~ Aug 2013~ Sew what... We've gotta find a way back! Part I!!

[lovethattink]

The new bag is great!

Love the picture of the girls. Wow, has V grown up. She looks beautiful. I met her as a little girl splashing in the fountain in March. Ali did a great job on the hair and makeup.

 

[dianemom2]

I looked at Michaels online yesterday, and I coudln't find any organizational stuff... I will be at JoAnn's today though- so I am going to look there.

And guess what I am doing with my day? Um yah - grocery shopping... A trip to Joann's... The girls want to go to the mall... Sigh.


D~

I also tried to look for it on Michaels online. But they don't seem to have any of that stuff on their website. At our store, it is close to the scrapbooking area because they want to sell it to scrapbookers to store all their stuff.

Your day sounds like my day today. I managed to round up enough stuff to send the girls to school with a salad for lunch but our fridge is pretty bare. I guess I better fill it up so we can eat this week.

 

[DMGeurts]

the new bag is very cute! love the wallet too!

Thanks Lisa!

The new bag is great!

Love the picture of the girls. Wow, has V grown up. She looks beautiful. I met her as a little girl splashing in the fountain in March. Ali did a great job on the hair and makeup.

Thanks Tink! Yah - V has grown up, a little. She's still my baby though - and wears ponytails/no make-up most days.

We had a crazy day of shopping yesterday.

The girls still have BTS $ to spend - so we are going to have to go again eventually. I think we will wait a little while, to let the stores get some new things in (and on sale).

I did get a couple of fun things for my sewing room yesterday while I was at Target... Their Back to College stuff went on clearance, so I got another stack of Rubbermaid drawers for under my counters - I've been wanting one for near Mr. R for a while now. And then I got a red gooseneck lamp - which will really come in handy once the sun starts setting earlier and earlier. So - I am pretty excited about those things. And since they were on clearance - I got them for really cheap.

I also stopped at JoAnn's - that was the quickest trip ever... I purchased about 5 or 6 different colors of felt off the bolt (it's nicer)... I've decided to use this from now on for my zipper pulls - they turn out so much better! I wish I would have thought of this sooner. I also got a couple spools of thread and some sewing machine needles.

Once I got home, I reorganized my sewing room - and tidied everything up. I find that it's much easier to be in there if it all looks pretty. I do, however, need to put away some of my fabric that I've used on the last few bags... That is something I really detest doing, and it seems that I never get it done.

I have also been working diligently to get my new online catalog finished. I plan to start taking orders again soon, and I really need to have a price list/pictures of my bags on my FB fan page. I think I am almost done with that, I hope to have everything uploaded there over the next day.

I plan to start a new bag today - it's of a very rare character - I do have quite a few ideas swimming around in my head for this one, so I am kind of excited to see how it will come together.

I made ADRs this morning for our "day off"... This will either be the day we fly out or just a day off. Victoria and I decided to do Ohana breakfast at the latest available time. I know, I know - we always do early slots... but I want the girls to be able to sleep in on this day if we extend our vacation. So, I made it for 10:55am. Seeing as we have done both breakfast and dinner at Ohana - we have determined that we enjoy breakfast more. Besides, then we can walk around after for a little while and enjoy the Poly. I was tempted to also make an ADR for 1900PF for dinner, just in case we prefer to do dinner that day, but I resisted. Last time, on our day off - we had to cut our day at DTD really short so the girls could swim and then go to our dinner ADR... If we get breakfast done right away, then we can just head over to DTD from the Poly and spend the day there - then the girls can go swimming later - even if it's dark. We won't be rushed to be anywhere. So, I think we will like this "day off" plan much better. We'll probably end up having dinner at EoS or WPE - oop.

I hope you all have a wonderful day.

D~

 

[babynala]

I owe you one of these for the Sorcerer Mickey bag: I posted from our tablet before so I didn't get the chance to add it.

