Angel blankets

Tiny Angel Blankets

I like to make blankets to go with the Teeny Tears Diapers. 

You can read about the Teeny Tears Diaper Projects here.

Fabric: I use flannel on both sides, minky with Flannel on the inside, regular cotton fabric with flannel on the inside, or fleece with flannel on the inside. 

 Sizes: any size from 12"x12" to 18"x18" are good sizes. 

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1.  Trim the selvages off the edge of the fabric, so it does not end up showing on your finished blanket. 

2.  Then turn the fabric so the RIGHT sides are together. 

     Cut the fabric into a square. Any size from 12"x12" to 18"x18" and a nice size for angel babies. 

3.  Sew all the way around the blanket, stopping to turn the corners. Use a 1/4" seam allowance. Leave a small (4") opening in one side to be able to turn the blanket right side out. 

4.  Trim the corners

5.  Turn the blanket right side out, using a chop stick or wooden spoon to push out the corners. 

6. Topstitch all the way around the blanket. I use zig zag for boys and a curve for girls. 

There is usually enough fabric on the edge of a yard to make a couple sets of diapers to match. 

I also make contrasting diapers to match a lot of the fabric that is donated to us or when the print is too large for the teeny tears diapers. 

More blankets...

Soap Day

Well, it is FINALLY here. Soap day. I have been pinning recipes, saving containers, and using up the rest of our soap products. It is official, we have NO more laundry soap, dishwasher soap, dish washing soap. So the day is here.

To back up a bit, my dear husband has been working really LONG hours, for a LONG time. He is a turnaround planner at the BP refinery and has been working long and hard since the fire on February 17. They moved his "spring" turnaround up several weeks, which threw it all into high gear. I can count the days off he has had on one hand! They call it "fatigue management". He usually tries to call me at some point in the day to see "what I am doing". today was no different. I said, "making soap!". I usually get the same response to pretty much whatever I say, as he is so tired. Like, "that's nice". Today was "WHAT?". I am sure he pictured me out in the yard with a small fire, stirring a black cauldron of lye and whatever, as in days of old. After that, I'd be slaughtering the chickens... I assured him it was not a big deal and I'd be careful and remember to turn off the stove. He always thanks me for putting up with this crazy schedule and I always say, "don't worry, I am VERY self entertaining." While that is true, I am ready for this to be OVER and have him be around home.

So here we go: All the folks who put up the lovely pictures and directions, and explain it all, are all over Pinterest, so I won't do that here.

I used this for the laundry soap, this for the dish soap, this for the dishwasher soap and this for the room deodorizers. My favorite!

I made my list at went to Walmart, as that is where the blogs said I could find most the ingredients. The blogs also do the cost breakdown and the HUGE savings I will be seeing!

So for a grand total of :$26.95 I got all the ingredients to make all the soaps. 

I was busy mixing all this up in my vat

As the dog was waiting patiently where he always does when I am cooking, hoping I will spill, what I am sure is in HIS mind, is Steak tartar!!

Here is the finished pile of soap and little air fresheners. SO when there is a run on the market for laundry soap, you know where to come! I will trade you for a bag of rice!! 

This is from the laundry soap gal:

"Why would I bother to make laundry detergent when I could just conveniently grab a bottle off the shelf at the store?  Several reasons, the first of which is cold, hard cash.  I have always purchased the large economy bottles of a name brand “he” (high efficiency) laundry detergent.  It’s not the cheapest, nor is it the most common $14-a-bottle brand.  I pay, on average, $8.00 for a 75-load bottle of my old detergent.  I would have been happy to cut that price in half.  Instead, I discovered that by making the recipe I am going to share with you, a 75-load bottle of DIY detergent saved me $7.79¾!!!  That is a little more than a 97% savings!  Hello!  Making my own is no longer JUST an option.  It’s ridiculous not to.  It cost only 20¼¢ for the ingredients to make a 75-load bottle of detergent!  Translate that savings over a year’s worth of laundry and that put’s a tidy sum back into our family’s budget."

Where WAS the internet, Pinterest, and all these great ideas when I had 5 kids at home, doing 5 or 6 loads of laundry a DAY. (out in the yard, over a boiling cauldron, and beating it on a rock!). I could have saved a FORTUNE! With all this savings I figure it will free up  a bit more cashola to spend on my favorite passion....    SEWING!

Please check out my daughters blog to find out what we are up to with all the fabric!

If you need a project, or want to know what all the fabric is about, check this out! 

Happy Sunday! 

