sneak peak: pete's quilt

finally...the quilt is pieced, sandwiched and pinned, ready for quilting! i've had the fabric for over a year, just waiting for attention. and of course, in typical sarah fashion, i've decided that its imperative to finish this quilt before our third baby arrives sometimes in the next....5 weeks. i know that seems like a big window but the "welcome baby" sign goes up at 37 weeks and extends to 42 weeks, although i'm expecting he will be timely to somewhat early. we'll see.
back to the quilt.  i got some inspiration about making a strip quilt after looking through some ideas on pinterest. it seemed quick and easy and painstakingly NON-precise, exactly what i needed. it is momma made with love and cozy and gorgeous, with organic fabrics and a delicious organic fleece for the backing. he asked me again today, "is my blanket all ready, mom?" (he calls me mom now, stop growing up child!)...i told him it was almost ready for his bed. its a twin bed size quilt, meant for his bed. i chose a little more grown up fabric, hoping it would grow with him and someday make an excellently oversized cuddle quilt for two (imagine my little man, someday snuggled up with someone special - yay!). i am hoping it lasts the test of time and is a tangible gift of love from his momma that he will always keep close.  so...let the quilting commence and fingers crossed that baby and i time it just right to finish this one last project before he arrives in our world.

Nature Walk ORGANIC Collection, Cloud 9 Fabrics - plus additional corduroy from my stash to make it the right dimension.

mama-made winter jammies

here are the first three sets of winter jams for my big boy. :) the pants turned out fabulous - the tops are thermal from kohl's for $7 apiece with applique added to make them a "set".  the applique was my first attempt and i had no clue what i was doing...based on my experience level, they turned out decent (although i probably had no business attempting a train this early in my skill development). they might have turned out better had i left the freezer paper backing on(it irons right on there just like the stuff you buy at the fabric store, after i traced my pattern onto it - made cutting the fabric shapes a breeze);  it may have held its form better - i just didn't want that crunch stuff left in there for pj's. trial and error. little b didn't get an applique attempt because her top had ruffles already on it - my goodness its a trick to find plain little girl shirts. this one isn't heavier like p's so i will have to keep looking for just the right top for her (she has a few more fabrics waiting to become pj's but hers were lower priority since she still has some snuggle fleece footie jams to wear while we are visiting the midwest in a few days). chilly weather, here we come!

all relatives who are skilled at such things, please promise not to look closely at any of the applique. you may inspect the pants to your hearts contents but just pretend he's not wearing a shirt. they are certainly not ready for the 4H review, but i think they'll do just fine for snuggling and bedtime stories! :)

it has certainly made my heart happy to see him so excited over these jams! he's shown them off to everyone we've skyped with and the two baby sitters this week have had a full show and tell. his newest trick of waking up and asking "what did you make for peter, momma?" makes me even more excited about my next project - time for peter to finally have a big boy bed quilt made by his momma. start date is dec 1, giving me exactly 13 days to complete it before the big birthday reveal. can't believe he will be THREE beautiful, wonderful years old.

pajama pants

there is a stack of snuggly flannel on my counter waiting to be made into pajama pants for the kids. i've been so tired of buying pj's for both kids that only sort of fit, that are only kind of cute and that are only basically in the budget.  the gender directed fabric choice is annoying too.....dinosaurs and tools and sports for boys, princesses and glitter and puppies for girls....its just...annoying. you can be feminine without glitter, did you know?  anyway...my solution this year is making all the winter jammies. out of deliciously cozy, soft flannel.  i used this free pattern from dana made it  for pete's jams - i will make them a little wider legged next time for jammie pants, but they will make some seriously cutie every day pants for him. betsy's was a diy pattern tracing some existing pants of hers with dana's diy pants pattern tutorial.
once i tweak both patterns to fit the kids just so, future pairs will be a breeze. the first pair had some tiny little flaws and i learned some lessons along the way. also helps to try things on the owner before stitching up the last little bits and pieces...
the best part was making a pair of pants with my sweet friend - it was her maiden voyage using her sewing machine!  congrats, momma - your little gal will look darling in her new pj's too! :)

lilttle bit of an awkward stance for his pose....but that's totally en vogue, right?  work it pete.

