i have to say...

be back soon

Taking a short blogging break so that I can GET OFF THE COMPUTER! I just need some different scenery, you know?  I will, however, still be here to answer comments and questions about sewing seeds!

See you soon...

she's drivin' me crazy!

My baby earned her driver's license yesterday!  I am not quite sure whether to be glad or scared--time will tell on this one, eh?  For those of you with younger children, you will never realize how scary and dangerous a car really is until you are forced to hand keys over to one of your precious children.  This is truly an act of trusting God to take care of her!

I am going to catch it (bigtime) for posting this picture on my blog, but what can I say, I just think she is so cute in her little blue car (whose is named "Nigel", by the way) that I just couldn't resist.  Her pose is such a sweet reflection of her personality.

For anyone who lives nearby, you might want to stay off the sidewalks for a while--just in case, you know!  You can't be too careful with these things!

Happy driving!

a good thing

This past week of blogging has been a tremendous blessing to me on account of sewing seeds.  My daughter, Emily, and I have tallied up approximately 40-45 skirts simply because women want to help clothe a needy girl.  (If you would like to help, please let me know.  Our ultimate goal is 75 skirts!)

Now Tanya has gone and done something really sweet!  She is using her talents are a digital scrapbooking designer to help my daughter, Danika, raise enough money to get to Africa.  She has designed the page below as a digital scrapbook Quik-Page and she is donating 70% of her proceeds straight to Danika's efforts. 

(Update from Tanya's blog:  "I was going to give just my portion as a designer to sewing seeds and it seems that Ashley and Ben have contributed their portion.  After I made the preview, Ben has stated all proceeds go to sewing seeds.")

***Thank you to Ben and Ashley!

Tanya is the one who designed the picture for sewing seeds in the first place and I love what she has done to it here!  Absolutely adorable, don't you think?

If you are interested in purchasing this Quik-Page, please click here.  The cost is $.99.

To see more of Tanya's designs, click here.  Cute stuff!

***Tanya, you have blessed us tremendously!  Thank you for using your gifts to bless Danika's desire to help the kids!

a novel, a biography and a craft book

I recently finished reading the The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield and I loved it!  It was one of those books that made me wish it would never end.  This story is original and it will draw you in right away, transporting you to a different world.   The characters are rich and interesting and believable.   You will find yourself brewing a pot of tea and adding Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, and The Woman in White to your reading list.

Also in my just-read stack is The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson.  This book kept me laughing, as all of his do, and it shed interesting light on growing up the in 1950's in middle America.  The title seems a bit off because very little is mentioned about Bryson's childhood super-hero persona, The Thunderbolt Kid, but other than that, the book was enjoyable.

The other day at the library I came across Simple Sewing with a French Twist by Celine Dupuy.  This book is filled with over 50 sewing projects, most of them on a beginner or intermediate level, and the photographs in the book are just lovely.  Here is a taste of some of the projects in the book:

A ballet-tote for your little ballerina:

A duvet cover and a craft organizer for the artist in the house:

A lovely embroidered pillow:

I am currently in the middle of reading The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler, and I Promise by Gary Smalley.

What are you reading?

skirts

I am so excited to report that the first of the sewing seeds skirts are done.  Click here to see them and to read Morning Glory's touching post!

friday favorites

This is one of those I-have-nothing-to-post-about days.  Nothing floating around in my mind seems interesting enough to put on paper--or computer screen--even though there is much going on in my life right now.  In honor of this empty-headed time in my life, I have decided to post some of my favorite things, which, by the way, do not include raindrops on roses or warm woolen mittens, although I do find both of those quite charming.  My favorites tend to be of the everyday variety with a few junk-food recommendations tossed in!

My favorite movies:
    What About Bob?
    Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
    The Pianist
    Meet the Parents

My favorite kitchen appliance:

My Kitchenaid wins hands-down, although mine is not this adorable shade of ice-blue.  Mine is white and it looks quite used--because it is--but I just couldn't help imagining this one in a retro-looking fifties kitchen decorated with cherries.  Too cute. 

My favorite bands:
    Third Day
    Creed
    U2
    --All of these need to be played really loud--loud enough to make your   
    hubby complain about the noise!  ;)

My favorite dream vacation spots (someday!):
    Italy
    Ireland
    Greece

My favorite junk-foods--some with winning combinations!:
    Doritos and a glass of iced A&W Root Beer
    Red Vines
    Rasberry Zingers
    Pretzels Rods with a glass of iced orange juice

While not an exhaustive list, I think this one is long enough for today!  Brown copper kettles might start showing up in this post if I continue!

So, what about you?  Any favorites you would like to share?

Have a happy Friday!

i am a "real" baker too!

