'Fess Up Fridays - Beat The Babies (Wk 9)

Two more blocks done.

Mookie fixing the block...milliseconds before she wadded it up again. :o)

AND...I went to the LA Modern Quilt Guild meeting on Monday night. WHAT A TREAT!!!

On a side note, I saw a picture of myself on their website... I think I hear Stacy and Clinton coming up the walk to hand me my tail on a platter because I am clearly a candidate for the next episode of 'What Not To Wear'...and if there was a show called 'What Not To Do With Your Hair' I'm sure I'd be on that one, too. I need to put down the quilt blocks and hurry myself down to the nearest salon and have them work some magic!

Wait. Three blocks done. I forgot about the one I made yesterday.

Back to the MQG. The meeting was really inspirational, and motivating, and intimidating, and fun. :o)  I've decided to join a virtual quilting bee (I'm not sure what that means, but it sounds fun!). And we're/they're making a quilt for a raffle for a fundraiser, and I volunteered to make a quilt block for that, too. I think I can do one block for them! If they wanted volunteers to make whole quilts, I'd be slithering out the back door quick-like, but a block? I think I can do that. :o)

Sadly, I'm not sure I'll be able to go to too many more meetings. Dave has an incredibly important meeting the day after each monthly meeting, so he has to work late. And the MQG meetings are WAY up in LA, and I have to leave before Mookie goes to bed and I'm not sure who would take care of her and put her to bed, etc. :-( 

Being a mama is all about sacrifices.

Speaking of being a mama...we had another ultrasound this week, and the conversation was all about the alien. It pretty much shadowed every possible good picture of Sprout's little face. :-(  Mean alien.

I think that's a hand over there on the left of the shadow. And I think that's her little head on the right. Who knows. Well, the doctor knows. That's why we go to him...because he knows! :o) 

And speaking of babies, Angela is still gestating her little one. So I've still got more time to finish the quilt! (Yeah, right! Hallucinate much, Mama?)

Oh, speaking of the QUILT...the whole point of this series...I am definitely enjoying making it. I am definitely loving the process (and I am generally NOT a lover-of-the-process, NOT a lover-of-the-journey...I'm an end-result girl).  But this is fun! Really! There's no tedium, no boredom, no routine, no predictability...each block is purposely different from the rest, and we (the quilt and me) are just meandering our way to the finish line. Unfortunately, I do feel that it's important to complete the quilt, you know, eventually, so we can't meander too much! :o)

I hope you all have a great, productive, sunshiney weekend!

'Fess Up Fridays - Beat The Babies (Wk 8)

alternate title: Feeling-a-Failure Fridays

alternate alternate title: 'Fess Up Fridays - This Baby's Beating Me

I did get a receiving blanket and two burp cloths made for my friend, Kelly, who still hasn't had her baby (Yay!)  I went a little crazy and fringed the edges on the burp cloths. I think it's cute, and might try it again.

But that's all the sewing I got done this week. And that little tiny bit of sewing took me 3 days. (sigh).

Thankfully (for me, at least), Angela, the recipient of THE QUILT, still hasn't had her baby, so I've still got a little time to get it made.

I WANT to be sewing the quilt blocks for it. I WANT to be adding the sashing. I WANT to be figuring out what the backing should be like.  But I'm not.

Instead, I seem to be spending all my good quilting time in bed. This fibroid is just kicking my tail! And, so, my tailbones have been HURTHURTHURTing this past week. And, ohsomuchfun, it's often that my front and my back are hurting at the same time.  yippee.  Unfortunately, sitting or laying down doesn't FIX it. The front and back still hurt, but not as much, which is nice...but I still wake up and hurt all over again.

And, I could go on whining. But this is supposed to be about what I've made this week, not what a wimp I am, and how I'm failing at meeting my goal, and how I feel like a big goober for even starting this 'fess-up-Fridays thing in the first place because now people know that I feel like I'm never going to finish that dang quilt!

I have decided (Mostly. I think. If I don't faint when I hear the price...) that I'm going to send the quilt off to be quilted once I finish. I've never done that before, and have NO clue what it's going to cost, but maybe the fact that it'll be DONE will outweigh the cost. (I hope!)  I mean, I WANT to quilt it, but I just don't think that's realistic for me right now. And I know from experience that this fibroid is only going to get nastier over the next 3 months.

And even though this is supposed to be about the fabric, I've got to include a picture or two of the "fabric of my life" (not cotton, thank you)...

Giggling at Papa...

Those cheeks and neck are just num-num-nummy...

Feeding her baby-doll lunch...

Such a loving Dolly Mama. :o)

I hope you have a great weekend, and a very productive and crafty week ahead! 

'Fess Up Fridays - Beat The Babies (Wk 7)

I have nothing to show for my week except shame.

And good pictures of stuff I've done other than sew. (Like spend some sunshiney time outside with my girlie.)

 

Warm enough for a day in her little Hawaii outfit - a gift from Uncle Robbie and Aunt Tracy.

