Trina's Doings

Another Finished Baby Quilt

2012-01-28T21:57:00.002-07:00

Not sure what to say about it, really. It's another finished baby quilt. Specifically, a blue and green string quilt made up of all my wonderful fabric scraps.

Full of lots of little fun fabric surprises. Monkeys, frogs, a fabric selvedge, an alligator.

I will admit, I designed the entire quilt around the idea of using this fabric as the binding. I love it! It makes me happy.

So does the backing fabric, even though it was not what I originally planned. I was going to go buy just some solid blue for the back. But, then I made my whole no crafty shopping resolution. So I dug into my fabric bins. I've been saving this fabric forever. No specific plan for it. Just saving it. Well, no more. It was the perfect fabric for the back of this quilt. And, honestly, there's still plenty left- probably destined to go into a quilt for Sam.

I knew I wanted to do some free motion quilting but wanted to stay away from the standard stippling. I ended up doing rows of loops- some single, some double, some elongated. I'm going to have to remember this. I love how it turned out.

On a side note, I had a great and only slightly reluctant helper for this little quilt photo shoot. Isn't she an adorable assistant?

The Parade of Winter Wear Continues

2012-01-23T11:41:00.002-07:00

So, when it snows outside, all I want to do is sit around and knit warm things all day. You already saw Anna's new hat and cowl. Now, here is Ellery's.

The hat is my first project to be directly impacted by my craft store hiatus. Ellery wanted a pink hat but I did not have enough yarn left after finishing her cowl. Normally, I would have just run to the craft store and bought another skein. Instead, I got creative. I dug out the grey yarn left over from another project and all my little leftover bits of pink yarns. I used a basic hat pattern and added stripes from all my little bits of pink yarns.

I love it! I am so glad I didn't give in and instead used what I had. And she calls it her Pink Hat so I guess I've met her expectations as well.

After one failed attempt at making up my own crocheted cowl pattern (OK, but no stretch and so, too tight) I used the same pattern I used for Anna's cowl.

Sam has a new hat too.

Same basic pattern as Ellery's. Hard to tell in my-not-very-good pictures (hey- its really hard to take pictures of a 1 year old!) but it makes his eyes look so incredibly blue. I'm still debating the whole scarf/cowl thing for him. Are cowls girly? I just know there is no way in heck he would leave a scarf on.

Sunday Afternoon

2012-01-22T20:57:00.001-07:00

I spent all afternoon crawling around on the kitchen floor pin basting two quilts. Hours and hours and hundreds of safety pins.

I have a confession. I have an untouched can of basting spray. I know I should try it. But, I know pin basting. Pin basting works for me. I don't have to worry about fumes or learning a new technique. I really should try it. Anyone have a spray baste pep talk for me?

New Dresses

2012-01-21T14:32:00.001-07:00

Every once in a while, I walk into the girl's room on a Sunday morning, decide I hate all their dresses and vow to make them new ones by the next Sunday. Rarely are they actually ready by the next week but they always eventually get done.

The latest bout of craziness produced simple corduroy jumpers.

My favorite bits are the beautiful buttons and lining fabrics I managed to find.

My next goal? Trying to put some of same effort and enthusiasm into dressing myself.

Snow!

2012-01-18T14:16:00.001-07:00

Sam refused to keep his hood on. But, look at those snow dusted curls!

Threatening me with a snowball.

Sam loved the first ten minutes.

Building a mini snowman.

After his hands got cold and wet.

2 Blocks Down

2012-01-16T13:28:00.001-07:00

62 to go.

Luckily, I'm getting some help on this one. I've started a block exchange with some of the ladies from my quilting guild. So, I handed out bundles of precut fabric and next month I should have some finished blocks handed back to me. How amazing is that?

Realizations

2012-01-10T20:56:00.000-07:00

So, I'm generally not one for much self-reflection. Especially when it comes to my crafting. I enjoy it so I do it. I see something I like, I try and adapt it and make my own version. Pretty much end of story. Except for this month. Maybe its the whole New Years atmosphere. Maybe its the void created by no Christmas presents to work on. But, I have had two crafting epiphanies already this month.

The first happened between the checkout counter and the door of JoAnn's fabric. I went to the New Years sale specifically to get thread. It was all half off and I needed some brown thread to mend a shirt of Brendan's. Well, other things were on sale, too. I ended up leaving with the thread as well as the makings of the kids' new pillowcases, everything (corduroy, lining fabric, and buttons) to make a couple of jumpers for the girls and fabric for the binding of my Christmas quilt (without having checked if I had any fabric at home first that would have worked). So, this was my realization. I DO IT TO MYSELF. I cannot complain, whine or stress out about all the crafty projects I have to do. No one is making me do them. I am the one who keeps adding to my already pretty endless list of projects. I need to slow down. I need to stop thinking that I need to make something just because I can.

Epiphany #2 happened as I was doing my post Christmas shopping craft closet clean-up. You know, sorting my big piles of scraps into bins, putting away leftover yardage, putting away everything I had just tossed on the floor in my hurry to finish gifts. This is what I realized. MY CRAFT CLOSET IS FULL.

Every bin is full to almost overflowing. The hanging shelves on the left are full. The top is full. All my current project hangers are being used. I know, I could fit some more bins and hangers in there but here's the thing, I don't want to. I want things to be easy to get to and more hangers and bins would severely reduce that. My closet is officially full.

So, here is what I have resolved to do to try and help with these two realizations. I am not setting foot in a craft store again for the entire months of January and February. No running in for just one thing. No browsing. No checking out the new fabric. I am allowing myself two exceptions. A quilt that needs to be done soon is going to need a backing. And my quilt guild meets in a fabric store. But, I am just going straight back to the meeting- No Shopping!

And after February, we'll see. There's a whole lot in that closet to work with. I may just see how long I can stretch it out. One thing is for sure. I am declaring it the year of the scrap quilt. It's high time to break into those bins and make a serious dent in the stash. I've been pinning scrap quilts like crazy on Pinterest.

Source: flickr.com via Trina on Pinterest

Source: lovelylittlehandmades.blogspot.com via Trina on Pinterest

Source: modabakeshop.com via Trina on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Trina on Pinterest

Inspiration like this and my almost overflowing craft closet could definitely keep my busy for quite a while.

Crafting in Bulk

2012-01-07T11:25:00.000-07:00

Did anyone actually think I could get away with making just one bunny and one pillowcase? When it comes to crafting for my kids, everything has to be in duplicate or triplicate.

I made two bunnies.

And three pillowcases.

Good thing they were both quick simple projects.

I first saw the bunnies here. Trust me, they're there- way down at the bottom of the post. The pattern can be found here.

I added the little flowers (pattern) probably inspired by watching way too much Clean House on Netflix.

And a fluffy tail because what's a bunny without a fluffy tail?

Yesterday was Toy Day at Anna's school. Even with all her new Christmas toys, Anna choose to take her bunny. Yes, I'm pretty proud.

Anna's pillowcase is exactly like Ellery's. Same fabric, same tutorial. Sam's is based on the same tutorial but sized down for his smaller pillow. I used different fabrics, of course. A blue star print, a dark solid blue and a white on white tiny polka dot.

I assume he likes it because he kept trying to steal it from me while I was taking pictures of it.

Spoiling My Sick Girl

2012-01-06T13:36:00.001-07:00

So, in early November Ellery failed her school hearing test. They retested her two weeks later and she failed again. We took her to our family practice doctor who saw a whole lot of fluid in her ears and gigantic tonsils. He put her on some medication and we went back to see him a month later. Still fluid in her ears and gigantic tonsils. He referred us to an ear, nose, throat specialist. We saw him on Tuesday. Still fluid in her ears and gigantic tonsils. He tested her hearing again (it showed signifigant hearing loss) and recommended removing her tonsils and adenoids and putting tubes her ears. They had an opening in his surgery schedule the next morning. I took it. Brendan's semester hasn't started yet and it meant less time for me to worry about it.

Brendan took her early in the morning while I stayed home with the other kids. In fact, all three of us were still in bed when he called to say the surgery was over. It took under half an hour. She was back home by 9am. Miserable but back home. They drained a ton of fluid from her ears and she should hopefully have started hearing better immediately. We go back in 2 weeks to have hear after surgery check-up and to have her hearing checked again. Fingers crossed that she passes that test with flying colors.She's doing much better now. Eating and drinking pretty much normally. A little sleepier and quieter than normal but that's probably the painkillers.So, in an attempt to cheer her up, I've made her some stuff. It's what I do. Plus, it gave me something to do instead of just pacing the floor worrying.

A crcheted bunny and a pillowcase. She was so sad when we put away the Santa pillowcases- I just had to make her another.

Ladybugs,butterflies, flowers and pink. Everything to make a little girly-girl happy.

The pillowcase tutorial can be found here. More on the bunny will have to wait until tomorrow. I've got a sicky girl to go put down for a nap.

Weston's Baby Quilt

2012-01-01T19:48:00.001-07:00

My brother kindly took some pictures for me. I still can't believe I completely forgot. I never forget to photograph something I have made. I blame it on planning ahead. I finished the quilt way back in September or October, even though the baby isn't arriving until this week. I just wanted to get it finished before all the Christmas crafting. Well, I almost forgot to include it in their Christmas package at all. I guess I just assumed I had photographed it months ago when I finished it. Wrong.

The block I used is named Garden Fence. I had been obsessing about it for months before breaking down and using it in this quilt. Seeing the pictures, I'm back to obsessing about it and may have to make a quilt to keep using it.

I used the exact same stack of fabrics that I used in baby Lawson's quilt. Same fabrics, very different look.

Well, that's the quilt I made for baby Weston. I hope he likes it. More importantly, I hope his mom likes it. It's definitely one of my favorites.

Anna's New Winter Wear

2011-12-31T16:21:00.000-07:00

They insisted Ellery be in the pictures, too. That I understand. What I don't understand is the insistence on an open mouth.

Seriously, their were something like ten other pictures of Anna with her mouth wide open. Oh well. Hat pattern here. Cowl pattern here. I've decided cowls are the way to go for kids. No loose ends. No falling off accidentally and getting lost. I may have another in the works. OK, I definitely have another in the works. And one in the planning stages. Just go ahead and call me cowl crazy.

Christmas Photos

2011-12-30T16:18:00.001-07:00

Are you ready? Are you in a comfy chair with a refreshing beverage close at hand? Because this is going to take a while.

Here it goes- Christmas 2011.

Anna's Christmas Program

Relatives

Decorating Cookies

Christmas Eve

Christmas Day

The Day After Christmas (when I really should have taken more pictures).

Christmas #2

The Playmobil Dollhouse Happy Dance

Whew. I feel like I need a nap after all of that.

Handmade Gift Report #4

2011-12-29T23:01:00.001-07:00

Don't worry, all that's left is a few odds and ends.Bows for the smallest girl on our gift list.

Bracelets for all the little girls on our gift list.

