Big Bertha

I got several inquiries about my sewing machine, so I thought I'd give all the info in one post.

I have a Husqvarna Platinum 950E. I got it at Joann's for an ungodly cost. (And for the record, will probably never ever make enough money from this machine to actually pay for it!)

This is a stock photo, but it's exactly what mine looks like.

Anyways... would I recommend it? Hmmmm.... Would I recommend any embroidery machine? I just don't know... I guess it depends on how much expendable income you have to play with.

If you have a couple 3-4 grand lying around somewhere and are looking for a place to burn it - then go for it! If not, I'd seriously consider the purchase. :)

Maybe you'd like to start an embroidery business? The market is pretty saturated with those right now... but perhaps you have some sort of creative idea that no one else has thought of? It's very scary to embroider for someone else, too. Esp if they've given you something that belongs to them. You just never know when your machine is going to freak out and poke a big hole into something. (has happened several times to my own stuff!)

It's a neat little toy to have, but honestly if you count up how many things you will be embroidering in your lifetime and then check the prices at your local embroidery shop - you'd probably spend less just letting someone else do it. Unless you find a killer deal on a used one!

If you really really really want one, just be aware that there are lots of other things you have to buy with the machine. It's like buying an oven to cook. You will also need the pans, the measuring cups, the mixer, and of course the ingredients. :)

My machine was bought in 2004 for somewhere in the ballpark of $3000. I can't remember exactly. (probably blocked it out)

But then I had to buy the software b/c the machine is basically useless without it. With the software, you are able to go on your computer and make a design or a word or something. It will run around $400.

But the software is useless without the reader-writer D-card that transfers the information from the computer over to the sewing machine. There's another couple hundred.

Don't forget the hoops. Hoops are the contraption to which you secure your fabric, then the hoop clicks into the sewing machine, allowing the fabric to stay SUPER tight while the machine sews out a design. Each hoop runs maybe $100 or so. I have 3 sizes of those - small, medium, and large. You really need several sizes. In fact, I could use a mini one also.

But the hoop is useless without stabilizer. There are many different kinds depending on what type of fabric you are using, so again, you will need to keep several kinds "in stock." Stabilizer is necessary to keep the fabric still during embroidery b/c the hoop can't do it all by itself. After sewing, the stabilizer is also sewn onto the fabric and you can either tear it off, cut around it, or it might be water soluable. Stabilizer is the white "fabric" you see on the back side of an embroidery design - if you own anything embroidered you might see it on the back. Sometimes (like for baby clothes) it is really soft to keep the embroidery from scratching someone's skin. Stabilizer runs around $50 a roll.

And you'll need thread! But you can't just any thread. That would be way to easy. Special embroidery thread can get pricey. There are one or two brands that are clearly the best. My favorite is Robison-Anton. They are about $5-$8 per spool. I have about 50 spools, due to various projects where I needed to match the thread to fabric or something. Also, you'll need special embroidery bobbins and needles.

Then you'll want to buy designs. The designs that come with the machines are so lame and you'd never use them. Designs run from $5-$50, depending on what you want. I usually buy from the same people. A couple from ebay and there are several online companies I like. Embroidables and Band to Bow are a couple of my favs. After I pay, they send me a .pes file which I can extract, then open in my embroidery software. Every once in a while, I can find some free designs, which is fun. You can also buy cute fonts, but my machine lets me load any font I have in Word, so I lucked out there. I can turn the font into an outline, an applique, make it thinner/smaller, etc.

Last but not least - there's the fabric. The fabric itself is usually easy to find on sale or whatever. But some fabrics embroider better than others. Towels are tough to embroider. After you're done, you have to cut each little thread running from one letter to the next, without cutting the millions of tiny loops that make up the fabric of a towel.

Also, you can't embroider just anything. When you have a household machine that uses hoops, you are very limited. You have to be able to get the fabric into the hoop and into the machine. Onesies are very hard to manuever, and you have to sit at the machine the whole time it's sewing out to keep it from slipping and embroidering the front and back together. Something like a suitcase or a lunchbox would be next to impossible. Unless you have about $15,000 for a factory machine that can easily get to the front and the back of a fabric, you are out of luck.

There are tons of little extra things you can also buy to do more things with the machine. Like pricey little software that lets you draw something out and digitize it into a .pes file. Some machines have cool screens that actually tell you which design you are going to be sewing (I just have to remember the order in which I saved them on the d-card). Some have cool little options for making your design bigger and smaller without having to resize/resave them on the computer.

