You know I’m feeling better when I’m sewing again. Granted it’s going to take me forever to finish this dress with two children, therapy and hospital appointments to go to all the time. But at least I have a creative outlet again for those few minutes here and there that I’m not yearning for a nap, haha. I’ve never sewn a dress with a lining before, but so far it’s going well. I almost have the top half finished. I love summer and fun skirts and dresses to match the season. So lovely compared to jeans and flip flops! Here’s a picture of the pattern I’m using (I’m sewing the orange one with the tie in front)!

Tonight I’m finally posting pictures from one of the other vintage-styled aprons I’ve completed. I made two versions of this one (one with red bias tape, and this one with blue). I am loving the Michael Miller collections lately. This yellow fabric is called “Mrs. Perfect” and has sweet little homemakers all over it, cleaning and serving food and chatting on the phone, ha! And it comes with an equally fun coordinating print with jello molds and percolators on it (which will make an appearance on future projects).

I also made a half apron, scalloped on the bottom edge, with a hand towel on one side (which I fastened with velcro). The apron was ivory with black ticking stripes and little red apples on it. With that pattern I learned how to make my own bias tape, which was much easier than I thought. It’s been really fun to try all these neat patterns and experiment with crazy fabric I’d probably never use on a skirt or dress. I would have posted a picture of this one too, but gave it away to a friend already.

For my next project, I think I’ll make a mother-daughter pattern of some sort. We’ll see. Lots of little girl dresses are calling my name too! The winter months bring more hot meals to my table, and with these aprons finished I’m ready to get cookin’!

Recently I’ve been into all that is fall. For me, this means more time in the kitchen baking meals and treats that make the house smell divine! Squash dishes, ginger snaps, pumpkin bread, and of course soup!

It also means that as it gets colder outside, we’ll eventually retire the bicycles for a season and find things to do inside. My favorites include sewing and reading of course! Right now I’m reading A Thousand Splendid Suns which is pretty good so far. And I’m onto my third vintage-style apron, too. I bought some really fun Michael Miller fabric called “Mrs. Perfect” that I think will be…. perfect! What a fun gift to give to friends who love to cook.

Another thing to love about fall? Long socks with crazy patterns. Target always has good ones.

I love the restfulness the fall and winter season brings. It gets dark by 5:30p.m. We tend to eat earlier and wind down for the evening. It’s so good to stop and rest. And after a long summer with many hours of yard work and feeling like you have to go, go, go until 9p.m., I’m ready for a bit of a break. The Lord is so good to give us seasons, and I’m rejoicing in all the fun fall things to look forward to!

Remember how I sewed dresses for my friend’s four daughters this past spring? Well, we recently received pictures of them and I thought I’d share them here. These pics were taken in April when it was still cold outside - that’s why they’re wearing turtlenecks underneath. The dresses are just the right size to last through two seasons, yeah! I love the twirling pictures. Twirling in a dress is the most fun, especially when the skirt of the dress is made from five yards of fabric!

Ah, yes… it’s an incredible feeling to finish a project. I finally finished sewing all four little girl dresses for my friends in New York. I hope to post a pic of them in their dresses sometime in the near future. I also finished two more knee length skirts and a vintage style apron. Fun times! Check out the goofy pose action I have going on. Here’s the pattern of the skirts I’m making, if you’re interested. They’re super easy to make and I’m enjoying wearing something light and feminine in the warmer weather. Best of all, I’m enjoying the process of doing something creative.

and cookie is for me! My husband is an awesome cookie maker. Yes, he is the cookie man of the household. I can make just about any dessert (just this past Friday I whipped up a brownie mousse trifle for his coworkers). But cookies? I mess them up every time. Oh, the shame! So I leave that business to my darling baker boy. He just tried a new recipe that came out marvelous! Here it is if you’d like to taste-test them yourself:

Soft Chocolate Chunk Cookies
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3 large eggs
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups bittersweet or dark chocolate chunks or chips
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Heat oven to 400˚F. Beat butter, sugar, vanilla, baking soda and salt with mixer on medium 2 minutes until creamy. Beat in eggs until fluffy. On low speed, beat in flour until blended. Stir in chocolate and nuts. Drop rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Bake 8 minutes or until golden. Cool 2 minutes; remove cookies to a rack to cool further. Store airtight up to one week. Makes 46 cookies.

***We’re nutty, but we don’t like nuts… so Mark substituted oats instead. He also used a little less sugar.

As a side note, my latest sewing project is a vintage-style apron. I chose a dark brown polka-dotted fabric and am accenting it with white bias tape. Should be fun to cook in! Here’s what it looks like so far:

We’ve been making Saturdays our Sabbath day for the last several months (I should post more about that later). So after a restful Saturday, we were geared up for the work to be done around the house Sunday! Mark hung a new clothes line in the back yard, so I hung the towels in the sunshine. It was such a beautiful day. While I did that, Samuel helped Daddy water the irises.

Then I headed to the kitchen to make homemade bread. I ground a combination of red and golden wheat in my handy dandy Nutrimill and used Vermont maple syrup to sweeten it a tad. Boy, did the house smell good! I made four loaves, and then cut each one in half. Mark takes a half loaf to work each week, and Sammy and I split the other half. This way, I make bread about every 4-6 weeks, depending on how much Sam and I want to eat sandwiches. Quite nice!

A couple other items I made this weekend: First, homemade wheat hamburger buns (I got this recipe from Kirsten). I seasoned the tops and added onion flakes, and when done baking, I brushed them with butter. Mark thought they might be too big at first, but then we decided 8 inch diameter buns are YUMMY!! Thanks Kirsten! Second, I made a strawberry dish. At first I thought the recipe sounded completely bizarre. But they were delicious and I will definitely make them again. I cut the sugar in half and it was wonderful.

Last but not least, I picked up a couple of new items to do all this housework in. Some new red canvas flats, and a retro style dress from Target. I think I’ll be wearing them all summer! Lovely and feminine… kid tested, husband approved.

For the last few weeks I’ve been meditating on what it means to be a Titus 2 and Proverbs 31 woman. I’ve been challenged and encouraged in my role as a wife and mother, as I pray and ask the Lord how I can improve. I’m especially touched at how much work this woman does, and how wise instruction, praise, and kindness is what comes out of her mouth. (Not grudgingly working around the house with bitterness and disdain towards the things that need to be done. Nor is she lazy– laying around, watching too much tv, not preparing anything for her family’s needs, etc). She is content in the role God has given her, and her husband and children praise her. I could talk for so long about all the things I’m absorbing, but I won’t. Instead, I’ll tell you about just one of the things I’ve decided to do.

I’m learning to sew again. My mother taught me how to sew when I was young (thanks mom, what an invaluable skill!) and I took a sewing class in 7th grade. I really enjoyed it, and I thought, you know… this is a great skill to teach my children. How to hem pants, make a quilt, replace a button, or make something for the home or an outfit. But it had been sixteen years, did I remember how? Well, I marched myself on down to the fabric store and bought a pattern for a skirt. I taught myself how to sew in a zipper. I now have two pretty summer skirts, I’m so excited. I’m honing my skills and saving money too. It’s also awesome that my husband encourages me as I try new things.

I had such a blast that I’m diving in deep. I went to the store today and bought enough fabric to make pretty dresses for my friend’s four young daughters, ages 9 through 2. I can hardly wait to get started on them. I hope they turn out well and will be a blessing to the girls. I’m hoping to have little girls of my own someday so I can make them pretty things as well, and teach them how to be a blessing to their families. But until then, maybe I’ll make Samuel some cozy fleece pajamas…