Doodle Acres

Here is a list of the projects I have been working on over the last couple of weeks:

1. A train mat for Peter (like Joann’s: http://tenkidsandadog.blogspot.com/2007/11/train-playmat.html)

   

   

2. A lap quilt for Peter

   

   

3. A skirt for Lily
4. Several winter skirts for me - One down, one to go!!!
5. A denim quilt for my bed that my husband requested
6. A pillow with bunnies that I read a tutorial for recently for Lily http://missyballance.typepad.com/crafty_carnival/2007/01/bunny_pillow_tu.html
7. “Cars” pillowcases for Peter

   

8. Curtains for my family room

Looking at this list makes me realize how much I have left to do.  I guess I know what I’ll be doing every night this week!!!

I decided to make Lily another one of those cute ruffled skirts. This one is more sedate as it’s for Thanksgiving and has three ruffled sections instead of two. I don’t think it is as striking as the other but I still like it!!!

I think that for the next one I make her, I’ll experiment with different ruffle lengths. Perhaps I’ll lengthen the first ruffle so that the second doesn’t show as much. But that’s another project and another post!!!

Well I dusted off my sewing machine which has seen little more than mending lately. And boy, did I have fun with this cute skirt that I made for Lily. I read about it on Michele Quigley’s sewing forum called “On Pins & Needles”. The tutorial on Grand Revival made it quite easy although I had to adjust the measurements for my daughter as she is a size 7 and not a size 5-6. Also I added a few inches to make the skirt a bit longer for modesty. I made it out of some fun fabric I had around that I had used for a lap quilt for Lily a couple of Christmases ago. It’s not our usual fabric selection but I think it is a cute skirt nonetheless.

I just discovered a new online quarterly magazine and you can get a free one-year subscription this month.  It is called "Seasonal Delights" and it looks really interesting.  Its target audience is "Mothers and Daughters".  The autumn issue includes a yummy looking Apple Crisp recipe and since I have 1 1/2 bushels of apples on my counter, I think we’ll give it a try!!!  I encourage you to check it out!!!

After a long break from sewing, I finally made myself four new cotton skirts this past weekend.  The fabrics are very pretty and I am so pleased with the results.  My denim skirts were getting a bit tiresome.  While I was sewing on my machine, my second daughter, Lily (6 3/4), was handsewing near me.  She had been taught how to sew on a button and was happily adding button eyes to her bear creation.  I was very impressed with the mouth she made for this bear.  The mouth was all her own creation and this started me thinking that perhaps Lily was ready for some basic machine sewing.  Today we took advantage of Peter’s nap (2 1/2) to have our first lesson.  I didn’t get into a lot of detail about the operation of the machine.  I threaded it for her and explained the basic safety rules.  She practiced sewing straight and using the foot pedal.  This can be quite a feat for a person of any age.  She sewed along lines I drew for her on a piece of scrap fabric.  She did great and very much enjoyed her first machine sewing lesson.