Adoption Update

Referrals came out again the other day. Three more beads out of the jar. This month was dismal, depressing, and discouraging. Two of those days were the weekend. It is looking like they will be continuing with only three days a month. There is not much hope for a speedup. Three days a month means 20 more months wait for us. Still... we wait. To pull out now would be worse. Switching countries is not an option. If we did that we would still have over a year wait.


I have decided that I am going to set some goals this year to focus on instead of this long wait. I guess you could call them New Years' Resolutions.

1. Read a chapter in my bible Monday through Friday
2. Exercise 5 days a week
3. Learn everything I can about sewing clothes and sew them
4. Play my flute 5 days a week for at least 15 min. (Got to start somewhere)
5. Have more fun with my kids (Thanks Jenny for the suggestion)
6. Be hospitable
7. Prepare more fruits and veggies for my family. (I'm super lazy in the kitchen)
8. Finish Alex's stocking. (I've been working on our stockings for 14 years!)
9. Plan another road trip?

Well, that's enough for now. I may add some as the year goes by. I plan on living my life to the fullest and not wish the time away so we can go to China.

Last shirt with this pattern.

I really like the pattern on the fabric. The fabric, however, is not the best for this shirt. It is a really thin, lightweight fabric. It doesn't have enough lycra or something to work for this pattern. It needs to be tighter around the neckline. I think from now on I will need to feel the fabric before I buy. Maybe once I know what different types of fabric feel like I will be able to buy online. I probably won't wear this until the spring. I also might shorten the sleeves a bit. They seam a little long for 3/4 sleeves. I'm just not motivated to do it now. I was worried about the way the pattern on the fabric would work out. I was afraid that a flower would be in the wrong spot. I'm pleased with how that aspect turned out. This has definitely been a learning experience. I'm now on to my next pattern for a shirt. Here's the link.

Here is attempt #3. It's my favorite so far. I think I have finally perfected the fit.

I found a monster fabric store in San Fransisco and can't wait to go check it out. I absolutely hate shopping for clothes, but I love shopping for fabric. Go figure! I've got two more shirts to make. One is this same pattern with 3/4 sleeves. The other is a different pattern. The next one is going to be a bit challenging because of the pattern on the fabric. I will need to place the front piece in a good spot. We'll see how it works out. I hope to finish it today.

Today I worked on shirt attempt #2. It was much more difficult than I thought it would be. The fabric is very slippery and I was having trouble with skipping stitches.

Saturday, my mom and I went hunting for a new sewing machine. I have been sewing on a Singer that is close to 50 years old. Apparently, it was the top of the line back in the day. Now, it is just frustratingly old! I finally decided on buying a Bernina. I'm in love! I can't believe all the beautiful stitches it makes. I'm going to have to come up with projects just to try each one. I will also have to come up with a clothing item that has button holes just to try the amazing button hole foot.

It was really tricky putting this shirt together. I cut the neck band shorter to eliminate the gaping that happened in my first attempt. I stretched the band to fit along the neck. This fixed the gaping problem, but created a puckering problem near the arm hole. Next time I won't cut it quite as much. I also found that this fabric fits quite a bit tighter. I think I might need to go up a size for my next attempt.


I did have to pop back over to the sewing shop for advice. I'm so glad that I bought from this lady. I feel that I am going to really get my monies worth out of just her help. She wasn't sure how to help me, so she called a friend who was in Idaho on vacation. How sweet is that? I would love to go to some classes and learn a lot more than I know now. I know there is more to sewing than a straight and zigzag stitch! I just need to be taught.

Another vest done

I'm feeling much better today. I was able to crank out Micah's vest this afternoon and evening. I made some modifications and am rather pleased with the results. It's far from perfect, but I like the hand pockets. If it was a little longer I would steal it for myself! It is super cozy.


Here's a picture of the finished product.


Doesn't Micah just look so cheerful? He was mad that I pulled him out of bed at 10 to take a picture. He wasn't asleep yet, so I thought I could just get a quick snap. With his slouchy shoulders, the vest looks a little funky on him. I took another without the grumpy child.


I am much happier with these pockets. The only problem was that it was hard to get them even across the zipper. I had to rip the seam out once to get them aligned a little better.

Next project will be another shirt for me. I'm ready to cut into my other fabric.


Here's a picture I stumbled across today. What a cutie!


Those bangs though....... terrible!

One vest down

I finished Alex's vest the other day under his watchful eye. Every few minutes he would ask if I was done. I really don't care for the pattern. This is something that I would never buy in the store. I think I have figured out some changes that will make it more stylish for Micah.

This just screams "homemade" to me!

The bottom cut is like a dress shirt. When I make Micah's, I will cut the bottom straight across. I also don't care for the pockets. I'm going to try and put pockets on like a sweatshirt. We'll see. I've never altered a pattern before. I will have to go back to the fabric store and get some more tracing paper. I hate to think what the cutting line will be like this time of year!

Alex loves his vest. He doesn't care that it looks homemade. He's had it on every day since I finished it. However, his fashion sense has room for improvement. Here's one of my favorite pictures of him in his choice of attire.

This picture just warms my heart. Why do they have to grow up so fast?

I haven't been able to do much these last few days since being sick. Maybe I'll be able to get out of the house to get the tracing paper and get started on Micah's vest. He keeps asking when he'll have his. It's sweet that my boys actually want me to make them things and will wear them.

I love to sew!

Over the last few months I have been sewing a few things. I love to watch the fabric go from a long strip to something useful. For some reason, it brings me a great sense of satisfaction. I've made quite a few bags, pajama bottoms for the boys, and cargo pants for Alex. (I'll post pictures of those another time.) I'm really interested in sewing my own clothes. I have a figure and complexion that is hard to shop for. My thighs are too big, my waist too long, and my legs too short. Nothing ever fits right. Then the colors! In the summer everything is bright, bright, bright. Red hair does not look good in florescent colors! Jeans are completely depressing to shop for. Ugh! I've scoured the internet and found some patterns that I really like.

My first attempt is a basic shirt. I've never sewn with knit before, so I was a bit apprehensive. On a trip to JoAnns, I discovered that they had hardly any selection of knits. Bummer! Hopping on the internet again, I found a good site for buying fabric. They had so much to choose from. It's pretty scary picking fabric online. I had no idea how it felt or what it looked like on a large scale. You're only given a small picture. I took the plunge and ordered 4 different fabrics.

As I nervously waited for the fabric to arrive, I decided that it might be a good idea to sew a shirt out of cheaper fabric for the first time. Back to JoAnns I went to buy some plain knit.

Here's the pattern I was working with:

Well.... I tried to figure out how to add the image, but I can't. I'll just post the link.

Here's my end result of my first attempt. Please ignore the fact that I have no make-up on and my hair is a mess.



I'm really happy with the way it turned out. There are a few problems that I can't really fix now that it is all done. See the shadow on my collar bone? It gaps a bit there. On the next shirt, I will try and take in more at the shoulder seam.

Here are some pictures of the fabric I will be working with next.

One more month closer to our adoption

Well, the month of March 2006 has finally been completed. YEAH! The sad thing is that it took the whole of 2009 to complete it. November was really tough in that they did not send out any referrals. No one seems to know why. Rumors are flying as to what to expect. It seems that we will know more in the next 3-6 months.

Some days it seems that we should just back out. Our kids are getting older and our lives have changed. I realized that when Alex is 18, I will only be 43. I could do anything! But then I think about the little girl that we are waiting for. I know that our lives will be blessed because of her.

So... for now... three more beads out of the jar. 60 more to go. Who wants to make bets on how long my hair will be? :)