The Kindle Cases....finally!

I know I promised weeks ago to post about my sewing endeavor for Mother's Day/Friend's brithdays and haven't done it yet.  I apologize.  I have been fighting a sinus/upper respiratory infection.  I am now on the THIRD round of antibiotics and a second course of prednisone.  Let's just say that this 16 day stretch of prednisone may produce little sleep and LOTS of blogs!  LOL

So...what you guys really want to know is what I sewed for Mother's Day.  Well...my friend Jen had mentioned that she would really like a case for her leather lighted Kindle cover because it was getting scratched so easily in her purse.  And I am always one to rise to a challenge! So I found a link to a wonderful laptop tutorial on SewMamaSew's blog that was also nice enough to give the formula to use it for other types of covers.  This one won my vote not only because it had the formula to adapt for my needs, but also because it had a flap (and not a zipper), used velcro and was nicely lined.  So the first kindle cover I made ended up going to my mom for Mother's Day.  I used a brown, satin quilted fabric I had left over from another project with a brown, turquoise and lime paisley I bought with the Kindle cover in mind.  I did the stitching in turquoise to give it a little pop on the outside top-stitching.

I have made several others since then.  I have made the Kindle Cover Jen requested for her birthday, which was a grey suede material with a satiny lining that was white with pink print and grey butterflies on it.  I think this one turned out very nice.  The suede on the outside and the satin on the inside gave it an exquisite feel.  I think Jen was pleased with it!  I was also asked to make an iPad cover for my friend Mary's mother-in-law for her birthday.  Of course I obliged.  It's hard for me to say that I really like one more than the other because all of them are rather unique for various reasons.  But the iPad cover does have a fabulous color combination.  Just see...

This one started with a lavender paisley that was just gorgeous.  Originally I was going to pair it with a grey that I had, but while I was looking for the brown quilted one I used for Mom's, I found some lavender linen I had left over from a maternity shirt I made my sister as my first sewing project ever!  As you can see, they matched beautifully.  I did the paisley on the outside because I was afraid the solid lavender would show too much dirt and wear.

I feel like all three of these have turned out beautifully!  One thing I learned is that I do better to add 2" to the calculation for measurements instead of one.  Because for some reason, try as hard as I might, the 1" is just barely big enough for the Kindle that is already housed in a case.  I have one more to make for Mary's birthday present (don't worry...it's not a surprise.  I let her pick out her own fabric for her's!  LOL).  She chose the brown quilted fabric with the lime and turquoise paisley.

My next project is cut and ready...  It will be a dress for my middle niece, Kiana.  This is my first time working with a patterned fabric in a garment and I hope it goes okay.  Lucky for me, I picked one that has a "loose" pattern and doesn't necessarily have to match very well (it looks like a tie-dye).  But I will post more once it is finished.

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Today I heard a "Warm and Fuzzy" on Star Country 94.9 that really touched me.  Here is the story originally posted on May 31, 2011:


There’s a story told about an elderly lady in Arkansas. The state voted to increase welfare payments to indigents. Hoping for a tear-jerker story, a television interviewer went into the back hills where many welfare recipients lived.The old woman he chose to interview lived in a one-room shack: draughty in winter; stifling in summer. Her bed was a few rough planks nailed together, with a pine-needle mattress. A couple thin blankets, and a fireplace, did little to protect her from the cold.Her furniture, a table and two chairs, were fashioned from the same rough wood as her bed. Some shelves held a few cans of food from the general store, a three mile walk down the road. Several jars of preserves and a few squash completed her larder.She had no fridge or freezer. The fireplace provided heat for cooking. With no phone or television her only connection with the outside world was an old radio that pulled in two or three local stations on a good day.The old woman had one convenience, running water. A crystal clear stream gurgled a short distance behind her home.A small garden near her back door provided fresh vegetables during the summer, and some squash and turnips for the winter. A tidy flower garden brightened the front of her house.The television crew arrived and set up their big expensive cameras. Their mobile station broadcast pictures of the woman and the place she called home.Eventually the interviewer asked the old woman, “If the government gave you $200 more each month, what would you do with it?”Without hesitation the woman replied, “I’d give it to the poor.”


Now, this story may not pass the snopes.com test, but it made me think about the meaning of wealth.  Dictionary.com defines wealth as "An abundance of valuable possessions or money."  I think most would agree that the woman mentioned above did not meet this common definition of wealth. But was she truly poor?  In her eyes, she had all that she needed to live a happy life.  A roof over her head, food in her belly, and happiness in her heart.  What if this was enough for all of us?


