Christmas Decorating 2012 #2

Entry with Santa and Mrs Claus

     This week I am showing a few photos from my entry and foyer.  The theme for these areas is Teddy Bears.  In our previous house these were the family room decorations.  In this house the family room, eating area and kitchen are all one big room.  This meant finding a new home for the bears.  

     The first photo is from our entry.  When you come in the front door there is a wall with the mirrors (that is me reflected in the photo) and a set of 3 wood file cabinets with a top that goes over all three.  I have a set of lamps on this credenza.  We removed the ceiling fixture in this area and just use the lamps.  To the left is our den and to the right is the foyer that leads to the living room, dining room, kitchen, stairs and master bedroom.  We have often joked that this is our 'ballroom'.  

     In the entry I have a pair of bears dressed as Santa and Mrs. Claus.  They have a tree and packages.  The runner has teddy bears on it and there are a couple of other Christmas bears sharing the space.  A small wreath on the mirror completes the room.  

     Since the entryway is the first thing people see, make it attractive and welcoming by adding a few decorations without adding clutter.  I think this sets the tone that our house is fun at holiday time.

Teddy Bear Tree

     Here is the tree for the foyer.  It has teddy bear ornaments and is in the traditional red and green of Christmas.  I even found a bear angel for the top of the tree.  I would love to find some more teddy bear ornaments but I haven't found any I like lately.  The tree skirt belonged to my husband's aunt.  I think she made it.  There is a collection of bears at the base of the tree and more at the base os the table where the teddy bear nativity set is displayed.

Teddy Bears Line the Stairs

     To complete the foyer there is a collection of bears and pillows lining the stairs going up.  Next year our first grandchild will be crawling around so it will be interesting to see how long the bears stay in place.  

     Usually the foyer has an oval table in the center of the room with a light hanging over it.  For Christmas we remove the table and hang the light higher so no one hits their head on it.  Since this room is open to the dining room I have occasionally used it to set up another table so we can be all together for our Christmas meal.

     On a personal side, my hubby and I did the T-Rex Duathlon in San Antonio the second Sunday in December.  It was a 5 mile run, 22 mile bike (shortened from 26 due to wet roads) followed by a 1.67 mile run.  It all started in a cave.  It was a fun race.  I came in first in my age group (1 of 1) and beat my hubby by 3.4 seconds.  If they hadn't taken out those 4 miles he would have beat me since the bike is his strong suit.

     We had a great time in San Antonio.  We stayed at La Cascada which is on the Riverwalk.  It was so pretty with all the holiday lights.  It was fun seeing other places decorated for the season but it did mean a rush time for me to prepare for Christmas here at home.  We just did our shopping on Monday and are still working on getting out our cards.  I am almost done with the cookies but I did do 2 less batches knowing we were going to be gone for 10 days.

     Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Christmas Decorating 2012 #1

     Time to start decorating for the holidays.  I usually start the day after Thanksgiving and spend the whole weekend getting it done.  This year I am a little behind schedule as we were meeting with our banker on Friday.

    To keep things from looking overdone I always remove the everyday items and pack them away.  Here is my living room mantel.  My living room has yellow walls with blue and yellow window treatments and a couch with a pink, yellow and blue floral print.  Red and green would be quite distracting in this sunny room so I have chosen to decorate with pink poinsettias and angels.

     The mantel scarf is actually four embroidered napkins I found on sale after Christmas one year.  The back edge is folded under and they are just laid on the mantel, slightly overlapping.  A small wreath with pink flowers and a bird hangs from a small nail.  I only have five angels on the mantel but with a couple of large poinsettias and a couple of small wreaths the whole mantel is filled in.

     On the hearth below I have arranged a lush garland around the base.  Another angel, this one much larger and a couple of silk poinsettia plants, one placed on a large book, and I have another focal area.

     Behind the couch I have a refinished cedar chest that belonged to my grandmother.  Here I display a paper mache  nativity set.  Every room in the house has a creche.  The coffee table, which is an old sled, has a small pink poinsettia floral arrangement on it.  Next to the cedar chest, on the floor I placed three Santas.  They aren't angels but they fit the color scheme and feel of the room.

 

   Right now there is no tree as we are waiting until a little closer to Christmas to get a real tree for the room.  The other rooms in the house have artificial trees.  The living room tree gets decorated with the ornaments we have collected over the years including ones we but when we go on vacations and ones the kids have made.

