mommo

Squeaking in

I realized that today is the last day to add my thrifted finds for the $99 thrift challenge and I have some good ones!  Without further ado, here they are. This one above is a piece of fabric I picked up this weekend for $4 (again with the four dollars...). It is just over a yard and the color is amazing. It is silk screened and the repeat is huge. I put the spool of thread on it for scale. I know exactly what I want to do with this.

More of my favorites. The chickens we a big 70 cents and the bunny which is just one of the kooky animals on here was 50 cents because it was half off day today. Excuse the shadows! I so love those chickens. Both are polished cotton which is new for me but too cute to pass up.

Love this! And yes, it says 20 cents (!) its probably a quarter yard but like I said, I love this!

Great holiday prints . About 1.50 for all of them. Wouldn't they be a cute patchwork bag for christmas?

This amazing little wicker suitcase was a whole buck and I am thinking about lining it with some nice cotton. It is so cute. The mess of stuff in it is yards and yards of old fashioned velvet chenille. Can you believe those colors? I thought they were chenille stems but I unwrapped them and it is all just yards and yards. What can I make out of these? I love them! And the lot of them were $3. Yay!

 

This is from two weekends ago. Look at all the wooden spools. I love the colors and I love the wooden spools with the writing burned in the top and there are about 12 of those kind in here. I was so excited because the whole basket of them were 25 cents. One quarter. These women were crazy. They just wanted to get rid of it all and I was more than happy to help!

Two lovely sweaters. The blue is an Eileen Fisher which the woman told me must have cost she doesn't even know how much and the pink is the nicest buff pink. Plus its yummy yummy 100% hardly worn cashmere. They were each a quarter. 50 cents for the two-less than a hershey bar. I almost forgot I also got my Mom a wool Ralph Lauren barely worn blazer (do you call them blazers? That feels cheesey to me) also one quarter. I told you these women were crazy. Good crazy though.

Last but not least, some great eyelet lace and a beautiful scarf that would look so cute framed in M's room. Scarf was , you guessed it, 25 cents and the lace for the two was 2.50. The eyelet says there is 15 yards. I am going to dye the other cotton lace for fun.

Oh I was wrong- this is the last one. The stack of yummy fabrics I got. I pulled out my absolute favorites at the top but these are all great too. I don't even know the total o these but I think it was about 10.00-certainly not more. I have lots of plans for individual items and I would love to see how people use their thrifted finds. So much of the fun for me is the hunt but I like also to see how the things integrate into a home. Hope everyone else had as much fun with this this month as I did! Thanks Selena!

Pillowcase love

Because I can't seem to post without a picture, here is another shot of the beach. This beautiful sunset seems fitting for the day I have had.  I have been in a funk lately and to be frank, its because my Aunt will be passing on any day and another dear sweet woman who figures very largely on my life will be doing the same probably sometime in the next few weeks.  I say passing on because I still have trouble with the word dying. The finality. It feels cold. Besides, I think they are passing on to somewhere else and that is something I am thankful for, especially in these days.  I spent the day at the Hospice House where my Aunt is. I saw her last week when she was still in the hospital and I cannot tell you how dramatically different these two experiences were. The hospital is all business and loud and crazy and this Hospice House is peaceful and calm and has the most loving feeling in it. Imagine being a nurse or a doctor and never having any of your patients get better. The type of person this requires is extraordinary and it was so apparant in the caring thoughtful way they dealt with all of us. Everyone took their time, made eye contact, made sure they introduced themselves. It really was amazing. Spending the day there helped me reach a peaceful place where I can let go a little more.  One thing that stood out was that all of her pillowcases looked handsewn. They were all made from different fun prints and some had rick rack. I asked one of the women there about volunteering sewing and she said they would be thrilled to have more pillowcases as they are always short. She requested they fit a standard pillow , be cotton that will wash well, and that they be done in colors that make a person look good when they were lying on it. She also said they needed more masculine prints too (like plaids). I feel so compelled to do something to support this amazing place so I will be sewing pillowcases. If anyone would also like to join me in these efforts, I would love to have extra pillowcases from any of you talented readers- just email me and we can work out the logistics. I was thinking about it tonight and I think I will sew up some hankies too. For the patients as well as the people who love them because I can tell you there are a lot of tears shed in that building. I am feeling very good about having this sort of outlet for the energy that is building up right now, in the midst of all this.

