Success!

Well, I can finally relax....just a little. Our Ward Christmas Party was a success. I finished the decorations on time and our idea of having a canopy of lights worked beautifully. It was prettier than I thought it could be. Plus the centerpieces were simple yet elegant (I can admit that, right?). We didn't run out of food and the gingerbread house making was a hit! Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and stayed for nearly 2 hours by their own choice! That's a good sign, right?

In the past few weeks in neglect of many of my other motherly/wifery duties I made these:

This apron for Jocelyn's birthday present.


And pillowcase dresses. Plus some burp cloths and a "Super J" cape for Joc. Would you buy this stuff on etsy.com if you were not a sewer? I am seriously thinking of selling things like these because I had so much making them. It's just a vintage pillowcase found at DI for a buck and some ribbon. Pretty simple (and cheap)! And when it gets too small it can be worn as a shirt or over leggings.


Then I got to work on these little suckers.


I had this free fabric. Some upholstery velvet and silk plus leftover silk from my wedding dress. And Rachelle, who helped me make the bean bags, suggested I use the velvet to make stockings. I didn't even think of it! And I didn't want to add anything else to my list of homemade items. But I thought, "we need Christmas stockings eventually." The only one who had one was Samuel and his was a gift and says, "Sammy's 1st Christmas." So I embarked on finding the perfect Christmas stocking ideas. I couldn't find exactly what I was envisioning in my mind but I found this photo online that came close.

Plus I used my mother-in-law's grandkid version as inspiration and a pattern.

And this is my version. I must admit, they have lots of flaws (like being too small among others) and they're not my favorite creation. Plus they took nearly 3 full days of sewing and creating. And if they didn't take so dang long to make I'd be tempted to not keep them. But now we have 4 completed stockings for Christmas!

My mom is worried about my well-being. I am too, to be honest. But when I get this creative drive it's hard to stop!!! I just want to sew and create. Next year I honestly think about settling down and putting the sewing machine in the closet, for just a bit :) I need to find the balance b/w what I want to do, developing buried and new found talents...and family and time.

Phew. I am glad it all has passed, for the most part. I still haven't completed the PJ bottoms (oops, I forgot to look at the size on the pattern) so I don't know if I'll get to those before Christmas. C'est la vie. Tonight we, as a family, sat down on the couch and watched a Muppet Christmas movie on TV complete w/neighbor gifted popcorn and sprite (thanks J!). Fun times!