Cosy pajama pants for my Mom.

A bookmark to go with the books for my Dad.

And that's it really. Two or three months worth of crafting. It seems strange to be done. Maybe I'll just have to get a really early start on next Christmas. Or at least work on getting my Christmas quilt finished. Before I go peacefully off to sleep, here are some pictures I just found on my camera which are too good to not include.The best Christmas cookie ever.

Yes, it's a ninja.And a few pictures from the kids opening their pajamas on Christmas Eve.

Tomorrow- Christmas pictures that have nothing whatsoever to do with crafting.

Handmade Gift Report #3

2011-12-28T20:40:00.001-07:00

The package did arrive yesterday. Now I don't have to be incredibly furious at the Postal Service, just mildly peeved that it didn't make it before Christmas. There was such a bounty of handmade goodness in this one box that it getting lost would have been a tragedy of epic proportions. Inside was....A soft, flannel scarf. (Pattern here- http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2010/01/gathered-flannel-scarf.html)

A sweet baby hat and socks (Patterns here http://heyjulie.wordpress.com/2006/08/18/cabled-baby-hats/ and here- http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/baby-socks-13)

A matching cabled hat for the proud papa (pattern- http://splendorknitting.blogspot.com/2009/10/natural.html)

And two doll quilts for the big sisters.

Also included was a quilt for the baby who should be arriving soon. Which I completely forgot to take any pictures of. Yeah, I feel like an idiot. I'll have to beg my brother to take some pictures for me.

Handmade Gift Report #2

2011-12-27T11:24:00.001-07:00

This was my most intense handmade gift this year. It took the most time and effort. I was always worried Brendan was going to come home early and find me working on it. It had to be done before his semester ended. And I was terrified he would open and say "Really? You spent all that time making me THIS?"

It's a Doctor Who cross stitch. All 11 doctors and the Tardis.

I bought the pattern here- http://www.etsy.com/listing/68425110/pixel-people-the-eleven-doctors-pdf. I learned how to paint my Aida cloth here- http://weelittlestitchescrossstitch.blogspot.com/2011/05/tutorial-how-to-paint-aida-cloth.html.

It turned out to be the perfect gift for my Doctor Who fanboy.

Handmade Gift Report #1

2011-12-25T16:05:00.001-07:00

Christmas has been good. Anna woke up at 4:15! The little ones totally frustrated everyone else by sleeping in until 8:30. The first round of presents have been opened and admired. Way too much candy has been eaten. So far all the handmade gifts have been well-recieved (except the ones still in the mail even though they were supposed to be there in plenty of time- aargh). The first handmade gift (in 7 parts) was opened last night. Seven brand new pairs of pajamas.

Just simple flannel pajama bottoms with matching t-shirts, most with a little bit of the flannel appliqued onto them. The two littlest ones got matching blankets as well. It's hard to see in the pictures but there are some really cute fabrics- hearts, birds, penquins, sharks, robots, aliens, and ABC animals. More handmade gift reports to come as I figure out my new camera connection kit and they hopefully arrive and are unwrapped.

No Rest For The Crafty

2011-12-24T11:52:00.001-07:00

The great thing about Christmas this year was that I had to have everything ready early. All my shopping, wrapping, crafting had to be done by Tuesday. I love it. Now I'm free to just relax and enjoy Christmas.

And knit.

Every year in the throes of Christmas crafting, I swear that as soon as I am done I am taking a break. And every year my break from crafting lasts about ten minutes. It's what I do. It's what I like. It's what I like to do. And Anna has lost her hat. There's no choice in the matter, really. But, I am enjoying the lack of a deadline immensely.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Ten Days Left

2011-12-14T12:04:00.000-07:00

I know Christmas is close. I can feel it breathing down my neck. But, with some spectacular project finishes lately, I think I may have everything under control. I only have two projects left! Of course, they are both multi-part projects. For example, five pairs of pajamas. I am choosing not to think about them that way. Only two projects left! And that means, I may actually have time to turn this into a finished quilt.

I finished my Christmas quilt top a couple of weeks ago. It's just been hanging there on my design wall since.

Tempting me.

Telling me to forget my handmade Christmas present list and go buy gift cards instead.

It's got some pretty convincing arguments but I've stayed strong so far. Two more projects to go and then this quilt top and I can spend some quality time together.

As a bonus for making it through all my quilty craziness, here's some pictures of the kids at the ward Christmas party.

Giving and Receiving

2011-12-13T20:20:00.004-07:00

Saturday night was my quilt guild's Christmas Party and Late Night Sewing Night. Fantastic. Really, one of the best nights of the year. Lots of great food, a crafty sort of gift exchange and I seriously kicked but on one of my Christmas projects.

So, what did I give? Another embroidered doily hoop.

I feel bad repeating swap items. But, the person whose name I drew had expressed her great love for the other one and asked what she could give me in exchange for one. So, another hoop. And I still haven't started one to keep and hang in my bedroom as planned. Oh well, maybe after Christmas.

And what did I receive? Well, the very generous Mary made zippered pouches for everyone in the group. I picked this utterly amazing one.

I'm thinking a small hand sewing project could make itself right at home in here. Maybe my EPP diamonds.

Then, from the amazing Nicke, I received a new iPad case and a piece of Heather Ross fabric.

Now I can stop being irrationally mad at my whole family because the iPad case I made has been lost! And the sweet little Owl and Pussycat fabric? I am seriously considering framing a little bit of that and then designing the whole rest of the room around it. It is so lovely.

Yes, I am a very lucky crazy crafty lady.

Just Because

2011-12-01T14:43:00.001-07:00

Just because the kids were screaming in the background when I called to ask him a quick question and he could tell from my voice that was one of those sorts of days where I wonder why we ever decided to have children, he brought home a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a chocolate hazelnut cupcake.

Yes, I do know what an incredibly lucky woman I am. I'm thinking of taking one of these photos and turning it into something like this, just so I can always be reminded.

The Dangers of the Craft Store

2011-11-26T15:42:00.001-07:00

So, I mentioned briefly yesterday the dangers of the craft store and their sweet, sweet temptations. I knew all that before. What I discovered yesterday is that I am not the only family member affected by their siren song. You see, the trip to a second crafty store yesterday was supposed to be just for a spool of cheap ribbon to hang our new ornaments with. But, I brought along the girls. While on our way to the ribbon, Ellery absolutely fell in love with a Santa fabric. She petted it. She carried it around with her. She looked up at me with those sweet brown eyes and said "You make it for me?" She didn't care what I made just as long as I made it with this Santa fabric. Well, it was cute fabric. And it was half off. And I had been thinking about making them some Christmas pillowcases. And of course I ended up adding yet another project to my overstuffed Christmas to-do list. And since it seemed like such a quick and easy project, I made them today. Yes, I know, crazy crafty lady.

The girls were sufficiently thrilled with them and wasted no time breaking them in. In fact, they are laying on them right now watching a movie in a blanket fort.

And, I just have to say- Doesn't Ellery have great taste in fabric?

PS- the background for these photos is my Christmas Quilt up on the design wall. I am thrilled to say it is now only in 24 pieces rather than 576. It might even be a real quilt by Christmas!

Holiday in Exile

2011-11-25T17:36:00.001-07:00

Ok, it wasn't really a Thanksgiving in exile- just Idaho. But Idaho can feel like exile when it's far away from most of your family. That's how I felt, at least. Just our little family of five with no one else. If felt quiet and lonely. But, I decided to try and enjoy it. Just us with exactly what we wanted to eat and what we wanted to do.

We watched the Macey's Thanksgiving Day parade.

(They loved it.)

We feasted.

(Best turkey ever.)

We decked the halls.

We even did some Black Friday shopping. We bought a ton of new ornaments for our formally under-decorated tree including (finally) a Baby's First Christmas ornament for Samuel. Hey, it was only a year late. I may have also bought one or two things at the crafty stores.

Dang those crafty stores and their sweet, sweet temptations.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Christmas List 2011

2011-11-25T14:24:00.001-07:00

People have been asking, so here it is- the official family Christmas wish list. If you are not the sort of person who wants to shower me with gifts, please ignore it. We'll be back to our regularly scheduled program of crafties and cute kids shortly. It's just easier for me to have everything here in one place to refer people to.

OK- here it goes.

We have two Amazon wish lists- one for Brendan and I and one for the kids. I'm not going to link to them, though because they show my full name and stuff. But, if you are the kind of person who is buying us presents, you know our last name. Search for me on Amazon and you'll find them.

The kids like toys. Imagine that. There are a few on the wish list. Anna likes girly stuff (but not really Barbies yet). Ellery likes dolls especially and whatever Anna likes. Sam loves boy stuff- cars and balls.

The kids could also always use clothes. Anna is a size 6 or XS in girls. Ellery is a 3T and Sam is 18M. Everybody especially needs winter clothes- long sleeves, long pants, sweaters, etc.

Gift cards are boring to unwrap but very useful. We like Target. I like JoAnns but my absolute favorite is The Quilt Barn in Kimberly, ID. I've been wanting to make a big quilt for us to actually keep so a gift certificate or money to use there would probably make me squeal with joy. Amazon and iTunes are great too.

Something New

2011-11-23T13:22:00.001-07:00

I'm expirimenting with blogging from my IPad. We'll see how this goes. Here's some crazy pictues of Ellery and Brendan in a wig just so I haven't completely wasted your time.

Ellery looks like she belongs on "Toddlers and Tiaras" and Brendan.... well, we're not going to go into where it looks like Brendan belongs.

There's No Denying It

2011-11-17T14:37:00.001-07:00

The Christmas season has officially begun. No, our tree's not up. No, I haven't made my Christmas shopping list. I haven't even made my Christmas wish list. But, we did receive our very first Christmas package. The kids were disappointed it did not contain a present for them and that Brendan and I weren't opening our present until Christmas. The disappointment didn't last long.

There is nothing more fun than a big cardboard box and a whole lot of bubble wrap.

Whole Lot of Crafting Going On

2011-11-10T13:23:00.001-07:00

But since it is only 44 days until Christmas, I can't tell you anything about most of it! I can just give you little glimpses and peeks to whet your curiosity.

Curious? Well, I'll tell you all about them the day after Christmas. I know, I know. It is cruel of me. But, there are two projects I can tell you about.

First up is my Christmas quilt. I started collecting red and white fabrics for it right after last Christmas, cut into them in the Spring, got as far as this 12 inch square and a whole lot of half-finished blocks before something else attracted my attention. Honestly, it's still not high on my priority list. There are a whole lot of presents to get made first. But, I do see myself trying frantically trying to finish it up after the presents are finished but before Christmas. It would be lovely to have a Christmas quilt. Hmmm.

