It seems that all of my children's pajamas have fallen apart all at the same time, so I have been diligently trying to get new ones made. I had purchased flannel back in the fall when JoAnn had their $2 a yard sale which is coming up again by the way. At least according to my latest flyer it is. So, I got one pair of pajamas made for Carolyn and a night gown done for Natalie. Here is a look at them in their new night clothes.

My next project is a pair of jammies for Brianna.

Blessings,
Jennie

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Good morning!

I just wanted to take a minute to share what has become a real blessing to me. Our church has a monthly craft day on the third Friday of every month. Apparently it began as a scrapbooking group for the purpose of community outreach. Over the years this has changed to a craft day where women can feel free to bring all types of handiwork. I don't scrapbook, but I do sew, cross stitch and now knit. The fellowship is precious to me, and I have learned a lot also. My daughter, Carolyn, has learned to hand piece quilt squares. She has also learned to knot a quilt as several women sometimes gather around a quilt frame to work on quilts. I also have hand pieces a few quilt sqares based on what I have learned there.

And, the stories...oh, to listen to these ladies tell stories is just a blessing.

So, this afternoon, I am going to pick up my cross stitch box and my knitting and head off to craft day.

Blessings,
Jennie

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I don't often post in the sewing room category, so I would like to start doing that a little more. Before Christmas, the ladies who are members of The Family Homestead forums, had a Christmas exchange. This is what I sent my exchange partner, Koleen. It is stitched on a Showcase Huck Towel.

Have a blessed Saturday. I am off to my son's hockey game.

Jennie

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In my endeavor to learn more handcrafts, I took a knitting class at JoAnn's at the beginning of November. What fun I have been having! All I have learned so far is the knit or garter stitch, but I have been trying different yarns and different projects. One point about knitting that I love is that it is not straining on my eyes the way cross stitching is for me in the evening. I wanted a hobby that I could do after the children were in bed while watching TV with my husband. I thought knitting would be just perfect.

My first project is a scarf. I am half way through with it. It is made out of Lion Brand Wool-Ease Chunky. It reminds me of scarves I had as a child. The color is willow, but depending on the lighting it can appear any number of shades of green. Here is a little look at it.

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For those inquiring minds who spent time wondering what I took to craft day yesterday, I took my 9-patch quilt. I am hand piecing it. Here is the picture.

God bless,

Jennie

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On the third Friday of every month, some ladies in my church get together to do a scrapbooking/craft day. I have been attending these get togethers for about 9 months now. It is such a blessing to me to have 3 hours to work on a craft plus time to fellowship with other Christian women. Usually, I bring my sewing machine and work on some sort of sewing project. Over the past few months, I have finished a pair of flannel PJs for Natalie, a pair of PJ bottoms for Carolyn, a denim jumper for Brianna, and rice bags for Christmas presents. I usually know weeks in advance what I want to work on when I attend. I sit here today just an hour from leaving my house without a clue in the world what I want to work on. I have tons of fabric waiting for me to do something with, but I have no inspiration for what to do. I could make more jumpers for the girls or skirts for me which I desperately need. I could make pillows for the futon in our spare room or I could make summer PJs for any of the children. I started to make a 9 patch quilt by hand last month after my friend, Kathy, taught Carolyn how to hand piece a 9 patch block. I think what is holding me back is that nothing is cut out, and quite frankly, cutting out is my LEAST favorite part of sewing. I dread it, so I avoid it. So, hopefully in the next 45 minutes I will figure out what I want to work on while I am there. I'll have to let you know when I get back.

Other than craft day, I did manage to get the basic household chores done for this Friday. I changed my bed sheets. I do not do it on the same day as the children because I would have to wait all day for the washer and dryer. Also, we straighten up the living room and the family room on Friday. I need to work toward actually dusting these two rooms also.  Dinner tonight is pizza. That is our weekly Friday meal. I will serve it with veggies and fruit. Since I am from Buffalo, we do like a good ole chicken wing to go with our pizza, but I don't do it very often. Honestly, I hate getting splashed by the hot oil.. I don't have a deep fryer, so I fry them in a fry pan. I know some people bake them, but that does not produce a true "Buffalo Wing". After dinner is a grocery shopping adventure. I have my list ready to go. Well...I am off to solve the craft day dilemma.
Many blessings,

Jennie

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Jill asked me about making rice bags, so I thought I would expound on this today. This Christmas I made about 8 rice bags for my nieces and nephews. We use rice bags to provide moist heat for sore muscles, warmth for cold feet when the children come in from playing in the snow, and heat to warm the sheets before bed time. The are just warmed up in microwave.

I make them with a flannel, rice, essential oil and a hand towel. I think my rice bags measure about 22x7 for the inner bag. The inner bag contains the rice. I divide my inner bag into 3 sections so the rice doesn't collect in the bottom of the bag. I use a zig zag stitch for all the sewing of the rice bag. The outer cover is made from a hand towel. I sew it up on 2 sides leaving the top open for the inner rice bag. To keep it closed, I sew by hand some velcro in the top of the bag. The outer cover keeps the inner bag clean, and it can be washed in the washing machine if it gets dirty. Oh, I do put some orange essential oil into the rice. Some people use lavendar in theirs. I don't care for the scent of lavendar. It takes about 6 cups of rice to make one rice bag. Here is what they look like...

God bless...Jennie

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