Thursday, July 30, 2009

Seven Years Ago Today

One of the best days of my life was seven years ago today.  As I look at his sweet little face still sleeping in our bed this am, I am smiling.  I am sure I never really knew what love was until Max entered our lives.  He is a wonderful kid and I feel lucky to be his mom.  Everyday he amazes me with his zest for life, enthusiasm, intellect and love.  He is full of love.  Not a morning has gone by since he went with me to Michigan when Ellie was born, that he hasn't kissed her and told her how much he loves her.  Max had to leave California just prior to Sam's birth (Sam made us wait a bit) so Sam was a couple weeks old when Max first set eyes on him and he has been the proud big brother showing him the ropes since.  Sam often gets kisses, but more often love taps, according to Max he has to remember Sam doesn't want all the girly stuff!  He is teaching Sam to be a little rascal and all three have so much fun together!
This year Max did a whole lot of growing up.  He became a wonderful reader and a real math whiz.  At the start of first grade he was asked by the teacher to work on his handwriting and by the end he was producing very neat writing.  Spelling like a pro.  For the most part I have officially become Mom to him and am sadly no longer his Mommy.  It struck me most often when dropping him off each day at school, he kissed and hugged us the block before school and then quickly left the car behind and raced into be with his friends.  It is both my favorite and dreaded part of each day.  I love seeing him thrive and enjoy his life, yet at the same time we miss him all day.  Sam and Ellie look for the bus  everyday  at the kitchen window and are so excited when Max steps off.  Max loves to see them waiting for him and races down the driveway waiving and blowing kisses.  All three are so excited to see one another.  He hugs and wrestles with them for a few wonderful moments. . . and then he remembers he is a big kid and is off to call a friend to go and play with.  Although we don't always see it at home, we are told be everyone what a polite and kind boy he is.  Both his Kindergarten and 1st grade teachers have told us, he is the kid in the class that tries to make everyone comfortable and happy.  He uses humor and making fun of himself to help others feel a part of the group.  He goes out of his way to be nice to kids that perhaps need a friend.  We love that quality and are so proud of him.
His passion for all things that use a round ball has continued this year.  He really found this year, that he loves to play basketball in addition to soccer and baseball.  For his birthday we have installed a basketball hoop in the driveway.   This sixth year of life has also seen his competitive drive grow in often the wrong direction and it is a constant issue that we work on.  He is making real strides in trying to keep it in check and has had to face the consequences when he is not a good sport.  Luckily those times are getting few and far between.  
Another clue that he is on his way to the teen years quicker than we are ready for happened a couple of weeks ago when visiting Steve's parents.  Max and I were walking in downtown and he kept looking at his reflections in the store windows.  He asked me if I thought he was losing his tan with all the rain . . . why worry about that I asked?  He informed me that it made him look really cute and all his favorite girls love him with a tan.  Ughhhhh, growing up way too fast!
Happy Birthday Max- We love you like crazy!

Sunday, July 19, 2009

A little weekend sewing and fairytales

A couple more sundresses from Weekend Sewing. All you need is a little elastic thread, a yard of fabric and about an hour. What fun these are to make. I taught a class on Friday and the dress came out great, it will make a three year old very happy. On that dress a Tina Givens panel was used and it looked fabulous. I have made this dress for Ellie from Heather Ross's Far Far Away prints and loved the drape of the double cotton gauze I had to make one for my nieces. Zella just turned four and is into everything pink, sparkly and girly. The Princess and the Pea fabric is PERFECT for her, perhaps with a pair of pink chucks! Rosie will turn two at the end of the month and looks great in blue, so the blue unicorn print was the perfect choice. I will ship them out in a couple of days for the family party for both girls next weekend in Seattle. We wish we could be with them, but all three of our kids tried on the dresses! Far Far Away Dresses for Zella and RosieDresses to send to SeattleFor Zella - Princess and the PeaRosie's 2nd BirthdaySam wanted in on the photo session If you are in Saratoga Springs and have a couple hours and a yard of fabric, I will be teaching this class a couple of more times, including Monday am @ 10:30. Check out the class schedule at KC. Have a great Sunday!

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Summer Day and a Summer Necklace


DSC_0014.JPG, originally uploaded by threedancingmagpies.

