Putting Your Mark On It

I have always loved monograms and other ways to personalize items. I remember having a whole box of Lillian Vernon personalized pencils when I was younger and I loved them. I also loved having my name on everything, backpacks, mugs, headbands, and even sweatshirts. I think this trend is never going to go out of style because who doesn't love to see their name in lights.

I had an order for a set of burp cloths with initials embroidered near the bottom. I loved this idea and I love how they turned out. I did a much more simple single initial on burp cloths back here and I really like them with the fabric better than just the letter and plain burp cloth, it adds an extra punch. I really hope someone wants to have more fun with this and maybe go with a name, or even a fancy monogram. I finally have a software that allows me to create a monogram and not just three letters the same size (like above).

Does this mean I need to start testing this out on my own family and friends? I think it might...or maybe this is a good future giveaway item. humm..

"E"xciting Onesie

How was that for a post title?! Ha! I know, I try. I love seeing babies in the items that I have made for them, especially when I forget to take a picture before sending it out in the mail! Not only do I love to see a baby in the item but I love seeing happy babies, this baby seems to be happy, maybe just because her parents are making her smile.

This onesie was a giveaway prize and I am so glad that I could create something for their little baby E. This sweet girl was born in the summer time and because she had so many pink clothes her parents wanted something not so girly. They picked this fun red background dot fabric from the choices I gave them and I think it looks sweet on her.

Maybe I will just have to start using my children as baby models because sometimes outfits look better on a baby than laying flat on a table.

New Fabric/New Find Friday #122

When I opened this photo to start this post I realized that these fabrics are probably not the prettiest of the bunch and being side by side might make them less attractive. Humm great way to start a post huh?

Trust me when I say that the lighting in this shot might make these look more muddy and not as great as they do in person. The fabric on the left is a black with the design in white and flowers in yellow. It is a crisp neutral design that I think I already have cut, or at least in my breastfeeding pile to make into a cover. I think the little pops of yellow are sweet on this black background.
The brown and aqua polka dot is really much more vibrant in person. The aqua is a bit deeper and looks great on the brown field. I could see this cut into letters to go on bibs and even as part of an apron. So many uses for a dot fabric.

Looks like I need to get a little photo area set up where I can take good pictures of my fabrics and finished products. I would love to go outside and probably will when the weather is nicer but now that it is so cold out I hate dragging everything out into the cold for a photo shoot.

Little Louis Bib

This is still one of my favorite items for a new baby. A personalized item that can be worn from as an infant and until toddlerhood. I think I could probably still get this around my two year old's neck but I am not sure he would like me doing it. ;)

This bib was made for a friend to give her friend (whom I also know) and I was so excited to hear she had her baby boy and that his name was Louis! Love traditional names and this is for sure a traditional name. I have only known one other Louis and he actually went by Louis not Lou or Louie. I wonder what they are calling this Louis. I love that traditional names are making a come back but no matter what the name, these bibs are cute.

I used this fabric for one of her onesies and she wanted me to use some more of it for this bib (I might only have enough for one letter left). I love how it looks like a corduroy but it is soft not so ridged like a corduroy. The name is done with brown thread across the letter.

I hope to be working on a few bibs this week!

Guest Post

Do you remember when I posted about Halftees a few months ago on a Friday post?  Well I wrote an updated, how much I love them, post over at Fine Linen and Purple. Go check it out here!!

Enjoy! Be back tomorrow with a another post about something I made. :)

Neon Hearts

This set of leggings and onesie was made in the fall and I think that I love it!! First of all the hearts on the leggings were neon which is in style, and reminds me of being younger with my neon and black socks that went with my black spandex pants. Who didn't wear some shiny black spandex back in the 80's?

So this client wanted to put the name Zoey on the onesie instead of a letter and I think it turned out fine but man was it hard to sew those little letters to the onesie. I love the fabric that we went with for the name, an Amy Butler fabric, love her stuff. This name is close to my heart because my God daughters name is Zoe and I have several friends who have girls named Zoey.

I think this set would be perfect to wear for Valentine's day....it will be here before you know it. I still have at least one set of leggings in my Etsy shop that has hearts on it if you are looking for a Valentine's present.

