2012? No Problem...but when?

[miprender]

Originally Posted by NiniMorris

I made this as a Disney/Minnie inspired bag. Started with a Diaper bag pattern and modified it to fit what I needed.




Nini

That is really cute. I would love to see the bag you made for your DIL. Ask her to take some pictures for us.

[DMGeurts]

Originally Posted by miprender

Nini I remember you mentioning about the Heat N Bond Lite before and it keeps the design from getting wrinkly after washing. I might have to try this next time.


And Dorrine once you get a machine you will not believe how easy it is. It is easier than sewing IMO.

Here is the link that started my obsession (besides the Disboutique thread) http://www.swakembroidery.com/swak-1...uetutorial.htm

Thanks! I've opened it in another tab... but I am kind of afraid to go look. LOL I've been wanting an embroidery machine for so long - and I am sure this will just be the icing on my cake.

Originally Posted by NiniMorris

With all D's talk about the Ultimate Park Bag and the cute ones she is making for the kiddie sized travelers, I thought I'd show you the park bag I made myself for 2010's trip.

It is a variation on a diaper bag. With Mr D, I have a ton of stuff I have to take in the park each day. I have a large gallon size ziplock bag that just holds all the meds for the day. (quick tip, if you have to take in a lot of meds in the park...put them in the original container ...the pharmacy will give you a duplicate empty prescription bottle if you ask...and put them in a clear baggie inside your bag. I have never had problems getting them through park security once I started doing this!)

I made this as a Disney/Minnie inspired bag. Started with a Diaper bag pattern and modified it to fit what I needed.



Wow...didn't realize that picture was so blurry! Sorry!

Now, I wish I had taken a picture of the Minnie inspired bag made with the Rosetta pattern. I made one for my Daughter in law for this same trip. It turned out really cute, and since the Grand Princess was not 100% potty trained at that point, it was large (actually HUGE) enough to be used as a diaper bag. She now uses it as a brief case and puts her laptop in there.

This past trip, I just used a fanny pack I borrowed from someone. I still had problems carrying that, so I am considering this next trip to have th meds bag and a couple other clear bags to leave in the bottom of the stroller...and then just put my camera and phone in my pocket.

I discovered I did not like having the fanny pack around my waist...so I was carrying it slung over my shoulder. Anyone with neck problems know that is not smart! By the end of the first day I realized it wasn't going to work...so I ended up leaving it on the stroller most of the time and just grabbing it when I went on a ride or show.

I'm thinking the ideal solution would be to have something that would carry the necessities and attach to the stroller but easily detached to carry on shows and rides. So I might be on the look out for some similar type patterns to see what I can find.

That is an awesome bag Nini - I love the fabrics and pattern you chose. That Minnie dot is my favorite, by far!

I actually have a pattern drawn up for a convertable diaper bag - I know this sounds really strange, but I have it drawn up so you can hang it from the stroller handle, then you can reconfigure the straps, so when you get to a ride and need to park the stroller, you can make the bag into a tote bag. But I am not sure if anyone really would enjoy having a bag like this - or if it's just me. Or maybe someone has already done this, and I am just behind the times. LOL

Originally Posted by NiniMorris

D...the way you know what size fabric to cut is by looking at the placement stitch. you just want a piece that will cover all the stitches. I have gotten to the point where I cut all my most used applique fabrics into 5x7 'patches'. That way I know I will never need anything larger...of course this way there is too much fabric waste for my tastes...but it is working other than that...(did that make sense?)

Nini

That does make sense.

D~ <--- slow learner.

[cogero]

okay Nini I have to laugh because I had a dream last night of making a park bag / tote bag with red minnie dot and coordinating black fabric. Have I ever mentioned I have never made a bag.

Oh and I love that gingerbread house I am debating making one for me for our trip.

Most of my appliques take an hour

[Lidian]

Originally Posted by miprender

Totally agree!

Be careful.... it can become very addicting We would always have a matching shirt day on our trips with one of the iron on designs from the DISign thread to buying an embroidery machine and making 17 sets x 5 people for our trip this past summer.

I was hoping to do Mickey tye-dye shirts this year! I'd love to do cute little Mickey head appliques ... but appliques scare me! (Okay, so the straight stitch still scares me. I just need to get confident with it and then try to move on to something else.)

Love the Minnie park/diaper/multi-use bag! So adorable!

[NiniMorris]

Originally Posted by cogero

okay Nini I have to laugh because I had a dream last night of making a park bag / tote bag with red minnie dot and coordinating black fabric. Have I ever mentioned I have never made a bag.

Oh and I love that gingerbread house I am debating making one for me for our trip.