  

Look at that brilliant blue sky! And that wee wisp of a curl. :o)

 

"Oh, my aching back!"(how do they learn to mock their mamas so early?)

And a good family trip under my maternity belt. :o)  (We went to San Diego this weekend, but I haven't even downloaded the pictures, yet.)



I've got another baby to beat, though...it's no longer just Angela's baby I'm trying to beat. My neighbor almost gave birth to her 35 week old baby-on-board last week, so now she's on bedrest, and I've got to get her sewn gifts D.U.N. DONE!!!


Kelly's baby shower was today, and, I didn't count, but I'm pretty sure she was gifted with over 1000 diapers, but I saw nary a blanket to wrap that sweet little baby boy in! I keep telling her to keep her legs crossed and cook him a little longer. :o)  I found some fun alien flannel for the receiving blanket and burp cloths, so I just need to belly up to the sewing machine and get 'em done!

Angela will be 38 weeks along on Monday, and she's READY!! :o)  When she saw her doctor last week, she was already dilated 1 cm. I laughed and said "I was that far along about 30 minutes before Mookie was born!"  (I went from 0 to crowning in less than an hour...thank God for the epidural, or I'd probably still be in pain!)  I told her I was trying to finish the quilt, and was hoping that she was one of those who gave birth 2 weeks late, and she immediately said "NO!!! I've got blankets! My baby doesn't need your quilt that badly!" :o)  Hee hee, gotta love that mommy-humor!


Hopefully I'll have a better report next Friday. Dave goes back to work on Monday, so maybe I'll have some more time to do things like sew. :o)


Have a great, and crafty week!

'Fess Up Fridays - Beat The Babies (Wk 6)

Saturday Edition

Frankly, there's not much product, and lots of 'fessing up this week. 

I'm trying, I really am. I know how important it is to finish the quilt top in a reasonable amount of time because it's going to take me FORstinkinEVER to actually quilt the thing. And Ang hits 37 weeks along this week...I don't have much more time!

But LIFE, ya know? It gets in the way sometimes. :o) 

Like, for instance (excuse #1)...we celebrated our Christmas last Saturday because Dave was finally home (yay!), and it was GOOD. I had a fun time coming up with and planning and scheming his gifts, and he went OVER. BOARD. Above and beyond the call of "overboard."  For his gifts, I gave him "kitchen passes" to go do specific things with different guy friends he has. Such as a ski day next week. (58" of fresh powder, anyone?) And a day to go golfing with Grant. And tickets to an Atlanta Braves game with his dad this summer. Fun stuff! :o)

He? Gave me? A fancy pants new digital SLR camera. And by fancy pants, I'm not talking Bedazzled fancy pants. I'm talking emblazoned-with-real-diamonds-and-sewn-with-gold-thread fancy pants. The kind that starts with a Nikon and ends with a 5000...and, gosh, it feels like he probably spent that much in dollars, too! Sheesh, this thing is powerful!  And the learning curve? Hello, Pikes Peak!  Good golly. I could (and probably should) spend 24 hours a day just learning about this thing, instead of doing it the severe injustice of just pointing and clicking like I'm used to! But even then, I'm getting good shots. (Note: I'm getting some cruddy shots, too, because I don't know anything, but the good ones are GOOOOOOD!)  This isn't a terribly GOOD one, but I think it's cute. She's all about the "mooches" lately, and is now making her puzzle pieces "mooch."  Usually it's the Mommy Cow and the Papa Horse, but here the cow is smooching the sheep. :o) She's such a love.

But I don't feel like I can spend the time learning about the new camera with my sewing machine sitting, lonely, collecting dust in the corner like it is.

And then (excuse #2) I've got some cards to make for a card swap I do each month. I just need to sit and do them, but I can't easily do them while Mookie is awake because she is SO helpful. Cute as a button with her "mooches" and all, but sometimes Mommy doesn't need her help. :o)  So, those need to get done. And I can't put them off much longer. Here, I'll show you:

I only need to make 12 more... :o)

And, well, (excuse #3), frankly, I have an alien attached to the outside of my uterus, right under my belly button, and it's been giving me a bit of grief of late. I've had them before, and had one in the same location when I was pregnant with Mookie, and it grieved me a bit then, but this time it just seems worse. I go for my next ultrasound on the 1st of March, and I'm not concerned in the least about it, it's just a nuisance. I go to a perinatologist for my ultrasounds, and he ROCKS, and Dave and I both trust him, and like him, and respect him, and think he ROCKS! :o)  He's totally on top of things, and if there is anything to be concerned about, he'll let us know. But there's not. It's just a nuisance. Lack of sleep, abdominal discomfort and pain, blah blah blah. My OB also ROCKS, and she thinks the annoyance-factor (and pain) will abate within a week or so, she said it's really common, and I'm not worried. Just annoyed that it's sidelining me like it is. :o(

