baby boy burp cloths.

The cousin we're visiting in NY had a baby boy last Friday--his name is Lucas. He was a month early! We initially thought we may not be going due to the circumstances, but Lucas' mom says she really wants us to still come. So, we're excited to go and visit and be helpful to the new mama! I made her a few burp cloths with this cool orange fabric... R said it made him think of playing cards, and that made me like it all the more.

I made three burp cloths total, with two just being cotton, and one having terry cloth on one side.

Nice and thin, yet still absorbent! I stitched them inside-out, then pulled them through a small opening I left, and top-stitched all three so the fabric is extra snug.

I bundled them up with a little ribbon I made with scrap fabric... fun. This is something I'd definitely like to make again for any new moms-to-be on my radar. :)

pretty & practical.

Can I just say I love my best friend? She is awesome. She made these produce bags for me as part of my Christmas gift! How cool are these?

She simply sewed a piece of tulle-ish/netting material on the sides to create a bag. They're long enough so that you can just tie the top in a knot after stuffing it with whatever-you-want.  The material is nice and durable.

They work wonderfully, too--I piled them full of veggies this afternoon. The teenage boy who checked out my groceries didn't seem to appreciate them; I kept looking at him like, ehh? ehh? See those bags? Aren't you going to ask me about them? But no. Boys just don't seem to notice these details. But that's okay; they were the highlight of my shopping trip (along with leaving Liv with my folks for an hour while Natalie and I cruised the aisles!).

Thanks friend--pretty & practical. My favorite kind of pretty.

a bit kitschy

But I like it. (I had a boss who used the words "kitschy" and "tchotchkes" all the time... usually to describe homeowner's homes who wanted to be on TV. Loooots of tchotchke homes out there people. As much as I am not a tchotchke person, thinking about it makes me smile a little because it reminds me of her.) Anyway, tada: the new kitchen curtains!

I still need to find some hooks or tie backs for the sides of the window, but otherwise, it's great. So airy and light, with a little personality. They look fun from the outside, too.

My mom came over a few weeks ago, and we cranked these out in under two hours... I did the pinning and ironing, and she did the sewing. So nice. A fun, easy project that gives me false hope that I can do much more complicated projects... ;)

And Raul does like the fabric...whew. He was glad to see those blinds come down. Hasta lasagna, don't get any on ya.

BEFORE

AFTER

it's curtains for the blinds.

I found the cutest fabric at JoAnn's today, and I think it's going to be perfect for our kitchen window. I love the colors, especially the red berries. I was thinking "leaves" when I went to look, you know, something fresh and greenish and spring... actually, I saw this bedspread at Kohl's, and it gave me the idea to look for something in the same vein, but with lots more white in it. So I was surprised when I found myself wanting to bring this home, but I'm excited to give it a try. We'll see what the hubs thinks... What's even better is I scored two yards for $7.99--I left my coupon at home, but the lady at the cutting counter had mercy on me and gave me a flyer with a 50% off coupon. So nice! I told her it made my whole day, which it did.

So here's our window currently, with generic-older-than-the-hills-blinds. My dilemma is that I'm not sure exactly what style I'd like to sew this fabric into...

Here's the fabric hung over the blinds, to give you an idea.

Should I just do a simple hem on the top and put it on a tension rod between the window sills? Or should I hang a curtain rod that extends past the window? My mom suggested a cafe curtain, which would be cute, but I like the idea of full privacy if we want. Grr. Initially I thought a tension rod would be fine, but now I'm leaning toward the curtain rod. Thoughts either way? R may not like the fabric at all, which is an entirely different matter...

...Being indecisive is also what puts these projects at bay. :)

what it's all about.

My friend Alison kindly gave me a little gift this year:

You open the ribbons on top, and it unfolds into this:

"The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." -Romans 6:23

Isn't that clever? She said she didn't have a sewing machine, so she hand-stitched all of it. How sweet is that? And a nice surprise, because I didn't even know she had an interest in sewing or anything like that. I like surprises. I look forward to putting it out every year and showing it to Livvy as we teach her what Christmas really is all about. This year she just chewed on the ribbon a bit. :)

I've found this year to be somewhat simplified--with a new baby, I just haven't had the time or effort to do a lot of the things I normally do. But paring down has been refreshing; I've only put out about half our Christmas decorations, I've only made a couple batches of cookies, and I'm going to be creative with wrapping this year, only using what I already have on hand. I've been thinking a lot about new traditions we can start with our little family, and how to keep the focus on Christ instead of being consumed by busyness and shiny, sparkly things {as fun as they are!}.

