more sewing

I made a new headcovering this morning to match my newest dress.

I didn't have one that looked good with it, at least not in my eyes, so I pulled out this fabric and made it.


I made it in the "D" shape that makes it more full and that way it doesn't have the wings that some of the shorter ones do.

I added ties to the bottom front so I could keep it on my head since I don't do well with elastic. It makes me itch or it squeezes my head, or both.



In a burst of creativity, I added a "brim" made of cotton quilt batting and another piece of fabric underneath and once it was all in one piece, I did some simple stippling on the brim to make sure the batting doesn't slide around.



I took off my glasses for this pic because the glare that shows up on pictures bothers me. You'll have to excuse the bags under my eyes. It's a mixture of lack of sleep and allergies.

I like how this covering looks. Maybe I'll make a few more in different colors.

I'm noticing how the longer I wear the headcoverings, the less I care about what other people think or say when they see I'm wearing one. I tend to get a bit more courtesy from most people, like doors held open and "excuse me" from people who cross in front of me and stuff, but I'm not asking for it. It's just happening. I don't know...maybe they think I'm a nun or something.

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Today I took Becky and her kids to the mall for a while. We walked around, then stopped and had pretzels as usual. I bought her kids each a new outfit at Penney's. I got a couple cute new cards to send someone when the urge strikes. I found more than a few things I would like to buy, but I am trying to be a bit more frugal with our money so I didn't do it. It wasn't all that easy because back when I was working I pretty much spent what I wanted, when I wanted. However, our family finances come first, and it's a bit tight lately because hubby didn't have overtime for almost a month so we're still catching up. Oh yes, and then there were the truck tires, and the 1/2 cow and the butchering fees, and the chicks, and more chick food, and the stuff for the garden, and gas for the mowers...

Now we have a bearing gone on one rider mower, and hubby thinks the pulley needs to be repaired as well. On the other older one, we have a problem with it liking to eat belts, and they are almost $30 each. Fortunately the first yard mowing of the year is almost totally done and hubby says the rest can be done with the push mower so we can wait till my disability comes in to fix whichever rider mower is cheaper to fix for now. The older one needs a newer, smaller deck, and that's going to be around $1500 with labor and all. It also needs new blades.

I am thankful God provides for us and watches over us and makes sure we are not overwhelmed as long as we remember that He sees and knows all we are going through and He is there with us - all we need to do is call on Him.

I pray peace and blessings on all of you, and have a good week.

staying busy

We've been doing a lot of yard work lately. Spring is always busy. We have a lot to rake; the first full mowing needs to be done; plants need to be pruned or removed; the garden needs to be started; it's interesting.

The dappled willows in the front did badly last spring and summer. We lost two of the three plants we had. We also lost a couple rose bushes and a peach tree.
I took clippings from the remaining dappled willow, put them in rooting compound, and we'll see if they take.

We have new daffodils I planted last fall.

We just put in new hollyhocks- I got the roots at ChinaMart and planted them in the other half of the hollyhock bed.

We got a new rose bush.

I found a bulb for a blue bearded iris and planted it for hubby. He loves irises more than I do. I hope it does well.

We also have the Rose of Sharon we planted last fall. We got that at the farmer's market for $5, I think.

I have tomato seedlings and broccoli plants growing now. I planted the cucumber seeds two days ago. I have lettuce going but it never does very well for me. I'm not sure why. Maybe I don't thin it soon enough. I also planted some chives.

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The chicks are growing like crazy. Man, can they eat! We went through 50 pounds of starter/grower in under 3 weeks. I know they're growing, but there is a huge difference in feed between 19 chicks and 36. Oh yes...and the poo issue. I have never seen so much poo at once.

They're feathering out now and look really cute. I can't wait till they get big enough to let out in the porch area so they can get fresh air and sunshine, but that will be another 3-4 weeks at least. They have to be fully feathered first.

We need to get a bigger feeder. I'm using two of the red plastic ones and they clean them out in less than 24 hours. I'll do that in a couple weeks when my disability comes in. In the meantime, I'll feed them twice a day. It won't kill me.

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Finally, after a lot of work, I have my bra pattern almost right. I made yet another one, changing the pattern again and using a different technique to apply the interfacing, and the resulting bra was *this close* to what I wanted to see. One more slash and tape session with the cups and I should have it just where I want it.

