Thursday, March 31, 2011

I'm a Lucky Girl!


Some of the best sewing movies of all time!

A little gift from my Daddy.

I already had this version
of Pride and Prejudice,
but also in this box set
are

Victoria and Albert
Emma
Jane Eyre
Lorna Doone
The Scarlet Pimpernel
Tom Jones
and Ivanhoe!

Yep! I am a lucky girl!

Thanks Daddy.
I love you.



Monday, March 28, 2011

Spring Break In Anaheim!


Yes! We got to go to Anaheim to be with 
India!!!

This picture was taken as we surprised her 
when she opened the door to her apartment 
last week.

What JOY!!


But let me go back a bit.....

The original plan was that on Saturday,
Don was to drive Ahnalin and me 
to meet up with my parents further 
down the freeway.

However, on St. Patrick's Day, as I was
preparing our Corned Beef dinner,
my mom called and said that if they didn't
come that day, they would be stuck on the 
other side of the mountains. 
Highway 80 had been closed off an on due 
to snowstorms and another several feet of 
snow was expected.


And since India had been really sick with 
another infection, this mama wanted to get 
to her baby!!!
So we left Friday!
After we got to her apartment,
we whisked her away to a fabulous meal at Subway!

After dinner, we took her back 
to her apartment and then drove
to our cousins Jana's and Marlyn's
houses, where we got to stay.


On Saturday, my mom, Jana, Marlyn and Ahnalin
went shopping for enchilada fixins because
India had requested them, yet again.
So, I cooked up a double batch and then we
drove back up to disneyland to collect our girl!
She got off work and arrived in the parking lot in 
her Fantasyland costume!
She is so darling!


She was so happy to have Mama's enchiladas.
And we had such a great time with the cousins too.
India got to stay the night at Jana's house with us
and then we got to take her to work on Sunday morning.




We just hung out together in Downtown Disney
until India had to go to work. 
It wasn't raining yet, but it rained most 
of the day and actually most of the time 
we were there!


Ahnalin did not want to leave India there
to work, but we had to.


On Monday, Ahnalin and I spent time with 
Jana and my parents went to 
the Reagan Library and Ikea
and some other places. 
Oh, and I bought some super attractive
pink rain ponchos and umbrellas from 
that ultra classy couture boutique, Walmart.



Tuesday morning, we picked up India at her apartment
and headed to Disneyland.
She had to work in the afternoon, but
we got to spend the whole morning
and early afternoon with her!
She had lots of fun things to share
with us and we were so happy 
to be together!




My parents had not been to Disneyland
since they last took my brother and me
in the early 80s, so they had never
seen Disney's California Adventure Park.
So we visited there first.
We took them to the Aladdin musical
and on many attractions, including
Soaring Over California, which they loved.




I had NEVER NEVER seen California Adventure as crowded
as it was last week. Apparently everyone
in the entire world decided they needed to 
go to the Park at the same time!
So, we stood in lots of lines for long long times!




And then we had to let India go to work. 
So, she ran backstage and got into
her costume and we headed to the 
Storybook Land Canal Boats.
I got this picture just as she realized we were 
in line to ride her boat!



Ahnalin was SO PROUD to ride the boat
as her sister gave the tour spiel.
I tried to record it, 
but both my camera battery and phone battery
died at the same time!!

But I will tell you that India does a really

wonderful tour and I was 
so proud of my girl.


After that ride, we went on 
a few more rides and got some food
and then my parents took Ahnalin
back to the hotel to go to sleep. 
Then the park loudspeaker announced
that the park hours were to be extended to midnight.
So, India had to work until nearly 1:00AM.
I was awarded a very rare treat!
I got to wander Disneyland by myself
until closing!
I saw World Of Color and then looked

in all the galleries and gift shops.
Then I went back on the Storybook ride 
by myself and all the rides in Fantasyland.
It was great!
When India got off work, we walked back to the hotel
and just chatted.






Wednesday morning, India and Ahnalin and I 
went to the Park and got our favorite
cinnamon roles on Main Street.
India had wednesday off so we had
the whole day with her!



We got to meet Winnie The Pooh!



Tigger!




Alice and the Mad Hatter!




And yes, we waited 45 minutes in line to meet
Rapunzel and Flynn Rider!!
And Flynn really does have the tiara
in his satchel!




We went on a bunch more rides and then
went to Cafe Orleans for Pomme Frites!
We sat outside half under the canapy
and half out.
But the rain decided to show up at this point,
so I was instantly soaked!




So, we donned our super trendy pink ponchos,
opened our polka dot umbrellas
and headed to the Tiki Room for Dole Pineapple whip!


We rode as many more rides 
as we could before the rain got so nasty 
that my parents came to pick us up.




