Crinkle Ribbon Square for Liam

 News flash. Babies like tags. This was a new one for me . Most things are, concerning babies. You see,  I'm the youngest in my immediate and extended family, so the baby learning curve has been a little more steep for me! In a way it's been cool learning new things right alongside my son! To daily be surprised at the little things he likes and doesn't like. Sure you can read books and talk with other Mom's, but it's been most special learning from and about

My Baby!

Pattern from Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing For Baby

... oh and he really liked it!

still crafting

i was worried that when i had liam i would have no energy or motivation to keep on making things for fun or necessity. and for the first couple of weeks it wasn't even on my radar. but slowly now, i've been using his afternoon nap time with daddy to make stuff we need, like more cloth wipes for liam and this sling that i'm wearing with him.

i have a soft wrap that he sleeps really well in with me, but i wanted to try out a sling because of it's quick accessibility. the maya slings are beautiful, but pretty pricey, so i got some sling rings, fabric and with the help of these two tutorials ( maya website even tells you how to make your own... so generous) maya and ehow, i was able to fashion my own sling for a lot less. 

as with all things, sometimes he likes being in it, sometimes he doesn't, but i had fun making it and when he has a bit more head control i think it will be a great way to hang out together!

crafting some more baby things

 iron on onesies! perhaps my favorite projects, just because it was so quick!

 recycled t-shirt top knot hats.

 of course there are some knit items. i know it's july but it's cotton and who knows, maybe somewhere (definitely not our home) but some where might be really cool?

my love of flag garlands prevails. hand sewn felt flags.

finished projects + bits and pieces of summer here!

 here we go! finished baby quilt! with the help of a dear friend and sowing mentor i was able finish it up in time! what a fun first experience at quilting!

 really loving the fact that my herbs are thriving, besides some pesky snails eating my basil. i think i  have that more under control. if not i planted some in a pot on the porch. got to have basil. it's a summer necessity!

 finished roadtrip photo book. jason and i have been enjoying the journey for a "second" time!

enjoying the beautiful summer so far.

crafting baby things

 just a quick little update. since moving my craft space to our guest bedroom, there has been an increase in productivity! birds for a baby mobile are done. working on some burp cloths and wipes and a few other projects... enjoying this energy at this point. it's very exciting when i actually put these ideas into actions!

progress

just a little update on the quilting front. the top is almost all pieced together after 3 full days of sowing. its coming together wonderfully. i'm really looking forward to putting it in the babies room soon!

quilting 101

it has been a long time desire of mine to learn to quilt. my grammy was such an avid quilter and i cherish the quilts from her. for her, those fabric scraps told stories of her life with a family. scraps from a dress here, a shirt there, no longer able to be worn but with lots of life left in them.

so i've been very blessed to have a friend who is taking me under her wing, to teach me how to quilt. with a baby on the brain, it seemed logical to start with a baby quilt. my friend has such a  great collection of fun vintage looking fabric, it was hard to choose from them all. but in the end we did and here's a little sampling of whats to come!

here's the pattern we're using.

curtain making

 

on friday i spent a better portion of my day making curtains!

they were for the guest bedroom and since we were having a guest this past weekend i felt the need to finally tackle this long awaited project.

simple panel curtains made out of "linen look" attached with curtain clips.i love the airy, light affect it now give this space.

this room, along with every other room, will eventually undergo extensive renovations, but for now     ( as i have to keep reminding myself of)

i can do little things to keep making it feel like a home.

...and on the plus side we already put new windows in this room last fall! one less on the to do list.

tales from my week

we are in project mode around here. we've finished tidying up the flower beds as best as we can this year. we have begun working on our kitchen. not a total rehab, just a little face lift until we have have the resources to go all out on it. i'm very excited to see how far some drywall, paint and a new floor will go. i've been sowing more. i made some presents for my niece's birthday,recently.also i have had some pillows sitting in my sowing area for some time. so with a new burst of creative energy, i worked up a pattern on my own for some slipcover pillow cases. pillows for out swing and new outdoor chairs. light yellow, the kind that bounce a little!

i also got spend an afternoon with my girls ( sister and nieces) at saint peter's village. a quaint town not to far from either of us. we enjoyed an exploration of the surrounding forest and a little bolder picnic.

fall garland

so, i've been eying up this lovely fall garland for most of the autumn season. and with that as my inspiration i finally got around to making my own! i've come to realize that joanns has a limited color supply of felt, but i was still able to find some pretty great colors. jason traced and i cut and sewed them together. all in all it only took about an hours time to make.


and this wall art is what has me inspired this week. all made from toilet paper rolls. check out the how to over at growing up creative. its brilliant!

crafty crafters and stitching

i heart cupcakes! lately i've been opening myself up to a world of crafting i'm not so familiar with and one is cross stitch. so this is my first real attempt at it. i'm pleased. i am going to make other baking/ cooking ones to adorn my kitchen with one day!

these yummy looking treats are from yummy pancake. so cute. my sister, nieces and i went to this awesome flea market, shupps grove. they have local artists come out for crafty by nature the first of every month. yeah for sisters who find the best things ever!

cloth napkins

i'll admit. its been a while since i've done anything very crafty. nothing has been inspirational enough to pick up and work on from start to finish. there is a lot going on right now. i'm busier at the bakery. we have thursday night dinners at our house with a bunch of friends and i'm doing some "on the side" cake projects...

so we had dinner last evening and i pulled out the yellow cloth napkins i have. they're great, i love them, but they are my only pair of napkins. so after dinner, i had some time to rummage through my fabric and come up with these linen napkins. inspiration from here. i love these and someday hope to make the table runner as well.

these flowers are amazing. a little "weed" flower growing between some of are bushes. jason found these and gave them to me in hopes of cheering up my blah day. it worked and craftiness ensued.

scarf reject turned t-shirt

so last week my sister and i had a craft day. i worked on a knitting project, got frustrated, then turned to sowing this t-shirt! i'm pretty happy with its turn out. i re- sized it from a mans long sleeve t-shirt, into a short sleeve shirt/ frock . i had this scarf that i got and realized it didn't lay so nice as a scarf, so i cut it out and sowed it onto the shirt. ta da.
it felt good to sow something. i haven't been able to sow, since my machine was broken, and i was not in the mood to fix it. but hopefully i will sow more again, since i did end up fixing it, with some help from jason!

then my nieces came home from school, and asked me about what i was doing. my niece anja saw my scraps of fabric (the sleeves) and got this brilliant idea to make wristbands for her and her sister. i admit they have some of the best most creative imaginations i know. they are inspirational. so i quick sowed up some wrist bands for them. they were delighted, and so was i at not wasting a scrap of fabric! i would of posted them too, but it was a crappy cell phone picture.

good day.

wintry weekend

i got some fleece material to make a rice bag. jason's sister emily let me use hers recently when we were at their house. i missed having this little bag of warmth and comfort around, for those cold and crampy days.
i pulled out a wintry puzzle on sunday. its been so long since i've sat down to do a puzzle. we spread out on our table, put pandora on, and started a lovely peaceful afternoon, working on the puzzle, and having conversations sprinkled in between the hunting and gathering pieces.