it's that time again...

It's Easter dress makin' time again. Feels like forever ago that I made a decent Easter dress.
The last couple of years have knocked me for a good one but you can't keep a good woman down.
Just looking at that fabric stash (messy-many more fabrics are hiding behind the front ones) makes my head spin with ideas. You know what happens when you have too many ideas....you don't do a darned thing.
I now only have two little girls to sew froo froo dresses for...my older ones like skirts now. Not as colorful and not as fun...they have grown up way too fast. but to be sure they have had their share of mama made froo froo dress sets. LOL!
Back to my younger two daughters...they want boutique style dresses with pantalettes with two layers of ruffles at the bottom, and can you blame them?
I picked up a yard of fuschia leopard dots at WalMart as one of the ruffles or piping on their dresses....just a little touch of fun!

Here's one I am considering fiddling with til I like it....turning the bloomers into pantalettes and adding more things like piping along the bodice and more color.

I am really liking the vintage orange with white flowers at the bottom of the picture. I also like the lime green with red cherries at the top left of the picture. It's a good thing I get to make two totally different dress sets then I can play with color more than just once.

Sophie turns *6* Thursday of this next week. How did it sneak up on me? She wants a tea party birthday party. She drew out her cake for me....a teapot, of course. ~grin~
Tomorrow we will craft up some cute teapot invitations for her friends.
I am still looking for a public place to hold the party though, with all of the room swapping still being finished up I dont really need the stress of having people over. A little dose of grace from me to me.

wildflowers...

Tessa doodled these flowers a couple years ago along the side of the river. She xeroxed the original doodle onto watercolor and painted it. I like how twisty and random the flowers and stems are. the spring colors are cheerful also.

ah, progress...

An apology to anyone who has stuck with checking my blog as I have disappeared this past week. I had all intentions to show back up last Thursday and here it is already the Wednesday after that. Where does time go?
The last time I was here I was talking about all of the moving around of rooms in my home.
Well, progress has been made... Slowly but surely the sewing room (studio) has been transplanted in the other end of my bedroom...I think this will work out very nicely.

A large shelving unit separates that part of the room from my part of the room. I will eventually find pretty fabric, use a dowel, eye hooks, small chains and hang it from the ceiling like a curtain. For now I am just enjoying not stepping on dress up shoes and banana peels from a bedtime snack from two girls under the age of 9.
I instead get to look longingly at my sewing machine (this machine isn't the most high tech or beautiful, but it was bought for me by my ex-husbands now deceased Grandmother after she found out I was making my sweet baby everything by hand- needle and thread to be exact). this machine is now over 16 years old and clunks as I use it but cannot imagine any other machine at this point in my life.
and bright, cheerful piles of fabrics and trims.
(the shelving unit was snatched out of an already full bedroom...we downsized the books on it--still have two shelves full at the bottom?)


ah sweetness.....

More to come on the progress of the room swap....stay tuned.
lori

my response to a friend....

(sewing stuff in the dining room...and other things too...ugh.)

After writing the below response to a friend I saw how over extended i am and will be taking a weensy break til Thursday of this week.
hope to see you all when i get back--i have a ton to tackle (good thing there are many hands around here)...... but will miss you!


(Sophie carrying down a sack of bedroom garbage-you know like tags off clothing and pictures drawn eons ago but just *had* to be kept. I dont think so babies..)

Soulemama--
feeling so stretched now too...not a book. but swapping out three rooms, one being my studio/homeschool room/computer room for an 11 year old boys bedroom. I wont even get started on what i am finding in this boys bedroom while trying to swap it out up and down stairs.
sigh... my studio stuff is all in the diningroom while i am swapping the two little girls out of the other end of my room into their brothers old bedroom and then i will put my studio in the other end of my bedroom--while going to college, schooling the kids and trying to run my home business. oh and the rear end went out of the van over the weekend...aaaah, the intricacies of life.
crazy.
but i love all of it --just not so much of it all front and center at the same time...
oh and also writing up the demand letter for the insurance company from my son finishing his medical stuff from us being rear ended in 06.
sigh....

be back soon!
lori

Etsy love....

I am so impressed with the community at Etsy. There is such a diverse amount of artists on there.Like my friend NataJane....crocheter, seamstress and painter...along with wife.

Within the last day I have chatted on the forums, something I hadn't had time to do. To be honest I was a little intimidated because of the amount of artists and crafters on there to have anything to say in a chat.
I have been welcomed so nicely and people like my Etsy store. weeeeee!

While surfing through the forums I came across a post telling about it...since I dont know if I can link directly to Etsy's forums-- try this post. Her husband went missing last week here in Washington State.
Etsy artists and crafters have showered her with so much suppport, prayers and financial assistance during this very emotional time for her and her children.

Etsy I am so proud to be a part of you.

recipe for fun...

