To Blog Or Not to Blog?

It seems that I have just not been in the blogging mood for a long time.  It could be because I haven't been sewing any children's clothing lately.  Maybe I just need to get in my sewing room, clean up the stuff I've been doing, and start on kids' things again.  Afterall, that is my passion.
I have just been in a funk.  I've been reading blogs.  I've left a few comments.  I used to leave comments on almost every blog I read, every time I read it.  Lately, I have just not had much to say, I suppose.
In looking back over my blog, I'm wondering if all this is, is a format for me to brag about what I've created?  Is it ???????.......   really, what is it?
I love reading about what ya'll create, so it stands to reason that ya'll want to see what others create, including me?  Right?  I don't know.
I also haven't had use of my husband's camera lately.  I would rather read blogs with photos.  I always did like picture books best.
I've been trying to figure out a way to turn my sewing or other creative endeavors into $$.  I haven't figured it out, yet.  I have heard yeas and nays about etsy, ebay, craig's list, etc......  I have heard yeas and nays about having your own website from which you sell things.  What's your take on this?
I have lots of questions.  Do any of you have answers?
Okay, so, now I just need to get in my sewing room and finish up some of the projects I do have going on before I start anything new.  That's also one of my problems.  I tend to think ahead to the NEXT thing I want to make, therefore hurrying through whatever the current project is.  NOT GOOD!
Later..............Julia

"I Will Follow Him" and "Children of God"

Every fifth Sunday, several of the churches in our area have a joint evening service after a family night covered dish dinner.  This past Sunday it was held at my church.

 The puppet team that I direct was asked to present a couple of songs.  We chose "I Will Follow Him" which you may remember as a love song from the fifties that was turned around in the movie "Sister Act" to a religious song.  As a background I made the silhouette above to represent people following Him.

 This is the puppet that "sang" the song.  The poster being held up was just for fun.  I wish  my husband had gotten photos of all of the signs, etc... that we used.  It was really cute.

 He did get a few.  There were others, though, from behind the taller white curtain.

 Here, we were performing the Third Day song, "Children of God".  Our youth went to a Third Day concert recently, and they loved this group. 

You can't tell in these photos, but the lights in the sanctuary were off and the puppets were holding little flashlights.  They swayed to the music as they "sang".

Today, I'm sewing.  I am remaking some of my mother's clothes to fit me.  These are some of the things that were too good to give or throw away.  So, I decided to just take them apart and remake them.  Mother was shorter than I am so I am shortening a few pairs of her pants to make into capris for me.  I am remaking some of her jackets and other tops to fit me, as well.  There's one dress that I'm going to shorten and take in.  I really need some clothes, so why not reuse her things?  She would be very proud to know I'm doing this.
Oh yeah, I forgot.  I am going with the poll votes from my sidebar to name my dress form, Beulah.  That was my grandmother's name.  It was my mother's first name, as well as one of my first cousin's first names. Lily was my Mother-in-law's first name, but she went by her middle name, Marie.   Ruth was Mother's middle name.  I have decided to name my sewing machine Ruth Marie.  Puddin' was my nickname when I was a kid.  I think I'll just save that name for myself.

I'm Back and I've Been Busy

 Whew!!!!  What a whirlwind of activity has been going on in my life!!!  First of all, we went to South Carolina to visit our daughter who just moved there from Arizona.  Our daughter along with Lil'E and Lil'B came home with us to go to the wedding of one of our nephews.  They stayed the whole week, then went to Nashville to a wedding in which my son-in-law was a groomsman.  Then, our daughter from Massachusetts, her husband, Big Little Man, and Little Little Man came in for our other nephew's wedding.  What a treat it was to see these daughters and their families.
Then, I flew up to Connecticut to visit with the daughter who lives there and the one in Massachusetts.  We celebrated Big Little Man's and Miss K's birthdays.  BLM was 3 and Miss K was 11!!!!   Coming home my flight from CT was delayed, so I missed my connection flight in Charlotte, NC.  I ended up spending the night in a hotel in NC.  I only got about 4 hours of sleep before I had to be up and getting ready to go back to the airport.
In between all of these visits, I have taught a lot, worked on several projects, and worked with the puppeteers at church getting ready to perform this coming Sunday.  I also went to a luncheon at a fellow retired teacher's home.  All of the guests were retired teachers from my school.  What fun that was!
This past Tuesday, May 24th, would have been my mother's 87th birthday.  How fitting it was that the retired teachers organization here chose that day to honor her memory!  I was invited to go, and I'm so glad that I did.  I got to hear people I didn't even know tell memories they had of Mother and how much she meant to them.  It was hard to hold back the tears.
Okay, so I have a few pictures of three of the things I've worked on while I've been taking a blogging break.
First, I have made a prayer shawl for a friend whose husband died recently.  My church has a prayer shawl ministry, and I've decided to participate.  This shawl is 57 inches long and about 2 feet wide.  It's made to drape around her shoulders.  As you may remember, one of the things I was determined to learn was to knit a cable stitch.  I think I've got it figured out, now.  This was fun to make.

