Living in a zone 9a, our first frost usually comes in December. For the last several years, it has been the second week of December, so I was expecting a few more days to work in the garden–but it was not to be this year. Instead, I spent most of my week in the…
One of our family traditions is that starting on the first day of December, we sing Christmas songs together before bed. Everyone gets to pick a song and we all sing. I want to add a new tradition in our house this year that our children will look forward to each year. For that reason, I’ve made…
Last week I got a whole lot done. Most of my list, in fact. My family helped a lot. However, I did not get any presents done, so even though I had hoped to be done by the end of last month, I still have some sewing to do. We are expecting our first frost…
I printed some Thanksgiving coloring pages from free Dover Sampler pages that I had saved over the years. I also printed a 3-dimensional project for the children to complete on Jamestown. This was from a book that I purchased form Scholastic Teacher Express when their e-books were $1 each, and they had a $10…
This post contains referral links. I’ve been making plans for Black Friday, as, I’m sure, have many of you. Here’s what I’m planning to do: I am planning a little online shopping. I’ll be ordering some zippers, buttons, and thread at Wawak. The zippers are mostly replacement zippers for a couple of jackets and a skirt…
I made this scripture bag for Wren with some input from her. She wanted a different style bag from the one I had made for Winter. She also approved the fabric, so this gift won’t be a total surprise, but she should like it, and that’s important. This bag is made very similar to the…
I made an Eiffel Tower purse for Elsa. She wanted a purse to take to church and she specifically wanted it to have an elastic closure with a button on the top. Since she loves anything to do with the Eiffel Tower right now, I thought she would be thrilled to have a purse with that…
I completely scrapped my sewing plans for day twelve to make a houndstooth dress. I saw one online that morning and I remembered my mother-in-law gave me one of her dresses to make over several years ago. It’s a heavy-weight mini-houndstooth fabric. I have never completed a dress in a day before, but I was making a…
I’m hosting Thanksgiving this year. I have 7 guests coming, so we’ll be 16 people. I’m also having the missionaries for dinner the night before. Here are my plans for the busiest week of the year: House: 1. Clean refrigerator 2. Organize desk 3. Have someone clean the windows 4. Make sure the bathrooms are clean (the…
The paperwhites are up in the white garden! The vincas in front of them will die with the frost and are turning yellow with the cold. I cut the last of the good white zinnias from the front garden, and Winter arranged them for the table. We can have a frost anytime between now and…
For the eleventh day of A Gift a Day, I made three cotton slips. I used a dress pattern with a button back. I used the bodice and skirt pieces only, and since there was no hem allowance needed, I cut the skirt shorter. The skirts were just straight rectangles. I cut all the way across the…
For the tenth day of A Gift a Day, I made pajamas for Ivory. The pattern goes from sizes 2-6. I made some adjustments to make these smaller for Ivory, who is 1 1/2. I’d like to make some more like these for Wren and Elsa, and I hope to make some for Cyrus and Ezrom as…