3 years ago today

I was in a hospital bed trying to get my darling girl to come join us! She was born at 6:20 in the morning, and still keeps that schedule, silly early riser!

Little did I know that carrying that little peanut would bring me a lot of physical problems - mostly post-partum (can you say blood clot and postpartum eclampsia?), but it was totally worth it.

The last three years have been amazing. To watch this little person grow is an adventure. Those first light-bulb moments when you can tell they actually know what is going on to having a full on conversation.

To see their smiles and laughs turn into a sense of humor.

I feel so lucky to be her mother. She is fun, smart, entertaining, sweet, huggable, kissable and a great big sister! And I can't remember a time when she wasn't part of our family.

Happy Birthday my little peanut!

baby boom, fabric stash, an icky pest, etc.

We've had a baby boom at church lately, 2 babies born in the last couple of weeks and one due in the next 2 weeks. I spent the morning embellishing some cloth diaper burp cloths.

I don't need to tell you how to do these, it's pretty self-explanatory. I will give this suggestion: Buy some fusible hem tape and iron the ribbon on the diapers before hand. It makes the top-stiching much easier. If you have more time, Penny has a great tutorial on really making these nice.

I forgot to post pictures of this fabric when it came a couple of weeks ago. They all have plans. L-R: Brigette's bag (if she likes it) - Amy Butler's Daisy Chain, Jenny's bag - Alexander Henry/Michael Miller, and a twirly skirt for Alison - Sandi Henderson's Farmer's Market.

Amy Butler's new Daisy Chain is a lot of fun. I bought a piece for me too - I forgot to include it in the lineup - I think I may be making myself a fall bag. I need to get some lining. SO much fabric, so little time!!

Now, if you don't like gross, green tomato hornworms, DO NOT LOOK AT THIS PHOTO. I could barely contain my gag reflex when I first saw it. That spider from the last post was less gross to me than this ugly thing. But of course I had to take a picture. I have a sick fascination with bugs. I blame my Entomology class and the 3 day camping trip we took for the sole purpose of collecting bugs. I actually have a bug collection. I know, I'm a geek. This branch got snipped and thrown over the fence. I didn't kill it, the only thing worse than big plump bugs is their guts. Eeeew.

And last but not least, I'm feeling a little sheepish as I just found out I won another giveaway! I know, I KNOW! Maybe I should start playing the lottery.

My friend Vanessa, who I've mentioned before as being awesomely talented in every way - and funny to boot, made a gorgeous pendant out of a photo she's taken. Granted she didn't have as many entries as she should have, so my chances were high, but seriously!? The giveaway muses are smiling kindly on me because my husband, the Marine, is away for a month. And today was a day where my lovely 2 year old broke into tears about EVERYTHING. And I'm tired. I needed something good to happen today! THANKS VANESSA!

In addition to being an excellent photographer, Twilight series commentator, and hilarious, Vanessa makes amazing cupcakes! She's entered the Iron Cupcake Challenge and she needs your votes! So click on THIS LINK and go vote for Vanessa Contessa!

a bag, some buttons, and a spider! oh my!

I finally finished another bag! I can't show the whole thing yet, because I don't want to ruin the surprise factor for my friend, Julianne, who ordered it. I really loved how it turned out. I made the strap about 4" shorter for her so she could wear it just as a shoulder bag. I'm trying to figure out what length I should do the bags to sell - messenger length (~36") or shoulder length (~34"). Any suggestions?

One of my friends asked me how I have time to sew, and really - it's all done in 10 minute intervals and it takes me weeks to finish something. It's a little frustrating, but that's the way my life is right now, and I've almost accepted it.

On that note, here's a 2-minute project that is just so, so cute. And they are nothing new, I've seen them all over the place. And now I know why. They couldn't be easier! Fabric covered button magnets.

And this is what my mother-in-law found at my house while she was tending my kids for a bit the other night. I felt REALLY bad, because, she really doesn't like spiders, AT ALL. She smashed it, so this is the little dead spider, she said it was a lot bigger alive. But still, pretty big.

I was going to say that it looks like my luck has run out, but then when I thought about it, I was lucky! I wasn't there when it was still alive and she even vacuumed it up for me. But not until after I snapped a shot. It really looks like a mini tarantula to me. ewwww.