Soft Wubby Tutorial and Dumpster Diving Braless

I finally have a new tutorial!!!! Yea me! I remember how clever I thought it was that Melissa came up with the name "Tuesday Tutorial".  I can't do it!  It is way too much pressure to have deadlines.  I have really great intentions and then life happens.  Now we will have "Surprise....It Is A Tutorial" day.  Or...Finally the damn project is done day....

I have to tell you about my Tuesday and exactly why this tutorial was not done on time. O.k. sit back, grab a Diet Coke, and prepare to feel much better about yourself.  Monday night Thing 3 came home from school in tears.  Thing 3 is a perfectionist.  She is and overachiever.  She suffers from severe anxiety.  She had been working on a project for a week.  It was due that day (Monday).  She put it in her bag before she left for school.  Monday is band day so she went to band at a different school than she attends.  After band she rode the bus to her school.  She got to school.  She went to her locker. She pulled out her books and went to get her project and guess what......(drum roll please....) It was not in her bag.  She had lost it somewhere between the house and her locker.  She was devastated.  She got detention. (When the kids don't have their homework they get detention.  Her life was ruined.  I talked to her and got her calmed down. Next, I called the teacher and explained that she did have the project done but it had fallen out of her bag at band.  I asked her to go look in the car and I would call the bus barn and have the bus driver check and see if it had fallen out on the bus.  It was too late to call the school.  We came up empty handed.  Tuesday morning I got up and went to the school that she has band at.  The office staff was less than helpful.  I was saying really nasty words in my mind. I found the band teacher and together we looked everywhere! I looked in the trash in the band room.  I looked through the trash in the auditorium where they set their bags.  I looked through the trash on the janitors cart! We looked in every spot that Thing 3 had been in.  We called the night janitor and asked if he had found it. The project was a legal sized piece of white paper rolled in a tube.  (If you unrolled it, it was obvious it was a project.  Rolled, it looked like trash) I was pretty sure it had been thrown away.  We looked for a good hour for it. Next stop was the bus barn.  I went and looked all over the bus.  I dug through the trash on the bus (If you are counting I have looked through no fewer than 3 nasty trash cans full of chewed gum and used tissues.) and came up empty handed.  I was devastated for Thing 3.  I got in the car and got ready to leave when out of the corner of my eye I saw a white tube tucked into the door pocket!  I. Was. Ticked.  I had to go to Target and then I was going to go home and shower.  I am walking into Target trying to come up with the most vile chores for Thing 3 to do in payment for my lost morning when I caught my reflection in the glass.  I had forgotten my bra.  You might be thinking, "oh, that can't be that bad...she probably had on a baggy shirt."  I could not be that lucky.  I had on a fitted shirt that showed my poor saggy self in all its glory.  I had talked to the principal.  I had talked to 4 teachers.  I had talked to the bus driver.  I had gone to Target.  The day didn't get better.  That my friends is why this is now a Thursday Tutorial!

Drum roll please..........................................

Soft Wubby Blanket

I am always on the lookout for cute ideas for baby gifts.  My talented friend Angela McKellar came up with this cute little blanket.  I call it the Soft Wubby.  It is a small, lightweight quilt, with no batting, and Minky on the back.  I can whip one of these up in less than and hour!

Supplies:

(This will make 2 blankets)

5 (five) 1/4 yard cuts of coordinating prints

1 (one) 3/4 yard cut of a coordinating print

1 yard cut of Minky

coordinating thread

Step 1

* cut each of the 5 ( five) 1/4 yard prints into several pieces 7 1/2 x 9 1/2 inches

* cut 1/4 yard off of your 3/4 yard print.  Set the remaining 1/2 yard aside for the binding

* cut the remaining 1/4 yard print into several pieces 7 1/2 x 9 1/2 inches

You should now have 6 stacks of different prints

Step 2
* Sew 4 different strip sets using three different prints in each row.

Step 3

* You should now have 4 strip sets.  Each strip set should contain 3 different blocks. Press.

* Sew the rows together.  Your top will be 3 block across (width) and 4 rows down (length)

* Press

Step 4

* Measure your top.  Add 1 inch to each side measurement. Cut Minky for the back.

* Lay the Minky on a flat surface, fuzzy side facing down and wrong side up.

* Spray the WRONG side of the Minky with a basting spray. Lay the quilt top on the Minky. Wrong sides  together.  Smooth out all the wrinkles.

Step 5

* Choose a decorative stitch such as a zig zag (I like the wavey stitch) and sew across each seam.  This will anchor the top and the bottom together.

(This is the back.)

Step 6

* Measure your quilt and cut your binding.  Bind using your favorite method.  I never hand tack my binding because these Soft Wubby blankets get used alot! I find that when I sew it on with the machine it is much more durable.

Step 7

* Find a cute baby that needs a cute little Wubby to cuddle!

This cute little boy Wubby is made using various fabrics from www.treasurebayfabrics.com

The little girl version is made using Weekends Go By Bike by Erin McMorris for Free Spirit

These blankets are perfect for the car seats, the stroller, and just general snuggling.  They are lightweight and so very soft!  Happy Sewing!

Stephanie

Sometimes Life is Hard.

I woke up this morning, got my kids off to school, and started to clean my bathroom.  I had to stop because I felt the need to write.  Life is very crazy at our house right now.  It is always crazy but right  now, there is so much extra on our plates.  I want to talk to you all about Thing 1.

