Quilting Kids!

{ 12:34, 29 January 2008 } { Posted in Sewing and Craft } { 4 comments } { Link }

And Block of the Month

Well, I have been sewing for over 20 yrs. but have never done any quilting, even though I have wanted to for a long time. And since Homesteadmama4 is doing a Block of the Month series, I thought that this would be a good time to start.

My daughters really wanted to do it with me and so we gathered up whatever material we could find and started tracing, cutting, and sewing. We are all novice quilters and so I figured we could just concentrate on getting their blocks done tonight and I could work on mine tomorrow. We had fabric and pins and scissors and pencils and thread all over the place, haha. But it was fun and the girls loved it. They are so excited that they can't wait until February's quilt block comes out on homesteadmama's blog, Little House in the Valley.

Here are some photo's of the girls' blocks. My daughters are 9, 11, and 15 yrs. of age.

After the whole block was sewn together we noticed a little mistake in the direction

of one of the blocks.
But I'm not sure if she's going to want to take it apart and redo it.
It will probably stay as it is.
I think it looks great,
especially for her very first try!
~~~~~

Here are my other daughters' blocks.

We enjoyed this so much! Thank you homesteadmama4!!

My 7yr. old son was watching and he wants to make one, ha!
He was so serious, and somewhat disappointed that he couldn't do it with us tonight.
I told him that I would help him with one this week, when it's just me and him.
I don't think we'll tackle Jacob's Ladder together, though.
We'll have to do something quite a bit simpler. :)

Can't wait to do mine!

Cloth Napkins vs. Paper Napkins

{ 09:22, 12 October 2007 } { Posted in Sewing and Craft } { 6 comments } { Link }

You know how sometimes a thought comes into your mind and then keeps returning to nag you over and over again?

Well, I have many of those, I just haven't gotten to researching or taking care of all of them yet.

One of those is the use of cloth napkins. I'm sure it would be more economical to use cloth napkins instead of paper ones. And in the process of pursuing a more simple and self-sufficient lifestyle, cloth napkins seems to be the logical thing to do. I just haven't done it yet.

I used to know a woman, (mother of 8), who I considered a mentor, who used cloth napkins in her home. But that was long before I was married and had any reason to consider it and never talked to her about it. And frankly, today, I don't know anyone who uses them...ever.

I really cannot afford to go out and purchase a whole bunch of them, nor do I want to. I sew and so, of course, I would be making them. But, how many is enough? We currently have 5 children at home, and then there is my husband and myself. How many napkins do I make for us, eating 3 meals a day, 7 days a week? Do I really need to make a set of 7 for each meal of the week? Am I going to be tossing them in the wash after each and every usage? My laundry is already more than I can handle sometimes, this would definitely be adding to the pile.

I am just trying to reason through this and figure it out. I would love to hear from anyone who has made the transition to only cloth and no paper. Any tips or ideas about your usage or the making of them, or acquiring them would be great. :)

Starting to Crochet

{ 03:42, 25 September 2007 } { Posted in Sewing and Craft } { 4 comments } { Link }

My daughters and I thought we'd start learning how to crochet. I picked up the "I Taught Myself How to Crochet" kit at Walmart and a few skeins of yarn and we got to it.

We just started yesterday and my daughters crocheted several long chains for practice. My 9yr. old turned hers into a little bracelet and necklace. :)

My 10yr. old attempted the single crochet stitch and is working on a hot pad for our kitchen.

I made a washcloth. Even though it's not all that straight, I'm pretty happy with it, and my daughters love it, haha.

I'm working on my double crochet stitch now.

My mother (who has already passed on to the next world) used to crochet so beautifully. But, alas, I never learned from her, and so I'm giving it a second try now. My first try, many, many, many years ago was pretty unsuccessful, everything was always uneven and very strange looking, haha. I could never figure out what I was doing wrong and at that point I didn't know anyone who did crochet who could give me some pointers.

But the girls and I really wanted to try and learn, so we're working on it together. My boys, who are 6 and 4, wanted so badly to be right in there with us while we were working on learning and practicing these stitches last night. I tried instructing my 6yr. old son, but the fingering, with lacing the yarn around your fingers and controlling it while trying to hold and manipulate the hook, was just too much for him. So he has happily been winding yarn into balls for us. :)

I actually wound the big one.

My mother had once told me about her "so easy to do" slippers. She said she used only two stitches (which I think are the single and double crochet) and she would crochet rectangles and then fold them in half lengthwise and stitch them up the sides and part of the top, leaving a small opening for sliding in your foot. I have begun attempting one of those the size of my daughter's foot and so we'll so how that turns out.

Change of Subject

I have this little fabric bear which a friend of mine gave me ages ago. She has since passed away after being sick with cancer, and I love this bear so much. Of course, there is a lot of sentimental value attached to it, but I also think it is just so sweet. She had made one for herself which was a cat. I want to make more of these and have tried creating a pattern off of it, but it really didn't turn out looking the same as the original. I haven't been able to locate a pattern for this either. I may attempt another pattern construction off of it. I could always rip the seams out and trace the pattern, but I didn't want to have to do that. I may end up doing just that if my pattern attempt doesn't work out again.

