Self Made Clothing

I have always enjoyed making my own clothes.  Unfortunately, I haven't been able to do it much in recent years due to appointments, teaching classes and just generally being busy.

What I loved most was finding my patterns as cheaply as possible, then finding the fabric I need and buying it in bulk, making whatever garment as inexpensively as possible.

However, that is not possible in every case.  I have purchased a pattern at full price, paid full price for fabric and made a prom dress for my daughter and it turned out beautifully.  Fabric is not cheap, neither are patterns.  So finding what will work or look nice is a challenge sometimes.  I like buying "lots" of patterns in my size or my daughter's size on ebay. It is usually very cheap to buy 10 patterns for $4.95 to get that "one" pattern that would normally cost $15.  Yes, I've done that before!  😄

I've made my daughter a robe from polar fleece that I found at a yard sale one year.  She was very warm and cozy and loved the robe.

As for everything else, fabric is becoming very scant at yard sales and thrift stores.  You have to look at sales, coupons, and work hard at getting it inexpensively.

Another method of making one's own clothing is by either crocheting or knitting.  Currently, I am getting some shirt patterns together to knit in the next couple of months.  I want to have a more modest cut of clothing, but comfortable and "flowy" if that is a word.  I've found some free patterns on Ravelry that I'm going to try and I just need to get my yarn together and get started.  I have some summer shirts to both sew as well as knit and/or crochet, then I'll review and decide where to go from there.  In the mean time while I wait to get my yarn gathered, I'm starting another shawl started as a gift.

Hand crafting items has become a thing of the past.  I am trying to keep the craft alive by teaching the next generation these basic skills at one of our homeschool groups.  I would love to continue long past the time when my children graduate, but we'll see.  I'm getting ahead of myself.  Needless to say, I have quite a few skirts, shirts and shawls to make this year.  We'll see how many I can accomplish by Christmas 2017.  I know what you're thinking...and of course I'll post pictures!  😊

And with that I will bid all of you adieu for 2016.  My next post will be in 2017, so I'll "see" all of you next year!  LOL

Have a Blessed Day!

In Christ,

Sitting Time

When in the course of living one's life, you have been forced to slow down, you create.  In the past 2 and a half months, I've been down since my surgery.  After making the trip to see a dear friend to get a puppy from her just 2 weeks after my knee surgery, I came down with acute bronchitis.

This is Ginger at 7 weeks.

Ginger at 16 weeks at 26.5 pounds.

So while my new puppy was being cared for me those other than me, I was napping periodically through the day, and with every desire for a walk, I became super winded and had to sit.

A couple things happened during this sitting time.  I started teaching a crochet class at our local homeschool group.  It was important to me to be available to all these folks to learn this long forgotten craft and to pass it on to the next generation.  During my sitting time, I pulled up pattern after pattern and worked them up so every one could see what they looked like.  What a wonderful time it was in class today to see the branching out done by my students!  I am so very proud of them and their hard work!

Another thing that has happened is a subcutaneous blood clot in my left leg.  It runs from my mid-thigh to my mid-calf.  It is not a major artery, but in a very small "return" vein that brings the blood back up to my heart.  My Dr has put me on blood thinners, I wear compression hose during the day, and use heating pads 4x/day.  Every morning I wake up and thank the Lord for THIS day.  I am so very thankful for each one He gives me!

Along with the above, my surgery recovery has taken a wee bit longer due to sitting from bronchitis.  Now that the bronchitis has subsided, I can increase the exercises again and get moving on my recovery. I have been doing my leg lifts, in every possible direction, double leg lifts while laying down (works the tummy), going up and down steps (slowly), and walking.  I walk as much as I can.

One of the monkey wrenches in to the recovery from surgery, also involves recovering from the blood clot, I have an allotted amount of time that I am allowed to spend sitting in a vehicle or driving a vehicle.  I am not allowed to go over that and I've stuck to it.  Unfortunately, I've had to take a temporary hiatus from choir due to the allotted time being used by the time we leave for church this past Wednesday.  Family needs come first, then church ministry.

My health is needing to be cared for, so I'm doing all that I can do just that.  I'm taking care of myself.  I'm following Dr's orders exactly.

I'm so very thankful, every day!



