Sewing and Sowing

It seems like every time I sit down to write a post, I want to apologize for the radio silence.  I just haven't had much to talk about.  But the "eb" has now become a "flow.'  I have so much going on, so much I want to share,  I could talk for days about the long list of "to-do's" that sits before me.

As the weather has gotten warmer, I have found myself drawn to my sewing room with great inspiration to master the summer dress.  Last summer, I made a few "house dresses", simple sundresses I could wear around the house while gardening and canning.  They were great, but not so much the type of dresses I wanted to wear out of the house.  Remember this?

This dress, as well as the others I made came in handy last summer and will continue to be great for this summer's gardening and chores.

However, I am practicing my clothing making skills, with the hopes of producing dresses that have more detail and don't look as homemade.  I have also been working on altering a dress for my cousin's wedding.  It is this dress from Modcloth.  I am making it longer (my dang ol' long legs) by moving the ruffle to the bottom of the dress.  I have also made a few skirts.  Plus, I have some awesome knit fabric and a really cute pattern that I want to try.  My house is successfully covered in tiny bits of fabric and thread (I am really not sure how this happens, since I do have a dedicated sewing room)!  I will be sure to post pictures as projects are completed! 

In between sewing sessions I am working in the garden, preparing the soil.  This weekend marks the last threat of frost for us around here so I am sifting compost and planting seeds/seedlings on Saturday.  I am also making a much needed trip to the local apiary for beekeeping supplies.  Our bees are going crazy with the warm Spring and we are picking up another colony in a few weeks.  So there is a lot to do in the bee department...more on that later.

Somewhere in the midst of all this I am finding time to jump start a new exercise routine and do some Spring cleaning around the house.  Which includes finishing up painting and cleaning the Master bath construction project...pictures of that soon!

I would hate to leave you with my long list of things to do without some sort of clue that I have actually made some progress.  Here is a picture of my first "real" summer dress.  I made this last week using a combination of a shirt pattern for the bodice and a simple elastic skirt for the bottom.  I then added the ruffles and fabric covered buttons for details.  I wore this dress to church on Easter Sunday with a black sweater and of course my Frye boots!  It has a small hidden side pocket for my insulin pump.

 

Shabby Apple $100 Gift Card Giveaway

If you like to sew you should check out Kathleen over at Grosgrain.  She will keep you inspired!  Also, she is giving away a $100 giftcard to Shabby Apple...which happens to be one of my favorite online dress shopping stops!  Check it out at the link below!

Shabby Apple $100 Gift Card Giveaway

Warmer Weather and Garden Planning

I don’t know about you, but I am glad Winter is almost over.  Every year around January and February, I find myself cuddled up on the couch most afternoons, wasting away my days due to sheer laziness and a touch of the cold weather blues.  Here in NC, March brings warmer temperatures and only a small threat of cold weather and this March has proved to be no different, and almost a rarity.

The last week and a half we have been blessed with sunny days and temperatures in the 70’s.  Now reaching towards the end of March, I have great hope that we will continue to see these warmer temps!  The yard is teaming with excitement.  The bees are venturing from their hive, seeking out new sources of nectar.  The chickens holler (yes they fuss!) to be let out every morning, for they know the warm weather brings the bugs out of hiding!  For me, March also brings a multitude of plans for the garden. 

Around here, mid-April is planting time, so the end of March marks the start of the garden season.  This weekend I took advantage of the warm weather to spend some time in the garden.  It was quite obvious that the weeds had taken great advantage of our warmer weather too.  I spent a few hours weeding the garden and exposing the rich soil beneath.  There is nothing that compares to getting your hands dirty after a long winter spell. 

I welcome the warm weather and the mood lifter it brings.  I only hope it remains this way and that the early warm weather is not a forecast to the type of summer we can expect.  This week we will be planting potatoes and in a few weeks we will plant the rest of our seeds (beans, cucumbers, squashes, basil) and some seedlings (tomatoes).  I cannot wait until the summer harvest starts pouring in!  Of course, ask me that again in July and August when I am up to my elbow in veggies and my kitchen is filled with hot steam from the canner! 

Lazy Girl

I swear I still exist.  I am still here.  I would love to say that I have spent my time away from my blog doing all kinds of crafty and exciting things.  But alas...I am embarrassed to share that the last few weeks I have been nothing more than an unmotivated and lazy girl when it comes to the creativity factor.  I have spent my days maintaining a relatively orderly household, tending the animals and exercising only to find myself sitting on the couch in the afternoons, hopelessly sucked in to the likes of Pinterest and Facebook hoping someone or something will spark some creative interest. 

That is what winter does to me.  Although, I have no excuses since our weather around here has been lovely.  I do manage to get outside a few times a day and enjoy the unseasonably warm days.  I have been reading some wonderful books including, "Undaunted Courage, Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West", by Stephen Ambrose, "The Forgotten Garden", by Kate Morton and currently "The House at Riverton", by the latter (thanks to The Lefthanded Housewife for the awesome book suggestions). 

