christmas tree, family and coming home

We just got back from spending the weekend with my family. We had a wonderful time, but when I went to upload my pictures I was greatly disappointed in the lack of photos I took during our time in MD. Anyway, here are a couple of my favorite from the very few photos I took.

Lulu with her flower at the Christmas tree farm.

Loaded up and ready to go, finally getting to bring home a fresh cut Christmas tree after 4 Christmases of pre-cut trees.

Lulu, unhappy that the sun is shinning in her eye's on the drive home...
and our solution to the problem.

Max's "car cave."
I am so thankful for my family and the time we got to spend with them this weekend (also for the GREAT traffic we had- and on a holiday weekend!) and am coming home with a new resolve to better document these times in photos!

happy turkey day!

We are packing up to head to Maryland tomorrow to see my family, but I thought I would drop in and post a few pictures from Max and Lulu's Thanksgiving Feast at preschool today.
Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow and I'll be back next week!

saving the unsavable

A friend had a pile of old Laura Ashley dresses that her daughter had sent her, thinking that they might boost her wardrobe, most of them were unwearable- even for an 80 something grandma. She gave our crochet group the pick of the dresses in case we had some other use for them- I grabbed this one thinking it might make a cute tote or something- anything other than the jumper form that it was presently in!
I've been wanting to try out some other versions of Molly and a kitty cat was first on my list- not wanting to buy any more fabric- or more realistically not having any money to buy more fabric- I dug through my stash looking for something appropriate and I came across this dress.

While the kids were watching old episodes of Scooby Doo yesterday (last weeks library DVD find) I started cutting out pieces and stitching together my own kitty version of Molly Monkey.
Since the pattern/colors of the fabric are so bold, I decided against a the shirt and socks that Molly wears and instead made her all striped. I may make her a tutu and ballet slippers so she isn't totally naked :)
(I ran out of stuffing- so her arms and legs are a bit flat in these pictures, but I just couldn't wait to share her with you!)

Here she is with her friend Molly.
Next I am thinking of trying a lamb or a bunny :)

and the winner is...

randi said...

Cute! I love the name Olivia the Owl. Or maybe Opal.
How fun that you are doing a giveaway with these!

Congratulations Randi, you are the winner! email me with your address and which owl ornament is your favorite!

Thanks so much to everyone who gave their votes and name suggestions! I am going to go with Penelope and maybe after the craziness of the holiday's and the baby being born I will have some time to make another to go along with her! I am still hoping to get a pattern together for Penelope, but no promises on when that will happen :)

weekend sewing

I saw the tutorial for this little arm-rest pincushion thingy and knew right away it would be the perfect Christmas gift for Miss Mary (the sweet grandma from our church who hosts the crochet group Regan and I attend on Monday nights) who seems to always be sitting in her corner chair knitting, stitching or crocheting something every time we visit. I had fun digging through my scraps in search of selvage edges with printing on them and I was able to piece the who thing together from my scrap drawer.

the back/underside

close up of one of the pockets

feeling much better

After a much needed nap and a few moments of quiet to organize my thoughts and clean up my craft table I was feeling much better last night! While Phil gave the kids their baths and got them ready for bed I was able to stitch up my last owl ornament- here she is!
So, Monday's winner will have 3 owls to choose from.
I was also able to get some work done on some after hours Christmas sewing- you know, the stuff I don't want my kids seeing :) I tried out the pajama pant pattern from Weekend Sewing. Of course I have not tried them on the recipient yet, but the pattern was really simple to follow and they came together quickly and comparing them to pj pants we already own I think they are going to fit perfect!
I am off to make pancakes for the family and then back to sewing! Hope you have a fabulous Saturday!

a little disappointed and alot overwhelmed

Okay, so I should be here to post the winner of my little giveaway but I have to admit that I am a bit disappointed in the fact that so far, I only have 2 comments! My sister says I did not give enough time, so I am going to extend the giveaway until Monday. That give me some time to work on some new owl ideas and maybe the winner will even get a couple to chose from! So- leave your comments and name suggestions on Wednesday's post and we will try again on Monday! Oh, and I have added a name to the list- my mom suggested Penelope (and I really love that name) but she will never leave a comment, so I am just adding it to the list!

On another note, I am feeling myself on the verge of one of those 3rd trimester meltdowns- I am feeling so totally overwhelmed with all I want and need to do in the next few weeks, but can't seem to get myself organized to start, and I am exhausted and just needing some time alone. I know that if I can just get a bit of quiet and some rest then I will be able to get a plan together and get busy, so I am off to take a nap while the kids watch a movie right now and hoping for some good planning and crafting time later this evening!

lovely ladies and a give-away

Update: I am extending the giveaway until Monday and I have added a new name to the list, so please, still leave you comments- I am really hoping for at least 10 people for the drawing!

I finally got a chance to stitch together my second owl today!

The only real change I made is the wings. I thought the first wings were a bit awkward, but seeing them both together I kinda appreciate the awkwardness of them.
I still don't have a name for her yet- here are some of my idea's:

Penelope
Lucy
Harriet
Olive Owl (I was thinking maybe she needed a short chubby friend and they could be Olive and Ollie Owl?)

