The Year in Review

Today was definitely an up and down year.  I had Adèle in February, was forced to move in April and got carpal this fall.  I didn't really get my goals done.  So, let's look at what I did get finished.

I worked a lot on Christmyth:

I finally finished this as a banner for the girls' room:

Then I made this for my mother:

And I made some stuff for my friend Shelly:

And I made a PIF for Parsley:

  

I made myself a wedding sampler:

And some other miscellaneous stuff:

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Hi everyone!

I've had a lovely Christmas.  The girls got lots of nice new toys and we have been invaded by Little People (the Fischer Price ones).  We also have a bunch of Chuck the Trucks running around as well.  We will be weeding out the toys next week (we rotate them so they get "new toys" every once and awhile).

The top picture is Zoé in her new Perry the Platypus pjs.  Zoé is two now and has no words.  Let me repeat that: absolutely no words.  She also doesn't respond to her name very well either.  We just had her evaluated and have specialists coming out twice a week to work with her.  She also has a hearing test scheduled so we will find out if it's hearing or not.  She is enjoying her toys though.  Adèle is doing well.

I've been thinking forward to next year's stitching.  My carpal tunnel is getting better so hopefully I will be stitching again next year.  Here are my goals:

I want to do this piece in honor of my in-law's 50th wedding anniversary.

This was supposed to be my brother-in-law's present but I couldn't do it because of my hands.

Then again, I would like to finish my DH's stocking:

And I need to find a stocking for Adèle, but I haven't shopped for one yet.

First Sewing Finish!

I have my first finish from my new sewing machine.

I made a pair of black pajama pants from McCall's Pattern M6231.  I used a black flannel.  Here's how they turned out:

I made my husband model them but promised not to put his face in the picture.

Got some Kermit the Frog fleece to make Zoé a jacket with but first I am going to finish the picture frame for my mom on cross stitch.

My Birthday/Christmas Present

This year for my birthday/Christmas present, I got a sewing machine.  It's the Brother Project Runway Limited Edition computerized sewing machine and it looks like this:

I never used to sew much by machine.  I took a summer school sewing class once but I never had a nice sewing machine.  I inherited my grandma's machine but it was old and didn't sew so well anymore.

I did a bit of research before deciding on a machine.  I was looking at the Singer Simple which was cheaper but this one had more features and it came with a bunch of accessories

My main concern was the feet which get to be pricey if you have to buy them.  It's also a free arm.

I used it a bit tonight to do some sewing on my first project which was a pair of pajama pants for my husband.  I got black flannel for it and cut out the pattern pinned it and started sewing.  I love this machine already.  It has a needle threader and the bobbin is extremely easy to put in, no complicated bobbin casing to deal with.

Realized that the pants I made were much too big. My husband wanted me to start over but looking at the pattern, I realized I only had to take it in on the size by about 2 inches on each size and I was able to salvage it.  Just have to do the elastic casing and the hem for the bottom.  So far, so good.

An Advent service and a birthday

November 30 was Zoé's second birthday.  We celebrated it on Thursday because I couldn't get Wednesday off.  We ordered out Pizza Hut and she opened up her Mega Blocks that she got from us.  Now they are all over the living room.

We let her open one present on her birthday.  She piled her favorite stuffies on it instead.

We also had her cash in her piggy bank because it was full.  At our bank, they have a special account just for kids with your very own piggy bank and you get a prize every time you make a deposit.  So, she picked out the kitty cat.

Our tree is also up.  The 7 1/2 foot tree sure looks a lot smaller when you only have 8 foot ceilings instead of a 10 foot ceiling.

Tonight was the ladies' Advent candlelight service.  We did a table.  Here's what it looked like when it was all done.

 Mine was definitely not the fanciest table.  But I picked the nativity and the angel on purpose because it's an advent service.  I heard a couple of people comment on that they never would have thought to do a nativity (most of them were just generic holiday/Christmas decorations but one person did have a light up church) so maybe I'll set a trend for next year.  Wasn't going to do cloth napkins but I got that set of 8 for $5 at Tuesday Morning.  What a steal!  And they have a leaf pattern so they'll work year round..

I will be playing with my birthday/Christmas present soon.  But I'll save that for a different post.