    In the next weeks I will post about some of the other rooms.  I hope these photos help show you how holiday decorating doesn't have to be all Santa Claus and red and green.

Thanksgiving 2012

     Here we are after finishing the Lincolnwood Turkey Trot this past Sunday.  My husband and Kate and I did the 10K while our son, PJ did the 5K.  The goal this year was to finish in under an hour.  Last year was Kate's first 10K and she did it in just over an hour.  This year I was to pace both my hubby and Kate to a faster finish.
   
     Unfortunately Kate came down with a bad cold a couple of days earlier and was feeling it in her chest.  She opted to start with us but drop back if it got too much.  She hung with us for the first two miles and then had to slow down.  She still did it in 1:01:58 which I thought was great considering she wasn't feeling well.

     I kept pushing my hubby John to keep up the pace.  When I suggested doing negative splits he was not happy with me at all.  Even so I picked up our pace ever so slightly for the last two miles.  He was right with me until the end when it was time to sprint for the finish.  He had nothing left he said so I sprinted ahead.  I finished in 58:11 and he finished in 58:13.  It turns out to be a PR for me and certainly for him as it was his first finish in under an hour.

     We have done this race for several years and I like the flat course.  This year I was upset because there was no water at the end.  How could you have a race and not give water out at the finish?  Fortunately I carried a water bottle with me and we all shared it at the finish.  They had pizza for us at the end but water is much more important.

     Then it was off to IHop for breakfast.  This has become somewhat of a tradition with us also.  It is one of the few times we go out for breakfast.  Then back to the house to shower and get ready for our 'Thanksgiving' dinner.

     Our daughter who also usually runs is on bedrest with her first baby expected in January.  She and her hubby, Bob came to the house around noon as well as my mom.  We turned on the Packers game and started the final preparations for dinner.  I had spent most of Saturday getting the big parts done and cleaning the house.

     The company arrived a little after 3.  Bob's parents came and John's sister, her two children and her son's girlfriend.  His other sister didn't come cuz her hubby was sick.  Dinner went well except for the roasts not being done (quick trip under the broiler after slicing solved that problem) and the wine on the ceiling.  You will have to ask PJ how he did that one.

     We started dinner with a colby corn chowder.  The meal included icebox rolls with thankful messages tucked inside, ginger glazed carrots, green bean bundles, two tone potatoes, double cranberry applesauce and beef roasts.  Desserts were pumpkin cheesecake cobbler and buttermilk chocolate cake. Everyone enjoyed the meal.

     Now this weekend coming up we really start our final push of training for the T-rex duathlon in San Antonio on the 9th of December.  We have brick workouts on both Saturday and Sunday.  Should be a crazy busy weekend with also trying to decorate for Christmas.

     Now off to work to finish up a panel and board mounted valance that is needed by Monday.

November 2012

     Last weekend we had a couple of warm days so we were able to put our last garden plot to sleep.  I finished up turning one last bucket of coffee grounds into the soil.  The soil in this plot is so full of stones and not very healthy.  I am hoping that the coffee grounds this fall and some compost in the spring will help.
      My husband and I also laid wood chip paths between our garden plot and the ones to the north and south.  Previously it was just grass and weeds.  No one kept it mowed so it was hard to navigate the aisles and the roots and seeds threatened to overtake the garden.  I spent weeks digging out the grass and weeds.  Then we treated it with some Round-up.  Next we laid a weed barrier and covered it with a thick layer of wood chips.  I am hoping this will help to keep a cleaner garden plus also prevent the people to our south from planting in the aisle and thus making it even that much harder to navigate between the plots.
     Sunday I had a brick workout that involved a 50 minute bike ride.  It was very windy and when I was out on the road with the crosswinds I was so scared I was going to be blown over and into the path of a car.  I was so glad to get back home.
     This upcoming Sunday we are doing the Lincolnwood Turkey Trot as a family and then going to celebrate Thanksgiving at our house.
     I have full classes on Monday and Wednesday afternoons teaching sewing.  The girls are delightful. Julia is working on a layered skirt, Bella is making pajama pants, Meghan is working on a tank top and Katie is working on a tote.
     On Wednesday, Cara has just earned her sewing machine driver's license and is starting her first project.  Izzy just finished helping to sew her mom's Halloween costume and is now making shorts for her youngest brother.  Ellen and Greta are starting new projects.

