Birthday Coasters

We recently celebrated my oldest sister's birthday and I gave her these coasters . . . they are my favorite coasters I've made to-date.

Curtains!

We've lived in our house on the acreage for over 3 years, and during that time our windows in one part of the house have been treated only with a roller-type shade/blind in a "lovely" color of burgundy-purple.  (They were left behind by the previous owners.)  Since I recently painted the walls and Wayne finished installing the laminate floor, I decided it was time to sew some curtains for the two windows in our combined dining room/living room area.  I opted for a brocade-looking deep burgundy-wine fabric to compliment the walls and furniture.  The walls are a very soft pink color, but it's hard to tell in the photos.  I chose to let the curtains "pool" at the bottom somewhat, rather than try to fight with exact measurements.  I'm really pleased with the results!  The curtains nearly finish the room(s).  We're still waiting on new baseboards . . . 

Living room

Dining room

Kitchen Coasters

Very often we play board games on our kitchen table.  In the past, we've used a folded-up napkin to act as a coaster in the kitchen when our drinks are hot or have condensation on them.  I decided to make some complimentary-colored coasters for my kitchen--mostly yellows and greens, I love these new coasters!

Finally--The Pyjamas!

These pyjamas were intended to be my very first sewing project, way back when I got my sewing machine.  However, I got side-tracked with other projects and finally got the pyjamas sewed a few weeks ago.  The boys are loving the warm, cozy flannel (they chose themselves), that envelops them each night.

Connie's Coasters

My sister, Connie, asked me to make a set of coasters for her in specific colors to match her living room. Here they are:

Dress-Up

Yesterday I spent my entire day working on something that I've been wanting to get to for weeks now. . . sewing a dress!

The boys were gone for a large part of the day at something called "HUNTFEST", so I decided to do something that would be rather difficult to do if there were three males in the house, and that was to sew a dress.  My very first dress.

I bought the material about 4 months ago, with no specific plan in mind . . . I just loved the material so I bought it.  It was ON SALE and I immediately fell in love with the pattern and color scheme.  I know pink isn't everyone's "thing", but it is mine.  And when you live in a house full of the male persuasion, pink is a welcomed addition (at least in my world, it is!).

The dress took way longer to construct than I thought it would.  I actually did have plans to get some other chores done yesterday, but they took a back-seat to my dress project.

I must say, some parts of the dress were easier to create than I anticipated (like the sleeves) and some parts were more difficult to create than I anticipated (like the darts--I still haven't mastered those and honestly, I don't think I ever will).  But, overall I'm pretty pleased with the results.

I followed the sizing as per the pattern measurements of bust, waist and hips; but if I were to make this dress over again, I would go one size smaller.  I feel like there's a lot of unecessary bulk to the dress that I could have avoided had I sewn the dress one size smaller.  But, I was trusting the pattern's sizing numbers . . . somehow that part of it just didn't work out so well.  As a result, I did my own modifications along the way but still feel like the dress isn't entirely the way I envisioned it to be; but hey, it was my first attempt at a dress, and it has not stopped me from wanting to make another dress; in fact, I can't wait til I get to start on dress number two!

So, here it is.  I wore my new dress to church today and upon entering the building, a comment was immediately made by the Greeter regarding my outfit.  She liked it.  (At least someone does).

This is one way to wear it . . . tied in the front and off to the side, sitting at the waist or slightly below.

Another way to wear it is with the tie at the back, the waistband sitting right under the bustline.

Here's a better view of the top/neckline, plus a

very happy Kimmy-face!

Pink Butterflies

Well, the butterflies aren't exactly pink, but that is what I've named my most recent receiving blanket creation. I made it for my best friend who recently gave birth to her 4th daughter, Kierra Renae Lynn. On Monday I'm putting on a baby-shower in celebration of Kierra's birth and this blanket will be one of her gifts.