Island of misfit toys

So when my mom and mother in-law passed I collected a few of their shirts to keep in hopes to make memorial items out of them for my children to have.  I located a youtube video on how to make memory bears.  Searched the fabric/craft stores and was unable to locate the pattern this gal was using.  Found it on ebay and purchased it.  Once it arrived I started with my goal of making a "sample" bear.  I had already purchased some fabric to practice on.  I traced the pattern on some plastic like the gal suggested to save the pattern since the plan was to make more than one.  No problem so far! I ironed on the interfacing to the fabric and couldn't understand why it wasn't adhering to the fabric.  After a few tries I learned that I needed my iron set on steam.  Awesome, now it is adhering and away I go. Went to iron it on the ears and went to lift up the ears and the interfacing was ironed onto the ironing board.  Okay, lesson learned.  The little bumps on the interfacing go towards the fabric.  Traced the pattern onto the fabric, cut it out and now I am ready for step one.   Yadda!!  I only got to step 2 and was already lost! I did not understand what I was suppose to do!  I tried multiple things and each time required ripping it out and starting over.  After a whole afternoon of trying I resorted to the youtube video.  WOW!  Within an couple hours I had a bear sewn together.  Well kinda. Once it was finished and I was putting it it inside right I realized the head was sewn on inside out.  Thinking to myself, easy job, just cut off the head and put in the head the right way and resew.  Did this and went to turn it in side right and boom!  Ears fell off.  Forgot when I cut the head off to resew, the wars were no longer sewn on to the head.  Oh well, I have the jest of this.  I now venture to making one for real.  I get the shirt/night shirt of mom's ready, iron on the interfacing, trace the pattern out, cut and sewed along with the gal on the youtube video. Within a couple hours I had my first memory bear completed.  Mom would be so proud!!!  It isn't perfect.  The buttons for the eyes and the ears are from my mother in-laws shirts and the rest of the bear is from my mom's night shirt.  The seam in the front is not lined up with the head seam and his nose is a bit off.  I shared the pictures with a friend and she said it reminded her of the toys on the Island of misfits.  I chuckled and agree.  I also think to myself that if I was able to show mom it, she would love it so much that she would want it because it is my first one and it means something to me.  She was always proud of anything I have accomplished.  Even if everything wasn't lined up just so.  I did it and that was all that mattered to her.  
I think I'm keeping this one and I am going to enjoy it just as my mom would have.  

Just beginning to stuff it

The finished project 

Bedtime routines

What is your bedtime routine? 

I remember when my kids were little my nightly routine consisted of picking up the house after I got them to sleep, then watching a movie and falling asleep before prior to the end.  Once I woke up after the movie I would head to bed and on my way there I would see something that I should do before I get to bed, like maybe get something ready for the next day, putting away the dishes that I washed after supper, folding the load of laundry I had just put int eh dryer, and so on.  I would then get my teeth brushed and hop into bed.  

Being older now and not having the old routine of having little kids to be responsible for I now can decide to head to bed and only make one trip to the bathroom, brush my teeth and go to bed.  I find myself not worrying about the few dishes in the sink over night or the load of laundry sitting in the basket waiting to get folded now.  It can wait until tomorrow.  I try not to worry about the little things in life anymore.  Life is to short and realistically, does it really matter that things wait until the next day?  I didn't think so.