I also started another long term project. Forever ago, I made and gave away a scrappy nine patch quilt. Ever since, I have been meaning to make one to keep. I even had a whole bunch of squares cut out and ready to go. Well, I dug them out the other day. This project will be very slow going. I'm using it as leaders and enders while chain piecing. Also, whenever I finish a project before I toss the scraps in the bin, I make a quick nine patch. Up there bits of Grace's car seat cover, Anna's and Ellery's newest dresses and baby Lawson's quilt. No rush on this, No deadline. No idea really of how big I'm going to make it. It's a nice relaxed project and I'm enjoying it's complete and utter lack of pressure.

But now, I better get back to one of my many projects with a deadline.

Almost Forgotten Birthday Present

2011-11-04T12:21:00.002-06:00

Many years ago, Brendan and I agreed on a formula for our kids birthday presents- 1 handmade gift, 1 store-bought gift and a book. Anna got Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and an Only Hearts Club doll this year. I made her the rainbow birthday outfit but I decided not to count that so I could go ahead and made her a bed for her new doll also.

I've wanted to do this ever since I saw this blog post. I ordered the wooden bed with hopes of making it for Anna's last birthday. Never happened. So, I was determined to do it for this one.

I painted the bed, glued it together, made a bed skirt, mattress, flat sheet, quilt, 2 pillows and 2 pillowcases. I considered making a fitted sheet too but decided that would put me squarely in the absolutely crazy category.

The quilt is a miniature version of one I made for Anna way back almost at the beginning of my quilt craziness. It is still one of my all time favorite quilts. For about a week after her birthday, Anna slept under her big quilt with the doll and her bed right next to her. Pretty dang cute.

Halloween Pictures

2011-11-01T14:47:00.000-06:00

No time or energy to think of anything witty to write. I'm sick, Sam's really sick (cold, pinkeye and double ear infections) and I got a speeding ticket today. Crap. Really, its amazing I have the energy to even copy and paste. So, here a whole bunch of copied and pasted pictures with no explanations at all.

Flashback

2011-10-25T20:04:00.001-06:00

It's like I blinked and six years flew by.

Anna's Sixth Birthday Party

2011-10-22T10:01:00.000-06:00

Can anyone guess what the theme of the party was?

Yes, it was indeed a rainbow party and yes, I did make her a special birthday party outfit to wear. I added a button rainbow to the front of a white t-shirt and made a simple elastic waist grey skirt with rainbow ribbon embellishment. She loved it.

Now, are you ready for a whole bunch of pictures?

We set a new record for number of people in our house: 22. We had a little mini-reunion of us and three other families who lived in the same student housing complex when we were all having our second babies (minus one husband who is deployed and another who was on a hunting trip). The balloon stomp game was enjoyed especially by the 4 year old boys. I'll have to remember it when Sam has his 4th birthday. The rainbow cake turned out beautifully, was loved by the kids and made a very colorful pile of crumbs. I was relieved. I do not have a great history with birthday cakes. She blew out all her candles on the first try. Our awesome balloon twisting friends made her a giant Duckie Momo balloon (much loved by Sam) and stepped in to help Brendan make balloons for all the kids. It was a very good party. Good thing, too, because after this one I may never throw another birthday party again.

PS Moms- I've tried to only include pictures that highlight kids that I've gotten permission to put pictures of on my blog before. However, if you see your kid in the background and would rather not just email me (trinasdoings@gmail.com) and I'll take the picture off right away.

Nice To Meet You, Grace

2011-10-17T12:11:00.000-06:00

I don't get the chance to hand deliver my baby quilts to actual babies often (except my own babies). Usually, the ones for nieces and nephews and other folks get boxed up and handed over to a postman to do the actual delivering. Not this weekend, my friends!

That's my nine day old niece with her brand-new quilt. I got to meet her, present the quilt, wrap her up in it, do some cuddling and take some pictures. Aren't I a lucky aunt? Doesn't she have such a great little grumpy face while she sleeps?

You might remember the quilt from here. I hung it in the crafty closet and waited until I found out which of my three pregnant sisers-in-law were having girls. Once that was all sorted out, I finished it up for little baby Grace.

Quilted in diagonal lines. The back is a great bright pink polka dot. I went with a black and white polka dot binding. The little blue bit in the binding. Well, of course, that's a scrap from the wedding quilt I made for her parents. I had to sneak one in somewhere.

Well, Grace, it was nice to meet you. I hope you like your quilt. If you don't- you only have to pretend to when I come visit.

Given and Received

2011-10-14T14:52:00.000-06:00

Last night was pretty much the best night of the month- Quilt Guild night! I love Quilt Guild night. Seriously. Anyway, last night we swapped embroidery hoop projects. I was so not going to participate. I thought I had too many projects going already. I was kind of blah about the whole idea. Then I remembered seeing this on Pinterest.

Source: french-knot.tumblr.com via Trina on Pinterest

Yep, absolutely adore it. It reminds me a classic crochet doily. But embroidered. The swap became a good excuse to make my own version.

Doesn't it look so happy there by the craft closet? I am very pleased with how it turned out. I think I like it better than the original but that's probably just because I can say I made it. It was fairly simple to make. I used some grey quilting cotton I had in my stash, drew circles on it using a compass and just made up the embroidery as I went along- using the circles and an embroidery stitch book as a guide. I was very tempted to keep to it. But, I can always make more. And I will be. I'm thinking a set of three to hang either above our bed or in the living room.

I'm glad I did participate because look what is hanging by the craft closet now.

It was make by the lovely Janele. I adore the color scheme. And the fussy cut flower. And the words. And look- it has pockets for stashing sewing supplies in! Don't my favorite scissors look fantastic in there?

I am one very happy, crazy crafty lady.

Big Day for the Little Man

2011-10-09T14:30:00.001-06:00

So, it was a pretty momentous day for this little monkey face. He is just about 18 months old which means that he gets to start going to the nursery during church. Pretty momentous occasion for his daddy as well since he will no longer be spending his Sundays chasing Sam through the halls.

He wore his new church clothes. His curls were extra sticky-up-y. He walked right in like he owned the place and never looked back. Toys? Other kids? Really, who needs mom and dad?

I love you, monkey-face.

Up, Up and Away

2011-10-08T14:04:00.004-06:00

What happened to Autumn? Seriously. One day this week we were wearing shorts and sandals. The next we were digging out the winter clothes. Good thing my kids rock the winter wear.

So cute! I just can not get over Samuel in the stripey sweater. I want to dress him in it every day.

The cold, windy, wet weather was a distinct advantage yesterday. There was a Fairy and Superhero Day event held at the local ropes course. The nasty weather meant we didn't have to stand in line for face painting.

Or wand making.

Or flying.

I did mention it was held at the local ropes course, didn't I? My brave little girls. They loved being hauled 25 feet in the air and flying down the zip line. They didn't want to leave even though they were shivering. You better believe I was watching every second, though to make sure those harnesses and helmets were on good and tight. Cutest moment of the day- Ellery yelling "I'm flying!" as she whizzed by on the zip line. We'll definitely be going back when they hold this event again.

Back on Track (I hope)

2011-09-29T14:17:00.001-06:00

So, it's been eleven days since I started coughing. I wouldn't say I'm healthy yet but I seem to be most of the way there. I've only coughed two or three times today. Nothing like the soul-sucking exhaustion and horrible coughing fits where I couldn't catch my breath that gave me sore chest and stomach muscles. Ugh.

And, a couple of weeks later than hoped, I've finally finished the girl's new dresses.

How grown-up does Anna look in that last picture? My goodness. I see my future and it involves a lot of late nights waiting up and worrying while she is in high school. Anyway, back to the dress. The pattern is available here. It is one of my all time favorites. Simple to make but so elegant. No zippers, no buttons and if you use french seams to sew the skirt panels together like I do, then all the seams are nice and neat and enclosed. The fabric is from Denyse Schmidt's line for JoAnns.

I love Ellery's last picture, as well. It is so very Ellery. Silly and full of energy. Yeah, not much luck getting her to hold still.

Now, at least one of you is probably thinking, "Hey, Ellery's dress looks really familiar and not just because it is the same pattern as Anna's." Yes, yes it does. I made her one just like it at the beginning of the summer. She outgrew it rather quickly which made me sad because I loved it. So, I made her another one exactly like it but two sizes bigger. Why not? I had another chunk of the fabric that I was planning on making a quilt backing with. Something else will just have to go on the back of that quilt.

These pictures have me thinking about something else. Why the heck did I just pay 43.50 for school pictures? That last picture of Anna's would be great to have copies printed to send out to relatives. And it would have cost me a whole lot less. I think in future years, I'll just set up my own little photo shoot with each kid instead or paying for the school's. Assuming, of course, that Ellery learns how to stand still.

Sidetracked

2011-09-23T11:45:00.000-06:00

I had some big plans for this week- new dresses for the girls and fall cleaning. It was not to be. I've been battling a nasty cough this week. Seriously, I wouldn't wish this cough on my worst enemy from Jr High. So, I've spent a lot of time sitting on the couch, watching Phineas and Ferb for the kids and West Wing for myself and doing the bare minimum required to keep everyone dressed and fed. And working frantically on a completely unexpected project. Monday, Anna and I were watching Phineas and Ferb. Anna became obsessed with Ducky Momo.

We had to watch the episode twice. She talked about Ducky Momo all morning. She looked up at me with those big blue eyes and said "Mommy, can you make me a Ducky Momo?" Well, there's no way I can deny a request like that. I put her on the school bus at 11:30, put Sam in the car and headed to Walmart for yellow yarn. By the time she got off the bus at 3:20, I had a finished and stuffed body, complete with eyes, beak and tail. She was thrilled. The wings and the feet went on that night and by bedtime she was cuddling her very own Ducky Momo.

Well, while I was working on the duck, Ellery looks up at me with her big brown eyes and said "Mommy, you make me a platypus?" So, I made a platypus, too.

The platypus took longer. Mostly because I didn't ignore everything else while making it.

The pattern I adapted to make both of them is here. They have been very well-loved already.

I guess the next question is "What do I make for Sam?"

And here's a little added bonus. I can't get this song out of me head! And now, neither can you.

A Good Weekend

2011-09-18T21:34:00.001-06:00

Nothing too earthshaking or exciting.

Just chores.

A crazy dance party to celebrate finishing the chores.

And homemade chocolate truffles.

Plus, a trip to the crafty store, cutting out the pieces for two little dresses, listening to Ellery singing along to Pink Floyd and lots of other little happy family moments. Just a very good, quiet weekend at home.

Traveling in Style

2011-09-16T15:02:00.001-06:00

It seems that car seat covers have become the must-have accessory for the stylish baby. So here is my contribution to making my not-yet-arrived new niece a style icon.

Fabric chosen by her mom. Tutorial followed here. The pieced straps are definitely my favorite part.

I regret not having made one for Sam. First, it goes a long way towards hiding the griminess left behind by his older sisters. Second, it makes for awesome games of hide and seek.

