I made a...

QUILT!! I made a quilt, a legitimate quilt. I pieced a queen sized quilt last year but chickened out when it came to actually 'quilting' it. For this one, I was determined to do it the right way. I used a template and a rotary cutter to perfectly square up all the pieces, pressed all the seams open, and used hundreds of safety pins to make sure that the layers of batting, backing and top were smooth and flat before quilting. Bingo!

I used Jay Bird Quilts' "Large Dot Party" pattern and it was really simple. I used all prints instead of a single solid color with a few contrasting prints like the directions recommended. I'd like to try that too.

You can see here that P's room is still a work in progress. Lamps with no shades...nothing hung on the walls...no rails on the 'big boy bed.' We are slowly transitioning from crib to bed, I'm waiting to see how he does at night with baby brother's room right next door before I give up the luxury of having him contained. I love, love, love the bed! It's exactly how I imagined it (think Downton Abbey hospital beds :). It's from Pottery Barn Kids if anyone is interested, I snatched it up when they went on sale a couple of weeks ago.

The quilt is backed with a soft, black and white ticking striped, cotton duck (on sale at Hancock's right now) and I used a super low loft batting. I love the back almost as much as the front and will definitely  use both sides, depending on what sheets are on the bed, etc...

One of the things I adore about quilts is how they look after being washed and dried, I think I'll love this one even more after a few washes. There are raw edges around every circular shape. I think it will add a lot of softness and a vintage feel when the edges fray.

P had a ball pointing out animals and toys and colors. I am wild about every single print and tried to keep it playful and boyish, he will be able to use this for years. I used so many prints that I'm not going to list them all, if you have a specific question just leave it in the comments section.

The only shortcut I took with this quilt was to use the backing for a self-binding, instead of cutting bias strips and all that. I like it and don't think it takes away from the look or the quality at all. I totally finished it in 3 nap times, not bad for a twin sized quilt. (Disclaimer: my little guy takes anywhere from a 3 to 4 hour nap-so maybe a 12 hour project)

1) Preparing/cutting/assembling the blocks
2) Piecing the quilt top
3) Laying out quilt sandwich/pinning/quilting/binding

I think he likes it! Cozy!

The last few weeks

Well...I'm still pregnant.

Humongously so...and it's no joke. 38 weeks today. Pray for me.

Since I haven't updated in a while, here are a few things:

Labor Day weekend was a lot of fun. The high school/college girls group got together at Say-Say's farm to celebrate Ashley's birthday and eat ridiculous amounts of food. We stayed up late, laughed a lot, played cards and SOMEONE locked the keys in two different cars at two different times...but you've got to cut a girl some slack on her birthday.

B and C showing off the birthday hats!

Say-Say brought these gorgeous cupcakes from the Bonbonnerie in Cinci. There was one with chocolate mouse and salted caramel that was to die for. She also picked up a couple on sale, those were just ok ;).

(In case you were wondering, we did finish off that entire 9 x 13 of bean dip and a half gallon of guacamole, not to mention a large batch of Pioneer Woman petite vanilla scones.) 

The gals...sans makeup and showers...but that's the way we roll at the farm. 

My baby brother, Jack, turned 18. Crazy! P was all over that birthday cake.

Here I am at the hospital! Don't get too excited. I went in last week because little baby was stubbornly hanging out in breech position. The plan was to turn the baby around and give me a chance to go into labor. So I got there bright and early, got an IV started (in case of emergency), dressed in this lovely robe, and when they rolled in the ultrasound to check baby's position...the little stinker was already head down. Good for him and the practice IV? Everyone had a good laugh and I went home to wait...and wait...

 I've been sewing a pretty fun project, I'll be back with it tomorrow!