Boys and Boots

We went to the lake last weekend with some of our close friends. They have a little man a few months older than P, and these two boys are good buddies. That doesn't mean they don't scream at each other and grab toys and rocks and food out of each other's hands, cuz they do. We had a fun trip, very relaxing--even though none of us got quite enough sleep and the refrigerator/freezer went out while we were there. Nothing some coolers and a lot of ice (with beer on it) couldn't remedy! 

The boys thought it was great fun to knock heads with W and see his reaction.

Here I am with a very sleepy, P. You can sort of see how giant I am, P has to sit alongside my huge belly now.

Swimming feels great when you're pregnant. The wake up call comes when you start to climb the ladder out of the water, and you feel heavier and more clumsy with every step. I'm holding the life jacket down because I can only buckle into the men's extra-large now... in retrospect, maybe that should have been my wake-up call.

I made a baby boot this week. Yes, a single baby boot. I'm trying to get motivated to make the second one, but it's so warm here right now that it doesn't really seem necessary. I think it's cute! I also want to make some in a funkier color. How adorable would these be with little jeans and a plaid shirt or something?!

The pattern is from a shop that I like on Etsy called Two Girls Patterns. This is the second baby shoe pattern that I've bought from them. I like that they carry boy things too, although their little slippers and things for girls are darling. The patterns have great photos and if you've crocheted before, they should be easy for you to follow.  It's sort of hard to see them in my photos, but there are straight and braided cables up the sides (check out Two Girls pic below). So cute and fall-ish.

I love the gray and yellow, hopefully my second pair will look as great as those! Either way, these will keep chunky, baby feet all warm and cozy.

Two weeks...

It's been two weeks since last I blogged.

I started to write a poem here explaining where I've been, but it was ridiculous and included the word 'snogged,' so I quickly backspaced, hopefully saving myself a little embarrassment and am now moving forward with life.

We've had visitors the past two weekends, over Easter (which was glorious and joyful, hope yours was too!) and this past weekend as well. We ate out many times, ate lots of bacon and seafood, walked around the French Quarter, visited an aquarium (to see Nemo who we call "Memo" in our house) and just had a generally good time with friends and family.

P wore a bubble romper for Easter...it was one of those projects that I felt would never end. I tore out so many stitches and resized so many times that I just wanted to dump it in the trash and start over. You know how that is? I made the 18-24 month size but it would have fit a fifteen year old so I had to cut out some width on the sides and fix that, then I forgot that there was supposed to be elastic under the arms, then I realized they were a little too long for the bubbly shape that I really wanted, the bubble sort of droops into a skirt...whatevs...Mama can't sew in the car on the way to church, eventually it's time to get dressed, and you've got to wear something. None of the other kids in the nursery were pointing and laughing, although Papa did enough of that for everybody. I used green and white seersucker with navy buttons and used navy embroidery thread to do a chunky running stitch around the top. I like the colors with his little navy sandals. Fortunately this will fit him better in a few months and then they'll be just right...he's only two so he should be able to wear them for about 13 more years, right?

Grammy sent a bubble gun for Easter, that's been a huge hit for both of us. I don't have the lung capacity to blow bubbles for hours and P loves bubbles.

Check out these rompers I finished last week for a customer. She ordered matching ones for her two boys. I love them and want to make some for July 4th! I'd love for P and my husband to match. Do you think I could get a pattern in a men's size medium?

Who's laughing now, Papa?!

Where I've been the last two weeks...

So I've been quite the absentee blogger lately. Two weeks ago I was slammed with Easter orders on Etsy... fun stuff and lots more already on the cutting table for this week!

Then last week I left for a little trip to Charleston. The first few days, I visited with my 'book club girls." We all live in different cities, but we take turns choosing a book to read and a bottle of wine for everyone to try and then we meet up on skype group chat to discuss. It's a lot of fun.

It was a fun 'gal's weekend' (plus P and one of Emily's sweet girls). We did lots of talking and eating good food. Jane and Emily are both Mamas of two and it was great to be able to pick their brains about all kinds of things that they've already been through with their older children. I think it's invaluable to hang out with other families and see how they do things, it's not good to get stuck too much in one way of thinking (especially if it's something like "my way is the high way," I know I'm guilty of this at times).

It was a little chilly the first couple of days, but so nice to be out on the beach!

After the girls went home, my Mom and sister and her friend came down to meet me in Charleston. It was Chloe's spring break. The weather warmed up and was absolutely gorgeous!

We had a really great time, makes me excited to be back in KY in a few months!

Stay tuned for my upcoming Easter series, title TBA!

Sewing and Stewing

I've had a bad cold this week so sewing and posting have been on the back burner, but I've been 'stewing' over some projects and I'm particularly excited about one that I'll post about soon!

I can't believe it's already February, Valentine's Day is coming. I was thinking about what I wanted to do for Baby P this year and couldn't help remembering what I put him through in 2011.

It wasn't all bad, I got a few smiles in there! But really, the things we will do for pictures! There are no end of photos where parents have positioned babies in uncomfortable looking ways surrounded by piles of things--from fruit to puppies to... construction paper hearts.

I posted some new overalls on Etsy this week. Of course P gets the sample, I'm really happy with how they turned out, they have elastic around the bottom so the legs "balloon" out a little. They look so cute and summery in this seersucker without a shirt underneath. LOVE! Also love that P is obsessed with wearing my sunglasses. Watch out Jacqueline Kennedy, you've got some competition.

On a different note, the entries for this weeks Project Run and Play competition were posted this morning and I am wild about this dress from Danielle at My Sparkle. Her designs have been my favorite all along the way, but this dress is fantastic. I love the sheer white over the blue underskirt and the cute pom-pom trim. I think it would be a really fun idea for a summer skirt for me! Love, love, love!

Fabric Envelopes

I love getting packages in the mail! Especially if it's something fun from a friend, or a care package when I was in college. When I decided to sell baby clothes on Etsy I wanted the packaging to be really unique. Here's what I do...

I stitch up a really simple muslin envelope. When you open the top flap, you see the goodies you ordered peeking out. There's a tag with information on caring for the garment, the size and all that fun stuff. I'd be pretty excited if I opened up a boring mailing envelope and found this inside! Especially because it's a size 2 and that's what Baby P wears!

Spankin' New Overalls

                       Here's my newest listing on Etsy! This is a pattern I drew out myself, I made a couple of pairs for P first and have really liked them (and liked the fit). Now, I think they're ready to go home with some other lucky, little kids!

This is the first pair, I love them! The winter here is so warm that we don't need full length corduroy every day. I'm kind of in love with knee patches lately too!