Leap Day 2012

I guess I never really noticed Feb 29 before. And there is really nothing special about it this year, other than it is snowing? I got to thinking.. hmm every 4 years, now THAT might be do-able. I am not much into New Years Resolutions, etc. But maybe if I look back in FOUR years and see if anything has been accomplished, or changed much, maybe I will have a chance!!

The snow looking out my "office" window. About 6 trees are now GONE. 

You can see the log piles.. We are hoping to enlarge the garden. 

New this year, is turning John's room into my "office?. Warren calls it my command center. I have my sewing, crafting, computer, and every project under the sun going on up here... John has pretty much moved out. He is attending Gonzaga University in Spokane and in summers he works elsewhere. This summer it will be at UC Santa Barbara in California in their Quantum Computer "group". I do not know what this is, but he assures me it is on the edge... with John, I am pretty sure of that. 


Also I have taken up "swimming". I am not a real swimmer, but I do like it and enjoy flapping around the pool for 30 minutes a day. It is good for me. 


My current sewing projects include: baby buntings for the NICU, Making slippers out of felted sweaters, I have a few purses cut out, and bibs, and baby shoes and "mug rugs" for coffee cups on the desk. 


I have started trying to scrap book a bit after about a 10 year lapse. 


I plan to enlarge the garden spot, We had 6 trees cut down last week to make room. Also Sunday we thought it would be a GREAT idea to get a couple weaner pigs. The grand boys thought they could help with that. I told them how much FUN pigs are, and I really need them to go along with my 24 chickens! 

Eggs-$2.00/dozen

Add to this the fact that Warren is a turnaround planner at the refinery and they just had a very significant fire, and he has not seen the house in daylight since summer... (well, weekends) a lot of the general house/yard chores fall on me. 


SO I will post a report on Feb. 29, 2016 and let you know how all these projects went for us!


I really do love my life, my family and all that goes with that. I have always been very thankful I could stay home with my kids and did not have to go away to work. 


I do volunteer at the Thrift Store, which I love. Lots of wonderful folks there. 

My "office". Lots of projects. 

We have lived in this small house about 24 years. We  have a little living room and dining room. This is where it all has happened for many years. I have always sewed and scrap  booked at the dining room table. So when I go up to my office, Warren always asks where I am and what I am doing! 

This is my real live Joann's cutting counter. I was pretty sure I had to have this when the were remodeling and giving these away. It is great for cutting quilt pieces. Now that it is here, it will never leave. It took 6 men to haul it in. Warren says when I am done with it, we will chop it up for firewood, as there is no way to get it OUT otherwise. he put some really nice doors on it, so I hate to see it chopped up. As you can see, more projects...

The dining room table. A few projects of the day, here. This DOES get cleaned off by the time Warren gets home from work. 

This is Chucks old dining room table, we brought it in for Thanksgiving seating, and well, I decided to take up with my scrap booking...

This is the current pile of books by my chair. I tried to take a picture of my living room and kitchen, which currently ARE clean and pretty much stay that way with only 2 of us and a dog. 

He does not REALLY have his own laptop and pillow, it just looks like that...

NICU Care Packages, from Jana's blog

This is a post from Jana's blog. SUCH a great idea. Just email me if you can help in any way. Carol
NICU Care Packages

I know it's getting to that busy time of year where everybody has way too much to do. I also know what it's like to have a baby in the NICU and I know some of you do too. Sitting in the hospital day after day is tiring and stressful and can be lonely. I want to do something to help other NICU moms and maybe just brighten their day a little. I know how hard it is to have a baby in the hospital on a regular day but I can't imagine how hard it must be during the holidays. I LOVE Christmas and anything I would like to be able to maybe make someone else's a little better. We have been given so much love and support and I would love to be able to pass that on to someone else.

So, I am putting together some little care packages to drop off at the NICU for other moms (or dads :)
I'm thinking:

Little lotions
Chapstick
Candy
Granola Bars/Snacks/Gum
Emergen-C (Since it's cold season!)
Maybe a little notebook for keeping notes about baby
Vitamin Water
Hot Chocolate or Tea
Hand Sanitizer
Baby Hats and maybe little Christmas blankets (if I get around to knitting/sewing them)

 I'm going to try and start getting things together now because I know once Thanksgiving hits everything gets super busy. We have another appointment at Children's in December so I am thinking I will drop them off then. Anybody want to help? Have any other ideas of things to add? Let me know :)

*Updated to add:

If you knit, here is a website that has patterns for preemie hats

If you crochet, here is more patterns for preemie hats

I also thought it would be fun to put some of the stuff in the stockings. I'm telling you, I love Christmas so this is all really fun for me :) Here is the pattern I might use, again depending on how much time I have. If you sew, it is here or here's just an outline.