Can't wait to see your new bag. Glad you got to have a day off, even if you did spend it shopping. I think there are worse things you could do on any given day

Your late breakfast sounds like a good idea. Having the rest of the day to enjoy yourselves and not feel rushed sounds like a winner.

 

[oopsiDAISY]

*Love the new Mickey bag...cannot wait to be the proud owner of my very own SerendipiD~ bag!!!!

*I don't thing anyone ever answered your FD question, so I will. As long as check in is within the dates, your whole trip is FD. We checked in on the last day of FD in March and our whole trip was covered.

*SOOOOO incredibly jealous of your ADR's and park plans.

 

[PrincessMickey]

High school has been a big adjustment for Alli... I think she is getting it figured out though. She went into school yesterday to some bad news... A girl from one of the upper grades was killed in a head on collision - we didn't know her at all - but the collision happened on a dirt road near us. She was on her way to a friend's house with a few friends in the car - she approached a crest on the top of a hill and had a head on collision with another car - the driver happened to be the friend she was going to see. Just very sad. Rumor has it that one of them crossed the center line - but if you've ever driven on a dirt road, you always drive a little more towards center, other wise the gravel sucks you into the ditch - it's only when you are approacting another car that you temporarily move over. The way the visibility of this road was - she would have been able to see the dust cloud from the oncoming car - even if she wouldn't have been able to see the car itself. It's so very sad. It's also one of those things that scare me immensely for when my girls start to drive - things like this happen so often.

D~

When I was in high school I had 6 friends killed in a train/car collision. It was a very diificult time for everyone. I also had a friend who was in the car behind the one that was hit. A tragic accident like that can affect the entire school even for those who didn't know the girl. For alot of high schoolers this will be the first time alot of them have had to deal with death. For me I had had people around me die but I was pretty little or was not close enough to them for it to affect me much. For me and a few friends it was pretty hard time to go through. Alot of kids this age also have a tendancy to bottle their feelings inside. Even though Ali didn't know the girl I would encourage her to talk about her thoughts and feelings about this. Even if she is alright and is handling everything ok a friend of hers may be struggling with this, with her talking about it it may helps a friend out.

On a lighter note, thanks to you I am now thinking about a trip to Ikea to look at the cube shelf thing for my fabric, right now my fabric is in bins and it is hard to see everything I have. Also I love your new bag, the star fabric was perfect for Mickey's hat. I'm a huge Mickey fan so I just love all your Mickey bags. As for the pattern I will be one of the first on your list to get it! I am a visual learner so I always prefer pictures so I can see what I'm doing. But any way you complete it I will be happy to be able to make my own bag!

 

[solana131]

Last time, on our day off - we had to cut our day at DTD really short so the girls could swim and then go to our dinner ADR.... So, I think we will like this "day off" plan much better.

Sounds like a good plan

 

[sewmess]

See, I really should take the time to go back and read al your previous journals. I had no idea these were all hand appliqued. You give me hope that I will be able to make some of these crazy ideas in my head a reality without an embroidery machine.

As long as I practice, right?

Liberty Tavern is a hidden gem. It was our first dinner reservation last year with the niece and my mom. The Niece was late and Mom was not as cranky as she might have been (she'd had a nice nap, I think) but the best thing about the meal was the gravy...OMG that gravy was devine!

Everytime I get blue about not having kids, I think about the teenage years and having to go to the mall. Then I'm not blue anymore!

 

[dianemom2]

I popped into Michaels today. I ended up getting the ribbon spool rack. It was only $12.49 plus tax. I'm happy with that. I think I have to do some assembly on it.

 

[DMGeurts]

because I am a dork and I forgot mailing envelopes yesterday...

Remember last week, when I was telling you all that I needed to find navy blue leggings... I have looked EVERYWHERE - to no avail.

Guess where I found them? Wal-mart... On clearance... For $3 each... I bought all 5 pairs in V's size.

I figured I would chop 2 pairs off into shorts... You have no idea how happy this makes me!