What I Wore Sunday #6

How do Sundays go by so fast?! I feel like it is the most stressful day of the week mostly because it is only one that my husband is actually home to help with the kids and the house. I guess I try to do everything in one day while he can take care of the kids and that never happens and it stresses me out. I need to stop doing that and really make Sunday a day of rest and prayer. Ugh maybe next weekend. All of you lucky people with the day off or a husband with the day off, I hope you enjoy the day!

 

It seems like my short hair is not a hit, people either do not saying anything, leading me to think they don't like it or if they do they don't say they like it. :) I guess I should work on growing it out again. Maybe it would be better if the bang area was a bit longer. Oh well I like it and it takes NO TIME to do in the morning which allows me to sleep longer. LOVE. Today was a glasses day, usually means that I was too lazy to pop the contacts in. Maybe one of these days I will actually wear make up. HA

So this outfit is super old, I mean the stores where all of the items came from are all out of business, and have been for at least 5 years. yikes. No matter I love this outfit and it is perfect for cold winter days. The turtleneck and boiled wool skirt are so warm that even in our cold Church I do not have to wear my coat all Mass, that is a good thing.

I don't own a lot of purple items but these are two of them and I of course have to wear them together. I have worn this skit with a black top but I like the peppy purple.

Clothing Details:

Turtleneck: Petite Sophisticate (does anyone remember that store?)

Tights: black..umm same as last week.

Skirt: Petite Sophisticate...again
Boots: Same old awesome black ones

Quick Takes #5

1.  Maybe it is the fact that we have been sick for a month , or that I stay at home now, or maybe the fact that it is winter and cold outside but I need some grown-up time with my husband. I need some date nights and time without a child crying or pulling on me. I want someone else to cook me dinner and have an adult conversation. We are finally breaking down and getting some babysitters lined up. We have had so many family members who have watched the kids but we feel so badly asking them because they won't let us pay. After taking a "what do I pay the babysitter" poll on Facebook I made the call and have someone coming tomorrow!! Yippee. She is just coming for a bit during the day but I am so excited.

2. I was so excited about this reality that I only slept 5 hours the night before last. Yes there were at least two to three feedings in the middle of that five hours so it was not a straight stretch. That made the excited insomnia worse. I just kept thinking of all of the things I could get done if I could have someone come for two hours after school once a week! Not only that, date nights are going to happen again. It has been too long guys.

3. Speaking of babysitters, what do they call you? Mr. and Mrs. Designer Jules? Julia? I said I was "first and last name" on my phone message and she said my first name when calling back to leave a message. I miss the days of Mr. and Mrs. and I guess I could just ask her to call me that but does that make me the only adult that wants someone to call them Mrs? I think so. My kids will for sure be calling everyone we know Mr. and Mrs. Last Name. It is a sign of respect and I just like it that way.

4. I only get about 45min during the daylight hours with no one awake to do things so I have decided to get up at 7am when the baby does for the last "night" feeding instead of going back to sleep for an hour. You would think that hour would make me feel more rested but it actually makes it harder to pull myself and everyone out of bed at 8 to get the day going. I am also going to stay up for a few hours after the two kiddos go to bed. Even just an hour or two at night would allow me to get more things finished. I am so not a morning person and would prefer to stay up all night so this getting up in the morning thing will be hard. I totally climbed back in bed today.

5. In the vein of new years resolutions I am finally taking Cathy, and another friend's advice and signing up for Mint.com. I NEED a budget and this is the only way it is going to happen. I have tried for years on a spreadsheet and even asked the husband for help but to no avail. So here I go into the www to get some money saving tips. I can't wait to show my hubby how little I have been spending.

6. Who loves to cook? Not I. I mean I don't hate to cook but I get little enjoyment out of it like I do sewing. I am getting better and my husband is pleased and calls me Betty Crocker...umm because I have a meat, veggie, and starch out every meal? I think not. Baby Bee LOVES to watch me make eggs and anything in the skillet. Maybe I will teach him to love cooking so one day he can cook for us. Speaking of that another thing on my new year agenda is to get a meal plan done. I am still in the "finding recipes I like to cook" phase but I think I am actually one step closer and might even get this done this year too.

7. Ladies, help me! Check out this pic below. Love my photo skills? So two things, 1) I already altered the skirt below but do you think it is too bell shaped and needs to be taken in even more on the sides? 2) Orange tights, yes or no? I have had these for a few years and have worn them with a brown dress and the brown boots and my husband freaked. So now I try them with this outfit. Are they just too loud and should go or too fun and should stay?

