Is it Christmas??

After waiting ever so patiently...NOT....I finally got my velour today! What a beautiful rainbow! I also got the hemp french terry and hemp jersey. Woohoo! Of course, I'm in the middle of my stretch of work, in fact picking up extra days next week but I know I'll find some time in there somewhere to play with this new fabric! It was like Christmas morning for sure to find not only my velour but my order of "monster" color wool felt had also arrived. Package number three was some doll "skin" and I'm set for awhile anyway. Worked on a large monkey head last night at work; I was grateful for a quiet night. I haven't slept well since Mark left and today it was a blessing because otherwise I wouldn't have had time to make it to the Post Office for my packages until probably Monday. Now I can sew all weekend instead of spending my time pacing the floor waiting for my packages!

Monster Mania

Ayla's monster was so fun to make, I couldn't stop!

Ayla's Monster

Remembering....

A quiet day spent contemplating. I sat in the sunshine and listened to the kids in town playing, pondered how this really is small town America. Something out of the past. I thought of Memorial day picnics, parades that use to mark the day. I thought of brave men and women who have always served out nation, courage and spirit feeding them. The silence reminded me of the faint memory of a national cemetary, the single oak tree shading a stone. I know there is a flag on the site today, placed by others who urge us to remember. Thank you, our brave men and women, for all you sacrifice every day.

32 days and counting

Mark flew to CA from Asheville on Friday and I flew home yesterday and I'm lonely already. Mark being gone has left a huge void in my life and it's compounded by having spent a wonderful 4 days with Tabetha, Jeremy, Ayla, and Sophie....and today I'm alone. We enjoyed Ayla's first recital, I was thrilled to rock Sophie to sleep, and how fun it is to share Ayla's vivid imagination and play with her. She is totally into monsters and I think I will make her one to stick in the mail this week. My flights home were nerve wracking, terrible turbulence on the first leg and I stuck my fingers with a sewing needle more times than I can count. I had to share my seat with the left butt cheek of a very large woman on my second leg and decided risking sticking her equally large arm with a needle was too great and so I just dozed. With explicit directions from Mark on how to get back across the bay from the airport, I still got lost and decided an old toothless man was a safe bet to ask for directions. I hesitate to mention that it was not the best part of Norfolk to get lost in! He had me follow him until I got to my turn and he waved me, assuring me that this road would "take you all the way to Jew Jersey if you want to go there baby." It took me to the tunnel and that's all I cared about, the rest of the way is a straight shot. I figured out how to set the timer on the coffee pot but got up before it went off, the dogs are confused because Dad isn't home, and while I usually love the quiet of silence, the house is deafening still with my love gone. Granted, I have 32 days to accomplish a lot of my goals, organizing some of this house on the top of the list. Mark teased me about coming home to find the dining room floor to ceiling babies and I still chuckle at the thought of a huge rainbow pile of babies waiting for him, LOL! When I couldn't find my flight info, Tabetha made the comment that she didn't know how I survived "before Mark" and to be honest, I don't know. Sheesh, I even had to make my own cup of coffee today! Hehe. I went to the market today, got enough food to sustain me for a week; I'll make a pot of pasta and it'll last me all week! I finished sewing another tiny monkey today and will have to cut another piggie since Ayla claimed the one I made while I was in Asheville. She kept a constant watch on the progress and continually wanted to know "when Ayla's piggie" would be finished. I think she needs two more since we had a marvelous time sharing our version of the 3 little pigs story! Two more days off from work and I hope to be productive and get a lot done! Here's hoping....

I'm home and ready to get back to work

Some bunny loves you

These are so adorable and fun to make!

Beary Cute baby!

This little bear baby stands about 7 inches tall, not including ears! Soft velour makes it perfect for a little one!

Squirt

Squirt is only about 5 inches tall, still waiting to have his little naked butt covered with a cloth diaper!

