fair and square plaid

Brothers can be hard to buy for. I'm not great at picking out boy stuff. Luckily, a week ago I realized my brother wanted to steal a recent quilt I made for the cabin. Of course, he wants a quilt for Christmas too! I whipped one up using Amanda's Fair and Square pattern. It finishes at approximately 84x56, a little larger than her original pattern. The chocolate is a little darker on this quilt and I really like it a lot. I think he'll love it.

giving thanks

It was a very nice Thanksgiving around my neck of the woods. This was the first year I did absolutely nothing on actual Thanksgiving Day. All my siblings were out-of-town, including my hubby, so we celebrated on Saturday. Looking back, it was really nice. My mother and I went grocery shopping on Friday and the store was empty--the best kind of grocery shopping there is. I didn't make it to any Black Friday sales, that was nice too. We did go into work for a little on Friday morning and Charlotte was well-behaved for me there too. 


She's quite the party animal!! Loved having all the company over on Saturday. So much, that she wouldn't nap or go to bed on Saturday. I'm hoping she sleeps most of the day today. Although we are off to a bad start with her up at 6:00am with mom, grandma and grandpa.


I got this email from a 'mom friend' today... and how true it is!

Subject: A thought to share

"I just finished taking an evening class at Stanford. The last lecture was on the mind-body connection-the relationship between stress and disease. The speaker (head of psychiatry at Stanford) said, among other things, that one of the best things that a man could do for his health is to be married to a woman whereas for a woman, one of the best things she could do for her health was to nurture her relationships with her girlfriends. At first everyone laughed, but he was serious.

Women connect with each other differently and provide support systems that help each other to deal with stress and difficult life experiences. Physically this quality "girlfriend time" helps us to create more serotonin-a neurotransmitter that helps combat depression and can create a general feeling of well being. Women share feelings whereas men often form relationships around activities. They rarely sit down with a buddy and talk about how they feel about certain things or how their personal lives are going. Jobs? Yes. Sports? Yes. Cars? Yes. Fishing, hunting, golf? Yes. But their feelings?-rarely. Women do it all of the time. We share from our souls with our sisters/mothers, and evidently that is very good for our health. He said that spending time with a friend is just as important to our general health as jogging or working out at a gym.

There's a tendency to think that when we are "exercising" we are doing something good for our bodies, but when we are hanging out with friends; we are wasting our time and should be more productively engaged--not true. In fact, he said that failure to create and maintain quality personal relationships with other humans is as dangerous to our physical health as smoking! So every time you hang out to schmooze with a gal pal, just pat yourself on the back and congratulate yourself for doing something good for your health! We are indeed very, very lucky. Sooooo let's toast to our friendship with our girlfriends. Evidently it's very good for our health."


We are all thankful for family and children. I want to note that I am especially thankful for the two groups of friends I've developed in the last 20 months through having Charlotte. My mom friends have been a backbone of support for me through this new change in my life. I know I can count on them on so many levels. I've been lucky enough to bounce ideas and thoughts off these women without being judged on my parenting skills. They have taught me so much too.


As the weekend comes to an end, just remember how important friends are in your life, as well as your family and children. Thanks ladies!

gobble gobble

Two things.

One. Charlotte is really getting the hang of using a spoon (especially when sticky food is involved). Today we had mac 'n cheese with supper and she ate the whole bowl. I can't believe how big she's getting. I really see a difference in her every few days. Her vocabulary is enormous! The sentences are really starting to take form. Yesterday she said, "More chocolate cookies please." Now, that's some sentence...

She's also been saying "Happy To You" all the time. This means she wants you to sing the Happy Birthday song. We were at a birthday party last weekend and for some reason, she took to it and loves the song. When she sees Christmas lights she says it too. It might be a long holiday season with lots of birthday songs.

Two. By the time Thanksgiving rolls around, I'll be 30 weeks pregnant. This seems to be a common theme around here, but holy cow, time is flying by! I'll only have 10 weeks left. I won't say anymore about not being ready because I've come to the conclusion that I'll never truly be ready. Just need to meet Baby and keep the household rolling along.

