home ec 101

Only Papaya and I were at home this afternoon. Two of her sisters had a play date and her Dad was off doing some things as well.

Over Christmas she got a Karito doll named Pita. She has been mentioning that she would like a doll quilt for her. I had told her that she would have to learn how to make one.Today seemed like the perfect day. Contrary to the complaints in the southern states, we were too warm today to do much of anything outside. The snow was melting, everything was slushy. So sledding, skiing and skating were pretty much out of the question.

Plus we had a lovely basket of scraps, compliments of a friend (thank you S!) that she had been eyeing for a while.
So we got her comfortable, which meant propping up the electronic foot so she could reach it.
Then we started reviewing the basics. She had sewed a skirt in the summer. But she hadn't done anything since then. At first she felt like things were going really slow. That changed really fast though as she started to get the handle of things.
After she knew what she was doing, I really resisted the urge to take over. Okay, if you must know, I kind of "sat on my hands" for a while. Reminding myself it was the process, not how fast it got done. Hadn't I kind of just said that to her? So I decided to get a book and a chair and read. When she had a question, I answered it. When she needed help, I guided instead of doing it myself.
By the "end-ish" of the quilt I went downstairs to help her sister make supper. Doesn't that sound nice? One sewing, one cooking! I was kind of startled by the transitions that are slowly happening in our home.

She did call me upstairs when the thread came out of the needle and she couldn't get it back in. But she was quite content to go it alone. When she said "I can do it Mom", I realized she really wanted and needed to.

Here she is with her finished doll quilt top. Completed in one lazy, for me maybe, Sunday afternoon.

So proud of her!

P.S. After posting, I realized she held the quilt top with the wrong side to me for the photo. How funny that neither of us realized!

a beret for papaya

I came across these lovely patterns by Sirdar. A booklet of 11 designs for women and girls. Which in my case fits me perfectly. I had been wanting to knit a beret for Papaya. She has a cute fuschia wool coat that is will look positively great with.

Since I am almost done, I wanted to try it on for size. Partly because the last few nights have been busy doing bookwork.

She is loving the result! How do you like all my unfinished ends?

She just lost another tooth today and as cute as that smile may be, I am a little worried that it will need straightening at some point. The new teeth just aren't fitting into the holes the old teeth left.

Oh well! Worries for another day. Right now I have one happy little girl who will also find a loonie under her pillow in the morning.

sailing the high seas

We have been taking a look at the world.

Studying climates, weather, water cycle, food chains, and habitats of animals and the ocean. Today we went on an ocean adventure and sailed on the high seas. Bugsy (my gluten goblin) made a sailboat so she could test and observe the force of moving air.
Can you guess what they have planned for the afternoon? Boat races. She wants to help her sisters make them. Anyone have more yogurt containers?

monster slippers?

thrummy thrum thrum

they are finally done! yeah! this was a project that i learned alot on
after i ripped apart the first mitt there was no regrets though
when i started thrumming, i was kind of flying by the seat of my pants
i didn't really know what i was doing, plus i hadn't knit mitts before
it landed up the first mitt was too small and bulky
so i reworked the whole pile of thrums from one mitt (which took 3 hours...sigh!)
and in the end they almost completed two mittens!

i am thrilled with the way they turned out
they have been on their maiden voyage today
and performed their job beautifully
i have already been asked if i would commission a pair
this ends any projects for me for a while
i have a few people that i need to get busy creating for
some of you know who you are!
this weekend i want to start on a scrappy quilt for our violin teacher
and my needles already have their eyes on another project

lucky mommy coupons

my very sweet girls decided to make some coupons for mom

okay, maybe they didn't come up with the idea by themselves

their sunday school teacher gave them the idea

but it is still sweet, nonetheless!

i got coupons for:

hugs

kisses

dusting

sled ride

tea and a walk with a friend

i feel pretty blessed by my little group of girls

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tonight i plan to sew a red dress for my oldest

for a wedding in the summer

will keep you posted

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updated: i went into my sewing room tonight to sew that red dress

but landed up being responsible!

what's up with that? i do that all day don't i?

and continued working on the curtains for the living room...

sigh! blah! yuck! boring!!

yes, i wanted to have them done in december

no, i didn't even start them till january

goodness, why didn't i snag my mom to do them while she was here?

guess i will have to wait to reveal the dress