the big and the little

you know emma is going to be a big sister, but we dont know if shes going to have a little brother or sister. so shes just going to have a little. i had another ultrasound and the tech gave me a due date of june 10. this morning matty called me and said dr anstine wants to go with the 7th as my due date. that was the date by my count, so i am perfectly okay with going with it!

so, i am ten and a half weeks pregnant today, and the little is growing and growing. twenty nine and a half more weeks, and the big and little will get to meet. i cant wait.

a long break

i have several things to show you, lots really, but my laptop passed out on me and until we get around to getting it fixed, i wont be able to show you anything. so, expect a long break, and when my screen starts working again, i will bombard you with cuteness. :)

pooh blanket

this is a super quick way to make a cute baby blanket. usually people use a pannel to make these, but when i saw this pooh fabric, i couldnt resist because it matches my nephews nursery perfectly, and it even looks like it has quilt squares!



you need your front fabric, like i said, usually a pannel but chose whatever
fleece for backing
and usual sewing things

first i cut the front so that the design lined up close to square, then used it as a template tot cut the fleece.



then sew the two pieces together right sides together, but leave an opening large enough to turn it right side out.
i clipped the corners, so they wouldnt be so bulky once it was turned.



using fleece, this isnt necessary, but so that the cotton doesnt fray too much, i decided to go ahead and serge the edges. this step can be completely skipped though, it really isnt necessary.



turn it right side out through the opening you left.





now you get to choose how to make the blanket unique. i chose to hand quilt around the edges, and around the little bees and honey pots and cherries to hold the two pieces together. you could stitch around just the edge, or tie it, or whatever you choose.
so, i pinned the front and back together to hold them while i stitched.



i used brown thread around the little pictures, and cream thread around the outside edge.







to give it to my sister in law, i just folded it up so that the cute little stitches showed on top. and thats it! quick, and cute.

hats, again

i finally finished the hat i hat picked out months ago. emma isnt a bit hat kind of girl, unless we are out and about and she forgets she is wearing it. but, here it is, and on her head no less!







baby knows how to model different elements of the hat too apparently. here is a peek at the inside.



it can be worn inside out too, but i think its cuter with the fleece on the outside. :)

the pink blanket

just a few pictures of the finished blanket. i decided to give it to rachel for norah after i saw her nursery photos, it just seemed to match!





i tied it up with a braid of the same yarns i used to crochet it, and delivered it to her at work. that way she wouldnt have to unwrap it to see what it was.

about a baby (and her sibling!)

today is the ultrasound, i am six and a half weeks pregnant. emma and the baby will be almost exactly a year and a half apart. you know that with emma, we tried for two years to get pregnant. because of that, we decided that at the earliest, now would be good, and if it took some time again, then at least we wouldnt have wasted time by waiting quite a while to start trying. i dont know if that is clear or not, but my point was, what a blessing to get those little blue lines the first month that we started trying.



the morning of september 30th, i saw the faintest of lines. i asked jason if there were even really two lines rather than one. today we are praying that everything is okay with the baby in my belly, and that we get a little peek at the munchkin in there.

homemade halloween part two

i finished up the details on the halloween tops for jason and i. i let him choose what we would be for our sunday school class's fall party, and of course, he chose pirates. of course.

i went to goodwill, and bought two whiteish very large men's button downs. one long sleeve, one short. i also bought a pair of pleather pants. i did some cutting and then taking apart, then layed all the shirt peices and a few extra strips of white muslin in a sink full of boiling water, coffee grounds, and tea bags for several hours. jasons shirt is in tact, except for the sleeve hems, and i took off the pocket. i cut the neck and sleeves off of mine, and used elastic thread to shirr the neck and arm holes for a little but of a ruffle. the fabric ruffles you see on both shirts are form the sleeves of mine, and the strips of muslin that i cut.

i cut apart the pants, and used the fabric to make my vest, which is pretty true to the pattern except that i took off several inches from each side of the front inorder to leave room for lacing it up rather than buttoning. i used... okay so i cant find the pattern right now, but im pretty sure it was a new look pattern.



both shirts need washed again so really fray up the cut bits, especially jasons sleeves, which were cut after the first washing. they wont look quite so funky after its gone through the wash again.



i should mention, that jason will have a sashy belt type thing, made from scraps of the pleather, and also fake suede that i will have after i make my skirt. its just not made yet.



and here is mine! i havent decided yet of ill let it go off the shoulder, or not. it will fit either way, but i think ill wait to see how it looks with the skirt (which is not made yet.)







i am looking forward to our party, and the fact that i wont have to make costumes for us again! these will just live in the closet for a while. and if im pregnant over halloween again, ive always got my pumpkin sweater. :)



