shopping

I went shopping this afternoon. Look what I got...

The orange, green and purples are added to my collection of Eric Carle Very Hungry Caterpillar stuff. My collection started at Christmas time with the panels & blue numbers. Now I'm hunting down some more to make a twin size quilt. I've heard there's some Brown Bear Brown Bear too. I'm a huge fan. (Did I mention I was a children's librarian? I have Curious George in the bathroom, though that may be soon changing to Dr. Seuss, and the nursery has tons of children's book art in it.) HUGE fan.

This bunch of stuff is going to be something for my son. I'm going to go through my stash for some reds & yellows to add a little color. Then I'm going to paper piece a couple instruments - an acoustic, an electric, and probably some music notes and stuff. I love paper piecing but haven't done any of that in a while. I'm looking forward to getting back to it. It's fussy work and very detailed, but so fun and rewarding!

pillows to be

A friend of mine wants me to make tooth fairy pillows for her two kids (who coincidentally have the same letters of their first name as my kids' names).
What do you think?

(The funky dark spot on the top right of the C pirate pillow is due to a water/iron mishap. And honestly, I'm too tired to wait for it to dry, take another picture, blah blah. It is what it is.)
She wanted something plain and simple for her son (who LOVES pirate stuff) and something girly for her daughter. That one was more fun. It's got a pretty, delicate little trim around the princess picture, it's a TOTALLY soft fuzzy pink fabric, and then the pocket is minkee embossed with roses. (Her middle name happens to be Rose.) Their initials are cut out of felt and just stitched down the middle. Have you seen all the crazy felt out there? Embossed, tie-dyed, polka dots - not just plain anymore. Wow.
Now I just have to get some stuffing and they'll be done.

My son - he always surprises me. We were working on another (much more boring) pillow for daddy a couple days ago (when I used up my stuffing) and we were talking about his upcoming birthday. I asked him if there were any presents he really wanted. He said "I want more stuffing so I can make more pillows for daddy." How sweet is that??!!!

On a sour note - my machine seems to be possessed. I was quilting and it FIVE TIMES decided to turn off & on again in rapid succession. I cut the thread and turned it off. I haven't gone back. I'm contemplating my next move. WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THAT THING? (I'm still recovering from the insanity of the needle-breaking fiasco.)

tutus and bags and static guard

Well, I am NOT a girly-girl. My favorite color is blue, not pink. I don't wear make-up, I don't do fancy hair things, and I don't wear high heels.

But I am in LOVE with this bag. Two daughters of a friend of mine received similar ones for Christmas, and I thought "I can do that!!!" - so I did. today. One afternoon - that's all it took. My kind of project.
It took a ton of Static Guard for me to wrangle the tulle into submission, but it worked. Next time I think I'll try the Hobby Lobby spools of tulle rather than large yardage off a bolt. Either way, tulle is not my favorite fabric to work with!
I am not really happy with how the bow worked out - I just am not a bow making girl. I wish I could figure out a better way to make and attach it. I'm not a huge fan of hand-stitching, but I may have to resort to that.
But doesn't it look like fun? Perfect for little girly-girls everywhere. I can't wait to share it with the little girl who will be taking it to dance class.

green marshmallow fluff

How sweet and cuddly is this? The green fluffy fabric makes a perfect jumper for winter cuddles. The facing at the neckline is made with a polka dot flannel. This jumper was made with green floral buttons.

This pattern ended up being a lot fuller and fatter than I planned. SO instead of being a new dress for my cousin, it goes to my niece. She's a different body shape than my lean girl!

going fishing, finally

OK. So here we go.
I'm gonna do it.
Really I am.
Changing the settings after this post.
I'm going to turn my crazy random ramblings into an internet sensation.

Well...ahem...maybe not an internet sensation - but at least I'm going to join the ranks of NUMEROUS other crafty folks out there sharing their ideas, thoughts, projects and lives.

Let me introduce myself by letting you backtrack a little...
check out my "naming" post and my "loves" post.
and the "fishing" post.

My disclaimers before you bookmark or blog-roll me...
1. I don't take fabulous pictures.
2. I am an erratic blogger. I don't even put pictures with every post. *gasp*
3. Sometimes I'm crabby. And I'm not afraid to vent about it.

However.... I am excited to join your world.
Hi!

candy land

My son just recently discovered Candy Land. I'm sure many afternoons of mind-numbing boredom are to come, but for now we're having fun. The colors, the candy - what's not to love?! I think he's starting a love affair with Princess Frostline. I just laugh at Grandma Nutt.

In the past I've tried some spin-the-dial-count-the-number games but it's just too tiresome for him to count out the squares. Especially Chutes and Ladders - not only does he have to count out the squares, but the grid system is just entirely too much for him to handle. He needs a straight and narrow path. (hmmmm the story of his life?!)
I should probably try again with some of our other games. He's been REALLY into counting things lately and using my measuring tape. Now if only I trusted him with a rotary cutter I could really put him to work.

I'm also thinking about lots of variations of Candy Land... at this point they're mostly fabric related. They make a bunch of versions of Monopoly - why can't we tweak Candy Land a little? Make it more exciting for all the crafty moms out there? Can't you just see it now... Moda Land... Anybody up for a game or two?

sunday stuff

I've been meaning to post a picture of Grace's quilt top. Then I realized I only had one not so great picture. Here it is. I may come back later and edit when I can get a picture of it on her bed.


I also was able to spend time on one of my other crafty interests - card making. Conner & I started working on his valentines. He BigKick cut out all the hearts, arranged them on the cards, added stickers, and picked out a color of glitter glue for me to initial for each of his preschool friends.