God Bless,

Bitten by "the" Bug

This is one of those bugs that shows up in the most unexpected ways.  This morning we stayed home from church because I caught a virus/bug from the Dr's office when I took my youngest son in for his eczema.  The thing started by the next morning with the water works in the form of a runny nose, then proceeded from there giving me what I figured were hot flashes...well...because I've been thrown in to that time of my life due to my surgery last year.  No biggie.  I started the roller coaster ride of feeling good, then needing to sleep, then feeling well enough to make dinner, then mid way through fixing dinner, feeling like I was hitting a wall again and needed to sit down and rest.  Whoa!  This was a FAST acting virus!  My husband started coming down with it on Friday evening and as of Saturday, started with chills.  Considering one of our pastors has a brand new baby, among others in our congregation, we decided it was best to keep this bug home until it worked through our family.

But, that bug is nothing new.  Everyone catches those "bugs."  The type of bug I'm talking about is that of a bent and twisted creative bug.  A little history about me, for those of you who do not know:  I could be sitting somewhere, like this morning, looking at something and thinking, "I need to make something to go with that!"  This morning it was this bag that spurred on my inspiration:

I love the colors, the durability, the style and size of this bag.  I just need it taller to accommodate my tall needles.

So, I decided this morning that after I finish this project:

...and tying off the ends from that one and this one:

I'll begin my newest bag.  It will likely have much of the same colors in it as the one I'm replacing, but be a little bit different.  :0)  I'm going to knit this one instead of crochet.  

This bag was 100% crocheted, including the straps.  I really like the straps, so I may do those in crochet again because they're sturdy and they didn't curl like my knitted purse did. When the handles curl and you put them on your shoulder, they roll off your shoulder.  When I put this bag on my shoulder, the straps don't roll and it stays on my shoulder.  

Disclaimer:  I don't use a pattern for my bags, so each one is vastly different from the next.  I'll be sure to post pictures of my progress.  Perhaps I'll line this one too, just like my purse. 

I'm not looking for another purse, just another bag that I can fit my knitting in to and my Bible for Sundays that won't roll off my shoulder.  LOL  It makes carrying this purse a little awkward and cumbersome.  I thought of crocheting a shoulder pad for this purse around the strap so it would move up and down, but stay on my shoulder.  I don't know how well that would work.  I may still try that and re-felt it, but for now, I'm going to begin thinking of the newest creation while I finish up the last 2 table runners.  :)  

Editing to add that I started casting on!  This is what 100 stitches freshly cast on looks like~

So far I think I'll make a rectangle and start with 10 rows of garter stitch.  I'll see then how it looks with the size and how big I need it.

"Through wisdom is a house builded[sic]; And by understanding it is established; 

And by knowledge are the chambers filled With all precious 

and pleasant riches." 

(Proverbs 24:3-4) ASV

How are you creatively filling your home with precious and pleasant treasures?

God Bless,

The Biggest Blessing

I guess you could say that the biggest blessing in my life currently which has blessed me in years past, but most especially this year has been the concepts I've learned on FLYlady.  Oh!  You don't know about her?  Well let me back up to when I was introduced to her.

With 3 little ones, books, magazines, junk mail, papers, dishes, laundry, cleaning and simply time with my husband was an overwhelming struggle for me.  I'd look at things that needed to be done, start trying to get it done, but quickly became overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of it all.  I'd be full of anxiety and I'd shut down.

I was a part of an email group by the name of "Skinny Moms" when we were talking about organization among one of the many times we talked.  One dear lady mentioned FLYlady and I disregarded her suggestion for a couple months.  I thought to myself, "Just going to a website isn't going to help me."  I continued in the state where things were just overwhelming and tried my best to keep things moving.  I got so overwhelmed and just sat in the middle of the laundry room with piles 3+ feet deep around me, and I cried out to God for help.  After a few minutes of wallowing in self pitty, I got the laundry moving and went to tend to my kids.  I sat down at the computer and my friend who had suggested FLYlady before had sent an email about it (God's timing!).  I finally went to the website and started reading the first page.  My interest was piqued and I kept reading about this timer thing.

Do all that you can in one area in 15 minutes, then move on to the next area.  Do that 

for 3  separate 15 minute intervals, then set the timer one last time for 15 minutes,

 get a drink, put your feet up and relax.  Love yourself enough to bless yourself with

this time.  You've earned it!  Once the timer goes off again, start back at your 

beginning point, then do the rotation again until you've got everything 

done--dishes, cleaning and etc.  