(i was shaped like a pumpkin, so i thought it was fitting. and there is the little monster, as a baby! we matched. :)

home made halloween part one

i thought it would be just too cute to dress emma and her cousin up as pebbles and bamm bamm for halloween this year and sarah indulged me. i finished jesses costume on thursday and finally finished emmas today (it just needed buttons and some snipping!) so here they are!



i couldnt find the orange i wanted, so i dyed some white muslin orange. the fur is from the stash of fabric mom sent me home with in august, and i bought black felt for the triangles. the whole thing snaps together and apart (the fur from the shorts, and the bone from the fur) and he has a club to match that isnt in the picture.



then, there is emma, my little pebbles. jason helped pick out the fabric for her dress, which i left long so i can later cut off the jagged edge and hem it up as a regular dress for her. i love the pink buttons and orange thread.





the pink bloomers are from a dress andie gave emma this summer, so i didnt have to make any!



i attached her bone to a white bow headband and just stitched over the bow. she doesnt have enough hair for a pony tail so the head band will have to do. she is still wearing it too, so it must not bother her.





and, a cheesy grin from my little girl. such cute kiddos!

little green dress

i finished the dress! after dying it green yesterday i put the pieces through the wash last night and took advantage of nap time today to get it put together. i love how it turned out.



the green isnt quite solid, but it doesnt look tie dyed either, so im okay with that. i went ahead and tried the piping across the front, to add a little more bright white to the green and it wasnt as hard as i expected. i used my zipper foot, and scooted right up beside the piping. it was quick and i really like how it makes the dress look.



i had planned on buttons for the back, but that was before the dress changed colors. i dont have green buttons, or green thread for the button holes. then i remembered the snaps and snap press form my mom! what a perfect opportunity to try it out! i only wasted four pronged rings , and i installed ten altogether (with the practice one too) so for a first try, i think i did okay. hopefully next time i wont bend any.



and here is the back again, i used white thread for the little hem on the bottom, and i think it looks good. i am so glad i finally finished this dress- i hate having something half pieced together and just laying there.

its back!

remember this dress? well, its back. i am not giving up, and have been looking for the best way to come back to it. this week i was at joanns for a couple tiny bits of fabric (for another post) and remembered to pick up some rit dye. i bought the concentrate, so i could do smaller batches at a time, and not worry about how much powder was used. (i used the powder for a batik in high school and it works well, ive never used the concentrate.)



the concentrate seems to work well. :)

i dyed the dress, a onesie, and one of jasons tank tops. they are all slightly different fabrics and thicknesses so im curious to see how they each turn out. but look at that green! i am very excited about this little number again. i cant wait to finish it. now i only have to decide if i will keep it for emma, or add it to the growing pile of gifts.

hats, the adult version!

i finished the adult size hat today. it came together so well, i really like it. now if only i can get jason to wear it in public. so, what do you think?



heres a little grin. i took him away from watching the second x men so i could take his picture.



and the seam in the back looks nice too!



i am very pleased with this. next step- making it in three ish different sizes.

more hats and a little something extra

i am determined now to get the length and width of these little hats right, so that i can figure out how to adjust them to fit different sizes. the christmas hat fits emma fine, it is a little loose, and i would like it a little longer, but its not really a necessity.





i used some leftover white baby yarn and tried again. the first picture is a little stretched out, because she pulled it off her head several times. and the flowers arent attached, i am going to hook them to an alligator clip, so they can be moved.



ignore the toy explosion. emma has learned to entertain herself! it just means more picking up on my part, and watching your step. after i put it on her head i thought to try out a clip that sarah bought for her- and i think its pretty cute on there! it looks a little christmas-y too, against that white.





this one fits, but even it could be just a tiny bit longer, and a tiny bit wider. but it stays on much better than the green one. so then, i decided to try to make a little boy hat (i do have boys to make gifts for too!) and came up with this.



the little visor needs work. i found a nice little pattern for it this afternoon that i will try next. i may even tear this one out and just replace it if it turns out nicely. the length is perfect for emma though, i finally got that part right. it fits her head snugly too. im not sure if it would be large enough for jesse jay or not. i may call this size more of a 6-9. emmas head is 17.5 inches around.





this one shoes the seam in the back, where the rounds move over. this one is not at all straight, and a bit more noticeable than id like.





all considered, i think it is pretty cute. i have decided that i prefer a double crochet for hats, but i am going to try half double crochet (after i look up what it is) and see how that turns out. i think the smaller stitch looks better on boys.

so what do you think? i need some opinions, and maybe recommendations?

also, i signed up for an etsy shop this afternoon. all it has is a name, there is nothing else there. im still on the fence (and leaning towards doing nothing, because that is so much easier) but now if i find something cute and not very overpriced (that is my opinion, of course) then i can buy it without having to sign up later.

if i go for it, any ideas what i should list?