365 Project Weeks 7 & 8

So here you have it.  Two weeks worth of 365 Project pictures.  I opted for 'real' posts last week rather than falling back on the week in photos crutch that the project provides.  

1.  WC practiced his 'mom' look while wearing my glasses.  2.  Felt flowers on my yarn wreath.  3.  The extra
fancy Valentine's Day cookie WC insisted I photograph before he devoured it.  4.  Sticker-faced Channing
courtesy of Aunt Betty and the holiday card she sent to him.  5.  A hint of spring WM bestowed upon me.
6.  WC likes to wrap his arms and legs around and between the railings on the upper level and then call out for
help under the premise of being 'stuck.'  Silly boy.  7.  Tossing the football with WM on an unseasonably warm
Sunday afternoon.

1.  The Great Bike Race with Super Megan in the lead.  2.  One of our few opportunities this winter to play in the snow.  By afternoon, the yard was already bare.  3.  Channing on the prowl.  4.  WM leisurely reading at our weekend escape to Walker, MN.  5.  Despite his near perfect form, WM was not able to overcome my far superior bowling skills.  6.  Taking time for a mid-winter toe spruce up.  WM & I enjoyed pedicures this past weekend too.  Ahhh...  7.  We
FINALLY found a dining room clock we agreed on.  FINALLY.  

No-Sew Sewing Club

Yep.  That's right.  Sewing club without the sewing.  This month, it was Mary's turn to pick.  Inspired by the hundreds of listings and postings on both Etsy and Pinterest, she chose yarn wreaths as our monthly project.  


We wrapped and cut and glued our way through the later part of the morning and into the early part of the afternoon, exchanging our usual banter on loves and lives and kids, the moments we're most proud of and some that while they may not have been our best, they stretched our limits and helped us to learn.

In the spirit of Valentine's Day, we dined on heart-shaped pizza and exchanged treats and snacks until the dinner table turned into a craft table for the wee ones.  Collin, Megan and Channing painted sun catchers in keeping with the holiday theme.

It was busy.  It was fun.  It was a lot of work.  Only two of us finished the project and not until all the others had gone home.  A lot of satisfaction came at the moment I declared myself done.  I just need to find a piece of bright polka-dotted ribbon from which to hang my spring inspired beauty.  And soon.  

Seamingly Good Ideas (Pun Intended)

Weeks ago, we gathered for our monthly sewing club event.  Yes, it is an event.  There is laughter and lunch and the little ones play so well together now and, of course, we all come away with something lovely that we've stitched together in the matter of a few short hours.  

This month, Kelli wowed us all with both the pillowcase project she selected for us to do and the lunch she provided.  I never did get the official name of the soup, but it was taco-y and delicious.  Everyone begged for the recipe.  Yum-o!

The pillowcases are just darling and have been a lot of fun.  

Yes, fun.  Megan and Channing crawled into their pillowcases for a bit of merriment as sewing club wrapped up.  Channing continues to use his as a sleeping bag for both his dolls and for himself.  

That cheesy grin while he's 'sleeping' cracks me up!

A Thousand Words

I should really write something one of these days.  It's been terribly long since last I posted.  Stuff has happened.  Lots of stuff.  Photos were taken to preserve the memories.  The writing part...Well, that seems to be where I'm stuck.  Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I'll let the photos do the talking this time around.  

Hot and tasty treats courtesy of Kathy.  She served 'em up while most of the sewing club ladies worked on holiday themed hot pads.  The pair with the holly are the one I made.  Get it?  Holly.  There are times I just can't help myself.

While the mamas sewed, the wee folk worked on crafts.  Felt reindeer ornament craft kits kept little hands just as busy as the bigger ones.  If you ask Channing, his reindeer is actually a zebra.  Notice the one black stripe?  That was a left over bit of antler.  

I found these sweet treats on Pinterest and just had to make them when the high school girls came over for our annual ornament exchange.  Channing was more than willing to lend a hand.  For once, the majority of the candy ended up on the goodies instead of in his belly.  And once again, he used his own best judgement when placing the decorations.  A three-horned reindeer with two noses?  Why not?

