am i taking crazy pills?

cause it feels like i'm taking crazy pills.
why else would i think this:

was a good idea?

in case you can't tell (or are currently now in the fetal position crying 'why mary, why?) that is my fabric "stash" (other appropriate words:collection, obsession, monstrosity) and i decided that it was as good of a time as any to go through it.
i could probably list of about 30 other things i could have been doing. and then 60 other things that should be getting done. you know, because there's a new baby coming.
but, i wanted to send some fabric to my good friends aaron and emily who are in the process of adopting a baby, and emily is selling various items at her etsy store: the tulip patch and i thought i could easily help by sending some fabric their way (all proceeds from her etsy store go towards their adoption- and if anyone is looking to get me a baby present-which is not necessary- i'd love one of her cloth high chairs).
apparently to "find" fabric, i had to go through that whole mess.
i worked on it for about 10 minutes before becoming completely unmotivated. sam came upstairs to check on me, and i told him, "i'm not motivated anymore" and he surveyed the room and said, "oh geez, i hope not".
it was awfully nice of him to move ALL of that fabric out of our "second" kitchen (which doubles as a sleeping nook for babies and as a fabric room and is where our elliptical machine is so you can just imagine how easy it would be for me, nearly 9 months pregnant to navigate in it).
and as i was sorting through the fabric he did watch all the kids so i could be uninterrupted.
about an 1 hour into it, i was happy, i do love fabric.
about 1 hour and 1 minute, i was fed up. apparently i have been buying fabric like it was going out of style. also, i think i was purchasing fabric for my alter ego- you know, the person who has all the time in the world to do nothing but sew and create, and sew and create, and sew and create. its never a good sign when you realize you can categorize your SCRAPS into 3 separate tubs.
about 2 hours into it, i stopped for lunch.
then went back to it until sam had to leave for a meeting.
its to hot to be up there now, but when the sun sets, and i can stick a fan in the window, pop a movie on my computer, i have every intention of finishing it up.
i'm sure you can't wait to see :)

sprints

that's kind of what i am calling my quick jaunts in the house: sprints. i am containing all of the cool air inside our dining room- perhaps when i take the time to vacuum up the popcorn,cheerios, graham crackers and other miscellaneous treasures from the floor and clean up the rest of the craziness i will take a picture so all of you can see just where my days are being had.
anyways- air in the dining room. i'm sort of installing a "quick, close the door" mantra for the rest of the family. i am finding that if i can sort of sprint (if you will) from small task to task and then immediately retreat to the cool of the dining room, my spirits are not as quickly diminished.
this worked saturday afternoon, but only when i had divided the children up. you see, the second i leave them alone, they become slightly less calm and loving then i'd like towards each other. so i usually have to stop what i am doing and race back to break up whatever disagreement has occurred (usually campbell yelling at mason to stop growling- she likes to growl- or mason getting upset that campbell has his feet on her chair- yup, we've got real problems here).
this is partly why i want to get up early in the morning, so that i can get up and get a few of my many cleaning projects done. then i think when i let the kids watch an afternoon heat movie (sam told me that in 95 degree heat at 8 1/2 months pregnant he isn't expecting parenting of the year, just that i'm attentive, loving, and here- i can do that) and maybe sew a little.
ok. i promise, no more posts about my cleaning desires and heat. unless of course i wake up tomorrow with central a/c and a personal live-in maid, that would definitely be post worthy.

**i wrote this post saturday afternoon- the kids stayed saturday night at sam's parents (thank you!) and i was able to get in 2 solid hours of uninterrupted cleaning. there is still a lot to do, but i think if i can get up an hour earlier than the kids for the next couple of mornings, i can slowly get it done.

6 weeks to go, really?

pregnancy and the heat. not my recommended combination to anyone. and i will do all in my power to make sure this never happens to me again. give me my march/april/december due dates any day. the end of august. in california. in a non air-conditioned home.
ugh.
not that i'm saying a 5th baby is in our future. but sam and i are wise enough to stop saying "we are done" because it pretty much gets us pregnant every time.
i need a better system for managing the heat. right now all the kids and i are hauled up in my dining room- that's where the ac is. they've been having a snack and watching a movie. i really detest letting them watch movies through out the day, because it really creates little zoned out monsters.
i think i just need little small goals for every morning. if i can wake myself up early enough- like 5- and get a couple of cleaning or organizing projects done, and get dinner made (or at least ready to bake) then i can focus from like 7 ish on, only on the kids- schooling, projects, books, etc. from there we can really move as the heat moves throughout the house, finding cool pockets.
then in the afternoon, when some are napping, we can surround ourselves around the a/c and probably watch a movie, or something. i don't know.
i'm not trying to be a "debbie downer" it's just i am so behind in so many things. our house is really messy, i haven't cooked in awhile, and everything floating around in my brain to do, just isn't getting done.
i just need to catch up. what i really need, is my kids to be somewhere else from like 4 am to 10 am, then i could have that 6 hour window to CLEAN. once my house is clean, i can maintain it. right now, i can't- i'm struggling to try and get the basic projects done (you know, mold in the bathroom, a pink toilet from not washing it in a month, a kitchen floor that is disgusting, and a half organized family room that has no resemblance of organized).
i have a hard time functioning in mess. but right now, in the 3 pm heat of the day, i am resolved to perch in front of my ac, and watch my kids be calm and cool watching veggie tales.
maybe i will put crayons in front of them, so they at least are doing something else as well.