New Fabric/New Find Friday #121

Pink and brown it is today! I picked up these fabrics for all of those traditional ladies out there and I think I might have already posted about making a nursing cover in the fabric on the far left. Oops I guess I should have posted these fabrics first. I have way too many fabrics so it might take me a while to post them. :)

The tights damask on the far left almost becomes like a solid from far away but with its brown and light pink colors it is pretty up close. Again who doesn't love a polka dot...or is that just me? This pink with brown dot fabric says all things girl to me. It reminds me of those shirts and dresses from back in the 80's. Finally the pink and white damask on the far right is just the perfect scale for me. I love the hot pink on white pattern, bold with out being way over the top. Do I say that a lot? I just love me some crazy fabric and I know that there are others that do not so I want to be sure I have something for everyone.

Well one of these fabrics has been put to good use, one is cut and ready to sew and the third...on the cutting table. Watch me work.

Super Onesie!

I have sold about three or four of these Super onesies this past year! The first one I made was for my cousin who purchased one for a friend of hers, it was a baby shower present. I hope the friend loved it. I love how it turned out. I put this for sale on my Etsy store and have had two other sales for this item. It is so super cute for the little guy in your life, he can be a little Super baby. :)

I am so glad they make blue onesies so I don't have to worry about dying white ones or anything silly like that, and I would hate for this to be something that is limited to just boy and girl tee shirts that come blue. I printed the superman logo on fabric and then applied it to the onesie.

Here is the closeup. I zig-zag stitched around the logo but I have actually used a straight stitch and I actually like the clean line of the straight stitch better. Again the fraying around it is something that is supposed to happen and adds a bit of dimension to it. Maybe I should make one with a little detachable red cape! Cute

I hope to make a Super "girl" one that is the S with shades of pink. Maybe I should do a Wonder Woman onesie?! That would be great. I used to love wearing my Wonder Woman outfit when I was little, man do I wish there was a picture of me in that outfit...or maybe I am not glad, I think it was a set of underwear and tank top for bed. EEK. :)

 

Grandparents Hankies

Here is the followup to the Handkerchief post from a few weeks ago. I had two different orders for grandparents handkerchiefs. This first order was for two Handkerchiefs for a grandma. She wanted one in red and one in blue. I like how they turned out. the font is so pretty and feminine. Simple and personalized and special at the same time.

This same client wanted to order four more Handkerchiefs, this time for the men in the family. She requested to move the placement, size and font and I love how they turned out. Again such a simple font and the size is perfect, not too small that you can't read and see the words but not too big that you can not fold them again.

She picked red and blue again and I just love that one of the grandpa's is called Poppy. How fun is that and I can only imagine what a character a guy called Poppy is.

Did you notice that I like to make up stories and wonder about all of the clients and projects I work on?! I just think so much about the people I do work for and am creating so many personal items so it is hard for me to not think about the people who will own these items.

I think this is the last in the set of Handkerchiefs that I worked on. I would love to personalize more in the new year. We will see.

What I Wore #5

So I am posting this on Monday because I felt SO badly yesterday that during nap time I just vegged with my husband and watched a movie. I did not even touch the big laptop all day, a first for me! Can you see my red nose? We were all coughing and wiping noses at mass (don't worry we sat in the back and covered our mouths).

Like I said last week I have two new skirts that I am excited to wear and Mass yesterday was debut for skirt number 1, blue pencil. I got this skirt a size too big so I can wear it with my present and future baby body but I think I could have gone a size smaller. It was on sale so I don't think there was a smaller size.  

Oh did I forget to mention that I got a hair chop?! Yes my hair is all gone and I like it! The husband isn't as thrilled with it but it will grow back and my next hair do will probably be really long since that is what I tend to do...long, short, long, short etc. Anyway back to the outfit. I love wearing skirts and dresses and when I saw this skirt on sale I had to grab it! I don't yet have a fun shirt to wear with this skirt but pinned some ideas on pinterest for future shopping trips. I had this white cardigan in my closet and went for it. I love the gold zipper detail on it. Here are my black boots again, sick of them? I am not.

Clothing Details:

Nursing Tank: Glamour mama
Cardi: Old Navy (last year) 

Tights: black...no idea where they are from.