We did a little painting too.  A hand print globbed onto a glass sphere with a few small details thrown in quickly turns into a happy family of snowmen.  A few of our ornaments took on the appearance of spring thaw.  The colors may have been muddied together into a lovely shade of brown that colored more of the hand print than not.  Whatever.  We're going with it.  With this project, it was a whole lot less about the end result and a whole lot more about working together and making 'a big, giant, giant mess.'  We definitely accomplished that.  

And there you have it, in several thousand words, give or take a few.  

Seriously!

Seriously.  Time can go on and slow down now.  S-l-o-w down.  Way down.  I am a frazzled mess rushing from one thing to the next to the next to the next.  It is very hard to be present in this moment when all I can think of is my to do list and the sixteen things I should be/could be doing next.  


I.  Need.  To.  Breathe.


Inhale.


Exhale.


OK then.


Since last I posted, there was a little adventure commonly referred to as Girls' Night Out.  These nights happen all over the world with all sorts of girls.  Let me tell you about mine.  They're those girls that I've known since junior high back when it was called junior high and not middle school.  The girls that make you laugh until you either a) start to pee your pants or b) snort and some sort of beverage or food comes out your nose.  The girls who have dried tears and wordlessly comforted through break-ups, and world ending let-downs and unquestioningly offered up even more often without being asked.  We are intricately woven together by a lifetime of experiences.  This snap shot shows nothing of our 'filters off' evening.  They were off though.  Believe you-me, they were off.  Oh, and in case any of you were wondering...Lynnea did admit Shanda was right at 7 pm last Thursday evening.  Someone did actually look at their watch to confirm the time.  

Skipping ahead a little, Tuesday brought the second meeting of sewing club.  Six sewers.  One great-grandma.  Three almost pre-schoolers.  Two infants.  We sewed.  The conversation flowed.  Late and skipped naps pushed the limits of patience for the little ones and this mama in particular.  In the end, each of us coaxed a flower into bloom from a short cut of cotton fabric and some scraps of wool felt.  

Wednesday, Auntie Maxine came for treats and a visit.  She never comes empty handed.  Channing was all hands as Maxine showed him the ins and outs of weaving hot pad holders on a metal loom.  She also taught him how to pretend to eat a fuzzy, plastic spider and then coughing and sputtering, spit it back up again.  I was in stitches and didn't take pictures of the lesson as it unfolded.  It's hilarious.  Absolutely.

Our house is now filled with warmth of an oven that has been on most of the morning and smells of caramelized sugar.  The birthday party baking and prep has begun in earnest.  It may look like a cyclone struck inside the red house on Inglewood Ave.  However, by Saturday morning, it will all come together.  It will.  I cannot wait.  

Sew Lovely

It happened almost all at once.  One timid knock at our door announced the arrival of Melissa and Baby Theo.  Really, I don't think she could have balanced one more thing in her hands-a sewing machine and all its related necessities, Theo in his car seat, his diaper bag.  Is that it?  I don't know.  I didn't even say hello, just scolded her for not asking for a hand.  Funny because I know darn well had roles been reversed, I would have lugged all of that to the door on my own too.

Kathy, Kelli & Megan arrived in the middle.  I no longer recall in what order.  They brought their machines as well.  A sewing basket.  A purse that looked like a basket.  Five steaming cups of tasty goodness from Caribou Coffee.  Pumpkin latte anyone?


Ellen, not having been to 'the red house on the left,' was the last to arrive.  Mapquest, Google Maps and the like do not yet know our location.  That's OK though.  I talked her in through the last few blocks via cellphone and at last our group was assembled.  Sewing Club.  (Since a GPS cannot find our location on a map, does that make our club super secret?)

Month one.  Aprons.  In roughly three hours, five determined women with all levels of sewing ability whipped up as many aprons.  The tutorial we followed can be found here.  Theo napped & awoke as happy as ever while Channing & Megan entertained themselves with only a few reminders of 'please share' and 'no pushing' or 'there are enough for you to each have one.'

Can't wait to see what our next meeting brings.  We'll be taking turns choosing the project and bringing the treat.  You know we can't get together without involving food.  I made not one but two apple crisps for our first meeting.  WM, WC & I ate a mini one last night just to make sure the crisp was Sewing Club worthy.  It was.


Darling, aren't they?  

Or should I say 'sew cute!'?