Laowai

The Kid’s Clothes Week Challenge is just a bunch of bloggers telling each other that they will spend at least an hour sewing each day for a week and then showing off all the cute things they made. Since I like to show off my sewing projects and I find all the other ladies projects really inspiring – I’m in. Here’s what I’ve made so far.

I used the Music Box Jumper pattern from Oliver + S. I don’t know what to call the fabric – I’ve had it for a long time – it’s like an oxford shirt but it’s heavy and a little stretchy. And this is the first time I’ve used snaps. They sell snaps at our grocery store. I think I might use them on everything since they were so much easier than buttons.

I made the size three – I think it will look better once she has grown into it a bit more. But I’m happy – it was an easy pattern and I like jumpers.

Just a bunch of random photos from the last week or so.

I walk Bea out the door and few steps away from our apartment and then she walks the rest of the way to school. There she goes under the train tracks and up the hill.

After we leave Bea in the morning Claire and I take our time getting back home. She likes to pick these berries and we look at all the spiders and slugs. Eeek.

Brian took the girls on a hike last weekend. I worked on Claire’s quilt the whole time they were gone. So nice!

The quilt is almost done. It’s gone quickly. And now I’m on to the binding. I love doing the binding – it’s the home stretch and it’s straight and easy.

Bea lost her second tooth the other day. It had been loose for over a week – enough time to make a proper tooth pillow.

Here are the girls with the ipad. What in the world did we do before we had an ipad? And look they are actually playing together.

Next week is the beginning of Bea’s Fall holiday. I’d like to sew up a storm for the Kid’s Clothes Week Challenge. And then we go to the mountains on Friday.

Do you know about the Brambly Hedge series of books? I just discovered them and I have a big crush on all the little mice that make up the Brambly Hedge world. 

**** Warning for Grandma C. — lots of pictures of mice coming up! ****

I spent a lot of time as a kid drawing cutaway house scenes and setting up my doll house so this is all right up my alley. How can you not love the sweetness of the little mice with names like Wilfred, Clover, Dusty, Catkin, Primrose and Teasel. 

The stories are sweet but it’s the illustrations that really make these books special. They are very inspiring for little dollhouse creators. I hope Bea gets into that one day and has as much fun with it as I did.

There is even an animated series – it couldn’t be cuter.

We made some bread yesterday (Fannie Farmer’s wheat bread). Later I also made some chocolate zuchini bread. Bea tried some of the chocolate bread which is really like chocolate cake after dinner. She ran into the kitchen and said “Mom, there’s someting green in my cake!” Then she begrungingly liked it even though it had vegetables in it.

The Zurich Slow-Up is a day when they close the big road that goes along our side of Lake Zurich and you can ride your bike on the road. Bea has really loved the Slow-Up in the past – she thinks it’s neat that we can ride down the middle of the road. And she loves to collect balloons from the sponsors companies along the way. The section that is closed goes for 28 kilometers – Bea road 5 or so miles of that.

This week has not been our easiest. Mostly because Bea was sick and home from school for most of the week. She had a bad fever for 3 days and then has been spending the rest of the week getting her strength back. She’s back to school today and the sun is out so I think we’ll survive. Poor thing.

Also, I think my life, as I know it, is over… Claire has been a morning nap girl and it has been so nice to have those 2 hours to myself while Bea is at school. But, I think she might be giving up the nap soon – what will I do without that time? When will I wander around the house aimlessly, when will I eat chocolate, when will I veg out in front of the TV, when will I indulge in silly crafty projects??? Oh woe is me.

Who does she think she is? Not napping – growing up – how dare she.

I’ve comenced quilting on Claire’s quilt:

And lastly – we booked an apartment for the Fall holiday. I am really looking forward to going here:

As soon as I sense a little bit of Fall in the air I start to feel crafty and I think of the holidays coming. I’m really enjoying embroidering on felt right now.

And here’s Bea with a bubble hat:

I’ve felt like sewing lately… more than anything else. Just lock me away in the sewing room and I’m a happy girl. 

My furniture is really getting abused by my children and it shows. So I made this quilted cover thingy to cover some of the stains on my chair. I quickly pulled all the yellow and brown and cream colored fabrics that I could find. Sometimes when I go to choose fabrics for a quilt project it’s the ones that I do quickly and without agonizing that I like best. Now I need to do something for my poor couch – it’s getting embarassingly grungy.

We made this cute game – the PB&J game – out of some felt. You have to roll the die to build your sandwich with the bread , jelly and peanut butter pieces. 

And lastly I made a dress for Claire. It’s that simple, easy peasant style pattern that I’ve used many times. I added a pocket for kitties. Ignore the wrinkles – she just had a nap:

I think we have some rainy days ahead so I’m going to go busy myself in the sewing room some more…