Baby is still kicking like mad. All the time. It's reassuring to feel so much movement but every now and then those feet and elbows really jab me in some internal organs that aren't pleased to be kicked. However, I'm still doing great, feel great and carry my travel pillow everywhere I go.

plaid windows quilt

One week. I love short projects. I've said that before. With the help of sheets (instead of yards of fabric) this quilt took one week to complete. This is as "manly" a quilt as I can make. I don't love, love this quilt, mainly because it just seems boring, but I do like it. This is another one for the cabin. Sized 69x89, a good twin sized quilt for the bunk room.

Inspiration quilt

My finished project:

29 weeks and another appointment

This week I had another doctor appointment complete with glucose testing and all. It went well and a friend watched Charlotte while I was at the appointment. There is no way Charlotte would have survived over an hour at the doc office. Just doesn't happen. I was also pleasantly surprise to find out I've gained a total of 16 pounds so far. Less than the first pregnancy. Thank goodness!! (Not that I'm concerned about weight, but ya know, we all are.) Baby's heartbeat is very strong. She measured my belly and sent me off. I'll be stopping in the office every two weeks now. Another reality check that things are moving along quickly! Soon I'll be going in every week, oh man...

This was me with my first pregnancy (below) for comparison. I think I'm on the same track...I gained 20 pounds by week 29 during my first pregnancy. My blog noted I was rather tired at this point so I think I'm doing great!

New Wave Quilts

My two donation quilts for the Alzheimer's Association Annual Fundraiser are finished. The Senior Planning Group will be making the donation.

I really love how these turned out. The straight-line quilting was the second time I've tried it. It really looks great but is much harder only because it doesn't cover up mistakes very well. The puckering was a problem but I managed to keep everything smooth as I quilted. I'm not sure how I'd do with another twin-sized quilt and straight line quilting. The first one I tried was almost a disaster. Nonetheless, these turned out great!

The pattern is written by Oh, Fransson! - Elizabeth Hartman. It's larger sized baby quilt (51" x 55"). The girl quilt is a tad smaller due to a mistake I made. You didn't even notice, right?! Please refer to her blog and tutorial for the layout and design.

make-your-own Christmas ideas

I love the holidays. Each year I try to beat the next with creative gift ideas. Especially on a tight budget, it's great to make your gifts. Sometimes they turn out so good they look store-bought. I find homemade gifts contain a little extra love anyways. Here are some easy ideas I've ran across in different blogs. Some projects I've tried and some I've thought about trying but haven't gotten around to it. The best part about these projects is that you can be a beginner and still get a great looking end product.

Beneath each photo is the link to the tutorial. I cannot take credit for any of these projects so please refer to the link for instructions on how to make the idea.

Checkbook Covers

http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2008/09/gifts-to-create-for-christmas-08.html

Dish Towels and/or Dish Cloths

http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2008/09/dish-towels-cloths.html

Table Napkins

http://www.filminthefridge.com/2008/11/19/make-your-table-pretty-a-reversible-rick-rack-napkin-tutorial/

Quilted Coasters

http://33shadesofgreen.blogspot.com/2010/11/handmade-holidays-quilted-coasters.html

Glass Etching

http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2010/06/glass-etching.html

third trimester already?!

Third trimester. 28 weeks. Three months left. Thanksgiving, Christmas and one birthday. Do I have enough time? It hit me this week, I'm going to have another baby in just about three months and that's not a lot of time. Immediately, my mind starting making a list of things I needed to do before February arrives. Clean my house with a toothbrush and bleach, make at least three quilts, start pre-ordering baby diapers, sign up for Peapod grocery delivery, make and freeze dinners, organize baby items, get Charlotte in the big girl bed for good, speculate about baby's gender, freak out about labor all over again....ah...the list goes on!

It's truly amazing how time flies the second time around. With Charlotte at my heels all day long, I've only had a few seconds here and there to think about the always-kicking baby #2. My belly sure is getting bigger. I feel like I'm in good shape but I know I need to walk a little more. All-in-all this has been a really easy pregnancy, I hope I can say the same about the labor in a few months.