~~~~~~~

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Be Keepers Of the Word, Of the Way
~"I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth."~ 3 John 1:4 ~~
About Me: Welcome! I am a wife of 23 yrs. to a hard working husband, mother to 7 wonderful, amazing children, a home educator, raised in the city, new to living in the country, an adopted child of God desiring to live and walk in His ways. Here is my blog with some of that journey and the lessons I'm learning along the Way. :) Home Profile Archives Today's Verse Contact Me Some Favorite Websites Early Christian Writings Christian Classics Ethereal Library Bible Gateway The Library of Congress The Baldwin Online Children's Literature Project Project Gutenberg World Hyper History Baking 911 Institute of Biblical Greek Adventures in Sewing Vintage Sewing Reference Library How-To Publication NMU Free Downloadable Software eSword Picasa Super Anti Spyware Currently Reading My Bible "The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching" ~Irenaeus of Lyons "Charlotte Mason and Classical Education" ~by Susan Wise Bauer "A Charlotte Mason Companion: Personal Reflections on the Gentle Art of Learning" ~by Karen Andreola Around The Homestead Researching Fruit Tree Pruning Getting Ready for Arrival of Chief our first horse Clean Out Hen House Chicks Coming in April! Page 1 of 130 † Last Page \| Next Page †	Quilting Kids! { 12:34, 29 January 2008 } { Posted in Sewing and Craft } { 4 comments } { Link } And Block of the Month Well, I have been sewing for over 20 yrs. but have never done any quilting, even though I have wanted to for a long time. And since Homesteadmama4 is doing a Block of the Month series, I thought that this would be a good time to start. My daughters really wanted to do it with me and so we gathered up whatever material we could find and started tracing, cutting, and sewing. We are all novice quilters and so I figured we could just concentrate on getting their blocks done tonight and I could work on mine tomorrow. We had fabric and pins and scissors and pencils and thread all over the place, haha. But it was fun and the girls loved it. They are so excited that they can't wait until February's quilt block comes out on homesteadmama's blog, Little House in the Valley. Here are some photo's of the girls' blocks. My daughters are 9, 11, and 15 yrs. of age. After the whole block was sewn together we noticed a little mistake in the direction of one of the blocks. But I'm not sure if she's going to want to take it apart and redo it. It will probably stay as it is. I think it looks great, especially for her very first try! ~~~~~ Here are my other daughters' blocks. We enjoyed this so much! Thank you homesteadmama4!! My 7yr. old son was watching and he wants to make one, ha! He was so serious, and somewhat disappointed that he couldn't do it with us tonight. I told him that I would help him with one this week, when it's just me and him. I don't think we'll tackle Jacob's Ladder together, though. We'll have to do something quite a bit simpler. :) Can't wait to do mine! Cloth Napkins vs. Paper Napkins { 09:22, 12 October 2007 } { Posted in Sewing and Craft } { 6 comments } { Link } You know how sometimes a thought comes into your mind and then keeps returning to nag you over and over again? Well, I have many of those, I just haven't gotten to researching or taking care of all of them yet. One of those is the use of cloth napkins. I'm sure it would be more economical to use cloth napkins instead of paper ones. And in the process of pursuing a more simple and self-sufficient lifestyle, cloth napkins seems to be the logical thing to do. I just haven't done it yet. I used to know a woman, (mother of 8), who I considered a mentor, who used cloth napkins in her home. But that was long before I was married and had any reason to consider it and never talked to her about it. And frankly, today, I don't know anyone who uses them...ever. I really cannot afford to go out and purchase a whole bunch of them, nor do I want to. I sew and so, of course, I would be making them. But, how many is enough? We currently have 5 children at home, and then there is my husband and myself. How many napkins do I make for us, eating 3 meals a day, 7 days a week? Do I really need to make a set of 7 for each meal of the week? Am I going to be tossing them in the wash after each and every usage? My