Hurricane Irene

In upstate New York near the shores of Lake Ontario we were spared from the destruction of Hurricane Irene. But we did have one of the windiest days in my memory. As we sat down to dinner I suggested we go and see the lake. If it was super windy at our house, the lake shore would probably be even more so.

As we approached the parking lot near the lake, it was very clear that we were not the only ones curious about the lake that night.

Getting out of the car I realized that the force of the winds were bordering on dangerous and we would need to be careful. I scooped up my toddler and strapped her onto my back.

The waves were amazing. Never had I experienced the power of water like this. I could imagine a wave coming up and whisking us away.

Of course the sunset was a nice treat too.

Headbands and Hair Covers

A friend was looking for some kind of head covering and I actually had a decent supply of hats and things. She really liked this head band like cover. I figured it would be easy to make. We measured the original and looked through my stash of fabric.

Later in the week I made one up, then made some more. It was a quick and easy project. I even made some in kid sizes. What is especially neat about it is that it can be customized with different fabrics and widths. It could be made as narrow as a traditional headband or very wide in order to cover much of the head. It is very comfortable too due to the elastic in the back.

Pink Ribbon Walk

Every year since 2007 I have participated in the Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester's annual Pink ribbon walk. It is held on Mother's Day at a beach along Lake Ontario.

Because it is held early in the day and it's May and it's next to the lake, it's always chilly. Last year I had the brilliant idea to bring along blankets. Then I thought it would be nice to have pink ribbon blankets knowing we'd use them year after year.

I found some nice fleece with pink ribbons and the words HOPE, LIVE, and LOVE on it. There are also butterflies and hearts. In addition I got a coordinating pink print to make the blanket two layers and reversible. I cut two blankets: one for my six year old who prefers to sit in the stroller and one for my 6 week old who would be nestled up against me, but might need an extra blanket across her back. With the leftover fabric I made a scarf for me. All the items consisted of the two layers wrong sides together and serged together.

The next year it wasn't quite as cold and I thought it would be nice for the girls to have matching shirts with some sort of embroidered appliqués. I wasn't sure what to put on them. I settled for HOPE. I really do hope that my girls and my boy never have to deal with cancer.

Birthday Shirts

The idea for a birthday shirt originated back in 2004. It was Kyle's fourth birthday and Sydney was just five weeks old. I hadn't made any special plans for his birthday yet and asked him what he'd like to do. He said he'd like to go to the children's museum with a couple friends. I called the friends and one could come, it was a date.

For some reason, Sydney slept a little longer that morning. It is during these times that I seem to be most inspired! I have the gift of time I did not count on. I asked Kyle how he would like to have a shirt that had a big number "4" on it. It would show everyone that it was his birthday. He loved the idea.

We found a nice plain orange shirt in his drawer and a cute printed fabric in my stash. I drew out a "4" and sewed it on. All with a sleeping baby! It was not perfect, but it worked and he felt special all day.

The next year I made him a 5 and continued on until he was no longer interested. During that time I started making them for my daughter too. I learned some new techniques, remembered to change the needle tension, and even tried out some stabilizers.

This year I even offered to make some as gifts. And Kessa got her first one beginning the tradition anew.

Mini Ice Cream Cakes

When I asked my soon to be eleven year old what kind of cake he wanted, he said ice cream. I had planned on making a cake or cupcakes, but nothing too elaborate. But an ice cream cake I had not planned on making.

I did some research and learned all there was to know about ice cream cakes. I even found a recipe for the chocolatey goodness inside Carvel ice cream cakes. Ice cream cakes work best with pans that have straight sides. That threw out my cup cake pan idea.

I was running out of time and needed to make some decisions. I went to Target and found a straight-walled mini square cake pan. It was like a cupcake pan, except all the cakes were mini squares. I was ready to try it.

I bought strawberry ice cream and chocolate ice cream, I made the chocolatey goodness which is just chocolate wafer cookies crumbled, then covered in magic shell topping.

I let the ice cream soften, worked quickly, then back to the freezer and repeat. It was a messy job and my fingers got really cold! But they were coming along.

My research indicated that whipped cream makes a perfect frosting for ice cream cakes. It worked well, but again I had to work quickly with trips to the freezer.

Overall they were cute, but far from professional. They were delicious and the birthday boy loved them.

Mini Wallet

What does one gift a one year old who is baby number three and can find a seemingly never ending supply of new things in the toy closet?

That was the question. After some consideration the answer seemed simple. What is her favorite thing to do? Why take all the cards out of mommy's wallet, of course.

I sought the aid of my trusty pal, Google and found a great little tutorial for a mini wallet.

The pattern seemed slightly intimidating with all the little folds, but it got easier as it started to resemble the finished product.

I printed pictures of her siblings and herself and had them laminated into little cards.

The gift went over well, but I have to say that mommy's wallet is still a favorite.

Pillow Case Project for ConKerr Cancer

It was time to plan the next Girl Scout Daisy meeting. I enjoy sewing and was looking for a simple project for the girls. After looking around for a while, I wasn't finding much geared for six year olds. Finally I thought about a simple pillowcase, that is pretty easy. You just need to know how to sew in a straight line.

That is when I discovered ConKerr Cancer. This charity provides nice directions for sewing pillowcases, collects donated pillowcases and then distributes them to children who are being hospitalized. The children are able to choose a pillowcase and then it is theirs to keep. The website encourages sewers to use bright, fun fabrics and even coordinate different fabrics for the main part of the pillowcase and the border.

I also learned a neat trick for sewing the border to the main part. It feels like you are doing magic. It is dubbed the hotdog method.

I still wasn't sure the girls could make the pillowcases start to finish in an hour. Prepping the pillowcases seemed to make the most sense. I cut the parts out and even attached the borders. Now all the girls would need to do would be to sew one long side and one short side. I was able to have three sewing machines available and four adults to help.

For the girls who weren't sewing, I wanted to make sure they had activities to keep them busy. I made some signs and had a few different stations. One station was for card making. The girls could make a simple get well card or I hope you like the pillowcase card. The other stations were hula hooping, practicing some "Minute to Win it" games, and a bean bag toss.

While all the preparations were a bit time consuming, I just felt this was a great project and I wanted to make it happen.

The girls loved sewing. It was very exciting for them. They also seemed to understand what the project was all about. I felt really pleased with the whole thing.