by Sherri Sylvester | Feb 8, 2013
We have been hit by what they are calling a Winter Storm.
View from my kitchen window, AFTER the first shoveling!
Out back, those piles are at least 14″ high and still growing!
My daughters went out this morning to help shovel the snow. One lasted about 20 minutes, the other half an hour. It was another half hour after that before my husband came inside, he had finally finished shoveling!
The pink hat is a made-by-me, copied from one of their too-small hats. If you are interested, let me know and I’ll do a tutorial on it.
My youngest is wearing a Made By Rae Snowblossom Hat. Super-cute, and really easy!
Just for fun, this is a photo of where I found my youngest when I checked on her during naptime. She sleeps in the funniest places. Where will she end up next?!
Make sure to come back tomorrow, I have a super great fabric-y treat for all of you – you don’t want to miss this one!
by Sherri Sylvester | Feb 4, 2013
First, I have to say thanks to my husband for picking the right team! The Ravens won last night in a very exciting game (despite the 1/2 hour power outage). The Superbowl is a very big deal at our house. Actually, I should say – Football is a very big deal at our house. Each one of us has our own team and the girl’s teams were chosen by whomever won the Superbowl the first time they “watched” it! I can’t say that we all watch the games – but it is a bit of a fun rivalry, and our girls love it.
This year we had decided that we were too busy, and didn’t care as much as usual, so we weren’t going to make our usual DIY shirts for the Superbowl. (Un)Fortunately on Saturday I got a bit nostalgic and decided we should do it anyhow. The “Un” part is that of course now I was up late and it is still very busy in our house – the work keeps pouring in for our business! However, I am really happy with them, so here you are…
DIY Superbowl Shirts {Go Ravens!}
This will be my oldest daughters 5th Superbowl, and therefore, her 5th Superbowl shirt. I was wondering the other day what we are going to do with them once we have to stop making them because she won’t wear them anymore! Maybe a t-shirt quilt?
To make these I used 2 black kids’ $5 shirts and a small purple women’s tank on clearance for $3. I also had a piece of black knit material and a spare white t-shirt stashed that I used for the mandatory skirt on the larger shirt and the white stripes on the smaller one.
I also used freezer paper to make a stencil for the Raven’s logo, and painted them on with fabric paint. If you have not used freezer paper for stencils you should definitely look it up. It is really fun to work with. Here’s a good tutorial.
A good night’s work – and definitely worth all of the effort because almost everyone else at the party was cheering for the 49ers!
by Sherri Sylvester | Dec 26, 2012
We’ve been busy this season with visits from cousins and delicious dinners. I thought I would share a [very] few photos of what we have been up to.
We’ve been to our local science center and had a great day off with cousins and grandpa and grandma.
We opened a few stocking stuffers. I made this nightgown from 2 of my old shirts a year or so ago.
We opened a few more presents. (We are so lucky!) This nightgown was sewn by my mom for my oldest and now it fits my youngest daughter. How things change! They get big so fast.
My oldest suggested a family photo on Christmas Eve. How fun it will be to look back and see us when the kids were small. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas this year. We have been truly blessed.
I am looking forward towards the new year and have a lot of Christmas sewing to show you – now that everyone has opened their gifts! A few tutorials even… so hang on and come back soon!
by Sherri Sylvester | Dec 1, 2012
Yesterday we started putting up our Christmas things. We put on some Christmas music, and then the perfect thing happened – it started to snow!
Big, beautiful perfectly white snow flakes.
The girls were so excited to go outside. We scrambled into snowsuits and new boots.
Too bad there wasn’t enough snow for a snowman!
But there was plenty to catch on your tongue! Hope you have a great start to your Christmas season.
by Sherri Sylvester | Nov 12, 2012
Alright – here we are folks. Better late than never! My sister is visiting for a week and we don’t get to see each other often, so I am using a few precious moments to post something today. Remind me again to have a few posts ready for times like these!
the Library Tote
This bag is made from a Noodlehead tutorial – here. When I found it I was actually looking for a cute tote to use for library trips.
The fabric is an “As Is” piece from Ikea. I pieced the pocket together so I could use more of the cute birdhouse pattern. I think the brown is some linen I had in my stash. As usual I changed it a bit by making the pattern piece a bit wider to accommodate the kids’ larger book size.
Since making this bag I have sewn quite a few more for teacher gifts. It doesn’t require a lot of fabric, and is very quick and easy and looks great. There are reinforcement pieces on the inside at the top, and I have gotten my daughter to write “Thank You” and her name and the year on the inside with fabric markers – something to put a personal touch on the bag. I made them a bit quicker by using a french seam instead of the bias tape on the outside rounded edge. They sound fancy, but are really easy. It is a nice way to hide your raw edges without a lot of work. Here is a good tutorial. Just ignore the part where she says not to use a french seam on thick fabric with curves because of the bulk! I used home decor weight fabric on all of the bags and they worked out fine.
by Sherri Sylvester | Sep 19, 2012
Last weekend we went apple picking for the first time as a family. A friend recommended a farm down the road from us. We are lucky enough to be a 2 minute drive from farm country, fresh food, pick it yourself and fun family outings.
The kids had a ball. Especially on the hay ride through the orchard pulled by a 1952 Ford tractor. Too bad I didn’t get a good shot of it! (I may have to beg for a nice digital SLR for Christmas!)
The farmer told us that they lost 60% of their apple crop this season. All because they had some warm days early in the spring and then a heavy frost.
Reminds me to be grateful that my income is not tied to the weather, and thankful for the farmers who keep farming despite the costs.
