Participating

A few weekends ago as I ran out of supplies to make Aiden's Easter basket goodies I decided to try out a pattern that had been lurking in my stash for a long time. Since Rae is hosting the Spring Top Week competition again this year it seemed like a logical choice to jump from hand embroidering fish to sewing a halter top.


I bought this pattern then hurried to buy the fabric to make it, then hurried home. Two years later a top is made! I'm not sure why it took so long because this is one of the easiest tops (aside from the BBW top, of course) to whip up. Amy's patterns are very easy to follow. She gives very detailed direction each step of the way, I especially liked the way she suggests to sew in the zipper. I'm not generally a huge fan of putting zippers in garments but this was no problem.

The fabric I used is the same that I bought two years ago. Now my wardrobe consists, almost exclusively, of black or brown or very muted green and blue stuff. This wild Hawaiian style print is way outside of my comfort zone but I think it works well for this top. I'm trying to take a page out of my friend Victoria's book by choosing interesting patterns and new styles. What do you think, Vic? :)
The only things I may change the next time I make this top would be to make longer ties and fit the bodice a little better. Overall, though, I think I'll get quite a bit of wear out of this one.


Happy Sewing!
~Megan

First Sewitng Project

My son Marcus is always wanting to help me with my projects. I love that he shows interest in these things. I get a big kick out of how he can be all about wrestling and football with his friends one minute and the next, he is asking my if he can help me sew.

This coloring book was his first official "all by himself" sewing project, and it was an extra special one. My little brother Sam, passed away January 1st 2009. Marcus and Sam were the best of friends, they spent everyday together. Sam was a great playmate for Marcus growing up, and as Marcus got older, he was a loyal friend to Sam. One of the hardest parts about losing Sam, was knowing that my daughter Maria would not have the same memories or understanding of what an extraordinary person Sam was. I try to make something to celebrate his life and spirit each holiday for my children and the cousins in our family. This Easter we made this simple coloring book. Sam's favorite place to visit was Disney World. If I am correct, had been there 17 or 18 times in 15 years. I used this tutorial to convert some of Sam's Disney photos into coloring book pages.

I cut brown paper bags to make the cover. Marcus sewed right down the center of the pages attaching them to the cover.

This was a great first project for Marcus and great therapy for me.

My brother Sam touched the hearts of everyone he met. My mom has a blog where she shares our many memories of Sam. Although his life was short, he made everyday so special and left us with many beautiful memories.

Happy Remembering

Rhiannon

An Easter Celebration

I love Easter, I feel like it marks the true beginning of Spring. Unfortunately in the Midwest the weather does not always agree. This year, however the weather was very cooperative, and we were able to enjoy the usual Easter traditions plus a few of our own.

Cousins inspecting their treasures after an Easter Egg hunt.

A huge dinner-I host Easter each year and last year I decided I wanted to try a Mexican menu. It has become one of our new traditions. My husband fixes meat and toppings for burritos and tacos. The rest of the family brings their favorite Mexican dish to share. Very Yummy!!

Maria and Louisa wearing dresses inspired by the food.

Chloe taking a swing at the Pinata.


Maria enjoying the hunt.

Marcus and Lucas- I love seeing my children play with their cousins at the holidays. It brings back memories of my childhood. We always had big family dinners with all of us cousins looking forward to spending the day playing together. Lucas enjoying the day.

Maria showing off her dress.


Maria and Great-Grandma. Aren't they both adorable?

Me and my cousin Laura.

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter full of old and new traditions.

Happy Celebrating

Rhiannon

Easter

We spent this Easter weekend trying to make up for missing our family by doing a little crafting and playing. Now that Aiden is starting to pay more attention to holidays, birthdays and traditions in general, I thought it would be fun to introduce him to a few of the things I remember about Easter. Yesterday, we decorated eggs and had a mini hunt around the house.

I also spent the last week or so making some little gifts to put into a basket for him. I started with cereal box notebooks:


I followed this easy tutorial from The Long Thread.

Then, I found Joel's super cool post about fishing and immediately started on that project. Mine turned out pretty cool too, if I do say so myself:
Saturday night Aiden helped me with my first Freezer Paper stencil project.


A Peep T-shirt, inspired by all the awesomeness in Dana's flickr pool.

When Aiden found his basket this morning, though, do you think he wanted to wear his new shirt? Did he want to start fishing? Do you think he started drawing in his homemade notebooks? NOPE! He played with cars. All. Day. Long.


My friend's sweet, sweet son scrounged through his toys and decided to give all the cars and car paraphernalia he doesn't play with anymore to Aiden. I passed them off as gifts from the Easter Bunny, which may have been a big mistake. We'll see next year if he expects as much. :)

Hopefully next year we can spend the weekend with family, enjoying more traditions and each other. Happy Easter all.

~Megan

Some Bling in your Basket

 Here is a quick and easy project, that will add sparkle to any little girl's basket.

 I picked up these white (rather boring) shoes at my local Walmart. Grabbed some Mrs.Glue for glitter and more and of course the final ingredient, Glitter.

I applied a generous amount of glue to the shoe.

I found myself a helpful 3 year old and let her sprinkle her little heart out. Once the glue is completely covered, shake off any excess. I did a couple of layers of glitter, letting the glue dry in between and brushing off any loose glitter before starting the next layer.

Of course we couldn't wait for Easter!!

Here are some projects that I am hoping will make it into our Easter baskets.

For Marcus-slotted building blocks found here.

For Maria-sock bunny found here.

Happy Glittering!(is that a word?)

Rhiannon

Why I Sew

I sew to avoid doing the other things I should be doing. (I'm looking at you, laundry mountain.)


I sew because it is fun.

I sew to stop thinking.

I sew to make stuff, like elastic waist pants for a newly potty trained tot.


I sew to feel a sense of accomplishment.

I sew to try something new and get out of my comfort zone.

I sew to do the same thing over again because it worked.


I sew because it's cheaper than therapy.

I sew because I can follow directions pretty well.

I sew because it makes my son proud of me.


I sew because I love it!

Why do you sew, or craft, or do the thing you do?

~Megan

A little Getaway

This week is Spring Break for my oldest. Unlike last year, we did not make any big plans. (I would have loved to visit Megan again) I had decided to take a couple of days off work and spend them at home with the kids. However my other cousin Megan (yes I have 2 of them) offered to take us to Grand Bear Lodge, a hotel/lodge with an indoor water park. So although I did not spend a week in Georgia with Megan #1, I did spend 2 days in Utica with Megan #2.

Gotta take a picture with the bear.

My kiddos loved swimming and I loved not having to apply sunscreen.

Marcus -being Marcus.
Maria got a push pop,

some vampire teeth,
a sucker,
and a gumball!!
Happy Spring Break

Rhiannon

I hope to post my easter ideas soon.