Skirt: Target, on sale!
Boots: Same old awesome black ones

New Fabric/New Find Friday #120

Time for some pretty fabrics again! This time the color story is aqua, with a bit of purple and blue thrown in there. I think these fabrics have been sitting around for a while and I have even used one of them in a few Etsy sales.

Let's start at the left, I picked up this scattered dot fabric thinking it would be perfect for a breastfeeding cover, I have it sitting ready to be cut and sewn. I hope to work on those later this month. I love how chaotic it is and that mix of purple, puce green and grey is great. The next two over are different sized aqua plaids. I have paired these up with some leggings and they would make great applique letters and even ties on onesies! I might have to cut some out and sew them on because that just sounds too cute. The fourth fabric over is an aqua and green polka-dot. I love the unexpected combo of the two colors, sometimes I look at it and hate it and other times I like how subtle it is. Last but not least is the blue fabric. I do not even know how to describe this pattern, dots on the run? The dots are perfect and then they get stretched and look like they run together, making it look like they are in motion. Like I said I have already used this fabric as an applique on an onesie with some leggings. It looked so cute.

Here is a closer picture of the patterns and colors. The plaids in the middle look so dull and ordinary compared to the other fabrics.

Until next time....I hope you find some pretty fabric out there to take home and make yours.

Quick Takes #4

1. It sounds like Jennifer is doing better and is now home but is having a lot of trouble breathing when exerting herself too much and she has just the beginning of a mountain of bills. Check out here if you would like to donate to her medical bill cause.

2.  I did it...I bit the bullet and cut all of my hair off. I have been wanting to do it for YEARS and decided since I am practically a recluse because of the two babies I would do it! If I hated it then oh well no one will see it and I can grow it out. If I like it then it would be a bonus. I like it!

 

Here is a picture after the haircut, styled by the hairdresser. Bangs mostly off my face but still there, I ended up pushing them all the way off of my face and liked it.  

Here we have it today after a wash and me trying a different style with bangs in the front. I liked them but I am still not sure about them. This might be the mode I will have to use to put headband in my hair. You can't tell here but my hair is THICK and grey and so that leaves poof and coarse hair to deal with and it doesn't always act like I want it to. Which do you like better? I like that I have at least two ways of styling it. The hubby doesn't want me to dye my hair so I thought this short hair would accentuate the grey instead of making me just look like a tired woman.

3. I have a love for online and store "sale" shopping. I love to buy things on sale and for a good price. I check zulily, pick your plum, and all of the Steal network sites every day. I usually talk myself into buying something because it is such a great deal! No more! I decided the first of this year that I need to really start spending less. I need to not impulse buy and if I really need something wait for a sale or buy it if it a necessary item. No more buying clothing that I don't need. Especially since (don't hate me) I fit into my regular clothes again. This is shocking because it took me 10 months to do this last time and then I got pregnant again. It is fun to go shopping in my closet again.

4. On that same vein I need to stop buying more fabric that I do not need for a project! I love to go to the fabric stores and just look around for pretty new items and I usally get suckered into buying at least one fabric. NO MORE I need to quit that for a few months until I use my stash of fabric. I am running out of places to put it in my craft area and until I get rid of some I can not bring more in. It helps that like I said I am not out shopping much but I still have an itch to look on line once in a while.

5. It is that time of year again. Tax time! Hate it. Not only do we need to get our personal finances in order but both my husband and I need to do our small business taxes. I am sort of glad that the Christmas rush is over and that my Etsy store is sort of at a halt so that I have time to actually get my taxes prepared. It is just something that I dread every year. Maybe this year it will be fun to compare with last years gains and losses but I doubt it.

6. Do you see this kid? I mean really this is what he looks like 90% of the day. That pacifier (meah meah as he calls it) in his mouth and his lovey in his hand. We had a rule only at nap and bedtime did he get it but then I became a stay at home mom and he could reach it in the crib (at work it was in a pack n play and he couldn't reach it) and pull it out while I wasn't looking. It was a battle I did not want to fight when I first came home from the hospital but now it is time. He is sick and doesn't use it a lot because he can not breath but when he is better I am going to lay down the law again! :) He already chewed through one and when this one is chewed through they will all be gone....I am sure he doesn't want that, and I am not ready for the screaming matches. :) Any thoughts?

