Creative Kiddos

My kids have all been doing such fun things, I thought I'd share.

Montana bought a Lego set with his own money (took him a year of saving), and when it arrived, he spent the next three hours blissfully putting it together.

Alena, as previously posted, has been working on a quilt for her American Girl doll. She was going to hand quilt it, but I convinced her to try my machine. She got it done in about an hour, put on the binding (I did the back seam) and tucked it around her doll this morning. She is such a great little seamstress, I'm excited to work with her on lots more projects!

And Emma decided to make herself pancakes for breakfast this morning. She got out a kids cookbook, got out all the ingredients and tools, and whipped up some really fluffy, yummy flapjacks which she graciously shared with her siblings. She did everything except grease the griddle. What a great little chef!

Time for Delivery!

Here it is: The final finished quilt.

It is a medallion and each side is symmetrical and mirrored on each other side.

Detail of the quilting on the top:



It looks so good on my bed, too bad I have to give it to it's owner today ;)

Can I just say that this has been an amazing experience for me? I have really loved working on this colorful quilt for a colorful lady.

In my footsteps

I realize I just posted 10 minutes ago, but I thought Alena deserved her own post for this accomplishment!

Alena began hand sewing squares for a quilt for her American Girl Doll last summer. I cut them all with a rotary cutter and showed her how to make a running stitch at 1/4 inch. She worked on it on long car rides and got about 3 rows completed.

For Christmas, she received her very own sewing machine from Grandma Langford. It is small and goes slow, so it's not "scary" like mine is. Christmas Day she sewed all her remaining squares into pairs, but in the lead up to our move, everything was packed away for a while.
We got her machine out last week while I was working on a dress, and Alena and I sat side by side, sewing. It was like heaven! It was so wonderful for her and I to be together, I could look over and comment on her work, answer questions and praise her efforts. She could observe me doing my own project, and see that I have to use the seam ripper, too!

Here is her finished top. It only took about an hour once she sat down with her pairs to make her rows and sew them together. She isn't sure if she wants to quilt it on a machine, by hand, or just tie it. It think she did a smashing good job for her very first work of fabric art. I can't wait to see the doll tucked in for the night in the jammies Auntie My made, snuggled under the quilt Alena made for her all by herself!

It's quilted!

I was so lucky to be able to use a long-arm quilting machine that a lady in our ward owns. I did a large stipple over the whole surface, except for the center medallion, which I did in-the-ditch around the basket, flowers and vines. I had some trouble with the thread the first day, after getting the thing all pinned to the machine. But on Saturday I went over again and a bit of fiddling with the threading solved the problem. I was able to completely quilt it in about 3 hours. Now I've just got to do the binding and make a label for it and I will be ALL DONE with this service project! It's been so educational to do these different techniques and I've enjoyed it very much, but I know the lady who bought the materials for it is anxious to have it in her home. It's taken about 4 months.

crafting

I've been feeling crafty since I got my sewing shelves organized in the new house.
These are burp rags for a baby that is due in March.
Too bad my sister is the one who showed me the pattern and has already made a bunch,
she's having a baby in March, too.

I also, finally completed the quilt top for another friend, now I've only got to quilt it. No problem!

Live and Learn

We gave the doggie back to the shelter today. It was a family decision that we all agreed was best. He was a nipper, and especially to Savannah. I had her on my lap last night to read to her, and he came over and nipped and pushed at her until he was in my lap and she was out. We thought maybe if I just took Savannah to another part of the house when we cuddled, it would be okay for him, but today she was just standing in the kitchen minding her own business and he ran over and nipped at her feet. She was scared of him and we decided we didn't want to make her live with that fear every day. I called the shelter to ask if that behavior was something that could be trained out, but she said it was a major behavior issue that would probably take professional one-on-one help, if that even did it. I didn't want to risk Savannah's or anyone else's feelings of safety in our home for the sake of a dog we just met last week; so off he went with his little tail wagging. I feel really bad for giving him back, like I am irresponsible or something, but deep down I know it is the most responsible thing to do for my family. I am of the opinion that we shouldn't get any pets for a long time. Because I end up having to do a lot of care for them during the day, and Shonee ends up spending time in the evening with the pet instead of the kids. I guess I have a limited attention span, because it's kind of either/or for me. I don't have enough for kids and pets. Anyway, everyone is dealing with the departure pretty well. Montana was never very comfortable either. We all like being able to walk down the hall without climbing over a baby gate. We're supposed to revisit the topic next month as a family, but I know my answer is going to be NO for a long time. At least until a child is old enough to accept and perform all of the responsibilities, including yard duty, play, walks, and maybe vet bills.

Settling In

We have been in our new house for a week and we are struggling to find places for everything we have. It will all get put away eventually, but some things need shelving constructed before they have a home.

On Wednesday we bought a shelter puppy. He's a real nice dog. We named him Rudy because he's little but full of heart (like Sean Astin's character in the movie of the same name). He's a Terrier mix, mostly looks like a Cairn Terrier. He's decided he likes me best, so he follows me around and feels forlorn when I am gone (or so I'm told by the other members of the family). I think dogs are labeled as man's best friend because they insist on being that way. He's my shadow sometimes, much more so than any of my toddlers ever were. But we all love him, and he loves all of us. The kids have been waiting for about three years to get a dog, and now they all want to go on walks with him and he gets played with so much he is tuckered out and takes naps just to get a break from us. We are really getting settled for a long stay here, and we're thrilled with that prospect!