Nik's Baptism Outfit

 

Finished! Or almost. It depends if Tina and Geoff want to add a bow tie.

Since I haven't done much garment sewing recently this was a bit of a challenge. I did give my serger a bit of a workout and used two sewing machines ... my Juki and my BabyLock. The Juki is definitely my favorite now for any kind of straight stitch sewing!

In addition to finishing the outfit, most of this weekend has been spent cleaning and organizing. The hall bathroom got steam cleaned (love my little steamer!) and I'm slowly working through my bedroom (not with the steamer!) My desk is cleaned of the piles and there are a couple of bags going into the garbage. Time to declutter!

Sargeant and I did take a break last night to go to an outdoor concert at Udall Park. Tonight it's the Pops Concert at Reid Park. I've discovered that Jimmy John's lettuce wrapped "subs" are out of this world. Tonight I might even surprise Sargeant with his own roast beef sub. It's always fun to order one "Hold everything including the bun".

Now it's time to take my first load of laundry out and put another one in. Then watching the Amgen Tour of California bicycle race. What fun!

Mother's Day

 

I spent a wonderful Mother's Day sewing the baptism outfit for my grandson, Nik. I made an outfit similar to this for Lukas almost five years ago. Lukas was younger at his baptism so his outfit is too small for Nik to wear. Just as well, now each of my grandson's will have his own baptism outfit!

This week I need to do the buttonholes for the back closure and the snap tape closure for the pants. Then all gets connected and packed for the baptism. What fun! What a great Mother's Day!

Unconventional Sewing

 

Although I began as a garment sewer, I've evolved into a quilter. I'm far more familiar with rulers and rotary cutters than scissors. As a computer geek I'm always looking for ways to use my computer to make my processes easier. Maybe not always easier but certainly more fun for me!

When I started to lay out the pattern pieces for my grandson's baptism outfit I quickly remembered how much I dislike fluttery pattern pieces and cutting with scissors. I decided it would be easier to make copies of the pattern pieces onto freezer sheets, apply them to the fabric with a quick swipe with a hot iron, and then cut out the pieces. My tools are here: my freezer paper pattern, ruler, pattern weights (an essential tool for sewing!) and rotary cutter. I was able to cut out everything except the pants legs this way. I still used the rotary cutter and ruler with these, along with judicious placement of the pattern weights.

If you're making baby clothes, doll clothes, stuffed animals or other items with small pattern pieces, consider this method. You may find it a new useful technique!

Evening Walkabout

The cactus are in bloom so when Sargeant gave me his "walk?" look I grabbed a camera and took phtoos while we enjoyed the day sliding into dusk.

Free digital slideshow made with Smilebox

BlockBusters Month Three

 

This is the block done for my birthday. Quite a bithday it was! It started out early. Actually, it started like a normal work day ... alarm going off at 5:00 am. Time to relax them Sargeant and I left home about 6:15 am to go to the Cop Walk at Brandi Fenton Park. This is the second year we've attended. For $15 we get breakfast, a mile walk, police K-9 demonstrations and feeling good supporting this good cause.

Dropped Sargeant at home; one tuckered pup! Then headed to Quilters Market for BlockBusters. I'd been to Girls Night Out not many hours before and had put aside a number of items so I could claim my birthday surprise ... a discount equal to half my age. It's gettin up there!

Next I headed to the sewing supply store to get the notions needed to make my grandson Nik's baptism outfit. Then to Kampai, my favorite sushi restaurant for some favorite foods to go. Home in time for the Kentucky Derby...only I took a nap! DVR'd the race but haven't watched it yet for I received the kind of phone call no one wants: my grandson Nik had been rushed by paramedics to the children's hospital.

There was nothing I could do but pray and ask my friends to pray. "Thy will be done" was my silent prayer. I had to do something so I began to work on the block. After a while I stopped. I couldn't sew a straight line!

Tonight I finished the block. Nik is home from the hospital, safe and sound, with a good prognosis. I ripped out some seams and finished the block tonight. So many memories in this one block!