Most of my appliques take an hour

Bags are easy! No need to be scared...and it is really strange, people are more appreciative of bag gifts than they are of clothing gifts. I have one simple pattern that comes together in just an hour or so and all the teachers a few years ago acted like I had given them a million dollars! (and I used scraps!)

You really should start a bag...not like you have anything else going on ...right?

Originally Posted by DMGeurts

That is an awesome bag Nini - I love the fabrics and pattern you chose. That Minnie dot is my favorite, by far!

I actually have a pattern drawn up for a convertable diaper bag - I know this sounds really strange, but I have it drawn up so you can hang it from the stroller handle, then you can reconfigure the straps, so when you get to a ride and need to park the stroller, you can make the bag into a tote bag. But I am not sure if anyone really would enjoy having a bag like this - or if it's just me. Or maybe someone has already done this, and I am just behind the times. LOL

I think you should go for it! I know I had so little luck finding something last year! Everything I found required more time than I had to put into the project...I mean WHO KNEW you couldn't find fanny packs anymore! I was convinced you could find them so by the time I started looking for patterns it was really too late!

(either that or they all required piping...I don't like doing zippers, but I refuse to do piping! Zippers I can do, I just don't like doing them...)

Originally Posted by miprender

That is really cute. I would love to see the bag you made for your DIL. Ask her to take some pictures for us.

This IS my DIL we are talking about! Seriously I have asked her a million times and I now get the rolly eyes when I ask her about it...which is a good mother in laws cue to stop asking!

Originally Posted by Lidian

I was hoping to do Mickey tye-dye shirts this year! I'd love to do cute little Mickey head appliques ... but appliques scare me! (Okay, so the straight stitch still scares me. I just need to get confident with it and then try to move on to something else.)

Love the Minnie park/diaper/multi-use bag! So adorable!

Thanks...

I was thinking about making the medium Rosetta bag for the park...but decided against it. I made all the girls Rosetta bags for the last trip... including my daughter (11 year old) and the 16 year old that my DIL and DS took to 'watch' the grand Princess (don't ask how that went!) And neither of them ever took it to the park. I carried my DD's around a bit and it was too heavy for me... So I have resigned myself to not having an actual bag that I CARRY. I am determined to leave the pain pills at HOME this trip!


The only Disney planning that got accomplished this weekend.... I set up which shirts I would work on which month...sort of. Starting in January I will have 10 months to make 10 days worth of clothes. So each month I plan on tackling one day of clothes. If I can stay on that schedule I should have a less-stress-getting-ready-time. My problem is STAYING on the schedule!

Just in case, I have kept the days where I will only need one shirt and/or outfit (like Sunday's and travel days) to the last three months before we go.

We always do church services before we visit parks on Sundays, and arrive in the parks at about 11 ish. So we generally don't bother with going back to the room to change before dinner...so those two days will be a one shirt day. And we will probably be doing MVMCP on one of those days as well.

Later today I will be adding what I need to make to my master calendar (I am a Franklin Planner girl!) Although I have learned to write it in pencil instead of ink. Since I ALWAYS change my mind about what we are wearing into the parks I have to be a bit flexible in the details on my calendar.

I have, however, started my giant index cards of what to look for in fabric selections ... to keep in my bag when out and about. It helps me to keep on track and get the fabric I need when I see it on sale. If there is something in particular I need to match up, I staple a piece of it to the card and keep the card in a plastic bag so it stays nice and clean..

One last parting thought...A friend of mine is having an auction for her sister in law, Barbara. She has stage 4 Breast Cancer and they are trying to raise funds to send her back to Disney, For all of us that have plans to visit Disney soon...check out her auction. Especially the item from Pixie Vacations and Cherise Elder... A very painless way to get $25.00 into Barbara's fund! Check out the auction on Frou Frou by Heather Sue's Facebook page....


Nini

[DMGeurts]

It sounds like you got a lot of preplanning done this weekend Nini. That is such a shame about the rosettas you made - I know how much time goes into making them - hopefully they will use them for another occasion.

I really like your index card idea too! I might just have to steal that. Although, I have no idea what else I am making for our trip... I know I am making bags for the girls to carry... And each of the girls wants an icecream dress Disney style... So, I know I am doing those for sure.

D~

[NiniMorris]

Originally Posted by DMGeurts

It sounds like you got a lot of preplanning done this weekend Nini. That is such a shame about the rosettas you made - I know how much time goes into making them - hopefully they will use them for another occasion.

I really like your index card idea too! I might just have to steal that. Although, I have no idea what else I am making for our trip... I know I am making bags for the girls to carry... And each of the girls wants an icecream dress Disney style... So, I know I am doing those for sure.

