The grandkids are 14, 13, 5, 4. Girl, boy, boy, girl. The first 3 all look amazingly alike, brown hair, brown eyes, just like The Coach and her husband. The 4th looks very much like me, blonde with blue eyes. When I show their picture everyone thinks she's a cousin. But no, they are all siblings. I sew for the youngest (aka The Princess, for a variety of reasons.) The oldest two are, well, "too old" for clothes made by their Nana and the 5-yo, is pretty darn picky for being a boy. :)

On reading, I'm halfway through Pres. Bush's memoir. It's pretty interesting and I'm liking it alot. I haven't read any of Karl Rove's books but I love watching him on TV. I laugh every time he holds up one of white boards. I've seen other commentators copy that. Geraldo has a file folder he writes on and someone else had index cards. Too funny!

My daughter, The Chef, did attend culinary school. Our local community college has a really good culinary school associated with it. I drug her kicking & screaming through high school and even though she did o.k. she hated school. I mean hated high school! She tried community college and after 1 year had .5 GPA only because she passed yoga with an A. After a couple years of just kind of bumming around, living paycheck to paycheck, working 3 jobs, etc. she enrolled in culinary school and loved it!!! Made the Dean's List with straight A's. She belongs to a national professional chef organization and was named 2010 Junior Chef of the Year for our region.

I finished up some small sewing projects over the weekend. Next up is a skirt and 2 pairs of slacks for The Chef. I promised her these items back in September. Oops! The Princess called me today and asked if I would make her a Hello Kitty pillowcase. "You don't have to bring it with you at Thanksgiving, Nana," she said. "It can be my Christmas present." Four year-olds are so refreshingly honest. Gotta love that.

Hi iluvmysix,
I love your avatar! I am a total coffee addict, witnessed by the fact that I am gold card status at Starbucks.

ASG is the acronym for American Sewing Guild. Have you not heard about this organization? Here's the website. www. asg.org. It's pretty awesome. I'll keep you updated on what my group is doing.

I can't imagine the time constraints you have with a husband and 6 children. I started running about a year ago. It all started in April 2009 when my oldest daughter (The Coach) and my son (The Son) ran the half marathon here in town. They had so much fun! The Coach started running back in high school and has continued ever since. She's in her mid-30's now. Anyway, they had so much fun that I stewed around, mulled it over and finally 6 months later in Nov. 2009 I was visiting The Coach and I timidly asked her if she thought there was any way on earth I could ever run a half marathon. She was pretty excited and said "Of course you can, Mom. I'd love to train you." So I started out walking for 15 minutes at a time and gradually built up to running and, yes, I ran the half marathon in April 2010 with The Coach & The Son. I found out that I love to run, even though I'm not very fast. And running has provided benefits beyond my wildest imagination. It not only improved my physical health, but my general mood is better when I run. I've made some new friends. I found out that I prefer cool weather to hot. And the girl who used to brag about never sweating can now sweat with the best of them! It's been a wonderful experience. I generally run early in the morning around 6 a.m. It gets my day started right!

Yeah about your craft room! I'm lucky that I have a dedicated sewing room. It has 2 great windows that let in lots of sunshine. I'm blessed.

Hi iluvmysix-
Sorry for the delay in answering you. I was out of town several days & then had to prepare for my ASG meeting last night.

So here's the skinny on me:
I'm a young empty-nester of 3 fabulous adult children. I adore my 4 grandchildren! And I am married to The Love of My Life (aka The Love) for 31 years.

The Love & I are both independent sales representatives so I a) work from home & b) have a really flexible schedule.

I'm probably an intermediate seamstress. I've been sewing since before I started school, but I always did just basic stuff. The last couple of years I started cultivating advanced skills and creativity. Nothing to wild & crazy but I'm slowly breaking out of the 100% black/white mode. I agree 100% about having more time for sewing. Is there ever enough time?

I am definitely a garment sewer! I can do home dec & crafty stuff but it's not nearly as much fun. As for quilting--not my cup of tea.

I own a Bernina Activa 145 machine & Bablylock Imagine serger. Love them both!

I buy all brands of patterns. I used to be a Vogue pattern snob, but changed my tune when I discovered a New Look skirt pattern that has become my all time favorite pattern.

So what else can I tell you about me?
-I am runner, having completed my first half-marathon this year.
-I also love to knit & cross stitch. I'm getting back into embroidery with a couple great projects planned.
-I'm an adequate cook - but my youngest daughter is a chef.
-I also love to read. Currently reading the complete works of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I also love Jane Austen. I'm always ready for a great novel and I read books about the current political world (such as the Bob Woodward book on Obama and Pres. George W. Bush's new memoir.) The Love is amazed that I can have 3 or 4 books going at once.

What sewing projects are you working on right now? Do you sew for your children? Any goals for your sewing world?

Let's keep talking! Have a great day!