been up to

well, i kind of thought i would have to sit down and really catch up on all the brilliance i have been doing. then i checked my pictures and realized i haven't done quite as much as i thought. i went through a sewing whirlwind before i left for my trip up north, and took some photos of things, but not of everything.
oh well, it hasn't been to crazy to blog, i just- haven't. and now, it "should" be 6 weeks till the baby comes, and my long list of things that i would love to accomplish is growing as fast as the weeds in my yard. and my weeds are tall. and unruly. and i have zero energy to go out in this horrible heat and try and tackle them. my list grows almost as much as sam's "honey-do" list, which he has just as much energy for as he's been working 60 hours week.
we are wiped.
and even as i write this post, my brain is going in way to many directions:
why is it still hot, even in the room that is supposed to have ac.
where did campbell just run off to with his nigh nigh's- can i take a nap too?
why don't i have the energy to sew?
why does my sciatic muscle have to bother me while standing or sitting?
the table in front of me is covered in mess.
the floor below me is covered in nasty food.
how is it still 3 hours till sam comes home?
oh, i hate this heat.
maybe sam will want to go to target?
writing this post is putting me to sleep.
i need to make so many lists.
if campbell's going to finish his kindergarten year in january, what should i do with him after that? try and get him enrolled in a charter school, or keep doing our own thing....
the ac in here sounds like it is working way to hard.
i think i might take a book and go downstairs and read, maybe nap with campbell.
what are the chances the kids will stay asleep till sam gets home?

ok, i seriously have wanted to delete this post about 50 times. so, to close the mindless dribble that has become my brain, i'll include a few photos over the last month (ish) of life and try to come back later with something more exciting.

a wall in my mom's garden

the back of a dress i made for mason

the front of the dress i made for mason, have i posted these before?

a tiny little purse i made for a friend, my own design, but nothing special let me tell you.

a whole group of coffee sleeves i made.

you might not believe this, but in the time it took me to write this boring post for all of you, sam came home early! like 2 1/2 hours early!
i am a happy girl.

intentions

i know, i know- over a month and nothing. i fully intend to sit down and put up some really fun blogs for all to read, but first i had to come on and change a little something.
i have been getting non-stop comments from some foreign place- japan? korea? china? i don't know, i don't understand it at all, and i am getting it ALL the time. it's frustrating because i am believing that some of it is spam.
soooooo- i am going to switch my comments to post after i view them first. nothing personal, and all real comments will be posted.
just thought i'd let you know... i'll be back, soon- for more blogs.

the little project that could

alternative title: why do i think i can sew?

i never officially made a list of things i wanted to accomplish in the next few weeks (incredibly boring post you can reference here) but one of the many things floating through my crowded brain has been to make little mason some summer dresses and bloomers. no big deal, i have tons of cute fabric, and the best thing about little girl clothes is that they are projects that don't take up a lot of time.

insert laughter here.

i found a yard of really pretty fabric that had tiny red and yellow flowers on it- lovely. i grabbed an "easy" mccall's capri pant pattern. did the xl size, because i wanted mason to be able to wear them next year too, and cut away.

the pants were really easy to sew together. i mean, i had 4 cut pieces, and it was done. elastic in the waist, and grabbed my daughter to try them on.

and they came up to about her little bum crack. they weren't too tight, there just wasn't any more room in the crotch- they just stopped.

now, i have had this problem with pants more times than i care to admit. so, i did what i usually do (no, not scream and cry and tear my project apart- that's what i used to do) i improvised.

so i took out my elastic, seam ripped out my casing, and cut out about 3 inches of muslin to add to the top of the pants and give them more height.

if i were to call, lack of crotch room problem #1, here would be problem #2: i figured that since the muslin was the same on both sides, meaning in my head there was no wrong side, it didn't matter how i attached it to my fabric. so i sewed it on, pinned down my casing for the elastic.

