Sew, A Needle Pulling Thread

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With Weather rearing her ugly head the past few days, the girls and I have been scrounging for indoor projects to keep our hands and minds busy.  The girls wanted to sew, so sew we did.  I had a few pieces of burlap left from a previous project (Here is the other embroidery project we completed), so the girls used those to create the front panel for these pillows.

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We then used a bit of left over fabric, sewed a couple of pillows, stuffed them…

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and we were done.  It turned out to be a nice quick project to showcase their little creative selves.

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A Year In Review

It is hard to believe that this blustery day in February marks the one year anniversary of Making of a Home.  Thank you so much to all of you who have been following my musings over the course of the last year!  I am deeply grateful for each of you.

Today I would like to share with you some of my favorite (and your favorite) posts from this past year.  Thank you again, and be on the look out for some new and exciting changes and additions to Making of a Home over the course of the next year.

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Chocolate Anyone?

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Inspiration

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Laundry Day

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Upstream

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Let Them Read

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Rhubarb Goodness

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Spring Soup

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It’s In My Blood

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Pastaless Lasagna 

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Fuasa—Italian Easter Bread

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Generational Wealth

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Farm Fresh

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Ode to the Strawberry

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Retreat

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Grandma Dit’s Carrot Cake

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Canning Day

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New Chapter

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Suburban Homestead

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Walk with Us

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Thanksgiving 2012

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Musings

Valentine Number One

In yesterday’s post, I mentioned that I needed to peruse the internet for some fun, creative Valentine ideas.  Well, before I ventured into cyberspace to find ideas, I first went to my three year-old who is never short on a few ideas of her own.  Let me tell you, I’m so glad that I did.  That little lady had such a cute idea, and I bring it to you here today.

She told me, “Mommy, I want to use my new sewing machine and sew hearts for my friends for Valentine’s Day.”  And that’s just what we did…

Step 1:  Trace heart shapes onto a piece of felt.

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Step 2:  Cut out the heart shapes using pinking shears.

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Step 3:  Sew a zig zag stitch along the outside edge of each heart.

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Step 4:  Print your text I’m “SEW” glad you are my Valentine! onto these labels.

Step 5:  Place one label on each heart, reinforcing it with a brad of your choice.

And that’s it!

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Happy crafting!

Winter Pastime

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Well, if you can believe it, my family has found itself in the midst of yet another run with the flu.  My youngest, who never got the brunt of the flu the first go-round, got slammed with it full go this week.  Poor baby.

So, yet again, we have stayed close to home, passing the time near the fire, with those activities that make home-time so much fun.

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I did get in a bit of sewing while my little one napped this past week.  I made this jumper for each of my gals.  I’ve been referring to it as my first “real” outfit I’ve ever sewn 🙂  It is Butterick 3772.  I would highly recommend it if you are a novice sewer like myself.  It went together very nicely and fit the girls really well.

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I hope all of you find yourselves enjoying your time indoors this winter as well!

Her First Project

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As I mentioned on Tuesday, my three year-old received a sewing machine for Christmas this year.  Now, many of you may be wondering, “Why on earth did this crazy mom buy her three year old a real sewing machine?”  Well, when researching the kids-type sewing machines and speaking with the lovely gals at my local sewing shop, they informed me that many of the machines geared towards kids will fall apart over just a short period of time.  They told me that by spending just about $40 more, I could get a nice, quality machine that can grow with her.

Obviously, this real sewing machine (as my daughter refers to it), involves a lot of assistance from mama at this time, but I have no doubt that in a few years this little lady will be sewing away all by herself.  But for now, I run the pedal, and she feeds the fabric through the machine, with mommy’s hand gently atop hers to insure it doesn’t get too close to the needle.

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The week my daughter returned to pre-school after the holiday break, they were suppose to bring in a toy they received for Christmas for show-and-tell.  So, my tiny seamstress wanted to make a quilt, and bring that quilt in to show her class because “Mommy, my real sewing machine is too heavy to bring into my classroom and I don’t think it will fit in my school bag.”

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So we worked and worked on a cold afternoon, while Big Sissy was at school, and we created this tiny little quilt.  She is so very proud of this crafted bit.  She has been taking it everywhere, and showing it to anyone who will look.

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I just had to add this picture here at the end.  My daughter told me she had to iron her seams with her iron to make sure they were flat.  Quite the professional little seamstress she is.  I’m such a proud mama.

Musings

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It has come to my attention as of late, that my blog sometimes leaves moms feeling inadequate in their role as parent.  Please know, this has never been my intention.