But there is a sewing machine collecting dust in the corner, and I'm sitting on a pile of guilt!  I did get SOME sewing done this week...just not as much as I'd hoped. :-(  I got the black border around the 5 blocks I had completed, and I am SO dang glad I did that!! It was good for me to see halfway along what errors I was making, rather than making them with all the blocks and having to un-sew more than I already have! :o)  So, I've got 7 (at least) more blocks to create, and then I've got to sash. SASH!!  I'm still stumped.  I've eliminated the black, just because it's for a baby, and seems too Halloweenish.  I think I'll have to really wait till all the blocks are done, and then decide between natural and tan.  Here's a picture, though, of the blocks just laid on top of the tan (on the left) and the natural (on the right). It's difficult to tell the difference in the picture, but I think the tan looks just a hint better in person.  We'll see, I guess. I need to get the blocks done before I go moving on to the sashing!

And then I get to fret over the backing. Whee!

 

But for now, this is where we are. 5 blocks complete, the sashing almost chosen, lots of intentions, and not enough follow-through.  There's always next week. 

'Fess Up Fridays - Beat The Babies (Wk 5)

I don't think I can post any pictures this week. I'm blogging upstairs having been (lovingly) relegated to the bedroom while Dave is wrapping my Christmas presents.

As an aside, we're celebrating tomorrow since he was gone for Christmas. Yay! I am very excited for him to get his gifts. It was kinda awesome for me to have an extra month to get his presents together! I didn't feel the pressure and stress I normally do when I end up giving him stuff I'm not really that excited about. But this year? Yay! I'm excited! I got to be a lot more creative, and I think he's going to be pleased. He never asks for anything, so it's always tough. Plus, his birthday is one week before Christmas, so it's a double-whammy, ya know?  I guess since I'm 'fessing up, I'll say that I did spend some baby-beating time this week doing some of the last touches to his gifts instead of sewing.

So, anyways, back to beating the babies. I've now completed 5 quilt blocks, and I'm liking this more and more as I go. There are parts of the process of doing an improvisational quilt that I don't like, but they are minor compared to the whole thing. For instance, I don't like that I have to cut the strips for each new block. I am able to cut some ahead of time, but I only want to cut as much as I need, and since I don't know how much I'll need, I can't pre-cut that much!  Right now, probably since I start sewing so late at night, it takes me about an hour to complete each block. That's WAY WAY WAY too much time, but I'm a slow sewist. Even when I'm not gestating. And even when I don't start after bedtime. But my sweet little Mookie doesn't like me to sew while she's up and playing, and since the idea of her sitting on my lap "helping" is a bit off-putting, I just don't do it. I wait, and do it after the house is tidy and quiet.

I'm snagged right now on the sashing, though. I know, obviously, that I need to complete all my blocks before I move on to what goes between the blocks (duh!), but I'm thinking ahead, you know? I hope to complete my blocks this weekend soon, and just don't know what the in-betweens should be. My choices right now are black, natural, and a kind of tan that matches the tan dot in the Katie Jump Rope large dot fabric. I think I'm going to just have to wait till I get the blocks done done and then lay them out on big pieces of each type of muslin and see which looks best. Maybe I'll save that for next week's 'fessing up.

And in other 'fess up news, I bought some more flannel to make some more receiving blankets for a couple of the other babies getting born around me. I'm obviously planning on finishing the quilt for Angela first, but if I have to, I can always stop the quilting and make a receiving blanket and burp cloths. It's important for me to at least have the fabric.

OH, and I was incredibly shocked to find the Alexander Henry Diamond Eye fabric at Jo-Ann's! Shocked, I tell ya! I didn't know they carried fancy designers (other than, like Debbie Mumm and Heidi Grace). I need to do a better job of keeping my eye out for the good stuff! :o)

I did hear that people at Angela's shower were quite impressed with all the handmade gifts I sent, and that lots of people liked the red/black/white blanket I was so worried about. I don't know, yet, how Angela liked it, but I did tell her that if she wants me to redo the backing, I will. :o)  What are friends for, right?

She's at 35 weeks now, and MAN am I hoping that baby doesn't come early!! :o)  Cook a little longer, Baby B...cook a little longer for Aunt Melissa.

I hope you all have a great, and productive weekend!

'Fess Up Fridays - Beat The Babies (Wk 4)

I don't want to spend too much time 'fessing up...I'd rather be across the room sewing! :o)

And the longer I sit in this chair, the greater the probability that I will not get up.

(Maybe I shouldn't have turned on the massage function??)

(But, oh, it feels SO nice on my pregnant back!)

(I am envisioning hours upon hours zipping away from me as my aches upon aches melt away...)

Must.

Get.

Going.

Okay, then. Back to reality. So I spent all that time Tuesday night measuring, and drawing, and erasing, and coloring, and taping my mock-ups...and it turns out that I kinda didn't really need to do that. I spent the better part of Thursday night surfing the web, looking at various wonky log cabin designs and samples, and I realized that if I'm going to do this right, I need to be A LOT more improvisational than my Tuesday night plans would allow. I think I was a bit too analytical about it all. A little bit too perfectionist.