it was at that moment, needle in the fabric ready to go, when i realized that my slight slip of the brain had made it so the right side of the bloomers was showing the exposed seam of where the muslin attached.

well here i am, already re-doing this bloomer project, and now, the casing is complete and i am what, going to rip out again?

nope. i sewed my casing and then flipped my bloomers over and ran a row of zig zag over the exposed edge (where the muslin and fabric met) tacking it down.

it looks raw and rad. and like i was too lazy to rip it out, especially when i realized- no one is going to see the tops of these bloomers.

ok- bloomers 1 done. sure, my waist measurement of the elastic was way to big, and has had to be readjusted 3 times. but they are cute.

so. in all my brilliance i decided that i must immediately tackle this bloomer project again, and outsmart the pattern.

in my first attempt they were to short in the waist and oddly long in the length, so when i cut out the next set of bloomers, i first added 3 inches to the top, and instead of the xl length, i did the medium length.

what a clever girl am i, right?

so, imagine my surprise when i complete the bloomers and go to start my casing that i realize somehow i have created the exact same problem. there was no crotch to these pants.

what?!?!?!?!

i was fairly annoyed. and sat staring at them, bewildered. so i decided, fine- i'll just add fabric to these and try this again (supervised). but then i thought- no. i won't learn if i keep "improvising".

so. argh. i took the bloomers completely apart. it wasn't so painful. i sat upstairs with the kids, watching them play (supervising the chaos) while i carefully plucked out seams.

then, took my fabric pieces back downstairs, and discovered my problem.

somehow when i was "following" the "easy pattern" i had somehow screwed it up and sewed my pants together upside down. the pant legs became my waist line, and the waist line- the legs.

and i am pretty confident (as all the pants i have made are to short in the crotch) i have been doing this on every pair of pants.

i tried countless times to re-read the pattern to follow it correctly. and just couldn't. i grabbed another "easy" pattern with a similar pant. nope. nowhere in the 3 steps could i figure out how on earth i had screwed up.

so, i grabbed the Little Stitches for Little One's (i think that's the title) and used amy butler's wonderful wordiness to my advantage. she had bloomer pants assembled in a different way, and i followed her instructions, and viola! bloomers that looked right!

this is an already long post, but i have to mention that both these bloomers were made to go with little dresses i had already made but that needed to be fixed, one was this christmas dress:

remember, i couldn't figure out how to do the elastic casing in the arms? hello wings.

and this pillowcase dress of mason's.

which has been changed now 3 times. the other two are here and here.

ok, i think that's enough talking about it- here's the final outlook, modeled by my beautiful daughter.

the bloomers are a bit long- and honestly, way to big in the waist, but i have already shortened the elastic.

the traditional ties of the pillowcase dress were impossible to keep tied and on her arms. so i cut them off and made simple straps with elastic thread.

can you tell (in these terrible photos) how much more straight legged these pants are? the dress is still a bit "wing-ed" but looks better.

the oddest thing about the 2 different bloomers is that i do like the style of the red and yellow floral ones. they look almost like pants. i think i may try and trace the pattern (upside down) and sew it together the correct way- so that i can make little pants for boys. the green daisy bloomers look a little girlie, but i do think that a little smaller and they'd make good shorts for henry or campbell.

we'll see, now i am off to try my luck at another project. i want to make each of the kids a little cinch bag, something new and special to fill with car toys and treats for our future road trip. 12 hours, 3 kids. yikes.

i sew!

and i have been sewing more. which means that my living room corner is currently lost to a pile of fabric. i tend to think that if i am going to prep (pick out and cut fabric out) for one project, then why not do 10? this thinking has lead to a huge pile of unfinished (due to lack of interest) projects.

but still, sometimes just playing with fabric is half the fun.

my pictures aren't great, but i really love this bag. i had wanted to make a simple black bag for awhile now (try over 2 years- which was how long i have had this fabric) and i had been planning on following a pattern, but then i thought- well, i think i can come up with something on my own.

and presto- i did.

3 series of pleats here at the bottom of the bag. if you look closer in the top picture you can see that the sides of the bottom of the bag tend to stick or pucker out, i decided to not curve or gusset the purse, and i am very happy with how this turned out.

2 small pockets for organizing.

one little pleat at the top of the bag- and i did pleat the lining as well. the bag needed a little something else, so i just traced some petals on felt and threw together this little prototype flower. once i did one, i figured out how i could better do them (you know simple things like matching your top-stitching thread).

more sewing projects to come! when motivation strikes that is.

oh, and seeing that i did come up with this bag from the juices in my brain, technically this is something i could sell.

technically.