Sew Much Fun!

I've decided to do a quickie post on some of my "recent" projects.  The word "recent" is relative, as some of these span back to graduation time!  I *think* they are all since the May post earlier this year.  If any are repeats, forgive me!  Also included are some bragging rights as Mom from the county Fair this year.

This is a quilt I made for a friend's daughter who graduated this past May.  She loves owls, and though the panel was a little whimsical, I think she still liked it.

Here is a close up of some of the FMQ I did.

Another close up... if you quilt you'll appreciate the fun I had with this quilt!  

Here's another quilt for another friend's daughter who also graduated.  Guess what she likes? (And no, the answer isn't "snow")

Close up of some of the quilting

After we moved, I set up my new sewing area.  I am using a big folding table, which is a little unstable.  It jiggles a bit which can mess up the tension in the machine, so I try not to go full speed which triggers all the said jiggling.  Anyway, I wanted a small ironing area for when I was working on piecing a quilt.  That way I don't have to haul out the ironing board for the small stuff.  I found this at Walmart's, and figured I would give it a try.  it is supposed to go on top of your dryer, but it works fine on a table.

Here I am trying it out.  Works pretty well!  It is on  my left side thought, and I am right handed.  Nice thing is that my chair rolls, so it really isn't a big deal to get myself positioned.  I have my cutting mat and design wall to the right of the machine.  For some reason I haven't taken any pictures of my new sewing area since I got it set up.  I'll have to do that in a future post.  

Oh, my new baby!  It is a Juki.  The throat is extra big for lots of machine quilting.  It works like a dream!  LOVE love love love it!

After we moved I made a new toothbrush holder for the family.  The old one was getting pretty ragged.

Of course we had lots of entries in the county Fair this year!  Below is Caleb's pillowcase.

Esther's entry here is a tailored outfit.  She did a fabulous job on it!  It is lined and everything. 

Jerusha made this skirt for herself. 

Knitted boot socks I made and entered at the last minute.  

This is a twirly skirt I made for Jerusha, but it earned second place.  

These two blouses were made by Esther (left, red ribbon which is second place) and Elizabeth.  The funny thing is that Elizabeth wasn't even going to enter her blouse.  She didn't like how it came out at all and said it probably wouldn't even place.  I convinced her to enter it anyway and she got first place!

Okay... another amusing story behind this.  About two weeks after we moved we had a missionary family come and stay with us for a few days.  They loved my toothbrush holder and asked if I could make another one just like it for their large family.  I did, but entered it into the Fair before I shipped it off.  So, Shellee W., you have a prize-winning toothbrush holder!

Jerusha discovered that she likes to latch hook, and did this little project.  She is currently working on a much bigger project.  

Jerusha made this apron for me in sewing class.  She earned second place for it.

These culottes were made for Esther.  For such a simple, easy pattern, I earned first place.  Not sure how that happened, other than the judges may have been judging home brews before they went to the crafts building. 

Elizabeth made this skirt for herself, and it is lined.

I am a big Lego's fan, and we had some entries that did well this year.  This is Caleb's creations.  Notice the huge ship in the background.  He made that too... it is part of the whole piece.  It is a depiction of the fairgrounds with the rides and booths.

Jerusha did a similar scene (the theme this year was harvesting fun or something like that).  Rides, food booths, lots of good times!

This is a quilt for a young couple that I met working at camp who were married this year.  Congratulations to Lance and Elaine!

Yup... more quilting detail.  Just have to show that!

Okay, that is enough to show that we have been keeping busy.  As if home schooling, Dale pastoring, working a second job, and working on his Masters, and me being in college as well, and Esther and Elizabeth taking dual enrollment, and art lessons, and Co-op wasn't busy enough.  Oh, did I mention I'm doing NaNoWriMo this year too?  

Whew.

Blessings,

Lisa

Thrift Store Haul and Other Money Saving Activities

Like most other moms, I love to see how families save money and make the ends meet, especially in large families.  Everyone has their own strategies for what will and will not work in their individual lifestyles, so what works for me, might not for you, and vice versa.

Before we even had kids, we did the DIY haircuts at home.  I have to admit that I do go to a professional because my hair is hard to cut.  However, everyone else has home haircuts.  Recently I have been watching some YouTube videos on how to cut layers in your own long hair.  Next time I need a trim, I just might try it!

Not sure why Benjamin is making this face.....

Another way we save some money is by making my own laundry detergent.  I forget what the breakdown is per batch, but it was pennies to the dollar compared to store bought brand.  It seems to get the laundry just as clean, and it doesn't take long to make.  I am going to start experimenting with some essential oils in the next batch.

The Good Will store near us recently expanded and has a pretty decent turnover of inventory.  Saturday Elizabeth and I were out running errands and hit the thrift store and found lots of goodies!n Josiah was in need of some pants, and I was glad to be able to pick some up for him.  We got all manner of name brands such as Wrangler, Chadwick's, Worthington, Carter's, and a few others I can't remember right now.  

I LOVE this key chain hook on the pants!  

I love the cargo pockets, but does anyone know why they are put at the bottom of the pant legs?  I thought that was a little strange. 

Isaac also needed pants, and I found a couple of pairs of jeans in excellent condition.

Here's all of the pants I got for Josiah.

Shirts for Isaac... the blue one is a Carter's brand shirt.

Some goodies for Mama.  :)

A couple of nice shirts.   Also for Mama.  :) 

Elizabeth found some treasures.  She told me she was need of some clothes for layering. 

A cute scarf for Mama.  I have an obsession with them. 

These cute little baskets were perfect for some small-storage issues for the kids' stuff.  I also am using two for a couple of little projects, which I will address in a different post.

Cooking from scratch in a good way to save money.  There are those times when I need to do something quick and end up using something a little more "prepared" but usually we prepare our food from scratch.  Saturday Caleb made waffles for brunch.  They were delicious!

Esther made some yummy homemade bread today.  We go through a lot of it!  I do keep some of the 12 grain bread from Aldi in the freezer for emergencies, and for making grilled cheese.  Despite my putting in all manner of gluten, or eggs, the homemade bread just doesn't do as well for grilled cheese as the store bought,. 

What are some of your favorite strategies for saving money?

Blessings,

Lisa

Baking Fun

If anyone saw the posts from last May, they would see a couple of cakes I made in honor the twins' and Benjamin's birthday.  If you missed those and don't want to hunt for them, you can find them here .

During the summer, after the hustle and bustle of moving and unpacking, I made a couple of cakes for the Christian camp that is near here called God's Adventure Camp.  The last two years I devoted my summers to volunteering there, and this year, with the change in Dale's ministry and second job schedule, it just wasn't possible.

The first week was Boys' Adventure week.  It is a scene that includes the 250 foot water slide that has provided hours and hours of fun and thrill.  Obviously, I didn't make the slide 250 feet on the cake.  It was a big cake, but not THAT big!

This next one was for Girls' Adventure week.  I had planned out the design for these cakes a couple of weeks before camp started.  During Boys' camp week there was an "incident" during the canoeing time.  I guess it was due to the river being a little more ambitious than normal, which resulted in several of the boys ditching their canoes.  Benjamin, who was counseling that week, managed to find himself in a tree at one point, and his canoe long gone.  Thankfully, during Girls' week, the canoe trip was uneventful and pleasant. 

Josiah turned 15 on October 3rd.  Can you tell what he is into these days?

I made these cupcakes to bring for a fellowship time after the school play.  They are supposed to be Tragedy/Comedy drama masks.

Hope all that didn't overload your sweet tooth!

Blessings,

Lisa