Happenings!

So many things are going on up here and I love when blogs feature picture posts, so I may just keep doing them! 

We had quite a few earth day projects between school and the local university.

Nin had to make a robot out of recycled materials.  She definately wanted a girl robot with big red lips.  So with an ice cream tub, some pop bottles, a piece of used yellow paper, and those little wiggly eyeballs (which weren't recycled) she came up with this.





Then the local university had an event in their art lab for kids to make bird houses out of orange juice jugs.  We just need to hang them up and put some food into the pop lids.



We have had various sightings of Diggy, the black squirrel who lives in the neighborhood. This may not be unusual to you, but all we have around these parts is plain old brown squirrels. The first time we saw Diggy, Nin yelled, "mom there is a skunk in the driveway!" I googled and found that there are indeed black squirrels, just not around here. So where he came from we have no idea, but we like having him around. He disappeared for a summer a couple years ago, but he has been making steady appearances the last 2 summers. He has quite the reputation in the neighborhood and everyone knows who he is!

BTW- we named him Diggy after Rev Run's son, but all the neighbors have different names for him.







Tulips



A tray of seedlings that desperately need to be planted outside. This weekend is my goal.



One pathetic carrot. Seriously, where are the rest?



Lots of basil! Yumm!



Lettuce



Lilac bushes. When we first moved in, I had no idea these were in the back fence line because it was summer and they were done blooming. The next spring though, these babies popped up and the smell was divine! The whole back fence line is planted with these in several different colors. Each of these bushes is about 7 or 8 foot tall and propably 5 foot across. I have no idea why they do so well back there, but when I open the windows in the spring and the wind carries their perfume into the house, it is nothing short of a miracle. They smell sooooo good!!

Another new machine!

The hubster recently surprised me with a new machine.  I guess the word surprise is a bit of a leap, it was more like he gave me the money and I bought it for myself.  :)  I have been coveting an embroidery machine for a long time!  I chose another Brother to match my other machines.  It had great reviews and was in my price range.  So it showed up on my doorstep last Thursday and I have been practicing the last few days. 

I chose the Brother PE770.  The best part about this machine is that it has a USB port so I can download designs from lots of online stores, transfer them to a thumb drive and then plug that sucker right into the side of the machine. And the machine itself comes with 136 designs already loaded. The designs and options out there are endless!! 

Here she is!



Here are the first few designs that I have made.

Butterfly that is actually one of the Brother designs.



Floral design that is also one of the Brother designs.



An ant that I downloaded from somewhere. I thought the ant was appropriate since we have them in the house right now. Thanks to the Not Me Ghost, they converged on my bathroom trashcan after a popsicle wrapper.



A fish from StickBaer a German embroidery site. This was part of a set of designs that I purchased. I think he may make it onto a shirt for Avie.



My only problem now is that I spend way too much time perusing embroidery sites....

My busy weekend

I had some free time last weekend, so I used it up sewing baby clothes!  I have 2 nephews on the way this summer so I got to work making some baby boy clothes. 

I love love love the New Conceptions Baby Essentials (NCBE) pattern.  It is super cute for either a boy or a girl and they are so easy to make.  I have made these for lots of babies out there!  This pattern can be made in an assemby line fashion so it's easier to make 5 sets instead of 1. 

All sets are in size 3 to 6 mo.  I think the NB size is small, but then again I have giant babies.



I also made 2 Sabrina's, one for the shop and one for baby Avie. I planned on putting them both in the shop, but let's just say, I won't be showing any up close shots of the hem....



Cowboys on My Little Ponies



I Love NY for Avie



My girls love these lips!



And finally a pair of pants for myself. They are a bit big so I need to cinch up the elastic in the back. They are capri pants and with 2 inches of length, they hit in the right spot!

Pattern: Favorite Things- Smarty Pants

A new purse for me!

Like I need a new purse, but I wanted to test this pattern out before using it to make a diaper bag for my sister in law.  You may remember that I started out making handbags and as a result I have all my own patterns that I sketched out, so buying a purse pattern is very difficult for me!  But I liked this bag, so I went for it.  It is the Kati Cupcake, My Favorite Bag pattern.  I am disappointed in the pattern overall.  There were a couple errors and the bag is similar to one I already make for diaper bags.  This has grommets and a tie, but other than that the dimensions are similar and the outside pockets are similar.  That will teach me to buy a purse pattern! 

At any rate, I think this would be perfect for a diaper bag because it has 12 pockets!!  And it is the size of a small country.  I bet I could Avie in this purse also. 

All fabrics came from Hobby Lobby and again, the pattern is a Kati Cupcake pattern.





Pockets on the outside



Pockets on the inside



For size perspective!

Howdy!

Been awhile huh?!  This time of year is always very busy.  Starting seeds, cleaning garden beds, transplanting young seedlings, etc.  I haven't had much time to sew lately since it has been so nice outside.  I did manage to finish up 2 aprons, 1 dress and I have a purse in the works.  I have managed to spend lots of money on fabric and patterns lately though!  But for right now, they just sit.  Since I love to look at other people's pictures so much, I thought I would share a few of the things we have been working on up on top of the hill.

I finally figured out who has been pulling all the petals of my tulips.  And I caught her red handed this time. Baby Avie!

More tulips.

My new baby.

A bunch of dresses all lined up on the for sale rack.

Tray of seedlings.

Purple bell pepper plants. They are an heirloom variety called Purple Beauty. Bell peppers in all colors are my favorite thing to grow and eat from the garden!

Seedlings that had to be transplanted to larger homes.

These tomatoes have done the best of all the seeds so far. Rosso Scilian, another heirloom variety, known for their large fruits and are perfect for canning. Which is why I am trying them!

Baby lettuce! We love homegrown lettuce! Since we kept running out last year, I planted 2 beds this year. And I use the term "bed" lightly. I just tossed some seeds in the front garden where I had some open room. These seeds came from Seed Savers and is a 7 variety pack of various heirlooms.

(with a weed right up front and center)

Onions

See the dead looking thing there? That's a strawberry crown. I have never planted strawberries (aside from the disastrous topsy turvy incident) because you don't typically get results the first year. I am impatient and want them now! But we are giving it a go because the kids keep asking.

Peas. Lots and lots of baby pea plants. I planted 45 plants this year....

And finally, my Indian who keeps watch on my front porch. My granny kept this guy in her back flower garden and I always took care of him when I was planting petunias for her. Well when she died, I asked if I could have him for my own garden. Most of my family had no idea he was even back there in the garden. So now he sits on my front porch. I really need to find a better spot for him. If he ever got stolen I would be devastated. He needs a name and a bath, or at least a good painting.