Pettiskirts Anyone?

Can you believe I am seriously thinking about making some pettiskirts? I have an idea in my mind (always a scary thing!) of making the girls some dresses for Christmas. I'm thinking about something twirly and feminine. Lots of rich fabrics like velvets, brocades, silks or satins....and I think a pettiskirt would look fabulous underneath!

I know it will probably be a one time only type of thing, and it will then become a 'dress-up' kind of thing for them to play with, but I think it might be fun to try!

I've been looking around online for patterns, and I have found some that are pretty simple (and simple looking) and some more advanced (and delicious looking!). It is all It is just how you put it together that will make the difference.

It actually seems that the hardest part will be to find the fabric. I've found a couple of suppliers for the fabric, but the shipping is unreal! The shipping is more than the cost of the fabric! Maybe I can find something a bit more local so I can pick it up myself at a bricks and mortar store!

If I don't make one for their holiday dress, I might at least make one for dress up....

hmmmm....

Nini

Princess Dress

Twenty-one more days until our Disney trip...I have one more dress to decide on. We were able to SCORE ressies at the Akershaus for a princess dinner. I need a Princess Dress for the girls. I have several ideas. I'm thinking Belle in her yellow ball gown or Ariel in her Sea foam green ball gown. (depending entirely on which fabrics I can find at a reasonable price!!)

I will be making them as a sun dress instead of a ball gown of course, but I'm having some problems deciding exactly how to take what is in my head and transform it to an actual dress! I think the hardest part will be I will be using a Franken -pattern. For non-sewerrs, that is when you take part of one pattern and part of another and throw them together! I'm really scared of messing up the fabric. My seam ripper is going to be my best friend during this experience!

Wish me luck!

Nini

Sewing Machine Feet

To all the newbies sewing here, I just want to offer a bit of advice...before you spend money buying NEW feet for your machine, check very carefully at the feet that were included with your machine!

I had decided I needed an edge stitching foot to get the nice even, straight stitching along the edges, and for my top stitching. (Thanks to Lisa for the tip about lengthening the stitches). Then I decided I wanted an overcast foot so I could use the overcast stitches that were included in my machine to cut out the step of zig zaging over my seams.

After lots and lots of tireless research, I picked up my manual...I seems an overcast foot was supposed to be with my machine! After checking it out, I found out that my overcast foot looks EXACTLY like the edge stitching foot! Yup...all this time I have had what I was searching for, right in my sewing drawer!

Then I discovered...strange as this may sound...that there is a reason they make different feet! Each foot is made for a specific job, and more importantly, THE WORK!!! I mean, I know the ruffler was great at ruffling, and the button holer worked perfectly at button hole-ing (as long as you try to use the one that came with YOUR NEW machine and not try to use the one for the OLD machine...long embarrassing story),the even feed foot worked perfectly at evenly feeding the fabric into the machine, and who would ever try to put on a zipper without a zipper foot? (well, me, but again another long embarrassing story)

But who would have EVER thought that other feet actually was the best tool for their respective job????

Morale of the story, if your machine came with more than one foot, don't, I repeat DON'T just put the feet back in the plastic bag and hide them in a drawer...you may actually need them!


OK, now back to trying to decide on a princess sun dress for the girls to wear. This SHOULD be my last dress for the trip...after all I only have 22 days left!


Nini

OK, I KNEW that Amanda would catch my little comment about being satisfied if I never had another grand child. See, originally I had another comment after that statement, something along the lines of"....not really!!" But I didn't like the way it read, so I took it out. I was supposed to go back and put something else in, but Little Princess needed something and I forgot....

That is my story and I'm sticking with it!

I do have to tell you about the birthday present for her! I had made some Disney doll dresses to match her dresses for our upcoming trip. I was looking for a doll to put them on when I realized they fit the Cabbage Patch dolls perfectly.

Off we go to find a Cabbage Patch Doll. NO ONE around here had any! Not Wally World, not Targemont, not that mega Toy store (that really needs to learn how to spell the word 'are'.). No one!

I had seen online that the Babyland General in Cleveland had some 25th anniversary editions on sale, so , even though I am coming down with that tummy bug, we drove 2 hours to get to the store before they closed. Miss B and Mr D were begging in the back seat to find a friendly gas station, since neither one was wearing a diaper, but Dad kept on driving!

