I've Been Busy

So, I took the Christmas break seriously and took time off from my newspaper writing. I didn't feel guilty in the least because trying to conduct interviews on the phone with my herd in the background is next to impossible. Therefore, I had a little time on my hands to work on some crafting projects, starting with this baby -


My friend showed me this darling crayon roll pattern and we knew we had to make some for our 3-year-olds. So two days before Christmas, we spent the evening sewing. We were a sight to behold because it was like the blind trying to lead the blind. We are both just beginner sewers, so it was absolutely hilarious trying to first get our sewing machines to work, then trying to figure out the pattern, then sewing them babies up. Once we got them done though, we were glowing with pride with our finished products (a mere two hours later!) Isn't it cute...

I put it in our church bag for Natalie to use and she was so excited to have a little "home" for each of her crayons - making sure to put each crayon back into its spot after she was done using it.

Next up on my project list was this -

I have been just itching to get a hold of my crotchet needles again, especially when I found the pattern for this cute toddlers hat. I spent one whole morning while John was hooking up the new dishwasher just trying out different crotchet flower patterns to find ones I liked. (Guess who had more fun. however, now our dishes actually get clean...thank you my man.)

Natalie is thrilled with her new hat and now the older girls want one too. I bought some fun yarn for them - now I just need to figure out how to make the hat pattern a little bigger for their heads.

And lastly, I finished up an I Spy Bag just as the break ended.

Of course, my perfectionist nature is getting the best of me and I want to redo this bag using a thicker flannel and sew up the bag, then turn it inside-out for a cleaner edge. No worries though - any excuse to get the sewing machine back out again. You should see the next sewing project on my list - a card table house. Don't expect to see any pictures soon. I may be working on it for the next few months.

Now its back to reality this week with John back at work, story deadlines looming, helping girls with homework, and piano lessons.

And can I just say, this posting is completely ironic to me because as most of you probably know, sewing was not up my alley a few years ago. Funny how things can change.