Crafty-shmafty

Let's begin by saying I am not a crafty person. I never have been and I have never even tried to fool myself into thinking that I could be. My sewing experience consists of one summer class at Bernina making shorts for myself that shrunk as soon as I put them in the washing machine and I never got to wear them (I'm sure they would've fallen apart had they been big enough, but that is besides the point). Jeff did buy me a sewing machine for Mother's Day a few years ago and I can count the number of times I have used it on two hands. I know I am not a good "Mormon woman," and am hoping that I will always surround myself with those of you who are so you can make up for my obvious shortcomings in this department.

So, it may not be surprising to you that I have quiet book pages I made with a group four years ago that have never been assembled into a book. My mom took half of the pages and made one book with them, but the other ones were waiting for me to figure out how to put them together. I even went so far as to sew the pages back to back, so they would be ready to go into a book. But all that was years ago and the pages have been sitting in a tupperware box in the closet (in two different houses, no less) since then.

Lately, I got the idea that this would be a fun task to undertake before baby girl was born and Jeff was happy that I was actually going to use the sewing machine instead of letting it sit in the box. I conceived the idea that I would sew a cover, use adheisve sticky stuff to run a ribbon down the middle of the inside which would hold three rings. Then, I would attach eyelets to the pages and thread them through the rings, sort of like a cloth three-ring binder. Sounds good, doesn't it (p.s. it wasn't my idea--I copied off someone else)? So about a year or two ago I bought eyelet "pliers" and eyelets, which never came out of the package until I really got serious last week. I soon found that the eyelets were not easy to attach and quickly had to abandon that idea. I bought some fabric from Wal-Mart (the $1 a yard stuff so even if I messed up several times it would only cost me a buck) and this morning decided it was time to get it together (maybe getting the book done will bring the baby, who knows?).

Anyway, I ended up sewing through all the pages I had because that was the way my mom had done it (I did have a heavy duty needle, thanks to my mom), and why certainly not great, it worked. Then, I sewed the cover and ran the machine through the whole mess a few times. Guess what. It's actually staying together. Granted, it doesn't look great, but it's for my kids and they don't seem to care too much. I also used the ribbon I was originially going to use to hold the rings in the middle on the outside to cover up the ugly stitches that hold the whole book together so it doesn't look too bad unless you really get up close.Now, I'm not posting this because it is something I am very proud of. In fact, I'm sure my sewing was better back in sixth grade at Bernina. But I am checking this goal off my list of "Things to Do Before My Life Changes AGAIN and I have Three Kids." It's a small checked pattern and the camera made it look very psychadlelic, which it's not, but you get the basic idea. Please don't look too closely.

Here is a shot of the inside.

And here's Damon giving me all the approval I need. Don't mind the fact that it's 11:00 and he's still in his pajamas. And don't mind the fact that Allie is running around naked. That is an entirely different story (my compromise with her because she wants to be potty-trained and I am holding back on the reins with all my might) and would probably be a good post one of these days.



So, for all of you who are reading this who actually have incredible skills (and I know there are many of you), I applaud you. And could you please come visit me in Florida and teach me a thing or two?

p.s. And a quote from Damon this morning. I hope no one is annoyed by all the quoting of my children that I do, but I am not planning on stopping any time soon.

(looking at a picture of a shark's heart). "Is that his heart?"
"Yes it is."
"Do sharks love people?"
"No, sharks don't love anyone."
(excitedly pointing to the sky) "Yes, they do! They love God."
"I guess I can't argue with that."