When I was looking for find a copy of the story above, I came across Scripture that made story of the woman from Arkansas sound like a modern day account of Luke 21:2-4.  Take a second to read that that scripture.


^{Luke 20:45 - 21:4 (NIV)
45} While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, ⁴⁶ “Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. ⁴⁷ They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”21 As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. ² He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. ³ “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. ⁴ All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” 


The woman in Luke took what may have been all the wealth she had and provided it to the Lord.  Are we using our wealth to give to those less fortunate or are we more like the Pharisees and scribes that walk around in our long flowing gowns and give what we can?  


In today's society, it is very hard not to succumb to the notion of having what you want and not just what you need.  Societal norms dictate that we live in a house in the suburbs with a spouse, 2.3 kids and a dog.  Work a job (that we probably despise) so that we can have a nice car, take family vacations to Disneyland and make sure our family has the top names in fashion adorning our bodies.  We look down on those that are "poor" and say that they don't try hard enough or that they could do better if they want to.  However, what if they are doing the best that they can - or are happy and content with their life situation?  Should we judge them?  Would it be horrible if we tried to be more like them and life by our means - not our credit limit?  To focus on meeting our needs before our wants?  I don't think so.


Some of you that know me, have heard me talk about wanting to live a more simplistic life.  A life that involves growing and cooking my food (for which, I'd probably become a vegetarian unless I can trade for meat, because I doubt I'd find it easy to slaughter an animal for food), sew my clothing, quilt my blankets, crochet my sweaters, and play in a babbling brook with my four-legged companions during my free time.  


But we have entered the industrialized era where money is a paramount part of our world.  Maybe it is time we took a step back and focused on wealth not being material possessions but consisting of family and friends, happiness, having our needs met, laughter and joy.  To instill in our children that being successful does not mean you make a lot of money or have a big house and a new car, but that they are happy and at peace with the person they have become.  


I hope your day is filled with the type of wealth that does not involve material possessions!

What a difference a year makes!

Well folks, it seems like I enrolled in graduate school and forgot all about my poor lonely blog!  So here is a quick update on important events in my life!

March 2011 - Finished my first sewing project, a maternity shirt for my sister!

May 2011 - I started graduate school at James Madison University (JMU) through the Roanoke Higher Education Center.  I am getting a Master's in Public Administration and look forward to graduation in May 2013!

September 2011 - My sister, April, and her husband, Andy, had perfect twins - a boy and a girl!!  Addison Morgan and William Andrew Jr. were born on September 1, 2011 and have been the highlight of the year!

February 2012 - I found out my beloved Kenzie had osteosarcoma and was terminal.  Her cancer was extremely advanced when we found it and decided to lay her to rest two days later.  That has been one of the hardest weeks of my life, but I know she is running free over the rainbow bridge with Brandy and Snickers waiting for the day I will join her!

Madi is now enjoying the life of an only child, even though I know there are days both of us feel like the house is a little quieter without Kenzie barking demandingly for dinner or a bone.

I have almost two weeks between spring semester and May-term and have been busy finishing up a few of my summer sewing projects.  Tonight I want to share the dresses I made for my sweet Addy.  I have to give a shout out to The Mother Huddle for sharing this wonderful pillowcase dress tutorial as a free pattern!!  The directions were absolutely fabulous and had some great links to help make this dress look very classy for a beginner sewer!  I loved being able to learn how to make the edges look more finished with a zig-zag stitch and then lay flat with a nice topstitch.  I feel like this pattern and tutorial has definitely helped expand my sewing skills!

Of course, the sewing was the easier part.  For me, it's always picking out the fabrics that takes five years!  LOL  I found a very good owl pattern I liked in pastels and then I found a white and fuchsia zebra print.  I was torn between the two.  So, of course, I went ahead and found coordinating fabric for each!  So Addy is getting two pillowcase dresses - one girly and one spunky!  Here are the final products!!

I am so excited at how they turned out and I can't wait to see how they look on our little princess!!  Trust me, there are several more projects for the twins yet to come!  I'm going to work on doing better at posting more regularly, especially with some of the cool projects I have coming up.  Next week's post will be another project I've finished, but since it's a mother's day gift, I have to wait until mom gets it first!

Hope everyone has a great week!