Sewing for Africa

I asked.
Was given permission.
I'm giving my best.
I'm sewing items to sell at Eco Chic Boutique in Fargo, ND.
30% of my profit will go to support orphan care in Kenya! Why? 
Because this is what I can do from where I am at.
Because my friend Lindsay and her family is there and this is what I can do to help her ministry. 




This is my new adventure, involving what I love, Sewing and paying it forward.  


Eco Chic Boutique, a green boutique in Fargo ND. Their focus is on Baby, Mom & Home. With a dash of Pet stuff thrown in there for good measure is where I am selling my goods. They aim to buy safer, healthier and locally made products.  I tried selling my recycled feed bags when they first opened but were not that great of a hit.  Since then I slowly have gotten to know the owner, Ms. Maria and it's been one fun journey!  I asked about making some 'wet bags' for the cloth diaper department and now I am on to making booties and multi-purpose bags/purses (only a few though). I plan on making a few smaller bags for make-up or the random items in a diaper bag or the miscellaneous small toys floating around. It's is all exciting and all the same nothing major but it's something I am enjoying. Maria wants this to be fun as well, not a chore or I do because I feel I have to.  It's is all consignment, so it makes me think a little more about 'what is really going to sell' and it's done at my own pace. Even though at times I feel, if there isn't any available, I'm not able to help Eco make a sale'. Goofy I know.  I do not know what the future holds or what I'll be creating but I do hope this continues to be a fun adventure that fills me up instead of draining me. 


Once I decided that making the wet bags and booties were selling well, I decided that I would send some of my profit to my friend who helps with orphan care in Kitale Kenya. It's what I can do from where I am at.  


How is this all happening? Most of what I do is during nap time or late evenings.  It helps that the husband is working on a project that requires time spent doing his thing and I don't feel so guilty for sewing up a storm.  We have made more time to go on dates too, this part I love. :)  


Next time, I'll have some pictures to show of my goods and give an update of how this is all turning out.




Until Next Time,
    Lexie ><> 

Oh the faces she can make!

A few pictures of my Eleanore!

Her daddy Jim loves this 'angry bird' face she makes, we both think it's a little comical.     

Painting, of course it was all over. 

And there it is again, my beauty. (:  

Until Next time,

Lexie ><> 

A place for all my pretties...

    I have been meaning to make a place to hang my necklaces, bracelets and earrings for some time. I even had all of the supplies but just was not getting around to it. Well friend Melissa at her blog made one and that gave me the extra push to get my done.  I am glad it's done, my pretties are now hanging, I know what I have and it actually reminds me to wear them. (:  

My supplies: 

frame

 spray paint

 pet screen

 material - of your choice

 foam board

push pins

some sort of crafting glue

tacks or staple gun.

 this is a really odd photo, taken looking down and trying not to get my shadow in the picture, weird.


Here is my finished product, with all the pretties. (:  

    I painted the frame, sewed the pet screen and material together, glued the material to the foam board, cut the foam board snugly to fit the frame, and stapled the screen to the frame.  Then used push pins to hang my necklaces and bracelets; the earring are in the pet screen. (Pet screen: like window screen but it's rubber like and has a bit larger holes.)
   
    The board does not have to be as complicated but I wanted to hang my earrings, that is what the pet screen is for.  You wouldn't need to staple the screen to the frame, it's stiff enough to lay flat or it could be tacked down instead.

   For a more simpler version, check out Melissa's, it's super cute and when you're sick of the back ground color, you take if off, cut a new piece and Waa-Laa. A new look. (:


                                                  Until next time,  
                                                            Lexie ><> 

Life with hearing loss

Hearing loss, part of life for me.  

I have always needed a hearing aid for my right ear, never really wore one until recently.  In December of 2008 I had a continuous ring/static noise with varied noise levels of my left ear (the good one!) start.  When I couldn't hear the pastor at church talk with the aid of a microphone, I decided it was time to figure out what was happening. And I also was declining to attend group events or chose not to participate in group events due to the effort it took to listen.  After a few 'lets try this' approaches, an ENT doctor in Fargo decided to have a CAT scan of my head.  The scan looked as if nothing wrong but Dr. P asked another ENT doctor at the University of Minnesota to check it out and there the ball really started to roll.  I am very thankful to get into Dr. L since he is not taking patient, how blessed I am.  March of 2011 I visited the U to see if Dr. L could tell me what's going on.  And he did, I have a genetic bone disease called Otosclerosis, this happens to most women of childbearing age and it's calcification of the middle ear. One only really knows if they have Otosclerosis for sure is by surgery but the CAT scan can show too.  At the University, they have the technology to change the colors of the CAT scan, in which Dr. L did and it showed white around my ear bones, new bone growth.  Then we discussed options, surgery or no surgery.  Well not exactly, there are a few options such as a diet of eating low, low sodium which is almost impossible or trying a hearing aid. I did actually try a hearing aid, but chose not to keep it. Reverse hearing loss is tricky to fix with an aid device.  I mulled over this surgery option for about 6 months and decided I was going to have surgery, then it took me one month to actually get to in.  This Dr. L is great, an ear surgeon and reminds me of my piano teachers dad. Full of pep and energetic, willing, appreciative, encouraging.  

How was surgery, (it happened Oct. 17th)?  It went very well, as expected and it took all of 1 hr and 45 minutes.  I now have platinum & titanium stapes prosthetic bone. I say, 'to bad that metal isn't on my finger in the form of a ring and a little jewel or two for sparkle' but I can't have everything I want, right? My middle ear  was fused together, causing me to loose the ability to hear the low tones. The stapes bone was removed and replaced in order to have it work again, the other two bones of the middle ear were shaved of the new bone growth to have them be more 'normal' as well.  The recovery time to wake up from surgery was very long for me. I spent a good deal in stage 1 and stage 2 recovery. If anyone has been under general anesthesia, you know.  Husband was great, to sit and wait a long, long time (9:30a - 4:00p) for me and then drive me home.  He was my responsible adult for 24 hrs. :)  I also had little to no pain, the discomfort I did had left about 8pm that night. 

I just had my follow up appointment with Dr. L on the 11th  of Nov. and the outside healing is good.  I even got to see my ear canal and the surgery cut on camera!  I also have a good 6 months to see full recovery, I went in thinking it would be a couple of months. I had to have a skin graph along with the prosthetic and the skin graph has to 'thin'.  But I have hope, I can hear Dr. L tuning fork!  I don't seem/think I hear much of anything from my left ear, it sure makes life interesting.  Thank goodness for my hearing aid in the right ear.  I will have a audio gram in 8 weeks and then 6 months to see how I am progressing.  I am actually pretty excited to have to happen and see what's up!  

So, here's the last few years of life with hearing loss. The first 25 years were simple, hearing loss in the right side and my left ear compensated immensely for the right side.  Now, it's a little more complicated.  

Until Next time,   Lexie ><>   

My Music Makers

Entertainment of the week!  

EKW certainly enjoys her daddy playing guitar.  

She loves to dance, her daddy loves to play!! 

Strumin' away. 

CMW rockin' out with her dad. 

EKW just getting in on the music making.  

That Ukulele is just a little tough to get a hold of.