We are also starting the long awaited work on our Master bathroom.  Sanding has ensued and this weekend points to more sanding, fixing the walls, and installing various fixtures.  When I say we, I mean mostly Hubby does the hard labor while I scour the internet for the perfect mirrors and light fixtures.   I look forward to sharing pictures of the finished project.

So, you see, I am still here, I just chose not to bore you all with my stories of laziness.  I do have a few projects in the queue that I am hoping to find the motivation to attempt soon.  Until then, you will find me lurking on other people's websites, wishing for the motivation they all seem to posses in these long months of winter.  

A few changes...

Hey there!  I just wanted to let ya'll know, that for the next 6 months I will be blogging over at DiabetesSisters website.  My blogging over there will focus being a woman, living with diabetes.  Here is the link to my part of the SisterTALK Blogs.,,,

 http://www.diabetessisters.org/supportcommunity/sistertalkblogs/type-1-blog

...so please check me out!  You should also check out some of the other bloggers too!

I will still be blogging here, but I figure I am going to keep my diabetes blogging to a minimum at In the Short Rows and focus more on my crafting and homemaking stuff, for now. 

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  We are pet sitting for a friend, so Waylon has been enjoying some much needed doggie play-dates with his best friend Roxy.  I did some very fun wedding dress shopping yesterday with my cousin and today is looking like a good day to make a new apron and otherwise be lazy :-)  Happy Sunday! 

Too many bags

Hubby says I have too many bags.  It's a good thing he was talking about the number of purses and duffel bags I have...otherwise I might have used one of those bags to knock him upside the head.  In his defense, I have been making a lot of bags for myself lately.  Some of this stems from winter boredom and too much time on Pinterest. But the main reason is that I would like to start selling some of my crafts.  I figure I can't sell stuff if I haven't test driven the design.  This is my newest addition to my ever growing stash of purses!

 I needed a bigger bag to carry all of my junk and various diabetes related paraphernalia, so I made this messenger bag.

 My favorite part is the stitching.  I did this with my grandmother's old Kenmore.

 I put books in the bag to take pictures, but it is plenty big enough for all of my gear.

 

I love the simple outside and the fun vibrant lining, it makes me happy!  Would you buy a bag like this?

Brothers and superheros

Let me tell you about my brother.  Or better yet, let me embarrass my brother by writing an entire blog post about him.  I'll refer to him as "Day-go" from here on out...you know to protect his "real" name, and well, because "Day-go" was what I called him when we were little...so you know...its cute. 

Day-go and I are a few months shy of 2 years apart.  He is older. Our birthdays fell in a way that we were only one grade apart in school.  I would venture to say that our relationship is similar to most older brother/younger sister pairs.  He always watched out for me, and I bugged him a bit.  Growing up, Day-go and I were pretty much like night and day.  I had dark hair and dark eyes, he had light hair and light eyes.  I took after my mom's family and he could never have denied relation to my dad's kinfolk.  I was a diligent student, stayed out of trouble, and followed the rules...and he...well let's just say he was different than me.  

I am told that when I was very small and still sleeping in the crib, Day-go would wake up early and crawl into the crib with me.  My parents would get a few extra minutes of relaxing in bed while they listened to us "talk" on the monitor.  Which mostly consisted of him making me laugh.  He was quite the entertainer.  As we grew older, I never remember a time we did not get along.  I can count two times (I am not exaggerating) that we actually got into a real fight.  When we both entered into the horrid middle school years we kept out of each others way and only acknowledged each others existence at home.  But nonetheless, we continued to get along and remain civil.

When we hit high school, we ran with the same crowd, had the same friends, and got into the same kinds of trouble.  All the while, Day-go had his "big brother radar" on high, always keeping a watchful eye.  Day-go was well known at our high school and I was well known as "Day-go's sister".  I know for some folks, being known as "someone's sister" is annoying, but I liked it, I wanted everyone to know who's sister I was, I was proud to have the label.  

A curious thing happened after high school.  Even while going our separate ways, Day-go and I continued to cross paths within the same social groups.  We attended the same parties, hung out at the same coffee shop and most often folks could find one where the other was.  Day-go was as much my friend as he was my brother.  

To this day our relationship continues to be the same, equal parts friend, equal parts sibling.  Day-go has taught me many things and made me laugh many times.  He married an amazing woman who is like the sister I never had and together they made me an aunt to two amazing little boys.  I am lucky they live close to me and I visit them every week.  So, when Day-go suggested that this year, as a gift to our mom, we should take a picture of just the two of us, I was definitely on board.  The last picture we have of just us, was from high school.  Day-go's lovely wife took our pictures one day and we gave them to our mom for Christmas.  

I love these pictures, because they are the still life proof of what we share.  I could not have asked for a better brother or a better friend.  I am so proud to be "Day-go's sister".   

 This is the picture we made larger for my mom.  

The next few were put into a collage

 I told you he always knows how to make me laugh!

These are two of my favorite candid shots.

Yep, it was that funny. 

I saw this quote once and it always makes me think of Day-go...

     "Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero." -Marc Brown 

Not just because he used to dress up in a superman cape and jump off the hearth (sorry Day-go) but because having an older brother like him was like having a personal superhero, someone to look up to and someone who was always there whenever I needed him.  Thanks Day-go!