hers need to be hemmed....a lot! :) growing room is great, in the next year she'll likely ditch the diaper so her big diaper-bum will disappear and she'll stay in the same pant size while requiring more length. hip hip for just letting the seam out and keeping the same snuggly pants.  she was not interested in standing still or posting so you only get the one pic of her. :)

reading nook cushion

i posted awhile ago about a new little nook we created in front of the fireplace....the kids and dog have been cuddling up there for a rest or to read a book ever since i covered the bricks with a soft blanket and put big throw pillows in front of the fireplace glass.  i figured 3 inches of foam padding might make it even more enticing to spend some time there so i followed this wonderful tutorial for seat cushions and just changed the dimensions for the big cushion i needed to cover.  other than my own silly procrastinating due to a fear of zippers, it didn't take too long to complete.  it just FELT like it took forever because i only got an hour or so here and there over the course of a few weeks during the evenings. some nights i didn't have the energy to get all the sewing stuff out of hiding (man do i sure hope someday to have a space for sewing that just gets to stay out and at the ready all the time), let alone for sewing.  tonight i just needed to finish the gusset, add the zipper and sew the top and bottom pieces to the gusset (i cut it all and made my own cording over the course of the past two-ish weeks). it was late when i was finally ready to pin and sew the top and bottom but i just couldn't stop myself...i wanted to see a finished product (and be done with getting it all out and putting it all away), not to mention there are halloween costumes waiting to be created, so i needed to finish this project so i could start the next!  here is the finished cushion (with awesome zipper, not pictured, so i can remove and wash it as needed).  the colors match the new valence i made for the front window of our livingroom (to replace the very boring cream ones i bought when we first moved here - to coordinate with the accent wall i randomly decided to paint blue during reid's last deployment).  i will make throw pillows to go along the back that match the solid brown and red fabrics as well as the blue of the wall and the pattern of the valence.  i think i'll probably use 24x24 inch pillows (or bigger) so its really a cozy spot to lounge.  i know its silly to be this excited about a little cushion and cover, but its really lovely to have something tangible to show for your efforts at the end of the day. :)

with just a blanket and some pillows from our couches (which will also be replaced with color coordinating homemade pillows, i have always disliked these...not to mention, more beige!)

made the cording...was easier than expected

baxter was not amused when i asked him to test drive the cushion...it is the middle of the night, afterall, and even sweet adorable baxter looks a little bedraggled at this time of night!

a view of our desk/sewing table - with the blue wall and valence i made awhile back. finally getting some color into our very tan and beige living room.

closer view of the pattern.

my first garment

i've always been terrified of sewing clothing. i can handle napkins. i can handle curtains. even quilts don't really scare me. do you notice a trend: SQUARE. they are all squares. i ventured outside the square realm once to make christmas stockings with heavy, hands-on assistance/guidance from my mom, but other than that, all square. well i decided to get over my silly anxieties and figured what easier place to start than children's clothing since they don't reeaaaallly have to fit 'just so', as long as they are "close enough", right? well betsy's birthday is coming up so i found a cute little romper pattern and decided to give it a go. can't wait to try it on her for her birthday party tomorrow!  thank you mom and grandma for giving me this gift! i will do my best to pass it along. :)

imperfection gives it character?

we've had the most beautiful sunsets the last 2 nights, just wish it would cool off. i wore a tank top at 9pm to walk Baxter and was hot. blah - tired of the AC being on!
made more progress on the secret projects tonight, well...on 1 of the 5. first major victory: threadding the bobbin. the first time i forgot to put the thread around the feed post and ended up with a knotty, sad bobbin and had to start over - but i knew what i did wrong so it was ok. the second issue was figuring out the little back-stitch feature when used with a decorative stitch, the machine is supposed to do it exactly after 3 stitches but it doesn't seem to be doing quite what i want. i'll have to play with it more tomorrow. anyway, steps 2 and 3 done tonight. progress feels good and i haven't screwed anything up royally - its just not quite as perfect as i wish....so, the first one has a bit of character. ;) and love from me! i also made some lasagna today, half for dinner and half for the freezer. i love the plan of stocking up for after baby's birth-day, but i'm going to need a bigger freezer!

my first project

my first post, my first project - i'll let the pictures do the talking as i don't want to spoil any surprises that some ladies who i love will get when the projecting is done! so far, its been quite a treat...the gathering of fabrics is the easiest and most fun part perhaps. that done, its on to the cutting and putting together. hoping for a good outcome and success with the first ventures on the janome, i want my sewing machine and i to be dear friends for years to come, so there's a bit of pressure for the first project to go smoothly.



the next project will be a Christmas stocking for the baby boy - with help from my mom when she visits in October. hopefully we'll get to use it this year!