Quick Finish

That's me. Testing the finished product.

Thanks to Sweet Red Poppy I've finally found a scrub cap that fits and I like. And, this pattern is free! 

In one of those rare incidents, I did not change a thing. Nope, not one thing. I printed, taped, cut, and sewed exactly as instructed. Whew! Not an easy concept for me. But it's a winner.  

How do you find this freebie, you ask? Go to Sweet Red Poppy, click on Free Patterns in the navigation bar at the top. The very first one is the scrub cap. Voila! 
(Shh, listen, there are many other useful freebies.)

A couple of adjustments and we're happy.

This cap is already in Jenny's hands. She's going back to work as a dental hygienist in just a few short days. She's a germaphobe, in the worst way. Hates all the ickies!

It's a conundrum. I get to play hero for a moment. She loves me, what can I say?

Have a fabulous week. I hope it starts out with your being a sewing hero to someone. It's a sweet feeling.

Weekend Work

This old hand-crank
pump was the impetus.

Richard and I have been busy in the yard. He wanted a water feature in the back yard to entice the birds. More birds. Apparently there aren't enough. 


So what the heck. I made it quite clear that I am not willing to pull grass in a flower bed that we had abandoned years ago. 








Richard: But everyone can see it (the abandoned flower bed) from the patio.
Me: Why does that matter? Look at the yucky mess the birds made ON the patio.  (They throw seed on the bricks. Some they eat; the rest sprout. Or rot.)
Rich: I'm going to clean that up. 

Water, water everywhere.

Me: I think that sounds familiar. And I am the one who power washes the bricks. When it (the pressure washer) works!
Rich: I am going to fix that power washer.
Me: Hmm.
Rich: Okay, so here's the plan. 
I sat down.

Thirty minutes later I was still sitting in my retirement chair. (The rocking chair given to me at the retirement party.) And he was still making his argument, telling his plan, and otherwise keeping me from going into the studio. 

Plenty of flowers and shrubs for the birds and hummers to enjoy.

In the end, he won. Of course, it wasn't much of a fight since I may have wanted the same thing as he did. I just wanted the work completed on my timeline--fix the pressure washer, clean the patio and move the bird feeder, clean the flower beds we already have, build the water feature. That order is important.

The Knock-out Roses he planed on the side.

My thinking is that if he runs out of steam and quits, at least the work that has to be done will be done. He wanted a water feature.

Kale and Swiss chard from my sister, Laura.
 I like mixing veggies in the flowers.

Milly running around with Duke.
We do enjoy the yard.

Disastrous and Dreadful ~~ With a Happy Ending

For all that was lost, my family is safe and sound, sleeping in my house as I write this post. On Thursday our oldest son and his family lost their house and all of their belongings to a fire. 

Will was offshore, working. The two teenagers were at school. Stacey and Dusti taking baby Milly Christmas shopping. No one was home. No one harmed. (I can't even think the alternative.) 

As the fire began to grow in the attic, two off-duty firemen happened by and tried to determine whether there were people inside the house. The two pets were home, one inside and outside. The dog barked and they forced the door open to free her. 

About the same time, in tears and panic, terrified of what she would find, Stacey called us. She turned to go home but didn't want to be there without us. Of course, we raced over. When we arrived the smoke had begun billowing from the roof. In only a few minutes there were flames. I was on the phone with Will telling him things would be okay, and we were there to help. 

Then I saw those terrifying orange flames and, on the verge of tears, told him to come home, now, to take care of his family. By the time he arrived via helicopter and truck, the fire had been extinguished, but everything lost.

Older homes in Louisiana (1960 and earlier) were often built of cypress planks. There was plenty of cypress available in the southern half of the state, it's a hardwood that lasts a century or more, and it's beautiful. 


Will and Stacey's home was hand built by a young couple who raised their family then retired. After the husband died, Mrs. B decided that another family would bring life back to the house. She kept in touch with Will and Stacey and they remained friends. 

Almost every piece of wood on the house was dry, dusty cypress cut and nailed 57 years ago. When Mrs. B got news of the fire she went over to console them and told stories of the house from its very beginning--she cut the wood, her husband walked on the rafters and terrified her, how they slowly added to the house over the years, and so on. How sweet is that? She must have been aching to see her family home reduced to flames but focused her concern on the people who were losing it. 

It took hours for the fire to do its damage. Houses of the era often had cross beams meant to slow down a fire as it travels up a wall. This fire began in the attic and did the fastest damage there, dropped down onto the ceiling, which eventually caved onto the floor and walls in the center of the house.

Meanwhile, volunteer firefighters with as many as 10 trucks did all they could. They fought the flames from one side while it roared to the other. More trucks arrived, so they cut a hole in the roof and used additional hoses to spray into the attic from the back of the L-shaped home, but there simply was not possible to fight from all sides. 