I requested my mom capture this picture of us

because I thought it was too funny to forget!
It reminds me of our first trip to Disneyland
with Ahnalin in October, 2005, with our 
good friends, the Leathleys.
It poured rain the whole time! 
Ahnalin was 15 months old then.


After we got in the in the car,
we took India back to her apartment
because she had class in the morning,
and we headed back to my cousin Marlyn's house.


On Thursday, we picked India up after her class and 
did a bunch of errands
and then I treated everyone to lunch 
at Watson's Pharmacy and Lunch Counter.



 YUM!

After Watson's,
we ran back to India's apartment to get her
things for the evening and clothes for the morning.
My parents went back to the hotel and 
the girls and I returned to Downtown Disney
to buy souvenirs and get some
yummy chocolate dipped Strawberries.


My parents retrieved 
Ahnalin so that India and I could
go to a movie by ourselves.
One of our traditions is that we see
live action fairytale movies together.
So we decided to see "Beastly".
We LOVED it!


 Did I mention that since I was on vacation, I did not
wear makeup? Yeah, not good 
for pictures, but oh well.

I loved our time together. 
I miss my girl so much, 
but she is growing up and making us 
so proud. 
The Disney College Program has been 
a challenge and blessing and 
adventure for my India.
And she loves it.

After the movie was over, India and I walked
back to the hotel and went to bed.


 Friday morning, we got to have breakfast
with her before dropping her off 
for her class. 
She got some last minute hugs
from Grandma and Grandpa.


And then it was time to take her to class and 
leave her. 
It was pouring down rain.

She ran into class, 
and then Grandma Barbara,
Grandpa John, Ahnalin and I got
back in the car to drive back to Sonoma County.


Ahnalin and I had missed Don so much!!
A week away from the Hot Rockin' Hubby is 
much too long!
We got him a Donald Duck hat
that says "This IS my happy face" 
and some other Donald Duck merch. 
And Ahnalin would not let him go 
for hours!
And once again, the pass
over the mountains was snowed in so
my parents got to stay the weekend with us.
It was a good Spring Break. 
Very good!

Thank you Mom and Dad for driving 
us down to So Cal. 
Thank you Jana and Marlyn for hosting us.
Thank you Don for letting us 
enjoy Spring Break with India while you
had to stay home and work.
And thank you to my India for allowing
us to hang out with you in Disneyland!

And to anyone reading this, 
thank you for hanging in there through
this very, very long post!

Now.......back to sewing for me!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Fairy Catmother Dress...OR...She Needs A Haircut!


She has eyes under that fringe!

Really!

But she can't seem to make up her mind.



She has been telling me she wants to
grow out her bangs and have her
hair like Mommy and Dida.

But she refuses to wear clips or headbands
to keep her hair out of her face.

However today she finally told me 
she wants me to trim her bangs tonight.

Whew!


And the dress,
well,
the dress.....

sigh.....


Well, at least she is wearing it and
not complaining now!!
When she first saw the dress
the other day, 
she insisted it was a nightgown.

I can't say much for the weirdness of 
these pictures. 

Not one turned out well and
she was SO OVER posing when it started to rain.


The print is called "Fairy Catmother"
and it is a lovely soft cotton knit
that took me forever to find
when I finally bought it

And then I hoarded it for a super long time,
before Ahnalin was finally able to convince me to 
cut into it and sew it up.

I used an old Butterick pattern, Fast & Easy 3316,
and changed the back, removing the placket.
Then I shortened the sleeve, and removed
the seam allowances for the neckline,
hem and sleeve hems.

I finished the neckline and hems with Fold Over Elastic,
which is my favorite way to finish knits.
I also added a ruched ribbon to the front.


Finally, a decent photo of Ahnalin,
however I did not notice the drainpipe
in the background until I uploaded it!

And the picture of the fabric.......
UGH! 
I just noticed that she already got 
a little bit of chocolate on it!

But because it is actually, really raining now,
I am calling it good and being done with it!

Ey Yi Yi!

Can I say that it has been 
"one of THOSE weeks"???

Happy Sewing!

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Ahnalin, Children's Choir And Lent


Sunday, at our church,
we were led in worship by the children.


They did a FABULOUS job!

Ahnalin was SO EXCITED because she adores
singing in the children's choir.

Her "most favoritest choir song"
is "Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel".


She LOVE LOVE LOVEs this song!

So today is Ash Wednesday and 
she wanted to know the reason for the ashes.

So we talked about Lent and what it means.
I told her that some people willingly
give up something during lent to remind
them of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. 

Now this conversation took place
last night, after a pretty awful afternoon 
and evening. 
Her sensory stuff was totally out of control
and she had raged most of the day.

