A Blessing of a Baby

My sister, Emily, and her husband just welcomed a sweet baby boy at the end of May.  We got to visit them in the middle of June.  What a fun trip.  He sure is a blessing and we were so happy to meet him, love him, kiss him and hold him.

Sometime in April I put together a few things for him.  Now, I finally get to show them off!  First was a matching set of urban hoodies.  I decided that Jude and Bennett needed matching sweatshirts (that's logical right?) so I sized them right to fit both of them when we see each other at Christmas. This one is Jude's.  It's a size 2T.

This one is Bennett's.  Sized 6 mos.  I found the puppy knit at Joann's and had to have it.  Jude loves the puppies and I think it's a perfect accent fabric.  The gray was a jersey knit that I had on hand - in fact, it was a jersey sheet set I purchased at Target on sale awhile ago.  I think the combo is perfect.

Jude wore his for about 10 minutes in Colorado.  The heat has prevented any future wearings, but I'm sure it will still look great come fall.  Gosh, I love this pattern.  Looking at these pictures makes me want to make more!

Of course, I couldn't stop there.  This is my twin sister's baby after all.  So, as promised, I made a few more bibs for Emily's collection. 

I added this word to the plain blue one.  I don't have an embroidery machine so I ended up printing out the word, cut out the letters and traced them onto the fabric.  Then, I just stitched over the top of the lines.  I went over each letter twice.  Turned out cute I think.  I might have to try it again sometime.

Finally, to round out the stash, I made a few snack bags to match the bibs.  This addition to the gift was purely selfish because I made 8 total bags and kept 4 for myself. 

I'm not sure when, but Jude reached this age where it was in my best interest to bring snacks with me everywhere we go.  At some point I realized I was wasting plastic bags and thought it would be better to make some and wash them instead. 

This is the tutorial I found via Pinterest. I didn't use PUL fabric for the interior like it suggests.  Mine are cotton inside and out and I think they work just fine.

Hopefully Emily and Bennett will find a use for them too.

24 Weeks

This week is 24 weeks. I can feel her moving regularly and even Jesse has been able to feel her kick occasionally. I'm experiencing a wave of "very tired" which is requiring a daily nap, but other than that I'm feeling great. This is a fun stage.

Two weeks ago we spent a week in Colorado with Cory, Em and their new baby, Bennett! It was totally and completely blissful. I have a post coming with gifts made for Bennett.  While we were there, Emily and I went garage sale-ing, where I picked up these cute little shirts/dresses.

I decided they needed diaper covers to complete the outfit, so these became the first project for little girl Tink. I already had the fabric on hand. (It's kind of embarrassing how much girly fabric is in my stash.) The blue is a linen-look that I couldn't pass up and the floral is a lovely print that I picked up on sale last year. You'll certainly be seeing these two again in different projects. In fact, the blue would be absolutely perfect as Oliver + S Sailboat Pants. Just need to buy the pattern.

It was so stinkin' hot outside when I took these pictures that I neglected to change the settings on my camera. Oops. Sorry for blinding you.

I used MADE's diaper cover tutorial which was very easy and satisfying.

I look forward to little girl Tink crawling around in these next summer.

Beachy Shorts

My sewing machine is humming away these days. I just haven't been motivated to write about my creations. I'll blame it on the heat! My goodness, I'm not sure how much longer I can stand these 100 degree days. What happened to summery 85? I miss it.

One of the projects on my list recently was white linen shorts for the little guy. We're attending Jesse's cousin's wedding next weekend and since Jesse is performing the ceremony I need a summery, dressy outfit for Jude for both the rehearsal dinner and the wedding. And, of course, cargo shorts just aren't going to cut it. I came up with the idea of white, linen shorts for his plaid top (given to him from his Aunt Marie for his birthday). I already had the linen on hand, so that made this project FREE! This little get-up was perfect for the 4th of July and will be perfect again for rehearsal dinner next weekend.

Plus, BONUS, there's a sew-along in blogland for shorts. Weee! So, I'll enter these bad boys into the Shorts On The Line group, which is fun.

I used the kids pants with a flat front tutorial from MADE. Turned out lovely. I added front pockets, back pockets and belt loops. It's the first time I've done belt loops, but I think they totally make the shorts. What a fun (and totally impractical) detail for little boys.

The back pockets ended up a little high. I had trouble gauging that before the waistband was in place. Next time I'll shoot for an inch lower.

So, I think I nailed summery, dressy outfit number one. Now it's time to finish the tie for the wedding.

My Very Own Sewing Space

It's true! For the very first time I have a place to sew. A place where I can leave my sewing machine out and unfinished projects lying around to my heart's content. I'm so happy! Here's a little tour of the room.

The desk above was a free piece from my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. It was in the basement of the house they recently bought. I gave it a distressed paint job and added hardware. I wish I had a before picture to show you. She went from less than desirable to being a real keeper.

My sister Emily gave me these canisters as a wedding present. I quickly realized they were too small to hold four, suger, etc. well, so now they have new life holding stray ribbons, zippers, velcro and extra thread.

My Mom has had one of these for as long as I remember. I feel like I've made it in life now that I have a place to put one. All that thread so neatly organized makes my heart happy.

I resurrected this shelf from our basement. It was a dingy old thing that came with the house. You can see a "before" picture below. I gave it the same distressed paint job that I did on the desk. Now, it holds my stacks of fabric, some art supplies and a few sewing books.

It was so inspiring to pull out this fabric from my bins. There are so many projects just ready to be made!

