Adventures in Sewing

I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I'm not very good at sewing. Yes, I've had a sewing machine for years and sew pretty frequently, but it's always very basic stuff that doesn't involve much more than sewing a straight line. And even that I'm not great at. So, I picked out a pattern:


Got some pretty fabric:


Turned our guest bedroom into a sewing station:


And...well, I haven't started yet. But when I do, I'll post more!

Also, I made some cute fabric flowers to attach to hair clips or brooches or just whatever. The first one I made for my niece turned out way too big, so I made the next few a lot smaller.

One Yard Wonders

I have already deemed this upcoming summer the "Summer of Crafts." I really enjoy making things, but get so distracted with other things going on in my life that I rarely get to do so. I saw a book at the store last night that got me really excited about sewing this summer. It's called "One Yard Wonders."



It wasn't the fact that every project can be made with one yard of fabric that made me want to get this book, but the CUTE projects it had in it. There are very detailed instructions for each project, as well as patterns for several of the projects that are pre-cut and placed in a little packet at the front of the book. I went a little crazy last night and ordered several Amy Butler and Michael Miller fabrics to start off with. My first project will be a beach towel tote. If it goes well, I'm going to make one for my sister-in-law and mother-in-law for our annual trip to Sanibel Island. I couldn't find a picture of it, but one side of the bag is a beach towel, and the other side is fabric. It has a zippered pocket inside, and part of the towel is sewed up inside the bag so that you can flip it out and put it over the top of your chair and have a towel/chair cover. Brilliant!

Also can't wait to make this adorable bird mobile...I need some friends to hurry up and have a baby so I can make it!

Can't wait to start on all these fun projects. Hurry up summer!

Finally!

This winter has been particularly hard on me for some reason. I've been counting down the days until Spring when I can finally get out in the yard and enjoy some sunshine. Gardening has kind of become a new hobby (no, wait...obsession) of mine. I can't drive around town without looking at every single plant/bush/tree I see and naming it or deciding if it's pruned properly. We've revamped a lot of things in our yard over the past few weeks, and I've really enjoyed doing it.

When we first planted things at our house almost two years ago, we didn't really know what we were doing. We planted a lot of things that don't thrive in this climate, and ended up having to dig a lot of things up. This time around, I've done some research and picked some plants that will hopefully thrive.

Our Mollie apple tree. It gets beautiful pink blooms every year, but so far no apples! There's a Gala apple next to it so they can cross breed. I doubt we'll ever get apples, but at least they look pretty.

We planted some yellow knockout roses in the front bed. I got them in the fall at a half off sale, and they survived the winter and have been doing great.

Our garden didn't work out too well since last year was so dry. Lane spent the morning tilling the bed and adding peat moss to enrich the soil. We're planting zucchini, squash, tomatoes, peppers, and strawberries (in a pot.) We're doing things on a lot smaller scale this year so that hopefully we can maintain it better.

This isn't a great photo (taken with my phone, and it was SO bright outside!) But outside our bedroom window, we've planted some pretty pink hydrangeas. They seem to like it out there. We've also planted inpatients again. Last year, that was about the only thing we didn't manage to kill. We have some hostas poking up from last year, too, but they've already gotten leaf damage from slugs or snails or grasshoppers...not really sure what!

We've also planted a japanese yew and some dwarf buford hollies in our front bed, and dug up some damaged gardenias and planted encore azaleas in their place in the other front bed. There's still more work to do, but it's looking good so far!

Giving it another shot...

I really like the idea of blogging...not so much so that other people can read it, just so that I can remember all the little things that happen in our lives. I never think I have anything interesting to post, but I know I'll look back on it later and be glad I did. It's been almost two years since I've blogged, and it's just flown by. What an amazing two years it's been. A summary in pictures:

weddingness

Things are getting pretty crazy around here as we're frantically trying to tie up all the loose ends with both the wedding and the house. It seems like lately every little thing that could go wrong with closing on the house is....air conditioner needs a new part ordered, the lender didn't authorize the closing date, can't get the city inspector out for the final inspection. Everyday we find out something else. But despite all of that, I'm really trying to focus on the positive, especially since I'm going to be around all of my favorite people in just a few days!


Lane and I are both really excited about the wedding, but I think we'll be glad it's over with. I feel kind of bad for saying that, but it's been a very stressful time....probably because we're crazy people for planning a wedding and building a house at the same time! But soon it'll all be over with and life will be back to normal. It'll be nice!

Here are a couple of pictures from Emily's wedding two weeks ago...it was such a beautiful wedding, and I can't wait for her to be my matron of honor in my wedding!


Jessie, Me, and Lane at the rehearsal dinner.


All of the bridemaids



The happy couple

Only 30 more days!

Until This:
This:


And This!






Everyday I wake up excited because we're one more day closer!

75% done!

The builder said that once the brick is finished on our house, they will be 75% done with it! We're hoping it will be done in the next month so we can start moving some things in before we get married. Here are the latest pictures:



They've had a hard time finding a day when they can finish the brick...It's been raining almost nonstop here!
This summer we're planning on building a deck that goes all the way across those back windows....it'll be so nice!



They've finished all of the sheet rocking. Today they came out and put up baseboards, doors and door frames, trim, and started installing the cabinets. I didn't make it out there to take pictures, though.

If they can get all the crews out there when they're supposed to be, and if there are no major delays, it could possibly be done by the end of the month. I'm not counting on it, but it sure would be nice.