Sew Wright

Betsy's Baby Room for Adison

2009-04-04T05:27:00.000-07:00

My friend from church, Betsy, is due in six days, and this is her baby room. It was a labor of love by my friend Tonya and I. Betsy picked out a fabric and we went to town sewing. Here are pictures of the completed drapes, crib bumper and crib skirt. There is also a pillow (not seen here). This was my first baby room and I have to be prideful and say I think it looks amazing! We can't wait to welcome the newest arrival to our church.

Self Challenge 2009

2009-03-28T21:18:00.000-07:00

So if you remember from last year, I did the Self Magazine 2008 Challenge and lost 11 pounds. I've managed to keep 8 of those pound off (YEAH), and I'm on board again. Anyone can join for free on their website. This time I want to lose 8 more pounds to get trim and fit for our cruise we just booked. We are going on a 7 day Mexican Rivera Cruise out of Long Beach. I am SOO Excited! We took our first cruise two years ago and always planned on going again, so here we go. We leave May 17th.

Dream Dinners

2009-03-06T16:20:00.001-08:00

This is a picture of the event that kicked it all off. My meetup group (more about that at a later date), went for a free trial at Dream Dinners, a local dinner assembly center. I had heard of these type of places before and always thought that's for people with more money than I or people who just can't cook. Well, I was wrong! With money being tight, Dream Dinners is great for us. It keeps us from eating out from sheer laziness of not wanting to cook dinner. Also, since they buy in bulk, I get a cheaper price without having to go grocery shopping so often.

I'm on the 12 meals a month plan. Each month I sign up for the next month's menu and schedule a date. Since my brother is living with us, it works out great. They are three servings a piece and really help with portion control. All the ingredients/meals are in zip lock bags and stored in the freezer until ready for use. At the beginning of the weak, I place three in the fridge and then we eat them when I have to work my twelve hours work days. I love it! They have a great selection and the food it tasty too! If you are interested let me know, or just visit the site and make sure you put that I referred you. Welcome to twelve no planning required meals a month.

Blogging

2009-02-15T17:22:00.000-08:00

So I guess if I am to start an online etsy shop, I should start blogging more. (Hopefully my etsy shop will be up in March selling my handmade goods that I have sewn.) Like most people, I have RSS feed to my favorite blogs. I get bored and sad when they don't blog very much because this is my lifeline to them. How can I complain about them when I rarely update mine? So my goal for the immediate future is to blog more.

I'll kick this one off by talking about audiobooks. Since my last in-dash CD player crapped out on me over 4 years ago, I put my factory stereo with tape deck back in my dash with the hope of no one breaking into my easy to steal Honda Accord. I've already had one CD player stolen. My hubby bought me an ipod and an adapter for my car, so I can take my electronics with me.

Ok, back to audiobooks. Now I can place whatever books I want to listen to on my ipod and listen to them while driving. Audiobooks are expensive so I rely on the library. Most of the time, I just request whatever I am interested in and then pick it up when it is available. Recently I came across this-a site where you don't even have to visit the library to get your books. Just log on and surf what is immediately available for download and transfer to playable device or burn.

Listening to these stories in the car allows me to unwind on my ride home from work and gives me something to be happy about for my 5:30 in the morning drive to work. I mostly listen in my car like a said, but audiobooks are also a great way to get chores done around the house. I put the ipod on and off I go. When my mind doesn't remember all the horrible tasks I need to overcome, I don't have a problem doing housework. I also ready quite a bit, so I find it is good to listen to a different genre that you are reading. I listen to a lot of mysteries. Agatha Christie is my favorite. Sometime I even listen to my Book Club book on tape. More on Book Club to follow.

My First Time

2009-01-18T19:13:00.000-08:00

My friend Becky recently bought a chair for ten dollars on craig's list. She wanted to paint and reupholster it to be the seat of honor for her sister's baby shower. We had brainstormed together, but neither one of us had attempted something like this before. Of course we waited until only days before the shower and set to work. She picked the fabric out, sanded, primed and painted the chair and the next day, I went over with my air compressed stapler and a plan for the re-upholstery. I was a bit fearful, even with my knowledge of sewing. An hour and a half later and wahlaa, a brand new chair that was the rave of the party!

Halloween

2008-11-06T10:42:00.000-08:00

Warning sign. We are not liable.

The front of the house.

Extreme props.

The front of the house.

