Date, pillows and t-shirts

This weekend was pretty low key for us. We watched a few movies (Gnomio and Juliet gets an A, True Grit a B- b/c I fell asleep, and Pride and Prejudice an A), went on a date, and I got some sewing in.

Went to Red Lobster for dinner b/c we had a gift card. Then we went for dessert and drinks at Bordinos on the patio.

I sewed my first pillows with invisible zippers. Where have these been all my life?! I seriously loved sewing with them and how the finished product looks so professional. I'll definitely be using them again. Another throw pillow tip: stick with down/feather inserts. If you use stuffed filling, they will be flat pillows within a year.

I also finished a t-shirt quilt top. I fixed that wonky looking white one in the middle after I took this picture. These aren't particularly difficult, just time consuming. I learned a couple of lessons that I will definitely refer back to if I make another one.

I've been doing a lot of custom orders for friends and love it! I like these orders because they're personal and they're helping to pay for my Haiti trip.



That's all for now!

True.

Weekend Sewing

Sean worked a lot this weekend, so I had some free time to finish some projects I've had for a while. In addition to the apron I blogged about yesterday, I sewed some pillow covers for a friend -- they're for her 10 month old boy. The small pillow was his daddy's when he was a baby!

I don't know why, but this picture of Wyatt cracks me up. Him among all my scraps...bored to death.

I've decided to go with blue, green and white as kitchen colors. Last fall we got new white square dishes and I think the pop of blue is fun. I sewed these new kitchen towels yesterday and love them! You can see a bit of the green zebra print I also bought in the pic above. I'll post a tutorial for the towels soon... {excuse the wrinkles below}

I've also been eyeing these blue and white ikat plastic dishes from Target. Aren't they adorable? I have been patiently waiting for them to go on sale...Sean, you read this blog, right?

That's all for now. :)

The $100 apron

My sweet Grandma donated towards my Haiti trip in return for an apron. Her only wish was that it include some sort of butterfly (every time I see a butterfly I think of my Grandma because she loves them so much!). I found this precious fabric at Hobby Lobby and lined it with fabric I had on hand.

I followed this apron tutorial. It's a great one! I'm so glad I took the extra time to line the entire thing, topstitch the edges and and serge some finished seams. It's probably the most professional looking item I've ever made. It's definitely not hard to make and it took me about 1:45 from beginning to end. This would be great as a wedding shower, mothers day, or birthday gift!

2 signs of adulthood

There are two things my grandparents used to do that I expressly associated with adulthood. The first was my Nanny wearing a nice anklet -- I remember telling her I wanted one when I was about 6 years old and her responding that I would have to wait until I was a big girl. The day I graduated from grad school I bought me an anklet!

The other is that my Papa would always mix cereal -- really 'adult' cereal like Raisin Bran and Fiber One. Man did I think that was gross! Well -- a lapse in judgement led me to purchase a 3-pack of fruit loops at Sams a few weeks ago. That stuff is terrible. I was hungry by 9am every day! This morning I went downstairs and mixed Raisin Bran and granola. I guess I'm a real live adult now!

On a more serious note about growing up, you should read this article: The world is full of boys who can shave. It's so interesting to me! The basic premise of the article is that the transition from boyhood to manhood is typically indicated by 5 sociological variables: leave your parents home, finish your education, start a career, marry a woman and, finally, start a family. Those variables are all messed up in our culture today...occurring out of order and often not happening at all (think Failure to Launch). Many of the same principles apply to women as well...but I think to a much lesser and different degree.

Our weekend via an iPhone

We had a busy weekend! Here's a few picture highlights:

Wyatt got a summer haircut. I don't think he was happy about it, but it has been so hot outside that he needed some help cooling off!

My best friend from Branson got married! I threw a lingerie party after her rehearsal dinner. Her MIL made this white dress for her!

The bride and I at her rehearsal dinner. Sorry for the remaining fuzzy pics. We in fact were not in a smoky bar...not sure what's up with them.

Me and the hubs. He was a big help that day! In case you're wondering, my dress is from JCrew and my gray ruffle necklace is from Target.

We also went to Sean's grandpa's 90th birthday -- I'll post pics on that one later.

VBX started at our church last night -- I'm teaching the 4 year old class and thought this was too hilarious. Look at precious little Jack's outfit.....

And now look at the outfit Sean was wearing at the same time....lol. Too funny!

Overall we had a fun, busy and tiring weekend. I'm still trying to wake up today. :) It was an honor to be by Melinda's side and her and Aaron took their wedding vows. I pray for many happy years of marriage for them!

Haiti Trip Update

In less than two months I will be in Haiti. Assisting with surgeries, trying to love and serve others, and seeking a changed worldview. My heart and mind aren't prepared. Not sure if they ever will be, but I trust that my Jesus will help me along the way.

I've got 4 weeks left of fundraising time and I'm about half way to my goal! So many of you have responded in faithfulness whether it be in prayer, donations for the mission or financial gifts.

I for sure want to do my part to raise money for the trip, so if there's something {anything} I can help you out with let me know -- sewing, crafting, cleaning your house, walking your dog, babysitting.

Some specific prayer requests for this stage of the journey: continued growth in mental and emotional preparedness, that I would use my time and resources here in the US before the trip in ways that will be most impactful for Haiti, financial goals to be met.

This is a video the mission put together about some of the challenges people in Haiti are facing today. Heartbreaking.

Where is Hope? from NWHCM on Vimeo.

Cute apron

I sewed this ruffle apron for a friend this weekend -- didn't she do a great job picking out fabric?! Thanks to Hobby Lobby for placing coordinating fabric next to eachother! We even used her new embriodery machine to add some personalization to the waistband. Love it!

I'm alive.

Just not blogging much recently.

Here's a quick recap on the past couple of weeks:

My work is a little crazy right now. Good crazy, not bad crazy. Last weekend I went to Branson for a girls weekend with my mom and Aunt Dana, which was super fun. We shopped, ate a lot and spent some good QT at the pool. I also got a Brazilian Blowout. Do you know what that is?

It's awesome is what it is! It's this treatment for your hair where they paint it on like color, blow dry it, straighten in (which seals the product in), then rinse. From then on, you don't have to straighten your hair for 3-4 months! I can seriously blow dry my hair and walk out the door which is pretty amazing considering before my dog and I would like a lot alike (re: Poodle).

Sean will be on a man-only float trip this weekend, which means I should have plenty of time to organize my closet! Do any of you other sewers out there relate to not wanting to get rid of any clothing -- holding out that you'll someday have time to spruce it up?? That's what I do, but I'm exceeding my storage capacity, so some of it needs to go.

Next weekend is my BFFs wedding - so excited for it! A girlfriend of mine just got an embroidery machine, so I'm going to try monogramming stuff for a wedding gift. I'll let you know how it goes.