The start of some baby sewing

These can be July finishes #2 and #3...even though they're new projects : )

When I was pregnant with my other two kids I didn't have the sewing bug.  So I never made them anything really. 

Now that I kindof know what I'm doing and like to do it, I've started making a couple things for the new lady that I *hope* will be here in less than 5 weeks (I'm 35 weeks now and the earlier she shows up the better!).

I made 5 bibs on Saturday from this free download by Heather Bailey.  Super simple and great stash busters.  I'll be making many more, especially since there's a gazillion pregnant people I know right now...

Then I downloaded the newborn geranium dress pattern (also free) and made two of those! I have one more cut out too.

I have the real pattern and will make some more in bigger sizes soon, but come on, these are so small and adorable, and FAST to make that I might make a few more of these first. 

I still don't have any inspiration for a quilt for the baby, but maybe that'll show up later?  We'll see.  This baby sewing is fun though, and quick!

Something EXCITING and my Sunburst Granny Square Blanket

**I have declared July as my "Finish It" month since I'll be too huge and tired and hot to do much of anything except continue to grow a human, so I'm very pleased to introduce you to...

July Finish #1

I wanted to try something new recently and I'm happy to say it's turned out pretty well!  And I'm way proud of myself for two reasons.

1.  I get nervous trying new things because I get really intimidated really easily.  Especially by pattern speak in a craft language I'm not familiar with like crochet and knitting.  But I figured it out and I'm definitely going to try another pattern soon.

2.  I've been pretty dilligent in keeping the progress going instead of letting it sit in the corner and allowing myself to get distracted by something else.  If you came to my house you'd understand...I'm not super great at finishing...starting things I'm aces, of course...

I mentioned in another post, but here is the link again for the tutorial on the blog Nittybits (aren't those pictures luscious?).  Yes, I had to refer to the videos multiple times, and read the directions even more than that, but now I think I'm fairly confident I could make another blanket without much trouble. 

I think the coolest part is turning the round sunbursts into squares.  It's so fun, so for this first one, I made them all into squares and then joined them together using this tutorial on Attic24and I'm pretty happy with how it looks.

Here's the finished blanket!  And it didn't take forever!!  It's about 42" x 37" so it's not huge.  8 squares x 7 squares.  It's got a great weight to it and will be perfect for chilly Idaho winter nights with the new baby.

You can't see, but I'm patting myself on the back!  Yep, this one I'm keeping for sure. 

Here's the something exciting: my husband managed to snag a GA position for grad school!!!  This is awesome because it pays for his tuition and provides a small stipend (extra $$) to go with.  Pretty darn wonderful not to have to worry about THAT anymore!  Not to mention he'll get to teach and have valuable experience for his resume and make more connections and it's so good.  It's pretty rad news! 


Hope you all had a very happy 4th of July! 

Zooey Goes to the Beach is finished!

I finished something!!  Actually it's been sitting done for about 2.5 weeks now and I'm finally getting around to blogging about it.

I finished this top last spring and now it's finally a completed quilt!  I hand quilted this one, so that's my excuse for why it took forever to finish.

The pattern is from Lu and you can find it here in her Etsy shop.  It's a wonderful pattern, and perfect for displaying favorite prints.

I backed this one with a duvet from IKEA that is super soft and snuggly, and a gorgeous soft print I wish they still made.

This one measures 55 1/2" x 67" and is available in my Etsy shop here.  I wish I could keep it but as the Mr. rightly points out, I can't quilt the entire house...so I've got to part with some of them, as hard as it is to do.

I've got about a month and a half left until baby #3 gets here so the list of Things To Finish is prominent in my brain.  On to the next one!!

Finished birthday quilt

I finished this quilt at least two weeks ago and finally got some pictures of it.

This was a gift I made for my step-dad's 75th birthday.  This is the one I took with me on our trip, and then didn't get to work on while we were there?

(Pardon the bad intruding digit...) But it's done now, and I really really love it.

All the fabrics are from Denyse Schmidt, mostly her DS Quilts collections for JoAnn's.
I cut up a bunch of 5" charms of everything DS I could find in my stash, and then cut a bunch of those into 2.5" squares and made 9-patch blocks sashed with white.

Simple, and lovely.  Then, this quilt practically begged to be straight line quilted, so that's what happened.  The effect is super snuggly, and totally worth it even though it takes a while to get it done.

