Good-bye 2011

January

Darth Baby signs mama and I actually get it in a picture.

February

The bear cub stands independently for 15 seconds and takes her first independent step. We had real snow, enough to actually collect.

March

The nerdlet threatens to run away for the first time. Darth Baby holds herself in a sitting position for the first time. I saw 'Wicked' in the theater.

April

I start Darth Baby on solids. This was a big month for all of us being sick with a number of different things.

May

My older nephew graduated from high school and my younger nephew had his first communion. The bear cub learned to sip from a straw cup. So did Darth baby. Darth Baby starts rolling over. The neighbor's tree knocks off pieces of our roof. The bear cub starts walking a few steps at a time. The nerdlet, Q, and I went to the beach for Mother's Day.

June

Suki (my younger dog, age 9) had a huge cyst removed from her butt. I made a bib pattern. The nerdlet finally hit 25 pounds. The bear cub went to the beach for the first time and shows that she can eat yoghurt with a spoon.

July

Darth Baby was baptized and starts climbing. The bear cub starts walking full time and we start potty training her. I had my first sewcation.

August

Darth Baby starts crawling. She also starts pulling to a stand and she got her first tooth. The National Down Syndrome Convention was held in San Antonio and I learned a great deal and got to meet with a number of online friends for the first time. The bear cub ends up in the ER from a fall but was fine and was shown to not have AAI.

September

Baby starts standing independently, cruising, and taking steps. After so many months without any rain, we finally get some again. The nerdlet has her first roller coaster ride and loves it. The bear cub inherits some Sure Steps and starts walking everywhere without issues.

October

Darth Baby starts walking. The swollen lymph node in my neck is tested and turns out to be solid lymph tissue. Darth Baby starts tries meat for the first time, decides she likes eating after all, and starts self feeding.

November

The girls and I go with my mom to visit relatives in El Paso, Yuma, and Las Angeles. The girls see their first movie. The new roof is finally done. The nerdlet gives herself a haircut.

December

Plumbing issues again. Washer and dryer break down and have to be replaced. The bear cub's first eye surgery is scheduled. Darth Baby starts speaking words other than Mama and Daddy. She says cat, dog, up, bye-bye, and this.

Ottobre 6/2011-3

Over Christmas at my mom's, I was lucky enough to have time to trace a few patterns for the bear cub. Her measurements are all over the place with her waist and hips at newborn size (56), her torso length longer than the nerdlets (98), and her height at 86 cm. For this sweater, I made a straight 92 and just shorted the sleeves 1 1/2 inches. When I make this again, and I most surely will, I will shorten the sleeves less and take some of it out of the cuffs.

She really liked this and giggled as I put it on her and tried to help me get it on faster. Also, she wouldn't let me take it off of her even though it is 74 degrees in the house (~23 Celsius). It fits her great and it is now the only long sleeved item that fits her well and it will be very warm as it is lined.

The nerdlet was quite jealous and has asked for her own, but that will likely not be happening as on cold days she insists on her short sleeved dresses and often ends up taking her stockings off, but I did let her try it on before I finished it.

Just a final note, this sweater probably would only take an hour to make if you are alone. With three young girls it takes 10 hours, not including tracing the pattern off.

BurdaStyle Magazine 01-2012

I'm mostly uninspired by the January magazine, but there are still a few pieces I'm considering.

First the line drawings.

And the views at a glance:

I liked dress 109, but there is no way that I would ever make it for myself. Besides it being sleeveless I don't think it would be that flattering on anyone that is very curvy.

Dress 110 is nice. I wonder how it would look if I added the sleeve equivalent of a dicky. Is there a word for that?

I also like top 116, but it doesn't seem particularly special to me.

I really liked the plus sized top 130 on the cover.

And 133 intrigues me, but it may just be the pattern of the fabric that I like.

The costume patterns cracked me up. I especially thought the USA astronaut stuff was amusing considering we don't really have a program anymore.

