Bishop Sew Along Part 4 Preparing the side pleats

Bishop Dress Sew Along Part 3 - Getting Your Fabric Ready

This video is demonstrating and instructing the steps involving cutting your pattern from fabric.

Bishop Dress Sew Along Part 2

I got a little hung up on cutting pattern pieces out, yesterday.

The following video will explain what my issue was, and hopefully help you if you have the same question.

My New Favorite Blog

I have a sister, actually I have a lot of sisters, one in particular just started a new blog page.

I'm so excited about it, because she's the first person I call whenever I need advice.

She's got 5 kids of her own and has been a mother for 17 years.

She was "green" before it became the buzz word of the moment.  She was "crunchy" before anyone ever coined the term, and she's been homeschooling for 14 years.  Not to mention she's a dedicated wife, to the point that people we know are just in awe of her strength and dedication to the Lord, let's not forget.

So, I'm so very happy that she's started this blog page. 

She's going to be adding recipes, home remedies, devotionals, and tips in any area that comes to mind.

I want to share a link to her blog page with you.

It's already located on the right side of this page, in my "favorite blogs" section.

And I'm going to put another link here.

http://motherhoodthehardestjob.blogspot.com/

I hope it's as much a blessing to you as she already has been to me.

Bishop Sew Along - Part 1

Using "The Bishop" pattern by Pat Garretson, I'm about to begin my first attempt at Smocking.

Please join me.
I'm making "Alexandra" (view 1)

Click here to go to Ms. Garretson's website.

Please excuse the darkness in the video.  The important stuff is clearly visible.

A Crochet Needle Case

I must apologize for not uploading any videos on the bishop dress making yet.  

Something came up over the weekend that has had my mind in another place.  I have something ready to post later today.

Unable to concentrate on the bishop pattern instructions, I decided to make this crochet needle case to take my mind off of things.  It was a super easy project and only took me 20 minutes to make.

I didn't even think about doing a tutorial until after I was finished.

But it was so easy that I'm sure you can understand my description.

First of all, let me say that I don't mind cutting corners sometimes, and I especially like to recycle things around the house.  The green apart, the sleeves the crochet needles slide into, is actually a chopstick holder.  We bought it in the dollar spot at Target some years back.  The chopsticks have been long broken and so I'm excited to give it a new life.  Upcycling is what this is commonly called when you take an old piece of clothing and turn it into something new.

1. I laid the chopstick holder down on a piece of scrap fabric of my choice.  I traced around the fabric so that there would be a flap on three sides.  I wanted the flaps to fold over and completely cover the sleeves.  So the top flap is the length of the chopstick holder and each side flap is the width of the chopstick holder.
2. I put a satin stitch all the way around the fabric I cut, to put a nice, simple finish on the edges.
3. I laid the chopstick holder where I wanted it and then just put three stitches to secure it in place.  I followed the seams that were already on it, for the chopsticks sleeves.
4. Finally I attached a piece of ribbon to the back of one of the side flaps, so that I could roll it up and tie it closed.  

I found one of my crochet needles.  ( I have two)  See, I needed this already.  I did find my latch hook and put that in there too.  Who does latch hook anymore? 

Liam Legs Are Here!!!

These are actually NOT my creation, though I do hope to make some sometime in the near future.

I'd been wanting to make some for a little while now, but I saw these for sale on the following blog.

http://briananddawnfudge.blogspot.com/

Liam is the nephew of a dear friend of mine.  

He was diagnosed with liver cancer at just a few months old.  

His mother is making these baby legs, she calls Liam Legs, to sell to help out with fund raising.

Please buy a pair from her, but most importantly, please pray for this family and Liam's healing.

In addition to dealing with chemo treatments and cancer, this weekend he was rushed to the hospital and it was determined that he's fighting MRSA.  MRSA is (copied from Wikipedia) Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, by definition, any strain of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria that has developed resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics which include the penicillins (methicillin, dicloxacillin, nafcillin, oxacillin, etc.) and the cephalosporins.

MRSA is especially troublesome in hospitals where patients with open wounds, invasive devices and weakened immune systems are at greater risk of infection than the general public.

My heart aches for this family, in addition to the Miracle Scarlett baby who had brain a tumor larger than her brain just last month. and has undergone two surgeries and now is undergoing Chemo treatments.  Please pray for both of these families, and support them anyway you can.

http://brandiandchris.blogspot.com/

Also, baby Cameron who is also dealing with a brain tumor situation, like Scarlett.

http://www.dailynewsofus.blogspot.com/