And because Don and I had rehearsal at church, 
it was past her bedtime and she was a total wreck. 

So, when she told me she wanted to 
give up something during lent, I had to laugh at her choice.


Ahnalin: Mama, I want to give up something for lent.

Me: Ok sweetie, what do you want to give up?

Ahnalin: Obeying the rules! I am so tired of them!

Me: But Ahnalin, it is Mama's job to train you up to
be a responsible and kind grown up.

Ahnalin: Nah. I want to break the rules and go to jail
so I can play the harmonica all day long!

HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!

However, she is so excited to be following
the Lenten calendar that she was given
at church. I suspect this will be a wonderful
season of learning for her as we 
focus on the last days of Jesus,
before He gave Himself up for us on the cross.


Saturday, March 5, 2011

Not My Usual Client


 This is Mr. Bear.

Mr. Bear belongs to my friend Peggy,
who is the Director of Children's Ministry
at our church.

He was very loved for many years
by her own children.

But tonight he will be auctioned off
to raise money for our church's high school
ministry mission trip to Mexico.


Mr. Bear needed some loving repairs
so he has been staying at our house this week.

I stitched up his needy areas and
made him this dapper new denim vest.

Ahnalin loves giraffes so I added 
a bit of giraffe print ribbon as a tag. 


Did I mention that Mr. Bear is 
 HUGE???!!!!!


Ahnalin does not want him to go.

We pray he raises lots of money 
so our church high schoolers 
can go share the love of Jesus
with orphans in Mexico.


And here is a little bit of Ahnalin's energy for you.

Happy Saturday and Happy Sewing!

Friday, March 4, 2011

Ahnalin as Laura Ingalls


Today is Favorite Book Character Day
at Ahnalin's school. 

Ahnalin absolutely adores 
so OF COURSE,
she HAD to be Laura Ingalls!

  
Ahnalin had very strong opinions about
how this costume should look.

I had wanted to make her a new white
pinafore to go over her new dress,
but Ahnalin reminded me that
the Ingalls family was poor.
 So, her old "Alice in Wonderland"
apron that was too small, and 
a bit shabby, was just fine!


She also told me that her boots
looked too new!

She thought she should go get them 
dirty and scuffed so it would look
like she was playing in the prairie.

Well, I was not willing for that, 
since they just arrived from Ebay this week!

She wanted her dress
REALLY LONG,
but I explained to her about
how they likely would have hemmed 
the dress with a Growth Tuck, so 
they could let the dress down to get more wear out of it.


In the end, she was happy with the length.

However, we went round and round
about the sunbonnet.

As of last night, she told me she 
was not going to wear one.

So, I did not finish the one I started.


But this morning, at 6:00 AM, 
the first words I heard were
"Mommy, where is my sunbonnet?"

I told her that I thought she did not want to
wear one, because she wanted her braids
to show. 

She told me that she really wanted one
after all.

So we went scrounging through all the old
dress up clothes and found the one
we bought India a decade ago 
at Silver Dollar City, in Branson, MO.


I lamented that the red hearts did not match
the pink dress, and she reminded me that
"Prairie girls were too poor to be all matchy-matchy!"

However, she dug through my ribbon stash
to find the perfect shade of pink ribbon
for her braids.


So, there she is!
And, I want to point out that
I actually have finally finished a dress
in this house!

The pattern was an old Vogue pattern 
and the fabric was some Mary Engelbreit
calico from my stash. 

Now, off to clean my house and make lasagna!
We are having our first dinner guest tonight!

Happy Sewing!

Thursday, March 3, 2011

My Old Cutting Board


Do you have one of these?

This is my old Dritz cardboard cutting board.

I have had this old thing
ever since I cut out my wedding dress
in 1988.

It is stained with coffee
and decorated with many years of
ink marks.

It is NOT "self healing" like
the rotary cutting mats that 
most people use now.

I have 2 of those. 

But they do not hold my,
or my children's, imagination.


Ahnalin drags this out constantly.

Today, it is her "Math Club".

She is teaching her animals Math.

I love the way her mind works.




I have to get back to finishing the Laura Ingalls dress
for Book Day tomorrow.

But I thought I would show you the little
love gift I sent to India
this week.

This is a rice bag I put together for my 
very own Disney Princess. 

Don drove down to see her on Sunday, 
to fix her computer, take her goodies,
and give our homesick girl
a whole bunch of hugs and daddy snuggles.

I only had a tiny bit of this fabric,
"Adventures in Wonderland" by 
Wyndham Fabrics,
but I would LOVE to find more!

That is all for now.
Back to sewing for me now!


Thank you all for your sweet comments
about Ahnalin's special bedroom.
We had so much fun putting it together.

Happy Sewing.