7. Did you notice that I finally figured how to post pictures on here again? Blogger wasn't opening the upload from here page so I thought it was hopeless. Then I did what I do best and googled "attaching pictures in blogger" and found an answer! I just had to click on the scary HTML button while I compose and upload the picture there and then click back on the compose button and move it around. I know nothing about HTML so it is always so scary for me to see all of the <<>>  and colors as numbers. I don't know what to do with myself. This has been pretty easy though and I am glad to finally have some, not as boring, posts with pictures.

Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real #2

Last PHFR was a lame post about my basement. I decided that since I don't take a ton of pictures I will try to do only one of these a month. That will give me time to actually take pictures to post on here instead of having post after post of the same silly things. Taking lots of pictures it just not in the cards right now, even though my 2 yr old says "cheese" every time I pull the camera out. :)

So December...

Pretty: A quick after Mass Christmas photo with the self timer. I am so glad that we are actually all in one picture together. Looking through it looks as though I am usually the one taking pictures so there are not a ton of me. It is amazing we all made it out of the house, and back in our nice pretty clothes, most of the time someone ruins theirs.

Happy: This is Squirrel before we started sleep training him. This is where he would be between 2-5pm everyday and most of the time he was doing this, sleeping. Look at that sweet face. It made mama so happy that he was sleeping and close by so I could finally have time to do things around the house. I wanted to take a picture, even if it isn't the best to remember the happy sleeping baby times. (Strange side note we are both wearing these outfits today.)

Funny: Bee is such a 2 year old and wants you to do what he wants when he wants it. Does the world revolve around him? Yes. He is so funny, wanting you to push the train around the track for him and him telling you where to go and what pieces to put where. He is just learning how to do all of this on his own but I can not wait for the "me do it" phase. I know it all comes and goes so quickly.

Real: Here is what we have been up against the past month. Can you see them? No?! Okay maybe just a mama can see those huge teeth threatening to come through my baby's gums and making his life a chewing, slobbery, crying mess. They still pretty much look like this but maybe now you would agree with me that they are coming in if you looked in his mouth.

What will January hold? Not sure but I hope that I can start getting the camera out more and taking more pictures of every day life and even a few of me with the family.

Photo Fabric

One of the awesome things I learned how to do in my textiles class in collage was how to print on fabric. I know that now something that everyone can do, but not everyone knows how to. I have printed images on fabric squares that were part of a wedding quilt I made, and it turned out great. I have also printed images, not pictures on fabric for different projects. This time my subject was dogs...

My Mother-in-law was making a quilt for my brother-in-law with all of his old dog's scarves that he would get from the groomer. She wanted to include a picture of the little pup and asked for my help. So we found a great picture of the cutie, who was blind and deaf when I met her and passed a way a few months later. I love this picture of Lucy in the leaves, she looks so cute and full of life. I have yet to see the finished quilt but I know that my bro loved it and just looked at it for a long time, said my mother-in-law.

This sweet image of a dog is for an Etsy client. She wanted me to make her a handkerchief that she could take with her while running races. She wanted to be able to pull it out of her pocket at the end of the race and wave it around as a remembrance of her beloved dog. She said it turned out beautifully and I hope that this little puppy helps her mom run faster in all of her races just being in her pocket.

Not having ever owned a pet I have no idea what it is like to want an image of a dog on something but I can certainly understand how some people especially those who do not have kids really love their dogs like part of their family. I am sure one day I will want to do something like this with and for my kids, but with pictures of them, not dogs.

I would be happy to create a printed image on fabric for you. You could use it for a quilt, to applique on a tee shirt, bag, or even to make a mouse pad out of the image. That is my new trial item, a printed image on a mouse pad. Stay tuned for how that turns out. :)

Sock Monster

I often have sock bits left over from projects and had no idea what to do with them but knew I needed to do something with them so I thought about sock monsters! I am still perfecting the structure, if they are going to have two little arms, to big arms, no legs, long legs etc. I think each one is going to be a bit different but here is one that I have already created.

I am pretty sure that this was a giveaway win from a while ago that my friend Cathy won. I am guessing that she sent this off to some nephew's or maybe friend's baby? Anyway I love his big feet, totally reminds me of Mr. F from the Letter People. Do you guys remember the Letter People?

I think this guy from his crazy expression looks boyish, maybe the girl ones I create can have a sweet grin on their face. Who says monsters have to be mean or not smile?

