I haven't been lazy!

Just too busy with schoolwork!

And, my parents have moved here! It's been such a great event--maybe not for them in having to do all the moving--but hopefully they will be happy and contented once all the moving is done, and I am so happy to have them here! I love being able to go around and see them!

And I love to help them out. They are great parents, grandparents, and parents-in-law. My DH absolutely loves them. They are so much fun! My dad went with us to India several years ago, at age 75! And we really put him through the wringer--up to the nomads at 16,000 feet above sea level!Then, last year, both my parents went with me, DH and Son #3 to Italy. What a blast!

School Daze

Today was the second day of our homeschool co-op classes.

I teach a science class there.

It's wonderful to help kids learn; I love science and doing science experiments too!

Unfortunately, we don't get to blow anything up very often.

(Uh-oh, too many boys in this family, I think....)

Wow, I've been lazy...

or busy. So much homework! Plus I got behind with the Labor Day Weekend.
Sorry.
I'll get back to my sewing and let you know what I'm up to!
But I'm loving grad school. It's great! I'm learning so much already---and realizing how much I don't know!

Some more of my study

My new study area. This little desk came from a great little antique shop in Waxahachie. I bought it for $15! It's not exactly an antique--probably 60's, 70's???--and was painted sorta white, with green paint showing through.
I scrubbed and sanded and painted it pink! And found the beautiful little glass knob at Hobby Lobby.

This is my new bulletin board. I am not too crafty, but sometime I find and borrow nifty ideas. (I don't think up originals very well.) This is an old window--no glass--that I put a piece of quilt behind, then tacked a large piece of foam board to the back of the whole shebang.
I cut the quilt up and sewed the rectangles back together in such a way that the seams are behind the muntins (the small bars that divide the window panes) and a star is in the middle of each window pane.
Ta-Da! Some place to put my notes to myself!

Sewing is just not in the cards...

....this week.

So I'll show you a bit more about my fantabulous spruced-up study/sewing room.

Here's the pic of the huge office credenza that my wonderful guys moved into my sewing room. Yeah, guys!

This now holds lots of books (school and sewing), a few fun things, and my buckets of sewing projects that I'm working on.

I covered cat-litter buckets (they were just lying about in the garage--I didn't want to just trash them!) with fabric, and I put large zip-lock bags with one pattern and fabric/notions in each zip-lock. Three or four projects will fit in each bucket.

The buckets are VERY easy to cover. Just takes a few minutes (if you're not too picky about perfection). Read through the directions and figure out how much material you will (less than a yard).
First, trace the bottom of your bucket onto some paper, add 1/2 inch all the way around for the seam. This is the bottom. Cut out.

Measure the circumference of the rectangle you've drawn. Add 1 inch for seams. This is the length of your side. Then measure the height of your bucket. Add 1/2 inch for the seam connecting the side to the bottom, and add 2 or 3 inches to turn down at the top. Now you can cut out the side covering of your bucket.

Remembering that you will be turning down the top 2 or 3 inches of the side piece (dotted line in above drawing), mark where your bucket handles are. Slash the side piece and finish those edges (either turn to inside with a tiny hem, or bind).

Turn down top edge and stitch.
Right sides together, stitch together short edges of side piece. Press.

Again, right sides together, stitch bottom to side. To do this, mark centers of front, back and sides on both bottom piece and side piece. Pin together, easing or making a pleat or two if necessary.

If you wish, put a piece of elastic around the top of the bucket cover to help hold it onto the bucket (see blue line in above drawing).

Now, don't those old plastic buckets look much better?

First Day of Grad School!

Only one class today (I'm only taking 3 classes this semester.) It was great. Already plenty of homework.

And, of course, the rest of the life isn't always peaceful. Didn't Jesus promise that our lives would be stress-free, euphoric, and financially bountiful?
No, He didn't. He did promise that He would always be with us, and give us strength for our trials.
So now, off to try and get the broken house key out of the lock, unlock my DS's car (lots of lock insufficiency today), and get some new house keys made.
Plus make dinner and work on homework--mine and the DS's.

May I show you my fabrics from India?

They are lovely, if I do say so myself!

On the left is the dupatta, or scarf. On the right is one large piece of border-print cotton. It's supposed to be for both the tunic top (kameez) and pants (salwar), but I think I will use the material to make a summer dress. I may use the scarf for a top.

This is another set of fabrics for a 3 piece salwar kameez. I will probably make a summer salwar suit for myself. On the left is the blue print for the top, in the middle is the dupatta, and on the right the white print for the bottoms. (Though I may use the white trimmed with the blue for the top, and have blue pants).

This gorgeous stuff I purchased for about 6 dollars--the mirrors hadn't been attached yet, but I love it just as it is! It also is a bit short for a complete suit, but being altitudinally-challenged, I may be able to squeeze out a salwar suit. This is the front; the back is plain. Really, not sure what I will do with it, but it's lovely, isn't it?

This is the dupatta. It's quite sheer. If you can tell from this pic, the edge of the scarf has to somehow be finished. There is a cording along the edge, but the material is raw. Haven't quite figured out how to manage this!

I got all this fabric for about $20, can you believe? And finding 3 matching pieces of material for a salwar suit is nigh impossible here in the States! So I'm scheming and planning what to do with all this next spring--because before you know it, autumn will arrive.