Purse Accessories

     Here are the latest accessories I made to go with my Florida Tote.  Because it is a large tote I was losing my smaller items.  I bought these two patterns at Sew N Save in Racine WI.  I used the leftover fabric from the tote.  I did buy three zippers and a bag of buttons at JoAnn Fabrics.

    The main turquoise linen from my skirt and tote was so very wrinkled and limp.

     Using some of Mary Ellen's Best Press I was able to have new crisp fabric to work with.

  

     Making the twin zip was a little tricky but following the instructions it went together well.  I really like the zipper application that Atkinson Designs uses in their patterns.  

     I then made the medium size zippered bag from the Zippy Strippy pattern.  By applying the buttons before sewing it all together I was able to use the sewing machine to sew them on.  A little piece of Wonder Tape held the buttons in place while I sewed them on.  So very easy.

     Aren't the buttons cute?  Did you see the tiny one on the zipper pull?  I am definitely going to make more of these.  I am thinking of some with a waterproof lining for traveling.

Chicago ASG Fashion Show

     Here are a few photos from the fashion show on October 13th.

I am modeling a dress from a Simplicity pattern that was one of ASG's patterns for the year.  I also wore this at the ASG conference in Houston for 'Wear Your ASG Pattern' day.  It is made from a cotton fabric that I bought on vacation years ago and I added a lining of tencel that I had in my stash also.

     Here are a couple of my students  modeling their outfits.  Meghan made her dress from a beautiful floral cotton blend.  Doesn't it look so cute with the belt and jacket?  The pattern had a fabric belt but Meghan liked the idea of a skinny belt in a contrasting color.  I think it looks great that way.

     Katie is wearing the peasant blouse and ruffle skirt from Kids Can Sew patterns.  The black skirt has a ruffle of 3 dimensional roses on a netting background.  It looks so cute when she walks as it swishes out. It worth the effort and the extra day she came so she could finish it to wear at the show.

     Many thanks to Julia's grandma for taking these photos for me.  Unfortunately that means I have no photos of Julia.  She wore her round neck blouse and shorts from the Kids Can Sew book.

     I am hoping that a few more girls will participate next time.

Busy October

Table Rock Lakeshore Trail

     After our race weekend, things have been kind of hectic here.  The weekend after the race, my husband did a 2 1/2 day training for citizen emergency response.  It was Friday evening, and all day Saturday and Sunday.  Sunday we had our family dinner at our daughter's house.  Unfortunately my mom wasn't feeling up to it and our daughter-in-law had to fly east for a friend that needed help.

     Our son helped our son-in-law get things moved to a storage place so we could get the baby's room set up.  We pulled up the carpeting in the small bedroom and then started to remove the old flooring tiles.  It was very slow going as it was breaking into tiny pieces as we were trying to remove it.  I got hold of my hubby (just finishing his day of training) he borrowed a heat gun and other tools from a neighbor.  Well that did the trick.  We heated those tiles and they just pried off.  It left a sticky mess though on the floor.  It turns out that wasn't a problem as the new flooring they bought had a soft underlayment that had to go down before installing the bamboo floor.  A neighbor of their's helped with that and it looks great from the photos I have seen.

Table Rock Lakeshore Trail

     Wednesday morning we then left for a small vacation in Branson, MO.  It was a 10 hour drive so we didn't get there until after 7.  It was so nice though to be staying at a Wyndham resort because we had a kitchen.  So as he unpacked the car, I started some pasta, heated up some homemade sauce and threw together a salad.  We sat down to a nice leisurely meal with a bottle of wine.

Branson Landing

     The weather was nice in Branson, had a little rain but not much.  Didn't find many places to ride our bikes but we did find great places to hike.  We got in a couple of runs, a little biking and an afternoon of hiking.  Also saw a show and did a little shopping.  And of course we visited a winery and bought a couple of cases.  Peak color for the leaves was probably in another week though we did see some great vistas on our drive.  On Saturday it was warm enough that I was able to sit by the (closed) pool and get some sun for an hour.