laundry is already more than I can handle sometimes, this would definitely be adding to the pile. I am just trying to reason through this and figure it out. I would love to hear from anyone who has made the transition to only cloth and no paper. Any tips or ideas about your usage or the making of them, or acquiring them would be great. :) Starting to Crochet { 03:42, 25 September 2007 } { Posted in Sewing and Craft } { 4 comments } { Link } My daughters and I thought we'd start learning how to crochet. I picked up the "I Taught Myself How to Crochet" kit at Walmart and a few skeins of yarn and we got to it. We just started yesterday and my daughters crocheted several long chains for practice. My 9yr. old turned hers into a little bracelet and necklace. :) My 10yr. old attempted the single crochet stitch and is working on a hot pad for our kitchen. I made a washcloth. Even though it's not all that straight, I'm pretty happy with it, and my daughters love it, haha. I'm working on my double crochet stitch now. My mother (who has already passed on to the next world) used to crochet so beautifully. But, alas, I never learned from her, and so I'm giving it a second try now. My first try, many, many, many years ago was pretty unsuccessful, everything was always uneven and very strange looking, haha. I could never figure out what I was doing wrong and at that point I didn't know anyone who did crochet who could give me some pointers. But the girls and I really wanted to try and learn, so we're working on it together. My boys, who are 6 and 4, wanted so badly to be right in there with us while we were working on learning and practicing these stitches last night. I tried instructing my 6yr. old son, but the fingering, with lacing the yarn around your fingers and controlling it while trying to hold and manipulate the hook, was just too much for him. So he has happily been winding yarn into balls for us. :) I actually wound the big one. My mother had once told me about her "so easy to do" slippers. She said she used only two stitches (which I think are the single and double crochet) and she would crochet rectangles and then fold them in half lengthwise and stitch them up the sides and part of the top, leaving a small opening for sliding in your foot. I have begun attempting one of those the size of my daughter's foot and so we'll so how that turns out. Change of Subject I have this little fabric bear which a friend of mine gave me ages ago. She has since passed away after being sick with cancer, and I love this bear so much. Of course, there is a lot of sentimental value attached to it, but I also think it is just so sweet. She had made one for herself which was a cat. I want to make more of these and have tried creating a pattern off of it, but it really didn't turn out looking the same as the original. I haven't been able to locate a pattern for this either. I may attempt another pattern construction off of it. I could always rip the seams out and trace the pattern, but I didn't want to have to do that. I may end up doing just that if my pattern attempt doesn't work out again. ~~~~~~~ { Last Page } { Page 1 of 2 } { Next Page }	Recent Posts Now That's Service Under Construction Who doesn't have a headache today? 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Forester~ "There is no more noble occupation in the world than to assist another human being - to help someone to succeed." ~Alan Loy McGinnus~ "The greatest destroyer of peace is abortion because if a mother can kill her own child, what is left for me to kill you and you to kill me? There is nothing between. " ~Mother Theresa~ "Nothing is so strong as gentleness. Nothing is so gentle as real strength." ~Frances de Sales~ "I often regret that I have spoken; never that I am silent." ~Publilius Syrus~ "The Lord will either calm your storm . . . or allow it to rage while He calms you." ~Anonymous~ "The heart that is generous and kind most resembles God." ~Robert Burns~ "Love begins by taking care of the closest ones - the ones at home." ~Mother Theresa~ "Don't find fault, find a remedy." ~Henry Ford~ Sewing Projects "Block of the Month" "Cloth Napkins" "Kitchen Curtains" "Skirts" "Head Coverings" My Blinkies

Be Keepers

Of the Word, Of the Way

~"I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth."~ 3 John 1:4 ~~

Quilting Kids!

Cloth Napkins vs. Paper Napkins

Starting to Crochet