A Bit of Crafting

The boys have had a friend over the last couple of days so Phoebe and I have taken the opportunity to do some crafting.

While I did some mending Phoebe made these cute pin cushions. We found the instructions here. We used some "vintage" fabric that was given to us by a very sweet lady at church. It was a great opportunity for Phoebe to practice a slip stitch and sewing on buttons. I really like teaching her these skills in the context of useful and fun projects. That way when she needs to use a slip stitch or sew on a button she'll be fully capable of doing so.

Tomorrow is a friend's birthday and Phoebe wanted to make a purse for her. She decided on a rag type purse. She used some beads she got from a vendor at the Corpus Christi Quilt show to write the friend's name. And then we dyed some duck canvas using ink and shaving cream for the hearts. Christian had just the right cheapo shaving cream that we needed to use and since he's not here for us to ask, we just assumed that his answer was yes. I'm sure it would have been yes, after all what 15 year old boy doesn't want his mama and sister to use his shaving cream as a medium to dye fabric and then tell the whole world about it? hmmmm.

All this to say, we had a great day just playing yesterday. I hope your summer is full of days where you just play.

Boomerang Express...

This week we have had vacation bible school. Since our church doesn't have a permament location (we meet at the play house on Sunday Mornings) we had VBS at the zoo! It has been so much fun, even with hot weather. Josiah and Gabriel are part of the skit for large group and are doing a great job.

what movement am I supposed to be doing?

learning about Jesus can be so thought provoking...

It all comes back to Jesus!

Moving Towards Independence...

This evening Christian left for a two week Boy Scout trip to Canada.

Actually, the camp is in the states and they will be canoeing the boundary waters of the US and Canada for 7 days. They will spend 3 days traveling to Northern Tier High Adventure camp and then 4 days traveling back. For the 7 days that they are canoeing they will canoe 10-15 miles a day plus hike any areas that they cannot canoe. This will be a trip of a lifetime.

Christian has spent the last 6 months getting ready for this trip, mostly figuring out how to pay for it. He wrote an essay and applied for and received a scholarship that helped with some of the cost, several relatives helped with some of the cost and he worked for several friends doing yard work and helping with construction. He's done a great job and learned alot about working hard to get something you really want. I'm a proud mama!

I'm also a sad mama. I can't believe my "baby" is big enough to go on a trip like this without me or Dad! These next 2 weeks are going to be hard for me, yet I know this all part of growing up.

Taking Turns...

...Christian's turn...

...Josiah's turn...

...Gabriel's turn...

...Phoebe's turn...

...Benjamin's turn...

Dad gets his turn when he gets home from work.

Mom gets her turn when Esther is hungry, fussy or needs a change. Mom also gets her turn in the middle of the night!

But honestly, I don't mind at all, after so many years of not having a little one I am more aware than ever how quickly this stage is over. So we are cherishing every moment of it!

Welcome to our online journal

"Why an online journal?" you ask. Because I really stink at keeping up with people who I do not see in my normal everyday life. I've always known that about myself.... but this past month I've realized that many out of town friends had no clue that we were expecting a baby. How could that happen?!!

Well, it all started last summer when we were frantically fixing up our house to put on the market. After working all summer, we finally put it on the market the first week of August and promptly went on vacation. That way the house would be showable for at least a week. When we returned we had a signed contract with no negotiations! Great news. The not so great news was that the buyers wanted a two week close and we had not even started looking for a rent house. Two weeks later we closed on the house but we still didn't have a house to move into. We had to be out of our house in 5 days! So during all the packing and trying to find a rent house, we found out we were expecting. For various reasons, we decided to wait for a while before telling anyone. We found a house with 2 days to spare and moved in that weekend. We spent the next couple of months unpacking, working and schooling... just the normal stuff that totally fills your days. When I was 16 weeks we told the children we were expecting and the news quickly spread to our in town friends. We also told our parents and siblings. My thought was that I would send out a Christmas letter and put the news in there. What was I thinking? I rarely do Christmas letters when everything is going smoothly, how was I going to do one while spending most of my time in bed with all day sickness? So then I thought, I'll do New Years letters! Again, what was I thinking? Oh well, there's always Easter! Easter is just so close to the due date, we'll just send out those cute announcements that everyone else does! I guess I have a small problem with procrastination!

So, I'm hoping that this journal will give those of you who have not completely written us off a glimpse into our lives.

Oh, by the way, I've had a reality check since having the baby and we're not sending out those cute announcements. What was I thinking? I couldn't get it together enough to do those for any of my other 5 children and somehow I'm miraculously going to get it together enough to do them for number 6? ....of course, there is always the Christmas letter!

Basic Sewing Supplies

When I started sewing, I really knew nothing.  I knew I needed needles and thread, pins, scissors, a sewing machine and fabric, of course.  But I didn't really know what kind of scissors or pins to buy.  I made a few buying errors along the way that served as teaching tools. 

I hope with the following list that I can help you avoid making some of the same mistakes. 

Scissors: There are many different kind of scissors that each are best for different tasks.  Over time you will probably want to invest in several pairs.  But for starting out, just make sure you have a sharp general purpose pair of scissors that you use only for fabric. And you probably already have some scissors for paper laying around the house, but if not, then you'll want to get a pair (that look diffenent) for paper. 

Needles:  you'll need a pack of assorted hand needles.  Eventually you'll use most, if not all sizes so make sure and get an assortment.  For your sewing machine you'll want to get a pack of univeral needles.  These will be good for most projects.  If you are working with sheer fabric, denim or quilting you can get special needles for those projects. 

Thread: There are a slew of threads on the market and you can do some really fun stuff with some of them.  But for beginning it is best to use all purpose polyester or mercerized cotton thread.   You'll want to get colors that will match your projects.  White and black will be suitable for most projects. 

Embroidery floss:  Embroidery floss is a great, inexpensive addition to your sewing kit.  These cannot be used in a machine but are great for hand sewing for embellishing. 

Measuring tape and ruler:  You'll want a sewing measuring tape that is at least 60" long.  And standard 12" ruler. 

Pins:  Pins are a necessary part of sewing and you want to make sure that you get good pins, you will be using them alot.  Beware of cheap pins that are dull, they will be frustrating to use. 

Seam Ripper:  We all want to believe that we will never have to rip out stitching, but reality is that you we will have to.  If you want your projects o look really good, you need to become friends with your seam ripper.  I always ask myself, "Will I regret not ripping out this seam?"  if the answer is "yes", then I rip it out and if the answer is "no" then I don't. And honestly, sometimes the answer is "no"

Sewing machine:  Buy the best machine that you can afford but remember that the most expensive is not necessarily the best.  Take your time and go to a sewing machine store where they will let you try out different machines with no pressure to buy.  Explore the machine throughly before you buy it. Also, some stores will give you  free help if you buy your machine there.  Although they might be a bit more expensive, their knowledge is priceless.  If you are buying a machine for a young child I highly recommend the Janome Sew Mini . It sews well and only goes one speed...slow.

Fabric:  This is the fun part of sewing.  There are so many wonderful fabrics on the market it can be hard to choose.  Whatever project you are going to do make sure you use the kind of fabric that is recommended.  As you gain experience with sewing you can do your own thing - sometimes this works out great and sometimes not.  There is a reason that certain fabric is recommended for certain projects.

Feel free to leave any questions or other tips in the comments.