Finn - I made this t-shirt for our nephew, Finn, who turned two on Sunday.  Happy Birthday Kiddo!  Hope you had a ball! (note to his parents:  pun intended!)

Failure to post - issues with typepad last night - so frustrating!  Anyone else have problems?

Finishing Flapper Hat - almost done and so cute, I tell you.

Flying - off to school we go.

New York was great! So fun - everything I had anticipated and more.  I didn't take my camera along so I don't have any photos to share (Dumb of me, I know!).  I did make many little purchases and most of them are craft-related.  Here is smattering of fabrics I picked up at Purl Patchwork...

What a store!  It's itty-bitty, but because of the limited space, they only have the best.  Really, everything they have is sooooo nice.  It was hard choosing - I had to restrain myself.  There was so much more I wanted!  I am happy with my choices, though.  Looks like there will be some more of those patchwork belts in my near future.

My blog posting may be spotty this week - please bear with me.  I made some other purchases that I would like to share, but I came home to a full in-box, so to speak.  Mail, email, voice mail, laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping, costumes are all waiting to be tackled.  And then there's that sleep thing - I need to devote some extra hours to that, too.  I'll be back soon - hopefully tomorrow, but Wednesday at the latest.

A little peek at one of my favorite corners decorated for Halloween...

The jack-o-lantern is from my childhood and actually has a small bulb inside so it can light up the night.  I love having this - wish I could find someone to make them for J and K.

I'm off in the morning for a girls' trip to NYC.  Can't wait!  The thought of sleeping in, shopping (thank you, Susan, for the fabric store info) and good meals with good friends has me giddy.  First, though, I have laundry to put away, dinner to make, kids to bathe and, because I am a procrastinator, bills to pay and a suitcase to pack.

Have a great weekend!

The girls and I are leaving today for Chicago (my home town!) with my friend Lynette and her two daughters.  We'll be seeing my brother, sister-in-law and nephew and doing the aquarium, etc. with the girls.  I can't wait!  I am especially anxious to see little Ian - he's turning one next week and I have a car full of goodies.

While packing, I found the old ski hat I knit for Fatty.

Yep, black with blue and purple!  And look at what I knitted into the facing...

That's young love for you!

I'm bringing along some more knitting - this time for a Christmas present.  And because I cannot sit still, I have packed up my embroidery supplies, hoping to organize them while Lynette drives.

The anticipation of this trip has been unparalleled.  Can you guess our destination?

That's right: American Girl Place.  I have told the girls that they can each buy one outfit for their doll.  But I am likely to cave - I almost always do.  I am hoping I don't - keep your fingers crossed for me!

Have a great weekend - I will be back on Sunday or Monday!

Over the weekend I picked up this book:

As I have said before, I am not big on making my own clothes.  Mostly this has to do with the fact that they don't turn out like I had hoped.  This book may change all that.  It is well written and very easy to understand.  The illustrations are like eye candy - they make me want to sew up a storm! 

Wendy uses three basic patterns - one for a skirt, one for a shirt, and one for pants - and then shows you how to make variations on the basic shape.  She gives lots of good ideas for embellishing, trimming, altering these designs to make them your own.  Just take a look at these...

I love that plaid!  And although I wouldn't be caught dead in a mini, I would definitely consider lengthening this denim one that is trimmed in bias tape.

I live in t-shirts, but this blouse is speaking to me!

Although I would love to jump right in, I think I will have to wait.  I may get some muslin and play around until I figure out exactly what I want to do.  Too many projects, too little time! 

We spent Friday and Saturday trying to stay dry.  The amount of rain was crazy - at one point I heard that we got five inches in four hours.  And it kept raining and then raining some more.

Everyone in this house was a bit restless.  The girls were bickering and getting on each other's nerves.  I was in an especially foul mood starting Friday night when I realized my weekend plans were not going to pan out as I had hoped.  To top it off, I was having small issues with the Olives, no doubt exacerbated by my state of mind.

I took a shower and cleared my head.  When I came downstairs, the girls were collaborating on this:

Jane made the horse and Kate promptly made some grass for grazing.

Amazing how some popsicle sticks made me smile!  The day got better with the end of the rain, the arrival of the babysitter, and a date with my man.

Isn't it great that the movie tickets were the color of sunshine?

Thursday...
dropped off consignment items, grocery shopped, did the laundry, went to Lowe's, mowed the lawn, painted wainscoting, bathed kids, made dinner, put the kiddos to bed...

...rewarded my self with a glass of wine and watched season premiers of Boston Legal (on TiVo) and Grey's Anatomy with Fatty.  Soooo good!

Friday...
went to the grocery (again), paid the bills, ate lunch with Jane at school, played soccer mom to 4 four year-olds, went to Lowe's (again), came home to craft...

And because one Olive is not enough, I am making two.

Saturday...
who knows?  Probably more painting and hopefully some family fun.  Definitely a date with my hubby...dinner and a movie, I think.  Praying for no more trips to Lowe's.  Happy weekend to all!

Today is Talk Like A Pirate Day.  I am not kidding - this is serious stuff in this house.  OK, well not really serious, more like silly serious, but we do commemorate it every year with lots of ahoys and arrr's. This year the girls and I are sporting the jolly roger.

Kate is wearing her beloved, girlie pirate shirt by Paul Frank.  Look at those red eyes - can you tell that she just finished one of her famous meltdowns?

Mine was made by my good friend Suzanne.  She made this for our local craft swap last spring or winter.  I love that she used an old pair of Nantucket reds to cut out the skull and cross bones.  I also love that she appliqued this because she doesn't sew much.  She is much more in her element designing beautiful jewelry.  She has a real talent and a great jewelry line.  Pick up her baubles at her website - bellalulu.

And Jane...as of this morning, she didn't have a pirate shirt.  What's a girl to do?  Why, beg her mother to make her one!  Aye, aye me lady!  And then lay out the specifications: a smile, pink eyelashes and a bow, please.  Hmm, where did she get that idea?  Do you think that has something to do with the shirt her sister is wearing?!?.  I obliged with everything but the eyelashes.  C'mon - pink eyelashes?  I think she wanted pink fabric, too, but I couldn't resist this sweet green floral.  Thank goodness she liked it - one of us could have been walking the plank!

And today after school, we went on the search for pirates' treasure and ended up at the candy store for what else....GOLD COINS!  Arrrr, they were good!