 Next, you may remember this Easter dress that I made for Miss J.  It was a little snug across the top, so I added the yellow strips up the sides of the front and all the way around and down the back.  Then, I embroidered a wavy feather stitch along the length of them to tie them in with the center panel. 

 I was rather proud of myself for packing all of the two grands' birthday gifts and my clothes in a carry on bag!  I made this small purse to carry my essential things in so that I wouldn't have to take a regular sized purse.  I did take a tote bag with one gift in it, along with a couple of books.  I have been on a flight before that I was told to put my purse inside my tote.  I didn't think my regular purse would fit in the tote with this other stuff in it.  

Using sample upholstery fabrics, I made the purse below.  As you can see, there is a pocket for my cell phone on the outside of one side.

                                The other side has a zippered pocket for carrying cash.

 The strap is adjustable so that I can carry it across my body or over just one shoulder.  I bought a hook to which I can attach my keys.  I didn't take the keys on my trip.

 On the inside, there is a long pocket that can hold my sunglasses.  I also made two small pockets just the right size for my debit and credit card, my insurance card, and my driver's license.  I kept the driver's license in a pocket by itself so that it would be easy to get to when going through security.  Then there's the main body of the purse which, granted, is small, but large enough for my small calendar and a pack of gum and a small pack of tissues.  I was so happy with the way this purse worked out on my trip.  I have been carrying it ever since I got home.  I will probably make a few more of these and only carry a larger purse when I don't have a choice.

I also made a bag full of zippers for Miss K.  It is an over the shoulder bag made from an old jacket of mine that was made of a floral pique in oranges, pinks, and greens.  I made her a small pocketbook, too.  Then, I made a roll-up case for Big Little Man in which to carry his cars.  I made it and a bag to carry it in from an old pair of my jeans.  I didn't get photos of those.

A lady who works at the nursing home where Mother was, asked me to make tops for her girls to wear in a baton recital.  I wish I had gotten photos, but she said she would email some to me.  They were unique!  I made them to their specifications.

Oh yeah, I also made cosmetic bags for a couple of my friends, and small zippered bags for Miss J and Miss R to carry their stuff when they are on trips, or whenever.  No photos of these either.

I think that's all the projects I've done.  Next, I have a couple of commissioned outfits to make for friends' grandchildren.  One is for a baby boy, and the other is for a girl who is almost toddling.

It's good to be back on my blog.  I have not had time to even read other blogs, so I have a lot of catching up to do!!!  I've missed you.
On top of all that I celebrated my birthday (59th) and Mother's Day!!!!

Julia

A BREAK

I am going to follow along with a few other bloggers and take a little break from blogging.  I will still try to read some of yours, and if you are someone who I email with, I will definitely try to keep up with you that way.  I just have lots going on and not enough hours in the day.

Remembering.........

 Do you remember this photo?

 

And then, there was this photo to show the contrast from winter to spring.

This is the same view after the storms came through the other night.

My husband and I were out of town that night.   Most of our family and friends were either in closets, bathrooms, under makeshift protection of different sorts, but all were really scared.  We kept in touch throughout the storms with my father-in-law.  He stayed in the basement till after midnight.  Lots of people lost trees and had damage to their homes.  No one we know was injured or killed.  We do know people who live south of us in the town where we used to live and where I taught school, who have lost their homes completely.  There are many who are without power.  Many people have wells that work on electricity, so they have no water.