Next months preview didn't really draw me in either. I don't exactly see a trend of outside pockets catching on at all.

5 Things I Don't Like

1. Lately there has been a lot of fanfare about Elf on the Shelf. I read this, which is talking about the holiday tradition gone overboard. Personally I find him creepy and I can only imagine the screaming the nerdlet would do each day as she saw him and thought he was watching her.

2. Another thing that seems to be wildly popular but I've never understood the draw of is the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off. I read somewhere that the movie is better if you watch it with the though that the whole thing takes place in the friend's head, but I haven't been willing to watch it again to see.

3. White Chocolate. Yuck.

4. Snow. It's really the cold I dislike so much. Being cold is physically painful for me and not just uncomfortable. Last year when San Antonio had its first real snow in like 20 years (enough to collect and actually make snowballs and small snowmen), I was not even tempted to go outside. Q took the girls for brief jaunts to play in it. Even when I was little I wasn't really tempted to go play in the snow and only went if I was forced outside. I went on a single ski trip about a decade ago and was afraid I would be miserable and while I enjoyed myself, I will admit to not wanting to extend any of my time outside.

5. The People of Wal-mart Meme. I hate these posts/emails with a passion. Can't these poor people just be left alone?

Sani-Sacks Galore

I've been busy today. I finally finished the sani-sacks for the therapists and relatives.

I managed to split the snap on the UT version, so that one was pretty much a waste, and on one of the blue calico ones, I put the flap snap upside down, so that is why the flap is folded under again. I'll be loading up on snaps at the next notions sale.

The rest of this post is going to be about how I made two sacks in one hoop. I really hate wasting the embroidery stabilizer and decided that I needed to find a way to conserve the material. I was thinking about just making the smaller sack size with the medium eyelet, but found I could fit two medium sacks in my largest hoop.

I placed the two side by side with one of them rotated 180 degrees.

In this picture of step A, the two sacks are offset by only about 1/2 centimeter. I found that ideally, I like 1 1/2 centimeters between the bottom of the sack on the right and the top of the sack on the left so that there is enough space to trim the fabric and separate the sacks easily.

Step B is even easier and I just placed them side by side without offsetting them, still turning one 180 degrees and trimming the side of the right sack close to the edge.

Now, at some point I can get to sewing some clothing for myself and maybe a few items for the bear cub (since she needs shorter sleeves on her long sleeve items and her sisters can easily wear store bought).

Christmas Sani-Sacks

I finished the first of the Sani-Sacks. I made the medium size as my first sample that I made a while ago was the small and looking at various stores in four states, I never found any sanitizer in a container small enough to fit in the small version.

One of the therapists chose UT fabrics and actually asked for the UT bag, but I said it was spoken for and unfortunately I don't have any more of that fabric. If I have time between now and Monday to finish all the Sani-Sacks and make another bag in this fabric, then I will make her a UT bag also. I made a mistake on this sack but if she wants this one, I will give it to her with her gifts. Each therapist is getting one of the bags, 3 nylon scrubbies that I crocheted during the drive out west that I made in early November, and a tote on a hook (possibly with sanitizer in it, depending on cost).

Here is the tote, sans snap.

2nd Sewcation 2011 part 2

Today was the second and last day of this sewcation. I made bags for the bear cub's therapists. I also made one for my sister. I wasn't planning on making one for her, but as I hadn't made one in a while, didn't have a pattern, and didn't want to mess up with the nicer fabric, I decided to make one out of the UT fabric as a trial run first.

I also started on making the Sanitizer totes, but I only got the fabric cut out and prepped. In the picture, you can see the other totes I made for the therapists.

For any of Q's or my immediate family, if you see a pattern you like, let me know so that I can give you that one. Otherwise, you'll get the one I choose as a best guess, except of course for my mom that will get the kitties (though I do have more kitty fabric so let me know if you like that one and I'll make another).