Favorites #1

I decided that I would start doing a weekly "Favorites" post. I find that I need more structure in my life and if I schedule a certain post with a theme, it will help me post more regularly. Plus I have a lot of favorites and I thought it would be fun to share. This is where we spent the weekend. So pretty. Really unbellievably gorgeous. The sun was out all weekend. The sky was that deep clean clear blue. It was magical. My hubby and I joke I am a mermaid though in the last few years I have lost some of my mermaid mojo and I am looking to get that back. I think as life goes on and you get more into adulthood with its responsibilities and trials, its hard not to lose some of that youthful innocence. aka, my mermaid mojo. I think of it as your bubble popping. How that when you have a decent life and though there might have been struggles, for the most part, its all doable. And then you go through something really scary or really tough, and you realize you were living in a bit if a bubble and once the bubble is gone, its gone. Its o.k. to have your bubble gone. You learn and grow from living without a bubble, but some days I wouldn't mind a little bubble back. So I set out to write a post about how I love the beach and the little flat round rocks you find at the beach and how one of my favorites is painted toenails but this is  a pretty thoughtful time for us right now and my thoughts seem to keep winding back to the real stuff. Thoughtful as in full of thoughts. A period of difficulty and inevitable change and its pretty consuming. It all sort of makes painted toenails seem silly. But in the big picture, sometimes you need the frivilous and the silly fun things to help maintain some sort of balance between the real stuff and the superficial stuff . On a good happy note, M had a check up with a new cardiologist last week and passed with flying colors! I had been holidng my breath a little even though I expected a good checkup, but I am reluctant to get too comfortable with these types of things. The office had the most amazing new ultrasound equipment and the detail you could see was amazing! We could even see the actual stitches inside her heart. I hadn't realized there were still stitches in there. I thought they had done the absorbable ones but they didn't. Her tissue grew over the stitches and I think thats just cool too. Now we don't even have to go back for another check up for five whole years! Its a really good feeling. And a nice reminder to get busy on my project Linus quilt.  Hope everyone had a great weekend! I would love to see other people's favorites too.

I'm a squirrel

Fall is officially here. The nights are cold, the air is clean and the sky is that crystally blue (when it is not covered in clouds).  We came home the other afternoon and I really have tried not to turn the heat on until October but we got home and it was so cold that I figured I had to bite the bullet. First though, I went around room to room with the shop vac shoving the hose as far down the vents as I could so I could stem the blowing of all that dust that has accumulated through several months of not into the house as much as possible. The good news is that not only were the vents a hair cleaner, I worked up a sweat with all that lugging and vaccuuming so the heat stayed off for a few more days! It officially went on yesterday. Until, that is, I felt the need to bake and bake and squirrel away- all that oven heat helped things out. I made two loaves of banana bread, four smaller loaves of zuchini bread (or cucumber bread if you are a four year old who dislikes vegetables so much you don't even bother to learn what they all are), and I blanched and peeled several peaches so that I have enough for two pies plus in my freezer. This all joins the blackberries , rasperries and blueberries I have been hoarding the last couple of weeks. I did this last year and the day after I had us stocked, my hubby unplugged the freezer thinking he was unplugging something else. It was just so sad. All those containers of defrosted mushy fruit. Sad. Really sad. And expensive. But he wont do that again. (Probably!)  I also have been getting some other stuff out of the garden and into the freezer and next time I will share the recipe. For now I am off to clean this house. Have a great weekend!

Cheery rain hat

So its Whip lash time again!  I was going to take this month off but I just couldn't! Hats- who doesn't love hats? When I thought about what to do, I thought about knitting something but, frankly, we are just not to where we need knitted hats around here yet. What we need, is rain hats. Starting yesterday, the clouds came out and just unleashed large amounts of rain. We are true Oregonians and we don't use umbrellas so I figured a nice bright happy water proof hat would go a long way in these dreary months to come. So here you go. I had the oil cloth, the felt and the rickrack and this is what I came up with. Because I have wanted to do a tutorial for sometime, I made a big effort to make this make sense to people. I have attempted tutorials before but the way I figure things really makes little sense to those who don't live in my brain so they have never made it to the blog. Hopefully this is pretty clear. I made this to fit a four year old with a slightly large noggin. It actually fits my seven year old very well. So we will call this a big headed 4 to average head 7 year old size.

Step one: The pattern

This is how they look all cut out and ready to go. In order to get the brim pattern piece, cut a circle 12.25" in diameter and cut the 7.25 inch circle for the top out of the center.  Fold the remaining piece in half and cut into two pieces, like the blue brim piece above. I think if you leave it in one piece and use it that way, instead of cutting it into two, you may have to adjust the brim to fit to the side pieces as a 1/4 inch seam allowance is included in each piece. (Am I getting confusing? My point is that if the brim is not sewn together as two pieces, it might be a hair large for the sides when all is said and done). The very important thing to note here is that these dimensions are for the felt interior of the hat. You will need to cut out another set in the oilcloth , but cut the oilcloth pieces out 1/4" larger around all sides than the felt one. On the outside edge of the brim, cut a full inch larger.Very important!

