Hemming Jeans

Since I am short, I rarely find jeans (or any kind of pants) that are not too long.  The only exception is "ankle length", which is just the right length for me.  I bought a new pair of jeans last weekend, and of course they were too long. I remember seeing on Pinterest a neat way of hemming jeans that retained the original hem.  I did a quick search, found this Pin, and I was in business.  In about 15 minutes I had hemmed my jeans! I was so happy.  This really is such an easy way to do it.
You can find this pin here.

Happy hemming!

A Wonderful Gift

The beautiful quilt

Yesterday Teresa met me at our local fabric store to give me a precious gift…..
a quilt!  Made just for me!

Here's the story….two years ago when I was diagnosed with breast cancer, Teresa (whom I have met in person only one other time) and several other women (some of which I have met once, and some of which I have never met) from a Yahoo email group that I am a member of, (and I think that these women are part of a quilting group too…) began sewing a quilt for me--as a gift of encouragement as I underwent my ordeal with breast cancer.  This group of Christian ladies makes these quilts for ladies with cancer--what a wonderful act of love and service!  Anyway, for a variety of reasons, I am just now getting my quilt.

I am so grateful!  This labor of love is just beautiful.  And to think that all of these ladies were thinking of me and praying for me during such a difficult time in my life.  I was overcome with gratitude when I unfolded the quilt yesterday.  I couldn't stop smiling as I read the names of each lady who had sewn the squares.  Some of them, like I said, I knew.  Some of them I recognized their names from our email group.  Some of them I had never even heard their names before.  What a precious gift!

In addition to the beautiful quilt, the ladies included a scrapbook with a picture of each lady holding the quilt square that she made along with a note of encouragement.  Priceless!  Now I have faces to put with names on my email group.

I cannot tell you how special these gifts are.  Acts of kindness and labors of love are so deeply appreciated.

This just made my day!

A Fun Service Project

Way back in October, during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I began my now hopefully annual sewing service project--drain bags and comfort pillows for mastectomy and reconstruction patients.  I posted pictures of this project last year, but I can't remember if I posted the directions.  I will include them today.

I invited Leanna, Julie, and Megan to help.  Megan and Millie Janalee came over one Saturday and spent the entire day sewing (and visiting too!).  On that day Julie, Megan, and I cut out all of the pieces for the 72 drain bags and the 72 comfort pillows!  That's a lot of cutting!  Earlier in the week, I took the rolls of ribbon to Spartan XC practice, and several of the mothers cut all of the ribbon for this project.  Then we began sewing, serging, ironing, and turning.  And while we made a dent in the project, it was nowhere near finished. Such is the story of most of my great ideas and projects--they take way, way longer than I ever anticipate.

But not to worry!  I recruited Leanna to help with the sewing, which she happily agreed to.  She completely sewed, stuffed, and finished 36 pillows!  That was a huge contribution!  Julie and I made the other 36 pillows plus finished the drain bags over the course of three or four weeks.  I mostly sewed in 30 minute sessions (using my timer!) when I could find the time.

I enlisted Leah, Sam, Julie, and Clay to assist with pinning on the safely pins and bagging the bags and pillows.  Then, finally, on the second Monday in November, I delivered the finished project.  I divided the bags between the Women's First Resource Center and the Breast Care Center, both located in Tupelo.

I did not meet my goal of finishing and delivering this donation during the month of October, but that's ok!  Women have breast cancer surgery all twelve months of the year! 

Here are some pictures.

 supplies on my crafting table

 fun fabric!

 a close-up of how we attached the ribbon to the inside of the drainage bags

 finished, packaged sets

 a pillow

a drain bag holder

Here are the instructions--I am copying and pasting an email that I sent to a friend last year who requested these directions.  They really are easy to make!  

I did not have a pattern.  I just layed out the drain bags and pillow that the hospital gave me when I had my mastectomy and measured them, adding 1 inch to the length and width of the pillow for 1/2 inch seams and adding 1.5 inches to the length and 1 inch to the width of the drain bags for seams and to turn down the top edge of the bags.  We cut our pillow pieces 9" x 11", and the drain bag pieces 7" x 9".

