so after attempt number two, i still need to figure out how to get the edges crisp so the design turns out like i want. also, i need to be certain that there is no fabric behind what i am painting, and that there is something back there to seal it (like another sheet of freezer paper) or to catch it (like the table, or cardboard or regular paper).

try number three: cream quilters cotton from joanns, a wish puff on the skirt of mccalls pattern m5791

i printed out a picture of a wish puff blowing in the wind onto my freezer paper. then, taped it to my cutting mat, and cut, then ironed to my front skirt piece. i extended the wind blown bits a little because it is a gathered skirt, and i wanted a little more of the stencil to be seen. next, i used a fan brush, and painted.

the paint dried for a couple hours (two or threeish) while i ran errands and when i got home it was still just tacky to touch, but i pulled up the paper anyway.







this time, the edges are crisp, and the paint looks good! finally! im not sure if it is the non velveteen paint, a little experience, or what, but so far this design looks like it has turned out!



i plan to finish the dress tomorrow, but before then, i need to learn how to sew in piping. i have some white piping that i want to put in between the gathered skirt and the bodice top to add in a little more white, and i havent decided if i am going to use white grosgrain ribbon as the ties or cut fabric. those things come before the finished product. so, sewing in piping? aunty google tell me everything you know.