I also finished making his birthday thank you cards. I finally got the Inkadinkado stamp set, but then just didn't really leave myself enough time to play with it adequately. It will be fun to do more stuff in the future with this set!

The insides will be nice too - I can write "Dear Grama and Grampa... YOU ROCK! Thank you for...." and then he can put a big C under the ROCK STAR stamp to sign it.



***I think it's pretty interesting that at church today the minister preached about being "fishers of men". My son's choir sang a song (and he's been singing it non-stop the rest of the day). Not sure what it means yet, but I'm adding it to my thoughts for the day. Should I go fishing? Still deciding...

fishing

I saw a post about someone making fish and a fishing pole. I made about a dozen funky fabric fish with magnets inside, and will soon be making the pole. One more goody for the soon-to-be-4 yr. old. My husband's out getting a dowel for the pole part, so I decided to sit down at the computer and waste some time. Logical, I know.

And I was sitting here thinking - I do a lot of fishing.

Mind you, I HATE the idea of sticking bait on a hook and sitting there waiting for some slippery nasty-smelling thing to flop in my lap. I like the sitting by the water part, that's about it.

But I do a lot of fishing. Fishing for help, fishing for compliments, fishing for attention... Like today. I said "when you take them to Home Depot to get the dowel..." and he said "Oh, I thought I was only taking Conner." uh. NO - take them both, why don't you? Fishing fishing fishing.

I have also told my husband how sometimes I don't feel appreciated enough (I'm type A control freak first child EXTROVERT) who used to work out of the home at a job that gave me lots of pats on the back. Nature of the beast is that doesn't happen now. So, instead of just finding the inner beauty and joys of parenthood on my own, I have to ask for compliments. All the time. Fishing fishing fishing.

So, I decided to blog to get my thoughts out. But I keep them private, because who'd want to read the ramblings of a stressed-out type-a-control-freak mom who just wants to sew?!!! Then I received a 2nd shout-out today from someone suggesting that I make my blog public, or at least give them an invite so they can read it. Is it fishing if I go public? Cast out my line (or whatever the right term is) and maybe somebody will be nice enough to say... yep, been there. You think two kids is crazy, try 6. Or yeah, your hubby's schedule is crazy - mine's been deployed for a year. (did I mention sarcasm is one of my stronger traits?!)

Or maybe somebody will say... yeah we all have crazy lives... isn't it fun to be crafty... let's just try and enjoy the ride.
Maybe I'll even listen.

coming up

So... my son is almost 4. wowie kazowie. It surprises me and amazes me and shocks me when I say "my almost-four year old". When did that happen? I spent today working on a couple things for him - - - guitar flannel pajama pants, appliqued tank top and tee shirt - - - and a onesie dress for my daughter. I wish I could figure out the reverse applique process. I got pretty frustrated with how it turned out on the onesie so I abandoned that plan and just did it the "regular" way for his two shirts. Oh well. I'll have to keep trying.

His birthday party theme is "ROCK STAR" so that's why I went with the cool guitar stuff. I also emblazoned the shirt with "rock on" - should be pretty cool. Her onesie dress is made with the same material, so she'll be all set to go for the party. Too cute.

I also spent some time yesterday at the sewing machine repair shop. Ugh. Again. Just a week after an $80 tune-up. This time was much more helpful. Even though I spent about the same amount, this time it was only on supplies. yay. I hopefully solved some of my large embroidery problems, and learned about a feature on my machine that I didn't even know existed. Phew. So much easier finishing up that towel.

Now I just have to gear up for the week. Sometimes I just dread Monday mornings. I've got to get over it. Monday morning is still going to come. I've got to come up with something to make it more appealing. Maybe a trip to the grocery store....??!! ha ha ha.
Well - at least Tuesday will be an interesting day!!!!

this weekend

My weekend.

My son isn't napping.
My daughter's long nap for the day was this morning.
It's been snowing since before I woke up.
My sewing machine's in the shop and I have at least 10 orders waiting.
My husband is gone. Skiing. Until tomorrow night.
My daughter keeps crawling for the toys that AREN'T ok for her to play with.

I have pizza in the freezer!
I have chocolate!
I have a truck to drive!
I have a son who wants to BigKick-it with me!
I have a daughter who can crawl! She turned 9 mo. yesterday. How did that happen?!
I get to take my kids to church tomorrow!
I have a son who loves Matchbox cars and playmats in his bedroom!

I feel like singing Facts of Life's theme song... you take the good, you take the bad, you take it all and there you have... Unfortunately it is now mixing up with the lime and the coconut shaking song, thanks to a friend on Facebook.

happy new year

I decided to start the year off right... and my husband agreed that was a good idea. So I've been trying to stay in craft-land as much as possible, and I have a lot to show for it. yay.
Turtle quilt top for my new niece. My sis-in-law picked the pattern and fabrics. We're going off a Quiltmaker magazine design, but with our own fabrics. I think it's pretty cute. Lovin' the blue vibe!
My sis-in-law did the quilt top and I'm going to quilt it together for her. I've got lots of swirls and stars in my brain, we'll see how it turns out.
Princess Grace's pillow top. The fairy wand/ princess design was something I bought - and I'm SO happy with how it stitched out. Too cute for my darling niece.

I also made my son's ROCK STAR birthday party invites, but forgot to take a picture. I'll try and remember to get one back from my mom. My husband said they're the best ones yet (out of 4, not bad). I think it's just cause he likes the Guitar Hero vibe.