Lots of Thread

I have many spools of thread, some bought by me, and some given to me by my MIL. She has given up sewing, but will go over to SIL's if she ever has to mend anything. I was hoping to get her serger, but SIL has it. I guess I'll save up and buy my own someday. My regular sewing machine is alright, though. It's a computerized Brother machine that I bought at Sam's Club many years ago. It has an automatic buttonhole maker and a nice array of stitches. I have to find that instruction booklet, though.

I have inherited MIL's large cone collection of threads also - the ones you use on the serger. She gave me her round thread holder that hangs on the wall with the smaller spools of threads, and two wooden spool holders, one that hangs on the wall, and the other that sits on a table or shelf. Right now I have the round thread holder hanging on the wall next to the window in front of my sewing machine, and the wooden cone thread holder is just below it. I am ready for any color material. I just found out that the cones don't fit my sewing machine very well, but if I put one of the smaller spools on my spool holder, I can then put the cone thread over it. It works better well, and since I have so much cone thread, it's great.

I also have a lot of fabric, so I've started sewing some things again. I found a green plaid material that was perfect for making placemats out of it. It has a strong piece of thick thread running through it, and I only had to cut the material, then do an edging stitch to make placemats. I had enough material to make 9 of them. I will use them when I have the family over for dinner. I have made enough napkins in the past to keep me outfitted for a while. I used some decorator materials that my MIL had been given from her neighbor who sewed draperies for a living. Most of my materials have come from that source, and I'm very fortunate to have such high quality material for free. I found a box of pieces that might be enough to make window swag type curtains for the living room. It's a nice print with blue and green flowers on a light background.

I tried to make a dress for a baby shower this week, but didn't get past trying to cut it out. I had the cutting stage. I would work well with someone else who would do the cutting for me, and I could get on with the actual sewing of the article. The material was the same material I had used to make a dress for my DD, so I figured if I didn't get it done, I would just get the old dress from the box of baby stuff and give that as a gift. Well, I looked in the box and found 3 playsuits in great condition instead. So what, if they didn't have tags on them. One of them was quite nice, with smocking on it. The other two were just these casual little playsuits, one was yellow with a teddybear on it, the other pink with a pink appliqued apple on it. Well, one woman at the shower looked at the smocked outfit and said, "I had one just like this when my daughter was little."

Then she scrutinized it as though it might have been her kid's originally. Since her DD and my DD are the same age, she probably had the same exact outfit. I guess I looked cheap, giving used clothing, but I also made black beans and rice to put in the family's freezer, as that was the original idea for the shower. It was going to be a casserole baby shower, and then some of the women said they wanted to give gifts, too, so that's how we came to gifts and food. It was all appreciated, of course, but it took me some time to cook those darned black beans from the dry stage. I hope they liked it.

Today, the baby, Lydia Rose, was at church. She's 4 weeks old and she was wearing pink bunny slippers. So cute. She so skinny and long, with long tapering fingers. Her mom is breastfeeding, but was told to supplement with a bottle because she is not putting on weight fast enough.

Anyway, I didn't give her a homemade dress, and I don't think I should feel too guilty about that. I did put an effort in, and when I stop to think about it, I just wanted to impress peeps with my sewing skills, which might not be the best thing to do. Before you know it, someone will come to you with some sewing they need done. I don't sew for other people, unless it's a dress for the temple. Even then, nowadays, I sew for my family and that keeps me busy enough. Currently I am changing some pajamas for my DH. They are actually women's pajamas, but you wouldn't know it from the flannel fabric, just from the way they button up. He requested that I change the buttons and buttonholes to the other side, because that is what he is used to. Well, I started on one of them, anyway. There are 2 pairs and DD has the same pajamas. I have one of the pairs like theirs, so we can all dress alike come Christmas in our red flannel pajamas. I could not resist, because the pajamas were on sale for $5 a pair. I also have some fabric to make pjs, but I might just make nightshirts for me and DD and pjs for DH. One of the pieces of flannel I bought for DD has pizza on it. If I don't make pjs out of it, I can always use it to make pillow cases, which she also needs. I know she is looking forward to having pajama parties in our house once we get the family room fixed up. The family room is right outside her bedroom, so she has the perfect set up for having a pj party. The lower level is her bedroom, the family room, and her bathroom. The family room has an outside sliding glass door, and a door that leads to the garage.

Well, tomorrow is the first morning we have to get up at 5:20 AM. Seminary classes begin for DD. This is her second year, and it will be great because they now meet in a church member's home, with all the kids from our home Ward. Last year, it was at the church building with kids from different Wards. Some of those kids were really grumpy in the morning. DD was assigned to take role, mostly because she was the only one who made it to class on time (last year is was 6:15 AM, this year is it 6:00 AM). Her taking role made her a target for the other kid's ire. I felt sorry for her, being ridiculed for doing the right thing.

Anyway, I should be in bed right now, but I did take a nap yesterday.