Two and a half years ago, when I made the enormous leap to leave my paying job and stay home with my little ones, I was met with reactions that I never expected.  People flooded me with questions like, “Why would you want to just stay home?” and “What on earth will you do all day when you are sitting at home?” and “Why would you want to leave a career you have worked so hard for, and invested so many educational hours and dollars.”  This reaction sent me reeling for a very long time.

Then, as I stated in my “About” page, once I took the step and was enjoying my time home with my daughters, I still felt a sense of isolation because I didn’t feel as if I fit in with many of the moms I came into contact with.  It was at this time that I leaned heavily upon the holistic-momma-type blogs that I regularly follow, for the support I needed to get through the day to day that we all know can seem so very long sometimes.

I then decided to create a space of my own, right here, where other moms like me could go for crafty ideas, recipes, or just plan ole mommy support.  My sincere intention was, and still is, to simply put forth musings that may be useful to others.  And please do remember, this space is offering just that, musings. This is not, by any means, a minute by minute account of my life.  You may see a sewing project I just completed, but you don’t see the enormous pile of laundry that has been sitting in front of my Christmas tree for over a week now, so that I could complete that sewing project.  (I have included a picture of this now for your enjoyment 🙂 )  You may see a yummy home-cooked meal I prepared on a Monday night, but you don’t see me serving up popcorn, apples and cheese for dinner on a Friday night as we rush out the door for a tumbling lesson.  My point being, we are all human, and no one is super woman.  At least I’ve never met her.  We are all just trying to do the best we can for the little people God blessed us with.

And through this space, conversations have been opened up and valuable discussion has flourish in the waiting room of my daughters’ dance school, and in the parking lot of their preschool.  This blog has helped me to realize I am not alone in many of the decisions I make, and there are many people, right here in my very own community, who are trying to live a more conscious lifestyle in which they try to dig deeper and live more closely to the earth.  And I am so very grateful for each and every one of you who visit my blog daily, and for those that just stop by every once in awhile.   All of you have sincerely helped me to feel better in my own skin, and for that I am eternally thankful.

The Gift of Homemade

The season of gift-giving is upon us, and this year we have decided to take a different approach to our most-loved holiday.  We hope to create many of our gifts with our very own hands, thus giving our friends and family something truly from deep within our hearts.  Here is a bit of what is in the works right now…

Warmth

Some of you may remember that I purchased a great deal of yarn from my favorite Northwoods shop when we were visiting my husband’s grandparents last spring.  Well, the silky alpaca yarn has been sitting by patiently awaiting fall, and now its time has come.  I had been saving these eight skeins of yarn for something special for my little girls.

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…new hats and cowls!  Sure to keep them cozy {and stylish 🙂 } on the playground.  I love the idea of the cowl instead of a scarf because with the way these girls run around, a scarf wouldn’t last a day of tag-playing or swinging at recess.

Nook

All of us mamas need our space now and again.  A place where we can just sit, and be still.  These times don’t seem to come often, but when they do arise it is so very nice to have a place to call our own.

Last week, my girls and I were completely worn out by the extreme heat, so we decided to spend an afternoon in the basement.  Once we were in this nice, cool space for an extended period of time, we realized the place needed a little pick me up.  We spent the afternoon organizing, all while Belle (aka Beauty) and her gang sang to us in the background.  When we were finished I realized that maybe, just maybe, there was a way I could set up my sewing machine in the basement in a permanent space.

The girls and I got back to work and moved furniture around a bit, which they loved because we discovered lots of lost treasures hidden beneath couch cushions and tables.  And we also realized there was, in fact, a bit of space available amongst the chaos for a tiny sewing nook.

I shared this idea with my mother and father-in-law and to my absolute surprise, three days later my father-in-law had built me an absolutely fabulous sewing table!  He is one crafty guy I tell you.  So I then went rummaging through my parents’ basement, found an old abandoned chair, painted it and now I have a cute little space to call my own.

I can’t wait to start my first project 🙂

Something For Mama

I have been getting the itch to sew a bit again, so late last week I decided to make a little something for myself.  Since my sewing skills are by no means fabulous, I settled on a Butterick Fast and Easy pattern, B5757 to be exact.  The pattern is for a long skirt, but I decided to shorten it up a bit to make it a little more conducive for these scorching days we have been having of late.

As you can see, my little mermaid decided to set up her ironing board and iron a bit with mama and keep me company 🙂  The finished product turned out to be a comfy skirt, perfect for playing in the back yard and hitting up the farmers market.