A draft, a shift in the wind, a bundle of something stored in the fire's path, so many variables can affect the route of the fire that it's difficult to know what to do, where to do it, and what to do it with. 

Volunteers train often and hard, but in rural places we know that the odds of saving a building are not good. Volunteers may be unable to come. Others may be not trained for the type of fire that is raging. (Ours was an electrical fire.) The gas, electric and water companies must all have men on site to assist in turning off utilities which can make situations even more dangerous. One doesn't realize the complexities of what has to be done or the safety protocols set in place until they affect your life and home.

Eventually they did extinguish the flames, then the smoking embers on the inside walls, and the "hot spots" that are most persistent. At last, the exhausted men and women were able to remove their heavy coats and boots and return home. Will had arrived and tried to assess the damage, but the cyanide gases inside the house prevented him from even looking in the windows.

The only thing left to do was to find a place to take a bath and try to rest for the night. In the morning they returned, unwilling to accept the devastation. But while they suffered a loss which breaks our hearts but is nothing compared to what could have been. 

They decided to come here for a day or two to regroup and shake off the nervous shock. Once they talked it over as a family, they decided to stay until after the holidays. So everything in my world is upside down and crazy. Quilting and blogging will be put aside so that I can help with the many, many details of finding a way back to living a normal life. But we are together and safe and that is all that matters.

Small finishes: NICU Gowns

I've been quietly working on more NICU gowns to donate to St. Francis Cabrini Hospital. It's the closest hospital that addresses the needs of neonatal babies and is a Children's Miracle Network hospital. 

I'm not sure how many are ready to go, but there are quite a few. I've sewn these on and off for the last few years as a simple way to make the world better. Catholics believe that we should give of our talent, time and treasure during the Lenten season. Making these tiny gowns is a way to live the life of a Christian. 

Because I try to work on lots of gowns at a time, I make them in assembly line fashion. I cut out about 25 or so gowns for step one. In step two, I sew the lining and fabric pieces together leaving only the neck open for turning and clip the threads. Then comes step three: turning the gown right side out. 

Cut, sewn, turned, ready for neck closure

Step four is consists of sewing the neck opening, which is perhaps the most difficult part because there's a slight curve to deal with. Adding the Velcro is step five. Pressing is step six. Sometimes I mix it up a little, but really this is my best procedure when making 20+ gowns.  

Next step: sew on the Velcro pieces

I'm adding another step after pressing. That is to sew a fast top-stitch to the body of the gown after pressing. I find that the cotton wrinkles and requires so much pressing after washing that I just need to try a new approach. If top-stitching saves me from having to pick the seam out of a wrinkle inch by inch, it will be worth the few seconds of sewing. 

I've top-stitched a few gowns and will wash and dry them to see whether the stitching helps. Either way, ironing is the last step because I always wash, dry and press before I deliver the gowns.  

If you're interested in making some of these NICU gowns, you can find the tutorial and pattern here.  Someone asked the size of the gown, but I don't think it matters so much. I drew the pattern on a sheet of 8½ X 11 paper and just filled the entire sheet. 

I've never measured the gown, but babies come in all sizes. They may weight only four pounds when they first wear clothing, so even if the gowns seem really small, don't fret. If the pattern is too big for the paper, it's too big for NICU babies, and you'll need to resize it.

Much more important is that you use small pieces of hook and loop tape (Velcro) for closures--I use about ¾ to 1 inch--and remember to wash in mild detergent. I always use two rinses to make sure I remove all of the detergent (even though I use All Free). I want the babies to look cute and cuddly, not have an allergic reaction.

Linking up with 

Crazy Mom Quilts (go check out her cute pixie basket)

Let's Catch Up

It's amazing to me how quickly time is moving.  In a few minutes a whole week jumped forward. Just last weekend we were watching a tee-ball game with a granddaughter cheesing it up on base.

I blinked an eye and we were helping to light luminaries and sky lanterns for Relay for Life.  We walked for a minute and the day was over.  At least we didn't miss the whole relay: I think we put in a couple of miles.

We loved the lanterns, both lighting them and seeing them float in the dark sky.  This picture is the grands' favorite.  I think I agree although it is a bit grainy. 

Another weekend and we've babysat, eaten out and I graded papers and quilted the latest quilt, but it seems to have flown by extremely fast.  

In a few seconds school will be finished.  We just started!  (I'll admit I've said differently during a class or two.)  I guess the only thing to do in the middle of a short night is to enjoy the photos from the day.

Life is just a bit too short but that's probably part of what makes it so beautiful and awesome.  (I mean, I know God does that, but.....well you get it, don't you?)  

Have a Blessed Mother's Day.

Pin It Weekly #91

REASONS TO BE THANKFUL

FAITH

FREEDOM

FAMILY

SERVICE MEN AND WOMEN

LOVE

HOPE

KIDS AND PETS

LAUGHTER

MIRACLES

WISHING YOU AND YOURS A HAPPY, 

BLESSED THANKSGIVING