Family Resemblance

Isn't this adorable!  The baby celebrating his birthday is none other than my hubby.  

I think he really favors Sweet Cheeks.  This is her on her first birthday.  What do you think?

I have gotten a little sewing done lately.  I made another sunsuit for one of the granddaughters and a skirt for myself.  I'll try and get a model for the sunsuit.  Here is the skirt.  I made it from material left over from the baby sling I made earlier.  

I had fun with some of the grand kids this weekend.  They were all about pretend.  First we were princesses getting ready for a royal ball, then we were robbers holding up a train, then we were on a boat and the captain gave us orders to carry out.  There were other intermittent parts of stoy lines that I couldn't follow, but tried to merrily play along the best I could.  The dress up box came out, which is dwindling down to just scarves, a couple of hats and a boa, because they want to take all of the good stuff home with them when they go.  That's fine, because Scooter usually has on some type costume when I go to visit at their house and I know all of the props get put to good use.  This time even Gran and Rusty, the dog, couldn't escape a little role playing and wardrobe changes. 

 Vivid imaginations make up for lack of good props.  

Summer Bounty

I finally got a chance to make some pepper jelly with part of the slew of jalapenos  coming in from our garden.  My daughter and I put up 32 

jars of it today.  This is our first canning experience together, and it was a lot of fun.  I still have at the very least twice the amount of peppers that I used today already harvested, and still more coming in every day.  I am looking for new recipes to use some of the remaining peppers in so if you know of any by all means leave a comment. 

A few years back a friend sent us a gift basket from Texas with various goodies from the state.

One of my favorites from the basket was jalapeno peanut brittle, so I think I'll see if I can find a recipe for that.

Today was rainy off and on here so the kids had to play indoors.  They spent some of their time pretending to be a baby rabbit in a box.  A few weeks ago they had a little rescued orphan bunny that they tried to raise.  It only made it for a few days, but they really enjoyed it and were all heartbroken when it died.  Doesn't Scooter make a cute little rabbit all cuddled up.

Here are a few pictures taken earlier this week.  We had some very mild weather, and everyone enjoyed a break from the intense heat and humidity.  

I Won!!!

I can't believe I won this awesome Miss Iris pattern from Samantha at The Handmade Dress.  Samantha has several really great patterns available in her shop.  My personal favorite is the Miss Madeline.  It is an adorable little apron dress.  I am so excited about making the Miss Iris for the girls.  They all really enjoy wearing skirts and dresses especially in the summertime, and with so many sizes in the pattern I ought to be able to make them each one!  Thanks again Samantha!  

pieceful kwilter: crafty recycling

pieceful kwilter: crafty recycling

Check out this really cool shopping bag.  It is made from a dog food bag.  Isn't that clever?

Happy Surprise!

My wonderful sister-in-law from Atlanta, I will call her Lucy and our friend, I'll call Jae sent a great big goody box to the kids and I this week.  Well, actually they sent two!  It was like Christmas in July.  One box was full of games, toys, sticker books, patterns and all sorts of good stuff.  The next was full of clothes bought at a consignment shop in their area that was having a wonderful sale.  I couldn't believe the deals they got.  Anyway, nestled in the clothing box were several wonderfully fun things for me.  

I am crazy about little vintage planters.  I'm sure I have shared that before.  Aren't these the cutest little things?  They work really nicely in the bathroom that I have recently taken over after our son got married and moved out.  They add a nice feminine feel don't you think?

Mysterious Letters

I love a handwritten letter don't you?  The fact that someone took the time to write a note to me and mail it always touches me.  I have a friend in Tennessee who writes the neatest letters filled with stories about her neighbors, her flowers, the wildlife on the creek near her home.  I love reading those letters.  Truth be told, I probably still have every hand written note I've ever received, well, except for high school boyfriend notes.  I threw those away years ago.  Anyway, I was really awestruck by these two artist who have decided to send a letter to everyone all 467 people in a small village in Ireland.  You can read about it here.  Very interesting story!  I won't try to retell it because you should really scoot on over there and read it yourself.  You can even see the letters.  I also love mail art.  So if you're inclined doodle up a letter and send it to me, or to someone else.  I would say that counts as an easy random act of kindness.