On a roll

2011-09-14T10:00:00.001-06:00

Watch out- I'm feeling productive this morning. It's not even ten o'clock yet and I've already stopped procrastinating and set up a doctor's appointment (nothing big, just my yearly thyroid medication check. I've been avoiding it simply because of all the paperwork involved with going to a new doctor), finished a quilt top and gotten the fabric for my next project washed and now in the dryer. And now I'm blogging. Crazy productive.

Here's just a little sneak peek of the finished quilt top. This is my favorite block. Sorry, that's all you get because it will be a gift one day.

All this would be so much more impressive if I wasn't still in my pajamas.

More Little Somethings

2011-09-10T14:56:00.000-06:00

A tiny Anna and a tiny Ellery have joined the tiny Sam. I couldn't stop taking pictures of them, just like the real things.

Invading Lego houses.

Trying to hide in Brendan's shoes.

Sneaking into the fridge for a snack.

Cute and fun but I may be done knitting them for now. I'm in the mood to knit something bigger and for me. Maybe a lacy scarf? Or fancy mittens? So many options.

In the mood to knit a little something

2011-09-08T14:34:00.000-06:00

As often happens in the midst of big, long-term projects, I woke up this morning craving a finish. Something, anything actually done that I could point to and say "I made this". Because being four months into a projected 2 year long project is pretty soul sucking. Since it seems like forever since I've done any knitting, I pulled out the book Knitting Mochimochi by Anna Hrachovec and I knit a little something.

This little guy is 1.5 inches tall. It took longer than I expected mostly due to Sam attempting to steal my knitting needles, scissors, the pattern or the yarn multiple, multiple times. And, as you'd expect from a 1.5 inch tall knitted person, there were some fiddly bits. Like getting started, changing yarn colors, the legs, the arms, well everything really. But, the pattern (Human Beans) was well-written and easy to follow. According to the girls this one is Sam because he is wearing blue clothes. And of course, they now expect an Anna and an Ellery too. And maybe even a mommy and a daddy. And a Papa Dave, Grandma Peggy, Grandma Sherri, Emma, Chloe and on and on and on. Hmmm. Not sure that's going to happen.

In other exciting (to me) news, the designer of this pattern has a new book out- Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi. It's full of tiny knit things like this. Oh, a mermaid. Ooooh, chickens! Oh, oh, oh- a gnome, a lion and an armadillo. Ok, I think this is a book I am going to have to have.

First Day of School

2011-09-06T14:28:00.000-06:00

Wow. It's the first day of kindergarten for Anna and the first day of preschool for Ellery. I don't even know where to begin- all sorts of anxiety and excitement. Don't worry- I'm handling almost all the anxiety while the girls are handling all the excitement.

Ellery is going to a five day a week morning preschool run by the school district for kids with special needs. This is where most of my anxiety comes in. She's so little. Only three. And I'm a stay at home mom. Do I really need to put her on a bus and send her into other people's care five days a week? Well, kind of. She needs the speech therapy. Free daily speech therapy is an offer we just can't refuse. For now. I'm telling myself that we're just trying this out and if doesn't work for some reason, we can withdraw her.

She was absolutely thrilled to be going to school. She loves her backpack and her new shoes. She walked right in, told me "Bye, mom" and never looked back. She's so very brave. After I picked her up, I asked her what her favorite part was. She answered "Playing with my friends."

Anna is starting afternoon Kindergarten. Yeah, it kind of sucks. The girls aren't going to see each other really until after Anna gets home at 3:15ish. But, I had been hoping for all day kindergarten which would have been the same situation anyway. This morning was hard for Anna. I lost track of how many times she asked if it was time to go to school yet. She did have some worries. She told me she was worried that none of the kids would like her. So, we had a talk about being nice and how to introduce yourself. And look at her. Who couldn't like that girl? She was also a little worried that her principal was going to be Ms Trunchbull. Maybe reading Matilda and then watching the movie wasn't such a great idea this summer. I reassured her the best I could on that account. Those were only brief worries. Mostly she was excited to meet her new best friends and show her teacher that she already knows how to read some words. I took her to school but she decided she wanted to ride the bus home.

I think she's going to do great.

I've been trying to keep myself calm (and tear-free) between all the dropping off and picking up and now waiting for the bus by sewing together some of my finished star blocks. I just had to add a little note to this one. Now I'll always know exactly which block I was working on on such an important day. Wouldn't it be great if I passed this quilt on to Anna one day?

A Quilt For Lawson

2011-08-28T17:14:00.004-06:00

So, there have been a couple of sneak peeks of this quilt already. But, the baby shower was today so I finally get to show it in it's full glory.

It's made from wonky stars and log cabin blocks. Follow the links for the tutorials I used.

I love the blues and greys. It makes me think of pinstripe suits and silk ties and perfect pocket squares.

There is one little hint of green. Yes, it is intentional. It's a scrap from the quilt I made for the parent's wedding quilt. I try to include one in all my baby quilts (well, all my baby quilts where I made the parents a wedding quilt too).

The back is a solid blue and the binding is a fun black and white polka dot. Hopefully little Lawson and his parents like it. And hopefully no one gets tired of the whole grey color scheme. Because there is more coming.

Things To Do With A Sewing Kit

2011-08-21T21:50:00.000-06:00

This my little sewing kit. I introduced you to it here. It's nothing fancy- just a cheap pencil box filled with five needles in a pincushion, paperclips, white thread, bandaids, beeswax, scissors, cardstock diamonds and little bits of fabric. It has gone everywhere with me this summer- on playdates, to the park, back and forth to Utah several times, a family reunion. Let me tell you, it has come in very handy. It has allowed me to save the day several times (Da Da Da DAA Super Sewer to the rescue). So here it is, the list of things you can do with a sewing kit.

1. First aid for slightly scraped knees at the park.
2. First aid for hands scraped while sliding into second base on a gravely field during a wicked game of kickball.
3. Draining blisters (yeah, I didn't ask for my needle back after that one).
4. Splinter removal (again and again and again).
5. Opening hard to open packages.
6. Snipping cilantro for a wonderful black bean and corn salsa.
7. Removing tags from brand new Grandma purchased toys.
8. Hastily hemming white pants a half an hour before a baptism.
9. Marking my place in books (cardstock, fabric or paperclips).
10. Actually sewing together some quilt blocks.

That's 27 blocks done. About 57 inches wide. 25 inches or so tall. I still have a whole lot more blocks to go before I've got a queen size- even with a substantial border added. I am still absolutely loving it and enjoying sewing the blocks together. And the sewing kit? I'm thinking of adding a pencil and some chocolate to make it an absolutely indispensable life-saver.

Another flashback

2011-08-13T14:06:00.000-06:00

Seven years ago today. Also known as the best day ever.

Today

2011-08-12T16:06:00.000-06:00

Really, could a three year old's day be any better?

Waking up to surprise birthday decorations handmade by mom.

Chocolate Chip muffins for breakfast.

A brand new shirt made by mom to proudly proclaim your age. A trip to the park and the library.

A Happy Meal for lunch.

Decorating your own birthday cake.

Presents!

Cake and Ice Cream.

Playing with a friend and new toys.

Really, this could be her best day ever. I'll admit, I may have been overcompensating just a little since her previous birthdays have sucked. For her first birthday we were temporarily homeless- staying in Grandma's basement and desperately looking for a place to live. Her second birthday was literally forgotten in the trauma of moving. Seriously, Anna wanted to pretend it was my birthday. I was trying my best to unpack boxes so that we would have the necessities of life. I told her to go pretend it was Ellery's birthday. Ten minutes later I realized it really was Ellery's birthday. So, I wanted to make sure this birthday a really good one. I think I succeeded.

Three Years Ago

2011-08-12T15:15:00.004-06:00

http://trinasdoings.blogspot.com/2008/08/meet-ellery-kate.html

Busy, busy, busy.

2011-08-08T09:56:00.019-06:00

Three small quilt tops done. I've got the batting, backings and bindings all ready to go. I just need to put some serious time into basting and quilting.

Trip Related Crafting

2011-08-03T16:46:00.000-06:00

So, we got an IPad. Kind of a combo birthday present for me plus anniversary present for both of us plus Christmas present if the credit card bill is not paid off by then. Love it. Before dragging it along on a 1,500 mile road trip it needed a case. And why buy one when you can make a super cute one?

My favorite part is how the bright red lining shows in the side seams. My second favorite part- it matches my quilt guild name tag. I just love this color scheme. I forgot to take a picture, but it also has a grey pocket on the back that the cord fits in.

I also discovered the craft cabin while on the trip. It was a wonderful, happy place. The girls loved it too. They painted wooden boxes while I made a leather bracelet.

I love it! And, I had so much fun making it that I snuck away to the craft cabin again the next day. This time, I painted a little ceramic jug.

It's not perfect, but I love it. After all, aren't crafts the perfect trip souvenir for a crazy crafty lady? And, it looks fantastic filled with daisies and sitting on a pretty fabric napkin on my kitchen table.

5 Days, 1498.8 Miles

2011-08-02T11:43:00.000-06:00

One family reunion. 38 great-grandparents, grandparents, moms, dads, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers and sisters in one absolutely beautiful place.

152 pictures taken (but, thanks to my broken camera lens which I still haven't replaced quite a few were utter crap). 48 minutes worth of video filmed (editing that is on my to do list right after unpacking, laundry and grocery shopping). 2 trips to the craft cabin. 3 miles hiked. 1 kickball game in the sprinklers. Countless games played. And too many other things to list. It was so much fun I think I may need a week to recover.

Swapity Swap

2011-07-19T11:11:00.001-06:00

I participated in another swap within my totally amazing quilt guild. This time the theme was buntings. Well, I wasn't really excited about making a bunting. I had just about decided to skip this swap when I got the idea for a bunting decorated mini-quilt. This was about three days before the meeting, mind you. I got to work and made this little darling in two nights.

The best part? I snuck a little envelope closure in the back, so it can double as a pillow cover. Also, I cut out pieces for two. So, as soon as I can get my hands on another batting scrap and a pillow form, I'm making one just like it for the playroom.

In return I received an amazing bunting made from selvages.

Don't you love the little fabric covered spools on the end? Right now it is hanging above my craft supply closet and making everything else in the crafty room jealous.

Surprise Weekend Trip

2011-07-18T10:43:00.001-06:00

We found out on Friday morning that our nephew Dylan was definitely being baptized on Saturday morning. So, we discussed and made some phone calls and discussed some more and decided to go. Did I mention that the baptism was in another state? And that we were feeding the missionaries Friday night? Yep, crazy. We spent the afternoon cleaning, packing and cooking a feast for a couple of 19 year old young men. We fed them, drove them to their next appointment, finished packing, loaded the car, bathed the children and headed out at about 7 pm. What would have been a three hour drive to Brendan's sisters took about four and a half hours thanks to frequent stops for the kids and construction. But, thanks to our rather miserable late night drive, the next morning we had a little mini-family reunion with Brendan's siblings and all the grandkids.

