New Sheers

They are far from perfect, but hopefully I'm the only one who will see the imperfections. The Artist is pleased, and I expect Rick will be too. And I only had to rip out a hem twice. (Go ahead and laugh!).I'm happy the job is done, but still wishing I could have done better. I am consoling myself with the fact that the material was not wasted, and next time I will not be working completely pattern free, I can use these as a pattern.

Kim, Thanks for your hint. I was able to keep from using it by eliminating the ruffles on the top and bottom of the rod pockets. I don't miss them.

Christmas

It is a heart warming feeling I get when I see the Christmas tree lights reflected in the bow window fourfold. May your Christmas be blessed with many heart warming moments and the certain knowledge of our greatest blessing, Christ our Savior.

Snip

The hardest part of any sewing project, for me at least, is cutting the fabric. If I make a mistake I can waste big dollars in one small snip of the shears.

The Artist has been waiting ever so patiently for me to put curtains up on the new french doors she has leading into her bedroom. I bought the fabric at a super sale, so I was pleased with myself. Boy, was that short-lived!

Just about the time I pulled in the driveway after my trip to the fabric store, I realized I would have to make my own pattern and cut the fabric to size. All this without a proper work space. Yikes!

The dining room table is way too small. So is my living room floor.
I held my breath and cut the fabric. I think (hope) it will be okay. One of the pieces is crooked enough that the hem may be mighty skinny in one area.

I pressed under and sewed the raw edges and then measured again. I still hope it will be okay in the length. I found I have some lee-way in the width. I may even need to cut 8 - 10 inches from each panel so that they fit on the little 16-inch curtain rods.

Next time I take this project out, I'd like finish the top pocket rods on both curtains. That will take time, space, a ruler and a ripper. I have the latter two, the former two are hard to come by. My deadline is the Artist's birthday, in March. Here's hoping!

Bake Sale

The youth at church frequently hold bake sales. This year, the Artist is participating for the first time.

She loves to bake, so I buy her ingredients and happily leave her alone in the kitchen. I think the Christmas Star Cookie recipe she found looks interesting. And she had fun with the process.

After working solo for a little while, the Engineer pulled up a step stool to watch. Soon he was declaring that she was the chef, and he was the helper.

The recipe is from a Bible Food Fun cook book the Artist received as a gift several years ago. She has made several of the recipes from the book, including the fish (shaped) pizza and the cheesy lions featured on the Amazon dot com link. All have been quite good so far.
The candies melt and give a stained glass look, they are so pretty!

Mail!

Less than sixty seconds after I announced to the Engineer, "You got some mail today!" I found him at the piano. He had torn open the plastic cover to the latest Piano Explorer and turned right to the Music Corner.

He did his best, but this one will take him some practice to master.
Update:
After the Artist helped our neighbor's children make their dough ornaments, she made some of her own. The next day she painted them.

Craft Leader

Don't get any ideas that I would be a good craft leader, or even a person to ask about fun crafts for kids. The suggestion is likely to make me turn tail and run.

The Artist is a natural, however. Today when our neighbor's children came over to play she had a home made play dough for them. She led them in rolling and cutting out some ornaments. The first batch is baking in the oven as I type.The kids will not be here long enough to see their creations come out of the oven and cool, but tomorrow the Artist will bring them to their house and they can have at painting their ornaments at home.

The Artist included some ornaments of her own, and a nativity scene, a favorite of mine. Special thanks to National Geographic Kids magazine for the idea and to Grandma and Grandpa for the subscription!

Engineer News

Congratulations to the Engineer! He received his green belt in tae kwon do at the school Christmas party last night. In an unusual belt ceremony, the most recent test takers received their belts at a party rather than in class.

The previous class session, the instructor was unexpectedly unable to attend. Also, The Artist and the Engineer had been asked to demonstrate sparring with the satellite school at the Seven Hills Recreation Center the day the belt ceremony was expected. We were not sure when the new belt would come. But his smile and the big "Yes!" after he received it show it is appreciated!The next day, I found the Engineer lounging on the couch with a book. Yep, it is the dictionary. He was having fun reading the list of synonyms and antonyms. I'm glad he is starting to enjoy reading. I am also surprised at his choice in books.

TKD Test

Over the weekend it was the Engineer's turn to have a tae kwon do belt test. He was nervous and excited, both, on the morning of the test. I told him I thought that was appropriate. His nerves and excitement would help him to have a little extra energy when he started feeling tired.
It must have worked. He sailed through the test with lots of energy. At the end, it was time to break boards. Thank you, Artist, for helping your brother practice! He performed a brilliant back kick and broke the board. He did it so well, the instructor challenged him with a thicker board. Here he is holding his inch-thick pieces of broken board. He looks so pleased with himself. This test was also special for the Artist. It was her first time judging at a belt test. The Artist was nervous at first too, but soon she settled in and got used to the form she had to fill out. She wishes she could have watched her brother more, but she needed to keep her eye on a young lady who was testing for her red belt.

The Engineer will not be receiving his test results tonight. Instead my children were invited to the martial arts school's satellite location to do a sparring demonstration. Perhaps next week the Engineer will be sporting a green belt.