Katie's Sewing Class

So here is one more fun thing Katie and her friend Meagan got to do this summer. I signed them up for an intro to sewing class at Joann Fabrics. I was very impressed with the instructor, b/c there were about 7 or 8 little girls, and K & M were the oldest ones there (both being 9 yrs old). They learned to make pillowcases, which are simple b/c the pieces are all rectangles and the sewing is all straight lines. Here are the pictures:



First they laid out patterns on the fabric they had purchased prior to class. The sewing supplies you see on Katie's table are from my basket at home; luckily I had almost everything she needed, so the cost of supplies was pretty much limited to the fabric and matching thread. Each girl did their own pinning and cutting. The instructor was really good about letting them do as much of the project themselves as possible.





After the fabric was cut to size and pinned together, they practiced sewing straight lines on the machines. The instructor did thread up all the machines and get them started, but the girls did the rest of the work on their own. She would only come over if they asked for help. For Katie, using a sewing machine is like Danny getting to use power tools!






Once they felt comfortable with the machines, they got started on the pillowcases. Here is a picture of Meagan concentrating very hard on staying neat and straight.



Once all the pieces were sewn up and the cases were done, the girls each got to iron them to get the worst of the wrinkles out, which made me nervous. They each used the iron on their own! But nobody got burned - phew!




And here are Katie and Meagan with their brand-new pillow cases! I was most impressed. Great job, girls!!

Wow, I never really appreciated...

When Gretchen first started up a web page, I thought it was pretty cool. When she added wallpaper and background sounds, I thought, way out of my league, ever! But then Blogger had these really easy templates, and now it's easy to post and everything, so here I am : ) But adding extra stuff can be a pain if you need to know html! Those cute little smileys? ugh! It took me an hour to figure out how to add one for Jenn! I wish I knew how to add stuff to my header and everything, too; I have no idea even where to start with that. Someday (maybe with a lot of G's help, lol!) I'll figure it out. Sigh, so for now you're stuck with stuff as it is. Still, the new colors are better than shocking pink, right? I mean, pink's good for say, teenagers (right, Jenn?), but not so much for us old biddies.

I'm at the library now, so I can't upload any pictures for this post. I've got D & K, as well as their friends Frank and Bradley (whom I am watching for a few hrs as a favor this afternoon). Naturally, they're on the 'puters, as well, no doubt watching Super Smash Bros videos on YouTube - Katie, of course, is on Webkins. I took them bowling earlier, but Danny forgot to wear socks, so he was relegated to cheerleader. Or not, since cheerleaders are supposed to be cheerful and Danny was pretty much sulking the whole time. Bradley won, yay!, Katie came in a close second, and Frank did as well as he expected, which was not well at all. But they (those 3) had fun!

Tonight we may be going out to dinner, b/c one of the restaurants here offers dinner for kids for $1.25 on Thurs nights and the boy's mom is taking them there tonight. The only thing is, Katie's school is having a back-to-school ice cream social tonight, and if we go out we'll probably miss it. Decisions, decisions! (Where have I heard that before? lol)

Danny had his last golf lesson yesterday, which we celebrated by going to putt-putt afterward! How appropriate is that? lol Actually, I had promised the kids all summer that we'd go, and since it was the last day I'd be watching Meagan, it was also my last chance to keep my promise. They had fun; Danny met 2 of his friends (Hunter and Christian) there, and after playing I bought them ice cream at the DQ next door, and then they all came over for an hour or so. I really like having the kids all at my house, so I know what is going on. Too bad it started raining, tho, b/c then they were all stuck inside playing on the wii. Katie had a Target gift card she'd won at the end of the school year, so while Danny was at golf, I took the girls over and she picked out the "I Can Be A TV Chef" Barbie playset, so that's what she and Meagan were doing. Katie's blonde Barbie was Sandra Lee, and Meagan's brunette was Rachel Ray - too cute!

Poor Danny went back to the orthodontist on Tues to get his bottom braces on, and now his teeth are too sore to bite down on anything. I don't remember my teeth hurting that badly, or at least I don't remember complaining that loudly! His top teeth have straightened out so much already, he looks much better. No more "buck teeth"!

That's it for now, until I can get to my pics at home.



Here is an update, just for you Gretchen! I thought it would make more sense to add it here than put it in a new post, so here's a picture of Chef Katie and her new Barbie set:

We found the pink chef's hat in the $1 bins at Target. I couldn't resist!

Decisions, Decisions

So, here I am, absolutely psyched that people are reading my blog, and actually leaving COMMENTS!! Let me say, to those of you who don't blog, or don't realize this, that writing is much easier when you know people are reading it. It's hard to get inspired to post when you think there are only 4 or 5 people who will be checking it out. So when you leave a comment, it tells me who is reading, and what you like to see here. And motivates me to post more!

So anyway, here I am trying to decide whether to spend another hour on a post, or to attack my pile of books so I can add to my finished book list. Bad me, I went to the library tonight! I was going to just pick up the next 3 Hamish MacBeths, and ended up with *9* books! I am such a book junkie, lol!

OK, I'm off to read now. I hope to post soon on our trip to the zoo, and Katie's sewing class. Check back often!