     On Sunday we drove home and we had enough time to unpack, get laundry started and watch the Packers game that I had recorded.  On Monday I sorted through the emails and mail and taught in the afternoon.  Tuesday and Wednesday I attended Windows Palooza that was put on by the Chicago WCCA group.  I learned so much again, my head is just spinning.  Now I am trying to get caught up with my sewing and yardwork.

Christmas Cardinals Tempting Table Runner

     I am working on getting together detailed instructions for a class that I will be teaching next week.  I took photos of the steps as I made another sample and have been editing them.  Next up will be the writing.  This is taking longer than I thought it would.

Silver and Blue Christmas Tempting Table Runner

Race Weekend

Finishing strong

     This past weekend my husband and I both raced.  He did his on Friday night in Matt's Mile and 5K, a run to benefit 12 Oaks Foundation.  The race is held in our neighborhood.  What started as a joke on our homeowners' email list turned into my husband raising over $1500 for 12 Oaks.  Not only did he have a good time but he ran his best 5K ever.  Here are some links to his story:  http://grayslake.patch.com/articles/matt-s-mile
http://grayslake.patch.com/articles/m-8fd3a0af

Coming around the bend the first time

Getting dark on the second loop

Running with coach Matt

     My race was on Sunday.  I ran my first marathon.  I did the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon.  I chose this one versus Chicago as it is a much smaller race.  For my first one I didn't want that huge crowd.  The course was flat, mostly, with lots to see.  The leaves were gorgeous colors which really helped to not think about the pain.  

     I didn't do as well as I wanted but only by about 5 minutes and I felt good at the end which I think is even more important.  I will probably do another but it is a lot of training.  

Sunset

Sunset

     Now time to recover and get ready for the Lincolnwood Turkey Trot and our duathlon in San Antonio in December.

Family Fun in September

A freezer full of good food

     This past Sunday was our family dinner day.  Our son from Iowa was able to come in and my mom was feeling well enough to come also.  That made it eight for dinner.  

    We started out by assembling freezer meals that will go in the crockpot.  I had spent most of Saturday chopping up meat and veggies.  I had everything in labeled containers.  Before my daughter and daughter-in-law arrived I set up an extra table in the eating area to hold the extra ingredients.

   My daughter who is on modified bedrest with her pregnancy I had sit at the table on a bench so she could put her feet up.  My daughter-in-law took over the countertop in the kitchen.  We then spent a couple of hours browning ground beef,  chopping up onions, red peppers, apples and meat.  We then bagged the different ingredients and labeled the bags.  I took them downstairs to the freezer after we finished each one.  It was taking longer than I had anticipated so we had to break for dinner.

     Dinner was a meat sauce made with two different sauces that I had made earlier and froze.  I added ground beef, Italian sausage and zucchini from the garden.  I served it over penne along with a salad with tomatoes and cucumbers from the garden and some garlic bread.  We then celebrated my and our youngest's birthdays with an ice cream cake and cayenne cocoa cupcakes from Wildtree.  

     Then it was back to work putting together the last of the meals.  By this time my daughter was quite tired so I did the rest of the meals for her while she sat on the couch.  We were watching the Packers beat the Saints as we finished up.  My daughter and daughter-in-law both went home with 16 meals that they will be able to just throw in the crockpot in the morning and have a healthy hot dinner in the evening.  The best part was I got to use a lot of produce from the garden.  We used green peppers, carrots, zucchini and celery that was all grown organically.  Next year I might have to try onions as well.

      It was a fun day even though it took me most of Monday to get everything cleaned up.  This week we are going to try the Hawaiian Chicken Sandwiches.

Maple trees out my front door

A visiting heron

     

After School Classes Back in Session

     Fall is here.  The leaves have started changing colors and the nights are cooler.  That means after school classes are back in session.

     On Monday I have Julia, Bella, Meghan and Katie.  Julia is working on a square neck blouse.  She started it last spring.  She has chosen a knit mesh for the fabric and is having some difficulty with pinning and sewing.  We have had to do a lot of 'unsewing' but it is coming along.  Bella just started and has mastered the machine and is now working on her sewing bag.  She chose a turquoise print from my fabric to make her bag.