You'd have to make your own decision whether or not this is something you'd like to invest in. It's hard to find real-life experiences out there, so hopefully this helps someone. When I am struggling with something related to my machine, it's really hard to find advice out there and I just have to figure it out somehow. Good luck!! :)

Memorial Day weekend and Reminiscing

Happy Memorial Day!!! What a blessing to be a part of a military family and to know the treasure that this weekend holds.

I have the honor of honoring my Daddy (Colonel), both my grandfathers (Generals), three uncles (Colonels), my cousin, my brother-in-law (currently serving overseas right now) - and several of the above are service academy grads (Although, I'm loyal to West Point. Go ARMY!).

What a legacy. :)

THANK YOU for serving us and giving us the freedom we enjoy and usually just take for granted!



Onto our weekend...

We had lots of fun stuff planned, although I chose to enjoy most of it and not take pictures. :) Sometimes it's just more fun that way!


Friday night, we had a pool party at a friend's house. I was very happy to be surrounded by other pregnant people. We like to travel in groups. Unlike last weekend, when I was the only one at a big party and felt super ugly. Then super guilty because I have this BEAUTIFUL HEALTHY blessing inside of me and WHY am I worried about how I look?!!! I'll muster through this during another post. Let's talk about something more fun...

Anyways, Zac went off the diving board for the first time! I say "went" because it wouldn't be accurate to say something like he "jumped" or he "dove." It was more like I held him at the end of the diving board and dropped him in. :) He loved it, don't worry. It was his idea. He knew he didn't have the nerve to do it and asked for my help.

But most of the night, he spent with his 3 buddies in the hot tub. They even ate their pizza in there. TOO cute. After they all got in jammies, they crawled into a big bed together and watched a movie. Again... TOO cute.



Saturday morning, we went to Brian's softball practice. To say Zac was THRILLED is an understatement. He could barely contain himself watching Brian out there (who - BRAG ALERT - was hitting a couple of over-the-fence balls and, when in the field, was catching lots of big hits).

Brian took ZZ onto the field while people were practicing batting, and he was hilarious. He almost got hit a couple of times, but had no fear whatsoever trying to go after a ball and catch it like he had been watching Brian do. Kind of scary for me to watch, but it was so cool for him... I couldn't NOT let him do it! Then they let him play catcher, and that was so adorable. He was so serious out there with the big boys. Big difference from playing baseball in the backyard. He was just thrilled.



That night (after cleaning the garage... UGH), we had a party with our Shepherd's Group from church. It was such a blessing to get together with them and everyone has such sweet kids. Zac spent the evening playing in the backyard with two other children. At the end of the night, they had a whole story they were acting out, complete with a bonfire they had built. SUPER cute.




Sunday morning, we had church - always fun! And then we left to go to my parent's house.


We hadn't seen them since Christmas, and since they really haven't had a HOUSE in 2 years, it was just fun to be there and enjoy their company in their beautiful new home. And of course, their 30 acres of land! What a beautiful thing to come out of the city into the country where you can't even SEE another home.

Zac loved seeing their dogs Ginger, Ranger, and Recon. He had all the commands down and was letting those dogs know that it didn't matter that they are now bigger than him - ZZ was going to tell them what was up. A Golden Retriever and 2 Labs - you can't find better kid-friendly dogs. They just adored him.


Here is Zac at my parent's house. This swan is something he used to rock on so many years ago. It's still fun!





My parents - with their cool latest-and-greatest gadgets. Zac could watch some television and we didn't have to listen to it. :) He loved that he could go to the bathroom while wearing the headphones and still be able to hear his show. And watch it, too, because my parents also have a flat-screen in the bathroom! (don't worry, he didn't watch tv the whole time! this is while we were packing the car to leave)

There is a great pond on their land. Brian and Zac went fishing. Good times!

My dad on his kayak. He uses his feet to pedal and steer. He uses it while fly-fishing on the river, and he can even go upstream.

He's the only one who caught a fish this day.

Zac coming off the boat - very excited and happy!

I just love shots like this. Probably doesn't mean much to someone else. But this is my BABY! My sweet baby boy. With his dire need of a haircut. His little nostrils flaring like he does when he is studying something. Those beautiful dark eyes. Oh! Just makes me fall in love with him!!!

He was really trying to catch a fish. And by "trying" I mean, he kept casting and quickly reeling in, casting, reeling in..... I would have been surprised if this tactic had worked. And alas, it didn't. But he had fun anyway!