I know, shocking.

After I decided that, yes, I could do this, I got up from the computer, rearranged the stuff on my dining room table, and set about the business of improvisational quilting. Modern quilting. Scary quilting! :o)  Remember how I said I needed all that guidance? And whined about how there was very little guidance? It's just tough for me because there is pretty much NOTHING I can prepare in advance! Which, again, has to be the way it is if I am going to make this quilt honoring Angela and her baby. If I want to make something that reflects her personality, and the beauty that is Angela, then I need to leave myself behind and follow...well...nothing.  Follow my heart, I guess. Follow my impulse.

Impulse. What's that? Do I have any of that?

But to make this wonky log cabin, it's sew, then cut, then sew, then cut, then sew, then cut. Log by log. Block by block. Just like that. No plan. No stack of pre-cut strips to take from. No template. Just go with the flow.

(hurts to even type that!)

But I'm doing it!  And here's the proof.

First round of "logs", before I wonkified it:

And after I very slightly, ever so timidly wonkified it:

And here it is after the second round of logs, pre-wonkification. You can sorta-kinda start to see the wonkiness coming through:

And here it is post-wonkification.

With each level of logs, if I choose to wonkify, it will wonk the block up more and more. My plan (and hope) is to have a range of wonkiness. I'm trying to get away from symmetry and pattern and form. I know in the end this is going to be a beautiful quilt, and I will be a better person for stepping out of my comfort zone to make it unique.

But first I must step away from this computer. And away from this massage chair. Where I might or might not be planning to spend every waking moment for the next 4 months.

*********************
9:38pm Edited to add:
I have finished my first block!! (Can you hear the trumpets toot-toot-ta-ta-tooting?) :o)

Except for the part where I'm not sure how much I like the stark-white in the midst of all that off-whiteness, I think I like it! It's not nearly as wonky as I expected it to be, which is a direct result of my ultra-conservative wonkifying, but I think it might appear more wonky once I add the black border and sashing.

And I am SO glad I spent all that time researching last night because when I came up against a critical error growth opportunity, I knew how to...say it with me...IMPROVISE!!  For some of the fabrics, I'm using strips that I won in a blog contest back in April. The tiny black dot on the outside is one of those winner strips. And it's awesome, and I'm glad to have them, and I have a wonderful variety of them in a vast range of blacks and whites. Except I have mostly only one strip of each.  And when I ran too short of that one strip...

I knew just what to do! Yay! Thank you Interwebs and Bloggy Buddies!

I just inserted a piece of fabric to make the last log long enough! Brilliant, eh? I don't plan on running out every time, so I don't think this extra piece will be a recurring theme, but it might. We'll see.

I'm improvising as I go...

The Blocks That Are Building ME!

I got about the business of cutting out the printouts of my fabric last night. I'm kinda glad I did it this way because I'm so paranoid of cutting the actual fabric wrong!  And so many of the patterns I'm looking at give me painfully LITTLE guidance!!

And I NEED GUIDANCE!!

Explicit instructions. How much, how long, which side, which direction. Explicit.

So, going off the grid, here, with this quilt for Angela? I'm not sure if I'm up for the challenge!

But, armed with my engineering quad-ruled paper, ruler, pencil, scans and paper cutter, I set about to figure out how to make the quilt blocks.

Oh, and I used a few of Mookie's crayons, too. Mostly because they were handy, and I was lazy. And they worked to give me the visual I needed. I wish I could become a fan of Crayola Washable Crayons on Facebook.  I ♥ them.

After much drawing and erasing and drawing, and then cutting, here is the final product:

Block A on the left, and Block B on the right.

Again, these are just paper samples of what I will be doing (hopefully? maybe? possibly? unless I am convinced to do something else?) for Angela's baby's quilt.

I want the large orange dot to be a recurring fabric in each of the quilt blocks, so I plan to alternate between blocks A and B on the actual quilt. I have a variety of oranges for the center of A/outer ring of B, and a variety of blacks for the middle ring of A/center of B. I added (by painting) black sashing around each block because I kinda felt it needed it.

And, much as I would like to just cut the strips at 2 1/2" and run with it, I know I'm going to have to fussy cut at least the fish fabric so they are all swimming in the same direction!  I'm not sure, yet, whether or not the large dots not all going in the same direction bothers me.

Seriously. I think my Perfectionist Badge is getting in the way! And, Lord knows I can't take it off for fear of being excommunicated from the Absolutely Straight Society. Of which I am a long-standing member, thankyouverymuch.

Oooh, ooh. I just had an idea! I'll be right back...

Okay, here's what I've got:  a 12 block "quilt" and a 15 block "quilt". Forgive the ickiness of it all, and just "visualize" with me. :o)

What do you think? Which do you prefer? 12 or 15?

