One of Kendal's 'jobs' (we call them jobs instead of chores - it sounds better that way I think!) is to do the silverware. When I clean out the dishwasher I put the basket of utensils on the cupboard and it is her job to put them away. Kendal recently acquired this job just a month or so ago. It used to be Kelsey's. Anyway, she did her job the other night and the next morning when I was getting breakfast going, this is what I found.

I asked her over breakfast why her doll was in the drawer. She said "She fell asleep in there last night when I was doing my job, so I just left her there to rest." I love that girl.

Civil War Spring Social

The Ladies Auxiliary of the Utah Civil War Association had a social and mini-conference on Saturday and it was wonderful. We learned about all kinds of womanly topics of the 1860s and had a great lunch. The fellas did some leather work and started making scabbards. The kids ran around, played tea time, and met new friends.

Scottie captured these pictures of my sweet Emmitt. He was so cute. I can not get over how darling he is all dressed up like 1862. I am glad I made him his little wool jacket, as it was a bit chilly and the kids of course wanted to be outside most of the day.

I did realize Saturday morning as I was getting the children dressed that I need to start making a few new items for the kids - they seem to have grown so much over the winter! Emmitt's gowns are much too short, Kendal' s and Kelsey's boots do not fit very well, Kendal had to wear a dress Kelsey wore last year but it fit pretty well, Kendal's chemise is now above her knee, Kelsey's stay is a bit snug, and so on and so forth. My kids are growing!

Kelsey made a new friend, Elizabeth. This was Elizabeth's first event and I think they hit it off well. I knew she was coming, so as I was making Kelsey's new cloak earlier in the week, I made one for Elizabeth also. They loved them, and they were needed on the chilly March day!

Jorden had a few super fun period games for the kids. They really enjoyed them. Amanda and Victoria are playing along here.

Here is my little crew. I was pretty happy with how the day turned out and how well they played with everyone. My only worry is that Kendal broke part of the pretty tea set that was brought for them to play with, but I think Kelsey would have let me know if that happened!

Kelsey and Elizabeth stayed busy climbing trees, making mud townships, and watching Emmitt. It was nice that there was a safe place for the kids to play while I learned all about period hats, knitting, side saddle riding, and gauging skirts.

Thank you Utah Civil War Association folks for a wonderful day!

Crane update

My cute friend Jenn asked about how Matt is doing, so here it goes. This picture was taken yesterday. Matt is sacked out in the recliner and Emmitt is trying to be with dad, although mom is much more fun lately! Matt is doing really well. We have gone to physical therapy twice this week for his separated shoulder. He passed out during the first visit, but all is well. Then second visit was great and we have two more appointments next week.

He has been sleeping better the past few nights and waking up only a few times. A week or so ago we were waking up every hour and a half or two hours because of the pain and he just couldn't get comfortable. He would move from couch to bed to recliner to other couch to floor and back all over again. If sounds crazy, but we have a nice sleeping area worked out now -we take the couch cushions off the couch, put them on the floor, throw a bunch of blankets on him, put almost all the pillows in the entire house under his arms and head, and he sleeps like a rock. He feels like one when he wakes up too, but that is just part of the deal!

His pain has been pretty manageable this past week. He is still taking pain meds, and will for awhile longer and is just taking it easy. The incision from the chest tube is all healed up and so he has been able to take REAL showers this past week - very nice!

He has watched I don't know how many movies. ALOT! Thanks to everyone for their loving actions and thoughts. You guys are great!

My Butterfly Garden

I signed up for a fun quilting class and attended it tonight. The quilt pattern required a layer cake and 1 yard of additional yardage. I have had this Butterfly Garden fabric collection layer cake for about a year and have been searching for the right project for it. I went to my local quilt shop yesterday and they still had some coordinating fabric in, so I bought an extra 2 yards instead of 1 so I can add a border.

A layer cake is a precut and prepackaged fabric bundle of 10 inch squares. I think there are usually 40 squares in a layer cake and they are all coordinating fabric from the same line, so they all match and go together.

So here is my layer cake, all splayed out, but of course I did not spread out all 40 pieces! The additional yardage I bought is one of the plum colors.

My neighbor and friend Debbie came with me to the class and she was my pinning and pressing slave. It was wonderful! I just sewed my little heart out. Here are the large blocks all layed out. The small plum square in the centers is a fun 3D thing - it is only attached at the side seams and is loose in the center. This bottom picture shows that you fold the sides of the square in to make curves. It looks so great and is going to be super fun.