D~

 

[miprender]

Love that sorcerer Mickey bag and great minds think alike as I have that same fabric that you used for Mickey's hat.

I saw you mention SciFi.... that is my kids new favorite restaurant. We ate there for the first time this summer and the kids are begging to go back again. It really is so cool inside.

 

[EEs*Mommy]

Great deal! I live Walmart clearance leggings. I found a tutorial on how to make ruffled shorts out I'd them.

 

[DMGeurts]

I owe you one of these for the Sorcerer Mickey bag: I posted from our tablet before so I didn't get the chance to add it.

Can't wait to see your new bag. Glad you got to have a day off, even if you did spend it shopping. I think there are worse things you could do on any given day

Your late breakfast sounds like a good idea. Having the rest of the day to enjoy yourselves and not feel rushed sounds like a winner.

Awww... Thanks Liz! Very true - it is nice to have a guilt free day off now and then.

I was thinking that too... I tried to do it late enough that the girls could sleep in.

*Love the new Mickey bag...cannot wait to be the proud owner of my very own SerendipiD~ bag!!!!

*I don't thing anyone ever answered your FD question, so I will. As long as check in is within the dates, your whole trip is FD. We checked in on the last day of FD in March and our whole trip was covered.

*SOOOOO incredibly jealous of your ADR's and park plans.

Yay Oopsi!! Now - if Disney would just release FD for my dates...

Don't be too jealous, until I actually go... This is still a "non-existant" trip, as of now.

When I was in high school I had 6 friends killed in a train/car collision. It was a very diificult time for everyone. I also had a friend who was in the car behind the one that was hit. A tragic accident like that can affect the entire school even for those who didn't know the girl. For alot of high schoolers this will be the first time alot of them have had to deal with death. For me I had had people around me die but I was pretty little or was not close enough to them for it to affect me much. For me and a few friends it was pretty hard time to go through. Alot of kids this age also have a tendancy to bottle their feelings inside. Even though Ali didn't know the girl I would encourage her to talk about her thoughts and feelings about this. Even if she is alright and is handling everything ok a friend of hers may be struggling with this, with her talking about it it may helps a friend out.

This is just horrible, I am so very sorry for your loss.

I did talk to Alli yesterday, it was the funeral. She seems to be sad about it, but for the most part she seems to be dealing with it OK. I asked if her friends were doing OK, she was kind of puzzled by my question, but she said they were fine. I sure hope so, because it is so sad.

On a lighter note, thanks to you I am now thinking about a trip to Ikea to look at the cube shelf thing for my fabric, right now my fabric is in bins and it is hard to see everything I have. Also I love your new bag, the star fabric was perfect for Mickey's hat. I'm a huge Mickey fan so I just love all your Mickey bags. As for the pattern I will be one of the first on your list to get it! I am a visual learner so I always prefer pictures so I can see what I'm doing. But any way you complete it I will be happy to be able to make my own bag!

So many people seem to be so happy with the Ikea storage... they have so many different ones, that if the cube storage doesn't work for you - something else will.

I have not been able to work on my pattern this week. I think I will take pictures, but I would like to do it when I am working on a bag that is lighter colors - I think it would be easier to see.

Sounds like a good plan

Thanks Suzi!

See, I really should take the time to go back and read al your previous journals. I had no idea these were all hand appliqued. You give me hope that I will be able to make some of these crazy ideas in my head a reality without an embroidery machine.

When I first starting sewing - I assumed I would have to have an embroidery machine to do things like this too... I was sewing for quite a few months before I discovered hand applique. There is definately a learning curve to it, and you must have patience, but I love that it's limitless... I am not bound to what someone else digitizes and I can do any size I want to (really big or really small)... I think, that once you try it and get the hang of it - you might really like it.

Liberty Tavern is a hidden gem. It was our first dinner reservation last year with the niece and my mom. The Niece was late and Mom was not as cranky as she might have been (she'd had a nice nap, I think) but the best thing about the meal was the gravy...OMG that gravy was devine!

