i MADE a circle skirt.

i always have ideas for things i want to make.
i've been trying to be better at just taking a couple hours and making something.
last week i made twirly skirts.
i used the instructions from MADE circle skirts- found here.

they were easy and my girls love them.

oh, did i say my girls?

well, i meant to make them for my girls-- BUT one came out a bit large.

i tried it on and i think it fits me.
honestly, tell me if it looks like i'm wearing my daughter's clothes.
i have a hard time taking pictures of things i've made.
all my craft pictures turn into family pictures.
i guess i like kids better than skirts.  :)

i'll definitely be making more of these skirts.

lily cries every night asking for her pink skirt...

i love that they are fun and twirly.

i love that all you need is wide elastic and fabric.

they are EASY.

i will say-- be sure to get enough fabric.

at first i bought one yard and it wasn't big enough for the whole circle.

i ended up with about a yard and a quarter (i think i just got a yard and a half to be sure.)

i also made this easy tiered skirt.

sorry- these pictures are after church, half dressed.
we had a Primary Pie Night at our house to thank all the teachers.
Probably more than 50 people.
the basement was wall to wall kids.  :)

while i was snapping pictures, the boys were finishing up the dishes from the party.

sort of.

back to skirts...
i had some old corduroy fabric and i copied a skirt that we bought from Crazy 8.

i just picked a length (8 inches).
The first layer was 8 inches tall by 45 inches wide (the width of the fabric).
The second layer was more fabric, a strip and a half.  So, 8 inches tall by about 60 inches wide.
The third layer was even more fabric, two strips sewed together.  So, 8 inches tall by 90 inches wide.
i don't have a serger so i just zigzagged the edges with a tight zigzag stitch (make the length smaller and width bigger).
and, when you gather each layer to attach them, leave the seam exposed.
can you see what i'm talking about?

it makes it look like a ruffle.
i just did a simple elastic waste, but a friend told me to sew right down the middle of the elastic to keep it from twisting around at the waste.
great idea.
easy.
cute.
modest.
my girls love these skirts (and so do i!).

i also picked up some clearance old navy shirts and i'm excited to fancy them up!
i'll show you those projects when i get to them.
AND i made a bunch of quilts for Christmas that i'm excited to share.
AND my girls sewed darling cherry apple dolls over Christmas break.
AND i have two really cute ideas of things to make with a whole class of kids.
more to come...

These skirts-- EASY and fun.

through my lens.

after writing a comment (or three) on my friend's blog about my efficient laundry system,
i found myself in my own small laundry room surrounded by a mountain of laundry.

should i admit that those are CLEAN clothes?
i had just put lily down for her nap and was supposed to be embarking on my own quiet, movie watching, laundry folding marathon..
didn't happen.
knowing HOW to do something doesn't always transfer to actually "gittin er done".

perhaps i should say, as i am "gittin er done", life happens.

and life is not laundry.

i thought i'd snap a picture to show her how my pile of clothes was just about bigger than my youngest child.

and then i just kept taking pictures...

of my fish making five year old.

and Daizie Pinky Pan-a-cake (who sometimes wishes she was back at the humane society).

how they all migrate to me when i walk into the room and make me feel like a superstar.

can i have an orange mom?

teething.

full of wonder...

ooh... where is that orange eating five year old?

and her trusty side-kick?

look mom!  i can cut by myself!

(my kids have skills... and safe knife choices.)

speaking of trusty side-kicks...

daizie looks at me with her puppy dog eyes before she runs from the baby monster...

she is so fast she is blurry in almost every picture i take without a flash inside my house.

that baby is a mover!

leah teaching daizie not to run from the baby...

what a sweet doggie.

my laundry isn't finished... and my windows are dirty.

i don't know why?

can i ride my bike?

in the oregon rain?

how i love being a mother.

there is joy seeing my life through a lens.

my laundry didn't get finished.

it never will.

laundry, it will be there tomorrow.

these babies won't.

how i will miss them...

life is good.