All the kids who were there-

Everyone who was there (except the ones taking pictures)-

We did not have a lot of luck taking pictures of the Rowlands grandkids. It was lunchtime and hot. I can't say that I blame them for not wanting to take pictures.

The siblings

The still wet Dylan with his dad and brother.

There are other pictures (a entire Rowlands group shot and one of just our little family) but I was in those and my camera is not really usable by others until I replace the lens. So, others will have to provide those. It was a good weekend but I am so glad to be back home.

Inspiration Strikes

2011-07-10T16:41:00.001-06:00

Well, I was all set to ask for your help. I had twenty blocks up on the design wall. I'd been staring at them for two days. I rearranged them. I took a picture. I rearranged them some more. I took more pictures. I was mentally composing the blog post asking for help. But, I decided to go wash the dishes before sitting down to type. They were threatening to take over the kitchen. While washing a stubborn muffin batter encrusted bowl, I suddenly knew what I wanted to do.

So, like this. But blue and grey. And a few other little differences.

I think it's a definite improvement over these-

Now I'm all excited to make some wonky stars. I guess doing the dishes is worthwhile, after all.

Good Things in Store

2011-07-07T11:12:00.001-06:00

We planted a little garden this year. It seemed a shame not to since we are finally out of apartments and have the space. We kept it small and simple, though.

An upside down tomato plant (which seems to be refusing to grow upside down) hanging from the deck. A zucchini plant, lettuce and carrots in the ground. Another tomato plant, cucumber, strawberries, jalapenos and herbs in buckets.

What's a garden without a gnome?

Since this is Idaho, we didn't plant until Memorial Day weekend. So far, we've only been able to eat a single strawberry, lettuce and the herbs. But everywhere there are blossoms and little tiny vegetables.

Tomato

Cucumber

Strawberry

Roosemary, cilantro, and basil. The herbs are doing fantastic. I'm hoping to move this container inside and keep them going through the winter.

We also planted a little flower garden. The girls and I each picked out a seed packet based solely on the picture. Poppies for Ellery, sunflowers for Anna and zinnias for me. We didn't get them into the ground until at least a week after the vegetables (most of which we bought as starter plants instead of seeds) so I'm starting to have my doubts about seeing any flowers before the first frost. Hopefully they will surprise me and start shooting up.

The apricot tree and the apple tree are both doing great. I think we're going to have way more fruit than we will know what to do with.

Ellery wanted me to take her picture too. She's growing right along with the garden.

And Sam is looking tough. As far as I can tell from Anna's and Ellery's accounts (which mostly consisted of "I didn't do it") he fell and hit the edge of the deck. It's looking better now that it's not swollen. He's still got a pretty impressive scrape and just the hint of two black eyes.

Yesterday

2011-07-05T21:55:00.000-06:00

Sam starting the day off by waking up the girls up after their night camping in the backyard with daddy.

I am amazed they lasted all night.

We bought a hammock.

We had friends over for a few fireworks, a few games and a lot of food.

Anna lost her second baby tooth.

I wish I had taken a picture of the food before we started devouring it. In case you're curious, here are some links to recipes I used.
Salsa
Potato Salad
Ribs and Lemon Merinque Pie recipes came from books- The Barbeque Bible and the Gentle Art of Domesticity, respectively. I highly recommend the Lemon Meringue Pie. It has like six ingredients and it has always turned out beautifully for me. See if you can find the book at your local library. The author is Jane Brocket. It also contains a superb lemon cake recipe and lots of thoughtful musing on the difference between domesticity and housework. I've recommended it before, sometime.

All in all, it was a very good day. Well worth the stack of dishes and the mess of fireworks.

An EPP Update

2011-06-29T18:31:00.000-06:00

Because in my deluded mind, you are all anxiously awaiting an update.

With two blocks finished before the trip, two blocks finished on the trip (one started in the park and finished in my Grandmother's basement, the other sewn on the highway at 80 mph) and two finished today, my total is now 12 blocks! 3 still need to be attached to the others but I'll take care of that after the kids are in bed tonight. It will give me a chunk of quilt something like 21 by 28 inches. Yep, a long, long way to go still. But, that is 12 blocks in 19 days- not too bad. Better than I expected, definitely.

I did head to my awesome almost-local quilt shop for an infusion of yellow fabric. And a few white with a tiny bit of blue prints. I am excited to start using them. And excited that I only spent 10 dollars. I am going to head to my local fabric megamart this week for some white on white, yellow and orange, and just plain orange.

Each block I finish is instantly my favorite block ever. This one just might stay my favorite. I just love that very subtle blue on white print. And every single one of the blue diamonds that surround it.

Evil Daddy Genius Here!

2011-06-28T12:53:00.000-06:00

That's right. I'm hijacking Trina's blog (for a good purpose)! That purpose is right below. A video of our children doing cute things on the recent road trip. Mwahahaha!

Enjoy!

Road Trip!

2011-06-27T16:46:00.000-06:00

This weekend we went on a little family road trip. We visited some of Brendan's siblings, shopped at IKEA, went to an old roommate's wedding reception, made an appearance at a party full of my former co-workers and visited my grandparents. It was a busy 2 1/2 days. I didn't get to take as many pictures as I liked, thanks to the need to constantly corral children. Anna did take a lot of pictures and Brendan and I shot a fun video on our brand new video camera. I'll share those here in a future post (once I figure out how to). But, enough excuses. Here are my pictures from the weekend.

Anna and Chloe "helping" with breakfast-

Playing at the park-

Wedding reception-

Anna lost her first baby tooth at the reception! And by the way, how cool is a reception that involves barbeque in the park, gummy bears, a pinata, and some of our best friends?

And that's it. No pictures of the coworkers. No pictures of the grandparents. Sheesh. It's like halfway through the trip I forgot I even owned a camera. I will be making sure that doesn't not happen on our next trip!

As a bonus, here's a picture of Anna last night with her little package ready for the tooth fairy.

She was absolutely thrilled this morning.

Bedtime Shenanigans

2011-06-22T16:11:00.000-06:00

This is the sort of thing that happens after we send them to bed for the night.

I have no idea where the pink felt tip pen came from.

All over both their faces, both their arms and Ellery's legs. They were so proud of themselves.

My favorite part- as they're headed back to their room after stifled giggles and a not-so-firm talking to, Anna says to Ellery "Belly, you are a talented artist".

For Mel (and anyone else who is interested)

2011-06-17T23:18:00.001-06:00

Alright, my friend Mel (who pretty much started this whole crazy quilting thing in the first place) asked me some questions about my paper-pieced star block. So, I thought I would answer her questions here, go into some detail on my whole process and show my progress- just in case anyone else was interested too. Feel free to not ready any farther or to just skim. This is going to go on for a while.

As with any bit of craftiness, there are many different ways to go about this. This just happens to be what works best for me. I am by no means an expert. This is only my third EPP (English Paper Piecing) project ever.

First, two years ago, I made a paper-pieced ball.

My original post about it is here. The two tutorials I linked to at the time are gone. Here is another.

Then about a year ago, I used some paper-pieced hexagons to decorate a turtle toy.

Original post here.
No tutorial really but here is a good basic paper-piecing one.

OK, so the whole point of this walk down memory lane is some advice. It's the same advice I give anyone starting a crafty venture and try to follow myself- start small. Try the technique out on something small first. You might discover that you hate EPP. That you would rather die a slow painful death than paper-piece. No problem. Better to discover that making a small toy than after you've spent days cutting out templates for a queen size quilt. I would recommend the paper-pieced ball. It's a small investment of time and materials and gives you a pretty good grasp of how the whole thing is supposed to work.

This time the whole adventure was sparked by a blog post- this blog post. Go ahead, go look at it- I'll wait. The final picture is the one I obsessed over. I'm sure the pattern has a real name. I have no idea what that might be. For now, I'm calling it stars and tumbling blocks. Ok, look at the page again. You'll notice on the top left is a link to a video. It's great. Watch it. It explains things better than I could with photographs and words. I'm mostly just going to tell you what I do differently. There's also a link to a quilt along Flickr group. There's a discussion and some inspiring photos.

OK, here I go. This is my little toolkit.

On the left is a Ziploc bag full of scraps I've gathered together to use for this quilt. On the right is my box. It's just a simple plastic pencil box I've had for years. The important thing is that Samuel can not open it- very important. Anna and Ellery can but are old enough to understand the repercussions if they do. Inside the box there is a stack of ready to go fabric pieces, a small pair of scissors, stripey paper-clips, a stack of cardstock templates, a pin cushion full of needles, thread, beeswax for coating the thread and a couple of bandaids. The bandaids are the only thing I can stand to use as a thimble. And I have to have been sewing for hours before I will break down and use one.

OK, my templates. In the video, she uses pre-cut plastic templates. Pretty snazzy idea. But, they are $20 dollars a set. She mentions she needs 3 sets for a queen size quilt. Yeah, not happening right now. The point of this whole project was to use what I had. But, I liked the idea of something a little sturdier than plain paper. I ended up finding this website which lets you custom print graph paper. I printed out several pages of 2 inch diamonds on some cardstock I had in the far reaches of the craft closet. I used my acrylic ruler and my rotary cutter with a blade that needed changing anyway to cut them out. Weird thing- it only printed like five diamonds on a page. I just used my ruler to extend the printed lines and got over 20 a page. Ta Da- a big stack of templates that I will be able to use multiple times.

So, since I am going to be reusing these templates, I am basting the fabric around them rather than running the stitches through the paper. Like so-

Template centered on fabric.

Folding over- pulling the fabric taut and finger-pressing- held in place with paperclip.

All edges folded over.

Hard to see, I know. But rather than running through the paper, there are just a couple of stitches through all the layers of fabric folded at the corners. So, I'm holding the fabric around the template rather than attaching it directly to it (if that makes any sense at all). Another plus side, I don't have to remove these basting stitches. The template pulls right out.

For my block, I need twelve diamonds- six in yellow, white, orange or any combo for the star and six blue for the blocks.

I'm sewing them together with the standard- right sides together, whipstitch through the fold of the fabric, trying not to catch the template.

Ok, try to bear with my attempt to use fancy graphics to show how I assemble the block.

I like to knot and break off the thread as little as possible. So, I sew the first two together, don't cut the thread, open them up and sew on the third. I think it's the same in the video. Do this for each half of the star.

Sew the two halves together. Don't cut the thread!

Now, starting in the middle of one, we're going to go all the way around the star attaching the blue block pieces. Sew half the first piece and the first half of the second piece. This is going to complete all four sides of one of the star pieces. Remove it's template to make sewing the second half of the second piece possible. Just keep going around until all six blue pieces are attached and you are back where you started.

Ta-Da again. One finished block. Hexagon shaped. Seven inches from side to side. Eight inches from point to point.

Ready to be attached to other blocks in the same manner (right sides together, whipstitch, flip open, remove any templates where all four sides are sewn, other right sides together, etc.)

