Sew super Summer!

Wow! I can't believe that it has been five weeks since I last posted! I need to get into a groove to post more regularly!
Sew, where was I?
Oh... Kittens! Yes, they are growing and we do have homes for a few, hopefully we won't have any problem getting rid of the rest!

Aren't they cute?
Ah! A sneek preview from last time! I got the extreme honor to test a pattern!
The Sophie Tunic! A collaboration between Jennifer Paganelli and Carla C! Wonderful pattern! I have already made a couple! Available on YCMT or SisBoom!

Get ready for the adult version available soon! Carla C sent one to my wife to check the sizing!
Yes ladies, it will be available in a wide range of sizes! Thanks Carla!

We've also had fun at a local Strawberry fest!`

Yes! I made that dress just for the occasion! Notice the "strawberry pink" water in the fountain!

And I just made Angie another new purse! She has been eyeing this Paula Prass fabric since I got it!

Oh, and I won a contest. Well second place at least! Thanks Jona and Fabritopia!

I am working on another project right now too! Too early for me to elaborate yet! Stayed tuned!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all you Mom's.

Lots of exciting things to share, and more to come!

Leighanna had found a stray cat a few months ago, and decided to keep it. She is such an animal lover. I wasn't too keen on the idea, and this cat would come and go as it pleased.

A couple of months ago, we noticed that she was staying around more, and had the not so pleasant feeling that she might have gotten with another cat.

Fast forward to yesterday.

Yes, "Fluffy" had kittens! Happy Mother's Day Fluffy. She kept having them, and having them!

Leighanna got to witness the birth, and was excited and grossed out at the same time.

Of course I was too! When all was said and done, she had eight kittens.

I affectionately call her OctoMom. :)

Seven are all white, with a little spot here and there, and then there was this one "Oddball". You can't miss him in all the sea of white fluffiness!

All kittens are thriving at this point.

There is one little runt of the litter, and we have been helping it find its mother, so it is still thriving too.

Anyone want a kitty?

LOL! I am sure that Leighanna will have a hard time letting them go, but I said from the get go, that we will care for them until they are weaned, and then they must go!

I hope to stand firm on that decision!

Also, on my last post the winner of my blog giveaway was announced. I finished the Precious dress(es) and sent them on their way. Cathy was so pleased, and the look on her girls' faces melted my heart! What cuties!

Check out Cathy's Blog! You will see the fun "unfold" before their eyes!

I have also been working on another project that I will let you all know about soon! Anyway, here is a little "peek".

Thanks for reading along!

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!

Thank you all for your kind comments! It really gives me the confindence to keep sewing and continue to do what I really like to do.

Today is the day! I used Random.org to generate my random number for the drawing, and the winner is:

This was the comment:

Silly Tom...of course we are still following! Love the precious dresses and Leighanna looks just beautiful in them! Happy Easter!

This was a wonderful comment from Cathy!

Please e-mail me at tljordan@ctcn.net, and you can let me know what size and style you would like!

Can it get even more "Precious"?

I tell you I have gone crazy for this pattern!

I have now made about 6 versions of this dress, and today I made another.

This time I left off the sleeves, and Leighanna liked it alot!

She studied my fabric stash and picked out her favorite. Littlest Pet Shop of course!

Sorry for the squinty, wind-blown, photos! We were in a hurry to get going and enjoy the day.

I took my girls shopping in Columbus, and everywhere we went, people commented on her pretty dress. Even in some of the what I call "hoity-toity" boutiques. My wife even said that in the bathroom a little girl told Leighanna that she loved her dress. Leighanna of course said "Thank You, my Daddy made it for me!" My wife said the little girl looked at her in disbelief and shook her head and said, "I wish he was MY DADDY!"

I just had to laugh!

Remember, you have until Wednesday. April 22nd to enter my drawing. Leave a comment and I will randomly pick the winner! Good luck!

Mamma' got a new bag!

Yep! I made Angie a bag to match Leighanna's Easter dress. She hasn't seen it yet, so I might fill it up with Easter goodies and use it as a basket.

I used the Simple and Chic pattern from YCMT. Although, I would call this one a little Shabby and Chic ;)

I took the basic pattern and make a few adjustments. I made the exterior flap a little wider, the original one just seemed a little too skimpy. I also made the handles 1/2 inch wider. The skinnier straps I figured would not be sturdy enough.