Here are a couple pics of the bra itself. One is on the hanger, and the other is on me so you can see that there is no fat hanging over the top of the side pieces, which is a major plus for this pattern. It's comfy and supportive, and it fits.


Here it is on the hanger.


Here it is on me.

I like how the black looks with the gray. I was going to do it all gray but really had trouble finding lace the right width and specifications that matched or at least looked decent so I decided black was going to be fine.

Once the pattern is settled, I have some really pretty fabric to make a few with. It gets frustrating that not only can I rarely find bras that fit, but that most of them are ugly and either white, nude or black. Plus sized women want nice bras in nice colors, too. Off-size plus sized women want them as well.

And this is where I've been and what I've been doing since I posted last.

the new babies

Ameraucana chick



Marans chick



Turken chick



White Wyandotte chick



Getting used to the new living space



We got the chicks last Thursday. I'd forgotten how much more work they are. I don't mind, though. They're cute enough to make up for it!
I can't wait till they're big enough to go out with the others. After that it will be culling time and then we'll have lots of pretty new eggs and lots of pretty colored new birds. I love this time of year!

I finally did it!

My Etsy store is open.

SimpleAdditions is the name I chose.

I currently have headcoverings listed but will be adding articles as I get them assembled and tested.

I'm praying that I can sell a few things so we will have a bit of extra money. With gas going the way it is, if I can't raise a bit of money I may need to sell my car. Paying for the insurance on both vehicles and putting gas in them can cost a pretty penny. If we only have one vehicle, I do far less running around and plan my shopping time much more efficiently.

Anyway, it feels good to have it done and going. It's in God's hands. I pray He brings the right people there.

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The chicken coop is almost ready for the babies. Tomorrow I need to keep the truck and get more litter so I can change out the stuff in the coop now, clean and refill the nesting boxes, and get the area ready for the babies. I'm so excited!

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We had stew last night with some of the fresh beef we got from hubby's work buddy. There is no comparison to store-bought beef. This meat is almost sweet, very tender, and practically falls apart. Hubby told me today Scotty told him this cow got 25 bushels of corn in addition to his regular feed, just like all the calves from last year did. We've already decided to get more meat from him next year. It is well worth what we paid for it.

I need a nap. I hope you all are okay with the storming going on around us.

Bless you!

Abby and the kids came over yesterday. Here she is playing with Patrick while the boys are taking a nap. He's getting so big!

These are my boys. They had to have a picture taken because Patrick did and if he does, they do. They're getting so big!

This is my Patrick boy. He's a hoot. He was smiling at me because the flash kept going off at him. He's such a cutie!

This is how Jimmy's new quillow looks when it's all folded up. It folds up lengthwise into thirds and then from top to bottom to top in thirds as well and it tucks into the little pillow space and voilà! A quillow!

This is the quillow opened up. It's about 45 or so inches wide and about 60 inches long. It's just the right side for a toddler!

I'm having a horrid time typing today. It must have to do with the 2 hours of sleep I got last night and my need for more. I've had to retype this several times as well as needing to re-upload the photos a few times and I also rearranged them more than once. I do some not-so-smart things when I'm tired. Between that and the meds I can be a real mess.

By this time next week we'll have baby chicks! I'm so excited. I hope the ground and coop will be dry by then. It's so soggy out there I'm afraid I'm going to slip and fall every time I go into the lounge area or walk back to the closed in yard.

I think I'll go take a nap. Maybe I'll be thinking more clearly after that. Right now I can barely type. Thank goodness for spellcheck and the backspace key!

Should we build an ark?

Ok.

I was going to put some pics in here but Blogger has evidently decided it doesn't want me to so I won't. I'll try again later.

Anyhow...we've had 2.5 inches of rain in the last day and a half on top of already-saturated ground. The pond is up to the overflow drain. The chicken lounge is a puddle. The chicken yard is a pond. Most of the coop is dry but the part that is wet is - well, it's wet.

Plants are getting green and budding and starting to tell us it's spring.

Now all we need is sunshine to dry things out a bit so the plants can grow.

Any time.

At least the drought is over.