jump up and down

a little lady

Say hello to this little lady!  She has been in the works for a little while now.  A month or so ago, a good customer of mine contacted me about making a special doll for her daughter.  I love requests like this - it gets me to do something a little outside of what I would normally do and I enjoy the challenge.  Making dolls was actually one of my favorite projects  when I was a girl.  I made a number of them - some for myself, a few for my Mom, and I think one or two for a favorite cousin.  So, I've been making dolls since I first started sewing, but I haven't made any in a long time.  Maybe if my boys had been girls I would have been making dolls instead of monkeys, but they are definitely truck loving, doll throwing (we have one doll that we bought for Peter just before Ned was born to try to teach him how to treat a baby which seems to have been a fairly unsuccessful endeavor as that doll usually just gets thrown around), rough and tumble boys.

This is definitely the kind of project that makes me want to have a girl.  There are so many fun things to make for girls.  I know this is a superficial reason to have another, so let's not even get me started on what I think about having another child to try for the sex that you don't have (let's just say I have two wonderful boys and if I had another child I would be just as happy to have another boy).  But, the world of crafting for girls is definitely full of some lovely, fun, frilly, beautiful, and absolutely fabulous things.  Luckily, I have nieces to make all of these great things for.  I think at least a couple of my nieces will be getting a new doll for their birthday this year.

And I had enough fun with this little lady that I think she just might be something you'll see in the shop in a little while.  We'll see...have a wonderful weekend everyone!

a bit about us

My friend Kellie tagged me for a little 20 questions (well, there are actually 21) the other day, so here it goes...

1. How long have you and your significant other been together?  A little over 10 years - we started dating in '97, got married in 2000.
2. Who eats more?  Me - I'm embarrassed to admit this, but it's probably not hard to guess by looking at us.
3. Who said I love you first?  I don't even remember. 
4. Who is taller?  Ryan, by two inches
6.Who does laundry? I do the laundry, but Ryan and I often fold it together while watching the Office.
7. Who does dishes? Me.
8.Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Ryan.
9. Who pays the bills?  Me, although we have taken turns doing this throughout our marriage.
10. Who mows the lawn?  We don't have a lawn but I think we would take turns if we did.
11. Who cooks dinner?  Me.
12.Who drives when you are together?  We take turns.  Often I have Ryan drive because I get tired of driving the kids around all day (I can't believe I'm saying this with a 3 year old and 1 year old - I must sound pathetic to those of you with older, busier children).
13. Who is more stubborn?  Well, I would say Ryan, but he would probably say me :)
14.Who is the first to admit they are wrong?  Usually me, but sometimes Ryan.
15.Who's parent's do you see the most?  We see both parents fairly equally.  We probably see a little more of Ryan's dad since we usually stay with him when we visit.  But, our parents live about ten minute from each other in the same town so we usually try to make an effort to see both of our families.
16. Who kissed who first?  Ryan kissed me.
17.Who proposed?  Ryan, although I knew it was going to happen.  It's sort of a long story, but we had already chosen a date, so the proposal was really a formality. 
18.Who is more sensitive?  Definitely Me.
19.Who has more friends?  Me again.
20. Who has more siblings?  Ryan, but only by one.
21. Who wears the pants?  It definitely changes with different issues.  Because Ryan is a fairly quiet guy, from the outside I'm sure it looks like I wear the pants, but that's not really how it is.

I won't tag anyone specifically, but feel free to play along if you want!

sunday night crochet

This post would have been better on Monday, but Monday was full of errands and phone calls I'd been putting off.  And today I'm a little late because we had company tonight and between diaper changes, getting snacks, helping with the potty and all such activities, it took three hours to clean our fairly small living room.  So, do a me a favor and pretend you're reading this on Monday.

Sunday nights seem to be the perfect night for me to sit down and crochet.  For the past few weeks (and for a few more I think) the Jane Austen specials have been on PBS.  And just this last Sunday, I enjoyed watching the Oscars (does anyone else like watching the Oscars even though they've only seen a handful of the movies that were even nominated?) while crocheting this little basket.  I used this pattern from Chickpea Sewing Studios that I found via Craftzine's blog. 

I used Sugar N' Cream cotton yarn and made mine much shorter than the examples in the pattern.  I think it just the perfect size for holding all those little things that you don't want to dig out of the bottom of a big basket.  This was definitely an easy crochet, especially after I finished the bottom - just a lot of single crochet until you get to the size you want.  And then I just sewed on a little rick rack for that something extra. 

And for future Sunday nights?

How about this market bag from Lion Brand Yarns?
Or maybe some ice cream treats from NeedleNoodles (there are so many great food patterns here!)?
And if I really get going, I could wear this fabulous hat a few times before the weather turns warm.

gone fishin'

Remember that project I have been staring at on my sewing room floor for the past few weeks?  It's been one of those projects where you do a little bit and then let it sit, do a little bit more and then let it sit, and do a little bit more and let it sit, and then finally you finish it.  Well, I did that finishing part today.

My guess is the whole project would have taken an hour or so, had I done it in one sitting, but I was just taking little bites at it.  Maybe it was to make sure that these fish would bite once I was finished with them?  Who knows?  But now it's completed and my boys can go fishing any old time they want (which is a good thing since neither I nor Ryan is a fan of real-life fishing).