What I Wore Sunday #4

Today was a beautiful day, warmer, with the sun shinning. My oldest is sick and we went separately to Mass and I missed being with my husband and kiddos on such a special day. I went to a different parish in the area and it was so beautifully decorated it still felt like Christmas, which is the point right, it still is!

I have two maternity dresses that transition really well into post-partum and even just normal clothing. This is the grey version and I love how comfortable it is and hides the baby belly. :) Bonus. I again paired it with a Halftee instead of a tank top to help with the bunching in the middle. Instead of my boots I put on some black flats with my grey chevron tights.

I noticed that I have worn black and grey for the past two weeks, next week my goal is to wear some color!

Clothing Details:

Shirt: Halftees (LOVE THEM)
Dress: Sulee purchased from babysteals.com 

Tights: ?? No idea maybe Marshalls

Flats: Target a few years ago

Baby Baby

Well I am up. Not sure why because I should be sleeping but while I am I thought it would be fun to join Grace at Camp Patton and share by birth story. Mostly because I want to hear hers.

I am typing on this tiny iPod touch so I will add pics and links later. This is so off the beaten track for my blog but a new year and a new spin on the blog, plus I love to tell and hear birth stories. If this is not your thing stop reading now. I will have other posts coming up that you will like.

On to baby Bee as we call him. He will be two on Monday and his birth is still fresh. I will give you an abridge version. Thought I was in labor the night before he was due and thought my water broke. Labor stopped and we went to the dr the next am for a check up. No it wasn't my water that broke. I was peeing on myself. Yup. Fast forward three days and I got up and thought I heard a pop and that my water broke for real this time while on the toilette at 6am (it didn't but oh well) I got in the shower to be ready. Started with contractions. Hubby went off to work. Yes to work. While I was in labor. Still not over it. Anyway I cancelled my chiro apt with my sister in law and settled in to watch some Nate Berkus while sitting on my birthing ball. 20 min later I couldn't stand the pain and thought I might die. The contractions were coming close and I kept calling the hubs to tell him to hurry home. He was changing a lock and had to finish. By the time he got home I was contracting every 5min. Bad back labor was in full force. We hurried to the hospital walked in and up to l&d. 4 contractions from car to room. I was 8cm bleeding and ready to have baby out. I pushed squatting, on hands and knees and finally on my back. No drugs well a little shot bc I was tearing. Bee came into the world at 1:16pm.

It was so hard I told myself I would never do it again. Then I did 20mon later. Squirrel as we call him will be 4mon old today. His birth was so much better and thank goodness because I was freaking out about it. I went to bed with some mild Braxton hicks contractions that tried to keep me up but I did sleep. The next morn they still weren't too bad so I continued on my day. I went to my Sis in law for my chiro apt and told her to hurry bc I was in labor. Then bee and I went to work, I worked with my parents at the time. My mom was freaking out about me being there so after lunch and putting bee down for a nap there I drove home to rest. I saw started bleeding, freaked out a bit and called my hubs and told him I was driving to the hospital. Right. Contractions were still light and sporadic like they had been. I called my birth instructor from bee and she talked me down a bit. I sat in the dr/hospital parking lot wanting someone to check me but not wanting to be admitted. I told the dr office I was slowly walking up to l&d but I didn't. My husband arrived and we sat in the lobby went into the chapel to pray walked the halls ate dinner in the hospital and nothing changed the contractions so at 6pm we went home. Dad took bee to the store my parents went home and I laid down. Boom 1 hr later 10min apart painful contractions. My mom came back and we were off to the hospital again. Got there at 10:50pm baby was out at 1:16am. No drugs awesome nurse. Same awesome dr. I was joking between contractions until the end. Water broke when he checked me at 10cm I was an 8 when we got there. I pushed once on my side, that was an I can't stop pushing push, twice on hands and knees and twice squatting. He came out fast and I was happy to be squatting.

My husband sung my praises both times but the second labor was hard and painful but in a strange way empowering. I know I know lame. But I say it because it is true. God bless my dr and my husband, and I thank God for quick labors. Ok maybe these weren't abridged. ;)

Quick Takes #3

1.Saying a little prayer today for Jen today at Conversion Diary as she was in the hospital with bilateral pulmonary embolisms. I hate being in the hospital and I hate not knowing what is going on with my body when I am sick so I pray for her health, her unborn baby and for her to have peace.