We finally made it with TWO minutes to spare. I picked out a cute little girl with blond hair and blue eyes, and we hurried up to get it paid for before they closed us out of the store! I have never seen Dad hurry so much before! He has NEVER been in any kind of hurry for anything! I always have to tell him to be somewhere an hour before we really have to ... just to keep from being late! It was really kinda cute to see him hurry like that!

So, of course I had to make the doll a cupcake birthday dress to match Alyssa's. I can hardly wait until Friday for her birthday dinner!

Nini

Alyssa!

As we sit here, it is hard not to think back two years ago! Two years ago we were not so patiently waiting for the Little Princess to make her appearance in this world. Now that she is here, it is hard to remember what life was like without her! She is the whole reason I had kids to start with...and even if I never have another grandchild, I will be satisfied.

She is not feeling very well right now. There is a nasty tummy thing going around right now, and she seems to have it. Not as bad as her mommy had it earlier this week, but enough to make her uncomfortable. We are trying to keep her away from milk right now...she has her cup full of Pedialyte. She obviously thinks we are being mean to her...but she does 'get it', or at least part of it.

We have been spelling M-I-L-K all morning. If she hears the word she starts screaming for it. Since she won't drink her pedialyte, I decided to give her a pop-cicle. At least it will be some liquid in her. Well, she looked at Miss B and Mr. D and said "I can't have milk, so I get a icicle!" Now, this was just after Miss B spelled M-I-L-K in a sentence! She knew exactly what we were spelling!

She is getting so smart, I think she will be ready for Kindergarten in another few weeks! She can't write the letters and numbers yet, but she is starting to know them on sight (still not quite there, but getting there) and is learning the sounds they make and is getting to be a pro at counting! She was just singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star"...and then changed to "Jesus Loves me" in the middle of the song. Then she stopped and said "I not finish star..." and then went back to "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"...almost from where she left off. She is showing she has a great memory!

Now, before anyone thinks I'm prejudice where she is concerned...well, I AM!!!

Nini

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary to me! Today marks 32 years since hubby and I said "I Do!" This is a date we share with one , umm, 'infamous' event in history! It is one that has irked me for 32 years! It seems we cannot celebrate our anniversary without the world remembering this day as something else!

See, on this date, exactly 32 years ago, Elvis left the building...permanently. Every year we have had to listen to Elvis memorability...only his songs are played on the radio, every trivia question having to do with him has been uttered on this day. I had secretly hoped, that with all the hoopla about Michael Jackson's death, we would be spared this year..but nope, not to be.

I remember very distinctly, when I went to my first OB appointment with Shawn, the nurse could not believe that I 'chose' to get married on that day! I told her I couldn't believe Elvis 'chose' my wedding day to die!

Over the years, my older kids have all made the joke that when I got married, it broke Elvis' heart...and that is what killed him. So, it stands to reason, that this year, my youngest asked us if we really knew Elvis...

Maybe by the time we reach our fiftieth anniversary there will hardly be a mention of Elvis and his passing ... either that, or we are both so senile we don't notice it!

Nini

Quick Disney Update!

I have finally gotten all the dresses finished for Disney! I have only 2 outfits to finish...I need to get Bri and Dami a denim overall set to make shorts out of...

Of course I still have several T shirts to finish, but I can relax until the beginning of September when I purchase the last of the T shirts and the last of the transfers.

So, what was I working on yesterday? An outfit for the baby doll that matches the Pooh dress Bri and the Princess are wearing to the Crystal Palace. It turned out really cute! All I need is some Velcro and I will be able to finish it and pack it away.

Now I guess I'll be obsessed with making Dolly matching outfits!

Weight, weight...and more weight!

OK..for my Disney trip I really wanted to be in a size 12. I'm not really sure that will happen, but so far, since January I have lost a little over 30 pounds! I have gone from a size 20 to a size 14! Not bad for a middle age Grandma...huh?

This past week I've actually gained a half pound, and it is really bumming me out. However.... I tried on a pair of shorts that were a bit snug last week, and they fit rather good today. I have two pair of capris that we bought a few weeks ago in a size 14 and they fit rather good right now. I will actually have a problem if I loose to a size 12. I have nothing to wear in a size 12! I still have to get at least one pair of jeans...just waiting to see what size to buy. All my jeans are currently of the falling off variety! Even with a belt I can't keep them up... they look really strange on me at the moment!

Yesterday, someone actually commented on the amount of weight I had lost! Thank you Ms. Judy! You really made my day! She told me I was looking more fit and...younger! I really think the younger part is due to 1) my hair color and 2) not having as much arthritis pain since starting my new meds. I really am happy that we were able to get started on that!