There will obviously be some variety in the blocks, since I'll be using different fabrics for each block, this is just a mock-up.  And the actual pieces in the blocks will be somewhat asymmetrical and "wonky."

Another option for me to do later is to applique (whasachusayyyy??) circles over top of the blocks, (hopefully) randomly.  But I guess that is a decision I can make when (a) I am finished, and (b) if I have time!!

Because I am fully aware that the making of the quilt top is going to be QUICK compared to the actual quilting of the thing! Eep!! 

Or do I scrap it all and make a rag quilt out of the fabrics? Wouldn't that just be easier, doggone it?

Please, pretty please, weigh in. I need the support of my bloggie world. Mookie doesn't seem to care much...

'Fess Up Fridays - Beat The Babies (Wk 3)

You'd think with all this attrocious weather we've been having here in southern California that I would have gotten more sewing done, but my body just wants to sit, feet up, under a warm blanket and forget about the howls and pelts and backyard furniture tipping over.  So, no. Not as productive of a week as I had hoped.

And because all 4 of you are desperately waiting to find out what I decided to do about the bathroom-rug blanket from the last post, I have decided to err on the side of laziness and leave it like it is and just pray that Angela likes it enough to at least use it, and doesn't secretly donate it to a children's home, or something!

As for the baby quilt I'm going to make her, I've been a bit paralyzed in my quilt top design (What? Me? Can't make a decision? Say it isn't so!!)  Hah. So, what I (brilliantly) decided to do was to scan the fabrics I have and I'm going to cut out the printouts and make paper quilt blocks so I don't cut the fabric and then regret my decision! Especially since I've got two retired fabrics and a pile of others carefully selected off the internet! It's not like I can just run up the street to Joann's and grab some more.  So, hopefully that goes well. It's just that I have the confidence of a church mouse when it comes to big artistic things like this. So, I did that, but I'm putting it aside for a week.

Because...I've got a LOT of other work to get done if I want to send stuff for Angela's shower next weekend! I found more fun flannels for receiving blankets than I wanted to, and had to whittle down my decision to 4, and I will use 2 of those to also make some fun burp cloths.

Even though I want to vegetate tonight (like I did Wednesday night instead of sewing!), I am planning on getting each of these pieces of fun flannel sewn into receiving blankets tonight. Planning being the key word, there! :o)

And in the midst of my search for uni-gender flannels, I came across some yummsterlicious butter yellow satin and matching soft minkee which is going to be the snuggle blanket I was planning to make. I'm planning to wrap the satin around to the front and do a self-binding.  (and I have enough to make one for Sprout...how sweet will that be that Ang's baby and my baby will have matching blankies?!)

Sooo..here's the internal debate I would like your opinion on: do I (A) make the snuggly and send it now (for her shower), or do I (B) wait till I know the baby's name and embroider the baby's name on the binding and then send it immediately? (I think I can do most of it ahead of time and machine embroider the name later).

What say you? Name or no name?

Hope you have a great, productive, super crafty weekend!

'Fess Up Fridays - Beat The Babies (Wk 2)

Doggone it, this week went fast!  For you, too? Did you get much accomplished? I made some Christmas thank you cards for Mookie to send out. Come to think of it, I'm pretty good at making Christmas cards when I've got sewing to do! :o)

As for beating the babies, I learned a bit of disturbing exciting news -- my best friend, Angela, is having her baby shower on January 31st! Since we live about 1200 miles apart, I'm not going to be able to make it (though I so desperately wish I could! It kills me that we're not together for her first pregnancy!)...but I'm hoping that some of my handiwork will make it to the shower. :o)

Before I learned that, however, I went ahead and washed and ironed all the fabric for the wonky crooked lumpy cabin idea. And by "ironed", I mean cursed at the deep, deep creases that seem to have taken up permanent residence in the fabrics after washing. It irritates me. I need to figure out what I'm doing wrong. Or buy a new iron, one of the two! :o)  I've got some more black-and-white strips from another quilter who was giving them away on her blog, so they're not included here, but below is the photo of the fabrics I purchased for this quilt.

I'm really hoping all of the oranges go together well and don't totally clash when I'm finished!  The only one I'm really worried about is that light one next to the black/white (that looks like wallpaper). I think the others will be fine.  What do you think? (hint: leave comment below)

On that note, though, I've kinda-sorta-semi-quasi-pseudo decided to do a "quilt-along" with Randi at i have to say. I'm going to have to deviate, though, and go off-the-grid and make my own pattern, so I won't be 100% along with her, but I'm sure I can learn a ton, and boy, do I need to learn a ton!

So, anyways, once I learned that I've got to work a bit quicker to beat the baby, I decided to shift my focus to the gifts I can actually, you know, complete and send to Ang at the shower. :o)

I'm going to have to do a teeny bit of flannel shopping this weekend (Danger, danger!), and I hope to find some really fun, gender-neutral, bright flannels.