I was too lazy to measure it (plus the belly is getting in the way these days...) but it will hopefully be good as a reading quilt.  My step-dad reads more books than anyone I've ever known, so I'm hoping it will get lots of use.  Plus, it'll be nice to go "visit" this quilt whenever we go to my parents house!

Little Gentleman Fancy Bow-Ties

I made more "Fancy Bow-Ties" for Matthew back at the start of May.  I just realized I never posted about them!  He's got a nice little collection now and likes to pick one each Sunday to wear to church.

While I was at it, I cut muliple pieces from each fabric instead of one, and made a few of each.

I've listed the "spares" in my Etsy shop.

This is not my own pattern, I made them from this free tutorial you can find here.  They are really quick to make, but sometimes it's easier to get them made by someone else.  Plus they're adorable so it's a win-win.

**For reference, Matthew is 4 years old and these fit him with room to spare.  I cut the velcro a little longer (1.5" or so) so that they'll be adjustable for a while as he grows and last a little longer.  Plus, since the band is tucked into the collar of his shirts you can't see the velcro part. 

Trying new things...

The weekend went fast, as usual, and it's Monday again. 

I'm 32 weeks pregnant now and have reached that stage where bending over is just not comfortable, but fortunately I've got two little helpers (and one very patient husband) so we're all pretty excited to meet the little peanut!

Anyway, end of last week and over the weekend I decided to try a couple new things. 

I really admire people who have skills with yarn.  I can only do one crochet stitch that someone taught me at church in college.  I've made blankets with lots of...um, character, but nothing fancy.  I have trouble counting so I usually avoid patterns.  Sometimes I count backwards mid-count or skip numbers, even if I'm counting aloud... what can I say, I'm just not a numerical person...

I wanted to learn to make a crochet sunburst granny square blanket after seeing such gorgeous pictures on Instagram (mainly from @insidethepaperbox or visit her blog here) and decided to give it a try.  Even though you do have to count. 

I followed these instructions found at nittybits here and so far it's coming along.  I'm trying to get it done before it gets lost in a corner somewhere so you'll be seeing many more yarn pictures.

I picked up a button making kit at JoAnn's (less than $4 I believe) and followed the instructions on the back as a break when my brain started hurting...

My gosh these are so EASY!!!  and so darn fun to make.  They turn out so cute!  But I have no idea what to do with them now.... Besides stare at them obviously. The car and the strawberry are my favorites.  And the snail too. 

I'm pretty proud of myself for trying something new! Here's hoping the rest of it turns out!  I'll keep you posted.

How was your weekend?  Have you tried anything new recently?

finally friday...

I really shouldn't complain, I have awesome pregnancies.  But holy smokes I'm so tired! 

We came back from our trips and weeks of upturned schedules with colds/coughs and though mine is small, it's keeping me from getting any good sleep at night so the rest of the family is really hearing about it during the day!!

I'm not as productive as I'd like to be, which is super frustrating as I know my time is limited...

Anyway, I gifted a quilt to my best friend/sister during our vacation and wouldn't you know it?  I didn't take a single picture of the finished thing....So this is what it looked like as a top.  It's mostly Moda Blue Raspberry solid, and Pat Bravo's Summerlove for Art Gallery with a few other prints thrown in.  The pattern is one from Camille Roskelly. 

The back was more bigger pieces of Summerlove, the last of the Blue Raspberry, and a big strip of white.  I hate making backings...it's so tricky... I cut up even more Summerlove and did a scrappy binding that looked pretty awesome.  And she LOVED it so that was the best part, of course!

I'm working on getting this one done next to mail to my step-dad.  Yes, we were just there to celebrate his 75th birthday (the surprise party was a huge hit, btw, and the whole trip was fantastic!), but I didn't get it done in time....

I've since filled in those rows with more white, and got it basted yesterday.  I kindof want to keep it but I've got enough DS fabrics to make another one just like it. 

I'm so glad it's the weekend!  Such a sigh of relief.  We just picked up the Mr. from work (his birthday is next week!) and he has already taken the kids to the park so I can make dinner in peace!  Nobody took a nap today and everyone neeeeeeds one, so that was fun.  

Oh! And one more thing....Happy National Donut Day!