New Outfit for Emma

I finally got back to sewing what I love best to sew! Sewing something for Emma always makes me happy. This was especially fun, because I love the idea of the lollipop -- she doesn't have them often -- they're reserved for haircut days! And of course I love anything with her name on it. I enjoyed putting the little ruffles on the short pants. They make them a little more feminine to my way of thinking. Her parents don't usually put her in frilly girly things so this is my girly fashion stamp for her. I hope she likes it. She usually voices her approval of "Cute" to the same things I like. I know she is going to be a good shopping buddy when she gets a little older. I hope you will like my sewing, too. The applique design is from Lisa of Pickle Pie Designs. Check out her blog to see the matching machine embroidery in-the-hoop hair prettie. And of course, the picture didn't work. Sorry.

Has It Really Been That Long?

I can't believe I have only posted one other time since February! Where does the time go? I never seem to get anything done yet I stay busy all the time. I guess time does fly when you're having fun. I must say I take great pleasure in just about every minute of my day.



I've been learning more and more about my embroidery machine and getting back into sewing. I really love the creative process and seeing the created product. It's exciting to be able to choose fabrics, threads, ribbons, and designs, and put them together. You can feel that you have taken part in creating something unique even though you have used someone else's creations to do it.



Sometimes my products are better off put in the trash can, but we usually keep them around to use as practice pieces or to look back on in a few months to see improvement (I hope).



I hope to get some pictures posted to go with this in a day or two. I have been making key fobs and paci keepers. I love the ribbon key fobs. I have opened an "Etsy shop" - Emmasmimi - if you happen upon it, you will see that my physical shop will be called "Mine by Emma's Mimi". My Emma is at the stage where she is pretty possessive of most of her toys and Mimi (me) which surprised me a bit. Thus, the name came to me because of her reaction to Poppy moving a gift bag at her birthday party, "No, no, Poppy, Mine?" LOL

We all enjoyed her birthday party. I think the adults enjoyed playing with the toys and Emma as much as she did. Of course one thing we played was "tea party". We had to teach my brother and my grown-up nephew how to play! I seem to recall that my brother would never play tea party with me when we were kids!

I Am Not a Writer!

One thing I have discovered is that I am no writer of sagas! Another thing I have discovered is that I am no writer. Lol. However, I am an excellent Mimi and I love to do machine embroidery and especially in-the-hoop projects.



I do so enjoy my time with Grandbaby. Since we have started understanding the sentences she has been making since she was 9 months old :) I have learned that what we've been playing under the table is "tea party". She dearly loves the little talking teapot and cups she got for Christmas. She serves little plastic petit fours on tupperware and pours tea just like a little southern lady \when she is in "tea party mode". Thanks to Jennilee at "Digistitches" I'll be making in-the-hoop play food on the embroidery machine for her 2nd birthday. We already bought the Step 2 Gourmet Kitchen for her as well. I can't wait til the end of the month to give it to her.

Success!

Ahhhh! It has only taken 4 hours to figure out how to get one picture on this blog! Now, my question is, do I have to go through this same procedure for each and every picture I post? And will each subsequent posting annihilate the previous picture? Hmmmmm! I just do not know.

I might get something accomplished if it didn't take me sooo long to figure out how to do something. LOL Well, I guess I have time -- but I do not have much Patience!

And today is another day......

And it has been a while... I have been busy, though. I am trying to keep up with emails and getting some embroidery done. I have done some in-the-hoop creations and am trying to get up the nerve now to do some lacework. I've worked on some things for one of the teachers at the local elementary school. I made some Easter goodie bags; one with a clear vinyl window and one with an appliqued bunny. I also made a crayon roll for children to easily store and keep up with crayons.

And by the way, I've been trying to upload pictures for this blog. I've had no luck whatsoever I must say! Perseverance, perseverance... I'm trying again this evening. We shall see.

Everytime we turn around, someone we know has had a sweet baby. Isn't it wonderful? I have two little gifts to send off. These are just little somethings that I was practicing making. Baby things and children's clothing are so much fun to work on. I want to make a handkerchief doll for my granddaughter, but haven't found the lace I want to use for hers. I made one for her mother when she was little, but at that time I was able to get beautiful lace that didn't cost 2 arms and a leg. The lace for Molly's doll is pretty, but I want something more for Emma's. So, I'm going to try to make some. I ordered Martha Pullen's CD for Machine Embroidery "Vintage Baby". I'll see how long it takes me to learn to do that well enough to make lace trim for Emma.

January 24, 2010

Well, here we go, with my first blog entry. First of all, why am I writing this? I am so forgetful! I guess I just want to be able to remember a year from now just how I got to this point in my life. I really don't know. But I have learned some new stuff and I will share those things with you because I am proud of them and if you like them, you might want me to make some for you.

My story begins with my retirement. My original plan was to spend a great deal of my first summer sitting under a beach umbrella watching seagulls strut and occasionally get a little rowdy when they fought over a bit of food that had washed up on the shore at Melbourne Beach. That plan had included spending my first winter of retirement walking barefoot along the shores of Melbourne, feeling the slight chill of the wind in my face and on my legs. You probably have guessed by now that I had no intention of ever, ever living anywhere but Melbourne Beach ever, ever again.

You are probably asking what this has to do with embroidery and where is the saga? Lots of people retire to the beach, right? No big deal. Well, if you haven't already found out life is not something that is planned out and scheduled and ticked off in a date book. Life changes people and people change lives. Somebody probably said that sometime or other and it's so true.

My change of plans began with some little changes around me and grew! LOL! That is more true than I ever imagined. The first one I suppose that really wasn't going to have that big an impact on "my plan" was my daughter's pregnancy. Now I was going to be a "Mimi"! That was a momentous, wonderful occurrence! I was very, very happy, but I was pretty sure that she and her husband were going to be moving around because of his job, so it would not matter where I lived. I could visit and they could visit, no matter where either of us lived. It wasn't as if I could just pick up and move when they did. Also, my grand plan was at least 3 or 4 years away, depending on how things went at work.

Another event the year of my "Mimi-ness" was my Mother's death. She had not been totally well since breaking her hip two years before. Although my oldest brother and his wife were primary care-givers for her, my other brother and I helped a great deal. The stress and strain of driving 60 miles one way to help with her after teaching kindergarten was hard. So, on reflection, this event was actually the result of a previous event I guess.

Reflecting on that, I suppose leads into the last 3 years of my 20 year teaching career. I have to say that I love teaching. I love children and I especially love watching them learn. They are so curious and so eager to please. I just wish every one of them could have parents who loved them and would spend time with them and get to know just how wonderful and unique every single one of them is. Yes, even the one someone labels "the problem child". Back to the subject, year 17 was still good. Stressful, yes, because of personal circumstances. Stressful, because of curriculum changes. But on the whole at school, not too bad. We had the "Assistant Principal from Hades" and everytime I saw him coming toward me, I know my blood pressure went sky high.

Well, that's enough for one day. This blog is supposed to be a journey, nice and slow, not a marathon. ...