Last Friday of the Month Flaunt

We're settling into a routine with our daughter and family living with us until around August 15. Thus far it's been Jill, Celina and Tay. Beginning Saturday, Maher, their husband/dad will be here too. Then, if all goes well, the family will move into temporary, furnished housing in Overland Park, Kansas while their house (don't know if it's really theirs yet or not!) is being updated, and Celina starts middle school (sixth grade) on August 17. That start date seems terribly early to me. In Iowa, schools wouldn't dare begin to have classes until the Iowa State Fair is over! That's August 22.

Because we're in a routine, I'm getting a little creative time during Tay's naps. I managed to finish stitching July's seventh block in Willowberry Design's (Cheryl Goss's) "Under the Sea" BOM. As always, it's cute, and easy to color and stitch. I've finished it just in time for the release of the August block on Sunday!

Eleven year-old Celina likes spending time in my basement sewing room. Who wouldn't, what with bins of colorful fabric, and bits and bobs of this and that to create anything one's heart desires?! She's scrabbling together strips and scraps to make a collage-y thing that she's yet to determine what it will be.

While she's busily playing, I'm in the same sewing area, digging through a large box full of a decade of saved blue jeans. I've decided to upcycle old jeans to make Marie-Madeline's Route 66, 12-gore skirt. Twelve gores means picking out jeans with a backside large enough for the flare of each gore! Who would ever think that it's desireable to have "big butt" jeans!
Celina suggested I could ask my larger girlfriends for their old jeans. We dissolved into giggles trying to figure out how I would diplomatically make such a request. Thankfully, I discovered that Mr. Flourishing Palms' old jeans have just the right backside width.

That's been about it for creative productivity this week. But it's worth the sacrifice of my time when it comes to this adorable little guy. This is what I get to see, Tay in his travel bed, when I'm the one who gets him up from his nap. He awakens so cheerfully!Disappointingly, this is the guy who's been our challenge during the family's stay. Six year old Hogan is a mixed breed (beagle-chow-chow) dog Jill rescued from a shelter in Kansas City. Hogan's been with us since Jill began working in Australia about three-and-a-half years ago. We love Hogan to pieces, and he's generally pretty friendly... except when it comes to very small children. Knowing Hogan had been abused, we speculate that at one time he was mistreated by a child. As much as we have tried to gentle him into accepting Tay, it hasn't happened. This fence is one of two barricades that separates him from crawling Tay.

Let me leave you on a happy note... This is one of the comments received as an entry in my recent giveaway. Agus from Argentina offers this funny:

I went to buy some camouflage trousers the other day

but I couldn't find any...

Time with Grandchildren

Thank you to those of you who have inquired about my family's arrival and visit. I had hoped to post sooner, but our Internet access went down! After four years, our modem died at the most inappropriate time with Jill needing access to handle all sorts of business, and converse with her DH who is still in Australia (until the end of this week)! It been frustrating to say the least, but I expect regular access by tomorrow.

With Jill, Celina and Tay's arrival my days haven't been much about sewing or stitching. We're having some great times together. These are just a few things we've been doing.

Celina and Jill tried out the new basketball and hoop their first day. Being outdoors in the natural light seems to help one's body adjust to the 15-hour time difference.

For Tay, there's a swing in the backyard, and he took to it without hesitation!

Amazingly, their air cargo shipment of personal items made it from Australia to our house before they did! Inside one of the boxes was Tay's jumper which we were happy to set up for him. Get a load of those legs!

He's also fascinated by the quilt I made last week. It tickles me to no end that he's attracted to the various bright prints scattered across the top. He lays his hand on a design and "talks" to it, repeatedly returning to a couple favorite prints. Aussies will note, I hope with pleasure, that I bought the kangaroo toy next to him. This little Australian will not soon be allowed to forget where he came from.And about that 15 hour time difference... I'm surprised to say it, but Tay seems to have adjusted the most quickly. It was just a couple nights that he was awake for a while, with crying turning into babbling playtime, fussiness, and then sleep again. After less than a week, he's on the same schedule here that he was in Sydney. Celina turned it all around quickly too. Jill though is having a tough time making the switch. She's waking up at 2 a.m., trying to return to sleep, but then getting up at 3 or 4 a.m. Then, by 3 p.m., she can barely stay awake to carry on a conversation. Poor thing. It's especially wearing, being nearly six months pregnant.

Celina and I spent a half day in the sewing room, making fabric bookmarks similar to these. She's already using hers in a new book, The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan.

Celina and Tay met their second cousin, Esme, who is a month older than Tay, but much more petite. You can also see who has more hair. And Tay's already had a haircut!

My 80 year-old dad came for a visit Sunday and was glad to meet Tay for the first time.

Oh, we're all just so glad, and feeling very blessed, to have them near us again.

Loveys

This is the week we've been waiting for. Our daughter Jill, and her family are moving back to the US! This is the first time in five years Jill has lived in the states. She left the US single and is returning a wife, and a mother with two children... and another on the way.

Until they buy a car and find a place to live (in Kansas City), the family be staying with us for several weeks. That means my blog posts may be a smidgen less about my "flourishing palms." I intend to spend as much time as possible with them, giving particular attention to hugging, snuggling and playing with Celina and Tay. I can't wait to get my hands on these two sweeties!