We loved LTT too... We have never had the gravy... Our favorite is the pastas. We always have LTT for lunch on our last MK day, and after 7-10 days of park food, LTTs pasta really hits the spot. We used to LOVE the William Penn pasta, but the Freedom pasta we had last time was excellent.

Everytime I get blue about not having kids, I think about the teenage years and having to go to the mall. Then I'm not blue anymore!

It's not so bad taking just my girls to the mall, we actually enjoy it and have a lot of fun. But the other day - each girl had a friend with... so then I had each of my girls trying to give me attitude that they wouldn't normally give me - I don't do well with that, at all. Next time - no friends.

I popped into Michaels today. I ended up getting the ribbon spool rack. It was only $12.49 plus tax. I'm happy with that. I think I have to do some assembly on it.

Bummer - I should have stopped - I was right there on Sunday... Oh well... I hope you'll show pictures of it on FB. I am very glad you got one... I hope to get one soon too.

Love that sorcerer Mickey bag and great minds think alike as I have that same fabric that you used for Mickey's hat.

I saw you mention SciFi.... that is my kids new favorite restaurant. We ate there for the first time this summer and the kids are begging to go back again. It really is so cool inside.

Thanks Michelle... I wish I would have bought more of that fabric - it's soooo expensive though, even with a coupon. Sigh...

That's awesome to hear... I am headed over to make my ADR in a minute here.

Great deal! I live Walmart clearance leggings. I found a tutorial on how to make ruffled shorts out I'd them.

Oooh - I would be interested to hear about these... but I doubt dd would wear them.

I had a great day yesterday...

I finally finished my online catalog - what a relief! I've been working on it for several weeks, in my spare time. It's so nice to have it done!

I was able to get my next bag quilted yesterday. I ran out of quilt batting though... So, I had 2 reasons to go out of town. Of course, they were out of the stuff I usually buy, so I had to buy the expensive stuff... So far - I really like it, and even though it's +$1/yd, I am thiinking it's well worth it - it's really a lot nicer. I will work with it again today and if I really like it, I will probably switch.

And I found the leggings yesterday - which I am still so thrilled about. V wasn't too happy - they were "long" and she is too picky... But she wore a pair all evening - I didn't say anything, just smirked. I think she eventually liked them.

So, this morning I am going to cut out and quilt the last 2 pieces that I couldn't quilt yesterday... Then I will be working on the applique. And I get to use my new LCM thread.

I hope everyone has a fantastic day!

D~

 

[cogero]

I can't wait to see your next creation.

I think I am going to try the LCM thread.

I am so happy you found leggings.

 

[DMGeurts]

I guess I kind of forgot about my Charlotte TR I was in the process of writing...

I don't even remember exactly where I left off...

I am pretty sure it was Friday evening though...

So, Liz (babynala), Beth (Blyssfull), Marianne (Mphalens) and I were running late to Rachel's School of Rock concert... Thankfully Judy (blessedmom4), Lisa (mommy2mrb) and Andrea (vbandrea) were saving seats for us...

We walked in and the concert had already started - it was VERY loud... but the kids did great! I was a little sad that I couldn't hear Rachel at all, it seemed that she was drowned out by all the other instruments... But all of the kids did a great job and the talent was amazing!

And I didn't even get a picture of Rachel on "her" instrument... I am soothing myself by saying I have a LE - sadly blurry - picture of her on the drums.

Afterwards, we went "back stage" and one of the other talented musicians was nice enough to take a group picture of all of us (Judy - I grabbed this one off of your PTR and saved it - I hope you don't mind, since I think you are the only one who got this picture?)

I am going to attempt to name everyone...