Nana had bought the COOLEST bubble sword. $1 at Walmart and it makes the BIGGEST bubbles. Lots and lots of really big bubbles! We were having the best time with this thing.

Until it started running out of solution, so we decided to add a little water. A little water apparently screwed with the bubble-making capabilities of this contraption, so we didn't see too many bubbles after that. If you buy it and it runs low, don't add water. :)

Nana teaching Zac about the sundial. He was really intrigued by it.

He really loved this telescope. Of all things, he enjoyed watching the chickens out in their coop.

And - HEY! Look who found the kayak!!

There's something special being back in your parents' home.

In our family, we moved every couple of years. So, we joke that we "traveled light." Meaning, we didn't hang on to things. And I love that. It means no clutter! We could fit all our things in 1500 SqFt or 4000 SqFt. And we rarely did garage sales - they set a great example of giving stuff away to others. We didn't keep things just to store them in the attic and forget about them. (btw, have YOU ever had to move and clean out an attic?!)

It means the things that made it through the years actually had really special meanings. We didn't have any antiques (remember - both my parents grew up military, too!) or things that were passed down. But as I walked around my parents' house this weekend, I found so many little tiny special things that I have treasured memories of - and my parents probably don't even know it!

First off - my dad's study. I'm SO proud of him!! He has so many awesome awards and cool memoribilia. It's fun to just be nosy and poke around at all his stuff. :) Such a cool history!

I have always loved these little guys. I think it's a West Point cadet getting yelled at. It's always been somewhere in one of our houses, and has always made me giggle.

This rat has also made EVERY move. It's a family joke, really. He looks very real, and we spent years teasing each other with him.

Mom has always put this in her kitchen. It was one of those very familiar things that gets unpacked and the "new" house starts to feel like a home.

She always has lots of pictures of my dad in uniform. Here he has a mustache! She is so proud of him. :) In the background is a picture of my mom fly-fishing - a sport she took up with my dad in which he is so proud of her!

This old clock has been around forever. I'm not sure it even works. We used to have to open it and wind it. Regardless - it's always been around and I'm happy it's up on the wall, working or not!

Going to my dad's garage is always comforting, too. Being a father of 3 girls, his garage was always his little place of peace. (haha) And he would spend hours days years in there organizing. My dad is not a pack-rat. This is an extremely organized area. And you can ask for just about any tool/gadget/hardware/etc, and he doesn't only HAVE it, but he knows exactly where it is.

Just an example of what each drawer looks like inside. No joke.

And, if you ever need an issue of Consumer Reports or Family Handyman, both of these are catalogued neatly. I think the oldest issue is somewhere around 1983. I'm not joking, I'm as serious as the day is long. He's incredibly resourceful, although probably much more of a googler now.

And my mom's chair. I think she's had this since before they even HAD children. It's in every home, somewhere. I always thought it looked like a chair for a princess. :)

I'm so happy for them that they finally have a HOME where they can unpack for longer than 3 years. What a blessing to be able to enjoy it with them this weekend!! Thanks guys!!

why it's not good to share an email address

I get some crazy ideas. I do. I really, really do. Sometimes Brian plays along. Every once in a while, he puts his foot down.


I've been trying to feel him out lately regarding a possible backyard pool.

You know, for health and exercise purposes. And how we can share The Lord with people during a neighborhood water volleyball tournament.


And today I found a website detailing how to be the General Contractor and build your OWN pool and save THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS!!

And I say to myself - I could totally be a GC. (after reading up a bit on it, I feel confident enough to start using the abbreviated lingo)

And I lay on the couch with ZZ during our Tom and Jerry time, but I can't stop thinking about where exactly I will be directing a subcontractor to dig out my spa. (really, it has to be strategically located to be used year round, right?)

And I get up and register for the site, creating a login and password while mentally calculating exactly how large my zero-entry area can be. (can it fit a lounge chair?)

And I get my New User Account Activation email from www.howibuiltmyownpool.com, then I quickly archived it so that I could peruse the site and gain all my knowledge regarding this venture before I tell Brian. (I mean, I'm still trying to outweight the pros/cons of slide versus diving board.)


I need to be fully equipped to defend this idea when he finds out.


But, when you share an email address... it's harder to hide stuff like this.


And shortly after I receive (and archived) my New User information... I get a text from Brian.


It says, "No."

My first attempt at shoes

Baby booties for Selah Grace!

