On the Feast of St. Martha

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I clearly miscommunicated with the Quilt Camp lady when I went with Katie to purchase fabric. We had over five yards of "extra" sunny, yellow fabric. What better project on the Feast of St. Martha, patroness of homemakers, than new aprons for all the little girlies (and mama, too)?

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I'm going to use an old apron as a pattern and make simple reversible aprons with ribbon ties. But I did do a little apron tutorial research this morning, so if you're interested in stitching in honor of St. Martha, here are some ideas:

 

Stumbles and Stitches child's apron tutorial 

Meg McElwee's Montessori Child's Apron is here as a PDF. 

 

Michael Miller's Classic Reversible Apron PDF.

For me, I'm going to re-visit a pattern I used four years ago. I've grown to love this apron and it's truly a wardrobe staple. So, I'm thinking I actually need two or three more.

Come back later. I'm sure my girlies will be eager to pose for pictures in their pretty new aprons, so I'll update this post with more color and lovely later.

Whew! Just had to say that!

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Take a day that began chasing imaginary turtles and giant monsters from my two-year-olds bed at 3 AM, throw in a 4:45 airport run, add two giant iced coffees, and I'm still awake (and apparently very talkative) at 2 o'clock in the afternoon for a very lively podcast.

This week on the Faith & Family Live Cast (click here to listen ), Lisa, Sarah and I share a topic inspired by Lisa's recent “unplugging” for a moms’ retreat. Together, we look at the tricks and treats related to becoming less “wired” and share our own struggles and experiences. 

This week’s Faith & Family Feature Product is the amazing book Weightless: Making Peace with Your Body by our good friend and fellow podcaster Kate Wicker.  I think you'll find  Kate’s book lifechanging. Really:-).

In our final segment, we talk about the “Judgie McJudgies” - We find them in comboxes, on Facebook, and in our inboxes—the finger-pointing Catholic “judges” who are eager to point out all the ways in which other Catholics are “failing.”  We discuss some positive ways to influence people toward the good and the importance of setting a positive, good example of living the faith. And we share frankly what has helped us get through times when you are feeling “judged” unfairly online or in real life.

Really worth a listen. Find a knitting project or a couple of baskets of laundry that need folding and pull up a chair and join us.

 

Full Circle Indeed

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Once upon a time, Bobby Convey was the oldest "brother" in our home and Michael was jostling with him for position. They rubbed up against each other and refined one another in many ways. Bobby played big brother to the big brother Michael was. It was Bobby who brought everyone to the hospital after Katie was born. And then it was Michael who did exactly what Bobby did four years later when Kari was born. Bobby, Michael, Bobby, Michael.

Now, Bobby is a Major League Soccer All Star who has played in the English Premier League and Michael is a new sports reporter for USAToday. In a quirk of serendipity, the first interview assigned to Michael was Bobby Convey. Something about this whole article makes my heart nearly burst. I love Bobby dearly and I know the peace he speaks, at long last, is genuine. And it just swells my mama heart that it is Michael who framed the words.