More swewing

We have been sick for over one week. Yuck.

I'm trying to get my Christmas sewing done. The girls would be heartbroken if I don't get their dresses done. I have patterns picked from Sis Boom for their dresses. They are just simple peasant dresses that shouldn't be too difficult to put together. I'm in a time crunch, though. I started late, and we've been sick. I'm sick and the littlest one is sick. The littlest one who is ultra clingy when sick.

Even with the time crunch I am making a muslin. We call them practice dresses here. Cute, adorable little girl clothes usually fit straight out of the envelope with no adjusting. Older girls and adults, not so much. As my girls get older, their bodies change. I sew because I can make clothes that fit. I start by cutting out the basic envelope pieces and using up fabric from my stash. No hemming, no pretty seams, just sew it up quick. Then test the fit and make any changes. THEN, I cut my good fabric.

Much better than cutting out the fabric and realizing it won't fit. Sometimes I can salvage by just getting more fabric, unless it's vintage or seasonal.

My sewing tip

I am sewing a Pilgrim costume for our church's drama group. The pattern must be out of print, but it looks like Simplicity 3723, view B. So many reasons for me to hate this project. Cheap, nasty fabric will not yield great results. I bought what I could afford knowing it was not my budget. That's the biggest problem that would be easy to fix if I were ever to sew this up again on my own. The instructions are clear as mud. I'm glad that I'm a reasonably good sewer. This would not be a good project for a new sewer.

Anyway, my tip is to make note of the various seam allowances and other marks directly on the pattern instructions. The pattern may tell you to fold up the hem allowance on a piece. Well, I certainly don't write the hem allowance on my fabric when I am marking it, do you? That means you get to dig out the correct piece after you already folded it back up neatly, and find the hem allowance.

These steps for cutting out a pattern should eliminate some headaches.

1. Read the pattern and make sure you know which pieces you need. When using more than one fabric, I like to mark on the instruction sheet which pieces need to be cut out of which fabric. This pilgrim costume required some to be cut from black fabric, and some from white. I put the pieces in separate piles.

2. Cut apart the pieces and check them off on the list printed on the instruction sheet. If tracing the pattern, be sure to indicate on the original pattern piece which size was traced. I didn't need to trace this pattern because I'm never sewing it again, but I usually do trace my patterns. That allows me to adjust the fit without destroying the original, and it allows me to make the pattern in more than one size.

3. Look at the pieces you need. Most of the information you need to assemble the pattern is indicated by notches and dots. Some things like hems and seam allowances are not marked. Those are the things I write down on the instruction sheet. Where it tells me to fold up the hem, I note that the hem is 2 inches. Most seam allowances are 5/8", but if I notice that a particular seam is 3/8" it gets written down.

4. Make notes while you are sewing if anything was changed. Re-write the directions in your own words if it helps you to understand the steps. Some steps I could not visualize until actually sewing. Make notes to help the next time.

I hope this helps. I need to remember this sometimes. I really don't like having to dig out the pattern pieces while I am sewing. I'm afraid they will get left out and damaged or misplaced. It also disrupts the flow for me to have to dig out a pattern piece in the middle of a project.

Exercise week 2

I did the very short exercise this evening. I did most of one round: 30 swings with my 10 lb kettle bell, 20 ground to overhead raises, and 10 almost-burpees. I wish I could do a whole set. I'd like to be able to do a burpee, but push-ups are way more than I can do.

I am waiting to see an improvement in my measurements or my strength.

I also walked 2.5 miles on Sunday

Exercise

I am in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina. I decided to do a little workout to help fight the natural decline of my health and improve my overall health. I lean towards the crossfit mentality with kettle bells and body weight exercises. When I exercise, I feel great. I need to constantly remove the obstacles keeping me from moving.

Girl-heroes has a bunch of free workouts that I use. I am so out of shape that I can barely complete a full cycle. I feel like I need Richard Simmons.

Our church has a running/walking ministry that I also enjoy. Every other Sunday we walk on the Sawmill Branch trail. Usually all of us go. Some run, and some walk. Guess which category I am in. I use an app on my phone to track my distance and usually walk 2.5 miles. Skipping the alternate weeks makes it too easy for me to skip the regular weeks, so I meet a few other people at the trail and walk the off weeks, too. My older 4 kids run a mile every month for their PE class. I've been trying to go out and walk with them during the week as they run to improve their time.

Mending

I've been mending and organizing. I started cleaning out all the places I've been stashing my projects to finish and mending projects. The first thing I crossed off my list was the giant flower pillow that I started for H in 2008. It's awesome, and I'll post a picture as soon as I take one. It was almost finished, but then I had the youngest baby and set it aside. H is very, very happy that I completed it for her.

The second finish was a leather jacket that I mended for Charlie's dad. There was an ugly hole near the pocket that he had sent off to another seamstress to fix. She did a lousy job, and it was still torn. I told him I couldn't do any worse. I've been sitting on it, mulling over how best to repair the hole. It isn't perfect, but I think it will hold. Again, I'll post pictures when I take them. We are going to visit them tomorrow. I hope he is pleased with it.

I feel so accomplished because I got to cross something off my list.

News

The blog post was going to be titled "Forty-three and pregnant," but the Lord has changed the plan.

Charlie, the kids, and I were very excited to be able to announce our newest addition as soon as I found a doctor. Memorial weekend we were at our annual archery tournament, and I began to miscarry. I'm tired but getting better.

Please be happy for us and our brief time of joy while praying for us in our grief.

Canning and preserving food

I want to keep a record of what we can and preserve this year. I'm a bit behind, but I'm going to start anyway.

5/4/13 We made 18 half-pint jars of low-sugar strawberry jam. I need to make more because this won't last us very long.

5/5/13 We made 5 pint-and-a-half jars of strawberries in simple syrup. We really enjoyed having this last year. The strawberries keep their shape well, so it's great for adding to cake or ice cream. This is the recipe we used.

I plan to update this list as I put up more food.

Breakfast

Homemade rice pudding with chopped strawberries and homemade chocolate whipped cream. Very good. No pictures because I was hoping for the best, and it's all gone.

Four out of six kids really liked it, and the other two ate it. Anything that most of the kids like is a winner.