Fluffy Lambs & Happy Chaos

bassinette skirt~work in progress

I really haven’t dropped off the face of the earth!  I had hoped to post photos of a finished bassinette skirt several days ago, but instead have only a picture of the work-in-progress project and a synopsis of the last several hectic days.

We’ve had a houseful of grandchildren and their parents.  The happy chaos that ensued has been delightful—-and exhausting!

Bob and I always try to give the parents a little respite from the 24/7 loving care they give our grandchildren, so we got up with them at 0:dark-thirty, fixed their breakfast and tried to keep up with them while their parents slept in.

Three year-old Alastair shadowed 7 yo cousin Robert non-stop, except for those moments when 8 yo Laurel read to him and played on the porch while Robert was engrossed in Saturday’s Gator/TN football game–a really exciting Gator win over a tough team.

And then there was food to contend with.  Of course, the children eat about every 15 minutes so kitchen duty is pretty much non-stop.  Between feedings, I made up our favorite snack mix for the game. (See the recipe  below.)

We had Robert and Laurel’s juvenile, 100 lb. German Shepherd, “Apollo,” with us,  but our old dogs, “Hannah” and “Rastus,” are very intolerant of his teenage exuberance.  So they had to be separated at all times.

Added to the tense canine mix was “Truman,”  the Catahoula hound who lives behind our orange grove and on the other side of the back fence.  Actually, there are TWO 4′ fences separating the properties.  But Truman regularly jumps over both fences to confront our dogs.  You have to wonder about the intelligence of a 50 lb. dog voluntarily entering the territory of 105 lb. Hannah and 80 lb. Rastus, both of whom guard their boundaries better than Homeland Security agents.

Then there was Alastair’s geriatric rag doll cat, “Bandit,” who had to be isolated from both sets of dogs.  Keeping all the requisite doors closed with 3 non-stop children was quite a challenge.  Parents of more than one child with more than one pet have our respect and admiration.

Before everyone arrived, I had started on the bassinette skirt for Baby Girl #2.  Her pregnant mama, my Rebecca, had requested I make that my first priority.  Just 6 months pregnant, she wants all her ducks in a row ASAP.  This is the kid who, two weeks after her birthday party, would begin asking, “What sort of party shall I have next year?”  She usually had the next celebration planned 8-10 months in advance.

The bassinette is rather contemporary, but Rebecca liked the “blank canvas” of the short skirts.  She decided on lambs for the theme and I took it from there.

I added a few other elements, a tree and a clothesline that is visible only when the center pleat is opened.  There will be more as the scenes are created.

The Plush Pals applique collections from Amazing Designs have been favorites of mine since they were  released and several sets are included in my design library.  There are separate collections for bunnies, monkeys, lions, chicks, snowmen and more, but the lambs are the ones I have used the most.

This set was used on a fleece blanket I made for Laurel years ago.

Apparently, the series is discontinued and no longer available from Amazing Designs.  But Allbrands does have some.

I hope to finish this bassinette skirt soon.  More on that later.  What are you sewing?

P.S.  I was so eager to finish up at least this half of one side.  So late Saturday night, after the game, after we had the children bedded down, after their church clothes were laid out and after I had tidied up the kitchen, I finally embroidered the last lamb on the right.  The bell around its neck was omitted because I plan to put a ribbon with a tiny 3-D bell there so I skipped those colors.  I just now noticed that I also skipped the flowers that should be on the stems!!!  Now the piece has to be re-hooped and finished up. Groan…..

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Snack Mix
4 cups bite-size pretzels
3 cups honey graham cereal
2 cups crispy wheat cereal squares
1 1/2 cups pecan halves
3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons light brown sugar

Combine first 4 ingredients in a 15- x 10-inch jellyroll pan.
COMBINE butter, Worcestershire, and brown sugar;
pour over cereal mixture, stirring to coat.

BAKE at 250° for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
Remove from oven, and cool.
Store in an airtight container. Yield: 8 cups.

I usually make a double batch in my turkey roaster pan and store it in the freezer.