A frustrating project

I made this swim cover-up for my niece from a towel. It has got to be one of the most frustrating projects I have ever worked on.  I got the bright idea as I was perusing Target.  I had one of those infamous "I could make that" moments. Oy. I checked the internet thinking surely someone had this idea before me.  Sure enough, there were several patterns.  However, the patterns for this style cost money.  Being the cheapo, I mean spendthrift, that I am, I thought to myself, "I don't need no stinking pattern".  So, I bought the towel, envisioned my project and set to work.  I had just received a copy of Sew News in the mail that had a tutorial about how to make a gathered top, like this project has, using elastic thread.  I had never worked with elastic thread, but the tutorial made it sound simple saying something like "wind your bobbin with elastic thread, sew horizontal lines close together down the top".  Ok, maybe that's my paraphrasing, but that's basically all the info it gave in regards to elastic thread and how this project might prove difficult. I did understand that the whole gathering process works better on lightweight material, but I also saw the pattern listed above that was clearly made from a beach towel using the same process.  

After stitching my horizontal lines with the elastic thread for the first couple rows, I was seeing NO gathering taking place.  After reading numerous tutorials and tips given by bloggers and the like, I finally was able to trouble-shoot somewhat.  It was quite frustrating because one blog would tell me to wind the elastic tight, while the other would say loose.  Eeek.  Some blogs talked about changing the bobbin tension. All my years of crafting and I didn't know how to change my bobbin tension... more tutorial searching... Ugh! 

When I finally got it to work somewhat, what I ended up with was a not-tight-enough swim cover.   I decided to cut the whole thing down to size, about half.  Which meant that the skirt was now not full enough to pull over.  It has to be stepped into.  So, the ribbon straps that I originally applied had to be removed because they made it so you couldn't step in! I replaced those with FOE that I had on hand in a pretty tealy-green.  Then, when I went to stitch the other side up, the seams were fraying.  OMG, I was about to throw the whole thing away. 

However, I got it to where everything seemed to be holding steady. I emailed my SIL to warn her of the need to step into the cover-up and put the darn thing in a gift bag.  I mentioned the gift to my niece since I was out of town during her party.  She told me she hadn't tried it on yet, but "It's really cute!" Thank God someone thinks so!

Maggie's birthday

My girl turned three.  It seems a little unreal. My sweet girl has gotten so independent in so many ways, but is still so much more of a baby than Lila was at this age.  Of course, when Lila was three, we had a real baby around and probably less tolerant of those behaviors.  But, I must admit, some of her babyisms are just so stinking cute.  I could listen to her talk all day long.  She is still s-less at the beginning of words.  So, her birthday party was "Trawberry Hortake" themed.  She enjoyed being the birthday girl as much as her mommy does and was glad to draw it out over a week's time.  We celebrated with the grandparents on the night of her actual birthday with a homemade calzone dinner.  Her actual party we held on St. Patrick's Day.  It was gorgeous weather and we left the house wide open.  Our yard is so much better for entertaining than inside the house.  So, I was thrilled to see the sun shining and temps in the 70's. 

 I purchased this template for the strawberry favor boxes, although it appears there are quite a few free templates out there.  I enlarged the template quite a bit so that it could hold more goodies!

 The puppies made an appearance and were well-loved and carried around the whole yard.  My nephew especially liked them and after they were put away, kept asking where they went.  "Puppy?"  "Puppy?".

These are some very special boys in our life.  Left to right, "Opa", my nephew Worth, my handsome farm husband, and his Grandad. I caught a rare moment with all of them smiling, even Grandad!  What a fun day celebrating my favorite Maggie in the whole wide world.

A Fairy Party

Have you ever been invited to a Fairy Party? Our family was, just this morning. Here's the invitation to prove it! 

After we tucked Lila into bed last night, there were mysterious sounds of furniture moving coming from her room.  When I went to check on her, she did the I-don't-want-you-to-see-what-I'm-doing body block with a very large and suspicious grin.  

"Lila, what are you doing in here?"

Grin gets larger, "Nothing, mommy.  Nothing." Door closes.

A little later she shouted, "What makes the Huh Huh sound?"

"You mean like Howard?"

"Oh! "H" Got it!"

Then, this sign was posted outside her door, replacing the one that said "Pat Sor" 

(pet store)

 Can you read it?  It says "Pixie Hollow", you know, where Tinkerbell lives?  I am totally loving this new phase of Lila's development where she can sound things out all by herself and make her thoughts known on paper.  It is wonderful and miraculous and so fun! 

She covered the table with a "tablecloth" and put out a lovely flower arrangement in the center.   

None of us were allowed in her room this morning before we donned our "fairy clothes".  For Lila and Maggie, the choices were a little more obvious.  For Cam, Lila chose a red plaid button-down shirt on top of his work out clothes.  For me, it was red sandals with flowers on the toe, a brown skirt with embroidered flowers on it, and a coral blouse with white designs.  I looked "terrific!" according to Lila.   

 Once we were ushered in, we sat down to plates of apples, blackberries, and grapes.  Lila required Cam to bring in two more chairs since she didn't have enough seating in her room for us all.

 She also drew drinks for all of us, including straws that she glued on.  This was "nectar". It was quite a lovely affair.  I do recommend, if you ever have the honor of being invited to one of Lila's Fairy Parties, attending with great delight.  

Puppies!

Our Labrador had puppies!  They are three-weeks-old now and soooooo cute!  I mean, it’s ridiculous how cute I think they are.  Those of you who know me, know I could talk about human birth, labor, delivery, etc the live long day.  I’m passionate about, fairly knowledgeable, and find it fascinating. I have been present at a fair number of births for a person who is not a doula or midwife.  However, I have to admit, I found dog birth to be very boooooring. Do understand that Cam thought she was in labor a full 24 hours before anything happened.  Also, I think my ignorance about dog birth made it even more boring.  With human labor, I know all the sign posts to look for, I know what’s happening and why, and I understand (basically) how to support and encourage the mama.  Dogs don’t need support.  They would prefer to be left alone.  So, I’m left just watching, watching her do the same unremarkable thing for 24 hours.  However, finally, that first little puppy came out.  Laney did her awesome doggy mommy business and cleaned that little booger up. Then we waited some more.  The first one came early morning.  By noon, we had seven healthy pups.  Seven healthy, adorable pups.  Laney could not have done a better job.  She was devoted in every way to caring for those babes.  How I wish I could listen to those natural, nurturing instincts better in my own mothering.  Surprisingly, when we cleaned the bedding and did a head count later that night, an eighth one had snuck out! Here is a picture of her nursing her brood calmly.  They, on the other hand, are not so calm while nursing.  It is hilarious to watch the “ravenous” pups fight and squirm to find a spot.

Puppies are born without their eyes and ears open.  Here’s a picture of them a day or two after birth.  We had five yellow and three black.  Four boys and four girls.

They now have their eyes open and are each developing their own personalities.  The girls can’t keep their hands off of them (okay, neither can I).  But, luckily, it’s great socialization for the dogs.  On day 17, they began to play with one another.  They are now chewing on each other and crawling to the top of the heap for naps.  Oh, how they make us smile.  It will really be hard when the last one has gone to a new home.  The girls have a firm understanding that we will not be keeping these puppies.  Our house is just not big enough for three large dogs, two children, and their parents.  But, boy are they fun while they’re here.

Three-week-old black Labrador puppy

PS- If you think your house and heart are big enough for one of these dogs, please check out our farm website:  

Old Capitol Farm