Sewing with Etame

The Snack Bag Makeover

In the interest of being an honest crafter, I feel it's important to post (some) of my failed projects. This is one.

I tried to make Landon a snack bag for school. It has to have his name on it and "snack" and I was tired of throwing away paper bags each day when sending them with hi and writing the same thing each day. So, here was my first attempt. I tried to use free-hand stitching and it just didn't come out like I had hoped.


He did use it for a few weeks until this week when I had a chance to make a new and improved one. This time out of fun truck print canvas fabric that I bought at Superbuzzy a while back.


I can see now that the next picture wasn't too in focus as I was hurrying to take this shot. It has his initials in felt and closes with a star button and elastic loop.


Onto the next project again!

Halloween 2009

Oh, how Landon was excited to go to school on Halloween party day. Here he is at the classroom party...


Then they had a costume parade (he's 4th in line)...


They paraded to the tennis court and sang some Halloween songs...


Then came Halloween night. The first house, our dear neighbors...



Calvin surprised us all by coming down the walkway dressed as a Storm Trooper. Landon immediately whipped out his light saber and started to fight him. It was only a secret for a couple seconds until Calvin laugh bellowed from under his helmet...


Family picture. Etame was Ahsoka, I was Queen Padme Amidala, and Landon was Mace Windu, Jedi Master...


We had a great night meeting new neighbors (they're all new to us) and walking the neighborhood. I was happy to make all the costumes, minus Ahsoka's hat (thanks DJ!) and we splurged on the Storm Trooper helmet which is going to get lots of play time. All eyes are puffy today from too much candy, not enough sleep, and lots of excitement. Hope you all had a Happy Halloween! Onto the next project...

Cleopatra

This is my latest project. A Halloween costume for Landon's teacher. Cleopatra. This was the inspiration:


This is the result. I hope it has some resemblance...

It was a lot of fun to make and now onto the next!

Je t'aime Etame

This past week I met a French-speaking lady from Liberia. When I tell her my daughter's name, she says, "oh, that means love in French". Really? I took French I say and doesn't "amour" mean love? No, she says, like "I love you". Oh, Je T'aime! Of course! It means I LOVE YOU. What a treasured revelation.

This all fits together so nicely. Anyone who knows me well knows I love everything French. It is perfect that her birth mother named her this and makes me even more happy we decided to call her by her given name.

Rest Time

Landon needed a rest time towel for school. So I took it on as a project and created this miniature blanket out of flannel. He says it's much softer than the towel he had before. Plus, there's a secret word in there I told him.



See it? It's in the stitching...



He actually rests at home too, sometimes, after all his energy is expired for the day.

Weber's Farm

This past Monday there was no school for Landon so I took the kids and headed to Weber's Farm, on the outskirts of Baltimore and very close to us.


Etame loved the little kids activities


This turkey was angry or mean or hungry. Doesn't it look like a Star Wars character in the face?



The slide, a perennial favorite



Etame liked the goats from a distance. She liked the bunnies the best, and really did not like the chickens. She ran from them.



How cute?


For the scrapbook


And this is how our day ended. Etame was quite angry with Landon as she did not want to share "her" apple cider slushie with anyone. We will have a strong-willed little miss in our house, I feel it coming on.