    Meghan is working on a Kwik Sew pattern skirt that has in-seam pockets.  She chose a silky dark red abstract print.  So far the fabric has not been too much trouble for her.  Katie is making the ruffle skirt.  The main body is black and the ruffle is 3 dimensional roses on netting.  The machine has not liked the solid black fabric, she has been having problems with breaking thread and skipped stitches.  I am going to try a different needle next week to see if that helps.  The machine had just been serviced over the summer and works fine with everything else.

     On Wednesday I have Izzy, Ellen and Greta.  They are all making the back slit denim skirt.  Ellen started hers in the spring so she is almost done.  I will post a photo of all three wearing their skirts as soon as they finish.  Speaking of the skirt, Meghan had hers on on Monday.  She had worn it to school with gray leggings and it looked really cute.  I am happy to see that the girls are proudly wearing the things they have made.

     Well the marathon is now less than two weeks away.  My training has gone pretty good but I am still scared about the distance.  This morning I had a 7 mile run.  It was dark and quite chilly, so different from the runs this summer.

      The tomatoes are slowing down, just picked a handful yesterday.  I need to make some more sauce for the freezer.  The family is coming on Sunday and we are having spaghetti with homemade sauce.  Our son, JJ is hopefully coming in also.  My daughter, daughter-in-law and I are going to be putting together 10 freezer meals that will go in the crockpot.  This will be very helpful for my daughter who is on bedrest with her pregnancy and for my daughter-in-law that works in the city.  Makes having healthy meals so much easier.

Tomatoes Everywhere

     These are the first two tomatoes we got out of our garden.  I was so excited to pick and eat them.  Now we are overrun with tomatoes.

     This is what I picked yesterday.  During the hot dry days of summer I was at our two garden plots watering every other day.  The plants all grew like crazy and now I can't keep up with the picking.  I have been giving away bags of peppers and tomatoes.  I have six plum tomato plants and six large tomato plants.  I also have about six jalapeno pepper plants and 4 bell pepper plants.  

     The zucchini and green beans are done for the season and the cucumbers are almost done.  The celery and carrots are ready too.

     So what to do with all the tomatoes?  I have made three batches of crockpot tomato sauce.  The first was a traditional one with onions, garlic, green pepper and tomatoes.  We had it with ground beef one day.  It needs a bit more spice.  The next batch I tossed in a whole stalk of celery from the garden.  I served it over ravioli the other day.  A much sweeter taste.

    The third batch I made Mexican and used jalapeno peppers, onion, garlic and then added cumin and cilantro.   I haven't  tasted this one yet.  My freezer is full of containers of sauce and bags and bags of tomatoes.  Luckily my daughter has some room in her freezer and I will be taking tomatoes over to her house on Friday.  

     Tomorrow I want to try roasting some tomatoes before freezing them.  Any suggestions for other things to do with the over abundance of tomatoes?  I am not into canning so that option is out.

     These tomatoes are part of what we picked on Sunday.  

Carry-All Shoulder Bag

Carry-All Pattern

     I recently attended the ASG, American Sewing Guild, conference in Houston.  I took three days of classes.  On Sunday I took this class with Cheryl Kuczek.  On Thursday evening when I arrived in Houston I went to Cheryl's booth to buy my pattern and choose the faux leather that would be used for the straps and bottom of the bag.  I also bought some heavy-weight thread for top-stitching on the straps.

Fabric choices

     These are the fabrics I had, a tapestry for the outer bag, the wild print for the lining and the gold marble for the binding and tie.  Cheryl helped me pick the brown faux leather and then chose the blue thread for top-stitching.  I wasn't sure at first but when she pointed out the blue that was in the tapestry fabric I was sold.

     In class we first practiced the top-stitching.  It took quite a bit of tweaking to get the right tensions to achieve a balanced stitch with the faux leather.  We then created the straps by folding the piece and top-stitching.  Then we cut out the bag and started on the construction.  Cheryl had many helpful tips for us as we went along.  I did get the outer and inner bags all made in class and then brought everything home to finish it.

Binding with Wonder Clips

     I put the two parts together and zigzagged around the top to hold everything in place.  Then I stitched the binding to the wrong side and flipped in to the right side.  Using the Wonder Clips by Clover to hold it in place I was ready to sew.  These clips are great for holding things together that are too thick to pin.

Sewing with Wonder Clips

     These are really easy to use and the binding was sewn on in no time.  Then it was time to attach the straps.  Once again I used the Wonder Clips to hold the strap in place while I sewed it on.  