I machine quilted the whole exterior of the bag. I like to do this because it seems to make the bag stronger and last longer. I also added an interior zippered pocket. Angie says that a girl has to have some secrets in her bag!

Anyway, the "girls" will look cute in their matching Easter attire. I might have to find a shirt in my closet to coordinate also. Hopefully I can get a photo of us all together to use in my next post.

Easter is supposed to be sunny and warmer, so it should be a wonderful day!

Remember, you have until the 22nd to add a comment to win my giveaway! I can't believe the comments I have received so far! Thank you all!

Have a great Easter!

Hippity, Hoppity.... Easter's on it's way! And a giveaway to boot!

Leighanna has playing Here Comes Peter Cottontail all week, so this song has been stuck in my head.

I know I haven't posted anything is such a long time. So if any of you are still following me, I will try to post more often!

I have been sewing lots of things lately. It tends to keep me out of the refrigerator and help me stay on track of leading a healthier lifestyle. So far about 40 lbs. gone, several more to go!

I got the EXTREME honor of testing a new pattern for YouCanMakeThis dot com.

CarlaC is just amazing at pattern writing, and she has a winner with this one!

To show my appreciation of being selected to test this pattern, I am having a give away!

Leave me a comment and you will be entered to win a handmade, super duper, wonderful, exciting, Precious dress from me! This pattern ranges in sizes from 6 mos. to ten years. I will handpick the fabric from my wonderful stash.

This will also let me know if anyone is still reading, and if I should still continue to blog!

What?.... you don't have a daughter? Leave me a comment anyway, and I can make a boys lounge set for you.

I will randomly pick a winner on April 22nd. That will give you two weeks to enter.

If you blog, and mention this, I will give you a second entry!

Anyway, good luck!

Here are a few example of what I have made so far:

The last picture shows my "baby" in her first pair of heels! Thump! That was me falling off my chair!

My poor sick baby!

This weekend was spent at Children's Hospital.

Last Thursday night out of the blue Leighanna started to feel sick. She threw up, complained of a tummy ache, and went back to sleep. She woke up several times throwing up and feeling awful. We thought that maybe she just had a stomach bug and would feel better in the morning.

Morning came and she still didn't feel good.

We gave her some watered down Gatorade, and then some plain water. Nothing would stay down. She was developing a slight fever and started shivering. We tried to give her Tylenol and then Motrin. But even that was too much for her upset tummy and that came up.

By Saturday she said that she was feeling a little better. She still had no appetite, but knew that this was the day to go to Grandma and Papa's house to have Christmas.

She got sick in the car on the way to their house and then proceeded to get sick again once we arrived.

My sister-in-law is a nurse and she could tell that Leighanna was becoming dehydrated. We tried to force the liquids in her, but they would come right back up. She was also getting diarrhea.

We left early, and decided on our way home to see if our local Urgent Care was open. Well since it was Saturday night, they weren't. We headed to the ER.

Once there, it was apparent that she was still sick. The doctors ran a few tests and checked her urine. They ordered a CT scan which showed a slightly inflamed appendix.

Getting an IV into her proved to be very tricky. After several failed attempts and lots of screaming a retired nurse from Children's hospital came in and got one in.

I have never seen so many nurses leave a room in tears before. They hated that they were causing so much pain, and yet couldn't get an IV started.

They told us that she needed to go to Children's Hospital right away and called them to have an ambulance pick her up.

Did I mention that we were getting an ice storm with intermittent heavy snow thrown in between?

The ambulance finally arrived and got her ready to go. We followed closely behind them, and made it in about an hour.

Once we arrived the doctors did an initial exam and thought that Leighanna was indeed having appendix issues. The only thing is that after about an hour, Leighanna's pain on her right side faded and she was starting to feel a little better.

They wanted to do another CT scan with contrast, but since she already was exposed to radiation today, they didn't want to repeat.

They kept the fluids going, and continued to do tests to determine what was causing this.

We were finally admitted, and got a little rest.

By late in the day Leighanna was feeling much better and had actually wanted something to eat.

If she was able to keep her food and drink down, we would be allowed to go home!

She kept it down and were dismissed. Yay!

I know that I had a lot of people praying for her. Thank You all!

I am so grateful that she didn't have to go into surgery and face some recovery time!