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!

Boys and Boots

We went to the lake last weekend with some of our close friends. They have a little man a few months older than P, and these two boys are good buddies. That doesn't mean they don't scream at each other and grab toys and rocks and food out of each other's hands, cuz they do. We had a fun trip, very relaxing--even though none of us got quite enough sleep and the refrigerator/freezer went out while we were there. Nothing some coolers and a lot of ice (with beer on it) couldn't remedy! 

The boys thought it was great fun to knock heads with W and see his reaction.

Here I am with a very sleepy, P. You can sort of see how giant I am, P has to sit alongside my huge belly now.

Swimming feels great when you're pregnant. The wake up call comes when you start to climb the ladder out of the water, and you feel heavier and more clumsy with every step. I'm holding the life jacket down because I can only buckle into the men's extra-large now... in retrospect, maybe that should have been my wake-up call.

I made a baby boot this week. Yes, a single baby boot. I'm trying to get motivated to make the second one, but it's so warm here right now that it doesn't really seem necessary. I think it's cute! I also want to make some in a funkier color. How adorable would these be with little jeans and a plaid shirt or something?!

The pattern is from a shop that I like on Etsy called Two Girls Patterns. This is the second baby shoe pattern that I've bought from them. I like that they carry boy things too, although their little slippers and things for girls are darling. The patterns have great photos and if you've crocheted before, they should be easy for you to follow.  It's sort of hard to see them in my photos, but there are straight and braided cables up the sides (check out Two Girls pic below). So cute and fall-ish.

I love the gray and yellow, hopefully my second pair will look as great as those! Either way, these will keep chunky, baby feet all warm and cozy.

Just Livin' Life

So for my blog, I usually share sewing projects and crafts and such--mixed in with a little bit of "being a mama." A friend, who shall remain nameless, recently asked me to post more about life and what's going on with the fam. A really good idea since I'm giant and I haven't been physically able lately to crawl around on the floor and cut out pattern pieces, but life is definitely moving on!


Here's P getting to know one of his newest buddies. He calls him "Wee-oh." That is not his name.

P was super sweet with the little man, he even shared one of his favorite toys, a solid metal tractor. Did I mention that he chucked it across the room  at  to him? No? Well...

Still, it gives me hope that when new baby gets here, P will be gentle and nurturing...as much as 2 year olds are able. Laying down beside rather than stepping upon a small baby is a great starting point!

My poor Dad (who has never been injured a day in his life) tore something in or around his achilles tendon. This meant a small operation, cast, boot, elevated leg, crutches, a scooter to keep him from weight bearing and my Mom's presence to keep him from doing things like re-shingling the roof while recuperating. We were all able to go out on the boat for a while this weekend. In this photo, P had just been instructing Grampa to "Share" the steering wheel... at least he gets the concept.

We've done a good bit of swimming this summer, it's fun to see P getting more comfortable in the water. He will even put his face partly underwater and blow bubbles!

This is possibly one of my favorite pictures of the year! The cousins together and all smiling, seems too good to be true!

One of my other favorite things: P learning to talk. He's very literal.

Duck=Quack (Photo below is P with his new friend 'Quack,' whom my Mom found at an antique store. He weighs about 20 pounds and has a brass beak. Cuddly.)

Monkey=Ooh Ah Ah

Horse=Neigh (This one sounds particularly realistic.)

Dog=Woos

Swings/Slides= Wee!

Car=Ride (He calls my car "Mama Ride," my husband wants to get me a personalized license plate. I said no.)

I love you/Where are you? = "Ah wah oo!"/"Ah wah oo?" (yes, they are the same)

Fork/Frog: F***

"No barking, Leo."= "No bahkin', Wee-oh!" (He's never heard me say this.)

That's enough for now! Hope you're having a good day!

Knitathon: Chevron Baby Blanket

I finally finished my chevron blanket for the new baby! It actually didn't take that long to knit, but I was scared of binding off so it sat around with one row missing for about 2 months. This fear turned out to be totally unfounded, binding off was a snap!

AND!! I love it! The cotton feels so thick and luxurious.

The colors are so vibrant, especially with the combo of cool colors and warm colors...it's got a little ombre thing going, I think :)

Does this remind anyone else of a sunrise? With the bright orange sun peeking over a serene ocean of blues with white capped waves...

Ok, ok, I'll stop. But really, learn to knit and go make this blanket. You, your baby or the recipient (if you make it for a gift) will be thrilled with the results! 

(Free pattern at Purl Bee. )

Update

Just wanted to pop in and tell you what I've been up to! I'm feeling very blessed to be 33 weeks along today and not in the hospital! My first baby was born at 33 weeks after 8 weeks of full bedrest in the hospital. I thank the Lord every day for my friends and family and many prayers that helped us get through that long, difficult time. Still, I've had to take it very easy the past few days and the sewing has been on hold. I am, however, doing some fun planning and online shopping to get rooms for the baby and big brother squared away. I'm focusing on P's room (that's big brother) first since I'm re-using a lot of my nursery stuff. I bought 6 yards of fabric (Woot woot) in some great colors and prints, with plans for a twin sized blanket and for accent piping/edging for sheets and curtains. Here's one of the fabrics that I ordered from Etsy. Is anyone NOT obsessed with bunting and woodland creatures these days?! I love the grays and orangey reds.

This rug for P's room came yesterday:

Love, love! If you're interested, it came from HERE. I will tell you it looks a little darker gray in real life and since it's woven cotton definitely order a thick rug pad (not just a no-slip deal). I suggest overstock.com for things of that nature, much cheaper and really great shipping prices. I was really luck and the delivery man brought both at once! 

I'll be back soon with some photos of the real thing and hopefully some tutorials on making purchased items like plain sheets and curtains really unique and personalized. Although...baby's plans and my plans don't always line up. Isn't that how life goes? Stay tuned!

Come Visit...

I shared a few weeks ago that I would be guest posting for Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy and Melly Sews for their "Sew in Tune" series. It's been really fun to see what all these creative Mamas have come up with so far and great to get some new ideas for boy projects. If you haven't already been following, take a look! My post is going up over at Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy this morning! Check it out, P and I had a lot of fun with this...there may even be a super simple, summer recipe involved.