Here's to Gettin Things DONE!!! (sewing projects and such)

And yes, I'm aware that is poor grammar. Mrs. Flint would remind me that turkeys are done and people are finished. True true. But whatever. Sometimes I holler "I am DONE" with a hearty red neck inflection and it feels really good! But I digress. :)

I've managed to finish up a number of projects around here. Most of which I can't show you because they are Christmas presents to various peoples and I would hate for anyone to catch a glimpse early! But here's what I CAN share:

I got this gorgeous dress for my birthday! Wouldn't you know it was 6 inches too long (sheesh, am I THAT short?) but I couldn't just do a regular hem because the print design on the bottom would all be lost. I needed to take it up at the waist. Which got a little bit tricky because of the surplice cut of the bodice and the A-line cut for the skirt portion of the dress. Blah blah blah you don't want the gritty details, but suffice it to say after 2 rocky attempts I got it taken care of and now have a truly fabulous dress (and I used the fabric I removed to make the headband)! Very flattering too!

I also finished our family Christmas stockings! 

You'll recall (perhaps?) that I began this project last January after being inspired by these stockings, but wanting to eliminate Santa and snowman and just have animals. I needed more critters for my whole family to match. I decided that would be easiest to accomplish if I designed them myself, so that is what I did.

It was fun!... and lengthy... I worked on them all. year. long. Just ask my book club friends (shout out ladies! I know you read my blog, L.R!). I was embroidering stockings all summer!

There are definitely tons of flaws (don't look too closely!), but a sewing friend once told me if a guy in a semi driving past at 80 mph wouldn't notice the flaws, they aren't important. Do I believe that?...not really... but it is a nice sentiment I try to convince myself of for the less-glaring imperfections. That lopsided Quasimodo beak on the penguin is what gives her character, right? That's the charm of home made! 

Anyway, I'm pleased with how everything came together and I think the designs turned out really cute. I'm also happy to be FINISHED so that I can move on to other projects without feeling guilty. 

I've got a bunny all cut out for our next family member (we're not expecting, just to dispel that rumor before it gets started) and enough stocking material to do 4 more (I'm not making any promises about family size or offspring quotas, I just bought more red fabric than I need!) 

Which little guy/gal is your favorite? Personally, I'm rather fond of the elk with the ornament hanging off his tines. That's Eric. 

Oh, and I completed 2 years of family photo books, with another year almost finished. Hopefully by February. 

The best part about this project is walking down memory lane!

Remember the nearly-naked fairy wing day?

And who could forget the horny toad in Grandma's baby grand piano incident?

and this Duck Dynasty Christmas picture (for a collection of our favorite Duck recipes) still cracks me up!

Eric has had some projects too: our lemon tree is perking back up thanks to Eric's light set up. It gets dismally gray around here in winter and we have no south-facing window, so our tree just wasn't getting enough sun shine. Thank you, Eric, for saving our tree! Our lemon is turning yellow!

 Tah-dah!

Doesn't if feel wonderful to be able to say, "I am Duuuuuu-uuuuuuhn!" lol