2. We got over the nasssty stomach flu and now I think we are getting colds! I would totally take a cold over the flu any day but really? come on winter kick it into full gear so we can get rid of these nasty germs. The baby was not sick last time and I hope he stays well this time, you never know if your kids have a sore throat until they can tell you. I hate to see them suffer.

3. I finally had the chance to have a cleaning lady come clean our house today!!! I know I know that sounds extravagant but I won a discounted cleaning from her and we had illnesses and house floods every time I tried to book her to come. It feels great to have a New Years cleaning and just in time for Bee's birthday party. I would pass her name along to you but she said she is trying to stop cleaning and start doing more doula birth things. I don't blame her, cleaning a lot of houses sounds like a lot of hard work. My kitchen never looked better!

4. We are sleep training our little squirrel after reading this book recommended by a friend. I never really had to let Bee cry it out too much, or at least until he was 6+ months old. Well this cutie is a crier when holding him and not holding him so crying is happening either way. I realized that he was over tired and not sleeping well while I was holding him and that is why he was so fussy and crying. He wanted to be held and nursed all.night.long. I wish I could sleep and nurse all night long but I can't. So it was time to do something so that I can be a nice mommy and not a mean mommy to both little ones. After skimming the book and taking the approach that I was most comfortable with we now have an okay sleeper. He does MUCH better at night and naps are better but still not what I would like. At least I can get some sleep at night right? It will all change soon and I know one day I will be so sad to see him not want me to hold him all of the time.

Would love to post a picture here....but blogger won't let me. humf

5. Why did I feel like I had much more to tell you guys a few days ago and now I can't think of anything? Could it be that I am starting to feel worn out and need a nap? NNOO

6. In my mode of trying to make my family healthier we asked for a toaster oven for Christmas. My brother in law picked our name and gifted us with what we asked for!! I am so excited to try it out. I am not sure how it is going to go, will I actually use it and not the microwave for quick meal heat ups? I sure hope to try because I hate having my two little ones in our kitchen while I heat food but it happens at least twice a day and there is no metal plate for them to hide behind.

7. Speaking of family....did you know I am an only child? I am and I don't mind it anymore, I used to always want a sibling, but being married into a family of 8 I got them! Two of my hubby's siblings are in town over Christmas and we only got to see them twice while they were here because of every one's illnesses. What a bummer because it is always so much fun to go to the puppet show, train show at the garden, out to eat, and my favorite girls day shopping with them. Maybe next year will bring us less illness and more time with them. I even missed hanging out with my parents over the Christmas break they took from work. I guess when you are used to being with them everyday while working with them you tend to miss them once in a while. ;)

New Fabric/New Find Friday #119

I got this batch of fabrics from my favorite quilt store. These black and whites might not be much to write home about but sometimes you just have to have some classic black and whites in your stash.

 

The top fabric with the black and grey background and white swirl is so elegant and classic. I can see a breastfeeding cover or apron made out of that. The black and white dot middle fabric is a classic oldie but goodie black and white dot. It is great to use as a coordinate to other fabrics or even by itself. Not sure what I will do with this fabric yet but I just had to bring some home with me. The bottom black and white dot is a modern take on the one above. The spacing of the dots is great and even the fact that they are not perfectly round, but a bit oblong takes it to the next level. This would be a great apron or quilt coordinate with another fabric.

The black and whites are so crisp in color! A new trend in black and white is fabric with words on it, I have yet to buy any of it but I love the way it looks. I think that would be the perfect addition to my black and white scrap pile.

I hope you have a great weekend and that all of you stay well.

Something for Noses and Tears

I had several orders early in the spring for personalized handkerchiefs. They are all a bit different but so classic and pretty at the same time.

The first order was for a woman's husband...I think it was for their wedding anniversary, cotton. What a great gift for that special man in your life.

This second order was also for a husband and this time it was the present that he got "from the baby" when they had their newest addition. Each person in their family gets a gift from the baby when they are born. How cool is that tradition?! So cool that mom and dad get gifts and not just the other kids in the family.

This final set was for family of this client. I love the idea of the soft grey on white. Doesn't stand out too much and looks very classic and clean.

These were a big hit for a while on Etsy not only for men but women as well. I can't wait create more and show you an order I did for grandparents. Cute idea. I might have to actually make a set for my husband, if I was sure that he would use them.