They will arrive here after having sold all their belongings; packed and sent only three boxes of stuff here; lived in temporary, furnished housing in Sydney (Australia); and been in transit for 40 hours, including an overnight in Los Angeles. All that followed by the big adjustment to the 15-hour time difference.

In anticipation of Tay being understandably unsettled by the time he gets to our house, Jill asked if I would sew a "lovey" for him. Her idea is to have a little something, other than his thumb, that he can use to comfort himself. She wanted a lovey that was inexpensive, and could be made in multiples so they'd never be without one.

The 16" X 16" loveys I made aren't much in the way of cuteness, but are all about being tactile. One side is a brown, corduroy-looking Minky-type fabric - soft with a plush, directional nap. The other side is ivory flannel. It's bound with satin binding. Cutting and sewing them was a mess with lots of ravelings and fuzzies all over my sewing area.

Satin binding isn't fun to sew either. But since I'm in the habit of binding quilts with machine-sewn mitered corners, (refer to my binding tutorial), I did the same with these loveys. They should be durable through repeated machine washings.

Now, four loveys are awaiting Tay's arrival.

While I spent several hours sewing loveys, Mr. FP was outdoors in 90-degree heat putting a new rim and net on our long unused basketball hoop. A new basketball is waiting for Celina's arrival.
We have heaps of anticipation at our house!

I'll conclude this post with one of the many funnies I received as comments in my recent giveaway. Spamgirl left a sewing-related joke.

• What's the difference between a woman jogger and a sewing machine?
• A sewing machine has only one bobbin.

Vacation Bible School

Last week, at Lutheran Church of Hope, I was a co-leader (Shepherd) for one of the six sections of sixth-graders at Vacation Bible School. The theme: "Raise the Roof."

This is how I spent my mornings with at least 1,199 other kids of Jesus. The kids are responding to the question, "Who do we raise the roof for?"

"Jesus!"

Giveaway Winner Announced

The true random number generator picked the giveaway winner.

The 126th comment came from blogless Linda (I am completely impartial, even to other Lindas!) of Cudahy, California, who will choose her favorite Marie-Madeline Studio pattern and fabric. Congratulations to her!

This week, while you were entering this giveaway, I sewed the Marie-Madeline Studio Route 66 skirt pattern. (Note: This pattern is on sale right now.) To be perfectly honest, I struggled to choose three fabrics that I thought would look nice together.

I began with this (at left). Several people liked it, including the lovely ladies at Marie-Madeline Studio, but I knew I wouldn't be comfortable wearing so much pattern. That's just me.

When I auditioned a more subdued fabric to replace the blue stripe, I was much happier with it.

This morning I wore my skirt to church and heard several nice compliments.

I really like this pattern: how fast it is to make; how well it fits (size 6 for me); and how feminine I feel wearing it. I'll definitely be making this one again and have been considering cutting the 12 gores from old, saved blue jeans.

Thank you all for entering my giveaway, and for your jokes and one-liners. You should have seen - and heard - me reading them. I had some out-loud chuckles, many big grins, and a few groans. I'll share some of these funnies with you in future blog posts. Thank so much, everyone! Special thanks to Marie-Madeline Studio. It was a blast!

A Pattern and Fabric Giveaway

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED

This is me. Well, the lower half of me. I'm modeling the skirt I made on Saturday and wore to church Sunday. The pattern is Street Fair Skirts, designed by Marie-Madeline Studio, and made from "Zesty Zinnia" fabric by Michael Miller. I love my new skirt, and how comfortable and feminine it feels to wear.

Now, courtesy of Marie-Madeline Studio, you have a chance to win a pattern and the fabric of your choice! Yes, it's a giveaway!

You can have up to three entries. Here's how:

1. For your first entry, leave a comment telling me which one of the 15 Marie-Madeline Studio patterns you'd like to win.

2. For a second entry, just tell me a joke - a clean joke, please! Whether you have a knock-knock or a one-liner, leave the joke and punchline in a comment. We all like a good giggle, or even a good groan, if it comes to that. (Does everyone know why the chicken crossed the road?)

3. For a third entry in the giveaway, post about this giveaway on your blog, linking back to my post. Then return here and leave a comment saying you've blogged about it and where we should go have a look.

Here are a few other giveaway details:

• This giveaway is open to everyone, wherever you are in the world. Yay! (This includes YOU, my Aussie friends!)
• You have until midnight (Central time, USA) Saturday, July 17 to enter your comment(s).
• Be sure your comment includes your email address, so I can tell you if you've won.

Easy-peasy, isn't it?

Now that I'm hooked on Marie-Madeline Studio patterns, I'll be making this Route 66 Skirt pattern next.

Enjoy looking through all the other Marie-Madeline Studio patterns for aprons, girls' clothing, and darling bags, totes and accessories.

If you win, these are just some of the yummy Marie-Madeline Studio fabrics you can choose!

Have fun browsing Marie-Madeline Studio website, or check out the Marie-Madeline Studio blog.

Entries/comments accepted until midnight (Central time, USA) Saturday, July 17.

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED

Go! Browse! Comment! Win!