Now, time to make a quick WalMart run for milk....

Disney...Disney..Disney!

Woo Hoo...Disney is really getting close...44 more days! I can hardly wait! I'll go today and get the remainder of the fabric I need for the dresses I'm making the girls for our first night dinner. I have already bought the main fabric, but forgot to get the fabric for the lining!

I also have a couple of sets of buttons to get...so I'll pick them up today as well. My plans call for all the sewing to be finished by next Wednesday...so far I think this plan is do able..I only have the last two dresses and a couple of applique tshirts to finish. I've also gotten most of the transfer type tshirts done. I have to pick up some more transfers to finish them up. My goal for the transfer shirts is next Friday.

After that is is the remainder of the packing and last minute plans to complete. It is really coming together nicely. This is the first trip that we have had longer than a couple weeks to plan! We've always gone on a 'whim'. The longest I have ever planned a Disney trip was last year. We decided in January to use our income tax refund to go...and left towards the end of February. Just barely got the tax refund in before we left! LOL!!

Of course there was one trip that we were still in the planning stage when we had to cancel...that would have been about a three month advance notice we were going...but for this trip, we knew a full nine months before the trip! We've even had the room reserved that long! Unbelievable!!

Anyone want to join us for a trip to Disney to celebrate D's birthday??

Nini

Halelujah!

I have internet on the laptop! It wasn't the router (after almost $80.00 for a new router!). After 2 hours on the phone with Netgear, 45 minutes with Windstream and another 2 hours with Toshiba... we discovered that my problem was a corrupted file on my internet explorer!

I did manage to loose all my music that was on the computer...but I did manage to save most of the pictures and the enormous amount of documents...which took over an hour and a half to transfer to the desktop!

Truthfully, I am afraid to check to make sure they are still on the desktop...if I don't look I can still hope! ...the thought of all that Disney stuff being gone is too much to deal with this morning!

I have spent 3 and a half hours this morning redoing the laptop...I can't believe I was able to find the disks for this laptop! I'm so glad I didn't try this last night. I would have finished around 2 this morning!

So...life is good for now! I can enjoy the AC, the Internet, and the TV all in the same place now!


Nini

...Still sick

Why is it when you are sick... the dirt in your house bothers you more than any other time?

This pneumonia is kicking me in the pasta-deterior. I can't lay on the couch - because I see the rug needs to be vacuumed. I can't lay in bed - because I see the room needs to be painted. I can't be in the studio - because it is full of 'stuff' that needs to find a home. I can't be in the kitchen - well because it hasn't had a good cleaning in so long...

The floors need to be mopped, the laundry needs to be done, the dishes need to be washed, the dresses need to be sewn, the t-shirts need to be made...well, you get the drift!

We leave for Disney in 47 days...I have 57 days worth of stuff to do before we leave! If I ever get the time, I'll have to start making lists of what I can live without getting finished..the first thing on that list is making the kids custom, handmade autograph books. It is a really cute idea, and not too hard to get done, just very ink intensive. Of course getting them bound after they are finished is another added cost. Hard to justify when you can purchase a generic one for less than $5!

Between ink, paper and getting them bound - probably around $20 each to make! But boy would they ever be cute!

I see the same problem with making them journals...but I'm thinking I could wait until they get back to print them up. That way we could make them the basis for their scrap books. We could personalize them as we want to, and they could use the notes they write in their personal (generic) journals to add to the scrapbook.

I just finished making Damien his first custom outfit for Disney. Somehow the act of sewing for him has made the trip all the more real. I've made several dresses for the girls (in fact I have only one more to go to have theirs all done!) but this is the first one for Damien. It is just a pair of Easy Fit shorts (pattern from CarlaC at You Can Make This) and a t shirt with an appliqued Mickey head out of the same Tiger print fabric. They look so cute on him! I asked him if I could ad some ruffles to the bottom, and he said I could...but he wanted me to know he was a boy and not a girl!

So, today I do not have the Princess (she is visiting with her other Grandma) so I plan on getting the two A-Line dresses cut out and hopefully put together. Then I can concentrate on the gazillion and one T shirts to finish!

I'm trying to remember how this whole obsession with making their clothes for this trip got started anyway..... oh yeah now I remember! It was from the DISboards! I've got to find a 12 step program for that...AFTER we get back!

Nini