3 parts boys + 1 part lumber cast off from a local roofing company
(my son Zack is in the middle)

1 part rechargeable drill ( first power tool Zack got from his Dad)
1 part abandoned neighborhood lot

They even got three tab and roofed the top...details inside show a true carpenter in the making. There are two shelves...oh, I guess the bottom one is actually a drum for the littlest of the crew to play on.
These guys worked on this for at least 3 1/2 hours non stop, running back and forth to the house where the roof is being done for free stuff. The roofers were all watching over toward the field from the top of the house they were roofing to see what these boys were doing with the wood they gave them. My son was proud when he stood on the roof of his fort for the first and one of the roofers gave out a loud yell of excitement that Zack did it.
This time frame of watching my boy turn slowly into a man is amazing. I already miss the days of him needing me for everything and the chubby little fingers and wrists, but am so very proud of watching the man in him emerge.
When the two younger boys were building with him today I could see moments from watching out of my window of Zack teaching them something then giving a little pat on the back or something like guys do to each other.
fine day.....
lori

no end in sight...

Is there no end in sight? I am afraid I am going to weigh in pretty hefty at the end of my fitness classes this quarter at college if we keep this up. My girls love to bake...I really need to teach them some dinner recipes.

I know this picture is blurry but I had to show you this cake Tessa made.....mmmmmmmmm.
She took a box cake for chocolate and added in Mayo, cinnamon, brown sugar, milk and vanilla. She made the to die for frosting from peanut butter, powdered sugar and milk...smooth and sweet.


The kids go to Home School Sports once a week at the YMCA. My kids (well three out of 5 of them) are very athletic. The other two are very creative.
This is a fun outlet for the athletic ones. There are 50 kids who attend the once a week gym class. Hannah and Zack are in this picture waiting to grab the ball in *Ultimate Football*.

let them eat cake...

the first cake made by my eight year old daughter....probably the best tasting cake she ever tasted.
pretty darn good to me too.
Good job Hannah.

oh....i FINALLY updated my shop.

work in progress...

-new fabric
-thrifted vintage fabric
-vintage chenille pompom fringe
-original design...18 inches along base x 9 inches tall, two handles, three interior pockets, magnetic snap

I am going for fun springy....did I attain it?
Lori
P.S. the little yellow pouch with parrots on it wsa made by my daughter Aliss when she first learned how to design pouches and purses. Two vintage lace trims sent by my Mom to me-my family has been especially wonderfully supportive in sending great trims to me--my aunt even sent me a serger.

proof...

It really does take a break from raining here in Washington. We have actual pictures. Those white spots are really snowflakes...and even real ones. Not the ones that are slush and squish upon impact.

In my opinion everything looks better in snow...well, clean snow at least.

My kids got to stay up later than usual playing in this magical wonderland since it is such a freak accident along the coast here. We have actually seen in three or so times this year. Isn't this snowman Zack (my 11 year old son) made for Sophie so stylin' in his green fuzzy hat?

furry babies...

Isn't the old saying true?...Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Well, this is the most beautiful baby in the whole world....to Sophie his proud Mama that is. This is Duke...or better known as *Dukey Dew*. He is a whopper of a baby but is only 10 months old.


His mama thought he needed a stroll...better watch the tail Sophie..your gonna run it over.
Do his eyes say *help?*...or *I sure am eatin up all this attention?*
Gotta love it!

homemade lemony sweets....

Tessa tried out a recipe she found in one of our thrifted magazines from the free pile at the library. Lemon bars...homemade goodness. Just now finished them off.....

she used real butter instead of the margarine though and tried out white rice flour for the crust too (we are trying out different gluten free things to see how our tummies react) came out great!
i am ready for more of her cookin'--Tes likes to cook sweet things but can cook regular things like dinner for 6 and stuff.
Tonights dinner- giant meatballs and corn on the cob (easy)
I will see if I can get any pics of the meatballs before they are inhaled by the kids.
Lori

Grandma love...

Doesn't Hannah (in the back) look like she has her fist up like a warning to stay back from her *goods*?
You know the old saying Grandparents can spoil the child and then send them home? Well, watcha think happens when the Grandma spoils while the child or children in this case are already at home?
My mom came for a visit last week....it was a very nice visit with her and not nearly long enough.
While here she had to get in a year and a halfs worth of spoilin'.
Hence the giganto doughnuts....mmmmmm.
I think they have hung around...specifically the hip area.
Lori

hiding...

I made my own handbag pattern tonight for a boutique that has requested more bags in Spring colors. In the past I was so excited when I made a cute bag that I just sewed it right up- but this time I was a good girl and got out the newspaper roll ends to make the pattern before I sewed it up.
I heard some rustling in the wad of papers and took a peek ....there's Pixie...what a sweetie.
The bag is going to be made out of the fabric showing to the side...with the trim and lining of wide pink stripes in three tones.
Cant wait for it to be done to show it to you.
Lori

aahh, that's better....

Tessa took a picture of one of my favorite fabrics tonight while Zack and I held it under the ceiling fan/light fixture. How professional huh?
The fabric is by Fabric Traditions and sold through JoAnne Fabrics.
It is sooo cheerful to look at this new header with all of its fun colors and designs...I think I will keep it for a long time.
She also made it into a banner at my Etsy Store.
What a darling! Thanks Tessa.