I admit to being a bit prideful of my baking abilities.  Since my girls were little, we have had an abundance of cookies, muffins and breads on most days, so much so that I think my family tends to take this for granted.

As my kids have gotten older, I have taught them to cook and to bake, and I was none too disappointed to have them take over in the kitchen occasionally, until, of course, Emily came along.

Emily is my kitchen-chick.  When she was 12 we had an all-out turf-war going on for dominance in the kitchen.  I won.  Since then she has created her own style and has begun making up her own recipes (most of which are amazing, by the way), and she has developed quite a knack for bread-baking.  In this area I am in her shadow, unable to compare, mostly because I use a bread machine or a Kitchenaid, and she uses, well, her hands. Emily is a purist when it comes to baking bread.  Bagels, whole-wheat loaves, and attempts at sourdough starters surround my little bread-machine on a regular basis, leaving me feeling like she is shaking the dust off her feet when she exits the kitchen.

Maybe someday I will be able to compare to her in my bread-baking abilities.  I have a feeling that time will come when I buy the cookbook that she authors or take a class at the cooking school where she is teaching.  Until then, my quick, modern ways will have to suffice.  Not so bad, I suppose when I can score a loaf of bread with my bread-machine that looks like this:

Happy baking!

***You can visit Emily's vegan-cooking blog here.

she's getting big-o

That's "bigger" in Aubry-speak.  She has an accent that I totally adore, but she is losing it!  Last night she handed me her bread and asked me to "butter" it (heavy emphasis in the "er") instead of" but-o" it, and honestly, it almost brought tears to my eyes.

My baby is getting big!

The next thing I know she will start calling "Nuds" candy, "Nerds" and "buds", "birds".  I can't take it!  I suppose that a good mother would be happy to see her child improving in an area such as this, but not me.  I would love to keep her little in a sphere other than my memory.  Personally I think every mommy should be alotted one child that stays young forever.  This, of course, should be the last child because that is when all mommies start really appreciating this stuff.

I am thinking of adopting her accent just so she will keep it up longer.  Maybe  something like this:

I bet-o get off the comput-o because the plumb-o is expected to awwive at my do-step any minute.

Weally, he is!

Have a happy day!

thank you!

Thank you so much for the help with sewing seeds!  So far we are expecting approximately 25 skirts to be made for the girls at the orphanage and, for this, I am extremely grateful.  God is so good to provide for the kids like this.

A couple of people have asked if they could purchase skirts since they don't know how to sew and to this I say "of course!".  If you would like to do this, just email me or leave a comment and I will send you my address.  The only thing I would suggest is that you buy a skirt with an elastic waistband since we don't know the specific sizes of the girls.

Again, thank you, thank you, thank you.  It is good to see so many women coming together to help provide for some needy kids.  I wasn't sure what the response would be on this, but I am blessed to say that it was wonderful!  The blogosphere is a truly awesome place!

Thank you, dear friends!

sewing seeds...

As many of you know, my oldest daughter, Danika, is heading to Africa in June to serve at an orphanage for a couple of weeks.  I am very excited for her as most of her money is raised, she has her passport, and while she is procrastinating on getting all of her shots that she needs, she is very close to seeing her dream come true.  God is so good.

My daughter, Emily, and I have decided to take part in Danika's mission by doing what we love to to:  sewing.  And here is where we will ask for your help.

Our goal is to provide skirts for each of the girls at the orphanage (25 total), and if that happens, we would like to provide skirts for girls living at two affiliated orphanages (50 more--75 total).  The children in the orphanages own almost nothing except for the clothes that they wear (one outfit) and Emily and I thought that sending them skirts would be a wonderful way to let them know that they are loved and cared for, and to add a little bit of beauty to their lives.  A drop in the bucket?  Yes.  But if we all pull together to meet needs, the bucket's contents will rise higher and higher!

So, could we ask you to consider making a skirt (or two) for a little girl?  All sizes are needed and can be used.  I figure that each skirt will cost approximately $10 to $15 to make and 2-3 hours to put together, depending on your sewing abilities.

One idea is to make a skirt in your own daughter's size and let her pick out the fabric.  This makes it a mommy/daughter endeavor!

Here is the link to the pattern that we are using (#4252) and here is a tutorial in a little girl's skirt size and one in a bigger girl's skirt size.  We took care to pick something easy, by the way, so don't worry about these being too difficult to make!

If possible, I would like to have the skirts finished and mailed to me by March 31 so that we can start working on something for the boys at the orphanage.

Please pray about this...

Let us know if you are interested.

Thank you so much!

If anyone would like to link to this post, please feel free to download the picture.  I would appreciate it if you did!

And speaking of the picture, many thanks to Tanya who made it for us.  We just love it!

Blessings to all of you!

"Sow the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of my love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you."---Hosea 10:12

***Click here to visit Tanya's Quik-Page!