Wednesday, July 24, 2013

just wednesday

Well, I'd love to say I have a sweet baby picture to show you, but it is early yet and I am still {impatiently} waiting. I have decided to opt out of the wip's today because not only have I not sewn a stitch, I don't particularly want to and I think making that list will just stress me out. So, what have I been doing? Well...

*We celebrated our 4 year anniversary, and even got to go out for a lovely brunch together

*I got an amazing prenatal massage and a pedicure because I obvously have some of the best friends ever

*I did some knitting....while watching clueless and saved by the bell naturally

*I've been reading...currently working on Lord Edgware Dies, which is a Poirot novel by Agatha Christie. I love her and am currently working my way {slowly} through all the Poirot mysteries.

*I have done a lot of walking, and plan to do a lot more to help this baby out. Even if it is ridiculously humid and hot out.

*I signed up for the Penny Sampler that Rachel over at Stitched in Color is offering. I don't even care that it starts August 19th and I will have a newborn, I just love the quilt and am pretty excited. I can't wait to gather up some fabric. I am hoping I can manage the relatively slow pace, but either way it will be good and someday I will end up with a finished quilt.

*There has been much planning of future projects and dreams of fabric to buy :)

And I guess that's about it. I am keeping myself busy and hoping this baby is ready soon. Not to sound impatient, it's just that she's already been giving me contractions on and off for days, so I hope that it either stops and waits or turns into labor soon. Also, I desperately miss bending, so there's that. Either way it won't be too long now. So that's my little update. How is everyone else? Having a good summer I hope!

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

WIP Wednesday {7.17.13}

Once again, not a whole lot to report this week. I keep getting distracted during naptime by things like reading, or just sitting down, so I just have not been making as much. But at least I am feeling ready for baby and I am pretty excited about this upcoming weekend which will involve a much needed massage and pedicure, and an anniversary outing, so I have that to look forward to :) Anyway, what I did manage....


knit hat - trucking along on this, slowly but surely.



security blankets - I cut these out, I just need to make the binding for them....and I am hoping I have enough. I love this double gauze though, it is so soft and lovely!



bed quilt for neighbor - we managed to sort the fabric and prioritize favorites, so now I need to plan and cut.
baby stuff - hooded towels, washcloths, wipes, security blankets, burp cloths, voile/flannel blanket, t-shirts, decorated onesies, bibs, booties
pony club quilt - I would love to make some blocks at some point...
hexies - I started to lay them out but didn't like it, so now I need to figure out a new design to do with the hexies....so until then, I am pretending they don't exist.
wedding quilt - good thing the wedding isn't until october!

So yeah, not much in the way of progress being made, but hey, growing a kid counts, right?? I'll just keep seeing what I get done and not worry about it. Hope everyone is having a good week!


WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

Monday, July 15, 2013

not much

Is this weekend really over already? I would love to say I had a productive weekend, but at least it was pretty relaxing. We are mostly just getting ready for baby, and now that I have officially reached full term, she is welcome to join us whenever she would like :) We spent yesterday hanging at the beach for the morning which was lovely. I do have a ton of things I would like to make, but I still feel pretty unmotivated to sew, and none of it is crucial at this point. I do have a couple of things I hope to sit down and do in the next couple of days, but generally I am really enjoying my knitting right now. I would much prefer to lounge in my bed with the fans on to sitting in the hot little room my sewing machine is in.

Consequently, I have made a bit of progress on my hat. I am totally loving it, even if I know that I will have no need for a hat for months still.



I am debating making a baby sweater too. I found a really easy pattern for a little wrap sweater, and I figure if I start it soon and make the 6-12 month size, I might have it done in time for her to wear. I even have yarn already, so I just have to finish my hat and decide to do it. And maybe if I can manage that, I can start the sweater for me when I am done. Anyway, I am going to go do a lot of walking over the coming days/weeks and encourage this child to come out sooner rather than later ;)  And hopefully I'll have at least a little something to report of the sewing front by Wednesday!

