Package in Mail - So glad it is on its way!

Okay, I am pretty sure that I went a little crazy making things for my sister's baby shower.  It started out from feeling bad that we live so far away and that I wouldn't be in Seattle for the delivery, the days after, etc.  She lived in Boston when Max was born in Hartford and it was great to have her with us.  

So I felt the need to make up for not being there by sewing and knitting up a storm for her.  I made the quilt for my mom to open at the shower given by her friends, she and Karyn will have to decide where the quilt will reside.  I thought it would be a fun thing to have for the baby to play on at mom's . . . but it came out so cute, I am guessing Karyn will claim it for their house.  I will get ready to make another fun quilt for whomever gives in on this one!  The package includes all the items in the previous posts (diaper clutch like Diapees and Wipees, diaper bag, matching quilted changing pad, cute little bunny, minky blanket, bibs and soft little shoes)  I also threw in some of my favorite items from when Ellie and Sam were babies - a wonderful sleep sack, footed dwell sleeper, haba pacifier clip and Dr. Brown's bottles.  I really wish I could find a way to be in Seattle this weekend . . .   maybe I will have time to sew some things that got thrown on the back burner for "shower fest '09"

Circus Quilt Pinks/Purple Top and Back done!

Can't wait to finish this one.  I really wish I would have waited to make my own kids quilts until I had been sewing a little more.  I am loving the recent quilts and it is so hard to give them up, when the quilts I wrap my own children in shout "learning curve"!  This is either for my mother to open at my sister's shower or for my sister.  One way or another my soon to be niece will be rolling and playing on it.

This is the back.  I love doing stripped backs, but really thought the circus fabric was too fun to just show a little of.  Also LOVE the purple polka dots!

Really enjoyed doing this block and the fussy cuts, I think I will try and create the baseball quilt my oldest wants using lots of white space, red, blue and the occasional baseball print.  I really don't want to use novelty fabric, but have the long arm quilting with a baseball theme, hope for it to be subtle.  Anyway this type of block will appear for sure.

Any thoughts on which fabric to use as the binding?  Maybe a combo of a few?  Will probably wait until the quilting is done and then hopefully it will come to me and I will have enough to actually create binding with!  Just now as I look at the photo I am throwing out my first thoughts of the multi-colored stripe, or the pink batik dots for the white fabric with the multi-colored polka dots.  It is an awful lot of color and perhaps the white might give your eye a rest.  hmmmm . . . 

I am just happy that it will probably be done and mailed in time for the shower.  I feel bad that we live so far away and I can't be with my sister and family in Seattle to share this event.  She was with my husband and mom for my delivery of our oldest (and came right after the adoptions of both babies), it is just so hard to travel with three kids and then take care of them while traveling and waiting for Taylor to arrive.  We have to figure a way to Seattle this summer, or I think I will lose it - I miss family and the Northwest way too much!

Off to a neighbors for a beer and a bonfire!

The Postman feeds my habit

No words needed on this one.  Joy through the mail!  The first photo is fabrics I have been collection for a baby quilt for either my mom or sister to receive at one of my sister's upcoming baby showers.  Each night after the kids are asleep and our ETSY orders are packed and ready to go, I find myself fondling, folding and just gazing at all the wonderful fabrics I have been collecting.  It has been great fun trying out various blocks and color combinations for this quilt and I think I am finally on the road to getting it done.  I took a bit of a detour today and got a great start on matching PJ pants for my sister-in-law and my two nieces.  It is SIL's birthday, actually today, and I hope to have the matching pants to her in Seattle within a week, but we will see.  Tonight I wasn't in the PJ pant mode, so I cut out and sewed 20 of the 60 blocks I will need for this quilt.  I am doing the Simply Delightful pattern and so far it has lived up to its billing.  Time will tell.  Off to bed for me, but with some luck I will have lots to show this week.

After the quilt is ready for the long-arm and the pants are done, I am hoping to tackle a few stuffed bunnies, one for each of the kids.  All this and taking care of two two year olds, hosting easter and a six year old with a short school week - will I ever actually complete all I set out to do?

First Quilt adds some flair to Ellie's room . . . but have a way to go!

This crazy obsession with sewing started with a class I took before the holidays. This is my first finished quilt and I have three almost finished right behind this one. It is from the Yellow Brick Road pattern and it is wild! Maybe a little wild and random even for me, but Ellie loves it and that is all that counts. Ellie and Sam are almost two now and I am just getting around to decorating. Their adoptions happened so fast and we originally thought they could share a room. Boy were we wrong. The bedroom shuffle continued for over a year. I think this is where we have ended up. Ellie will have the room that we decorated half baby girl/ half baby boy. The built-ins that Todd Borlang, excellent carpenter did for us, are wonderful. She has been in the room since Sam came home with us from California. He slept in our room. Around nine months, when his sleeping got better, Max wanted Sam with him. So we bunked the beds in Max's room and Grandpa Rein put the crib up. The crib is too big to go through the doors so moving it around is really not an option. Max slept in the room with Sam all summer and then decided the top bunk made him scared, then Sam was too loud and finally when Grandma Sue came to visit and Max stayed in the guest room with her, he announced it would become his sleeping room. He has finally admitted, he likes the bigger bed in the guest room and it is closer to Mom and Dad. So to sketch it out - Ellie has a undecorated boy/girl room. Sam sleeps in a room with all of Max's clothes and toys, but no Max and Max is in the upstairs guest room that is very guest room like! This new sewing skill is going to come in handy. I need to do quilts and duvet covers, curtains (wood blinds in each room now) and pillows. We will have to do some painting and then perhaps we will have some fun kid rooms. Back to Ellie, since for me girl stuff is fun and new. I have started with some paintings and prints. The talented Grandma Carole did this wonderful Alice in Wonderland inspired watercolor for her room. Our friends Gabs and Janus from England gave us this wonderful print of Barbar. My new favorite way to find some fun for the walls is prints from ETSY, some wonderful stuff from the Black Apple is now in Ellie's room.