Thursday, September 22, 2016

A CATCH UP, NEWSY POST

Well at least it hasn't been quite a week since my last post, so guess I am improving a tid.  lol.  I will back up just a bit first and tell you about our week-end, as it was just a little bit different then usual. My 16 year old niece Katie decided she wanted to spend a little time hanging out with us, so she came over on Sat. morning and staying until late Sunday afternoon.  I enjoyed every minute of her.  I really enjoy girls in that age group, and honestly can hardly get enough of them.  We went to our favorite place for a movie,,,the reclining chairs, the refreshments brought to you, and all at a before noon bargain price, lol.  We saw Bridget Jones baby.  Now I could spend a bunch of time discussing why this was just not good, but I think maybe I will spare you my soap box.  But seriously it did give me LOTS of things to discuss with Katie as to why I felt the way I did, lol. After the movies we went back to the house and spent the next SEVERAL hours (well Katie and I did anyway) deep in "teenage girl" dilemmas, drama, and life.  Then hubby got us taco's for dinner and the rest of the evening was spent watching teenaged girl movies and laughing and enjoying each other.  Sunday we had planned on going to our old church as our bible study group is on a two week break.  Last Sunday because my niece Jessie is on a little family vacation, and this Sunday because my son will be in Colorado teaching a men's conference.  Anyway, we headed out to church Sunday morning and I was REALLY eager for Katie to see this church and hear this particular Pastor teach as he is truly blessed by God. He has a HUGE radio ministry (among many others) and his church is now home to many thousands. It's Dave Rosales of Calvary Chapel Chino Valley in case anyone is familiar or interested, lol. Anyway, she absolutely loved everything about it.  (which is hard not to I guess! lol) but the truly exciting part was that the message given that morning was hand tailored for Katie it seemed.  Seriously neither one of us could believe it as it was discussing the VERY essence and topic of a big part of our discussion the day before.  It was NO accident obviously that Katie picked this week-end to come and visit us, or that we went to that particular service.  It's sooo exciting to see how much God loves us, and that He would orchestrate such a thing.  For those of you who are new to my blog, or don't remember, I had the absolute privilege of leading Katie to the Lord just a little over a year ago, and it's sooo wonderful to watch her grow and discover just how great our God really is.  After church we went to lunch where we chewed over at length just how wonderful this all was, and then we went by my oldest son's Joe studio so that hubby could help him get his copier working.  He is having a HUGE special program this week, and really needed more flyers.  When she was younger Katie attended his studio for a while, and was really excited to see how much bigger and exciting his new studio is.

KATIE AND JOE ON THE BOXING RING HE HAS IN HIS STUDIO NOW

Hope I copied this video right and you can see a little bit of Joe doing his thing, lol


One more.....this is MUCH MUCH harder to do then you might think, lol.
After we left Joe's we stopped for some frozen yogurt (it was SOO hot!) and then headed back home where we continued our conversations until her parents came to get her around 5.

The rest of the week has found me parked at my sewing machine as always.  I have to admit I am STILL on somewhat of a sewing bonanza of baby clothes.  I am officially done though (with baby clothes that is) and will FINALLY begin Christmas sewing now.  Let me show you this weeks projects....I know your dying to see, lol

On Monday I made these sweater shirts for Sam, Luke, and Claire.  I found this fabric at Joannes, and even though it WAS pricey, I used my two 60 percent off coupons, and one 40 percent one too, so it came out really well.  I have never really sewn on this kind of fabric before so I was a little apprehensive about it, but it was actually a dream to work with. I was especially concerned about the neckline as I knew it would be kind of thick using it for a neck band and was afraid it wouldn't lay flat, but it really worked out well.  It is kind of hard to see it from my pictures, but it literally looks like sweater fabric on one side, and the inside is a soft fleece type feel, so they should be really warm too.  I think they are perfect for her annual Christmas card picture, but not sure rather she will or not.  Here they are...

LUKE'S, CLAIRE'S AND SAM'S....THE BACKS ARE THE SAME AS THE FRONT.  IT LOOKS LIKE BLACK DIAMONDS IN THIS PICTURE BUT IT IS ACTUALLY NAVY BLUE.  THEY CAN WEAR THEIR DARK BLUE JEANS WITH THESE, AND CLAIRE HAS A PAIR OF HOT PINK HIGH TOP TENNIS SHOES THAT SHOULD BE PERFECT

JUST A LITTLE CLOSER LOOK AT THIS WONDERFUL FABRIC
And then on Tues I was finally able to use a little fabric from that shop I have been raving about...Peekaboo fabric.  Both the fabric and the pattern are just ADORABLE.  Now I will be honest and say I have worked on easier to sew with knit, but this was really pretty good.  And I have been working soo much recently with knit, that I have discovered a couple of tricks that help out quite a bit.  So let me show you that....