What's your favorite? Or maybe you have another suggestion? Let's have some fun with this- leave a comment with your vote or name suggestion and I will enter you in a drawing to win one of my felt owl ornaments (here are some I've made already, but there will be more). You've got until Friday morning at 7am to comment, I will announce the winner by noon on Friday, November 18th.

sneak peak

I was hoping to have more photos to show you today, but I've spent the better part of the morning washing sheets, making beds, baking bread and cleaning out the girls room with Regan and we have gotten no school done yet -which means we will be doing school this afternoon instead of sewing :(
Anyway- yesterday I drew up my first ever softie pattern and stitched together prototype #1. I have already made a few adjustments and have #2 all cut out and ready to sew- as soon as I find a few spare moments! I am totally smitten with this little lady (still have not decided on a name yet) and so are all my kids- they all want one :) So here is a sneak peak at my first softie- more pictures to come as soon as I get the next one stitched up!
P.S. I was thinking about making a PDF pattern/tutorial, but I have not the slightest idea how to do it! Anyone who's done it before have any advise?

hoot, hoot!

Last night I stitched up another owl. I still have some other ideas to try out before I decide which is my favorite, but here she is.

I also finished the fabric boxes for the girls room AND got the shelves cleaned up enough to make room for them! I am happy with how they turned out- I especially love the owl fabric. I think my next feltie will be inspired by the little beauties on this fabric :)
Hope you are having a fabulous Monday!

what a day of grocery shopping will do to you...

On another note- I have that pregnancy ticker in my right sidebar and I am finding myself shocked every time I see it at how few days there are left until my due date! 10 weeks still seems like quite a bit- but 66 days! Wow, I better get busy getting things ready for this little one :)

what happens when daddy's home

It's been raining H.A.R.D for more than 36hrs straight now and Phil is home for the second day (yesterday for Veteran's Day and today because only "essential personnel" are allowed at his work.) It seems a Nor'easter has parked itself upon us and all around there is flooding and wind advisories. Luckily things are not too bad in our neighborhood, but after being cooped up (6 people in a small house) for two days we were all going stir crazy. Daddy decided we should let the kids out to play and burn some energy. I refused at first, but after a lunch filled with 4 kids bouncing in their chairs I caved.
I snuck out on the dry (or un-flooded) ground of the sidewalk and the cover of an umbrella to capture a few images from the storm and their play. The camera had a hard time deciding what to focus on, so some of these are a bit blurry...

Tallulah coming out the door, still dry and...
plugging her nose because of the "swampy" smell we get when it rains (one of the downfalls of living near Hoffler Creek- a marsh wildlife preserve down the road from us).

Tallulah did not want to stand in the 4" on water with her siblings for this picture- Regan said the water was so cold it hurt!

Our back yard.
Beside out house is where the water was deepest.

And I can't end the post without the highlight of my day- I got to see my little girl today :) Isn't she beautiful? Midwife said everything looks great- only 9.5 more weeks til I get to meet her face to face!

giving thanks...

on this rainy day for...
A big bowl of popcorn and a day off of school.

A finished grocery list and two weeks of meals planned rewarded with a cup of hot cocoa.
Daddy working at home today.

Catching up with an old friend on the phone and the possibility of a visit soon.
And the prospect of an evening snuggled up under the blanket I am crocheting watching SYTYCD.
I love rainy days! What are you thankful for today?

the crafting bug

It seems that Regan has caught the crafting bug. Late yesterday afternoon she was digging through fabric and craft supplies looking for something to inspire her- she "had to" make some thing. Here is the end result.
I helped out with some of the more difficult stitching when she asked and suggested the pipe cleaner for the halo when she could not figure out how to make one out of felt, but other wise she did it all on her own. I love to see her working out her ideas and creating new things all the time!

And here is what I made while Regan sewed her angel- I am trying to work out ideas for Christmas gifts for teachers and such- but I am not sure I can pass my own fascination with mushrooms to others :) Plus, Regan says that mushrooms can't be Christmas tree ornaments- they are a spring thing, oh well!

just for fun

Inspired by Lori Marie's little owls I stitched up this little lady last night after the kids went to bed.

My other birds were happy to have a new friend join them on their branches :)
I am thinking I need to play around some more with the owl idea, as I am about to introduce owls to the girls room via my fabric boxes. Maybe a few softies or a mobile for the baby?

for baby

After all the sewing for other people I've been doing I finally got to do some sewing for my own baby this weekend! We have a serious lack of storage space for clothing in the girls room, so I decided to try my hand at Anna Maria's Fabric Boxes from Seams to Me. I adapted the size to fit the built in shelves in the girls room and cut out enough fabric and interfacing to make 4 baskets measuring 11" deep/wide and 8" high. Here is the first box...

I am fairly happy with how it turned out, it was not easy getting the interfacing in and I am not too thrilled with the fuse-ability of the interfacing- I wish it would stick a bit better, but all in all it turned out pretty cute and is already filled with the few clothing items we have for the baby.

Here is a peak at some of the other fabric I am using for the boxes.
I am hoping to get them finished up this week and then comes the harder task of clearing off the shelves to make room for the boxes!

lunch

Sometimes it feels like we eat the same thing every day for lunch. I am always looking for a way to change things up and this week I stumbled upon a new trick that made all 4 kids happy! See those rolls of Salami in the top right corner? It is a piece of string cheese cut in half with Salami rolled around it- simple- easy and everyone loved it!
I am also loving the single servings of hummus they sell at BJ's- Not everyone in the family likes hummus, so I can easily open one of these and not worry that the whole container will go bad before we can eat it all!

Oh, and lets not forget dessert- these are those pumpkin bars I posted about a week or so ago- there is a link to the recipe in my side bar. I made these yesterday (9x13 pan or 24 bars) and already, less than 24 hrs after cutting into them, there are only 4 left! Yikes! I did serve them at Bible study last night, but we won't talk about how many I have eaten compared to everyone else!
Well, I am almost finished sewing up the goods for my Nephew's School Bazaar- I'll be back tomorrow with pictures!