Next step: sew the side pieces together at each edge and pin the resulting circle to the top. Sew along the edge to make the top section of hat. Next, sew the brim pieces together to make a big circle. (I may have to revisit this part...but atleast all the seams match up from top to the brim!) Now, pin the brim to the top part of the hat , just as you did for the top section. Wow, look what you have now! Next step: do all of this again for the oilcloth part of the hat. The important things to note now, are that 1. For the love of Pete, put a heavy duty (denim) needle on your machine for the oilcloth. 2.) when you are cutting out the pattern pieces for the oilcloth hat, remember to cut it 1/4" larger than the pieces you cut out for the interior (felt) layer-Except for the brim- cut this piece 1" larger on the outside edge only. You will see why in a minute.This will insure the felt layer lays nicely inside the oilcloth layer. 3. Follow all instructions as for the felt interior. Now you have...

Now, turn the felt hat so the raw edges will be next to the oilcloth and you won't see them.  Place the felt inside the oilcloth and carefully get it fitting together just right. Take your time here and pin it in place to get it right. Next step- carefully cut the oilcloth to be flush with the edge of the felt

Now, pin your rickrack between the layers and stitch down.

ooooo cute...

Now put that baby on and wait for rain. Or, wear it in the sun because its just too cute. Really this is reversible but does any kid need anything akin to vinyl right next to their scalp? Probably not. Wouldn't this be cute in just felt with felt flowers on it? Send me photos if any of you actually wade through my tutorial and make one of these babies yourself! If you made it all the way to the end- Thanks for sticking with me!!

Mail fun!!

  We just wrapped up another round of Secret Pal and I had the nicest pal this go around. She was really good about emailing and we got to know each other a bit through the three months and she is great! Go visit her at www.jennycoomer.blogspot.com. She is crafty car racing lovin' sweet gal. Look what I got in the mail yesterday- First off, she sent via Amazon a copy of Mason Dixon knitting which, if you dont have , you should! I got that about two weeks ago and have not been able to put it down! She has apparently been pretty busy lately- reading my mind because this package was so perfect!

I have been fantasizing about knitting socks and she sent the best sock yarn- my first! The pink yarn is yummy and I know I just saw that somewhere and loved it so it was funny to have it show up at my door!  The little journal is actually a "I made this" journal where you keep track of all your projects you make. I have never seen anything like that- what a great idea! My favorite though, was that beautiful M she sent. I think she probably made it. It is great colors and I love the size and shape of the M. Thank you thank you Jenny!  I love it all!

In the game!

It had been awhile since I had scored at any sales so I was getting twitchy that I was not going to have anything to show for the $99 thrift cahllenge. Lets just say that the local senior center "Harvest Bazaar" came through big time.  I read about it and noted that it started at 8:00 a.m. I figure, drop off #1 at the bus and #2 and I head to the sale, get there at 8:30 and scoop up all the bargains because who else would be there so early? Oh, everyone, thats who. Apparently this bazaar has a reputation. A well deserved one at that! We stopped off at the first room- "Collectibles and Antiques" It was packed! I wanted to scope out the jewelry and had to wait quite awhile for a turn to get close enough to get a good look. M is with me, doing pretty well but getting increasingly crabby with the wait. I figure she is just not enjoying the crowds and getting fidgety even though its only been a few minutes. I spotted the cutest red vintage purse so I grabbed it as we waited for our turn with the baubles. Her little cries of, "I want to go home" started getting more frequent and louder and then it happened.  She puked! All over the floor, loads of little old ladies all around. I put the purse on a table and grabbed her but it was too late. We ran to the bathroom but the vomiting was done.  This is the second time she has done this recently and I noticed that it was after scrambled eggs both times. My son has severe food allergies and it makes me think that she has an egg sensitivity, that coupled with drawing in the car making her carsick, has brought us to this place. The good news is, 10 minutes later she was just fine, talking to EVERYONE, which is her way, and enjoying herself again.  Did I leave? Heck no! We piled back into the "Antiques and Collectibles " room and got back in the game! The purse was still there so we jumped in where we left off. Honestly, I was a little wary of returning to the scene of the vomiting with the perpetrator, but I knew she would now be fine and she was. Besides, I fugured, as sad as I would be, she could always just puke into my little red vintage purse if need be!  (thats the purse up there- it was $4.50 and came with a cute coin purse too. The tall footed candy dish that I love was also $4!) We were able to find a pair of the cutest rubber boots with butterfiles all over them for $2 so she could take off her pukey shoes.  Pretty great finds,don't you think?!