I've been reading through some little Christmas books I've collected over the years, and appreciated this entry from David Jeremiah's The 12 Ways of Christmas, taken from the chapters entitled Wonder and Reflection:

A good place to start this year is to spend some time reflecting on the wonders of the true Christmas story. Raise the questions, study the Scriptures, give thanks for what you know, and pray about what you don't. Wonder and marvel at what God has done....

In the darkness with only the twinkling glow of the Christmas tree lights, it's fun to sink into a chair, hand curled around a cup of cocoa, and ponder the ageless wonders of Christmas....

How wonderful to reflect on the timeless story of Jesus, keeping it in mind and pondering these things in your heart {Luke 2:19}.

Amen!

baby cupcakes

As soon as I saw this fabric, I knew I had to make something with it for a friend of mine who just had her sweet baby. My favorite burp cloths for Livvy right now are homemade out of flannel, so I thought I'd pass on the softness. These were easy to make, and turned out as sweetly deilcate as Merjen, the recipient.

Welcome, little one!

handmade for baby - part 2

Sorry this post is so long in coming... It has been a busy last few weeks! Thankfully, I am home now, preparing for little one to arrive. It could be any minute now, which I am so excited about I'm beside myself. More on that later...

For now, enjoy the sewing stylings of Janie, Jennie's mom (see post below), who made me this awesome diaper bag. I love how summery it is, and that it's not too large either--perfect for quick trips when I will want to take Just Enough.

Such detail!

I think Janie AND Jennie should have their own crafting blogs to highlight their work; I'm pretty sure they would inspire lotsa women to get crafty. :)

sew simple...right?

I bought two yards of this fabulous "Tea" fabric a year ago, and I had no clue what I wanted to do with it. It was one of those, "I can't NOT buy this!" buys. (I can't bring myself to say compulsive, exactly, because it sounds too sinister and hurried--I knew I really would make use of this fabric; I just didn't know how at the time...)

I fiiiiinally bought matching fabric a couple of weeks ago, and am planning on working on a quilt this fall so that we have something to snuggle under while watching movies this winter! I am excited as this is my first quilt ever {I really have no clue what I'm doing} and thankfully, I know a couple of very talented seamstresses who I know can help me through it.

I also bought this magazine over a year ago, and have had my eye on this pattern:

It's a simple quilt (sew simple), made up of off-set rows of 9-10 6.5" squares. This puppy will be large, at something like 52" X 70 something". I figure as I start laying out the squares, I may or may not want it to be that big... We'll have to see.

My mom has graciously offered to help, and so last weekend we began with the most tedious task: cutting the squares. Oy. I had no idea it would take so long, even with a circular cutter (which is a wonderful invention, btw...). As with most things, it is better with two, and I enjoyed her company and her patient help. I think I'm going to bring it back this weekend so that we can work on it more, if she feels up to it! It means a lot to me to work on these kinds of things together... more than she knows, I think.

Ah, and a tiny baby bump in our midst... So maybe I should say instead, "it's always better with three?" :)

pleased.

Finally, it's done! I think she'll make a perfect book bag. I'm not so sure about the button--I loved it with this fabric, but I'm not sure it's the right scale. What do you think?

I should've added a snap/velcro to the outside pocket as well, but I was so excited to finish it I kind of overlooked it; it gaps pretty severely if I have anything in it. But other than the button (maybe) and the pocket snap, I think she's good to go. So happy!

Bag front...

Bag back.

And some new fabric for yet another project. Be well!

second breakfast + The Bag

I went for my first outside run last night, and took Dex dog with me. (He was immensely helpful on the hills. :) We went around the neighborhood--about 2 miles, calculated on Google maps!--and I am feelin' it today. I forgot how difficult running outside is compared to the treadmill.

I woke up starving, so I made some peanut butter toast...I'm also looking forward to having some oatmeal with pepitas (punkin seeds), brown sugar, and cinnamon! I'll eat this around 10 AM or so at work. (Did you know that 1 tsp of cinnamon = the same amount of antioxidants in 1/4 cup of blueberries?) I completely appreciate the concept of 2nd breakfast (thanks, Tolkien)--I don't think I could wait until lunch otherwise!

Here's the latest update on The Bag:

I've sewn the bottom on, and sewed the lining... now I need to figure out how to put it all together. I have a feeling I will be unstitching the lining--boo--but I didn't understand the pattern, and Mom and I kind of thought we could figure it out on our own. We'll see; I'm hoping to work on it tonight.

Happy Friday to you! Be well!