Most nights I have time to start a craft project. I've been diving headfirst into learning how to sew. Nights are the best time to sew because Virginia is sound asleep; I don't have to worry about her climbing into my lap or pulling fabric off the table while I cut. At night I can enjoy the peace and quiet and focus all my attention on the YouTube instructional video or the pattern directions I'm trying to figure out.

I've really enjoyed these nights so far. Tonight I finally did the drawstring bag project from The Crafty Gemini's YouTube video. For the most part it was pretty easy. I've started to get better at keeping my seams straight and I've slowed down on the pedal—what can I say, I have a lead foot. The end product turned out great; the video was clear and very easy to follow. Videos have been the best instructional path for me so far. I like to actually see someone going through the steps; I tend to get lost and confused when I'm just reading instructions and looking at a pattern. But I know I'll have to conquer that fear eventually, especially since I bought two pattern packages with very cute projects.

Now I have an envelope pillow cover, a toddler skirt, and a drawstring bag under my belt. I believe my next challenge will be a purse. Just one of those days. It started off pretty well—my sister Susan and niece Samantha decided to come up and visit for the afternoon, which meant I had to launch into a whirlwind cleaning spree. I quickly cleaned the kitchen, living room, and bathroom. About halfway through the crazy cleaning, I decided it was Virginia's nap time. Cue the suspense music. Virginia did not like the idea of taking a nap; she had a fit, cried, and ran away. This went on for about 30 minutes. Finally, Virginia shut herself in her room and read her books. That may be our daytime compromise: if she doesn't want to nap, she has to stay quietly in her room for at least an hour. Needless to say, my nerves were shot by the time Susan and Samantha got here.

Things improved for a bit. The kids played for a while, and then we headed to the Village Park Splash Pad. I had called ahead and gotten a voicemail saying the splash pad was open from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., so we all hopped in the van and left. My first mistake was assuming Susan had a GPS—she didn't, so I tried to remember the way and my directions were a little fuzzy. Finally we managed to get there with some help from Uncle Joe, then the gray cloud above my head darkened when I saw the splash pad was closed and only open on weekends. Yeah, the playgrounds were too big for both Virginia and Samantha. So just imagine hauling two two-year-olds back into a van screaming. That was the scene before me. We headed back down the road to Dorton Park to play on the toddler playground. The heat was unbearable. We stayed for maybe 20 minutes or so. It felt like an eternity. The kids got to play and they were happy, but the heat was just too much, so we packed up and headed back to the apartment. Again, both kids were not happy with this decision. Once back at the apartment, Susan and Samantha packed up and went home. Virginia and I crashed on the couch and watched Dora the Explorer. My day was not as nice as I had hoped, but it was nice to see Susan and Samantha. Hopefully on the next visit things will be open and the weather will be cool with a nice breeze. At least I got a few nice pictures of Samantha, Virginia, and even Susan. This shirt was not my first choice to wear with this skirt. Maybe my next project will be to sew a red shirt to go with the skirt! Over the weekend, while I was down in Gastonia, I made a stop at Mary Jo's. I wanted to get a new pattern and some fabric for my next sewing project. Going to Mary Jo's is an experience. It wasn't my first time there, but I guess it was my first time there on a mission. I managed to find a dress pattern with no real help from the woman in charge of that area. I ventured into the wilds of the fabric store to decide which fabrics I wanted. My head was spinning with all the choices. I couldn't find the fabric shown on the pattern picture, but I chose some fabrics I thought would go nicely together. Once I found all the other items the pattern called for, I headed to my parents' house. When I opened the package and looked at the pattern, I knew I might have gotten in over my head. But hey, it gives me something to shoot for. Luckily, while browsing sewing sites today I found a lesson for a 20-minute skirt, so I decided to give it a try. It took me about an hour, and my seams are not perfectly straight, but the skirt fit Virginia, so I mark that as a success. I'm loving this sewing machine; I just have to pace myself and not try to do a project every week. My next project will be a purse.