L to R: Rachel (Judy's oldest dd), Andrea (vbandrea), Lisa (mommy2mrb), Megan (Lisa's dd) holding on to Alexa (Andrea's dd), Marianne (Mphalens -)squatting down, Me - behind her, Judy (blessedmom4), Little Lisa (Judy's youngest dd), Beth (blyssfull), Liz (babynala), David (Judy's youngest son), and Christian (Judy's oldest).

What I didn't tell you about this picture... There was a misplaced hand somewhere... I won't say who - I won't say where - but it was there, and we all laughed about it all night.

We all caravanned to Judy's house, where we had a great dinner! Lisa and Liz went to grab pizza for everyone - while the rest of us sat around and chatted.

We had a delicious salad, and Lisa made her amazing garlic bread - then we had some pizza from Pizza Hut... it was a very good meal! Judy was even kind enough to get me some lemons for my water.

Once dinner was finished - we all exchanged gifts...

Andrea made these awesome luggage tags for everyone...

Lisa made these adorable cards (which I promise to use)...

Beth and I made the wallets for everyone...

We took a couple of pictures... I had to crop my 6 (!) double chins out of this one, because the look on MA and Beth's faces were priceless!

Then, we took a nice one (Judy, where were you? Did you run off on us?)...

L to R: Lisa, Andrea, Me, Marianne, Beth, Liz...

Then we begged Rachel to do a short concert for us, since we couldn't hear her at the other one, so her and her dad set up... David made her this amazing guitar stool (that I don't have a picture of) - such talent in that house!

Rachel and her dad played us a couple of songs, which I was able to record on video... If I can ever get a picture or two extracted from that, I will post...

And then, Rachel and Little Lisa performed for us... Rachel played the guitar and Lisa sang "sunshiney day" (is that the right title?)... She does have the voice of an angel... Just beautiful - both of them.

We chatted a bit more, and then it was time to call it a night... Hugs all around...

Liz and Beth drove MA and I to MA's car... L and B headed back to their hotel, and MA and I headed back to MA's house... About half way there, I realized that my phone was still charging in Liz's van... So we ended up stalking them to get it.

MA and I tried to look at Beth's embroidery machine that night (it was having a fit...) - but it didn't like us either.

Eventually, we gave up (quite late) and went to bed...

MA was nice enough to put the boy's tv/dvd player in my room... I belive my movie of choice to sleep to tonight was Monster's Inc.

Up next... Tomorrow - the BIG Dismeet... Lots of pictures!

D~

 

[babynala]

I can not imagine what Ali must be feeling. It is so sad to hear about such young lives cut short.

Of course I love your Charlotte update. Rachel and her camp mates put on a great show. It is amazing to see so much talent. Rachel was a great performer and she got the crowd going with some clapping during one of the songs. Getting the chance to hear Rachel play and Lisa sing was such a pleasure.

It was so nice of Judy and her family to invite us into their home. It was a great evening and I am so happy that I got to go to Charlotte.

 

[Shaniyah]

I have been lurking on your last PTR and TR. I have decided to finally be an active participant! I look forward to seeing more of your awesome creations and reading all about your trip. I too have a upcoming trip in my mind. Hopefull if we get a fall break next year I will be at Disney Oct. 2013 enjoying free dining as well!

 

[cogero]

Love love love the Charlotte update.

 

[solana131]

Guess where I found them? Wal-mart... On clearance... For $3 each... I bought all 5 pairs in V's size

This always happens to me. Darn Wally World....I should just learn to check there first for everything I am looking for

 

[DMGeurts]

I can not imagine what Ali must be feeling. It is so sad to hear about such young lives cut short.

Of course I love your Charlotte update. Rachel and her camp mates put on a great show. It is amazing to see so much talent. Rachel was a great performer and she got the crowd going with some clapping during one of the songs. Getting the chance to hear Rachel play and Lisa sing was such a pleasure.

It was so nice of Judy and her family to invite us into their home. It was a great evening and I am so happy that I got to go to Charlotte.