And this is my progress so far. Six blocks in a week and a day. Not too shabby. My forward progress is about to stall, though. I need more yellow. So, while I am waiting for payday and a new month's crafty budget, I am going to work on ironing, cutting and maybe even basting blue scraps. Progress will be made but not the kind that you photograph and put up on the blog.

Mel, I hope this helps. And I hope I haven't bored everyone to death.

New Dresses

2011-06-13T16:12:00.000-06:00

Yep, still on the clothing kick. And I am ashamed to admit that other than Brendan's snazzy vest, I haven't been to the crafty store for anything. That's right- an adult vest, a baby vest, two skirts and now two dresses- all from buttons, fabric, elastic, thread and whatever that was already in my crafty room. But, I am now out of elastic, almost out of thread and almost out any pieces of fabric large enough to turn into clothing. OK- on to the dresses.

Anna's dress probably looks familiar. That's right. It's the same pattern with the same modifications (except for the double layer) as their Easter dresses. Yes, Ellery is wearing a dress from the same pattern. It's not new. It's a hand-me-down from Anna and probably the first time I used this pattern.

It seems that it is the perfect dress for running around in the backyard pretending that you are Cinderella. I just wish I had had enough fabric to make it longer. But, hey, when you're working with leftovers from another project, you have to make due. Maybe I'll add a ruffle.

Ellery's new dress is from the same designer and the second time I have made this pattern. No modifications. I love it. One regret- I wish I had made a it a size larger. It fits, but there is not a lot of extra room at all. Oh well, I can always make her another one when she outgrows it. And, if I had made it larger, I probably would not have had enough fabric.

It seems it is perfect for riding your bike in circles on the deck.

I know what you're thinking- "More dresses? Don't those girls have enough dresses yet?" Here's the thing. Anna is the girliest girl ever and refuses to wear pants. Ellery wants to be just like her big sister and refuses to wear pants if she sees that Anna is not wearing them. So, we need a lot of dresses and skirts. Rather than go buy more, I used the fabric and patterns I already had and make them some. No big deal. I've got two more simple sundresses planned but then I am hopefully done for a while. At least until it's time to start thinking about school clothes.

Seaching for the Perfect Summer Craft

2011-06-10T20:40:00.000-06:00

Summer requires a special sort of craft project. Something portable. Something that doesn't cover me with tons of hot, heavy fabric or yarn. Something that doesn't require electricity. The sort of project I can work on while watching the kids play in the backyard or toss in the car to take along on a road trip. Finding the perfect summer project is always a bit of an ordeal. This year it especially was for some reason. Maybe because the nice weather has been so fleeting. Maybe because I didn't want to invest a lot in materials- I wanted to use supplies I already had on hand.

I thought about crocheting or knitting- small projects. Socks. Toys. A lightweight scarf. Small squares to turn into a funky afghan. Nothing was really exciting me. And all of them would have required buying yarn since my yarn stash is at an all-time low.

Maybe embroidery? I looked at patterns- here, here and here. I even bought a little pre-printed kit for a table runner to test the waters.

It's 1/4 of the way done and I can only get excited about the quilting I'm going to inflict upon it when the embroidery is finally done.

So, I went back to my current obsession- quilting. But, hauling the sewing machine out to the backyard is not really practical. I thought about hand quilting. No, too hot to sit under an entire quilt. And, if it's anything other than a baby quilt, it's really not very portable. I thought about hand piecing. I couldn't really get excited about hand piecing something that would look just the same as if it was machine pieced. So, what about all those trendy hexagons that are just not truly possible with a machine? I hate to say it, but I just wasn't feeling the hexagon love. But, then I stumbled on this blog post. Paper-pieced diamonds! I could not get that final quilt out of my mind. White stars, colorful background. An easy, portable, electricity-free project. I went back and forth- yes and no. Finally, yesterday, I printed out my templates, put together a starting bag of scraps and committed to this as my official Summer '11 project.

I was originally thinking all white stars on a all blue scraps background. Now, I'm thinking white, yellow and orange stars on a blue background would be much more my style. No definite goal- I'll just keep going until I'm ready to be done with it, whether that's at the end of this summer or at the end of three summers. Wall-hanging, baby blanket, queen sized quilt, whatever. One block down- many, many, many more to go.

Western Days

2011-06-05T21:07:00.000-06:00

We went to a little local celebration this weekend. Everyone's favorite thing was definitely the face painting-

Anna's boots and cowboy hat were not influenced by the festival. She has decided lately that she is going to be a cowgirl. Since a trip to the resale shop and a yard sale, she has pretty much been dressed as one non-stop. Well, this is Idaho.

Third Time's A Charm

2011-06-02T20:51:00.000-06:00

Yes, another vest.

This one balloon animal themed. Hey, he had to have something snazzy to wear while twisting balloons for hundreds of kids Memorial Day weekend, right?

And it's reversible. How awesome is that?

Apple Blossom Quilt Top

2011-05-28T17:00:00.000-06:00

I always start projects with huge expectations. I think it is going to be the best thing ever- whatever it is. Of course, it's hard to live up to those sorts of dreams. I usually end a project just a little bit disappointed. Every once a great while, though, a project lives up to those expectations and even exceeds them.

I love how this turned out! I just could not stop taking pictures of it, even though it was threatening to rain any moment.

This came together so quickly. I cut the fabric on Thursday. Started the quilt top Friday and finished it Saturday morning. It could have just been the excitement to see everything come together. I think the pink and gray are just perfect- especially next to those apple blossoms. I may have to continue the theme with a bright green binding. Don't expect a completed project anytime soon, though. I spent June's crafty budget on the fabric for this and two other small quilts, so the batting, backing and binding will have to wait until next month.

Random Cute Kid Pictures

2011-05-28T16:29:00.000-06:00

Seriously, could they be any cuter?

Swapped

2011-05-25T22:10:00.000-06:00

This month my Quilt Guild held a mini-quilt swap. The fun part was, we had to choose one of three images as our inspiration for the quilt. Click on the little linky, scroll down and you can see the inspiration images if you are interested. I choose with the first image since I happen to love the combination of orange, yellow and blue. And, I have tons of fabrics with fall in that range because of my orange phase. This is what I came up with.

I mostly used this tutorial. I machine appliqued my circles rather than by hand. Plus, I messed with the measurements, since I was making a smaller quilt. It ended up something like 13 by 17 inches. Some of my favorite fabrics went into this little quilt.

Yes, that is the same blue, yellow and orange fabric from Anna's jean skirt. It's also the backing.

For me, the hand quilting with blue thread and the blue binding really make the whole quilt. I'm considering making another to hang up in the crafty room.

And, this is what I received in return.

Straight from Quilt Market and filled with fabric that hasn't even been released yet. Aren't I lucky?

Skirts for the Girly-Girls

2011-05-24T14:32:00.000-06:00

I made a couple of skirts for the girls.

Pretty easy. I started off with this tutorial and a couple of pairs of jeans. One had holes in the knees and the other was too short.

Instead of a tiered skirt, I did a double layer skirt. The fabric is all leftovers from other projects. I was amazed when Anna chose the orange fabrics rather than something pink. I love it and it seems she does too.

Like Father Like Son

2011-05-18T19:05:00.000-06:00

Well, of course Sam needed a vest too.

He's a bit more bold in the fashion department than his dad. I love this bright and colorful ABC fabric. The back and lining are a wonderful bright blue.

I used this pattern but added some classic points in the front.

Next up- some skirts for the girls and maybe even one for me.

Sewing for the Hubby

2011-05-15T17:48:00.000-06:00

Brendan doesn't ask me to make things for him often. We've known each other more than 7 1/2 years. I can think of one, maybe two things he's asked me to make him in that time. So, when he does ask, I get really excited.

Lately he's been pretty obsessed with the idea of a vest. We checked a few stores (even though he hates shopping). No luck. We checked the thrift store. No luck. But, while there I happened to see a vintage pattern for a vest. Straight from the 80s and only 25 cents. But, hey, a vest is a vest. Next thing you know, we've bought it and are headed to the fabric store.

A couple of weeks (hey, the kids have been sick) and two naptimes later-

He is thrilled with how it turned out. I am mostly thrilled. If I make another one for him, I'm going to lengthen it by about an inch.

I did have to pull out my sewing machine manual during the process. These were my first buttonholes on this machine (which I've owned for at least three years). Pitiful really. I'm glad to say that the Beginning Clothing Construction class I took in college came in handy once again and the buttonholes are beautiful.

Now, I'm in the mood to sew more clothing. It's time to dig into the stash and into all the online tutorials I have bookmarked and see what I can come up with. I might even make something for myself.

Drama in the Craft Room

2011-05-01T15:53:00.000-06:00

Things are just not going my way this week. Mostly, it's a lack of time to craft. It's been a horrible week. But, when I have managed to make time to craft even simple decisions are beyond me somehow.

For example-

The beginning of my scrapbuster quilt. I've been cutting out 1.5" squares off and on for weeks now. I have no where near enough for the entire quilt, but I have enough that I could start sewing. This is as far as I got. Not even an entire block before indecision struck. Is it too bright? Would an entire quilt just be too overwhelming? Would I like it better if each block was made from a single color of scraps- like the pillows I made? I just don't know. So, that poor little unfinished block has been hanging forlornly on my design wall for most of the week, just waiting for me to come to some sort of decision.

And then I decided to start working on something I had already made all the decisions about.
\
A red and white flying geese Christmas quilt. I've been planning it since before Christmas- just buying red fabrics on sale or as remnants slowly. Well, I pulled it out and started cutting. I got all the reds cut and headed to the crafty store to buy white. But, I couldn't decide how much I would need. I swear I stood in the aisle for fifteen minutes debating. I wanted to get just enough but I wasn't sure what that would be. Like I couldn't find a use for leftover white fabric. Anyway, of course, I didn't buy enough. And I just can't seem to get enthusiastic about starting to sew together blocks. It just seems daunting.

So, today I went with a guaranteed no-fail, crafty mojo regaining, no decisions necessary, easy project. A new cuddly blanket for Samuel.

You see, Sam is a cuddler. And he loves soft things best of all. I've found him cuddling all sorts of soft things- a fuzzy sweatshirt, Ellery's giant teddy bear, Anna's pink princess blanket. And while he has plenty of quilts, of course, he just didn't have a soft, fuzzy blanket. So, earlier in the week, we took some of his birthday money and headed to the fabric store. Picking out a yard and a half each of two super soft coordinating flannels was the hardest part. Today I just trimmed them and sewed them together. Just like the first tutorial here but without the decorative stitch. Super quick, super easy and Sam loves it.

I'm hoping that this is the end of the drama and that next week I can just settle down and get some things done.

Easter Festivities

2011-04-24T20:28:00.000-06:00

We started on Friday with a massive Easter Egg hunt on the campus of the college Brendan works for. There were hundreds of kids there. Since Anna and Ellery were in different age groups, we divided and conquered. I took Ellery, so these are the only pictures I got.