I figure I better learn how to make them, because this frugal mama can't afford to spend too much money on etsy!


Right now, I have lots of black/white fabric left over from her nursery. I think this girlie needs some black pants to go with these shirts. I want to make some that flare on the ends. Then I have this great idea to buy some black tights, then cut off the ends and sew some fringe. Fun! I also love baby legs... black baby legs would be really cute with these.


This first pair of shoes I designed to be able to hold a hairbow on each shoe. These are kind of supposed to be like ankle-boots. I think the zebra stripes look cute with so many colors (hot pink, red, turquoise, etc), and wanted to be able to mix/match with different bows. I still need to make matching bows for each shoe and a hairband. And maybe another to clip onto the end of the stripe on her shirt. :)






These turned out cuter than I thought they would. I love the satin ribbon, and need to make a hairbow to clip onto a hairband to go with this shirt.

I'm going to try and sew some Robeez-like shoes next. I just need to find some leather for the bottoms.

>

I'd also like to try to figure out Mary Jane's and sew her name on the strap that comes across her foot.

I love sewing her name on everything. This is FUN!! :)

A gift to our sweet baby girl

The nursery is DONE!!

First off, since her name is all over the room, we'll explain how we came up with it.

We've been ALL over the board with names. But this name has been on the list since the beginning, surviving all our list-revising and second-guessing.

First off, we both like the Christian band, Selah. They sing one of Brian's favorite songs. I thought it sounded pretty as a little girl's name. It was a little unique and it was biblical, which is also true with Zac's name. We knew it was in Psalms, so we decided to look it up.

Turns out, one of our bibles has a Word Study on the word Selah.

This term is derived from the verb salal, "to lift up." It occurs in 39 psalms and in the "psalm of Habakkuk" (Hab. 3). No one is certain of the exact meaning of this word - that is, what is to be lifted up. Some think that Selah is an emphatic word, marking a point in the psalm for "lifting up" one's thoughts to God. But most scholars think it is simply some form of musical notation, such as a marker of a musical interlude, a pause, or a change of key.

Well, we got to thinking about that last sentence.

A change of key. Other places we looked up (a sweet friend pointed this out to me) called it a "new verse" or a "new beginning."

That just melted our hearts.

This new baby is our new verse. She is the one in our home who will connect all of us together. She's a little piece of all 3 of us.

We decided then - she is Selah.

And the name Grace just flowed really well with Selah. We wanted something with one syllable that would go with her first name, so that we could use her first and middle name together.

Her room is small (like most kids bedrooms), so we decided to use paint to dress it up rather than stuff it full of furniture. We got a projector and some black paint - and with a little elbow grease, we are so pleased with our artistic abilities!

Here is our sweet little Selah Grace's room....

When you walk into the room......

On the left wall......

On the back wall...

This is my hopechest - a gift from my parents when I was in college. It didn't match, so I made little slipcover to help it coordinate in here. :) The black pillow is minky-dot, which is so lusciously (word?) soft and cuddly!!

On the right wall....

All those little butterflies on the wall are origami. I made them all on a long drive last weekend and they look adorable. We like the 3-D effect it gives to the mural.

And we decided against a crib bumper. ZZ was crawling by the end of January and his bumpers (which took me and my mom lots of time to sew!) had to be taken out. We like the simple look in here without them anyways.

A close up of her hairbow holder.... And yes - that thing will be FILLED before she is born! Doesn't every little girl need a tutu hairbow holder filled with bows of every color?

We're so excited at how it turned out! You can click on the pictures to make them bigger. We still have a couple of things to do - like buy knobs for the dresser and add some trim in some places that no one else will probably ever notice.

We can't wait to meet our sweet little Selah Grace!!!!

Baby's nursery

No pics today! And I won't be done by Sunday either. We have too much going on this weekend.

But hopefully by Monday or Tuesday. :) Wish my sewing machine luck - she's gonna be workin' hard!

We can't wait to show you the finished room!

Happy Weekend everyone!!

Sweet blessings

Zac had a little singing performance last week. This is one of the songs he had learned. It's also one of our favorite songs and it's so sweet to hear his little voice sing it!

He really loves to sing and next year we hope he'll get to join the children's choir. :)

Lyrics:
Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe, Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow

Hearing children sing about Jesus is such a sweet blessing!!!!

In other news - the Baby Room is almost done!! And with its reveal, we will share her beautiful NAME!!! Hopefully it will be completed by the end of the weekend - so check back!