nothing to do with Christmas...

Today had nothing whatsoever to do with Christmas.  I have a list of things needing to be finished, but instead today found me rocking, reading to, unpeeling clementines for, and watching Kipper with little Miss who has a fever.  That was just fine with me, for when is a child more precious, really?  I also started a project I've been wanting to do for our nursery, which I found here.  I, of course did not take the time to re-find this tutorial before I started, I just tried to remember the best I could.  That could have been good and bad...

for instance, had I looked again at the tutorial, I would have seen that I cut my strips of t-shirt bigger than I needed to.

I also ended up just gathering the strip after I sewed it with the machine, by taking the top two pieces of thread and pulling them.  I tried to sew the shirt while holding the thread tight, hoping for natural gathering to occur...when it did not, I figured that was just my luck with machines and t-shirts, for it wasn't too long ago that I tried shirring, and well, that didn't work either.  Anyway, now I realize that maybe it was because I used a double layer of shirt, instead of a single!

Oh well, this worked, it just took a bit more effort.  And time.  And now my fingers are really sore.

I finally started just sewing big stitches with a needle by hand, since the gathering was taking so long, which also worked for the couple I had left.  You can't tell the difference once they are glued in.  

I pinned a long piece of ribbon to the styrofoam ball, long enough so it will work at whatever length I end up needing...

and glued the flowers all around the ball!  I promise to show them all hanging in the nursery when it's finished!