But before I can do that, I need to start on the Diamond-Eye/Minkee stroller blanket. Which I hope to start tonight. Which requires that I finish this post. And then clean off the dining room/craft table to make room to cut my fabrics. And not give in to the tired that seems to be taking over my body at the moment!

Hopefully by next week, I'll have quite a bit more to show you!

But for now, here's a funny little Mookie story. This morning I was surfing the web (trying to figure out the best way to iron out the creases in my fabric) while Dora was entertaining my child. I didn't pay much attention to the fact that Mookie had a crayon in her hand, and her hand was rather close to her ear. Now before you jump to any conclusions, she was not shoving the crayon IN her ear canal, which I know some children are wont to do.

The picture doesn't tell the clearest picture, but YOU try taking a good quality photo of a toddler's ear!

Good thing I only keep washable crayons in the house, no?  :o)

Hope you have a great, productive, and green-ear free weekend!

'Fess Up Fridays - Beat The Babies (Wk 1)

Honestly, does your creativity end in December?  Does your need for handmade gifts end in December? Does your desire to buy new stuff use up what you've got end in December? Nope. Me neither.

So I decided to keep up 'Fess Up Fridays. And since I need a deadline goal, I'm going to be posting 'FUF - Beat The Babies edition.  And we all know that it's important for crafters to beat the babies, right? :o)

And by "beat the babies" you know that I mean that I have to complete the project before the baby recipient gets borned, right?  Okay, good. I didn't want anyone reporting me for baby abuse.

In my little world, I know of 4 babies getting borned sometime between now and June. Two boys, one girl (mine!), and one yet-to-be-revealed (dangit).

The first baby is due to my bestest friend, Angela, in early March. They're the meanies ones that want the gender to be a surprise. Ang has picked nursery colors to be in varying shades of orange, and is using black (and some white, if I recall correctly) furniture. She's going to be adding some other colors, too, to keep it from being too Halloween-y.

And, for the record, this is the baby whose gifts are going to be the most complex. Mostly because I'm probably going to be more generous with these babies than with (at least) two of the other babies. So, for now at least, I'm going to concentrate on beating Angela's baby.

Here's the list of desired gifts, not necessarily in baby-beating order: (Angela, you don't read my blog, right?)  :o)

1. Crib quilt made with variety of fabrics, the focal point to be Katie Jump Rope Dots in Geranium.

2. At least one, hopefully more, receiving blankets made of soft and snuggly flannel.
3. Sweet burp cloths made with flannel to match the receiving blankets. (I much prefer the Gerber Premium Prefold Diapers for this.) (I only needed to make that mistake once!)
4.  A snuggle blanket* with satin on one side and something like velour on the other. (It could be anywhere from 12" square to 36" square, depending on what I find) (Mookie absolutely adores her two like this)
   
5. A stroller blanket with red minkee on one side, and the Alexander Henry Diamond Eye on the other.

And, well, yes, you are right. Her baby is due in about 8 weeks. And it's probably going to take me that many weeks of FuF-BtB to even get the fabric cut out for the crib quilt, much less COMPLETE any of the other projects!!

Eep!

The good news is that I finally got the book with the pattern I want to use for the crib quilt. Angela is not as, hmmm...shall we say, symmetrical as I am. It's not that she's funky in an artsy-fartsy kind of way, it's just that she doesn't feel the need for everything to be as square symmetrical as I do. So I wanted a quilt pattern that would reflect the non-traditional, funky mom she is.  Thus, I've chosen to make a bit of a wonky, crooked log cabin, based on the quilt pattern by Denyse Schmidt. (She calls it "What A Bunch of Squares" in her book). Pat Sloan does one, too, called the Crooked Cabin.)

And, me? Making something "funky" or "wonky" or "crooked"? Is going to S-T-R-E-T-C-H me to the outer bounds of my comfort zone, and probably take me far, far away into a galaxy of discomfort the likes of which I have never seen.

But I am committed.

Or I will be committed after this project is done, one of the two! To the Funny Farm! :o)

And, so, hopefully, by next Friday, I will have made some progress, and can show you my handiwork! Hopefully!!

So, now it's your turn to 'fess up...what are you working on? Any babies deadlines you're trying to beat? :o)

'Fess Up Fridays - Week 5

Here we are, our final Friday of 2009! (Wow, I had to think about that before I typed it! Can you believe it?!)

You will all be relieved to know that I finished Mookie's pajamas. Yes, it was the morning of Christmas Eve, but I finished them! :o) Yay me!

I don't have a good front-view picture of her wearing the pjs, but here are a couple so you can see that I made them. I. Made. Them. It might be another 5 years before I actually make another piece of clothing for her, but I. Made. Them.

If you were to say "Melissa, what will you remember most about 2009?" (Because it's been a pretty big year all around). I will probably say that I remember making Mookie's Christmas pjs.

