Sewing & Other Stuff

I've been on a bit of a sewing kick for a while now.

I made two skirts at Easter time for the daughter-of-my heart Mimi Flope who is also Miss B's best friend and has been pictured a time or two in the past history of this blog.

Then I made a dress for Miss B, altering it from the pattern.

Then I used some fabric I had purchased over two years ago and made a gown & robe for myself...but I'm not thrilled with them....the fabric is stiffish with no give.

Then I bought a really great book from Amazon and made a sweet top & diaper-cover for one of my SmallPeoples clients for her birthday.

I have three skirts cut out for Miss B. She chose all the fabrics. Two of them use the same pattern and she & I are going to each sew one at the same time in order for her to begin sewing clothes. She's been doing bags and pillows on her own for quite a while now.

I have bought 3 cute dress patterns for myself and have been reading a lot of sewing blogs and perusing lots of fabric sites.

Yesterday I ordered this voile fabric pictured at left and can't wait to get it and start sewing the pattern pictured above. I'm planning to make view "c" entirely of this yummy print! I hope to post a picture of it when I've finished.

Miss B. is currently on a missions trip with 14 other teens in her youth group in Staten Island, New York. They are partnering with some missionaries there in a Liberian area. She is having the time of her life!

Charlie is taking her place working with me in her absence. It's been fun having him hang out with me these last few days. He even changed his first diaper (not soiled, of course).

What have you been up to?
Leslie

It's Been Awhile (6 monthes!)...

Busy Worker at Home emailed me a month or so ago to ask me if I still blog. I suppose that I should answer that I don't since it's been so long. Life got very busy when Jack-Jack (aka The Young Prince) began sleeping less, crawling, etc... Then came summer with everything it held-including the computer takeover by my children. Then school started and Jack-Jack came back too. So, rather than try to do a catch-up post, I've decided to post some random highlights. Here goes:

My kids are both driving now on permits. When Miss B drives, I keep one eye on how she's doing and the other on my iphone or book. When Charlie drives, I buckle up tight and bite my nails.

Dr. Love got me an iphone for my birthday. I LOVE it! If you play Words With Friends, reply to this post with your user name and we'll start up a game!

Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN is a wonderful place. Even though it took so long to get an appointment, it was well worth it. And, God knew what was going on with Miss B all along and He timed the appointment right.

Charlie now has a stuffed marlin hanging on the wall above his bed. A dear friend from college had it for almost 20 years and gave it to him when she redecorated. This led to many fun "Marlin" moments while we were on vacation.

The Shenendoah Mountains near Harrisburg, VA are hot the last week of June. Very hot. Can't go outside hot.

Miss B joined Charlie at Faith Christian School this year. She adores it!

Do you remember my dear life-long friend Connie? The one who made me this quilt? She's going to be a grandma before the year is out. A grandma to identical twin boys! You can see Connie & her daughter pre-marriage at the end of this post.

Autumn is back...my favorite time of year. I love apples, pumpkins, cider, falling leaves, bonfires and the like. I like the word "autumn." I love the colors and the crisp air. I like burrowing under the blankets next to Dr. Love with the bedroom windows open all night. I like the sound of the coyotes howling somewhere in the fields around us. I like Autumn decorating better than any other!

Jack-Jack toddles around like a drunken sailor. He likes to play ball & is pretty good about delivering it right to me. He also likes to hand things over one at a time & then have them handed back the same way. He's a lot of fun!

I finally painted over the ginormous harlequin wall in my bedroom. That wall is now pink. Before I'm done, it will be a soft red. But since it took me 3+ years to paint over the harlequin, don't count on me being done any time soon.

The picture at the head of my blog was taken just a couple of weeks ago. It's my front entrance and Miss B. She's prettier than any of those flowers!

I think the biggest reason that I've not blogged is because of Facebook. I do like Facebook; I don't think I waste too much time there as others claim to be doing. I've been able to reconnect with friends from childhood and my teen years and also keep up with friends who've moved away and those I left behind in NorthWest Indiana.

So, no promises about when I'll blog again but if you know me personally, don't be afraid to call!

Leslie

Score!

Have you checked out http://www.swaptree.com/? Yesterday I received "The Best of Cooking Light," a 416 page, 9x11", hardback, full-color book in exchange!

Also, at my local Goodwill, I found an American Girl Addie (naked with semi-bad hair) for $3! I'll be working on her hair and I'll make a dress for her. I did a little research and if I can't get her hair to my satisfaction, I can send her to the American Girl Hospital for $24 and still come out way ahead of the $100 that the doll costs new. I'm very excited about Addie since my little Kiki D. loves African-American dolls, little people & books!