I JUST THINK THIS IS DARLING.  ITS A TOSS UP WHICH I LIKE MORE...THE FABRIC OR THE PATTERN.  IT'S KIND OF A LONG TUNIC TYPE TOP, OR THERE IS ANOTHER RUFFLE YOU CAN ADD TO MAKE IT A DRESS.  IT COMES WITH YOUR CHOICE OF SHORT OR LONG SLEEVES, OR THE 3/.4 SLEEVES I HAVE USED HERE.  I CUT OFF THE LEGGINGS PATTERN I USUALLY USE, AND ADDED A MATCHING CUFF HERE WHICH I THOUGHT WAS PRETTY CUTE.
THOSE ARE LITTLE POCKETS ON THE SIDE THERE....SOOO DARLING


JUST A CLOSER LOOK AT THIS ADORABLE FABRIC.. PERFECT FOR FALL.  LITTLE SQUIRRELS, BIRDS, AND ACORNS, PLUS THOSE LITTLE TREES...SOO CUTE! 
And then yesterday I used up the rest of my stash from Joannes, cute little fox knit fabric, and used the same pattern that made the sweater shirt only this time I used the 3/4 length sleeves instead of the long, and added a machine embroidered design to the front.

I HAVE A FEELING SHE IS GOING TO THINK THESE ARE KITTIES INSTEAD OF FOXES, LOL

CLOSER LOOK AT THE DESIGN..  IT IS KIND OF HARD SOMETIMES TO MACHINE EMBROIDER ON THIS THIN OF KNIT, BUT I USED TWO PIECES OF STABILIZER, AND A TOP COAT OF WATER SOLUBLE AS WELL.  WORKED PRETTY GOOD.....NOT PERFECT, BUT GOOD ENOUGH, LOL
Today I am working laundry, putting up this post, lol, watering my thirsty plants on the porch, and heading out to my grand daughter Lindsey's volleyball game late this afternoon.  This week-end my sister Diane is going to spend the week-end with me while hubby is away on a short trip and we are going to SEW and hopefully hit a quilt store run and see a movie and eat out and just generally enjoy ourselves.  She was recently diagnosed with lung cancer and honestly I am doing my best not to flip out on this.  God has got it.  Her surgery is scheduled for Oct. 15th and I covet your prayers about all of this.  So far the prognosis is a good one, and the cancer seems to have been caught at a very, very early stage and they are expecting a full recovery for her, with maybe NO CHEMO or radiation either.  We will see.  Please keep her in your prayers.  Hope you all have a GOOD week-end, and enjoy this wonderful season of Fall we are just entering.  Blessings to you all, Debbie

LUKE AND CLAIRE ARE GETTING SOO BIG AND ARE DEVELOPING A LITTLE STRONGER BOND WITH EACH  OTHER NOW THAT SAM IS IN SCHOOL 4 MORNINGS A WEEK!  SOO CUTE

CLAIRE WAS SOOO EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO BE INCLUDED IN A RECENT FROSTING THEIR PUMPKIN MUFFINS ADVENTURE YESTERDAY AFTERNOON.  DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE SHE ONLY HAD ONE MUFFIN, LOL.  LOOK AT THOSE FROSTING COVERED SWEET LIPS

AND LOOK AT LUKE'S EXCITED FACE.  THE CUTE STORY THAT GOES WITH THIS IS AFTER MELODY DROPPED HIM OFF FOR PRE SCHOOL THAT MORNING IT STARTED TO RAIN, SO WHEN SHE CAME BACK TO GET HIM A COUPLE HOURS LATER SHE BROUGHT HIS NEW UMBRELLA.  THE MINUTE HE SAW HER AT THE DOOR HE VERY EXCITEDLY SAID, "MOM, DID YOU REMEMBER MY UMBRELLA???  OH YOU DID!!!"  LOL  HIS LITTLE FACE JUST SAYS IT ALL.  MOM IS STILL HIS HERO.

8 comments:

  1. So glad you had such a great visit with your niece. She's a cutie! And, the sweater shirts are just too cute and so are Claire, Sam and Luke. Adorable!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mom comes through yet again! You always have such busy goings on. The Lord is in the midst of it all. Luke and Claire are so darling in that picture.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'll be praying for your Sis. And it's wonderful to hear about how the Lord has used you to be a mentor to your niece. The grands are always cute! I think hitting that ??? looks pretty hard. It's plain to see your son has years of practice!

    ReplyDelete
  4. The little knit outfits are darling! I love the sweet fall fabrics!
    What an great photo of the adorable cup cake decorators! :)
    I pray that your sister has a successful surgery and a full recovery!

    ReplyDelete
  5. This post is just chock full of good stuff! Love your sharing about your niece and how God's timing is just so perfect. How wonderful that you have such a precious relationship with her and leading her to the Lord and now that she is so open with you and feeling free to share. That's just a big blessing. All your handiwork are works of art. You are so talented and those kids are just adorable! Sweet boy with the umbrella. I'm sorry about your sister, but glad this was caught at such an early stage and will trust and believe for her healing with you and pray for a successful surgery.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And Katie is a doll and your son Joe is a handsome guy!

      Delete
  6. Sweet pictures Debbie! I am so glad your grand daughter Katie had time to spend with you. That is so sweet. I will be praying for your sister. My goodness what a shock!
    Your clothes are just so cute and I love the pictures of the kids. Everything is just so nice Debbie. I hope it doesn't stay too warm. Have a lovely week with your sister, I hope you get lots of sewing done.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I just love seeing your latest sewing projects.

    ReplyDelete

I am so glad that you would take the time to comment on my thoughts and feelings, it is such a blessing to me!