the Hike!

First let me say that it is another gloomy day in OHIO! A thunderstorm just went through and we should get more rain later. I love thunderstorms, but I really want that 90* day that I talked about in the last post. SO I am pouting over the weather!

Yesterday was it was 83* which would be okay normally to go to the POOL, but with the temps getting down to 63* at night - the water is FREEZING! Really no big deal for my older kids, but I have to get into the water with my younger ones and I do not like freezing water. However, I am usually the one in it trying to persuade Maria and Livy to get in! Because the weather was not warm enough to go to the pool I got creative and we went hiking at Slate Run Metro Park. It was nice and sunny and I really needed some God appreciation time. You know the times where you are just in awe at His beauty! Well, nothing goes as planned. Instead of a peaceful walk through the woods, I ended up with girls clinging to my body! It turns out that Alex, my 14 y.o. has a phobia to spiders. A few years ago we were up at Marblehead trying to find a letterbox (don't know what that is? I will explain in a future post) and she was leading the way. Of course she was leading the way, she always has to be the one to beat out her brother in things. Well, she walked right into a giant spider web in between some trees and the giant spider that made the web ended up in her hair. After she was done freaking out and we managed to get it off her, she was scard for life! She use to be quite the camper and loved being out doors, but in the last few years I have noticed that desire has vanished. I thought it was just her age. After yesterday's walk, I now know that it has nothing to do with her age and being a girl, but that she is petrified of the possibility of walking into another spider web! She clung to me the whole 1 1/2 miles. In the beginning we were joking about it, but after a while I told her to deal with her fears and let go of me. She then had tears forming in her eyes and asked if we were all most our of the woods. I finally told her she could not hold onto me for about 1/4 of the last mile, and she walked directly behind me with a whimper in her breathing! Pathetic! Bill of course thinks it is all nonsense and that she is just being silly, but we will see whenever he gets her out to go for the next hike!

Finally got my cousins handbag done! Went to her house on Saturday for a big party to wish a dear friend goodbye as he is leaving for Iraq this week for 8 months. So I hurried and made a proto type to make sure I would not make a mistake on hers (the one on the bottom). I put a zipper in the proto type and it came out okay! Will be making more bags with zippers in the future! Both bags are made with Amy Butler fabric and it was so nice to work with. I do not make to many things with her fabric, only because so many other people do. But she does produce a high quality fabrics for a decent price! I love the way Michelle's bag turned out! She loved it too!

If you would like a bag like Michelle's let me know! Or customize your own! I will only be sewing them for the next two months then I will be taking off November and Dec. for the holidays!

What to do on a Gloomy Day

Another gloomy day here in Ohio! The weather this summer has been terrible. I am still waiting for that 90* day where you have to be in water in order to be outside. We have been to the pool only a handful of times and the water is freezing. My little ones do not even want to go in it.

So what to do on a gloomy day? Yesterday we cleaned the house... well we picked up the house. Pretty bad when it takes you all day to just pick up! So today I better actually clean. A little dusting, vacuuming, and scrubbing should do the trick. I hope to get through it this morning so I can do some sewing this afternoon! My cousin is still waiting on her purse. I am going to see her Saturday so my goal is to get it done by then! Still not sure how I am going to get it not to sag in the middle... I will try a stiffer interfacing and hope that it is not to rough feeling in the end. I hate to ruin good Amy Butler fabric with bad interfacing!This is the bag that we are modeling my cousin's bag after. It is from PacoLupe one of my favorite purse designers on Etsy.com. This is a cute hipster I hope to whip up for my cousin as well. We'll see!

Before the sewing though, I am determined to play a game with the kiddos. I use to have a neighbor that you would find often in her PJs sitting on the floor playing all sorts of games with her kids (and it would be noon)! She would let everything go whenever they asked to do something. Her house was not spotless and I am sure there were many things left undone, but her kids were happy and loved being with her! I took many lessons from her and learned to take time out for the kids. Lately with all that has happened this summer I feel like I have not done a good job just being with my kids. SO today is the day to do that! What about you.... is there someone you need to go and play cards with?

Have a good one!

New Livy Marie Bag

For her birthday (in March) I told my cousin she could order a customized bag. We finally got around to picking some wonderful Amy Butler fabric and it is ready to go. Before creating it with that fabric, I thought I better do a sample first. Good thing because it needs some tweeking! Here is my sample. I love the look of it and the fabric combination is just right! What do you think Chelle?

I just do not like the way it sags when you carry it on your shoulder. The single strap purses tend to do this and because it is a wide short purse it is even worse. So if my dear sewing mentor who tends to read my blog (aka Trish) can give me some advise I would appreciate it! Do I need a stiffer interface? Do I need to put a hard bottom in it?