We just cut two pieces for each bag and pillow.  We used a cutting mat and a rotary cutter.  I bought a yard of each different fabric--buying fabrics in sets of two coordinating colors.    I also bought matching rolls of satin ribbon.  You need two pieces of ribbon for each drain bag, and one safety pin per bag.  The bags are tied into bows or knots so they are hanging at the correct height for the patient, and then they pin the ribbon knot/bow to their bra strap.  You will also need polyfill stuffing for the pillows.  They need to be stuffed lightly.  It is not like you would stuff a pillow for your sofa or bed...just a thin layer for comfort--they are placed in the underarm area for general comfort, or on the side of your breast when you want to try to lie down on your side.  I am guessing we stuffed them about 2-3 inches thick.

We serged the top sides (the 7 in. side has the open top) of the drain bags before sewing them together.  Then we placed the two sides right sides together and sewed around the sides and bottom.  Iron down the serged edge one inch to the wrong side.  Turn the bags.  we used two ribbons per bag, cut to 18 inch lengths. We caught them into the seam as we top stitched the outside top of the bag.  (See photo above).

 The finished pillows are a little bit smaller than a spiral bound notebook, and the drain bags need to be able to hold 2 drains each and their tubing---the drains are about the size of your fist, but they are not that filled out.....they are squeezed when emptied and then they fill as fluid drains into them.  Two drains fit in the bags we made just fine.  Some women only have one drain per side.

We packaged our sets with two pillows and two drain bags per set inside 2 gallon zip lock bags.  I tried to choose happy, brightly colored fabrics. The drains bags will only be used by the patients for a week or so, but the pillows may be used for months.

The Latest

• Bible Study:  Some of you have asked for more details regarding my copying Scripture.  I took pictures of my journal, and I will share soon.  Also, I have begun listening to the Bible on CD in my car.  We have had these CDs for years, and I have never listened to them.  I really like them!  However, we are missing disc 8, so I am reading Leviticus 25-Numbers 10 before I can listen to the next CD.
• Running:  Last week's long run of 18 was so much better than the previous week's long run.  I drank a full cup of coffee, and I ate a little packet of that fruit in a pouch stuff--you know, they make baby food in these pouches--but this is not baby food, but just pureed fruit in a pouch.  I found it in the refrigerated organic section of Kroger.  Anyway, eating two of those plus drinking plenty of Gatorade and water resulted in a much better run.  Plus I ran with Heather for 13.5 miles of it, and we had a good visit.
• Homeschool:  We are just moving right along.  Doing school still takes me all day, and if we have any unplanned interruptions, I don't get everything done.  We are off tomorrow and Friday, and that will give us time to catch our breath.
• Olivia:  She came home for the weekend about 10 days ago, and she is coming home again today for Fall Break!  Yay!  We are all so excited!  She warned me that she has to bring home all of her books and do lots of studying/paper writing, but that's ok!  We are just so, so happy to have her here with us!  She set a PR in a 5K cross country race that she ran last week.  Her best time since she was 13!  She was so excited, and we all were too!
• In the Kitchen:  I stuck to my "serve the same meals over and over" routine for two weeks.  And then I wanted a change, so this week I have been serving all new recipes.  Most have been "not so good".  I am sure that my family is tiring of my culinary experiments, but really they are such good sports and eat whatever I prepare......and then get a bowl of oatmeal or cereal for dessert!  Ha!
• Preparing for Christmas:  Yes.  It's time.  I have done very little.  But, I plan to begin sharing a couple of tips/ideas a week.  This week's tip:  If you have been gathering gifts throughout the year, and they are not in one location, put them there.  I have a huge plastic bin with a lid that is my gift box.  Whenever I buy a present, I put it inside that box.  Now is the time to take inventory of your gift box.  You may surprise yourself with the items you have picked up this year.  
• Sewing:  I have bought all of the fabric and most of the other supplies for sewing small pillows and drainage bags for mastectomy patients.  I have two different places that I will donate these sets.  My goal is to have them ready to deliver by the end of October, since it's the pink month and all.  

I think that about sums everything up.  Life is crazy hectic around here.  Most days I feel like I am barely keeping my nose above the water.  (Like most of you feel too, I am sure!).

Here is the verse I repeat in my head on a daily (sometimes hourly) basis.

