king for a day

Liam asked me to make a "king hat" for him. I did the best with what I had. He sorta looks like the Witch King of Angmar now. He also requested a super hero cape. I'm going to attempt something like this. The pose in the picture is a sleeping king, in case you were wondering.

i heart the internets

Dare I?! Three posts within an hour!!

I just wanted to share some things I've found on the tubes. First, I love this idea that Jesus' favorite, aka Annie, has come up with. I found her blog via Wil Wheaton's blog. I've been trying to keep up with being grateful, but some days I just can't get to the computer.

I am also going to attempt to send a shirt to African Kelli. I wanted to do a care package last year and never got around to it. I'm going to send a shirt this year dag nabbit!

back to sewing

I've finally gotten back to sewing! I made a dress for Matilda and one for a friend who is going to have a baby soon. I'll try to remember to get a picture of Matilda wearing hers.

My mother-in-law was awesome enough to get me a gift certificate to my favorite online fabric store. So I ordered plenty of fabric to get my summer wardrobe going. I can't wait to get started. Of course with the time I have, I probably won't finish everything until the fall.

I've also decided to basically give up on my etsy store. I just don't have the time or energy to make or market anything. I think I'll just stick to sewing for gifts and for myself (which is rare). Oh well...maybe someone out there will buy the rest of the aprons and handwarmers.

one month

For Jason: Sorry I haven't posted in a while! hehe

For everyone else (which means my in-laws):

The display on my poor laptop broke! I'm much too lazy to go all the way down to the basement to use Jason's computer hence the lack of posting. Now all the kids are asleep, and I finally have time to upload some pics and make a post. Yay. *I just looked at some of the pictures that are uploading, and about sixty of them are Liam's face. That's what happens when you let a three year old play with your camera.*

So, you can tell what I've been doing from the above picture. Matilda Mae arrived on March 24th. She was 7lbs 7oz and 19in long. Tiny compared to my other two chunkers. She is an absolute doll! The good thing about being the third kid is that she definitely gets plenty of kisses throughout the day. I'm so glad she picked us to be her family!

Happy Easter!

The good news: I finished making a much needed diaper bag. I used the country messenger bag pattern from Amy Butler, and of course some Amy Butler fabric from her Nigella line. I love how it came out. It's so roomy! The bad news: there are about a billion other projects I want to finish before the baby arrives, which is any day now. I think tonight I'll start on the tea party sundress from Oliver + S. I'm so excited about this pattern. I have to figure out a way to make multiple sizes from one pattern. I was thinking tracing onto newspaper or something. Any suggestions out there? I'm also nervous about making buttonholes, but I think I can handle it. I'll practice lots before going for the real thing.
Here's a sweet picture of all my guys dressed in their Easter best. I brought the camera with us to church so we could get someone to take a picture of the whole family on the altar, but of course I forgot all about it. At least it stopped snowing and the sun came out so we could get good outside pictures. I even broke out the Pentax K1000 35mm, which is around 40 years old and still working just fine, and took some pictures.

It's time to go prepare Easter lunch (yummy portabello and mushroom and roasted red pepper sandwiches). Then I of course have to clean the house top to bottom for the arrival of the mother-in-law tonight. (yay) Hopefully I won't go into labor within the next couple of days so I can drag her around with me to flea markets and antique stores. The hubby's no fun to go with and just gets a glassy eyed stare when we walk into places like that.

little surprises

I received this beautiful little gown in the mail the other day. It was sewn by a woman from the tiny town in Louisiana I grew up in. I love getting little things like this when least expected. And the picture just doesn't do it justice. Maybe one day I will be able to sew like this! This will definitely go in Matilda's keepsake box, after I take 1,000 pictures of her wearing it of course.

awesome weekend

Well what a great weekend. I got so much done! I finally made the laundry detergent. I haven't used it yet. It was extremely easy to find the ingredients too. I got the borax and fels naptha soap from Kroger. For the washing soda, you can call Arm & Hammer at 1-800-524-1328 and they'll give you a list of stores in your area where they sold it in the past 90 days. If this detergent works out, it will be uber cheap to wash clothes from now on!
It was also very gorgeous today. Most of the snow melted away and it was in the 50's! So we took the opportunity to go to the park. It was the first time in a long time that the boys didn't even need coats. Jason and Annie went for a run on the path next to the playground while the boys played. As you can tell from the picture above, Annie was quite worn out at the end of the day.
I made a small shop update. I listed one women's apron and two children's aprons. I'm really please with how the children's aprons turned out. The fabric is so adorable. It's from Anna Maria Horner's Chocolate Lollipop line.
I finally finished all of the bedding for Matilda's bed. Whew it was hard but worth it. Notice the wonder AshleyG prints hanging on the wall. I love them! I need to get more for the boys' room. I like the way the bumper pads turned out. I wasn't sure about making them all separate pieces, but I think it looks OK. And I don't think any tiny feet can push their way between each pad.
I really like the dust ruffle too. I think it looks better straight than all ruffely. All I have left now is to make the curtains and a mobile, which I'm almost done with.

Now I need rest! I think I'll sit back and knit for a while.