A Late Christmas Present

How did it get to be so late so soon?  

~ Dr. Seuss

Well, my 10-year-old friend's Christmas present finally arrived in the mail and I was able to give it to her on Saturday:  

Yup, I got her her own sewing machine!  She has done a couple of projects with me, on my machine, and she seems to like it.  She's also pretty good at remembering things like: needle down before you turn a corner, needle up before you remove the fabric and sew in reverse a little bit at the beginning and end of each seam.  ;)

I showed her how to fill a bobbin and thread her machine.  And we did some simple sewing, just to make sure that everything was working.  We sat in the living room and she pushed the foot pedal with her hand...  ;)

I also let her raid my remnant stash for pieces big enough to practice on and to make throw pillows.  Happily for me, she ended up taking about half of the stash - which consists of pieces that are big enough that I can't throw them away without feeling guilty, but small enough that I am unlikely to ever use them myself.  So, it was a win-win!  ;)

We had time to stitch up two pillow shells and fill and finish one of them.  :)

Another little thing that makes me feel like this is going to work for her - I explained that she needed to tear the fiber fill into little pieces to stuff the pillow - not just cram in big chunks - and she really did a good job!  She was very patient and spent a lot of time stuffing her pillow.  I think that's pretty impressive for a 10-year-old, don't you?  

Speaking of which, I sent her home with enough fiber fill to make pillows for just about everyone in her life!  ;)

Of course, her mom is now all excited, thinking that Mariana can start sewing her own tailored school pants, because they are expensive to buy.  Yikes!  Apparently some expectation management is called for on my part...  

It probably sounds like a great present for her.  But if she really gets into sewing and I end up with a sewing friend, it will be a present for me!  :)  

In Loving Memory...

Grandmas hold our tiny hands for just a little while, 

but our hearts forever.  

~ Anonymous

I miss you, Grandmommy...

A Flipped Life

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.  

~ Helen Keller

Everyone knows the stages of life - you grow up, get a job, get married, raise your family, your children grow up and move out on their own, and you and your spouse spend the rest of your lives focusing on each other and spoiling your grandchildren.  

Well, it looks like we are about to flip our lives upside-down.  In more ways than one!  

My husband and I have been married for 32 years.  We didn't have children and we've spent those 32 years focusing on each other and our careers and hobbies.  And we have been very happy.  

And now, in our early-to-mid-fifties, we are beginning the process to qualify as adoptive parents with the state of Florida.  If we successfully complete this process, a year from now (or so) a teenager may be calling us "Mom and Dad."  

Daring adventure - here we come!  

To be continued...  

P.S. - is "daring" another word for crazy?  

It's a Flipped Thing

Life is like Tetris; 

if it doesn't fit, just flip it over.

~ Sabine Hein

"Flipping" seems to be all the rage these days...

People are flipping houses:

Teachers are flipping their classrooms:

In 2015, my husband and I are thinking of flipping our lives...  

Stay tuned!  

Merry Christmas!

Sending Wishes for Joy to You and Yours  

Wherein I Gain a New Appreciation for the Length of 47 Inches...

I don't want to get to the end of my life

and find that I have just lived the length of it.  

I want to have lived the width of it as well.  

~ Diane Ackerman

There are 36 inches in a yard of fabric.  (Okay, there are actually 36 inches in a yard of anything, but work with me here...)  

A yard and a half of fabric is 54 inches long.

I order 2 and 3 yard cuts of fabric all the time.  

I never think twice about it.

It doesn't seem like much at all.  

So, setting a goal of weaving four panels, each 47 inches long, didn't seem like much of a challenge at all.  

Heck, 47 inches isn't even a full 1.5 yards!  

And then I started weaving...

... and weaving ...

... and weaving ...

And it turns out that 47 inches, when you are weaving, is very, very, long.  

In fact, it is about THIS long:  

Yes, that is right - I have finally finished the first of the four bands that I plan to weave!  

Can I get a "Hallelujah!" ?   ;)

Just three more to go!   ;)

The Next Generation of Weaving Seamstresses

Once there was a seamstress who could weave fabric from feeling.  

She sewed gowns of delight: sheer, sparkling, sleek.  

She cut cloth out of ambition and ardor, idyll and industry.

~ Marie Rutkoski

Two months ago, give or take, Mariana decided that she wanted to make a potholder purse.  We sketched a plan and calculated that she would first need to weave 10 potholders on her little loom.

The following weekend, I inquired into her progress and she had only done one.

The following weekend, no more...

And so, after asking for a time, I figured she had let the project slip by the wayside (to join many of mine!) and we would not be making a potholder purse together...

Then, on Saturday, she surprised me by announcing that she had completed ALL TEN potholders!

And so we sewed.  :)

Here is the front view, with the flap raised up:

Here is the back view:

When it came to lining her purse, she couldn't decide between Perry the Platypus and Minnie Mouse - a dilemma that I think all of us have struggled with at one time or another in our lives! - and so we used one panel of each.  ;)

You can judge for yourself, but I think you'll agree that it was a success:

Man, I SO want to buy her a sewing machine for Christmas...  

I hope you are feeling ready for, and looking forward to, your holidays!