Let's Party Like It's 2010!

If you haven't joined the Ultimate Blog Party, I hope you'll join me in the fun! I've been looking forward to this for weeks, because it's such an awesome and fun way to make new friends. In fact, I "met" many of my current blog friends through last year's UBP.

If this is your first visit here, WELCOME!! I'm so excited to meet you!

My name is Vera

that's me. You can learn more than you ever need to know about me here. Really, all you need to know is that I am thankful.

I have a husband, his name is Davis. But he doesn't really like being blogged about. So you'll just have to take my word for it - he's handsome and funny and, in my humble opinion, the best darn dad in the world! Sometimes I blog about marriage.

We have three children. This is a humongous, HUGE blessing and something I praise God for every day. We struggled with infertility and miscarriage on our journey here, and I've written about it in the past. Reading these posts now, with a baby on my chest, overwhelms me - I try to give credit where credit is due.

This is Sophia. She's four and a half (the half is VITALLY important!). We've been through some medical issues with her, and I've blogged about that too.

This is Amelia. She turned three in January. I love birthdays!

And this little guy, he's Henry, and he's nine weeks old. I had him at home, and I blogged about that too.

I love to cook and bake. I love cooking healthy, delicious things for my family. And on my blog I share recipes - often about simple, simple ways to prepare vegetables. I call them my Vegetable of the Week posts, although as it turns out, I'm not really great at sticking to weekly blogging obligations, so really it should be Vegetable of the Every Few Weeks. Psst... Stick around if you want to know more about asparagus this week.

I also love sewing. I haven't done a sewing tutorial before, but I decided in honor of The Ultimate Blog Party, I'm going to do a tutorial of my very favorite sewing project - my ten minute skirt and a shirt to match. If you have a sewing machine YOU CAN MAKE THIS.



I promise.

First, cut your fabric (one great thing about this pattern is that it works with just about any fabric - I'm using a light knit fabric here) into a long rectangle. You can adjust this pattern to any size, and it's also very forgiving, so no need to be a perfectionist - I'm certainly not!



I made this outfit for Amelia, who is somewhere between a 3T and a 4T right now. My dimensions were 14 inches by 44 inches.



Next, fold the rectangle in half so that right sides are together, and pin together



Then sew the two ends together where you've pinned.

Next, fold the top of the skirt over about an inch - this is where your elastic will go in



and sew. I did this so quickly, I didn't even pin it (though ironing is never optional when you're sewing - trust me on this and just do it!) Again, this is a super forgiving pattern because of the gathers.



Stop before you get all the way to your starting point, so that you have a gap between the two seams



Now, pin a safety pin to some elastic - I used 3/8th of an inch. Usually I just use what I have on hand, the thicker the elastic the tighter the top of the skirt will be. You will guide the safety pin into the gap in the seam



and just continue to pull it all the way through



Then, lay the elastic ends on top of each other, and hand sew across using a strong thread



Hey - it's suddenly starting to look a lot like a skirt!



All that's left to do is to hem the bottom. At this point, try it on your model if possible, then hem the bottom by folding under (ironing!) and sewing. Turn right side out - and you're done!



Now there are so many things you can do with the top. I just start with a plain t-shirt or tank top (Old Navy, Gap, Children's Place, Target, Lands End, whoever has them on sale!) and then decorate - sometimes I applique on a letter or name, like here. Or just coordinating shapes like here. I've also had the top monogrammed in a thread that matches the skirt. Or in this case, a ribbon and a circle cut out of the skirt fabric.

First, I sewed the ribbon onto the shirt



I just folded over the ends of the ribbon and sewed across the ends at the armpits



I then used some fusible interfacing like this



to attach my applique - you'll just want to follow the package instructions on that, it's super easy



and that's it! Easy as pie!

Pretty much everything I sew, craft, cook, bake, etc. on my blog will be quick and easy - because I have three kids and a full time job and I'm not very patient!

My blog started with a Psalm two years ago. Ever more so than ever, I want to say:

Come and hear, all who fear God, And I will tell of what He has done for my soul. Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer Nor His lovingkindness from me.
Psalm 66:16,20

I'm very excited about meeting new bloggers this week, and I'm so glad you stopped by! I'd love to know who you are and to go check out your blog, so please leave me a comment.

If you're one of my regular readers and you have not checked out UBP - go! Check it out! Along with all the blogging fun, there are lots of prizes. And in order to win them, you have to list what you'd like to win, so here are the prizes I sure would love:

US6 – Hand Stamped Personalized Necklace valued at $48 The Double Stacked A Lot Of Love.
Provided by: Kristen’s Custom Creations
Follow here: KLA Custom or Visit Our Fan Page: Kristen’s Custom Creations

US39 -Be My Guest certificate ($250 value) for one lucky winner, (2 night stay for a family of four) at any Hilton Garden Inn.
Provided by: Hilton Garden Inn
Follow here: bloggin2noggin

US11 – A $100 gift eCertificate to Restaurant.com, immediately redeemable online at over 13,000 restaurants nationwide.
Provided by: Amy LeForge of Earnest Parenting

US71 – A $50 Bear Bucks Card to Build A Bear Workshop.
Provided by: Liza Schwab
Follow here: mamaschwab

US49 – $25 gift card to Starbucks
Provided by: Janice Yurek