Crayolas and Supervisors

Well, Scooter's finally asleep.  It only took one story told, prayers, two stories read, and 52 questions answered to get her there.  She is such a sweetie.  When she asks questions she looks so intently into your eyes earnestly waiting and soaking in your answers.  She can't be derailed if you try to avoid one either.  She very persistently will ask the same question over and over until you answer her suitably.  She wanted her Gran to fix her crayon, and when he told her he couldn't she was not convinced.  "I know you have a supervisor in your pocket"  she kept saying over and over.  Finally I realized that a "supervisor" means screwdriver, and Gran patiently and repeatedly explained that some things can't be fixed even with a screwdriver.  I think of other things like broken hearts that can't be fixed and I'm glad it's only crayons we are working on today!  

Sundress and Summer Days

 I had a lot of fun making this cute little sun dress for Sweet Cheeks.  The pattern was a vintage one that I bought at a thrift shop.  The dotted swiss is fabric left over from a dress my mom made for me when I was in the seventh grade, we won't even mention how long ago

 that was!  The bloomers and lining are from a vintage sheet.

A friend found out my fondness for these old patterns and stopped by while I was out leaving me a box of vintage

 children's patterns, yipppeee!!!!  I can't wait to try several of them.  I love the pictures on the older ones so

 much I'd just like to frame the envelopes. 

Isn't that face adorable?   

What about this one?

During snippets of rain we improvise with bike rides on the porch, and bubbles are always fun no matter what the weather, unless your little sister keeps dumping them out and playing in the soap. 

Look at that girl go on that bike!

 The sun finally came out and we managed to get in a swim and a true bike ride.  Sweet Cheeks, who is a ham in every sense of the word, loves the water.  She tries desperately to get out of her mom's arms and swim.  She really thinks she can, and she just might be right.  I took her this afternoon and blew in her face to get her to hold her breath and ducked her, and she LOVED it!!!  She came up giggling, so I did it a couple of more times.  When I stopped she started blowing in my face to let me know she wanted to do it again.  The little 15 month old couldn't get enough.  The only thing was, she wanted everyone to watch and cheer.  She would come up with both fist in the air in a triumphant pose giggling and looking from face to face to make sure we were all being an attentive audience.  Ham!  Wish I had carried the video camera with me!

Beauty Outside and Inside

Maternity Maxi

Isn't this the cutest maternity dress?  My mom made it for my daughter with some gorgeous Amy Butler fabric.  The pattern is not a maternity one so she should be able to wear it after the baby is born.

I found the neatest gift on my front porch today, it was a box of vintage children's sewing patterns.  I can't wait to try a few of them out!  Some are so cute I just want to frame them!

Fourth Family Fun

One of the best parts of my life so far was the five and a half years my husband and I spent as a houseparents.  At a very young age, I started at twenty-two, we became "Mom and Pop" to 12 boys at a time in addition to our 18 month old son, and later our daughter.  So even though I only gave birth twice.  I have 16 other sons who will forever carry a piece of my heart.  Two have passed away since that time,  some I have lost contact with, but some have chosen to keep in touch and are still a very big part of my life.  I was blessed to spend time with one of them and his family this weekend.  Each time we are together I am filled with celebration of his life and family, and the joy of being a part of that.  Here he is with his wife, and the little red head in Angel Eye's lap is his daughter.  You can tell Angel Eyes and Scooter love her.  Sweet Cheeks was a little jealous, but was calling her by name and hugging her before they left.

We celebrated all weekend, first at my dad and mom's, then at my daughter's for another meal and fireworks, then home again.

Happy Fourth of July!

Have a happy fourth of July and enjoy the freedoms we have come to take for granted.  We will be spending the day with family barbecuing, making homemade ice cream, stuffing our faces, maybe a little kayaking or game playing, chasing various children around and watching our local fireworks display.  I hope your holiday is blessed and happy.