We are so fortunate to have only lost 3 really large limbs from these trees and a few smaller limbs from a few other trees.  One of the most amazing sights to us was the picture below.  This small limb was thrown into the ground like a spear!  It is in several inches deep!

 

Here are just a few more views of our broken trees.

We were really lucky that one of these big trees didn't land on our house.

 Probably the most amazing thing is that these peonies were not destroyed.  They are leaning more than they should be, but they are still standing and blooming.

Please keep our neighbors all around us in your thoughts and prayers.  Many, many folks lost everything they owned and many lost their family members and friends. 

A couple tops for me and my peonies

 So, here's the shrug that I have made to wear to my two nephews' wedding the next two weekends.  I am not wild about the drape in the front, but it really looks a little better on me than it does on my friend here.  I still don't have a name for her.  I'm going to post one of those voting poll thingys on my side bar and let ya'll pick her name.

 I like my brown flower.  This is like ribbon that was on a spool.  I just arranged it in a clump and stitched it down.

 I think I'll try to stand with my back to most people the nights of the weddings, because I like the back of the shrug much more than I do the front.  The pleats were supposed to only be sewn down along the center back, but I didn't like the way it drooped, so I stitched them down every inch and a half or so.

 This is a top that i have made to go with this skirt that I purchased last year.  I really like the skirt, but I have not found anything that I really like to go with it.  I also made an orange top.  I thought I took a photo of it, too, but it wasn't on my camera when I downloaded these, so I guess I didn't.  Anyway, I think I like the purple better.  One of the nephews is having a Carribean themed rehearsal dinner.  I think I'll wear this.  I also have  a yellow tshirt that I like that I may wear instead.  Or, I might wear the orange one.  Who knows?

 Here's a close-up of one of my peonies.  I love these flowers!

 This one has the most blooms that are already open.

 This one is a little behind, but it is going to have the most blooms of all.

This one is outside my sewing room window.  I sit facing this window when I sew.  So far, I can't really see the open blooms very well when I'm sitting.  But, I see some blooms that will be just in my line of vision when they open up!  I can't wait.  Like I said in my last post.  When we moved in this house, there was one peony that my husband's grandmother or aunt planted.  I wanted to move it, and when I did, it broke apart into several plants, so I separated them and replanted.  I've done that a few times, and now I have 11 plants.  I will probably separate these one more time to fill in the space between them, and then just let them grow.  These are on the back of my house, so no one driving by can see them, but I can.  They are right off of our deck, and as I said above, one of them is right outside of my sewing room window.
I did plant three in the front of the house, but I'm not sure they'll get enough sunlight there.   We'll see.  I just did that a couple of days ago.

Yard Work = Poison Ivy and some other stuff

I have been sewing JUST A LITTLE.  Mostly, I've been substitute teaching.  I applied on Monday, two weeks ago yesterday, and started teaching on that Wednesday.  I have only had 1 1/2 days since then that I haven't taught.  On that day and a half, I already had plans.  One of our daughters is coming for a visit over the next few days, so I won't go in while she's here.  I've already promised a couple of teachers a few days in May.  I have enjoyed it, but it has taken me away from my sewing and other things I need to be doing in my house.  I just need to get back in a WORK routine.
Now, for the title of this post.  There was no school on Good Friday, so I did yard work that was LONG overdue!!!!  Now, I have poison ivy!  I've never had poison ivy in my life, and I'll be 59 in less than 2 weeks!!!  I didn't see any poison ivy when I was pulling up weeds, but I wasn't looking for it.  I've never had to look for it.  I will for now on, for sure!  My house looks better, though, so I guess it was worth it.  My muscles screamed at me for a couple of days, too.  It was good for me!  This photo is not from my yard.  I took this at one of my daughter's a couple of years ago.  I just hate to have a post without any pictures.

Now, to the sewing room, to get back in my element.  I've actually made a couple of things for myself, and I'm working on a couple more tops.  I will post photos when I finish.  I've not had a chance to take any photos.