Here's my latest creation for donation in February. I really love the pattern on these new wave quilts by Elizabeth Hartman. The quilting is fast too. I like simple projects.

future projects

This weekend I'm house sitting and I have no book and no sewing machine. Yes, Charlotte is here, but I am a die hard multi-tasker and not having something else to work on is driving me nuts. To fill that void, I thought I would work on my math skills and actually plan out a few more cabin quilts. The real way.

Here's some GREAT inspiration for two quilts I'm going to mimic. These should both look really nice in the cabin. I'm not putting any type of deadline on these as I'm not sure when I'll get around to starting. With all the solid fabric, I'm hoping to save a few $/yard. This quilting habit is starting to eat at my checkbook...

I've tried drawing this one out and I'm having a really hard time doing it. I've never made a quilt on point before so that's probably adding to the problem. We'll see if this ever gets created. I have a lot more thinking to do on it.

Both quilts made and designed by Jessy Roos.

make your own maternity band

If you've read my blog before, you've probably ran across a post from Ashley's blog, Make It and Love It. She has the most creative, fun ideas and here's another one.

For those of you pregnant, thinking about being pregnant, or recently had a baby, you are probably familiar with maternity bands, a.k.a. Bella Bands (brand name). I have one and used it a lot during my first pregnancy, during and after, and still use it a bit now. This handy-dandy piece of fabric keeps your belly warm, your pants up, and allows you to transition between pant sizes that might not fit. The maternity band has replaced what other generations used: the rubberband. Yes, this is oh-so-much better!!

Ashley has an awesome tutorial on how to make one. It's easy and cheap! Much cheaper than buying the brand name bands.

(photo from Ingrid & Isabel website)

On a side note, as I need to vent, it's just been one of those days and it's only 10 a.m. Charlotte didn't sleep at all last night. She went to bed 2 hours late, woke up every 2 hours, and went from crib to bed to crib to bed, with mom. Yes, I slept horrible, horrible on top of my normal horrible. We also both have colds; just plain runny noses. Boogers, boogers, everywhere. I'm also watching a friend's daughter. Turns out, she has a runny nose too. (At least it's not from Charlotte.) Every sneeze blows out snot from both kids. Bring on the Lysol wipes.

Charlotte is also learning how to share, which evidently, is a really hard concept to grasp. I feel like I've been using my mom voice for too many hours already, and as I said, it's only 10 a.m. Charlotte also kicked my coffee over and spilled it on the carpet. I know, I shouldn't have had coffee in the way. (Don't worry, I'm drinking cold coffee because there is no way I could ever sit down and have a cup of hot coffee.) At least my carpet is multi-colored so the coffee blends right in.

Let's just hope these two toddler-bugs have a good nap today!

quilted potholders

Since I finished what I needed to before Christmas I was looking for a quick, simple project to work on. At my mother's request, I've come across the addicting project of potholders. Turns out, I had all the supplies on hand and spent no extra money at all on this project.

There were a few tutorials out there but I found Elizabeth Hartman's the best. This is a great mini-project to start with if you are new to quilting. The many layers get a bit heavy though.

A few years ago Kevin gave me a pair of his old jeans and said keep them. I did and figured I'd never have a use for them. Was I wrong! A good stuffing for potholders is (2) layers of 100% cotton bating like Warm & White and a layer of denim or canvas. I had some thick wool on hand from an old project for Kevin so I also used that as an insulator in place of the three layers mentioned above.

These have a little pocket for your hand and look great on both sides. Fun, fun, fun!!

frozen roses

Ah, I love the feeling of a completely finished (and washed and labeled) quilt. This one turned out just beautiful. The bright white and aqua really gave it a fresh, modern feel. (Not to mention the crazy, wonky nine-patch blocks.) I said this in a previous post, but most of the fabric is Blush by Basic Grey for Moda Fabrics. There are a few fillers in there to add more diversity. The pattern is Elizabeth Hartman's Crazy Nine-Patch Quilt. 

The quilt is a good lap sized quilt measuring approximately 60x90. The back is made of a teal fabric and a tan fabric I found at Joanne's and Hancock Fabrics. The fillers are extra from the front of the quilt.