These little lovelies were too irrisistable! The cream and sugar set was $4, the etched glasses were $1 each and the two enamel pins were a buck total!

This tea towel was $2 and the set of copper cookie cutters was $4. (whats with all the $4?) I can't wait to use the turkey for thanksgiving. And how cute is that chicken and scottie dog?

Can you believe this yarn??? Two bucks for two pounds (i weighed it!) 60% wool/40% mohair- And its such a nice color. Anyone have any suggestions what to make from it? And that pottery vase is a favorite- $6 for that baby. I thought it would look so pretty with my greeny blue hydrangeas in it.

I almost passed this up and I am so glad that I took a closer look! There was a big box of all sorts of fabric scraps and these wooden cutouts. It was sort of a mess but as I dug around, I found it was full oof these cute wooden cutouts of children and bears. There are stands to go with all of them and there was this one painted doll with velcro hearts on her chest. The fabric scraps were for cutting into clothing shapes so you could decorate them. The whole box was $3.oo. THREE DOLLARS! I got it home and counted and there are 50 of those cutouts , all with stands and lots of fabric already ironed to fusible interfacing, ready to be cutout for clothes. I am going to take 20 to M's preschool for a project, probably save some for virtues camp and I am thinking they wopuld be great for christmas gifts. Make a little drawstring bag and put a few into the bag with some paint and fabric as little kits for some of our kids friends. What a find! I also got some odd skeins of yarn and some embroidery floss but I figured I have gloated enough! Reminder: whip lash is over on friday ! I better get my hat made!

Grade one, Day three

So my guy is officially a first grader! So far so good.I have only gotten weepy once and though it is really odd to have him gone all day long, the little one and I are enjoying time together. She really is so funny and , a bit odd, and that gets less noticeable when there are two little voices yammering at me at the same time all day. So back to the first grader,The first thing he said to me when he got off the bus was, "Mom, theres a kid in my class who is also allergic to milk!" Knowing how we struggle with his allergy, I felt a little guilty at how excited I felt at the prospect of him having someone who also has allergies so he wouldn't feel so much like "the kid with the allergies" again this year. His allergies are severe- epi pens and swelling throats- that type of thing, so we have to be very strict and careful and it can be a drag for him. At any rate, here is the picture he brought home from his first day. I love the "Hmmmmmmm" at the end. Too funny!  For those of you who are not fluent in new writer phonetic spelling, it says "Who will be my friend" Which I think is just a sweet thing to wonder. I wondered the same thing when I dropped him off. Looking at all the faces, wondering who would be the one that he would begin a new friendship with.Which kids I will be hearing funny stories about all year. I have to say that I am still working out the kinks in this typepad thing but I am happy to have maybe figured out the image loading a hair more than the other day. I wanted to share my favorite back to school tip for ayou other parents who might also struggle with the mornings being crazy. I bought him a shoe holder that hangs from the clothes bar in his closet.

There are five compartments so on sunday night , he picks out an outfit complete with socks and underpants and puts one in each compartment. That way, I only have to think about reminding him once to get his clothes together. Plus, I would so much rather know we are out of underpants on sunday evening , as opposed to three minutes before the bus is coming on some crazy morning! Thats my goal this year- to have better routines in place so that we can all greet each morning with a little more calm. Anybody else have ideas to share? I hope everyone is having a great time back at school!

Welcome!

     So I came here to typepad because of all the frustration with unloadeable photos and other nit picky blogging things in blogger and wouldn't you know, I finished my first post in Typepad, tried to preview it and POOF! it disapeared! So now we have post #2 on the new blog as #1 has vanished! So what I am getting at here is maybe it wasn't so much blogspot that was problematic- maybe its me! At any rate, here I am . New home, new name. Mommo is a nickname from a friend who knows me pretty well. I love being a mom and my name is Mo. So there you go. It feels a little more personal than LemonGardenia which was essentially a place holder as I figured blogger out.  I do love lemons and gardenias but Mommo feels more me.  So this is what I have been up to. Why, yes, those are wrapped christmas gifts all neatly in a stack. I am making a serious effort to get the busywork out of the holidays right now so that come December it is all cookie baking and snowflake making.  I also am hoping to stretch the financial aspect of it over a few months and the making gifts for people over a few months as well.  I got a great Hearthsong catalog in the mail and was able to find great things on sale for all the neices and nephews. Erector sets, wooden build your own robots kits and this amazing "rose window" making kit for my eight year old niece which I know will be a home run. They were all on sale and good quality so I am feeling good about their goodies. And I am feeling good that they are bought and wrapped and it is barely september! I hope you like the new home! I am going to try to figure out how to add the photo of your own at the top but thats for another day!