And now that you are on your way to a sugar-coma because these pictures are just so doggone sweet...I have to admit that there was a failure in manufacturing. The top is like a kimono-top, and it crosses in front and ties under each arm.  After about 3 hours of wear, one of the ties in the front tore off, and I had to do a bit of creative tying to keep the top on! It's an easy fix, and I will definitely fix it when we get home.

I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas Day!  Blessings to all!

'Fess Up Fridays - Week 4

(I know it's Saturday. I'm 'fessing up about what got done up to, and including, Friday)

Last Friday, I pretty much told you I had nothing to tell you. :o) Then later that evening, I got all kinds of busy, and got the fabric all cut and ready to begin. Ready, already! Whew! And the sewing machine was out, so I was all set.

And then on Saturday I finally got a halfway decent photo of Mookie for the Christmas cards. It's not the best, but it's cute, I think. :o) It kinda shows her bigness and a bit of an outreach to her new baby sister. Sorta.

And then on Sunday or Monday (I can't remember), I got in-SPIREd to make my Christmas cards. I've known about the basic components for a while, I just didn't quite know how I was going to put them all together. (Those lucky 17 of you that actually got them will understand.) So, I started cutting and stamping and coloring and glittering and gluing and addressing and got the pictures printed. And that all took me THREE WHOLE DAYS!! Ugh. Double Ugh.

Fast forward to Wednesday night, and I finally got to actually start to sewing on the pajamas. And I was rocking. I was rolling. I was sure I was gonna get finished with the top that night. And then I got stuck. On Step 2. (yes, really). Stucker than stuck. Stuck so bad that I decided to hang it up for the night, and call the pattern-makers the next morning. They didn't answer. And didn't answer, again. (sigh). Thankfully, oliver+s has a forum for their patterns, so I went on the forum boards, and asked (in a high-pitched, desperate way) for clarification and help. And then I had to go to my ultrasound appointment, and a party, and it became Thursday night before I knew it. 

But fresh eyes, and a bit of confidence from the forum board, helped me to see that I AM A DOPE! I am a sewing idiot! Idiot, I tell you!! Seriously. This hobby makes me feel like such an imbicile! I hang my head in shame at the lack of brain cells I have that can understand patterns and sewing and stuff. (Hmmm...maybe I should actually take a lesson??  I mean, what's the point in having a Rolls Royce if you don't know how to drive it out of the garage, right?)

Where was I? Oh, yes. Progress was about to be made. And I needed to make a lot of it, quite frankly!  I got going, and was feeling good. I had the front parts and the back parts together, and was moving up to the sleeves. And I got stuck. Again. (sigh). It's not the pattern's fault, really. I just need to read, re-read, re-read, re-read, and re-read the instructions to actually understand them. :o)  But I got the sleeves in the right spot, and commenced to finishing the top. That night.

Or, not.

I can't remember what happened (it got late?), but I stopped working on it, and vowed to finish it on Friday. And with a few minor errors, and a few modifications I will make to the pattern if I ever make it again...

I FINISHED THE TOP!!!!

Woo Hoo!!

Too bad I get on a plane Sunday morning and kinda need to have the pants made. Tonight. No getting stuck allowed!  (it'll be okay if I don't finish, though, because there's a 40 year-old sewing machine at my in-law's house I can use...) (I'd just rather finish with a Rolls Royce than a horse-and-buggy)

And as I re-read this post about the passing of my week, I'm feeling pretty good. I had parties, I saw my baby girl play peek-a-boo in utero, I made the Christmas cards (the rest of my list will get Happy New Year cards), I got the pajama top made, and I did other stuff. Feeling pretty good about what got done.

Now, off to get more done! (like pack!)  How about you? Are you last-minute crafting? Or have you given up?? :o)

'Fess Up Fridays - Week 3

I have nothing to confess.

Because I have done nothing this week on Mookie's Christmas pajamas.

Nada.

Shame on me!

But, in my defense, this has been one HECK of a busy week.  I've had somewhere to be (and something to take!) nearly every day this past week...to include a really fun little party here at my house last night. :o)

My excuses are lame, though. I know. I'm hoping I can get something SOMETHING done before midnight tonight so I don't feel like a complete failure! :o)

How are your Christmas Crafts coming along?

'Fess Up Fridays - Week 2

So I got my fancy-pants pattern last Friday afternoon, and once Mookie was in bed and the house was quiet and the kitties were fed, I pulled out the instructions. I must admit, though, that I was (and still am) hesitant to make any marks on the pattern or instructions! I hate to destroy beautiful things. Or instructional things. :o) So, I tried to make notes in a conservative manner. Especially if I want to (and can?) use this pattern again some day.

First, I looked at the measurements. I'm thinking that I'm going to have to make the pjs a size 12-18 months in girth, and 2T in length because Mookie is such a Long Tall Sally! At least I think I can modify the pattern that way?? 