Thing 1 is an absolutely beautiful, wonderful, strong, happy, resilient, young lady.  I wish I could take credit for her but I can't.  You see, I did not give birth to Thing 1.  I love her like I did...In a lot of ways I feel like I love her with a fierce intensity because I DID NOT give birth to her.  Thing 1 was taken from her mother at birth.  My husbands parents were foster parents to her and then adopted her.  She was the baby that every time someone met her and found out she was a foster child they wanted to adopt her.  My in-laws held onto her tightly.  My mother-in-law was diabetic.  When Thing 1 was 9ish my mil's health started to decline.  Thing 1 watched her go from being a vibrant and strong to watching her go on dialysis and eventually bedridden.  Thing 1 was at home while her mom was under the care of hospice and eventually died.  I still cry when I think of this sweet 11 year old girl calling me and telling me that her mom couldn't tell her she loved her anymore.  We knew Thing 1 would be ok because she had her dad.  She was the CENTER of her dad's world.  Shortly after my mil died we noticed that my father-in-law (fil) was becoming forgetful.  We talked them into moving close to us. We started to see my fil declining and soon he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.  Thing 1 was 14.  It was decided that we would become her guardians.  Thing 1 came to live with us.  After Thing 6 was born I knew I could not have any more children.  It was hard because I did not feel that our family was complete. After Thing 1 moved in, I knew that our family was complete.  I was content.  Our family was how it was supposed to be.  That 1st year was not easy but we made it through.  This is when I truly learned how resilient Thing 1 was.  It was also when I realized that my favorite sound was her laugh.  When Thing 1 laughs, everything is made better.  Her father had to go into an Assisted Living Memory Unit.  Thing 1 would go once a week and eat with him.  She has so much compassion and learned to love the people there.  She was able to find the humor in watching her dad decline.  While her dad was in this unit she was the only person her consistently knew.  I know that this was a gift from God to this young girl that still needs her father.  I have watched her mourn the loss of the father she knew and embrace who he was becoming.  She has done this with a grace and a strength that I know I would not have.  A little over a week ago my fil fell and broke his hip.  He had surgery and had a total hip replacement.  He was hardly able to communicate but after he got to his room he asked me where she was.  Last week was hard.  He is now in a nursing home setting.  It is hard to see him.  I took Thing 1 to see him.  I could see her heart break and then she took a breathe, started talking to him, and laughed with him.  All of this was done in typical Thing 1 fashion.  Friday night we got a call that he had tried to get up and had fallen again.  He broke his hip again.  I can see the pain in Thing 1's eyes.  I can see it in her walk.  She is 17 and should be worrying about boys and hair.  Instead she is dealing with the lose of her dad over and over again.  It breaks my heart. She doesn't want to talk about it.  All I can do is pray for her and love her.  I realize that it is selfish to be grateful that we have her as one of our children.  I can't remember what our life was like before her.  I can't imagine what our life would be like without her. The sad thing is that our having her has come at a huge price. Sometimes, life is hard.
Thing 1, I love you.

Because It Is Not Tuesday Giveaway!!!!

Do you remember how last week I posted that I would have a new tutorial ?  Guess what. I don't.  School started thursday and thursday night my father-in-law fell and broke his hip.  He has Alzheimer's so that complicates things a bit.  I have big plans to lock myself in my sewing room this weekend.  I need a bit of sewing therapy!

I feel so guilty for neglecting all you in blog land that I decided to do a give away!

This giveaway includes an Amy Butler eco-friendly shopping bag and an Amy Butler pattern signed by AMY BUTLER!!!!!! The pattern is for the Gypsy Sling and has never been opened!

How to enter:
Comment on this blog to win! Make sure you leave your email address or a way to contact you or remember to check back to see if you've won. Limit one entry per person per day. We will draw a winner on Friday at noon Central time. Winner will be chosen by random number generator. No purchase necessary to win.

My Toothbrush Tastes Like the Toilet.....

Last sunday I was sitting in church.  Thing Six was snuggled up to me and her breath was a bit stinky.  I asked her if she had brushed her teeth before church. Here is her answer. "Ya, I did brush my teeth but my toothbrush tasted like the toilet so maybe she has toilet breath." At this point I should have just dropped it but I was grossed out and I must admit, a bit intrigued. I said," Why would your toothbrush taste like the toilet?" She replied, "Oh, you know, sometimes they just fall in there...sometimes the kids get mad at each other and put them in there...but only after it has been flushed (the flushing makes it all sanitary!)." I told her that I have 8 new toothbrushes in my bathroom and to make sure to get a new one when she gets home. Ewwww!!!! Just for the record EVERYONE got new toothbrushes and a huge lecture on what is appropriate to put in the toilet and what is NOT!!!!!!!!!!

A couple days later my Hubby took Thing 5 to the store with him.  They were chatting and she said,"Dad, sometimes when I am mad at Thing 4 (only boy in family) I go in the bathroom and pee in the toilet.  I wipe my bum and put the toilet paper in the trash.  Then, I leave the seat up and wait for mom to get mad at him." The Hubby looked at her and said, "That is good to know."

I know all kids are gross. I have to say that I have come to believe that mine are just disgusting!

Today is the first day of school.  Today, I get my sanity back!  Have a great day. I am going to work on my tutorial for next week! Yae Me!

-Stephanie