I have a thing for cheap fabric. And by cheap I mean that I GOT it for cheap, not that it’s cheaply made. I get a high from finding good deals, I’ll admit. When it comes to fabric it’s an elevated high. Special, or something. And then I tend to just let it sit on my shelf for weeks, months, sometimes even years until I get around to using it.

The last time I was at IKEA I did something I’ve never done before: I bought fabric at FULL PRICE. I know! Although, saying that IKEA fabric is full-price is kind of an oxymoron. It’s nice heavy home dec fabric for 5.99 – 7.99 per yard. That’s a good deal. Anyhow, that’s not my point. While in the fabric section, I found some fabric on clearance. It was already on a bolt – about three yards of it – for $5.

So when I bought this Violette Field Threads pattern from Sew, Mama, Sew for 50% off, I knew I what the fabric was destined for.

Penny needed another summer dress so it was basically a perfect storm for sewing – the likes I never see. I normally sit in my sewing room staring at my fabric and my patterns (or drawings of what I want) until I finally come up with a combination I like. This process can take days. But not this time! I got right to work and finished it in a day.

The only problem is that homegirl doesn’t do photo shoots well.

You see, when I squat or sit down, so does she. It also doesn’t help that we were on our way out the door for church and someone still hadn’t found their shoes. And by found their shoes I mean hadn’t gone to the closet to get them yet.

Anyway, I love the dress. It has a bustle in the back that a two year old can get away with. I’m not sure it works on the older kids without bloomers or cute pants underneath. The pattern was good, but the instructions were all pictures. I much, much prefer illustrations in directions. Looking through the other Violette Field Patterns I decided I really love her Emmaline Dress pattern. I might have to just come up with my own pattern for that one, though!

One of the first things we did upon moving to Austin was a unit on bats for school. Austin is, after all, the most batty place in the US. Heh. Heh. So we culminated our study with a trip to see the bats under the famous bridge in downtown Austin.

Our first attempt was foiled by a tire blow-out on a very busy I-35. Fun times. By the time we were back on the road it was dark and we had missed the nightly bat show.

So we tried again a little while later after my fear of that one spot on I-35 where we were stranded for two hours had dissipated enough.

So we saw the bats and I have to say it was somewhat….disappointing. The bats didn’t really start to fly until it was already dark. They’re supposed to start at dusk, right as the sun is going down. In theory, you should get quite a show before it gets too dark. Not so. At least not that night.

We soon discovered a smaller bridge in Round Rock that is home to a LOT of bats. They stink up the neighborhood and fly out like clockwork every night at dusk. So what did we do?

Squatted in someone’s front yard right on the service road. That’s what we did.

People waved. They honked. They even yelled, “Hey dorks! Enjoying the view?”

Juliet thought it would be wise to be prepared just in case. Bat poo does NOT smell good.

But we most definitely had the last laugh when the bats finally emerged.

There were thousands and thousands of them. According to our studies, the Mexican Free-Tailed Bats come to give birth in Texas during the summer. So in theory, there will be double this number in August once the babies are big enough to go out hunting at night. It’s hard for me to imagine there being more. It took a good 20-30 minutes for all the bats to emerge from their roosts under the bridge.

It only took about a year, but we finally came full circle with the whole bats thing. I had to get creative, and I must admit I wasn’t sure it would work out very well but we all really enjoyed ourselves. It was spectaculamous.

I spent the whole time yelling, “GO, BATS, GO! GO GET THE NASTY BLOOD SUCKERS!” Did I mention they eat mosquitos? Who couldn’t love these little guys? (OR little ladies, as it were.)