Bright eyed and bushy tailed

How nice it was to watch the end of the sunrise this morning, not something this night shift nurse gets to enjoy very often. I sat with my coffee in the sun room and quietly watched the mom and dad birds flutter around the nest in the corner of the house. I thought I heard babies but the racket of their dance was loud and I may have just imagined the peeps of their young. Definitely the season of newness and rebirth. It certainly inspires a desire to nurture a new project, to witness it grow and become part of our lives. One of my ER docs was sharing how his wife quit her career as a pediatrician to pursue a life of being an artist, not something he nor their bank account seemed to appreciate. I commented that I thought it was wonderful that she put material things secondary to her desire to chase her dreams. I always wanted to be "artistic" instead of just "crafty" and it took many years but I have finally come to realize that we are all artistic. We may not paint like the masters but we can have the same effect on those around us. The art of mothering, the art of fatherhood, the art of touching lives is something we can all do. Maybe I'm just feeling philosophical this morning...
I finished Ayla's Waldorf style ballerina doll yesterday, complete with ballet slippers and decided I'm going to have to carry her on the plane. Way to much work to chance having her tossed about in my suitcase! Also finished a soft baby for Sophie, also Waldorf style. I love the simplicity of the faces, even if the work is not simple! The ballerina doll had her hair put on one strand at a time, and the final result was worth the time. My little soft sculpture baby, Squirt, has a little knit cap and a diaper, although I'm not happy with the velcro closures and will change them. For now he sits with his little naked butt waiting for a cloth diaper!
I hope to get some monkeys and little piggies cut and packed in my take along bag today and perhaps will complete some on the flights to and from. I guess thats the nice thing about projects that are completely handsewn (and little!).

Ayla's Ballerina Doll, finally completed and just in time

The to do list never ends

I worked an extra night this week and am totally off keel. Not sure what day it is half the time and feel like I slept the week away! I have a huge to do list to tackle and all I can do is knock it out one task at a time. A priority is to finish Ayla's ballerina Waldorf doll since it's her gift for the recital next week and we fly out Tuesday! Nothing major to finish on her, just the leotard closure and the ballet shoes. The I have to make Sophie something since I can't very well give one something and not the other! LOL! I love being a Nana! We stock our inventory this week and have veggies to finish for the market bag but hopefully, I can finish them at work. I should have done them instead of that cute little monkey but it was a nice distraction from food. I have a mini baby almost completed. He's minus one arm and then of course he needs a diaper and a little shirt and hat! I'll do a major cut for hand sewing to take with me next week, I'll at least be able to sew on the flights. We borrowed a little girl to model in the Adirondack chair and she is cute as a button. I have a basket of babies in various stages of completion and they stare at me with their lifeless eyes every time I walk by them! Mark teased me about me having the house organized, my yearly goal for the last 20+ years, by the time he comes home from CA, and I just laugh. Should would be nice though! Toys line the entry, Our dining room has become the cutting room, the living room is filled with projects in progress, and it's a shame since I have the most incredible craft room! Maybe the house WILL be organized when he comes home....I hope he isn't holding his breath, LOL. We got the paint for a custom order buggy last night and I'm so excited about the finished "vision" of it. Of course, added it to my to do list! Today is our anniversary and we celebrated last night. I gorged myself on Alaskan Snow Crab legs, yum! Mark made me a beautiful jewelry box from those pecan pieces given to him. His attention to detail never ceases to amaze me. The drawer is lacking the knobs which didn't arrive in time, but its beautiful as is! Ï had to laugh when I asked where he got the felt to line the top box and he said off my sewing table, LOL! Like I would miss anything in the jumble! So my handcrafted jewelry box is lined with wool felt, all natural for sure!

A break from food

Decided I needed a break from food making and stitched this little guy this week. The tiny monkey is completely hand stitched, mostly done at work Friday night and assembled over the weekend between rescue calls and sleeping!

I Scream, You scream, We all scream for Ice Cream

Productivity Tuesday

It seems I'm the most productive on Tuesday's after sleeping most of the weekend and just catching up around here on Monday's'. Granted, I have to go back to work tomorrow night, but I'll have a bag of handwork to do, given the free time! Finally got the canopy, blanket, and mattress cover sewn for the bed today; I think Mark was afraid it would sit bare forever. Mia has her brand new night shirt on to pose for the picture. Good thing young girls like lime green! I have a pair of shorts and a shirt made as rent for Kit, the American Girl I borrowed from a young friend and hopefully, I'll get it to her this weekend. Mia got hired as a new model since I felt bad keeping Kit so long. I was playing with ice cream this week, had an inquiry about an ice cream sundae and after giggling through the ice cream cones, I can just see some scoops of ice cream with hot fudge and nuts. I sent a picture of Mark "eating" a strawberry ice cream to Tabetha and when our young grand daughter (the root of all this food stuff!) saw the picture she stated to her mom....I like ice cream, pops will share with me. She is also the cause for much delight in our lives! I have fish dinners and a market bag filled with veggies ready for stocking and will place the ice cream in the store as well. I'm so tickled with the doll buggy, absolutely the perfect size for a toddler. Plans for the evening are to make a quilt and mattress for it although I might have to throw the quilt in the take along bag to tie at work this week. Have also been playing with egg rolls and a variety of Chinese food, including steamed dumplings but they are still in the "playing with stage". Hmm, I think Chinese for our dinner tonight too! Well, the sewing machine may be a dream machine, but it doesn't run itself, so back to work I go.

Darn, it's so cute

Mia gets a new bed