I finally get to display my sewing books too. I'm especially proud of the "Better Homes and Gardens" book copyright 1970. My sister, Marie, sent it to me a long time ago. Its pictures and content are so vintage-y cool. I'm glad it's out of a bin and finally sitting proudly on a shelf.

Don't mind the mess of cords. I'm still working to tame them. These are the benefits of living in an old house where outlets are few and far between. I'll do my best to not start a fire.

In the other corner is the office space. I replaced the hardware with the same that I put on the sewing desk. I think it gives the desks a cohesive feel even though they don't match.

My friend Sara did the artwork. I love it. We used it to decide the color scheme for the room. Doesn't it look fabulous?

These are Jude's books, which I was too lazy to pull out of the room before taking pictures. They're in here because we're currently redoing his room and don't have a spot in there for them yet.

My grandpa made a table and chairs set for us when we were little and I'm lucky enough to inherit it! I can't wait to pick them up. They will go right here under the window and provide a perfect place for Jude and I to work in the same room together.

This is a picture of the room from the doorway. The bookshelf is to the left. My sewing table in the far corner and the office desk just to the right.

So, here's the lovely BEFORE pictures of the room. I should have taken a picture of my stuff in this space previously too. It looked like a scene from the show Hoarders. Something about bins of fabric and art supplies piled high in a dingy and dark paneled room screamed hoarder. We kept the door shut as often as possible.

One Saturday in April Jesse took down all the paneling and took it to the dump. Underneath it was glue and old paint. I spent a few weeks with a scraper in hand just scraping away. Of course, I could only do it for 60 minutes or so at a time before I was worn out and had to nap. Ah pregnancy. Everything takes twice as long as it should. Eventually, I sanded, we primed and then painted. The whole process took about a month.

And, lastly, a "before" picture of the shelves. Too bad you can't see the dirt and cobwebs. It was not a pretty thing. Surprisingly a scrub brush and a paint job makes it look rather functional. Three cheers for free furniture! (Jesse wasn't so happy about lugging it from the basement to the third floor though.) God bless that man.

Oh, and yes, that is our basement. It still looks like that. We'll get to that project eventually. I'm going to work on having a baby first though.

It's a GIRL!

Just yesterday we got to do the ultrasound of our little one. We were pleasantly surprised to find out it's a girl!
 

From the beginning of this pregnancy I've had an inkling that it was a girl. Which was funny because when I was pregnant with Jude I didn't have a feeling one way or the other. Early on I found myself more inclined to look at girly things or to plan a girly nursery. However, I was sure not to buy anything knowing I would jinx it if I did!

I'm excited, but a little anxious to have a girl. Will I know what to do with her? Will I know how to do her hair? We'll see. The good thing is they come out tiny and not opinionated, so that will help.



My belly button is popping out this time. I don't remember it happening last time although Jesse says it did. This little one seems to be much higher in my abdomen than Jude was. I wonder if that makes a difference. My sister-in-law said she always wanted her belly button to pop, but it never did. I can't say I have the same sentiment about it. I think it's kinda weird.

I bet you could guess that I've got a few things on the sewing list. I can't wait to get started! So far the list includes:
1. Oliver & S Sailor Pants
2. Peasant Dresses
3. Pleated Skirt
There will be more. That's all I was brave enough to pin before I knew her gender. The sewing machine will be humming soon!

Baby in the Hood Coat

Okay, here's more pictures of the adorable coat Auntie Em sent for Jude's birthday. She totally surprised me, and my goodness, I LOVE IT!

Like I said before, it's the Baby in the Hood coat from Anna Maria Horner's book, Handmade Beginnings. I'm afraid I would purchase this book for this one pattern alone.

Emily used blue and white striped seersucker for the main fabric and a textured white cotton for the contrast. The combo is so classic and perfect.

She says she used the 18-24 mo size and then added 2 inches to the body and sleeves. My Jude is a skinny little thing, so her alterations are absolutely perfect. I think we'll get lucky even and where it two summers in a row!

Dino Party

Jude turned two about two weeks ago. I threw together this little birthday party for he and his cousin, Lincoln. His cousin was born almost exactly the year before. They love to play together and Lincoln was excited to celebrate his birthday party with Jude. Jude, on the other hand, doesn't know the difference.

In the last 6 months or so Jude started to give a good "ROAR" anytime he sees a dino or something similar. Uncle Cory originally taught him this skill and he hasn't given it up. I love it, so I decided to use it as our theme.

When I originally showed him these invitations he looked carefully, paused and let out a good "ROAR". It was so perfectly timed I wish I could have caught it on video.

I derived the front of the invitation from an etsy seller, but I can't seem to locate them again. It's simple and easy. I added the red and white stripes to the back to match a tablecloth I already had on hand.

Three balloons for Lincoln and two for Jude. I ran across these little dino sippy cups at Menards of all places. They worked perfectly with the theme so I couldn't resist!

The party hats and the cupcakes were ideas from this gal. Her party was WAY cuter than mine. Great ideas over there.  You can't really see Lincoln's hat very well, but it has spikes along the back. He really wanted to "smile" for me and wouldn't turn around completely for me to see his hat. Funny boy. Anyway, they turned out pretty cute.

I think the cupcakes were my favorite. I picked up the mini dinos at the dollar store and then just made cupcakes from box mix. It's funny how piping frosting on the top makes them look like I worked hours on them! I didn't.

The boys enjoyed themselves thoroughly. The party was a bit chaotic, but we had a good time.

Happy birthday to you, Mr. Jude. You make us SO happy!