We have been having lots of fun with the gems we purchased from India. They are lovely and we have been thrilled with the quality. A bunch of designs have been made, photographed and priced. We are trying to figure out what a "line card" is, since we have been asked for one from store owners . . . We are guessing it is some pretty pictures of the goods with a wholesale price list! We also plan to list all the new designs in our ETSY shop. Darcy is busy writing the descriptions and I am working on finishing the photos and coming up with the line card.

All this has taken us away from admiring the awesomeness of these jewels and how wonderful and simple they look, when wire wrapped and hanging from a simple, elegant chain.

Today was such a lovely summer day and it called for a lovely summer necklace. I thought we would give everyone a sneak peak at what is to come . . . let us know what you think!

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Some old favorites and some new designs . . . do you have a favorite?

Darcy and I have been getting ready to participate in a couple of art/craft shows this summer. Also we have put our tiles in a couple of local stores (KC Custom Framing and Fabrics and Dehn's Gift Shop) and they have been selling well. KC is going to put some on their website, so we will have a place to send people who are interested - progress! We have had lots of interest from other stores in the region and we are finally getting our act together to make it happen. We love to make the stuff, but are not that good at the business end, designing line cards, etc. We are trying to choose from this set which 4 or 5 tiles (we narrowed it from over 25) to focus our marketing around. Do you have any favorites? Saratoga Horse Scrabble TileKimono Scrabble LimeKoi Fish TileBlue BirdRed Flower on Black TileJapanese Bunny TileItalian Flourish TileSummer Pink Stripe TilePink Bird TileFlower Burst Tile

Friday, July 10, 2009

Fabric Swapping Lots of Fun


Member's button, originally uploaded by alamodefabric.

A few weeks ago I joined a Out of Print, OOP and Hard to find, HTF fabric swapping group. It has become a bit of a time sink and obsession-
However the fabric is AWESOME! So fun to share what you have extra of and then be able to find fabrics you need. In the process I have made a lot of nice friends . . .

Check it out . . .

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Oldest Running Fourth of July Parade in the Country

Who doesn't love a good parade. Billed as the longest running 4th of July Parade in the country and a hour away from Saratoga, we decided to check it out. What fun! It was a wonderful mix of colonial bands, tractors, community organizations, children, high school bands, cultural diversity and good ALL AMERICAN fun! We loved being out of New York and in Red Sox country as well. I think this is the only time on the fourth I saw more Red Sox shirts than Old Navy Flag shirts! All three kids had a wonderful time as did Mom, Dad and Grandpa. Our favorites would be the silly little cars all the Shriner's drove around, the three big balloons, also a drive-by of two fighter planes, and of course Uncle Sam! Happy Fourth of July to all Americans near and far, especially those who serve in our armed forces. Parade - Oldest Fourth of July Parade in the CountryFire CorpGreat BandShrinersUncle SamGreat UniformsBarber Shop Group from Troy - Home of Uncle SamHorse with broken leg?Shriners and Funny CarsLawn MowerWonderful float, truckbed into a 50's carOldies FloatOld School BalloonLots of tractorsAncientsThe AncientsLooking over Parade RouteSam and GrandpaChild JugglingThree kidsSam clapping

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Sewing with Elastic - Mad Fun!

Close up of shirring I am the person who gets excited over the little things. Elastic thread . . .has rocked my world lately! I love to sew just for the sake of sewing and getting the machine going as fast as possible while threaded with elastic in the bobbin- mad fun! I have made a few of these dresses now and after Ellie came into our local quilt shop with one on, a class to make them was deemed a must. This shop sample was made from the new Erin McMorris line, of course they carry it at KC. I should also mention that my favorite shop, launched its website this week and it rocks! check it out here.
More Weekend SewingOkay, back to the dress, you sew with elastic thread hand wound in the bobbin and whatever you have in the top. For this I used a lovely variegated pink number . . .love it! This dress from Weekend Sewing, by Heather Ross and can also be found on Heather's site with a link to her segment on Martha. Some other blogs have wonderful tutorials if you search for shirring and sundress. I love this one and also Sandi Henderson's blog with a tutorial and a link to a shirring madness flickr group.
From take off to touchdown this dress should take about an hour. You really only need a few simple measurements, a yard of fabric, a girl age 1-4/5 to sew for and sense of adventure. If you are in the Saratoga Springs area, come on in for the class . . . MAD FUN I promise!

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