Since I had Debbie's help, I got all my big blocks (19 1/2") made and layed out. I didn't bring the right color of thread to make my little 3D thingers into curves, so now I get to work on that at home. But that is okay, I got so much accomplished! It is going to be a fun little quilt when I get it completed. It was just nice to get out of the house for a few hours tonight!

You can purchase the pattern for this quilt at http://www.quiltscapesquilting.com/patterns.php. It is called Throw Me a Curve. My friend Deonn is the brains behind this quilt and is an amazing quilter. Thanks for a fun night Deonn and Debbie!

Emmitt's civil war sacque coat

My blogging friend named Amy (A Day in 1862) whose link is over on the right has a pattern for an infant sacque coat on her blog that I have been wanting to make Emmitt. Since we have a little Utah Civil War Association get together this weekend and it is supposed to be chilly and windy, I made him a coat last night.
The above picture is the outside of the coat cut out and pinned. It is 100% olive greenish wool suiting my friend Jen bought as a remnant at my insistence. She gave it to me about a month ago when she was cleaning out our sewing closet! Thanks Jen!

The fabric I used as the lining is a hideously beautiful mustard yellow cotton print. I say hideously beautiful because it is just that - such an ugly color, but it is one of the very first civil war era reproduction fabrics I purchased so it is sentimental to me, and that makes it beautiful. I have tried to use it in all of the civil war quilts and projects I put together, but it never really quite works because it is such a wild color, so I figured a lining of a coat would be a good home for it.
Sorry about the bad pictures. The first 2 were taken last night in the dark with the flash, and the one below was taken this morning with real light.

I think it turned out pretty stinking cute. We will see how it works on Saturday and just how cute my little Emmitt looks in it! I think it actually took me longer to draft the pattern and cut out the fabric than it did for me to sew it up! Thanks Amy in Texas!

Disney Program

The entire 3rd grade at our elementary school does a Disney Program every year. Kelsey has been singing and dancing around the house for a month as they have been practicing and getting ready for it at school. Well, it was this past week, and it was wonderful!
Kelsey got to be a flamingo in The Princess and the Frog's Dig a Little Deeper song, and was Eeyore for the Heffalump song.


She also had a few other parts, but she said her favorite part was a muse in Hercules. Here is Hercules himself and his muses. It was really a great program. Our school does a great job with it and the kids enjoy doing it so much. I posted earlier that I had to make a Sebastian the Crab costume for it. Well, I never did get the head done with Matt's accident, so I asked my neighbor who can do anything to make it up. Subba ended up looking fantastic! Kelsey had a blast and we are so proud of her.

My Matty

I have been on a blogging hiatus because I have been a little preoccupied. This is my husband Matt. These pictures were taken last week. He is home now, but he spent 11 days in the hospital, mostly the ICU. Long story, but a bull he was testing for trichomoniasis (an STD in cattle, he is a veterinarian) did not like him. When the bull was released from the squeeze shoot, he turned on Matt and banged him up against the fence a bunch. When the guys finally got the bull away from him, he had 11 broken ribs, a broken sternum, a separated shoulder, and a messed up lung and heart.

Matt ended up being sedated unconscious, intubated, and on a ventilator to breathe for him for a few days when they put a chest tube in to drain the fluid in his lung cavity. They had to do this because he stopped breathing when they put in the chest tube. It was a bad, ugly deal, but he is home now. He has a whole lot of healing to do and is doing great at keeping his pain under control. We are happy to still have the old boy around! We have had so much love and support from family and friends and we are so grateful to have such great people in our lives. Hopefully things will be back to semi-normal soon.

Subba has a body

So Sebastian has a body now, but is still missing his poor little head. But at 1:00 am I throw the towel in, whether he is headless or not. Kelsey was so excited to take Subba to school today because they are beginning their dress rehearsals. I just hope my Subba holds up to the rigors of 3rd graders taking his shell off and on and dancing around!

By the way, when I was in elementary school, a family from I think Argentina moved into our community. They had a girl who was a year younger than me and a boy a year older than me. The boy's name was Subba, short for Sebastian. They were the second non-Caucasian family I had ever met. Funny how times have changed and how I was so sheltered in my little mountain valley community.