Where to begin, though?  Well, since the kitchen is the heart of the home, she suggested starting by emptying the sink and shining it.  Not just a quick "swish" of everything, but getting the scrubbie, gel bleach scrub and going to town on every nook, crack, and cranny.  She told me/us that we needed to make sure our sinks were shined before going to bed every night.  This is such a simple beginning!  It was so silly and didn't make sense, but I did it anyway.  I did it for 3 days, adding to it each day.

then the towers fell....

Everything stood still.  We were fixated on the news for 2 months, doing just the barest of essentials just in case we heard anything else.

one day in November...

I slowly began shining my sink and doing things 15 minutes at a time.  I knew I needed to gain a semblance of control in our house with 3 young children and a husband to care for.  As the days went by, I was able to branch out because things got a little easier with cleaning and keeping things cared for.  

I started getting my Control Journal together and to this day it has gone through many changes, but the basics remain the same.  I stumbled upon an email in those couple of weeks about a Holiday Planning Journal.  It intrigued me, so I started it.  I planned weeks in advance to buy staples so I could bake cookies with my kids.  I planned for the menus for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, but forgot New Years.  The food was purchased way in advance for everything, except for the fresh veggies I needed that I planned to buy a couple days in advance.  I planned gifts to give to my children and family, started writing out Christmas cards mid-November and I've never looked back.  I've changed how I do things over the years, but essentially things are the same.

I begin planning on October 1st now.  I have a grocery list that I add the non-perishable things to each pay period so I'm not inundated with the massive amount of food to buy.  I pick out recipes and do shopping for those items weeks in advance.  I've also set aside one day each week for baking Christmas cookies.  I have in years past, set aside time each night to fill out 5 Christmas cards each night to make sure I have them done by December 1st.  I haven't done this in the past 5 or so years, though.  We've resorted to getting special cards for parents, uncles/aunts, brothers/sisters, nieces/nephews along with gift cards.

What about my plans for 2015?

I am already looking for patterns that I hope to get to make for everyone for Christmas 2015.  I would like to get started in January purchasing things, then in February and March during my recoup time, knitting on those things.  I have grandiose plans, but honestly, those plans could be changed by life happening. (holding my plans loosely)   Between March and the end of September, I plan to pack up everything to be ready to move.  I've already decluttered some of our books to sell and I'm packing up other books that I'd like to keep.  Amazingly, I have 6 boxes set aside to sell and half a box packed.

Once we're settled, I plan to get my Holiday Planning Journal back out, making adjustments as needed, and making different plans for being with family over the holidays--hosting and visiting.

Life's changes are always coming along, throwing us a curve ball, but the biggest blessing has been the daily routines.  I can always tell what throws my day off when the routines are not followed and it makes everything a chaos.  Then when I step back, look around, and realize I need to shine my sink, grab my timer and go, knowing that just 15 minutes will make a big difference.

On a side note, when my daily Bible reading and prayer time has been neglected, I can tell too.  When chaos reins, important things go by the wayside.

As we are an hour from 2015, I'm ringing in the new year watching Duck Dynasty with my family.  Tomorrow morning we'll get up and sand the plaster filled holes in the kitchen, wipe and reapply as needed.  I hope to be able to paint by Saturday.  Needless to say, we've discovered more that needs filled in and we're just taking care of it.  Once this is all done, we'll move on to the next room.  I'm hoping to have all this needful stuff done by the time my surgery comes along.  I'm hoping....  ;)

Have a lovely New Year!

God Bless,

Knitting Projects Update & More

In this post I mentioned I had some knitting projects I work on while the kids are at their various activities.  The one pictured in the post linked above is a bit more completed than the last picture.

This is the progress that has been made on the winter headband.  It's about half way through the cable & seed stitch sequence.  Once it is done the end you see at the bottom of the picture will have a button on it and the other end, once it is made, will have a button hole for fastening it on to the head.

I go back and forth between working the above pattern which requires a lot of concentration for me, to the one below that is just straight knitting. 

I decided to make myself a felted purse that is lined with compartments.  I ordered more wool from Knitpicks Wool of the Andes yesterday that are solid colors of the above variegated colors.  Mr. G and I went to Erie, PA on Friday night for our date night.  We visited Michael's and Hobby Lobby, but couldn't find the yarn I needed at the price I liked, so ordering from Knitpicks proved to be the best choice.  I could shop the website and find the colors I needed at a wonderful price.