She had fun, even though all the eggs were gone in about two minutes.

Afterwards, we went out to dinner. We gave Samuel a lemon after he had tried just about everything else on the table.

He kept licking it, even with sour faces like these.

Saturday we dyed eggs.

I was so busy decorating eggs and trying to keep the cups of dye upright, that this is the only picture I took.

This morning, Anna and Samuel were both up and ready to go at 7am. Ellery, however, was determined to sleep in. At 8:30 we finally gave in to Anna's pleading and woke Ellery up. Christmas was much the same. I have a feeling its going to be the same every holiday in our family.

(Where could that last egg be?)

Easter Crafting

2011-04-24T12:45:00.000-06:00

I think every single year I swear I am not going to make Easter dresses. Then I do anyway. Just part of the Easter tradition, I guess. At least until the girls get old enough to start complaining.

It all started innocently enough. A friend said on Facebook she was thinking about making her girls pinafores and white dresses. I am a sucker for white cotton eyelet lace. So very girly and old-fashioned and sweet. Well, I started obsessing. Next thing you know, I'm headed to the crafty store.

I love the fabric I found for the sashes. Perfect.

And I saw this post and was determined to make cardigans.

It's pretty much amazing that these are done. I finished the second cardigan yesterday afternoon and the second dress at about 10:30 last night. If it hadn't been for my quilt guild's sewing night, I don't think I would have been able to. I get so much more done when I'm not being interrupted every ten minutes.

The details-
More info on Ellery's cardigan here.
There is not pattern for Anna's cardigan. I just made it up as I went along. But, I did have a lot of help from here. I found the stitch pattern in an old knitting book.
The dresses start out as this pattern. The bodice is the same. But, I did a straight skirt rather than the bubble skirt and added a much wider fabric sash. I also added a lining since eyelet cotton is so see-through. These are the fourth and fifth dresses I have made using this modified pattern. I pretty much love it.

I think the two months knitting and one week sewing were definitely worth it! I love how it all turned out.

I don't think I'm done Easter crafting, though. We had a big regional meeting (stake conference) today instead of regular old church, so there wasn't a chance to really show off Easter clothes. So, I have until next week to sew something for Samuel. I'm thinking a dapper vest. Of course, Brendan wants a vest, too. And, if everyone else has something, I might as well make myself a simple skirt as well. Maybe.

Fun with Friends and Family

2011-04-22T12:21:00.000-06:00

(Anna's piranha face)

Whew, that was a lot of pictures.

Birthday Presents

2011-04-19T14:49:00.000-06:00

Alright, alright...here it finally is, Sam's handmade birthday presents.

1. Button-eyed Croc

Pattern from the book Toys to Sew by Claire Garland. I made one of these years ago as a gift and I've been meaning to make another one ever since. It has minky and flannel patches and a jingle bell cat toy inside for extra fun. Sam seems to like it.

2. Birthday Boy Outfit

Simple Appliqued Onsie and pants made up as I went along. I wish I had made them up a little roomier- he's going to grow out of them pretty quickly. Oh well, they're dang cute for now.

I've got to get all the handmade gifts I can in now before they start complaining about them.

Has it really already been a year?

2011-04-12T23:14:00.000-06:00

One year ago-

Today-

Details tomorrow (probably) on what I made him for his birthday.

Options G and H

2011-04-09T18:43:00.000-06:00

So, you remember how last weekend I asked you to vote on which of six layouts you liked best? And how everyone was wonderful and commented? Thanks, by the way. You all rock. Well, I was thinking about it later that night while washing dishes (don't you think about quilting while washing dishes?) and had a realization. Maybe I was having trouble deciding because I didn't really love any of them. So, I went back to the design wall. And I moved them around some more. I redivided and revised. I flipped through some quilting magazine. And this is what I came up with.

Pretty awesome blocks, huh? I thought this was it. I thought I had solved my indecision. Unfortunately, as soon as I finished sewing them all together I realized what it was that was bothering me. They just didn't coordinate well with the original two pillow tops I had made.

OK, I may be crazy, but they just were not doing it for me. Something about the smooth squares vs spiky stars and a single simple charcoal gray vs lots of different gray prints. They just didn't look like a single coordinated set of throw pillows to me. So, being the crazy crafty lady that I am. I started the second set of pillows all over. That is what has taken me so long.

This is what I came up with.

Simple improvised scrappy blue log cabin squares with a charcoal gray border. Somehow, they just seem to mesh a lot better to me.

My couch is now a happy couch. And the star squares? I do love how they turned out, just not for this project. They've gone into my pile of "someday projects". I'm thinking a quilt. But now, it's on to Easter dresses.

I Looked Out the Window

2011-04-06T18:24:00.000-06:00

Poor little blossoms. There's snow forecasted for tonight.

In other news, Samuel took his first steps today.

Yeah, its impossible to take a picture of a baby taking a few steps towards you- especially when he quickly becomes much more interested in the camera than walking.

Playing with Half Square Triangles

2011-04-03T11:33:00.000-06:00

So, I'm making pillows and can't make up my mind. What layout do you like best?

A.

B.

C.

D.

E.

F.

Vote quick. I want to start putting them together this afternoon.

Speaking of HSTs, have you crafty people seen this?

Mind blowing. Astounding. I used this technique to make these and it worked like dream.

Oh I Wish....

2011-03-29T21:53:00.000-06:00

Another One Bites the Dust

2011-03-26T13:06:00.000-06:00

Another project down, one more to go before I can get started on some more.

Ellery in her Easter cardigan. Inspired by this post. Free pattern available here. Not that I followed the pattern. Knitting it seamlessly top down just seemed to make a lot more sense to me.

I finished the knitting at least a week ago. It just took me forever to weave in the ends and block it for some reason. After quite a search, I now have the yarn for Anna's. Time to get started.

Finished I Spy Quilt

2011-03-24T16:06:00.000-06:00

So, I don't really like having a lot of unfinished projects laying around. It makes me anxious and overwhelmed. It also makes me unproductive because I have a hard time deciding which project to commit my time to and often end up working on none of them. April is a craft heavy month with Easter and Samuel's birthday and I just could not start any of those planned projects without finishing up some. So, this is the week for finishing things.

First up, an smallish twin size I Spy quilt for my kids.

I officially started this one in May or June of last year. I was making an I Spy Quilt for another little girl. By far the hardest part was cutting the squares. 150 fussy cut squares from 149 different fabrics (yes I repeated one large scale great print). So, knowing I would never ever want to do that again, I cut two sets at once. After Christmas sometime, I pulled out the second set and I've been working on it slowly ever since.

Once again I could not resist putting some fabrics beside each other.

The Cat in the Hat and goldfish.

Bacon and Eggs

Bananas and a Sock Monkey

A Birthday Girl and the Best Birthday Present Ever.

As you've probably guessed from the pictures, Samuel loves this quilt. Every time I put it on the floor, he is all over it.

I think this is going to be our official outside blanket this summer. I'm imagining lots of playing in the backyard, trips to the park and picnics.

One more crafty note- since this quilt was a keeper, I decided to experiment with something new. Fusible batting. I thought I could forgo the whole crawling around on the floor pinning everything together step. I was hoping for quick and easy. I was severely disappointed. It was not quicker. I spent forever pressing all the layers together. Then, it didn't work. It started coming apart before I even started quilting. I thought I could make it work but ended up having to rip out some of the quilting when the layers shifted and then pinning some places anyway. Thankfully, all the stiffness of the glue did wash out like it was supposed to. I really can't see myself ever using it again. However, I may try basting spray because of several good recommendations.

Spring Break 2011

2011-03-24T15:18:00.000-06:00

Brendan has no classes this week. One of the advantages of being a teacher. Of course, he's been doing a lot of grading, one of the disadvantages of being a teacher. We did manage to take a trip to Boise with another family yesterday. We started off at the Zoo.

Then to one of our favorite restaurants for lunch- Boise Fry Company.

Brendan had the bourgeoisie- fries fried in duck fat and topped with truffle salt. It was like dying and going to french fry heaven. All other fries for the rest of our lives will pale in comparison. Samuel really liked them as well. I had a fantastic burger and sweet potato fries with sea salt and curry pear ketchup. Anna and Ellery had regular old russets with tomato ketchup. Altogether yummy.

We also went to a used book store, a bakery and Hobby Lobby. No pictures from those, unfortunately. It was a fantastic day all around.

Spring Break rocks!

I Might Be Insane

2011-03-16T15:40:00.000-06:00

Meet Scrapbuster Block #1-

And Scrapbuster Block #2-

I'm going to be adding a little more to them and making them into pillows for our living room. I wanted you to show you to them before that. You see, I made these 12 inch blocks as a test. Ever since I saw the tutorials, I've been dreaming of making a quilt using these blocks. Here's the thing- Block #1 requires 48 1.5 inch squares. Block #2 requires 88 1.5 inch squares. And I wouldn't be satisfied with a small quilt. No, I'm thinking about using these blocks to make a queen size quilt for my bed. That's 64 blocks for a 96" by 96" quilt for a grand total of 4,352 1.5" squares. This is, by far the most ambitious quilt I have ever considered. I've made entire quilts with fewer pieces than one of the #2 blocks. Seriously.

Oh, but look at them together. Imagine them in a fantastic riot of color, like in the originals. It would be wonderful. The kind of quilt I would enter in quilt shows and the county fair. After this no other quilt could scare me.

I'm going to do it. My scrap bins are overflowing. I haven't made a quilt for us since we got married almost seven years ago.Just don't expect results anytime soon. It could take me weeks just to cut all the squares. 4,352 of them. Yes, I just might be insane.

In other news that is probably only exciting to me- I now have a design wall.

A queen size cotton quilt batting on sale for half off. An 88 cent package of thumbtacks. About fifteen minutes. It was so completely worth it. No more laying quilts out on the floor and having Samuel crawl through it ten minutes later!

Only a Matter of Time

2011-03-11T10:53:00.001-07:00

Really, with two little girls- one who is the girliest of girly girls, it was only a matter of time before I started making hair-bows. Anna started the whole thing, of course. We have a couple of tiny bows left over from when Ellery was a baby. Anna asks to wear them all the time. Finally, I got tired of her asking, dug into my ribbon box, and made one big girls sized bow (the white one).

Well, they're kind of addicting. We're up to five now. I've been to the store to buy more ribbon. It's to the point that yesterday morning I dressed Anna for school, decided she needed some bows to match and made them before the school bus came.

I see many more bows in our future.

Really, how adorable is that? I found all my hair-bow making tutorials here.

In other hair-related news- it seems Samuel is the most-likely to have inherited the coarse, thick, curly, crazy hair that runs in my family.

His hair is getting coarser- it's already way coarser than either of the girl's. And as it gets longer, he's getting these adorable little curls. I love it, of course.