We went to L.A. for Halloween. My Aunt Judy and Uncle Vance live there and every year they have the most amazing Halloween Yard. It takes over a month to put it all together. We showed up two days before to help put the finishing touches on it and to scare the crap out of people on Halloween. It is a lot of hard work, but very rewarding. Plus, I get to see my other family members from IL and other parts of Cali. See the second post for more.

My 10 Year High School Reunion

2008-07-25T18:31:00.000-07:00

Like I said in the last post, I was in Peoria, IL the last week in May. This coincided with my ten year high school reunion. I didn't take many pic's, but here are the ones I liked. The first two are guys I went to high school with and the last two are me with my friends kids. Casey Getz, his wife and son, Jeremy Elsasser, me with Joe and Ashby Patterson's little girl Emma and me with Amber (Aaron) and Jason Redoutey's little guy Caleb. I think I was one of two couples at my reunion without kids. Of course there were some single people and Nathan didn't attend with me so it was kind of weird. I fell back into by old secretarial roles by organizing a list of updated addresses and emails. My ultimate goal of pacifying my curiosity about my classmates was met, plus it fueled me to join facebook. So I guess it was a success.

I am so delinquent

2008-07-22T12:47:00.001-07:00

I've been up to a little sewing lately. I made my mom a gardening bag for mother's day. Didn't turn out exactly as planned, but still super cute! This pic is taken at my parent's land in Farmington, IL. We were home the end of May.

It's been a long time

2008-05-26T17:00:00.000-07:00

Sorry all. I have been horrible at updates. I have an exciting new project I want to share with you though. Nathan and I have been working at renovating a baby blue room (a favorite of the past owners) into my new craft/office room. Take a peek. First Nathan removed the popcorn ceiling, installed can lighting, patched, sanded and painted the ceiling. Then we painted the room not once, but twice since I didn't like the first color. Most recently, Nathan laid wood laminate flooring. It looks amazing and that is just the beginning. Right now we are working on crown molding and baseboard. I can hardly wait for him to build my desks and for me to get started on all my curtains and accessories.

Another Home Tour

2008-04-12T14:32:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, Becky and I went on another home tour. This time to Windsor Square in the Scottsdale Camelback area and another girl Heather joined us. The homes and landscaping were beautiful. Very inspiring.

Coronado Home Tour

2008-04-04T20:55:00.000-07:00

Two Sunday's ago, my new friend from book club, Becky, and I went to see the Phoenix Coronado home tour. The company was better than the tour, but I took a few pics none the less. Too bad they won't upload. Maybe later.

Tonya's new yoga mat bag

2008-03-12T21:37:00.000-07:00

How cute is this!! Another gift for a friend who has so graciously taught a workout class at our church for free. Pattern from Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing. Sorry the pic's weren't working before. Hopefully this will do it.

Self Magazine 2008 Challenge

2008-03-05T12:07:00.000-08:00

I am up for the challenge. With my 10 year high school reunion quickly approaching, the thought that comes and goes about eating better and exercising more, finally leads to change. I joined Self Magazine's 2008 Challenge. It is mainly about getting healthy and reaching your happy weight. I am inspired by the pre-planned meals and exercise routines that don't immediately lead to boredom. I am one week in and have had to be extremely disciplined. With people eating nacho's and ice cream sundaes at work to still having some not so great snack food around the house, I strive to find the smaller me. Working out and eating healthy has left me feeling satisfied and upbeat. Anyone interested is heartily invited to join me for all or just part of the challenge. As you eat your fast food this week, keep me in mind.

More Family Pictures

2008-02-26T14:30:00.000-08:00

First pic is my dad and I next to the biggest amethyst I have ever seen at the Fossil, Rock and Gem Show in Tuscan with some of his hippie friends that just so happen to be in AZ at the same time as my parents. Heaven forbid them get together in Peoria, IL! Next is my mom and I shopping at the show. And last, Grandma and I (my mom's mom) at our place and then Grandma playing Guitar Hero (she's so cool).

Giving Blood

2008-02-19T18:59:00.000-08:00

I'm so proud of you Nathan. Nathan went and gave blood with me for the first time ever. I have been suggesting nicely that he go with me for a long time, but for one reason or another, he hadn't made it until this week. He even gave power red, which is when they take nearly double the amount and give your plasma back to you during the run. I'm not tall enough and don't weight enough to give power red, but they talked him into it. He did great!! No queasiness or fainting. This is one of my soap boxes, so beware! It takes so little time and effort to give a unit of blood every 56 days, that everyone should do it!! It is estimated that 60 percent of the population will need blood or blood components sometime during their lives. If you already give, GREAT! Bring a friend next time and right now United Blood Services is offering free movie tickets.

