Its about time...

For de-stashing.



I saw this post at The Train To Crazy and I'm jumping on board. I have so much fabric/old tshirts/pants that don't fit/ripped sheets that are literally taking over my craft room. Poor Bruce... its a craft room now, barely room for the computer. So I'm on board for the big destash. I don't know if I can do 50% but I'm definitely committing to 25% before I buy any more fabric. Oof... I guess I'd better get going. My plan is to do at least one stash project per week. Stay tuned.

Refashunz

I finally did it! I don't even know how long this pink tshirt from forever 21 was hanging from the light fixture in my craft room (originally put in such an awkward place in a failed attempt to get me to move forward on my vision for it sooner rather than later). But here she is and I couldn't be more pleased. All it took was Mae coming over, several cups of half/caf coffee and an over indulgence of home made pumpkin scones. Mmmm pumpkin scones. I digress, back to the shirt!


I used this tutorial from Lex that Ive been drooling over forever (isn't she amazing?) and modified it to fit the materials I had on hand. I used an ill fitting old navy tshirt for the flowery bits and collar. I'm so pleased with how this came out. I'm almost inspired to tackle the blue version of the same tshirt which is now occupying most of the space on my dining room table. See, if its all spread out, perhaps Ill get to it sooner... we've been down this road before haven't we?

Busy with Baby Stuff

As you can see the belly is growing. I'm still tired, but I got tired of being tired and have forced myself to get back into a crafty groove albeit not as prolificly (thats a word right?) as I would like. I have managed to make a few things on my list for Jack. The first is the LOOP baby toy from Ravelry. I keep reading that little babies like high contrast stuff so I did up the main ring in black and white and the smaller ones in red and gray. Hopefully it will be something texturally and visually interesting for Jack to enjoy right away. To be honest, I have no idea what newborns are interested in so I guess we'll just have to see what he thinks.


Ive also finished the baby sophisticate finally. It was sitting around waiting for buttons FOREVER and I got sick of it mocking me. I also made this bunny from the pattern I found here. I HIGHLY recommend this one. Its super fun to make, quick, easy and oh so satisfying. I stuffed a couple of jingle bells into the body to make it a little more interesting for Jack. Bruce has been calling it "Jack Rabbit". So cute.


I also found time last night to make this coffee cake. I found out half way into mixing that the applesauce in my fridge had gone bad (sad face, why can I never use that stuff up fast enough) so I subbed in canned pumpkin and it was delicious. Ive had 4 pieces already and intend to eat several more this evening. Delish!

Gratuitous belly shot and some knits

Chatting with my soon to be SIL has made me realize how long its been since Ive posted. I have some new stuff to share. One of which is my growing belly. 19 weeks and looking pregnant yay! Its nice to look like I'm growing a baby finally instead of just fat/bloated. We had an ultrasound last week that confirmed what Ive known all along, that its a boy! I can't wait to get started on all the boy projects I have in mind. I've finished the baby sophisticate sweater from ravelry. Just need to add some boy-ish buttons. I found the pattern not perfect but once I got going, pretty easy to follow. There are a few things I would change next time around (making the arms and front panels wider), but it was a pretty quick knit and fun to knit all in one piece. I plan to cast on v2 tomorrow at Craft Night at Mae's house.


I also finished this little monkey inspired by the Small Bunny pattern also from ravelry. He was a gift for the yet to be born baby Mason. His momma and daddy both grew up with adored monkey softies so I had to make one for little Mason.
Ive got ideas for a few tshirt refashions as well as some summer maternity items. I think we'll have all my craft stuff moved from the baby's room into Bruce's office this weekend so hopefully Ill have my sewing space back and the frenzy can begin.

Getting back to normal...

I'm finding time... small amounts of time, but time nonetheless. Ive been able to keep the house mostly clean, despite my Dyson's best efforts (it totally died on me and I've been sweeping for like 3 weeks now) and I have been mostly keeping up on the laundry.


I made some pesto! Been meaning to do this forever, and after I bought a huge bunch of basil last week because I could not stop sniffing it with my pregnant nose it seemed the time had come. I used this recipe, and it was DELICIOUS. I will definitely be making more of this with my garden grown pesto this summer. I read somewhere that you can freeze it in an ice cube tray as well and then just pop out little bricks as needed. I cant wait to try that! Ive also done a little knitting (forgive the terrible lighting, I always forget to photograph things until after 9pm it seems).


This little bird from the Ravelry pattern here. The beak didn't come out as expected. It ended up a little long and not quite as squat and cute as it appears on the Ravelry site so I think I would modify it next time. But other than that, it was a quick and easy knit. I have about a billion baby patterns queued but for some reason, I cant bring myself to start knitting for MY baby. I think its because I really want to know the sex before I commit to any color or pattern. I'm silly that way. Oh, I also did a little sewing for myself.


A friend at work gave me a bunch of old sheets and some batting recently (much to Bruce's chagrin). Included was this navy blue, jersey sheet. Perfect for this (update: Crap I cant find the tutorial I used. I'll keep looking and post it as soon as I do)!UPDATE:Finally found that tutorial. Better late then never I always say. You can find it here.


I had wanted to try a big girl version and I'm pretty pleased with how it came out. Please excuse the swollen belly. I literally cannot suck in anymore. :P That's all for now. I hope to have some knits for Bean McCoy on the needles soon. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Ive been busy...

Ive been busy lately. Growing this!

I am 13 weeks pregnant and absolutely thrilled. Things are going swimmingly except my constant tiredness which Ive just found out today is probably caused by hypothyroidism. Ill be picking up my prescription tomorrow morning and should be feeling myself again in a couple of weeks. Because of the tiredness, very little has been accomplished around my house lately. Its been pretty much all I can do to keep some of the dishes washed, a few of the clothes cleaned and sometimes dinner on the table since about my 8th or 9th week. I'm so looking forward to renewed vigor as is my poor brain which is absolutely stocked full of ideas for baby toys, clothes, blankets, soakers, hats and everything else a new baby might need. Bear with me blog. Ill be back soon!

My brother is back!

But sadly, he will only be here for a couple of weeks. My little bro is a world traveler. Currently he resides with his darling fiance in Gwanju, South Korea where they both teach English. They'll be back to marry this fall but I hadn't seen Shawn since Bruce surprised me with a trip to South Korea and Japan last March. I got to hang with him a little last Sunday. We watched a very creepy movie called The Children. Shawn is my best horror movie buddy. I cant wait till he moves back with his new bride and we can continue our regular schedule of seeing every horror movie on the planet together. I think hes one of the only people in my life who truly shares/understands my obsession. Anyhoo, Shawn loves his home cookin' as much as his horror and since western style ingredients are scarce in South Korea (though Christina does the best she can) he has been craving pies and cakes of all kinds. My mom and I are happy to oblige.



I made a blackberry apple crisp and some artisan bread,



and tonight I'm off to the store for more granny smith apples to bake an apple pie. Moving over to the crafty world, I'll be working on some Valentines themed stuff for my etsy shop. Check in after this weekend if you need a rad hand-made gift!