D~

LOL... I have to say...my bags are filled with index cards. I have one set of cards for the redecorating we are doing...each room has its own card, including paint samples; one for general gift lists; one for Christmas lists; one for each shirt/outfit in Disney; one for each quilt I am working on; one for the many dresses that are spinning around in my head...you get the picture!

I also have some in my studio on my bulletin board. They contain the fabric requirements, pattern I am going to use, along with the fabric swatches. Those really come in handy when a certain 11 year old spies a fabric she can't live without cutting into....it keeps her from asking about them. she sees them on a swatch on the bulletin board and leaves me alone about it!

I am well known in my family for my planning cards. Yesterday, while we were at church, my oldest daughter asked to see my Thanksgiving planning card...she needed to add something to her list and couldn't remember what she was supposed to bring. Then she penciled in how long she will need the oven...

Glad I could be of help!





(my family says I am planning obsessive....but it came after years of being an underwriter with many, many deadlines looming over your head. My department was the only one that was able to meet all of our deadlines consistently!)



Nini

[NiniMorris]

What a wasted morning!

Evidently, the powers that be must have changed the speed limit on the highway into town to something like 35 over night without telling me! How else can you explain the multitudes of people driving in what is clearly marked as a 55 mph zone doing only 35!

People that know me know I do not speed. I set my cruise at the speed limit and go. However, I do have a problem with people going 20 mph under the speed limit in the left lane. GA law clearly states stay in the right lane except to pass...and I don't think it is talking about passing turtles!

Then I finally get to where I need to go and they are closed for a private lesson! Really? Come on. it is the only place I can get my thread locally!

So we head back home the thirty mile trip...and guess what...they must have lowered the speed limit on the way back tooo!

So, now I have to either decide to order online and hope the thread comes in this week, or drive back out there after the private class is over and get it then! Good thing my wonderful husband filled my van up with gas...other wise I would really be hurting!

Oh yes...I forgot to take my phone with me too!



Ok...vent over...you can all go back to driving like little old people, cause that is what seems to be the normal around GA today! (well, maybe rant wasn't quite over with...sorry!)

Nini

[Lidian]

Originally Posted by NiniMorris

What a wasted morning!

Evidently, the powers that be must have changed the speed limit on the highway into town to something like 35 over night without telling me! How else can you explain the multitudes of people driving in what is clearly marked as a 55 mph zone doing only 35!

People that know me know I do not speed. I set my cruise at the speed limit and go. However, I do have a problem with people going 20 mph under the speed limit in the left lane. GA law clearly states stay in the right lane except to pass...and I don't think it is talking about passing turtles!

Then I finally get to where I need to go and they are closed for a private lesson! Really? Come on. it is the only place I can get my thread locally!

So we head back home the thirty mile trip...and guess what...they must have lowered the speed limit on the way back tooo!

So, now I have to either decide to order online and hope the thread comes in this week, or drive back out there after the private class is over and get it then! Good thing my wonderful husband filled my van up with gas...other wise I would really be hurting!

Oh yes...I forgot to take my phone with me too!



Ok...vent over...you can all go back to driving like little old people, cause that is what seems to be the normal around GA today! (well, maybe rant wasn't quite over with...sorry!)

Nini

I think the speed limit being lowered was Nation-wide. I was almost late for class this morning because of it.

Fingers are crossed that you can get your thread ... however you decide is best to do it!

[NiniMorris]

I guess I'll try again tomorrow to get my thread. I called them and ordered it and said I would pick it up in the morning...and made sure I did not give them credit card info or address so they would NOT mail it!


So, now I thought I'd try a different stupid fact about me.

Weight.

I have struggled with weight my whole life. As a teen and early twenty year old, I was underweight. At least I call 5 ft 10 inches and 86 lbs underweight! Having a super slim body is not all it is cracked up to be. Back then, you couldn't buy anything off the rack in a tall under a size 12...and I wore a size 4.

I guess that explains why I liked to sew my own clothes!


Of course, after getting pregnant at age 23, my ob thought I needed to eat more...of course I ate like a pig. I actually ate more then than I do now! On the day I gave birth, I had gained a whopping 100 lbs. (Nope, not a typo. I really weighed 186 lbs on the day my son was born.)

That began my odyssey of trying to loose weight! It is compounded by the fact that my medical condition makes loosing weight difficult at best. Over the years I have tried Weight Watchers, South Beach, and a million other things. They all work to a point...

Two years ago, I lost 30 lbs before our Disney trip. Unfortunately, my doctor was not happy. When I loose too fast, I loose muscle not fat. I am not allowed to loose more than 15 pounds in a year. Over the past two years I managed to gain it all back.

After seeing our Disney pictures this last trip...I decided this has got to stop. I don't know who this old fat lady with the strange hair is in these pictures, but it has to end NOW!