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

WIP Wednesday {7.10.13}

Well we are covering two weeks of ground this week since I skipped out last week, but it's still not very impressive. I have a ton of things I want to do, but I am so tired and unmotivated that I'm not sure any of it will get done any time soon. Still, I am trying to be patient with myself and relax more. This means that instead of any of the gazillion baby projects I would like to do, I spent yesterday starting to knit myself a hat since I could do that in a more comfy spot.

baby t-shirts - I made 4, 3 of which are for me and one to send to a friend. I love them a little, I just hope they fit.



bed quilt for my neighbor - I finally drew it out...now I have to run it by her to make sure she likes it and then figure out how I feel about the y-seams that I managed to get in there.



knit hat - I have had the yarn for this for ages now and since I have been getting the urge to knit, I figured I would do this since it should be pretty quick and easy and I can do it lounging in bed or on the couch when my back is killing me. This fall I think I am going to start a sweater though. Maybe. If I am brave.



baby stuff - hooded towels, washcloths, wipes, security blankets, burp cloths, voile/flannel blanket, t-shirts, decorated onesies, bibs, booties
pony club quilt - I would love to make some blocks at some point...
hexies - I started to lay them out but didn't like it, so now I need to figure out a new design to do with the hexies....so until then, I am pretending they don't exist.
wedding quilt - good thing the wedding isn't until october!

So we'll see what I actually feel like doing and what I get around to. I am seriously considering just trying to get that quilt top for my neighbor done before the baby gets here, but I don't know yet. I am probably going to at least make a set of booties for this fall and I have security blanket fabric on the way to me, but other than that, I don't have any baby things left that absolutely must be made. My list does manage to keep growing though, what with my little one asking for another quilt and a blanket for her doll, etc. but I will get around to it eventually. Hope everyone is having a good week!!


WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

Monday, July 8, 2013

birthday dress!!

Well that was an unexpected little break there. I am still here, and I wish I could say I was getting a lot done, but I'm not really. I am hoping this week will be different, but I guess we'll see. At the moment I am tired, I am unmotivated, and I have been trying to just relax and get ready for this little one. Less than a month to go! I do still hope to cross a number of things off my list (which seems to keep growing....although I guess most of them are someday projects at this point). I really want to make a quilt but honestly, it's just not so fun with a big belly in the way, so that is on hold.

Anyway, as my sweet little love turned 3 last week, I thought I should go ahead and show off her birthday dress.I don't know how long she'll want me to make her a special dress for her birthday, but I think I'm going to do it for as long as I can. We finally got some family pictures done yesterday too (after being rained out last time we tried) and she proudly wore her dress for that as well, which is always a good feeling. I used simplicity 2265 which I got at Joanns when they were $1, and a lisette fabric with a white sheet for a lining. I should have known when I went to figure out how much fabric I would need that it wasn't going to go well. Instead of telling me how much I needed, they give you mix and match yardage which you have to figure out depending on the options you are choosing. I think they wanted me to buy something like 3-4 yards of fabric to make a little dress for my 3 year old. I ended up getting 1.5 yards which was perfect, partly since the print wasn't directional or anything.



I used piping for the little detail in the front and some cool buttons I had lying around from who knows what. It took me forever to figure out how to do the lining and get that right, but in the end it works. I decided to topstitch the final lining piece in because, well, it didn't seem worth the hand sewing. And then I got it finished and tried it on her and it looked like she had wings or something. No lie. I am pretty sure I took in at least 2" on each side...in very scientific fashion which involved me clipping the sides where I wanted them and then sewing from the top down to the skirt. The gathers hid it pretty well and actually, now it's a bit on the tight side but I was too lazy to redo it again. It made a huge difference though and it looks so much better when it fits. I made her the size 3 too, so I'm not even sure what size bodice I would have needed to have it fit. It might have worked out in that size if it had sleeves, but this version was just not working without being taken in.




The moral of the story is really that I need to stop buying simplicity patterns because they are never easy to understand and it takes me forever to decipher them. I'm sure I'll fall into the trap again, but for now I will tell myself that I won't. On the plus side, the dress is really super cute and she loves it so I guess that makes it worth it. Now I need to go motivate myself to make some more baby t-shirts. They are all cut and I sewed up one, so I think I can manage it....if I don't get distracted by laying down or something :) Man, shouldn't I be nesting or something?!?! Soon maybe?? Here's hoping for a productive week!