Adding the Strap

     I had many thread breaks while using the zigzag stitch to attach the straps.  I'm sure it was a combination of the heavy thread, the thick fabric and the three layers of the faux leather.  Finally got them sewn down but it doesn't look as nice as I wanted.  I do think though the blue thread made for some nice top-stiching on the seams of the bag and also the belt loops.

Completed bag

     Here is my completed bag.  I chose to tie the belt on the same side as the pocket on the outside.  It is a large tote and should be capable of carrying lots of stuff.

September is Here

     Next week my after-school classes start back up.  I originally had 9-10 girls signed up and then school started.  Several of the girls got into different programs at school and now can't start until October or November.  Unfortunately that leaves me with a full Monday class and only one girl in Tuesday and one girl in Wednesday.  Now at the last minute I am trying to juggle things around because it is not cost efficient to run the class with only one girl.  Also it is boring for them.  This has been quite stressful.

Mother of the Bride Dress

     Here is a photo of the mother of the bride dress that I just finished.  The dress did not have an overlay in the pattern.  I had to draft those pieces and then line up the scallops of the lace so that they met in the seam to give the illusion of it being one continual piece.  I think it turned out quite well.  The mom and daughter both loved it.

     I also did a non-tradtional dress for the bride.  It is a short dress on the bias with an open back where the beadwork piece the bride made will be featured.  It also has a short train of a sheer blue and gray.  The dress is a silver gray satin.  On Monday, Labor Day, we had the final fitting.  It was all fine except the back gapped above the waist.  The only way to fix it was to remove the zipper and cut down the top part of the back to have it lay smoother against the back.  That meant that all the snaps to hold the bead work and the thread loops to hold the train had to be removed and redone.  And they were leaving on Tuesday morning to go to the place where the wedding is going to be held.

     I had to cancel a private lesson scheduled for Tuesday morning to work on the dress.  It all got finished and the bride loved it.  I hope they send me a few photos from the wedding.

     I did my first 20 mile run on Sunday in preparation for the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon on October 7th.  I actually did okay until 19.5 miles when I just wanted to quit but I got through it.  Legs felt pretty good afterwards, much better than the 18 mile run 10 days before that.

     I am hoping I can get the after school situation settled and now that the dresses are done the stress will go down some.  I am nervous about the upcoming marathon, my first, but it is a different kind of stress.

Nancy Zieman's Florida Tote

Templates

     I made this Florida tote this month using Nancy Zieman's Trace 'N' Create templates.  I have used several of her templates to make different purses.  They are very easy to use and depending on the fabrics you use they all look different.

     For this tote I chose the Key West templates.  My inspiration was from Nancy's book, Innovative Bags and Totes.  I had a bundle of fat quarters that I had bought at Mill House Quilts.  I think I was originally going to make a jacket with them but I got tired of making jackets.

      For the front pocket I quilted around one of the motifs.  Then when I went to cut it out, I made it too small and had to start over.  I also added some beads.  Found some gold piping in my stash that I use for the top of the pocket.

  

Pocket Detail

     I did not have enough Create-A-Strap to make my handles so I used some tie backs that I had bought before with the idea of using  them on a purse.

     I used Shape'N'Create for the purse bottom and behind the snaps and feet.  I used Clover's bag feet and magnetic snap closures.  I did use the Create-A-Strap to make the handle holders and the purse snap.  Instead of adding the bias cover strip to the back of the strap, I flipped it around so the straps had two different fabrics showing.

Detail of snap closure

     For the lining I used the turquoise linen from my Sedona Skirt.  Because I had washed the linen it was limp and slightly skewed.  I tore off rectangles of the approximate size I needed and pressed them with Best Press and then cut out the pieces.  Made it much easier to cut and put together.  Added two pockets on the inside, one I did a decorative top stitch and then stitched down the center to create two smaller pockets.  The other pocket I monogrammed.  

    For the top I used the 3/4" tape maker to use instead of grossgrain ribbon.  I fused fusible fleece to all the outer fabric pieces and then after the front and back were sewn together I fused Decor Bond to the purse and then continued construction.  The tote is not floppy like others I have made.  I like that it can stand up.

Completed Key West Florida Tote