I have managed to loose about 15 lbs since we got back 6 weeks ago...and I haven't really been trying. Of course, I know it was all muscle...because I actually wear a size larger than I did at Disney.

I know what you are saying...if I exercise I would gain muscle..well, not really. My arthritis is so bad that exercise is not allowed...although while it was warm I could exercise in the pool. But now, my only exercise is chasing the kids and dogs!


So, at some point in time I will probably become a big blob of nothing but fat and wrinkles! As long as I get to Disney first I'm ok with that! LOL


Nini

[cogero]

Nini I can so relate.

Since having kids and fertility issues I have a horrible time loosing weight. I can do exercise but I swear my hormones are more out of whack than ever. and since my last miscarriage and D & C last June it is at a total standstill.

I hate my pictures from my last trip. My goal is to loose 10lbs by December and then 15 by our April trip and out 15th Anniversary Hopefully I can stay on track.

[DMGeurts]

i can relate too Nini... It's so hard. I was doig so well a fewweeks ago, ad now i've completely fallen off the wagon. I seriously need to get back on the wagon, but with the holidays looming it's even harder.
D~

[NiniMorris]

Tuesday's Topic of the day...


I have an eleven year old daughter. She is at THAT stage where every thing her family does is lame. Last trip was the first trip she went without customs in a long time. Of course she DID have matching shirts like the rest of the family, but no dresses.

At CRT, she regretted her decision of no dresses. At H&V she talked non stop about the Steamboat Willie dress she wore last year. All over the place she kept remarking about the girls with dresses and how she thought I could make that same dress. She even recognized some of the patterns of dresses.

This year, she has said I am allowed to make her one dress to wear to Church and that is it...unless we go to CRT an then she HAS to have a dress. Well, we aren't going to CRT this year. Dad wants to eat at Akershus instead.

My question...how do I trick her into wearing dresses for dinner? I would never ask her to wear dresses in the park all day (even though she has done it ) but I would like to see her in a nice coordinating dress when we are wearing matching shirts at dinner.

Any ideas? I though about just making them and not bringing her anything else....but that is kind of mean...and she is not known as Drama Queen for nothing!

I thought about having her design the dresses and go from there...she does like to design her own clothes, but so far she has nixed that idea.

Suggestions...ideas....or condolences...all are welcomed!

Nini

[DMGeurts]

Awww... Nini - I don't know what to tell you... How about, instead of dresses - go with more of a skirt/shirt combo??? I am making my girls a couple of skirts - for fun - and they seem more receptive to the skirt - especailly if I make them a bit shorter so they can wear leggings under them. That way it's Disney, and you get to make it, but it's still a bit trendy.

I wish I had some better ideas for you.

D~

[Lidian]

Originally Posted by NiniMorris

Tuesday's Topic of the day...


I have an eleven year old daughter. She is at THAT stage where every thing her family does is lame. Last trip was the first trip she went without customs in a long time. Of course she DID have matching shirts like the rest of the family, but no dresses.

At CRT, she regretted her decision of no dresses. At H&V she talked non stop about the Steamboat Willie dress she wore last year. All over the place she kept remarking about the girls with dresses and how she thought I could make that same dress. She even recognized some of the patterns of dresses.

This year, she has said I am allowed to make her one dress to wear to Church and that is it...unless we go to CRT an then she HAS to have a dress. Well, we aren't going to CRT this year. Dad wants to eat at Akershus instead.

My question...how do I trick her into wearing dresses for dinner? I would never ask her to wear dresses in the park all day (even though she has done it ) but I would like to see her in a nice coordinating dress when we are wearing matching shirts at dinner.

Any ideas? I though about just making them and not bringing her anything else....but that is kind of mean...and she is not known as Drama Queen for nothing!

I thought about having her design the dresses and go from there...she does like to design her own clothes, but so far she has nixed that idea.

Suggestions...ideas....or condolences...all are welcomed!

Nini

Originally Posted by DMGeurts

Awww... Nini - I don't know what to tell you... How about, instead of dresses - go with more of a skirt/shirt combo??? I am making my girls a couple of skirts - for fun - and they seem more receptive to the skirt - especailly if I make them a bit shorter so they can wear leggings under them. That way it's Disney, and you get to make it, but it's still a bit trendy.

I wish I had some better ideas for you.

D~

I'm in agreement with D~ on this one. Sorry, it will never happen again. Try opting for a top/skirt instead of a dress.

But remind her that if she doesn't have a dress for her nice meals, she'll feel remorseful like she did last time. Perhaps make an agreement with her to make them and take them, but if she isn't feeling it once she arrives, then she doesn't have to wear them. Kids are finicky and change their minds so quickly ... So perhaps once she got there, she'd see other girls getting fussed over and will be jealous.