I cannot wait to finish those projects and move on to the next bunch.  I have a couple little 2 year old girl hats to crochet this week for a friend of mine, then it's back to finishing the two above.  

I'll post pictures of the crocheted hats once I get them finished. :0)

I'd like to move on to sweaters for the family, starting with my Mr. G.  I have seen a wonderful pattern from one of the knitting magazines that I subscribe to that I would like to try.  I saw it and then received my Knitpicks catalog and found the tweed yarn that I would need for the project pictured in the catalog.  It was exactly what I was looking for.   I just need to make sure I have the right needles and I'll be ready to work on it.  

The saying is so very true~too many patterns, too little time!  =0) 

What are your hands busy with?

God Bless,

Productivity

The last bit of December, mid January through now has been wrought with so much sickness in our home and now it is making it's way through the ranks.  While everyone has tried to be content and at least comfortable, others have taken on more responsibilities and taken it in stride.

Now it is time for them to be sick and Mom to take care of everyone.

While I was sick, they brought me teas of every flavor with honey or Stevia, along with warm meals or salads.  I talked them through making chicken soup and other dishes while curled up in a ball with a fever myself, sore and achy.

Now it is time for Momma to bless everyone with good hearty soups, wonderful healing teas and clean smelling blankets to curl up in.  

While I'd been sick, when I felt up to it I knitted or crocheted.  In this post you can see the finished afghan I made for a dear friend.  Once I finished that project, I moved on to another UFO [Un-Finished Object] to crochet.

This past week I've finished it, felted it and found wooden buttons for it. 

Knitted pocket.  The felted stitches turn out differently in knitted items than in crocheted.

I'd made a knitted pocket for it, but at this point in time, I'm not sure if I want to put it on the inside or the outside.  I'm also not sure if I'd like to line it or not.  It is a nice sized bag that is very thick.

A closer look at the colors, the simple handles, and the beautiful wood buttons.

Felting crocheted work is different than felting knitted work, I've found.  When putting a knitted piece through the washer the way the knitting is flat and uniform without much texture makes the stitches blend in much easier than with crocheting.  While crocheting felts much the same way with the thickness, it shows much more of the stitches, hence the zig-zag pattern of the white crochet stitches.  This, in my opinion, gives each bag character of it's very own.

Here is the messenger bag that I finished in 2012~

With each felted bag, each pattern is different, with each type of wool, the texture is a little different.  The above bag was made with Icelandic Lopi yarn which is bulky wool.  It's texture is different than any other 100% wool I've used.  This bag will fit a loose leaf notebook/ 3 ring binder easily.  I've also put my laptop in it.  The one I finished above would easily fit both of them in it with room to spare, or it would make a nice diaper bag.

So what is next on my needles?  I have a couple projects that I would  like to begin working on once I get the yarn for Christmas for my mother-in-law and my daughter.  I keep finding these patterns that I'd love to make, but I need to get the materials first.  Go figure!  I need to use up some of my stash at some point, I'm sure.  But, I've come to the realization that it just might be easier to use up the stash simply by sharing the yarn with others who might have a use for it.  

What else am I working on?  Teaching the next generation of young ladies how to make bags too.  What fun!  

UFO's

UFO's, or unfinished objects, abound here at my home.  I have projects that I started to cross stitch way back when, but didn't finish due to having little ones.  I need to get those back out now and show my daughter how to do them.  :) 

Knitting projects are bothering me.  I started sweaters for my two youngest children to find that now, I really don't like the way they've turned out.  So, as with all things that stump me, I've set them aside to figure out the next step of what I'd like to do.  I don't know if I'm going to unravel all of them or if I'm going to finish them at this point.  My knitting has changed since I started them, so it may do very well to just unravel them and start all over again with something different.  I was thinking of doing something like this wonderful sweater for my daughter and one for me, just a little larger.  I would also like to make some mittens for the ladies of the family or fingerless gloves, or both.  For the men folk, I've found that they would prefer the skiing gloves from the store, so making gloves for them is pretty much out of the question because they wouldn't wear them. 

I haven't looked very much in to crocheting patterns for clothes as of late, but it will come eventually.  I'm finishing up 3 pairs of wool socks and an afghan before moving on to the above projects though.

I hope to finish all of the afghan before the end of March so I can work on the socks.  The afghan in the summer time is not a good thing since it will be so warm.  Smaller, more compact things work better for warmer months.  :)