Quilt Guild Goodies

2011-03-10T22:14:00.000-07:00

Tonight was the monthly meeting of my fantastic quilt guild. I love quilt guild- and not just because it's a child-free couple of hours. Now that the meeting is over, I can share some of the goodies I've been working on this week.

A nametag.

Hand embroidered on gray solid surrounded by 1/2 inch red squares. Oh, those squares were fiddly to work with but I love how they turned out.

I also made a couple of pincushions for a swap. We made two- one from our swapee's scraps and one whatever we could come up with.

The first pretty much matches my nametag.

Susanna's red scraps, my gray solid. Embroidered running stitches in red, pink and white. It's 4 inches square- 1 inch high.

The second I made from selvages with a great safety pin print on the bottom.

I will be making two more for myself. You can never have too many pincushions, right? And the ones I've been using are getting pretty ragged. I could make a tutorial for them while I'm doing it. Anyone actually interested in one?

Feeling the Need to Knit

2011-03-10T17:37:00.000-07:00

I know, it looks like the Blob. It's not easy taking a picture of something while it's still on the needles.

Better? Still all out of shape because of the circular knitting needles, but you can get a better idea. If you followed my links in the last post, it might look faintly familiar.

Picture from Aesthetic Nest. Original post here.
I have been obsessed ever since I saw this picture. Not the outfit on the right- which is the focus of the original post, but the adorable outfit on the left. An elegant cardigan. A simple collared shirt and corduroy jumper. I thought about it non-stop for a day or two and then headed to the craft store.

The free pattern is available here (registration required). But, I'm not following the pattern. It made much more sense to me to knit it top-down and seamlessly. I cast on about two weeks ago and am through the yoke and one sleeve. The goal is to finish this one and one for Anna by Easter. And make corduroy jumpers and maybe simple white cotton eyelet sundresses to wear under them. That's all.

And, I know- it's green. I swore I was done with blue/green. That's why Anna's will definitely not be blue. I'm thinking pink or maybe purple- depends on what yarn I find.

Individualism

2011-03-08T14:57:00.000-07:00

For every parent, there is that moment when you realize your child is not just an extension of you. They are their own unique individual with their own tastes, desires and quirks. Case in point, the cupcake dress.

I don't really like the cupcake dress. While I am not opposed to cupcake printed fabric, I think it belongs more in pajamas or T-shirts rather than Sunday dresses. And its really rather frilly in a Toddlers and Tiaras sort of way. I prefer simple, elegant sort of Sunday dresses. Like this and this and this. But, when Anna saw it in the store it was love at first sight. And her Daddy bought it for her. He was trying to save me the stress and hassle of making Easter dresses. I don't think it worked. Even though she may love the cupcake dress, she is still young enough to be bribed into wearing something else on Easter.

Yesterday and Today

2011-03-07T19:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday-

Gentle rain. Soft breeze. Warm enough to send the kids outside to play in jackets. I noticed the apple tree budding and started planning a garden.

Today-

Bitterly cold wind. Ice and snow. No one wanted to leave the house- Brendan and I included. I put the gardening book back on the shelf and wore sweatshirt and fuzzy slippers all day.

I think the groundhog was wrong.

Gray is the new Blue/Green

2011-03-01T17:43:00.000-07:00

It's time to make it official. Gray is the new color obsession. Which is strange because it's a neutral rather than a real color. It's also out of my usual bright primary color comfort zone. But, I just kept finding myself drawn to it and thinking of all it's color combination possibilities. Dark gray and light blue pillows for the living room. An elegant baby girl quilt in grays, reds and pinks. A mostly gray quilt with the occasional touch of bright green for our bedroom. I am officially smitten with gray.

These lovelies made their way into my stash thanks to a tax refund mini spending spree. It may take awhile to build a good stockpile of gray, though. I am, as I am will all color, super duper picky. No purplish grays or muddy brownish grays for me. Only pure, clear gray will do.

Finished Products

2011-02-28T20:51:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I wonder why I do the things I do. Really. We moved in August. At that time we moved the girls from toddler beds to twin sized bunk beds. Of course, we then needed twin size bedding. Of course, me being me, I decided to make twin size quilts rather than buy them. I could have gone to Target, spent under 50 dollars and had comforters the day we moved. Instead, I spent countless hours, unaccounted money (but definitely way more than 50 dollars) and six months making quilts.

Anna's-

Ellery's-

What do you think? Was it worth it?

More photos of Anna's-

Some more photos of Ellery's-

And of course, seeing these bright lovely quilts and the matching wall-hanging just highlights how drab the paint in their room is.

I really hate painting but it just might be a necessity. What do you think? Bright white? Pale blue?

Sneak Peek

2011-02-27T19:56:00.000-07:00

More to come tomorrow when I can take some decent pictures. I am excited that they went straight from the dryer into use.

Life's Little Curveballs

2011-02-18T13:37:00.000-07:00

I started off the week thinking "My life is in control. I can keep the house clean, the dishes done, everyone fed and dressed and happy and even have a little time to myself. I am the woman!" Well, Life took a look at me and thought "How dare you think you can control me, you insignificant little worm. Take this!" Life's mean like that. This week life threw sickness at us. Ellery started the week with a cold. Samuel started with what we thought was a cold. Then he started running a fever and it was all downhill. My primary job this week was sick, miserable baby holding. He cried whenever I put him down- day or night. I think I averaged about four hours of sleep a night this week. Finally, this morning the fever broke for good and he broke out in a rash. It was a relief. I now know what he has- Roseola, and that it's almost over. Ellery's cold is gone. Anna still has a cough but I can deal with that. The house is a mess, last night dinner's dishes still need done, the kids are all still in their pajamas but I am starting to feel optimistic again.

Progress on the girl's quilts has been understandably slow this week. I basted them on Sunday night and Monday morning. In a normal week, I could have had all the machine quilting done by now and be moving onto the binding. This week-ten minutes at a time, I've managed to finish the bulk of the quilting on Ellery's. I still have to free motion quilt the large border. Haven't touched Anna's at all. That's OK- there is no deadline on these. They'll get done when they get done.

I did manage to make Anna's day before sickness hit. I went to put some yarn away in the bin and found three partially done blankets. They got abandoned when I switched over to quilting as my primary hobby. I stared at them for a while, admiring their yarny goodness and wondering if I would ever get the motivation to finish them. Then I realized- they were perfect doll blanket size. So, they became Anna's. They've been well used this week.

It's nice to see them out of the yarn bin and being put to good use.

Valentines

2011-02-14T13:11:00.000-07:00

Brendan and I aren't really big on Valentine's Day. Mostly, we're not big on over-the-top Valentine's Days. We love each other each and every day. Why go all crazy one day a year? We tend to keep it small and simple- a love letter, pajama bottoms, a special dinner at home. This year we agreed we weren't going to do gifts. Money's too tight, yadda yadda. Of course, we both bought a small little surprise for the other anyway. LEGO for Brendan and chocolate with lovey coupons for me.

Anna, however, is very big into Valentine's Day. So, to appease my little cupid (any because I will take any excuse to make sugar cookies), we made Valentine's cookies yesterday.

Inspired by my recent obsessive watching of Cake Boss, I turned ziploc bags into impromptu piping bags. Way fun. We'll definitely be doing that again.

So, I'll be spending the rest of the day crawling around on the kitchen floor basting the second quilt in two days, making one of Brendan's favorite dinners (Chicken Caesar Salad and homemade bread) and letting the kids do some of their favorite things. Sounds like a perfect Valentine's Day to me.

Ta Da!

2011-02-13T14:31:00.000-07:00

Within the last week or two, Samuel has started pulling himself up to standing. Constantly. On Everything. He's a little standing maniac. Not many steps yet, but I can't help but think they are not too far off.

More Bibs For Samuel

2011-02-08T19:02:00.000-07:00

What can I say? He's one messy boy.

With the fabric bibs and the merit badge bibs and the one non-pink one handed down from the girls, his total number of handmade bibs is now 12. That's just enough to get through a week- if I just take off his clothes instead of using a bib every once in a while and I reuse the ones that don't get too crusty.

Why take the time and effort to make all these bibs instead of buying a whole bunch of cheapo ones from the store? Well, they work better. They're super absorbent. They cover more. The buttons make it easy for me to take on and off but impossible for a baby to pull off- unlike snaps or velcro. They are a quick and easy knit- perfect for working on while watching Pawn Stars obsessively (for example).

And, besides, look at all that bright, cheery cuteness. It makes me happy just to look at them all neatly folded like that. And I could always use a little extra happiness in my day.

These are based on the Baby Bib 'o Love from the book Mason Dixon Knitting. But honestly, I don't really follow the pattern anymore. It's a bib after all. Only a dishcloth is simpler. I cast on 38 stitches with cotton yarn, knit until its longer than I think it needs to be (cotton yarn does shrink, after all) and make some either 9 or 11 stitch straps. A buttonhole and some buttons. Ta Da.

A Quilt for Chloe

2011-02-04T20:53:00.000-07:00

In a perfect world, this quilt would have been gifted along with this one in November. It's for the daughter of the bride, Chloe. So, my niece and the kid's cousin. This is not a perfect world, so I gave it to her today. It's the same pattern as the wedding quilt and has some of the some of the leftover blue fabrics.

It's twin size- something like 64 by 88 inches. My favorite part- the bright borders and binding. It's good that I like it- I have one exactly like in under construction for Anna and one for Ellery with the same fabric set but a different pattern. After that, though, I am so done with the blue and green. It's time for something completely different.

Goodbye Lady Kiwi Jones

2011-02-03T14:02:00.000-07:00

Sure, she made me sneeze, itch and itch some more but she was awfully photogenic.

The Next Generation

2011-02-02T19:00:00.000-07:00

About a week ago, Anna asked me to teach her how to knit. Right after I told her to stop messing with my current knitting project. I apologized for yelling at her and explained that she was really too little to learn how to knit but that I would find a crafty that I could teach her. I dove into the crafty closet and emerged with yarn, a yarn needle and plastic canvas.

Anna was thrilled.

Ellery was jealous and kept trying to steal Anna's. So, I got her some of her own. She's very good at the stabbing with the needle- not so good at the pulling it through.

I was amazed at how long it kept them both happily occupied. Anna's plastic canvas is filling up with all sorts of crazy colorful stitches. She says it is a baby blanket. I'll post a picture when she decides it is done.

Not Dead Yet

2011-01-29T09:49:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know its been a while. No, I have not disappeared. My laptop died. It's actually fine, all except for the power button. Kind of impossible to use a laptop that you can't turn on. It's been over a week now. But, the good news is the part is ordered and hopefully I will have a working laptop again in the next week. And I have got much to show you- Sam's first encounter with spaghetti, the girl's first encounter with embroidery and three quilts in progress. So, keep your fingers the part on order actually works and soon there should be some exciting new blog posts.