A City Life For Me

We use cloth napkins in our home.  It was something my mom did for a while when I was growing up.  When I was trying to save money as a newly married wife, I switched to cloth napkins.  What’s a few napkins in a load of towels that needs washed anyway?  The ones we used the most were purchased at a yard sale before I got married.  Then my “nice” ones became “everyday” use napkins.  Then my mother-in-law made me some new ones for my birthday a couple of years ago.  They were much smaller, but 2-ply and just perfect. Recently I was given a bag of fabric scraps by a friend at church.  She suggested napkins or cloth wipes.  I really did need some napkins.  Most of ours are terribly grease-stained, and a couple even have big holes in them.  But I wasn’t really up for a sewing project.  Yet I accepted the fabric, and I got excited when I started pairing the prints together for some new napkins.  I was tempted to leave the p...

For a while now I haven’t purchased replacement dusters for my Swiffer Duster.  I love how they work, but I’ve been trying to cut costs.  I have been using old microfiber diaper inserts to trap the dust in my house…on those rare occasions when I actually dust…which is usually when we are having company.  When I saw a tutorial on Pinterest for DIY Swiffer Dusters from Sew Much Ado , I immediately pulled out the sewing machine & fabric scraps to get started.  Well, not quite immediately , but as soon as breakfast was almost over. They were very easy to make, and I just used old receiving blankets that had been placed into the “upcycle” fabric bag.  I wasn’t very exact in my measurements or neat in my cutting…they are just dusters!  I sewed up 3 of them during a small portion of the kids’ naptime {like after I made cream of chicken soup, washed the dishes from all day, and made a pot of tea}.  The clipping took me longer than the actual sewing...

I have a Kozy Carrier that I sometimes use to take both kids on the train by myself.  It is a Mei Tei style carrier. It allows me to carry one kiddo on my front or back, so that I can carry the other kiddo in the stroller up and down the steps.  Usually I put Nolan in it, but recently Elaine has been asking to be the one to go “on Mommy’s back.”  Last time she fell asleep there while riding the train home! So Elaine started asking if I could make a “tie” for Betsy {her dolly}.  I responded with a “maybe” and quickly forgot about it. At bedtime Elaine suddenly remembered, and said to me, “You never make me a Betsy tei.”  And it was the first thing out of her mouth the next morning. I guess it’s true… the squeaky wheel gets the grease …because I got out my sewing machine and set to making Betsy a “tei.”  At every stage Elaine wanted to know what I was doing and if it was done yet.  When I tried it on her to be sure the strap lengths were correct, a...

My mom stumbled upon a new blog recently and sent me several links.  I thought these tote bags were so cute!  This blog seems to specialize in tutorials on up-cycling used/too small items into something new and uber cute! I had some fabric scraps and decided to give the ruffled tote a whirl!  Here’s what I came up with!     The lighting in my pictures isn’t the greatest.  But it is a purple plaid home-dec fabric, so it is nice and “stiff” for my bag.  The ruffles are a teal colored knit that I had leftover from making my own Moby Wrap. I wanted to use this for a church tote, and possibly as my purse for outings when I need to bring my planner along.  So I added a pocket to the inside.  I made a large pocket and then stitched down the center so that it became a double pocket – perfect for my phone, keys, and a pen!   I squared off the bottom of my bag at 2 inches, so that it is wide enough for my planner and Bib...

I had a wonderful day on Mother’s Day.  My kids are not old enough to understand yet, but we enjoyed our day together.  I had sick kids for the last week.  I missed three church services.  On Mother’s Day I was scheduled for the nursery {because I am visiting Colorado next week!}.  Mrs. Bickel was so kind and offered to take my place.  I felt so blessed. I worked all week to finish some sewing projects, one of which was matching skirt/dress for myself and Elaine.  We had enough fabric leftover to make one for Betsy too.  I wanted to wear them on Mother’s Day, and I am so glad I was able to get them done in time. Ben asked what I wanted for Mother’s Day.  It’s not a big holiday and we usually keep gifts low-key {to keep the budget happy}.  I asked to go out for dinner.  And I wanted to eat at Outback.  I l.o.v.e. their fried mushrooms and coconut shrimp.  So…we braved a nice, sit-down restaurant with two little kids...

We had a wonderful Resurrection Sunday!  The services at church were excellent, and we enjoyed a restful afternoon.  We know that Easter isn’t about clothes, bunnies, and colored eggs, but we do like add some new spring clothes to our wardrobe at this time.  This year only the kids got new duds.  I made Elaine’s dress, following this tutorial from Pinterest .  Nolan’s little suit (his first!) came from Grandma Godby.  It is a size 18 months!  I did have to hem the pants a bit, but the rest was a perfect fit.  He was big enough to wear his little saddle shoes too.  I thought my kids were too cute, and I keep smiling at their pictures! {click to enlarge scrapbook pages} {In the little picture I think it looks like Nolan is proposing to Elaine!} Some more of Elaine’s dress…my first sewing project for a long time, first dress for Elaine, first lined bodice…first for a lot of things!  I was proud of myself for getting it done....