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God; and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:6-7

A Sewing Surprise

I had another nice surprise yesterday.  The man from the sewing repair store called me to tell me that he had fixed my serger, and I could pick it up!  Wow!  I didn't even know that my serger was in the shop.  It had stopped working Sunday while I was in the middle of my sewing.  Unknown to me, Jimmy and Julie took it to the sewing store on Monday.  I stopped in the middle of my holiday cooking to drive to town and pick up my serger!  I was so happy!  A super surprise!

Last night after I got all of the children to bed, I finished my sewing project.  And the fact that I had a perfectly working serger made the work go super fast!  I can't share pictures until after the gifts are opened, but it really isn't that big of a deal.  The big deal is that while I planned this project back in the summer, I did not make time to work on it until very recently.  I hope that my family members are not expecting anything really fantastic, but I truly enjoyed sewing my gifts!

Today's plan includes folding a mountain of laundry, cleaning up my sewing mess, and wrapping lots of presents.

Happy Holidays to you!

A Sewing Project

Saturday I invited Lynn and Heather over for a little sewing project.  I had all the supplies ready, and I told them it would take us about two or three hours to complete......boy did I underestimate that!

They arrived about 9:30-10:00, and we promptly began our sewing session with a cup of coffee.  Heather unloaded all of the supplies and equipment that she brought, including her sewing machine, serger, and iron.  I ushered them into my craft/storage room (one side houses my crafting supplies and the rest of the room is our "attic"), showed them the fabric, and explained the project to them.

 our supplies for the day

We made small pillows and drain bag holders for post-mastectomy and post-breast reconstruction surgery patients.  I had two sets of these pillows and bags, plus a apron that held the drain bags too (I didn't use the apron) given to me back in March when I had my mastectomy.  Lifesavers!  Who knew how much comfort a small, simple pillow would give? And the drain bag holders allowed me to move around without worrying that I was going to harm something or pull something out.  While I only used the bags for the week that I had the drains, I slept with those pillows under my arms for over a month.

Our first task was to measure the bags and pillow that I had and then to cut the fabric to the appropriate size.  This was Lynn's first sewing experience, and Heather and I had fun teaching her the basics for measuring and cutting with a rotary cutter.  Measure twice and cut once we told her.  Of course we all made at least one mistake, but it was all ok!  We had the best time cutting and chatting.....and the time was slipping away.  At the two hour mark,   I think we were still cutting!  So much for this being a short sewing project!

 Heather at her seeing machine

 Lynn at the ironing board

 the ribbons for the bags....We actually ran out of ribbon before we were done.

 Some of the bags waiting to be turned and ironed

We sewed and serged and stuffed and ironed and sewed some more....... Around 1:00, we took a short lunch break.  At that point we knew that we were in for a long day!  I was so sorry that I underestimated how long this sewing project would take!  But we had such a good time visiting and working.  It was so much fun!

By mid-afternoon, we knew that we needed some extra help if we were going to finish before bedtime, so we called in some reinforcements:  our daughters!

 Olivia and Julie came downstairs to help.

 And so did Hannah and Sarah (Heather's daughters).

Then my sewing machine began giving me trouble.  It was increasingly more difficult to sew.  The fabric just wasn't moving through the machine like it should.  I commented that something was wrong with my feed dog.  The machine sewed fine in reverse, but finally it completely stopped sewing forward.  I sewed in reverse for a while, but I knew that sewing that way was not the best use of my time.  So, we sent the girls to a friend's house fifteen minutes away to borrow her sewing machine.  The giggly girls were super happy to run an errand that involved Olivia driving them somewhere!

Heather and I got tickled when Lynn admitted that she thought I was just making up some funny word to describe the problem I was having with my machine--the feed dog.  She didn't know that that was a real part of the sewing machine!  

After Jimmy came home from work he periodically checked on us.  He took this picture of our entire group, happily working!  Thankfully, he called us before he came home from work to see if we needed anything---we did---a Coke!  So he brought Lynn, Heather, and me a much appreciated Coke.

 busy ladies!

We kept on sewing and sewing, and the next thing we knew, it was suppertime!  We ordered pizza, and Jimmy picked it up for us.  We took another quick break to eat, and then it was back down to the basement to assess where we were in the project and finish up.

