Shirring - that's the word!

And the tutorial for shirring is here
And it's fun and it's easy.
And Jessica likes it,
And Linda, who works with me, likes it too and wants to make something for her granddaughter.
Pictures will follow!
Oh, and for all the Germans (I think there may be one or two,
I tried out the Google translator yesterday.
And I was amazed that it was pretty accurate.
Up until now every translator I ever tried came up with gobbledigook.
Check it out!

Dresses for Jessica

I made a dress for Jessica yesterday.  A little summer dress with maybe a yard of fabric.  And if I can remember the name of the technique I used, I'll link it to where I saw it.  (This getting older thing and forgetting stuff is for the birds) (but then again, English being the language with the most words, with over 2,000 being added every year, it's no small wonder that I forgot an expression)
... anyway, it's the filling of the lower bobbin with the thin elastic and sewing strips of elastic onto the material, the regular thread from the top, the elastic on the bottom, and then rows of it, as many as you want.
Since the piece of fabric was fairly long, I cut off two strips on the bottom and made the straps for the top, to be tied into pretty bows.  The fabric for the dress was very romantic, roses with bows on beige background, I thought I would get an objection from the princess.  On the contrary, she snapped it up, and changed into it as soon as she got home.  And when I asked if she'd like more, her eyes lit up, and she said 'yes!'.
When I inquired about preferences on pattern or color I was told it didn't matter.
I guess she trusts me.
When I remember to get my camera back into my purse (don't forget memory card), I'll post pictures.
And no, it's not rushing (wrong) or ruching.....
And oh, my son-in-law's Dad is in the hospital.
Feel better soon, Ron!

Noah

We had a good time at the birthday party.
The trip down took us over 6 hours.  And we crossed two States (for Vicki), drove from NJ to PA, then DE into MD.
And got there at after 10 PM.  Jackson was asleep and I was able to transfer him without him waking up.  We had put him in his pj's when we left the restaurant where we had supper.
The boys started playing really early:

and played the entire day, interrupted with naps for Noah.  Jackson kept going all day.
The cake was baked by Noah's Mom Sue

who does a great job with cakes - simply amazing.
See:

Guess what Noah likes?  Trucks?  You think?
The singing of 'happy birthday' went off without a hitch, the cake was not only good looking, delicious on top of it.
And the boys liked:

and liked some more:

they played in the dirt:

and a little with Noah's cousin Kaely.
A very busy day!  I had to drag off a screaming Jackson, who didn't want to leave, but then fell asleep within 10 minutes of getting in the car.  And he slept all the way home, and continued to sleep until 7 AM yesterday morning.
Great food, great party!

Deer

The birthday report will come later (good time had by all).
I was just bringing out the garbage,
messing around in my front yard,
I had a hard time putting the lid on the can.
Finally done, dragged the can to the curb,
I'm going back into the house, I look to the right, and this is what I see
in my postage sized front yard:

And I don't live way out in the country.  No, it's a community with houses all around, a school down the street, but this is the wildlife around here.

resting in Muryphy's (cat that died 1 year ago) favorite spot.
And it the deer let me go in the house, get my camera, take some photos, and did this:

Started eating while laying down.
Guess I'm no threat.  And me running toward it waiving my arms and yelling the other day made enough of an impression to come back.
I give up.

Maryland

This weekend we are celebrating Noah's second birthday.  And I am all set to go with friends, who are also invited, on the four-hour-plus ride.  Theoretically it's only supposed to take four hours.  In reality, on a Friday, from our corner of NJ through Philadelphia, which we'll most likely hit at rush hour, we'll be lucky to make it in said four hours.
But one can hope.
It's all set so far, the presents are bought/given to me/made (well mostly), my bag is being packed (add pj's) (and shoes), and it looks like I'm set.
Nicole calls.  Jackson saw the presents meant for Noah, and wanted to know if they were his.  No, for Noah - Noah's party is this weekend, he was told.
Can I help Noah open his presents?  was his question.
So I got the call if I want to take Jackson on our trip.
Of course!  Love to hang out with a grandson, and have two of them - the two who have the same birthday - be at a party together.

It'll be fun!