sewing project for Esme

 I was sewing the little blue deer and Esme got talked into trying to sew herself a toy.  I made the knot and cut out the felt and she took great care in sewing (for a nearly six year old).. and actually did a good job with the weird bits of thread not wanting to go your way, when you accidentally catch the thread inside the loop etc.. I told her she was a natural.. barely cried when she poked her finger several times.  And she finished the project and was very proud of it!

Esme's pumpkin pillow

I was six when my Grandfather taught me to sew - a candytwist type pillow with stuffing in it.. and many after it until I finally got good at making seams that stayed... we're on our way :)

The sick continues...

Not much news from the frontline here - we are still sick with the 'green junk' and Esme is coughing a lot. We might actually keep her home from school tomorrow if she continues. I am trying to recruit Daddy to go out and get us some more juice - as I have been drinking more of it and that leaves Esme with not much. He is willing. And I have to go to work in a few hours. I was sloshing through work hours yesterday in a very grumpy state - which isn't good, because they are stepping up their 'flavor of the week demands' and it is making me a little teed off. That is not easy to do - but it is easier when I am sick and the demands seem to swirl about insignificant things rather than helping people in front of me. They were asking me to clean displays that had just been cleaned - and then cleaned them themselves just to spite me, and they were dirty again in a few hours. Why? Because those displays are under the freaking air return on the furnace. But, there is no reasoning with them. They are just passing the buck and quoting company policy about 'being clean and presentable for customers'....grr.. About 2 percent of customers are going to think anything at all about some dust in a sink bowl of a display - and even then, the situation disappears in the face of the person who actually needs a sink bowl. I brought up some 'real' concerns - things customers had been complaining about - and they came up with wild plans that involved us moving mountains to cover up a hole in the carpet. (metaphor). Like I said, I get in a bad mood when I am sick. And I just want to feel better - and have Esme be better, as well, so I am not watching in the middle of the night to make sure she is breathing okay every few hours. Yes, I still do that, especially when she is sick.

New dress for Esme, tunic shirt for Mama

Thank you to Daddy for taking pictures of both of us. I hope Novia sees them, as she was asking for them on Facebook.


putting on shoes

Bringing tomatoes to Grandma

the bag is wet
on second thought, she may be counting the tomatoes...

Mama has an upcoming career as a mad scientist, eh?

Esme's dress: Simplicity 5137, size 5, dated 1963. Sewn with no alterations except for the shortening of the skirt by half. It has a 7 inch zipper in it, and will need longer ones to keep her from growing out of them so quickly. With 9 inch zippers, these will make excellent winter dresses. My tunic shirt is the 'smash together' I was talking about a few days ago... needs a lot more work to make it fit me better, but this is usable, definitely good enough for working at home.

Both Esme's dress and my shirt were made with bits I had but did not have large investment in. There are other fabrics I will be happy using for her dresses now that I have a good 'plan of attack', ie: a pattern that is proven to fit.

//Note// The other day when I cleaned Esme's room I threw out almost everything underneath her bed. She saw it - and didn't cry as much as I had expected. Tonight she woke up in the middle of the night and had peed the bed - and I changed her bed. She hugged her Cookie Rabbit and Mr.Frog (her favorite lovey toys) and asked if they were 'ok' and they didn't get peed on, and they didn't have to go in the trash. I know maybe now why she shoves them way up under her pillow in the middle of the night - so nothing happens to them? It also affected me quite deeply that she thought I would throw them out... Mama is a meanie? There wasn't a lot under there that she really played with anymore, maybe a book 'The Magic of Everyday Things' that was not saveable, but I did know she liked. There was also one item that I did feel quite badly about throwing out on her, a cow flashlight she got last Christmas from a friend of mine at work. I dug it out after I put her back to bed and washed it with bleach downstairs - it wasn't really that bad, I just worried about the openings for the speakers hiding things I couldn't see.... It is bleached and waiting for her on her desk this morning. Mama is a softie, actually.

New Kangaroo and pink baby bumpers

Last year I made a custom pink kangaroo and baby for a lady in New York. I lost the pattern in January, so tried reworking it this week. I'm still tweaking patterns for the pamphlet we hope to print, but it's quickly turning into a real book-length! I made this Mama Kangaroo mostly on the sewing machine and the baby is entirely handsewn.

I also finished the second pair of bassinet bumpers for Bazooka (this post is just full of tongue-twisters, isn't it?) and have been working on a few more black cats that aren't quite ready.

The puppies are at ankle-biting size and are now quick on their feet. We send them outside for most of the day with Mom and gather them back up at night.

Sending good wishes to Chris and Susan on their upcoming surgeries!

Also, thank yous to Lynn and Jennifer for sharing some of their labor and delivery stories with me via email.


Mama kangaroo and her joey

Mama is 8 inches tall and baby is 3 inches tall.
We're already reserved for someone! -Ask about custom toy orders from KnitOwl!

Mr.Sloth's story was accepted to Custom Toy Lab blog, Yay! ;)