My Parents Visit

2008-02-19T18:39:00.000-08:00

Well, the rush is over! My parents flew in from Peoria, IL last week and stayed at our place for a week. I love my family, but they can be overwhelming for me. My parents are hippies at heart, never plan anything yet want to do everything. They think I'm a little too uptight at times and all that can lead to tense situations. All that said, this was the BEST trip yet. In fact, I was sad to see them go home. This picture is us at the Renaissance Fair. Dad wasn't sure he wanted to go, but mom goaded him into it. Nathan took the picture, so of course missed out on being in it (typical).

Die Oleander Bush

2008-02-02T16:54:00.000-08:00

Above is the destruction of our four oleander bushes that were taking over our back yard. They were taller than our house and from the first to the last pic, you can see the shed get uncovered. We had tried to trim them back, but they were out of control even when we bought the house last year. We hired some guys to come and hack it down and finish off those stumps so they are level with the ground. The bush had been pushing the cement block fence over little by little so we are super relieved to have them gone.

ACLS

2008-02-01T13:04:00.000-08:00

I just completed a four week ACLS class. ACLS stands for advanced cardiac life support. My new job demanded that I have it and since let this credentialing expire, I ended up taking the whole class over again instead of a renewal class. It was a good thing though, because there were quite a few changes since 2005. ACLS includes interpreting cardiac rhythms, pushing cardiac drugs and the use of algorithms for code and emergency situations. My manager had mentioned, that if I was not able to pass the written and demonstration based testing, then my job would be at an end. I wasn't nervous at all until he said this, but I passed with flying colors yesterday. Yeah!! My job will continue, well at least until April 5 when I have to make a decision of where to work next.

Sewing Expo

2008-01-25T17:32:00.000-08:00

Oh my word! I am so excited! For years I have been saying that I want to buy a serger and today I did. I went to the Quilting, Sewing and Crafting Expo at the AZ State Fairgrounds today and after wondering around hundreds of booths by myself, I asked myself, "What am I doing here?" I realized it was the perfect opportunity to compare shop. Normally I would have to go to at least 3 or 4 different sewing dealers to look at, ask questions and test drive all the different brands of sergers, but here they were under one roof. I got the best deal!!

For those of you that don't know what a serger is, or are saying it sounds familiar, but what does it do? I'll tell you. A serger allows you to finish seams professionally so you can wear and launder items hand-sewn without them falling apart. They do a ton of cool stictches that I won't bore you with. But if you are interested, here is the one I ended up getting. Janome 1110D. Now I really need to get sewing!!

Bibs for Baby

2008-01-23T12:06:00.000-08:00

One of my good friends from high school, Amber, recently had a baby boy and I had the cutest baby bib pattern from Amy Carol's Bend the Rules Sewing, so I decided to give it a whirl. This is the finished product. I wanted to pick non-baby fabrics, to give it a vintage feel. Sorry the pics aren't better. Photography is not exactly my thing.

Delight.com

2008-01-17T13:56:00.000-08:00

Deep down I know that I will never be as environmentally conscious as I would like to be, but I have to start somewhere. I have been eyeing these reusable grocery bags for awhile and purchased them with money I received from Christmas.

While on the same website, I found the ultimate cookbook holder and I couldn't resist.

Both were purchased at Delight.com. Their website has a daily special at a reduced price and a page with the editors favorites always available.

Finished projects given as gifts

2008-01-17T11:56:00.000-08:00

Here are some recent things that I have made. Most of them were given out as Christmas or Birthdays gifts to my friends and family. Credit for the original patterns should go to Amy Carol and her amazing book, Bend the Rules Sewing. This is a simple wallet for credit cards.

This is super cute clutch that I made in a few different fabrics.

A zippered case to hold whatever my friend Betsy wants.

The most generic gift of all, yet grandma's adore, coasters.

Hopefully I'll be up to some more sewing and blogging soon.

Terra Finally Has a Blog

2008-01-17T11:31:00.000-08:00

So after reading many blogs about friends and strangers, I have decided to start my own blog. Yeah! Haven't decided how often I will post, but it is born out of my desire to share my life and what I have been accomplishing with my sewing.