Alli seems to be OK... There is just an overwhelming amount of sadness in the community right now, where people are rallying together to support the family. As more details are released, it's just so sad.

Yes! I forgot about the clapping... She did an awesome job getting the crowd to interact with the band.

I agree - It was awesome of Judy and her family to invite us into their home. And I had a great time in Charlotte!

I have been lurking on your last PTR and TR. I have decided to finally be an active participant! I look forward to seeing more of your awesome creations and reading all about your trip. I too have a upcoming trip in my mind. Hopefull if we get a fall break next year I will be at Disney Oct. 2013 enjoying free dining as well!

WELCOME!!! I hope you are able to plan a trip for next year - I really do enjoy going in the fall... Some day - I hope to go at Christmas too. It's our 15th anniversary this year, and I begged DH to take me to WDW for it - so I could see all the holiday decorations... I won't quote him, but it's was a definite "NO". Someday, I will get there.

Love love love the Charlotte update.

It was tons of fun!!! I hope that we get to do it again - everyone I met was just amazing! Hopefully you can make it next time Chiara... and Nini too!

This always happens to me. Darn Wally World....I should just learn to check there first for everything I am looking for

LOL... yah - and I wouldn't have checked there, but I was there for something else - so it worked out.

I am super excited about this applique I am working on - this bag theme is so unique and original - I doubt I will ever get an order for another one for a very long time. And, of course - I love my LCM thread on it - it looks marvelous!

Yesterday afternoon, Josh and I spent the day making salsa and spaghetti sauce from the tomatoes from our garden... I was so of tomatoes by the end of the day... I was quite sad that we didn't get as many jars as we would have liked... but we still have about 20 lbs of tomatoes to do. We just ran out of time.

Then, last night, Josh hung 2 pictures in my sewing room for me... The first one is the Donald Philharmagic numbered print (possibly a lithograph, but not sure how to tell the difference?) he got for me for Christmas last year. And the other one is the girls' silhouettes from our 2008 trip and I added the silhouette of Rufus that Bernadette got for me when she went to WDW a few months ago. I had purchased 2 frames for those silhouettes back in 2008, and I've had them in that particular frame (the other one is hanging in my livingroom) in my China cabinet ever since - because I didn't know what I was going to do with it.... Then I got to thinking - I was pretty sure that frame matched all the other frames in my sewing room... and it did. I am super excited about this - because I found the perfect spot to hang it. Now, the next time we go - I need to get a silhouette of MM to go in the center spot on another frame with the girls that I plan to hang in my sewing room too. I will try to take pictures again when it gets light out. (Although, by the time I am done typing - it might be light out. )

So, I am spending today in my sewing room... I hope to finish up this applique, assemble and finish this bag, and hopefully get started on the applique for the wallet. Ideally, I want to finish this set by Friday... I have an idea up my sleeve for what I want to work on this weekend. However - I cannot disclose the project for a few months yet - but I am excited about it, and I am sure you all will be too - well, some of you anyways.

I made another ADR this morning... Dinner at Whispering Canyon... This is one that the girls and I definately want to do. We have it worked into our schedule whether we do a short or long trip. I have one more potential ADR to make for tomorrow - and I am not sure what it will be. It will be a late breakfast somewhere though - or possibly an early lunch... Or possibly nothing. Last time it was such a rat race trying to get checked out of the resort, then going to a park, then getting back on time so we didn't miss ME, Allison being sick, ME being late to the airport... We might just say enough, and not do anything this day? I think I am going to try for an earlier flight than last time... Last time our flight was at (ummm....) like 7:30 PM... I am thinking more of a 3 PM flight time... Then we can check out of the resort at 11 - put our bags in the holding area - eat some lunch - then get on ME. Then we won't feel like we are rushing all over.

OK - has anyone seen or heard from Andrea??? She has been missing for several days, and I am gettnig worried... Or did she just abandon my PTR?

Alrighty then - I better get back to work! I have a lot I want to accomplish today.

D~