Poor little Young Prince M. has a cold....his nose is runny and so, so red and his eyes are red & watery too. I feel so bad for him AND I'm keeping the makers of Airborne in business!

Hoping everyone at YOUR house is well,
Leslie

Overdue

Good morning!

I know that I am much overdue for a blog post. You may have noticed that my blog activity slowed down about 5 weeks ago. This is because I now have 4-month old Mr. M with me on a full-time basis.

I could bore you for hours with tales of my days even though pretty much every one involves feeding Mr. M, changing diapers, rocking him to sleep, putting him down for a nap, etc... He is such a sweetheart and I am thoroughly enjoying my experiences with him! Right now he is swinging next to me and chewing on his tiny thumb. And when I look over at him, he smiles back.

So I'm sure you'll understand when my posts continue to be spotty. I miss you; I love you; I've got to go....Mr. M needs a bottle!

Hugs, Leslie

Friday Treasures

As I mentioned yesterday, Dr. Love has today off from work. We went together this morning to drop off Charlie at school and run some errands.

We started with breakfast at IHOP where I had the stuffed french toast with strawberry topping and I sneaked some of the Dr.'s hashbrowns to go with them. Yum!

Then we stopped to get the oil changed in the van, got the chemicals needed to close the pool for the winter, stopped at a few garage sales (bless his heart!), went by the library, stopped at Goodwill (isn't this a neat-o sewing/Christmas thingy?!), stopped at a few more garage sales (he has LOTS of gold stars today!), then finished by opening up a separate account for SmallPeoples House where I deposited my first paycheck. That was exciting!

The following goodies are from our stop at Goodwill:

an 8" Berenguer vinyl babydoll for 99 cents

2 vintage Playskool puzzles for $1.99.

Both of these items are for SmallPeoples House, of course!

Once again, enjoy Labor Day!

Leslie

My Week

Since tomorrow is a holiday for my dear Dr. Love, today is officially the end of my week! I was very busy...SmallPeoples House (my new in-home childcare business got off the ground, I did some sewing and I tried three new recipes (no, I haven't ironed anything this week).

Here's a picture of the flowers Dr. Love brought home to me. He knows that I looooooove tulips, and slightly used flowers (these were the centerpiece at a dinner he attended) don't bother me in the least (I worked for a funeral home & got "used" flowers all the time!). These white tulips are particularly beautiful to me, especially against my red wall.

Here's a couple of pictures of the new pillow slipcovers that I did (except for the crocheted-looking one):

I gave myself a pat on my back for thinking to remove the previous cover on that bolster, tear it apart and use it for a pattern!

And here are SmallPeoples House pictures:

My $15 Craigslist changing table with the new changing pad I purchased and a .99 cent Henry the Octopus toy from Goodwill.

The $1.00 garage sale high chair with the towel that I used for a bib. I need to sew ties onto it!

Two of four gates to limit access around the house. The wooden gate I purchased new to fit the wide entryway to the game room where there are numerous Legos and other assorted choking-sized toys. The plastic gate keeps my second story off-limits and was $1.00 at the same garage sale as the high chair.

Toys, all from Goodwill or Once Upon A Child. The basket has a bunch in it too.

Little Missy K's favorite toy (I like it, too!):

And, best of all, our napping chair!

Wishing you all a wonderful Labor Day Weekend!

Grace & Peace,

Leslie

SmallPeoples House

It's September 1st and the official opening day of SmallPeoples House! Today was a short & easy day: I had only Miss K and only for 31/2 hours. After her Mommy left, we played a bit, had a snack of strawberries, bananas, orange bell pepper & dry cereal. Then we had a little walk outside where we looked at some flowers and picked up a leaf. After a diaper change (every girl likes to be clean!) we read a book for a while and then Miss K fell asleep in my lap. She got in a good 1/2 hour before Mommy came to get her. Everything went well and now she officially my first "client!" I get to visit with her again on Thursday.

SmallPeoples House is my new childcare busi.ness, operating in my ho.me. In order for us to be able to send Charlie to a pr.ivate school, I need to ea.rn an inco.me too. I am excited about this new venture.....way better in my book than having to dress a certain way, be to work on time & take orders from someone else! I have another client lined up....he's a 1 1/2 week newborn and he'll start coming when his Momma goes back to work in November.

And now, I'm ready for my nap!
Leslie