I'm trying to do a little more crafting for my boys, so this was my first little project in this effort.  Hopefully, there will be more to come in the near future.  I'm getting lots of ideas from this great Flickr group, Handmade Crafts for Boys.  Take a minute to check it out if you're looking for some inspiration!

some items of business

I finally have my first "Foldover Tote" in the shop.  Took me long enough, didn't it?  I finished it just before we left on our weekend jaunt and then got to the pictures and listing yesterday.  For technical reasons (a snap that needs to be put on the top that I didn't do on the larger bag, but should have), I decided to leave out the quilted top, even though so many of you liked it.  I'm thinking of offering a custom tote and making the quilted top an option.  This is the medium size and I'm doing something a little differently this time - I'll be making this one to order.  The one I took a picture of is actually already sold to someone here locally.  I'll still do some of these as ready-made, but I wanted to give this way a try.  This one is from some great Joel Dewberry fabric (p.s. did you see his new home dec line?  great stuff!) which brings me to my next item of business. 

This I should have done much sooner but with one thing or another I just haven't gotten around to it - my friend Melanie and I opened up a fabric shop on Etsy - JM Fabrics.  Mel has been making bags and selling them locally (hopefully she'll be up on Etsy soon - she's got some great stuff) for about as long as I've been on Etsy.  We started ordering our fabric together and we decided to open a shop to try to help us move through our bolts a little faster.  It's been up for a little while and our inventory will probably stay fairly limited, but you'll definitely be able to find a lot of the fabrics I use and we are hoping to offer some quilt kits and other items in the future.  These fat quarter sets are the latest additions to the shop (thanks for the pics Sandi!). 

Well, I hope you all are having a better time fighting off the winter blues than I am and I hope that some of you are starting to see warmer temps!  I can't wait until it's warm enough to take a run outside.  I've found a training partner for my half marathon (hi Tricia!), we chose a race, and I'm excited to get going on training.  We've been going to the local high school at night to run the halls and lift weights (we bribe the janitor with cookies and he opens up the weight room for us), but I can't wait to get some air in my lungs and run outside!

weekend in review

We took a little trip this weekend to visit our family (Ryan and I have our families in the same city) and right before we left, the UPS delivery man knocked on our door with my new camera.  It's my Christmas present.  Why it arrived so long after Christmas is a long story, but I'm so glad it's here.  I had so much fun playing with it this weekend.  I have cracked the manual, read the first 15 pages or so, and hope to be off of automatic soon, although so far, I have been very happy with the automatic setting.  Here are a few shots from this weekend:

this boy was so excited when we told him he could play outside!

and then we took him to the park - and we weren't the only ones on the playground.

and this one proves what a terrible mother I am - that I took time to take a picture of this scene before helping him up.

 

Luckily, he had Grandpa to comfort him - these two have a special bond.

spelling with Grandma (these are actually my nephew's with Grandma).

Definitely fun times!  Thanks for a great weekend to all whom we saw!

a little love

Happy Valentine's Day!  We had quite the storm yesterday, so we stayed in and made cookies.  One of my favorite childhood memories is making and decorating sugar cookies for the holidays (usually only for Christmas, but occasionally for other holidays).  So, this is something that I try to do with my boys for holidays.  My kids are still more into the eating of the cookies than the decorating, but Peter did insist on putting on his own sprinkles "I do it!" is what he said.  We are hearing this a lot right now.  This morning he unloaded the bottom of the dishwasher with his "I do it!" attitude - this could be a very good thing! I should really be taking advantage of this more.

Have you ever tried adding almond extract to your sugar cookie dough  and frosting instead of vanilla?  It's delicious!  I wish I could share a cookie with all of you, but since I can't, you'll just have to imagine yourself biting into a delicious, almond flavored sugar cookie with just the right amount of crisp and moist and the perfect layer of yummy frosting!  or, you could just make some of your own... 

Sugar Cookies

1 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 butter
2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon almond extract
3 1/4 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream sugar and butter.  Add eggs, milk, and vanilla.  Sift dry ingredients together and beat into creamed mixture, combining thoroughly.  With hand, shape dough into a ball; wrap and refrigerate 2 to 3 hours or until easy to handle. 

Grease cookie sheets lightly.  On lightly floured board, roll on-half or one-third of the dough at a time, keeping the rest refrigerated.  For crisp cookies, roll dough paper-tin.  For softer cookies, roll 1/8-inch to 1/4-inch thick.  Cut into shapes desired with floured cookie cutter.  Reroll trimmings and cut. 

Place cookies one-half inch apart on cookie sheets.  Bake at 400 degrees F. about 8 minutes or until a very light brown.  Remove cookies to racks to cool.  Frost cookies with your favorite frosting and sprinkles.

                               ENJOY!  XOXO!!!

 

welcome!!!

Hi Everyone - so this is my big surprise!  A new blog - well, not totally new, just a new look and a new spot on the web.  It will still be me, hopefully here just as often, or more, blogging about all of my adventures in crafting and motherhood.  Why the switch, you ask?  A little more creative control in a little more user-friendly format for this html challenged girl and the chance to get a blog address without a wonky spelling. It's something I've thought about for a while and I hope you won't mind.  I'm still tweaking the sidebars, but that's really an ongoing process, isn't it?  And I have to thank Sandi for my great new graphics - it's great to have friend with talents that she is willing to share!

So, welcome, welcome to all  - those who have been reading for a while, those who  are new, and those who are yet to come!!