Around 8:00 PM, Lynn and Heather left.  I finished up sewing the last few sets with Olivia's and Julie's help.  And then we were done!  35 complete sets!

 a set

 another set--this set was everyone's favorite!

We used bright, happy fabric for all of our sets.

The sets all bagged and ready to be donated.

Yesterday I delivered the pillows and bags to two different places, The Breast Care Center and the Women First Resource Center.  At both locations, the ladies were delighted with our donation!  And I know first-hand how happy the cute bags and pillows will make future patients.  I even kept one set for myself to use after my upcoming surgery---the brown and purple set.

What I've Been Doing (Instead of Blogging)

• We went to Rustic Youth Camp for a week.  I spent days preparing my Bible lessons and crafts and packing.  AND IT WAS HOT!  The high most days was over 100, and the last day it was 105 or 106.  But, it was a wonderful week, and I will blog all about it very soon.
• I got a new dishwasher.  I love it!  It was part of my anniversary gift.  Jimmy spent hours installing it and tonight I am using it for the very first time.  It is very quiet.  It is running right now, and I can barely hear it!  
• I ran 7 miles this morning with Jimmy's cousin, Leanna.  I haven't run in 9 days, and this morning I decided to run 7.  Crazy!  But I was so ready to run with someone, and today was the day that Leanna could meet to run.  We ran in a new area, and thankfully had only one major dog scare.  We now know to turn around before that dog's house.
• While we were at camp, 2 stray dogs appeared at my house and STAYED.  They were here for several days, and they were causing trouble!  They were overly friendly and jumped on us whenever we went outside.  Yesterday my neighbor recalled someone saying on Facebook that their dogs were missing.  She checked the picture and YES, they were the very dogs that had set up residency here at our house.  My neighbors graciously loaded the two (big) dogs up in their car and returned them to their owners.  Hooray!
• I bought some really cute and colorful fabric for the girls and I to sew for a service project...I plan to blog about that soon too.  We hope to begin sewing tomorrow.
• Next week is our Vacation Bible School.  Our theme is Proverbs, and I need to get to work on planning my lessons.  I also need to do a little bit of work in my classroom.  I teach the K-2 graders (on Sunday mornings as well as for VBS--Lynn teaches them on Wednesday night).
• Julie has her 15th birthday coming up.  I have some planning to do for that too!
• I am itching to do some cleaning out and organizing!

A Labor of Love

I don't really even have the words to adequately describe this absolutely beautiful quilt that was lovingly made for me my by some of my friends.  

Heather invited some of our friends to her home a couple of weeks before my surgery to have a quilting bee....these ladies and some of their daughters each embroidered or painted on the white squares of the quilt.  My three daughters each made a square too!  (They kept the surprise from me.)

Then Heather--sweet, hard-working, staying up all night to finish something, Heather--sewed this entire quilt together.  Piece by piece.

It is a masterpiece.

When Heather brought it to me while I was still in the hospital, I just laid there and cried while she told me who made each square.  I was medicated......I was so sleepy, but I was still aware enough to know what a great sacrifice of time each of the ladies had made for me.

This quilt has been my only cover that I have used both night and day from the moment Heather unfolded it and placed it on me in the hospital bed.

I will treasure this quilt for the rest of my life.

When I am fully recovered, and am no longer lying in the recliner for long stretches each day, I plan to keep this quilt lovingly folded at the foot of my bed.  To serve as a reminder of the fantastic friends that I have.  I am truly humbled by their love.

Joy.  And still a little teary-eyed.  That's how I feel every time I look down at my cover these days.

My First Apron

Julie, modeling the apron!

I recently finished my very first apron.  I used Simplicity pattern 2492 and fabric purchased from Hobby Lobby.  I am pleased with how it turned out, however, I did not like using the bias tape that edged the entire apron.  So for that reason, I will not be using this pattern again.  I have already bought a new pattern that I am going to try for my next apron.  It is called the Funked Out Apron No. 12 by Lila Tueller Designs.  It is very cute!

I normally wear an apron whenever I am cooking.  I currently have three that I wear:  two made for me by my sister-in-law Megan and one made by my friend Heather.  I am happy to have another apron to put into the rotation (especially since one of the aprons I have is a Christmas one!)

I'll post pictures of the next apron when I finish it.