Second, I would like to publically praise the makers of this oliver+s pattern for the way the instructions are written. Last summer (and the past summer, ahem) when I was making the little outfit for Mookie from the Simplicity pattern, the instructions were NOT written for a novice. Ahhh-Tall.  These, however, are practically written for a kindergartner! :o) Yay me! Plus, their blog has a few tutorials that might come in handy, too. These folks are good!

Next, I scanned the rest of the instructions, and folded them up and put them away. Enough intimidation for one day! Plus, really, the next step was to lay the fabric and the pattern pieces out on an open stretch of land and commence to cutting.  And I needed to create that open stretch of land. By clearing off the dining room table. Which would happen later.

Later kinda never happened. Here it is, Thursday night, and the same stuff is still on top of the dining room table. With nary a scrap of fabric in sight. (shame on me!) I did, however, cut the pattern pieces out of the paper. That is one step I had to do, and I did it. :o)  There's just SO much going on! And SO much stuff to do that doesn't involve pink Christmas flannel. But, frankly, that is precisely why I wanted to start "'Fess Up Fridays!"  I knew if at least one person was expecting me to post about what I'd gotten done, I might actually get something done!  And, no, I didn't get much done, but at least I feel guilty about what I didn't get done. And guilt goes a long way around here! :o)


Honestly, though. Looking at the instructions gives me hope and confidence that once I sit down in front of my sewing machine, I will be able to complete the project before Christmas. Really. It's a one-scissor pattern. And there are no buttons. Or ruffles. Or lining like that other outfit had!

So, how are you holiday crafts shaping up? Got anything to 'fess up to? :o)

'Fess Up Fridays

I'm going to start a new tradition over here, and I'm calling it "'Fess Up Fridays" wherein I 'fess up to you (Do I need that little apostrophe before 'fess? Is it like till? Help! I hate to offend the apostrophiles out there!)...

....wherein I 'fess  fess  confess to you, my bloggie accountability partners, how I'm doing on a certain Christmas project.

I've got 4 Fridays (five, if you include Christmas Day, which I might just have to do...) left before I have to be done with this dream I've been cooking up since last Christmas!

See, last Christmas I had my eye on a pair of festive Christmas pajamas at Target, but I didn't want to pay full price for them (a whopping $25), and I was never able to catch them on sale. :-(  Woe is me, right?  I did, however, score big time during the after-Christmas sales when Target put their Christmas stuff on deep clearance! I found said pjs on their website for $8.24. SCORE!!  So, as I was buying up one pair for me, I had a wild hair of an idea, and decided to buy a second pair. For Mookie.  Except since they didn't have her size, or any toddler sizes, in this fabric, I decided to go about matching Mama/Baby jammies a little different way.

A little teaser

I got mad sewing-up skillz, I do. And if you follow my blog much, you'll know that it takes me a sweet  forever to complete a "simple" sewing project. A simple clothing project, I should say. Something about reading those patterns in that foreign language (seamstressian) give me the heebie-jeebies and scares me away.  (Has anyone else noticed that the title given for someone who sews includes the word stress in it?? A coincidence? I think not.)

And yet...that one wild hair convinced me that I had a year, A WHOLE YEAR to fashion up a pair of matching Mama/Baby jammies so Mookie and I could look alike on Christmas morn. (Note: I'm not a match-my-husband, or match-my-children kind of person, so this is idea is really out of my ordinary).

So, anyway, in this past 11 months, I have moved the box housing the two sets of pjs from the garage to the dining room, and then, about 3 months later, moved the pjs to a pile with other fabric on the bookshelf. Oh, and I thought about looking for a toddler pajama pattern a few times, too. So, yup. I've been busy, slaving away on this here project of mine! :o)

And then, about a week ago, I decided it's time to fish or cut bait, as they say. So, fish, I did. Fished for a cute, easy toddler pajama pattern.  And I believe I have found one that might just fit both criteria. It's by oliver+s, and it has one scissor icon (out of four) on the cover, so I'm thinking that means "for the pattern-petrified".

However, I've got only a few short weeks in order to do turn a grown-up's pjs into toddler pjs. Now, most people could probably whip this up in an afternoon, but not me.

And that's where you come in!  I'm hoping that I've created some anticipation for you, my faithful readers, and that anticipation will make me feel guilty enough to actually complete this little project of mine! :o)  I'm not expecting you to call me up and ask me how it's coming, I'm just planning on writing about my progress each Friday. Thus, 'Fess Up Fridays will be a regular occurrance here. Play along on your own blog, if you wish! You can NOT convince me that I'm the only one with some crazy Christmas projects underway!! :o)

So, now, to the 'fessing up part... What have I done so far?

1.  I have ordered (though not received) the pattern.
2.  I have deconstructed the size 3XL pjs that I bought for this project.
3.  I have washed and ironed the pieces in preparation for receipt of the pattern.
4.  I have told all of you about it so maybe I'll actually get it done and wrapped in time for Mookie and Mama to wear on Christmas Day.

And, so, hopefully, by next Friday, I'll have some more news to report to you on my little project here. 

I hope you have a great weekend!