29 June 2007

The Longest VBS

So this week has been VBS week at my church. I worked as a 5th grade teacher. I love that age and I did it last year too. This year, though, our church decided to hold VBS at night - from 6:30-9:00. I did not handle it very well. I am so tired! I am a morning person and normally get up at 5:30 to have quiet time and go to the gym each morning before my boys need my attention. Of course I couldn't do that after not getting home until 9:20 and then having to get Aaron calmed down from being there and in bed. Tonight is the last night, but tonight we are supposed to meet at the water park. I'm not fond of water parks myself, but the kids are really excited. Now, if we can just keep the rain away. It has rained every day for over three weeks now - and for Dallas, that is really weird.

Okay, for the crafting - I haven't done a lot, but I did make another purse for another friend. It is the same pattern as the last one, but it looks totally different because of the fabric. Plus I put a button closure on this one.



The striped fabric is on the inside of the purse too. I really liked the way it looks. I don't think I'll do this pattern again. The finished purse is really smaller than I like. I am going to try some new patterns. I want to try to change this pattern to make it bigger too.

I also made some hats. I got some cotton yarn for these, the peaches and cream brand, because I like the bright colors they come in. The aren't very soft though. There is a yarn that is a wool/cotton blend that I like the feel of, but it is also 3-4 times the cost. I'll make samples in both types and offer both. They really do look very different. If you can't tell, the cotton is on the left and the wool/cotton on the right.




Oh, and I was reading one of the comments that Joanna made about Ella and Sarah being old enough to do some chores. We started Aaron on the Accountable Kids program almost a month ago and he is doing really great with having some chores to do. The actual system was kind of expensive, but we decided to get it just because the amount of time we would spend coming up with all of it on our own was worth more to us than the money! We found it at our homeschool convention. I don't agree with the total philosophy, but I love the system of cards and him being responsible for his own chores. And he loves earning tickets and bonus bucks. This picture was taken the first day we did it.

This post has gotten long enough! And I hear thunder...whoever is still praying for rain needs to stop - just for tonight so Aaron won't be so upset! Oh, and I have no idea where the "template" tab is for adding what book I am reading. I looked everywhere I know to look. HELP!!!

5 comments:

Marie said...

i really really like the striped pattern with the flowery pattern. i love the idea of matching to very different patterns together that have similar colors.

you wake up at 5:30 in the morning for quiet time and the gym?!?? i am really impressed. you are truly an inspiration.

I checked out the accountable kids site. it looks like a great system and i think it's a good idea to just spend the money on something like that instead of trying to make one up yourself.

the thing about cotton is that it is really heavy and nonelastic. that is why it doesn't feel as soft as other natural fibers, it's dense and not squishy. my favorite yarns are ones that have lots of different fibers in them.

M said...

I really like your purses, and it doesn't look that small, but it is hard to tell from pictures like that. How big is it really?

Joanna said...

good stuff! maybe you should try making the lotus bag at the craft apple blog. that looks like a pretty good one.

Johanna said...

I want to try the lotus bag! I am wanting to get some saddle strings to use for the handles though. I found a web site where I can order them - pretty cheap too - but I wanted to see if there was a local store where I could just purchase them in person.

The finished size of this bag is only 6 1/2 X 6 1/2. I think it is cute as a small bag, but the straps are kind of short too so it really sits right at the underarm if carried on the shoulder. I will do some alterations on it and use it again because it is a quick thing to make too. It takes me almost as long to interface all the pieces as it does to make the whole thing!

Joanna said...

saddle strings, eh? i actually had to look that up on the internet to know exactly what you were talking about. i found a pattern long ago for hand bags on this pretty cool website called www.tallpoppycraft.com. they sell everything you need for handbags. maybe they have the stuff you need.

6.5" square is pretty small. that's like needle craft holder size. i had the same thing with the tall poppy bag i made. the interfacing took a long time to put on and then it sewed up real quick.